DAVOS, Switzerland -- Jason Burnett of Toronto broke his own world record for degree of difficulty at a trampoline World Cup event Saturday en route to a silver medal in the men's final.
Burnett, who went into the final ranked third after Friday's qualifications, jazzed up his optional routine with several multiple twisting moves to score a whopping 18.8 points for degree of difficulty, breaking his old mark of 18.00 set at the Pacific Rim Championships in April.
Despite his dazzling performance Burnett was nudged out of the top spot by reigning world champion Dong Dong of China who scored lower for difficulty (16.6) but was awarded more points for execution.
Dong claimed the gold with a score of 41.90 points, with Burnett a tenth of a point behind at 41.80 and Tu Xiao of China in third with 41.60 points.
"Everything went really well," said Burnett, the silver medal winner at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"Having the world record pretty much sets me apart from the others and I think it should be safe for quite a while now. For the rest of the year, I'll still be doing routines with a high degree of difficulty but I won't be aiming for the record again unless I see someone getting too close."
Burnett also teamed up with teammate Charles Thibault of Quebec City to win the silver medal in the men's synchro event.
In the women's competition Rosannagh MacLennan of Toronto was fifth in the final.
Beijing Olympic champion He Wenna took the gold with a score of 39.30, followed by teammate Huang Shanshan with 38.90 in second place and Anna Dogonadze of Germany in third at 38.20.
"I went for it but ran into a few problems," said MacLennan, who scored 36.90 points.
"Parts of the routine went really well so I just need to work on it more to get it right."
MacLennan intended to perform a routine with a 15.2 degree of difficulty, but downgraded it slightly on the fly to 15.0 when she got into problems early in the routine.
Still, MacLennan's routine scored more for difficulty than any other finalist with two competitors from China and Uzbekistan coming closest at 14.6.
MacLennan also competed in the women's synchro event, finishing fourth with partner Samantha Smith of Toronto.

Individual Mens Trampoline.

James Higgins (Northamptonshire Trampoline Gymnastics Academy)
Steve Walsh (Northamptonshire Trampoline Gymnastics Academy)
Nicholas Joyce (Edgbarrow Trampoline Club)
Steven Williams (City of Liverpool)

Individual Women.

Kat Driscoll (Apollo Trampoline Club)
Amanda Parker (Edgbarrow Trampoline Club)
Jaime Moore (Northamptonshire Trampoline Gymnastics Academy)
Laura Gallagher (High Flyers)

Synchro Men

Steven Williams & Jack Helme (both City of Liverpool)

Synchro Women

Kat Driscoll & Cara Jamieson (both Apollo Trampoline Club)

ST PETERSBURG (RUS), FIG Office, November 14, 2009: Today’s Finals in Individual Tumbling (M / W), Double Mini-Trampoline (M / W), Women’s Trampoline as well as Men’s Synchronised Trampoline concluded the 26th World Championships in St Petersburg (RUS).

The top trampoline countries are China GOLD, Russia SILVER and Portugal Trampoline BRONZE JAPAN 4TH Canada 5TH AND USA Sixth.

Britain continues to improve but was not close to the top of the table- how does Portugal do it!

Japan’s Synchro Pair Tetsuya Sotomura / Yasuhiro and Russia’ Irina Karavaeva (TRA) and Anna Korobeynikova (TUM) had a chance to defend their titles today, while both Double Mini-Trampoline competitions and Men’s Tumbling would see new champions taking to the podium. Russian Andrey Krylov (TUM) and compatriot Kirill Ivanov (DMT) didn’t make the cut during Qualifications this time around, and Women’s Double Mini-Trampoline title holder Sarah Charles from Canada stayed away all together.

Here is how it all went down!Posted by www.bouncyhappypeople.co.uk with thanks to FIG

Tumbling Individual Finals

Men

Russian and Chinese tumblers were the favourites for this Final, having qualified in the top positions on Thursday. They were challenged by contenders hailing from Ukraine, Great Britain, Belarus and the USA.

The first round saw Russia’s Tagir Murtazaev (38.600), Chinese Yang Song (37.400) and Mikhail Kostyanov (36.800), also from the host country, confirm their preliminary dominance, followed by Ukraine’s Viktor Kyforenko (36.500).
The top players showed consistency and took the podium hands down. Kostyanov confirmed his third ranking with 73.900 points. Things got hot in the arena when Yang Song, who competed second to last, scored the 75.000 that topped Murtazaev’s qualifying score (74.900). Would this mean Gold for the Chinese?

Murtazaev was quick to answer that with a top scoring second pass (38.700): 77.300 in total and the title.

