GYMNAST SA Bi-Monthly Magazine – July & August2012

Independent and unaffiliated

Registered South African Distributor:

• Sandra Thompson

• 083 200 6075

• sanz@catchfish.co.za

• www.terbicraft.co.za

GK is the world’s leading brand of gymnastics leotards & apparel and is recognized around the world for superior variety, quality, fit and service.

Front Cover Ryan Patterson – Elite 5 National Champion in Men’s Artistic Gymnastics. See his Bio further on in the MAG.

Welcome to the 4th edition. I hope you all watched the Olympics, and congratulations to all the South African Representatives and especially the medal winners. There was an absolute feast of gymnastics and what skill and professionalism. Well done to the UK for hosting the games and thank you Super Sport for all the coverage (definitely the channel of Champions).

Things are really picking up around the country with winter out of the way and the various competitions in full force.

Good luck to all the gymnasts leading up to the competitions and to all the qualifiers of international events.

Megan

gymnastsa@yahoo.com

Note from the editor

Official Women’s Artistic Olympic Results – Team Finals United States – 183.596 Russia – 178.530 Romania - 176.414 China – 174.430 Canada – 170.804 Great Britain – 170.495 Italy – 167.930 Japan - 166.646 The US Women’s team led from start to finish in the team finals ending more than five points ahead of Russia after Russia had two low scores on floor in the final rotation. The USA team looked solid and confident and they started on vault with three nearly-stuck Amanars and capped off their day on floor, with three fantastic routines all 15.0 or higher. Russia was only a couple of tenth behind after bars, but had wobbles on beam, and two falls on floor sealed the silver for the team.

SA Judges at the Olympic Games Unfortunately no South African Gymnast took part at the 2012 London Olympics but two South African Gymnastics Federation Officials were invited to judge. Annette Nel from Gauteng judged Rhythmic Gymnastics and Robert Liefeldt from Pretoria was judging Men’s Artistic Gymnastics. Being invited to judge at the games was such an honour giving the judges the opportunity to judge at the highest level. Annett was also one of the judges at the 2008 Beijing Olympics Olympics and Robert attended the Athens Olympics in 2004 as a Technical Assistant on High Bar.

In the Rhythmic event, Annette was one of a panel of 12 judges, judging both individual and group competitions. There were 24 individual gymnasts completing 4 apparatus, with 10 groups competing 2 apparatus. In the Men’s Artistic Event, Robert judged as Reference Judge.

RYAN PATTERSON Ryan started recreational Gymnastics at the age of 3 in South Africa with Shirley

Watson (pic on right) at Maylill Nursery School in Winchester Hills. He was so full of bounce that his Mom decided to enroll him in Gymnastics to burn up some energy. After the move to America, Ryan began training in a more serious environment and excelled early at Gymtowne Gymnastics. As his skill level progressed, the need for a better training facility was apparent. So, the move to San Mateo Gymnastics came.

This is where he met Coach Ron Bell and saw his gymnastics progress ever more rapidly. But still, to accommodate his increased learning, Ryan needed another facility. In the fall of 2010, five of his teammates and Ryan moved to one of the best training gyms in the US at Stanford University. It is here that his abilities were able to let lose and he began to realise what he could really achieve. As he started his University career, he moved to University of California Berkeley to train with one of the best collegiate teams in the States.

“I'm so honored to have competed on the South African Gymnastics Team in the following competitions and have my sites set for Rio 2016 Olympics:”

Achievements

2010 Inaugural Youth Olympic Games competitor, Singapore

2010 All African Championships Team Bronze, Namibia

2011 World Championships competitor, Tokyo

2012 US Junior Olympic Nationals Floor 2nd Place

2012 US Junior Olympic Nationals Vault 4th Place

2012 US Junior Olympic Nationals All- Around 12th Place

In 11th and 12th grade, Ryan took part in his school's Student Government Class and was a Student Officer. Graduated with high honors from high school. One of the most enjoyable

activities during high school was assisting athletes in the Special Olympics.

Ryan has a sister, Tannith Patterson, his father Mark and mother Deborah.

During his free time he just likes to relax and soak up the little free time he has! Otherwise,

Ryan is usually out with his friends, either playing basketball or at the beach.

