click to watch
A presentation by site editor Rick McCharles given at the USA Region 2 Gymnastics Congress, 2005, in Seattle, WA.
The first and best thing we can teach kids is how to land and fall safely.
Click over to Gymnastics Coaching to watch that slide show.
It’s based on material written by Keith Russell from the University of Saskatchewan. That drawing comes from a Canadian education manual.
This historic photo is in the office of Keith Russell, at the University of Saskatchewan.
… just to show that acrobatics are practiced everywhere.
Meet Darlene Fedyna, owner of Gymtastics in Calgary, Canada.
She’s just launched Gymtastics GymTools:
From little things, big things grow
Educational Teaching Tools • Gymnastics Program Tools • Specialty Program Tools • Visual Aid Tools • Marketing Tools • Management Tools
There’s more to come. But you will get a good idea of what’s offered by checking out the new website – GymtasticsGymTools.com
Or, like me, you may find it more convenient to watch the video introduction. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Darlene “The Bean” Fedyna, founder of GYMTASTICS Gym Club, has over 30 years of experience coaching pre-school, recreational and competitive gymnastics.
Darlene has used her early childhood education, gymnastics background and her astute business skills to develop and grow GYMTASTICS into one of the premier gymnastics clubs in western Canada.
Darlene is also a pre-school consultant, specializing in children’s emotional and physical development, as well as rhyming things with silly words whenever possible (a big hit with the pre-school crowd.) …
I am also an early childhood educator as well as a rec coach who started 5 years ago at a gym club. I am a rec director and am always looking for new ideas and programs. What is the cost and what levels does it include. I work with Yorkton Shamrock Springers in Saskatchewan.
Let me know ASAP.
Kim Gelowitz
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Hey Kim.
Sign up (free) for updates on that site. They’ll email to let you know details.
http://gymtasticsgymtools.com/
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From Ortona Gymnastics.
I love seeing kids on Rings. It’s one of the best upper body fitness activities.
Obviously we need good matting when introducing inversion.
I feel the same about ropes. I can’t get my girls off them 🙂
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Kara Thorpe, from P.A. Aerials, recommends Flipping Education.
That’s Linda Thorberg and Brant Lutska, Rec gurus from the States.
They offer a number of services and products, including this $8 poster.
Kara particularly likes their lesson plan subscription service, $120.00 / year.
Check it out for yourself – Flipping Education. Or click directly to a sample lesson. (PDF)
_____
My review at a glance:
Content of the sample lesson looks good. But the graphics and layout of the Up Down All Around lesson plans is far superior.
Leave a comment if you’ve tried the subscription.
Does your gym have it?
… there are things to consider when inviting visitors into your facility.
Guests, both children and adults, who aren’t familiar with gymnastics facilities can easily be injured during parties held on your premises.
And accidents can leave visitors with more than just a bad impression of your operation; they often result in costly lawsuits …
read more on a 2005 article from USA Technique magazine – Birthday Party Alert (PDF)
Oh definitely an important consideration.
After teaching rec gym 5 days a week for 7 years, it was still a gymnastics birthday party which brought with it the nastiest injury I’d had to deal with in the gym. It wasn’t a particularly dangerous activity – but that doesn’t really matter, kids will manage to hurt themselves on anything!
We had set up a circuit of jumping activities – mini tramps, squashy shapes, boxes etc. The last jump was down onto a crash mat off a box about 45cm high (yep, that’s all!). The kid seemed to trip over as she jumped and landed awkwardly on the mat dislocating her shoulder and breaking her elbow! Very, very painful stuff for a 7-year old at a birthday party!
Always a bad situation when there’s an injury, but more so at a birthday party with a hopefully ‘super fun’ atmosphere…
Anyway, her mother was watching from the sidelines, and while concerned and helping us to arrange an ambulance, she was very level headed about the whole thing (thankfully). She told us that at another birthday the year before her daughter had also managed to break her ankle at a soccer party… Just unlucky!
Accidents can happen anywhere, anytime.
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Wow. How unlucky is that?
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14th World Gymnaestrada
Lausanne (SUI), July 10 – 16, 2011… some 20,000 gymnasts from 52 nations, registered for the 14th edition of the World Gymnaestrada. For the first time since 1969, delegations from Algeria, Malta, Mongolia and Uruguay are among the participants. In terms of statistics, female gymnasts make up 78% of the participants with strong representation of 11 to 30 year olds. Switzerland itself, with 3,300 participants, followed by Germany (1,800) and Finland (1,400), represent the largest delegations, while Mongolia (10), Guatemala (10) and Serbia (13) count among the smallest. …
Scallywaggs Gymnastics heads off to Switzerland as part of the Australian team. It is their 3rd Gymnaestrada. I would recommend this event to any gymnastics club who wants to open their eyes to the world of gymnastics beyond competitive gymnastics. The friendships you make from other countries is the best. Our team is inclusive of all. If you travel with the team you perform. Our last team had 3 generations from one family performing… 8 years to 73 years.
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Thanks Kit. … I’ve not been for many years. But there’s a chance I can get to Lausanne. Hope to see you there.
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A great way to introduce the ‘balancing beam’.
This girl is age-3 and 4-months. Should the feet of the beam be better padded?
photos by Joshua & Amber
From Coach Dawn:
6 things that should be on every administrator’s “wish list” for their Athletics department
1. No part time coaches on staff.
2. Every sport adequately funded.
3. Well paid coaching staffs.
4. Facilities to be proud of.
5. Respect from general campus body.
6. Equality for athletics and academics.read more – Two Front Teeth? A Coach’s Opinion On What Administrators Should Want For Christmas
kim Gelowitz, and 
Hannah are discussing. 
Kit Poole are discussing. 
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