Kyforenko came fourth (73.000), just ahead of China’s second entry Zhang Lingfeng (71.100), Kalon Ludvigson (USA) in sixth, Michael Barnes (GBR) in seventh and Siarhei Artsemenka (BLR) in last place.

Gold - MURTAZAEV Tagir RUS 77.300
Silver - YANG Song CHN 75.000
Bronze - KOSTYANOV Mikhail RUS 73.900

4. KYFORENKO Viktor UKR 73.000
5. ZHANG Lingfeng CHN 71.100
6. LUDVIGSON Kalon USA 68.900
7. BARNES Michael GBR 63.500
8. ARTSEMENKA Siarhei BLR 52.700

Detailed results

Women

Russia’s Tumbling star Anna Korobeynikova, title holder and top qualifier, entered this Final as a favourite. Her greatest opposition came from team-mate Elena Krasnokutskaya, who impressed the crowd in the preliminaries, Great Britain’s Rachael Letsche, the USA’s Kaitlin Tortorich and Canadians Emily Smith and Ashley Speed.

The first round confirmed the Russian’s dominance and saw Tortorich take third position (32.400) and Speed (30.800) fourth. Great Britain’s Zara McLean took possession of fifth rank (28.400) after pass one and team-mate Letsche sat back in sixth (28.300).

An unfortunate landing for Letsche in the second round; she injured her ankle and was taken out of the arena on a stretcher. Smith upped her score from round one and settled into fifth place with a 60.800 total score. Her compatriot Speed overtook the USA’s Tortorich (62.200) in fourth, and claimed the Bronze for Canada with 62.800 points.

Krasnokutskaya’s outstanding performance brought her a total of 66.900 points and the Silver. Once again, Korobeynikova left her rivals in the dust as she outclassed them all with a Gold winning 69.400. The 35.100 for her second pass marked this Final’s top score.

Gold - KOROBEYNIKOVA Anna RUS 69.400
Silver - KRASNOKUTSKAYA Elena RUS 66.900
Bronze - SPEED Ashley CAN 62.800

4. TORTORICH Kaitlin USA 62.200
5. SMITH Emily CAN 60.800
6. MCLEAN Zara GBR 60.000
7. BUDLER Bianca RSA 59.100
8. LETSCHE Rachael GBR 28.300

Detailed results

Double Mini-Trampoline Individual Finals

Men

After the fall of title holder Kirill Ivanov (RUS) and 2007 runner-up Kalon Ludvigson (USA) during the qualifying round, spectators were looking to top qualifier Dmitry Fedorovskiy (RUS), team-mate Evgeny Chernoivanov, who qualified in third, the notoriously strong Portuguese André Fernandes (2nd) and André Lico, 2009 World Games Silver medallist, for the Men’s Double Mini-Trampoline Final. Fans were anxious to see the performances of challengers from Brazil, Sweden, the USA and Great Britain as well.

André Lico took the lead after the first pass (37.600), followed by Brazil’s Bruno Martini (36.900) and Dmitry Fedorovskiy (35.900) in third. Lico went ahead and set the bar high with 37.900 for his second pass, resulting in a combined 75.500. Would that be enough to defeat his rivals?

A solid performance by Swedish Tim Lunding, who qualified in fifth position, slid him into second rank with a total of 69.600, elbowing out Martini (67.800). Not a good day for Russians Chernoivanov (60.300) and Fedorovskiy (59.200); they settled for fifth and sixth place just before Canada’s Alexander Seifert and Austin White from the USA.

Portugal’s André Fernandes’ strong performance brought him a total of 69.300 and a Bronze winning third. With Lico’s Gold, Portugal proudly takes home two medals from this Final. Lunding made his own home country Sweden proud with the Silver.

Gold - LICO Andre POR 75.500
Silver - LUNDING Tim SWE 69.600
Bronze - FERNANDES André POR 69.300

4. MARTINI Bruno BRA 67.800
5. CHERNOIVANOV Evgeny RUS 60.300
6. FEDOROVSKIY Dmitry RUS 59.200
7. SEIFERT Alexander CAN 58.900
8. WHITE Austin USA 35.300

Detailed results

Women

A last minute change was made to today’s Women’s Double Mini-Trampoline start list. Injured Anastasia Velichko (RUS) was replaced by team-mate Victoria Voronina, next competitor on the Qualification list.

In the top qualifying positions, Portugal, with Silvia Saiote and Andreia Robalo, would need nerves of steel to see and raise the success had by their male counterparts earlier today. The USA fought hard against its traditional Russian rival in the first round, with Victoria Voronina (RUS) taking the lead (34.700), Aubree Balkan (USA) in second (34.000) and Galina Goncharenko (RUS) in third (32.900).