Right Ryan in Tokyo Left: Ryan on PBar at Stanford 2011

info@snowleotards.com

http://www.facebook.com/SnowflakeDesigns

PARENTS KNOW YOUR RULES There are a lot of new parents every year that do not understand how competitions run or the rules behind them. This short article explains the basic rules and how the competitions work. Please take note so that you do not get your child disqualified. Please be courteous to the parents assisting at the competition and remember that the other parents are also there to watch their children.

Basic Rules

1. No parent is allowed on the floor at any stage before or during a competition. If your child falls, do not run onto the floor or your child could be disqualified. If the injury is serious, the paramedic or coach will call you.

2. No flash photography is allowed at any of the events as this may cause a gymnast to loose focus and fall.

3. There is normally a designated area for coaches and judges to have tea or lunch – please respect this area – do not go into it or take chairs or refreshments from it.

4. If you are not happy about the scores your child received, wait until after the competition to discuss them with the coach. The judges have probably seen something that you did not and the coach will explain the scoring to you.

5. If you are sitting on the stands, you never know who is sitting next to you and any bad comments about judges, coaches or gymnast should be kept to yourself as you may be sitting next to that child’s mom or dad. You would not want bad comments about your child so refrain from making comments about others.

If there is a cover charge for entry, please respect the person at that desk as they are only assisting the organisers and it is not a pleasant job with the parents constant moaning. We understand that this is an expensive sport but you made the conscious decision to involve your child in the sport and these costs are part of that decision. A lot of the funds at these competitions go to assist the club’s gymnasts for international travel or the club to purchase new equipment. Other costs may including hiring the hall, medal and trophy costs, paying judges, food for the judges and coaches or other costs that you don’t know about. Running any event is costly and there is hardly ever any profit but a lot of hard work.

There is normally an overlap when one competition is nearly finished and the other has not yet started, this is called a rotation. Gym halls can get a bit full and tempers flair. Keep calm and wait for the previous competitions parents and gymnasts to leave and then seats will be available for you. Please ensure that you respect other parents during this rush for seats and space as everyone wants to watch their children perform.

The judges, coaches and parents assisting are there to make the event as incident free as possible and a positive experience for your child. Every competition that a gymnast takes part in assists them with competition nerves and focus and parents also need to ensure that the experience is positive for all concerned. If you are unhappy about anything try and discuss it without your child being present as they are not aware of the unhappiness and the experience could turn out to be negative instead of positive.

Your child wants to do their best and the role of the parent is there for their support and encouragement.

Gabrielle Douglas Olympic Champ

Gabrielle Douglas is a member of the 2012 US Olympic gymnastics team – a squad that won the Olympic gold medal for the first time since 1996. Gabby also earned gold in the all round, becoming the first gymnast in American history to win the gold medal in both the team and all round. Gabby was born on 31 December 1995 in Virginia Beach. She started gymnastics at age 7 and her floor and beam are her favorite apparatus. Gabby is home schooled and English is her favorite subject. She enjoys reading and knitting and she has two older sisters and an older brother. After her early success as an Elite gymnast at the Junior US Championships and Pan American Championships, she decided to switch coaches and she met Liang Chow, coach of Shawn Johnson and moved to Iowa to work with him. She trained alongside Shawn Johnson until she retired in June 2012. She was the reserve for the worlds team and when team member Anna Li was injured, she ended up on the roster where she scored a fifth all round. With only two gymnasts allowed to compete at the Games per country, Gabby was out of the selection until she won at Olympic trials, beating Jordyn Wieber and Alexandra Raisman who were ranked higher.

Beth Tweddle As you probably know Beth is my favorite gymnast of all times but unfortunately all great things must come to an end and Beth will be hanging up her grips after she won bronze on her bars at the Olympic Games. Beth is 27 years old and has an impressive four world titles. She is the most decorated gymnast in Great Britain. Two large steps back on her landing were enough to end her challenge for the Olympic title. Russia’s Aliya Mustafina won the gold on bars ahead of Beijing 2008 champion He Kexin of China. Aliya scored an impressive 16.133 to win the title. At one of the interview’s Beth said “This is definitely my last Olympics, I’m not totally retiring straight away. It would be too much on my mind and body just to stop”.