An excellent second pass (35.200) catapulted Canadian Corissa Boychuk, qualified in a dumbfounding ninth position, into a Bronze winning third. She scored a total of 67.100 points and outscored the USA’s Balkan by a mere .1 margin.
Russia’s Galina Goncharenko gave a powerful performance, earning an overall 68.000. She garnered the Silver.

Team-mate and reserve Victoria Voronina (68.300) gave a breathtaking show on the double mini-trampoline and surprised everyone with the victory tonight.
The high scoring first pass performed by 2007 runner-up Julie Warnock (CAN) wasn’t enough to even out a failed second run (35.500); Warnock settled for rank five (65.800).

Portugal’s Saiote and Robalo ranked sixth and seventh in the end, leaving only Great Britain’s Adeva Bryan in their wake.

Gold - VORONINA Victoria RUS 68.300
Silver - GONCHARENKO Galina RUS 68.000
Bronze - BOYCHUK Corissa CAN 67.100

4. BALKAN Aubree USA 67.000
5. WARNOCK Julie CAN 65.800
6. SAIOTE Silvia POR 56.200
7. ROBALO Andreia POR 55.300
8. BRYAN Adeva GBR 54.900

Detailed results

Men’s Synchronised Trampoline Final

On very short notice, the Canadian reserve Pair Jason Burnett and Charles Thibault, who had been sitting in the stands, were called into the competition. Sergei Chumak picked up an injury during warm-up for this Final and Russia 2 had to withdraw. Burnett / Thibault did well, but their 49.300 was not enough for a medal .

All eyes were on title holders and top qualifiers Tetsuya Sotomura / Yasuhiro Ueyama from Japan. It was touch and go whether they would be able to defeat China, Germany, France and Ukraine. Also lining up today were Poland and the United States.

With 50.000 points under their belt, 2007 finalists Oleksandr Chernonos / Yuriy Nikitin from Ukraine took an early lead in the competition, but were overtaken by France’s Sébastien Martiny / Grégoire Pennes. And though tied with Ukraine, superior synchronisation was what pushed them into the lead.

China’s Dong Dong / Tu Xiao stayed behind, outclassed by a narrow margin (49.900). A relatively low synchronisation score did them in.

After a fantastic Qualification, Germany’s Markus Kubicka / Karsten Kuritz were relegated to seventh place in the Final, leaving Poland’s Lukasz Tomaszewski / Tomasz Adamczyk to bring up the rear.

Performing last, Sotomura and Ueyama kept the competition exciting to the end. With the highest scores in execution (16.600) and synchronisation (18.800), this exceptional Japanese Pair prevailed once again and took off with the Gold. Their overall score: 50.800.

French Martiny and Pennes garnered the Silver, and the Bronze went to Chernonos / Nikitin (UKR).

Gold - SOTOMURA Tetsuya / UEYAMA Yasuhiro JPN 50.800
Silver - MARTINY Sebastien / PENNES Gregoire FRA 50.000
Bronze - CHERNONOS Oleksandr / NIKITIN Yuriy UKR 50.000

4. DONG Dong / TU Xiao CHN 49.900
5. BURNETT Jason / THIBAULT Charles CAN 49.300
6. DOOLEY Logan / GLUCKSTEIN Steven USA 49.300
7. KUBICKA Markus / KURITZ Karsten GER 48.700
8. TOMASZEWSKI Lukasz / ADAMCZYK Tomasz POL 19.300

Detailed results

Women’s Individual Trampoline Final

As the last event of these championships, the Women’s Individual Trampoline Final offered a high profile competition that featured celebs from Canada, China, Russia, Uzbekistan and France. In total, five finalists from the last worlds qualified for tonight’s event.

China’s 2008 Olympic Champion He Wenna and team-mate Huang Shanshan, 2007 World runner-up and 2004 Olympic Bronze medallist, were up against three times Olympic medallist Karen Cockburn from Canada and her compatriot Rosannagh MacLennan, who placed third at the 2007 World Championships.

Russia’s legendary Irina Karavaeva, 5-times World Champion, winner of the first Olympic Gold medal in Trampoline and defender of the world title, also performed in the hopes of adding yet another medal to her impressive collection.

Ekaterina Khilko (UZB), 2008 Olympic Bronze medallist, Russia’s second entry Victory Voronina, who claimed the Double Mini-Trampoline earlier in the day, and France’s Marina Ducroux completed the line-up.

These competitors all gave sublime performances in this Final, spicing up the competition through to the end.

Voronina, who won Double Mini-Trampoline earlier today, gave another surprising performance. She boosted her qualifying position to a final fifth place with 37.500 points and outscored team-mate Karavaeva, who settled for sixth (37.300).Khilko came in seventh, tying with Karavaeva, while Ducroux finished last (37.000).

It was up to the last four competitors from Canada and China to determine the final spots on the podium. MacLennan’s 38.400 wouldn’t suffice for a medal rank today, but Cockburn secured the Bronze with 38.700. Top qualifier He scored a Silver winning 39.400, defeated by her team-mate Huang, who settled on the top with 39.500 points. She secured the Gold and the new World Champion title.

Gold - HUANG Shanshan CHN 39.500
Silver - HE Wenna CHN 39.400
Bronze - COCKBURN Karen CAN 38.700

4. MACLENNAN Rosannagh CAN 38.400
5. VORONINA Victoria RUS 37.500
6. KARAVAEVA Irina RUS 37.300
7. KHILKO Ekaterina UZB 37.300
8. DUCROUX Marina FRA 37.000

Detailed results

Closing Ceremony

In his closing speech FIG Vice-President Dr Michel Léglise (FRA) thanked the Trampoline and Tumbling community, judges, the City of St Petersburg and the Local Organising Committee for the excellent job done during these championships. He was mindful of a special and unique spirit radiating throughout the arena this week by gymnasts come to compete in an attitude of fair-play.

Léglise then presented the FIG medal of recognition to LOC representatives Julia Propalova, Serguey Maryasin and Ivan Smirnov.

President of the Russian Trampoline Federation Nicolay Makarov handed over the FIG flag to Dr Léglise, whom then passed it on to Françoise Dal-Zuffo, representative of the Organising Committee for the 27th World Championships slated for 2010 in Metz (FRA).

See you next year in France!

http://www.bouncyhappypeople.co.uk/c/trampolines_fitness_trampolines.htmA total of 274 gymnasts (162 men and 112 women) from 32 different federations and every continent will participate in these World trampoline championships, which feature Individual and Team competitions in Individual Trampoline, Tumbling and Double Mini-Trampoline as well as Synchronised Trampoline events. Great Britain and Russia will be sending the largest delegations (23 gymnasts per country), followed by Canada (22 entries) and the USA (19 participants). Kylie Walker (NZL), and Claudia Prat (ESP), both Women’s Individual Trampoline, will be the only representatives from their countries.

Let’s have a closer look at what and whom to expect:

LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, October 27, 2009: In just a few days, the 26th World Championships in Trampoline, Tumbling and Double Mini-Trampoline will get underway in St Petersburg (RUS) at the Sports and Concert Complex on the 11th of November.

Men’s Individual Trampoline

The Men’s Individual Trampoline competition will see Asia’s powerhouses China and Japan battle it out for medal ranks with Canada and the Ukraine.

With Olympic Champion Lu Chunlong, 2007 World Champion Ye Shuai and Olympic Bronze medallist and 2007 World runner-up Dong Dong, China sends an impressive line-up to St Petersburg. The team is completed by 21 year old Tu Xiao, 2009 World Cup Series medallist (Silver in Zielona Gora, Bronze in Salzgitter).

Winner of the 2009 World Cup Series Masaki Ito and team-mate Yasuhiro Ueyama, 2007 World Bronze medallist and 2005 World runner-up, are Japan’s hopes for a medal in the Men’s Individual event. Tetsuya Sotomura, 4th in Beijing and Bronze medallist at the 2005 Worlds in Eindhoven (NED), looks to have an equally good chance of coming out on top. Also competing for Japan is synchronised specialist Shunsuke Nagasaki.

Canada are bringing in the big guns with 2008 Olympic Silver medallist and runner-up of the 2009 World Cup Series Jason Burnett, while Ukraine rely on Yuri Nikitin, fifth in Beijing and third on the ranking.

It will also be interesting to see Danish Peter Jensen, Belarusian Viatchaslau Modzel, US American Logan Dooley and German Martin Gromowski, who were successful at this year’s World Cup Series.

Men’s Trampoline Team competition

Out of the 28 nations participating in the Men’s Individual Trampoline competition, 18 start with three or four gymnasts and their scores will count for the Team ranking. 2007 medallists China (Gold), Japan (Silver) and France (Bronze) are looking good again this year, but don’t underestimate the challengers from host Russia, who are likely to qualify for the Finals!

Women’s Individual Trampoline

The Women’s line-up for the Individual Trampoline competition features celebs from Canada, China, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, all battling it out in St Petersburg.

China’s 2008 Olympic Champion He Wenna and team-mate Huang Shanshan, 2007 World runner-up and 2004 Olympic Bronze medallist, will face three times Olympic medallist Karen Cockburn from Canada and her compatriot Rosannagh MacLennan, who placed third at the 2007 World Championships. Interestingly, Huang and MacLennan share second position on this season’s final FIG World ranking.