Competition Beth Tweddle has donated her book - for our competition. To win this book all entries will go into a draw and the winner will be notified on the 30th October. Send your details to the email below to stand a chance of winning this fantastic book. gymnastsa@yahoo.com Your postal address Your telephone number

Men’s Artistic Gymnastics What’s it all about

The competition program of men's artistic gymnastics consists of 6 routines: floor exercises, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and the horizontal bar. Floor exercises are performed on a 12x12 meter mat without musical accompaniment. Men's routines are characterized by a sequence of linked elements that demonstrate simultaneously strength, flexibility, and balance. Each exercise consists of movements which combine a number of elements, such as somersaults, handstands, and rotations. The execution and the configuration of the exercise must express a personal flair. The whole surface of the floor must be used. The maximum time allowed for an exercise is 1 minute and 10 seconds. The Pommel Horse is 1.15 meters high and has two handles (12 centimetres pommels) attached to the apparatus body, set 40 to 45 cm apart. The routines make use of the full surface of the apparatus and present a succession of circular and pendulum-type swings, leg circles, scissors movements, and handstands. The rings hang from a structure at 2.75 meters above the ground. Ring routines should include swings and handstands to emphasize muscle strength. The program must end with an acrobatic dismount. The vaulting table requires clean and powerful movements that combine height and length with one or more rotations, ending with a well-controlled landing. The level of difficulty determines the value of a vault. Marks are also awarded for the body control and the landing position. Approach run, 25 meters; table height, 135 cm. Like the rings, the parallel bars, 1.95 meters in height and 3.50 meters in length, require a combination of swinging movements, swings, and handstands demanding strength. The gymnast must travel the full length of the apparatus and work on the top of the bars as well as below them. The horizontal bar is 2.40 m. wide and 2.75 meters high. In this routine, the gymnast performs continuous and clean swinging movements and must not touch the bar with his body. He is required to demonstrate changes of grip, swinging movements both forward and backward, with releases and regrasps of the bar. Dismounts are an important part of the total routine and are usually acrobatic and spectacular.

Ryan Patterson

SA Gym Games 2012 will be held in Johannesburg / Pretoria this year, during the first week of October 2012. There will be multiple venues, with different disciplines competing at different venues across the Gauteng region. The following are provisional dates for each discipline. For further detailed information on each discipline, refer to the www.sagf.co.za website then select the respective gymnastics discipline to find further information on SA Gym Games. Acrobatics: Levels 4 & up and Stages 7 & up 1 – 2 October 2012 Matsport Centre, Eldoraigne Centurion Aerobics: Levels 3 – 7 5 October 2012 Jonie Bach Sports Centre Pretoria North Artistic Men: Level 4 – 8 5 – 6 October 2012 Matsport Centre Artistic Women: Level 4 – 7 & HP 4, 6 & 7 4 – 6 October 2012 Matsport Centre Rhythmic Gymnastics: Level 4 - 8 28 September – 1 October Wits Trampoline & Tumbling: Level 1 – 6 1 – 6 October 2012 Matsport Centre Rope Skipping….date and venue to be advised

JUNIOR MAG CHAMPION Congratulations to Michael Robbertze the National Junior MAG Champion. He received the gold medal for Floor, Rings and Vault and silver for Pommel, P Bar and H Bar. Well done!

GRIP TIPS - Water Use on Gymnastics Grips? To answer the question of water usage on handgrips, without exception, tanneries and grip manufacturers say that water usage is definitely not recommended. Water can cause deterioration, rotting, excess stretching of the leather and potentially cause grips to tear more quickly and more easily and shorten the useful life of your grips. Using water on your gymnastics grips will also void the warranty on your grips from most manufacturers. Use Water If You Need To – Your Body is More Important Than Your Grips It seems that every gymnast has their own ritual for preparing their grips to use on the bars, including chalking them in any number of ways, putting water on the grips or the bars or even spitting on their grips. While water use will definitely make grips wear out more quickly, and gymnasts will need to be even more careful when examining their grips, gymnasts should prepare their gymnastics grips in whatever way makes them the safest and feel the safest, even if that means putting lots of water on their grips. While this may mean buying grips more often, it is considerably less expensive than any injury that might come from gymnasts not having prepared their grips in the way that makes them the safest and makes them feel the safest (often the same thing).

Photo’s on this page are courtesy of S.E.A. Gympics

Links: www.sagf.co.za www.fig.co.za www.myweb-page.co.za

Lazy Butts Helen Crewe

Biokineticist, CSCS Linksfield Orthopedic Sports & Rehabilitation Centre

(011) 485 1882

Helen Crewe is a former high-performance gymnast with over 5 years of coaching and judging experience. She completed her qualification as a biokineticist through UCT at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa. She now works in private practice at the Linksfield Orthopaedic and Sports Rehabilitation Centre, and is involved in injury prevention and rehabilitation of athletes of all levels in a wide variety of sports.

It’s not by chance that most top athletes have firm, good-looking butts - strong gluteal (buttock) muscles are a necessity for any sportsman or woman, not aesthetically but functionally! This topic may seem a bit awkward to the general public, but in the medical field it is a vital part of our job when working with athletes to look at and assess people’s bum muscles, because of their importance in sports performance. The two major muscles we refer to are the gluteus maximus, which is the main extensor of the hip (backwards kicking motion), and the gluteus medius, which abducts the hip (taking the leg out to the side). Glute maximus gives you power in any running and jumping activity, and also assists the knees and ankles in absorbing the forces on the body during landing. Glute medius does its job when you are standing/jumping/landing/turning/leaping on one leg – it stops your hips from tilting to one side and allowing your knee and foot to collapse inwards.

Gluteus

maximus: Glutus

Medius

Problems arise when the glutes become lazy. This can happen as a result of injury to the back, pelvis or the glutes themselves, or just from lack of use (spending too much time sitting on your bum!). Lazy glutes can contribute to knee injuries because they force the quadriceps to take more of the load on jumping and landing, and disrupt the normal biomechanics of the hip and knee. Weak glutes also tend to make you overuse your back muscles, leading to lower back pain.

Problems arise when the glutes become lazy. This can happen as a result of injury to the back, pelvis or the glutes themselves, or just from lack of use (spending too much time sitting on your bum!). Lazy glutes can contribute to knee injuries because they force the quadriceps to take more of the load on jumping and landing, and disrupt the normal biomechanics of the hip and knee. Weak glutes also tend to make you overuse your back muscles, leading to lower back pain.

Exercises to activate the glutes: 1) Glute activation in figure-4 position. Lying on your stomach, bend one knee in a turned out position, with the foot placed underneath the opposite leg (as shown in the picture). Contract the glutes of the bent knee only, without contracting the hamstrings. This exercise also stretches the hip. Hold the contraction for 5 sec, and repeat 10 times on each side.

Glute max strengthening: 2) Single leg pelvic lift. Lie on your back with the knees bent, and cross one ankle over the opposite knee. Activate your core and the glutes of the supporting leg, and then lift your hips off the floor until there is a straight line from your heel to your shoulder. Do 2 x 15 repetitions on each side.

3) Lunges. Start with your feet together and step forward into the lunge position. Both knees should be bent to 90 degrees and the front knee should not pass over the front of the toes. The front knee must bend in line with the middle toe, and not collapse inwards. Push back to the starting position, using the glutes of the front leg. Repeat with the other leg. Do 20 repetitions (10 each leg).

Glute medius strengthening: 4) Side-lying straight leg raise. Lie on your side with the top hip positioned directly above the bottom one. Lift the top leg straight upwards, without rolling back in the hips. The leg should be aligned slightly behind you. Do 2 x 15 repetitions on each side.

5) The clam. After doing the above exercise, bend both knees in front of you so that the feet are in line with your buttocks. Keep your feet together as you lift the top knee, without rolling back in the hips. Keep your core activated throughout both of these exercises. Do 2 x 15 repetitions on each side.

Leverkussen CUP 2012 “Gym mates at JGC blowing a kiss of good luck to Ryan Bloy as she leaves for the

international event held in Germany recently”

Ryan Bloy, Jukie Potgieter and Lizandi Broodryk were the girls that qualified for this

event held annually in Germany. Competition

was tough with Germany, England and South Africa

taking part. The girls gained valuable experience in

the international arena with Ryan in 12th place,

Jukie 14th and Lizandi 15th. Well done girls!