Russia’s legendary Irina Karavaeva, 5-times World Champion, winner of the first Olympic Gold medal in Trampoline and defender of the world title looks forward to competing in her first world championships in her homeland. And her fans won't be disappointed!

Also joining the ranks is Ukrainian Olena Movchan, winner of the 2009 World Cup Series, and Ekaterina Khilko (UZB), 2008 Olympic Bronze medallist and 4th in rank. Keep an eye on Great Britain’s Katherine Driscoll, Tatiana Petrenia (BLR) and Yulia Domchevska (UKR), too.

Women’s Trampoline Team Competition

23 federations have entered a total of 60 gymnasts to the Women’s Individual Trampoline event, out of which 12 will participate in the Team Competition. World Championships of the past saw China and Russia at the top, followed by Canada (2003) and the USA (2005) in third. In 2007, Canada placed second between China (Gold) and Russia (Bronze).

The question is whether the traditionally stronger nations in Trampoline will dominate this year. Competition is tough; who knows but we may be surprised!

Men’s Synchronised Trampoline

31 Pairs from 20 different federations have registered for the Men’s Synchronised Trampoline competition.

Japanese Pair Shunsuke Nagasaki / Masaki Ito will start as the favourites in St Petersburg. With three World Cup victories this year, they not only topped the final ranking, they gave an impressive performance at the World Games in Kaohsiung (TPE), where they took home a coveted Gold. Reigning World Champions also competing for Japan are Tetsuya Sotomura and Yasuhiro Ueyama.

Close on their heels are French Sébastien Martiny / Grégoire Pennes, World Games runners-up and third of the 2009 Series, as well as Mikalai Kazak / Viatchaslau Modzel (BLR). The Belarusian Pair finished second in the series and missed out on a medal due to a failed routine in the World Games Final in Kaohsiung.

Look out for Danish Daniel Praest / Peter Jensen, Australians Ben Wilden / Blake Gaudry and for US Americans Steven Gluckstein / Logan Dooley and Portugal’s Diogo Ganchinho / Nuno Merino!

Women’s Synchronised Trampoline

In the Women’s competition, reigning World Champions Karen Cockburn / Rosannagh MacLennan are facing tough competition from World Games Champions and winners of the World Cup Series Elena Movchen / Yulia Domchevska (UKR). The Pair from Ukraine won Bronze in 2007.

With Galina Goncharenko / Anna Ivanova and Irina Karaeva / Victoria Voronina, Russia enters two Pairs, the latter of which is new. Voronina had been successfully competing with Anastasia Velichko, ranking an overall second in the 2009 World Cup season. Individual gymnast Karaeva also medalled in Synchro earlier on with partner Natalia Chernova (1999 – Bronze; 2007 – Silver).

Third in the World Ranking, Belarusians Katsiaryna Mironava / Tatsiana Piatrenia are also aiming for the medal ranks, as are Anna Savkina / Ekaterina Khilko from Uzbekistan (4th).

And will Germany’s Carina Baumgaertner / Jessica Simon be able to reclaim their success from Kaohsiung, where they won a World Games Bronze this summer?

Men’s Tumbling

45 male tumblers from 14 different countries will compete for the new World Champion title in St Petersburg, whereas only ten federations entered enough gymnasts to be eligible for the Team Competition.

In the Individual competition, reigning World and World Games Champion and winner of the World Cup Series Andrey Krylov (RUS) is expected to collect another Gold in St Petersburg. His closest challengers hail from the USA, notably in the form of Kalon Ludvigson, 2007 runner-up and second on the World Ranking, as well as from Ukraine with Viktor Kyforenko, 2009 World Games Bronze medallist.

Siarhei Artemenka, the 2007 Bronze medallist from Belarus, participated in the Final in Salzgitter last month, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll deliver in St Petersburg.

www.bouncyhappypeople.co.uk has been cheering on Michael Barnes who won a fantastic Silver for Great Britain earlier this year at the World Games. What can we expect from him this time around? All eyes on Polish gymnast Sebastian Sondel, Russia’s Evgeny Zinukov and China’s tumblers; out of the four Chinese tumblers getting ready to compete in St Petersburg, Yang Song was the only Chinese tumbler to participate in the World Cups this year, winning a Silver in Sofia. By contrast, Wang Jiexu, who came out ahead in Sofia, will be absent in St Petersburg.

The 2007 World Championships saw Russia, China and Belarus on top of the Men’s Tumbling Team ranking, while in the past France, Great Britain, the USA and South Africa were the ones who traditionally made it to the podium.

Women’s Tumbling

With 25 registered gymnasts from eight different countries, the Women’s Tumbling field is the smallest in terms of entries at these championships. Since three countries won’t be sending a complete team, the five teams from Canada, Great Britain, Russia, Ukraine and the USA will directly qualify for the Team Final. In previous years, USA and Russia topped the Team rankings, followed by Great Britain and France respectively in third.

In the Individual competition favourite Anna Korobeynikova (RUS), 2005 and 2007 World and 2009 World Games Champion, and her primary challenger Olena Chabanenko (UKR), double World Champion and 2005 and 2007 runner-up, are expected to make the cut.

Other candidates for the podium are 2007 Bronze medallist Anastasia Isupova (RUS), South Africa’s Karen Wilson (3rd in World Ranking), Canadian Ashley Speed and Anzhelika Soldatkina (RUS).

Men’s Double Mini-Trampoline

Out of the 12 federations represented by 38 gymnasts for the Men’s Double Mini-Trampoline competition, nine countries will participate in the Team competition. Russia, the USA and Great Britain prevailed in the 2007 Team ranking, but in previous years Canada, Bulgaria, Spain, Germany, Portugal, New Zealand and Australia also got their spot on the podium. It’ll be exciting to watch who will make it in St Petersburg!

With none of the 2009 World Cups having featured Double Mini-Trampoline, it’s hard to predict what to expect at the World Championships. The results of this year’s World Games may give an indication; and some of these competitors have already performed at the 2007 Worlds in Quebec.

Kirill Ivanov prevailed at both competitions, taking home the Gold for Russia, and will certainly do everything in his power to please his home crowd. The Russian will be challenged by Kalon Ludvigson (USA), 2007 runner-up, Andre Lico from Portugal, World Games Silver medallist, and German Nico Gaertner, who won Bronze in Kaohsiung.

Women’s Double Mini-Trampoline

28 gymnasts from nine different countries have registered for the Women’s Double Mini-Trampoline competition, but Germany and South Africa are the only delegations not sending a full team for this event. Russia, Canada and the USA are traditionally strong countries in Women’s Double Mini-Trampoline and were represented on the 2007 Team podium. Before that Portugal, Germany and Australia had also been seen at the forefront.

Top contenders this year are Russia’s Victoria Voronina, who won Gold earlier this year in Kaohsiung (TPE), US Americans Sarah Prosen and Aubree Balkan, who placed second and third respectively in Kaohsiung, as well as 2007 Silver medallist Canadian Julie Warnock.

19th World Age Group Competitions

The World Championships will be followed by the 19th World Age Group Competitions, also to be held in St Petersburg’s Sports and Concert Complex from November 18-21, 2009. Boys and girls of Age Groups 11-12, 13-14, 15-16 and 17-18 years will compete in Individual and Synchronised Trampoline, Tumbling and Double Mini-Trampoline.

FIG Microsite

The FIG has just opened a microsite with all the details surrounding the 26th World Championships and the 19th World Age Group Competitions in Trampoline Gymnastics, Tumbling and Double Mini-Trampoline. Visit us at http://www.stpetersburg2009.sportcentric.com for competition schedules, provisional entry lists and more! The microsite will be updated regularly with competition results and photos.

We look forward to seeing you in St Petersburg!

As Americans in a sport dominated by Chinese and Eastern Europeans, the trampolinists Steven Gluckstein and Logan Dooley are accustomed to overcoming long odds.

Steven Gluckstein, New Jersey, and his teammate Logan Dooley, who trains in California, won a gold medal at the tumbling and trampoline World Cup in Belgium, a first for the United States.

But as synchronized trampolinists whose success depends on perfectly coordinated flips and twists, they are doubly disadvantaged. They live more than 2,700 miles apart: Dooley in California and Gluckstein in New Jersey. They say they believe they are the only high-level synchronized trampoline team that does not regularly train together.

“We make jokes all the time, saying we’re going to video-chat our practices,” Dooley said.

The distance does not seem to have hurt them. In August, Dooley and Gluckstein won a gold medal at the tumbling and trampoline World Cup in Ostend, Belgium, a first for the United States, and they were briefly ranked second in the world before falling to No. 6 after they skipped a World Cup event in Europe. They have each excelled individually. Dooley, 22, took the gold in the individual event in Belgium, and is ranked ninth in the world. Gluckstein, 19, is 15th.

Although trampoline has been an Olympic event since 2000 and features the same thrilling flips and somersaults as diving and freestyle skiing, the events are rarely televised, and corporate sponsors are nearly unheard of. But that is beginning to change.

The success of United States athletes like Dooley and Gluckstein in the sport is beginning to attract attention. Steve Penny, the president of USA Gymnastics, says he has seen an increase in the number of coaches who are developing elite trampolinists.