GYM FOR ALL Not only is gymnastics gaining ground but for all us “older” parents, we remember doing gymnastics at school which seems to have stopped over quite a few decades. SAGF is striving to bring the sport back to schools and the first Schools Gymnastics Provincial Competition took place at Pinetown Gymnastics Club in KZN on the 9th August. Newly trained school’s gymnasts, representing their school and respective district within KZN competed against each other to challenge for a spot to compete at the National Schools Competition to take place in December 2012. The Schools Gymnastics Programme which currently has Artistic Level 1 floor and vault elements and Rope-skipping novice are the fundamentals of the programme. The programme was launched by the Minister of Sport & Recreation South Africa Hon F.A. Mbalula in November 2011. The roll out of the program began in 2012 and the weekend’s competition saw over 372 gymnasts comprising of 93 teams (4 gymnasts per team) competing at the KZN Provincial Competition. The schools run first at District Level, Provincial level and then National level.

New

s &

Fu

n

G Y M N A S T I C S ! ! ! ! ! ! ! When you're feeling down because your body hurts When your hands are torn and your muscles ache When the beam's so high and you feel you'll fall When you feel you can't and want to stop it all When the spring floor feels like concrete When you feel you're spent and can't compete And the bars, they seem so wide apart And vaulting now is not in your heart When all of this makes you feel like the pits It's time to relax and think a bit Of the hours and hours of hard work put in It's time to collect the dividend You know why you're here, what it's all about You know there's no time at all for self-doubt So get up, with both your body and your mind And keep it going because you're going to find... YOU CAN...you can do it with a little more grit Get up, breathe deep - and GO FOR IT!!

"Fear can hold you back from trying wonderful things- Worry afterwards!“ "Play every game like it was your last". "Goals. There's not telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There's no telling what you can do when you believe in them. There's no telling what will happen when you act upon them.‘ "Seven days without gymnastics makes one weak" "a bad day in the gym is better than a good day at school" "If you don't leap, you'll never know what it's like to fly." "You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there" "Mouth guards, shin pads, helmets...what are those? I'm a gymnast, not a football player." "Will trade brother for new leo"

You may be thinking why on earth an article on fitting a leotard, really!!!! If you have a problem body fit like my daughter, you could spend a fortune on leotards until you find the right supplier (4 unused competition leotards and a small fortune later makes you ensure that you keep with the supplier that fits). If your leotard does not fit properly, not only will your competition be in ruins but you will have to spoil the effect by asking the judges if you can wear shorts if it creeps. Always put a comfortable back up leotard in your gym bag whether at training or at competitions so that if anything does happen you have a back up. You may not be the shining star but you could win the title! As with any sport, your equipment must fit and feel right in order for you to perform at your best. Pulling leotards out while performing will give you a deduction for each pull so you may just loose a championship due to an ill-fitting leo. Don’t order your leotard a week before the competition as it needs time to settle to your body fit and use it in training leading up to the competition so that you know it won’t creep. Don’t be afraid to take the leotard back to the supplier for corrections if the fit is not right. Below are some tips: How to fit gymnastics leotards. Gymnastics leotards come in a vast variety of fabrics and colours as well as different patters, cuts and styles. After choosing which style you like such as sleeves or sleeveless, round neck or turtle neck leotard all you have to do is get the correct fit. Gymnastics leotards and dance leotards have different purposes therefore are made to fit in a different way. Gymnastics leotards are meant to fit much tighter than a normal dance leotard. It is very important to get a well fitted gymnastics leotard as one which is too big will be baggy and one which is too small will be uncomfortable and ride up during the gymnastics class. How to measure for a gymnastics leotard. Take a clothing measuring tape and measure from the top of the shoulder then down the chest, between the legs and back up to the top of the same shoulder. This will give you the girth measurement. Take the tape measure and wrap it around the chest at the fullest point. This will give you your chest measurement. Again with the measuring tape wrap it around the narrowest part of your body making sure you do not measure over your pants or shorts. This will give you your waist measurement. Measure around the largest and widest part of your lower body which will give you your hip measurement.

WHEN YOU BELIEVE, YOU ACHIEVE