“I think as we see more success in trampoline, we’ll see more participation and much more consistency,” Penny said.

Trampoline athletes are judged on aesthetics and execution, and degree of difficulty of their routines. Synchronization is also judged for trampoline teams. Each routine consists of 10 elements, and includes combinations of somersaults, pikes and twists, similar to Olympic dives. Competitors reach heights of more than 25 feet.

Synchronized trampoline is not yet an Olympic event, although Dooley and Gluckstein said they hoped it would follow the path of synchronized diving, which became an Olympic sport in 2000. Coordinating a synchronized routine is not as difficult as it seems, they said. Gluckstein and Dooley rarely speak to each other on the phone, and practice together only at national team training camps or before they compete, which is about once every two months.

With similar body types — Gluckstein is 5 feet 7 inches, Dooley is 5-9 and they each weigh about 130 pounds — they move similarly on the trampoline. During competition, they listen carefully to each other. If one lands early, the other knows not to jump as high the next time.

“The trampolines are pretty noisy,” Dooley said. “They do make a very squeaky sound when you’re jumping, so you can listen for that.”

Gluckstein said their weakness was that sometimes one would try to compensate for the other. “When we are off, it’s us both trying to fix what is wrong,” he said.

At the Beijing Olympics last year, neither of the United States trampolinists came close to earning a medal. Chris Estrada, the first American man to qualify for the Olympics in trampoline, did not reach the finals, nor did Erin Blanchard in the women’s individual event. But Penny said that their qualifying for the Games signaled progress.

The United States has been winning world and Olympic medals regularly in men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics for about 25 years, so the vast majority of novice gymnasts in the United States gravitate to those disciplines. About 5,000 of the 91,000 athletes who are members of USA Gymnastics competed in tumbling and trampoline in 2007, the most recent year for which numbers are available.

“You have fewer coaches and fewer business models that are based on trampoline,” Penny said. “Clearly still, the artistic disciplines are the ones that drive the business at the club level.”

China won both trampoline gold medals in Beijing and Canada won both silvers, but Penny said he saw potential in athletes like Dooley and Gluckstein, who each narrowly missed qualifying for the 2008 Games. Dooley served as an alternate.

At the national trials, Penny said, “I remember saying to both of them, ‘You’re next.’ ” He added, “It was clear that they had potential, they had talent and they had a commitment to achieving a higher level.”

Dooley said he began the sport after his parents gave him a backyard trampoline for his seventh birthday; they soon became alarmed at his rapid progress. “I learned to double back-flip by myself,” Dooley said. “That’s where they drew the line.”

Concerned for his safety, his parents removed the trampoline but signed him up for classes near their home in Lake Forest, Calif. Although he has been competing in trampoline since he was 11, something changed recently for him and Gluckstein. “This year, we’ve kind of had our breakthrough year,” Dooley said.

Gluckstein was 10 and taking a gymnastics class at the Head Over Heels gymnastics school in Middletown, N.J., when Tatiana Kovaleva, the women’s individual world champion in 1996, spotted him. He had already learned to do flips on the trampoline.

“I said, O.K., I’ll take that kid,” Kovaleva recalled. She became Gluckstein’s coach and also trains his younger brother, Jeffrey, 16, the top-ranked junior in the United States.

Like other members of the national trampoline team, Dooley and Gluckstein receive a monthly stipend from USA Gymnastics to cover the cost of their training. Gluckstein lives with his family in Atlantic Highlands, N.J.; he teaches gymnastics when he is not training and takes business classes at a community college.

Dooley also teaches gymnastics. When their schedules allow, they earn extra money performing trampoline tricks at corporate and sporting events — feats that involve bouncing on snowboards and passing a basketball.

Despite their skill and recent success, Dooley and Gluckstein said it was sometimes frustrating to receive less attention than they felt the sport deserved.

“It’s just not looked at, at all,” Gluckstein said. “You say, ‘I do trampoline,’ and they say, ‘I have one of those in my backyard.’ ”

He shook his head and smiled, then recounted his response to such remarks: “Oh, yeah? How high can you jump?”

Thanks to the New York Times

Strong USA team for the World Trampoline and Tumbling Championships in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Stephen Raymond, who trains and coaches at Stick It Gymnastics in Orlando, was named to the USA Gymnastics national team that will compete next month in the World Trampoline and Tumbling Championships in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Raymond earned his spot based on placements at the U.S. Elite Challenge, Visa Championships and a final selection event that concluded last month. He earned a silver medal at the final event held in Las Vegas.

His specialty is double mini-tramp (mini trampoline) and this is his third national team selection and second world championship pick. The world championships will run Nov. 7-15 and he is hoping to save his best performance for last. He is contemplating retirement from international competition.

Raymond, 27, trains 25 hours a week and coaches at the Orlando gym. He previously competed at the 2006 Flanders Cup in Ghent, Belgium, and the 2007 world championships in Quebec.

"I really feel this is the strongest team the U.S. has put together in a long time," Raymond said in an e-mail. "I have no doubt in my mind that we can contend with Russia and Great Britain for a team gold medal."

Raymond's goals are to follow up the team competition by reaching the individual finals "and seeing how I stack up against the best in the world."

He placed sixth in the individual competition in 2007 and his goal is to reach the podium this time. Raymond is one of the few tumbling/trampoline gymnasts who can perform a triple twisting double somersault in straight body position, one of the most difficult manoeuvres in the sport.

Raymond grew up and went to school in Green Cove Springs, near Jacksonville, which did not have a high-level gymnastics facility. His senior year, he drove to Orlando three times a week to train, and after high school moved to Orlando to train trampoline at the highest level and quickly moved up the ladder, winning nationals in 2001. In 2003, he placed third on mini trampoline but failed to make the world championship squad.

An ankle injury contributed to a decision to quit competition and focus on coaching, but Raymond hinted that being in the gym daily and working out led to a comeback in 2005 and a berth on the U.S. National Team. In 2006, he trained with the national team staff in Grand Rapids, Mich., and in 2007 made his first world championship team. In 2008, he got the call from Stick It Gymnastics to come home and coach and keep on training. That led to his second world championship team berth last month.

Now the new goal will be to train the next international class trampolinist.

"Who knows?" he said. "Instead of competing at these big events, maybe I'll be coaching my own athletes at one."

THREE pupils from Newcastle’s Sacred Heart High School flew the region’s flag in style at the National Schools Trampoline Finals.
Caitlin Summerson, Rebeka Taylor and Sophie Taylor competed as a team in the under-13 novice category at the event, held in King’s Heath, Birmingham.
After achieving second place in the regional stage of the competition, the pupils travelled to Nantwich, Cheshire for the zonal stage.
The trio claimed first spot to clinch their place in the national finals, where they finished a creditable fourth.
At every round of the tournament, all the competitors undertook both a set and a voluntary routine.
Once all the pupils had competed their two routines, scores were added together to give each team a placing.
A school spokeswoman said of the girls’ performance: “The girls performed extremely well during all the stages of the competition.
“Most of the other teams consisted of four members and the top three scores were taken.
“As our team only had three members the girls knew they had to perform to their best to progress.
“The team rose to the challenge with six beautifully-performed routines at each stage of the competition.
“They all really enjoyed beng involved and hope to compete again next year.”

Posted by patrick at www.bouncyhappypeople.co.uk
01326373607

A HOST of competitors from the Wyre Forest area took part in two big tournaments as part of University of Worcester Trampolining Club.

Local trampolinists from the district were in action in the national competition in Bristol and international competition held in Dublin in recent weeks.

The BUCS National Finals held at the University of Bristol was a competition for those who qualified in February.

Jo Wright, Lauren Draper and Sammi House, who all also coach at Stourport Trampoline Club, qualified to the finals in their groups.

Draper and House represented Worcester in the BUCS two category whilst Wright jumped in the BUCS four category.

Draper performed a solid first routine, but due to changing her second round did not get the awarded difficulty and finished in 18th place.

House had an exceptional first routine putting her in the placing for a medal, however, due to major wobbles in her second routine she came 21st overall.

After a wobble in the first routine and forgetting her second routine, Wright came 35th.

Irish Student competition in Dublin was highly successful for many students from Stourport Trampoline Club.

In the men’s novice section, James Terry finished sixth, while William Terry and Nick Harwood made their debut and earned respectable ninth and 10th placed finishes respectively.

Dan Wiggins, Sam Frost and Mark performed well in their first intermediate competition.

In the ladies advanced category, Emily Batson, Hayley Parker, Wright and Claire Senter all performed well.

Parker competed an excellent first routine but was over taken by Batson after the second routine, which ensured she came third, with Parker fourth.

Wright completed both routines to end in eighth place, with Senter in 31st .

In the ladies elite category, Sammi House was second, Lauren Draper 10th, Erin Taylor 22nd and Emma Goring 25th.

Picture 1, 2 & 3 in Ireland Back row Dan Wiggins, Nick Harwood, James Terry, Sam Frost, Dave Bedford, Mark Lee, William Terry Middle row Claire Senter, Emma Goring, Lauren Draper, Erin Taylor, Tash Collins Front row Hayley Parker, Leigh-Ann Brady, Sammi House, Jo Wright, Emily Batson Picture 4 at BUCS National Finals Lauren Draper, Sammi House, Jo Wright