- Oct 9, 2015
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The children's book thread made me think of this, but these observations have nothing to do with the great questions she is asking, and I didn't want to derail her thread.
I've watched many gymnastics movies and TV shows with my daughter and there are a few things that come up over and over and make no sense at all.
-Kid will be the underdog in some big competition and is (to everyone surprise!) just trailing the two time World Champion leader. She realizes that if only she throws in a huge skill she has tried a few times in practice and never quite landed she will win! She tells her coach, "I need to put in the double twisting Wallenski." Coach: "But you've never landed it!" Kid (with grim determination): "I know I can do it!" She and her coach share a meaningful glance. Kid competes and the whole thing is in slow mo, the announcer suddenly says, "Wait, Kurt-- is she really about to do a double twisting Wallenski??? It's never been done in competition before!" The camera angle shows our gymnast basically at ceiling height, and she makes the double twisting Wallenski! The whole crowd (and it's stuffed to the rafters with gym fans) goes insane and she wins the whole competition because the double twisting Wallenski must come with multiple bonus points that allows her to just beat the two-time World Champion!
- Girl falls of beam in a Big Competition. The crowd gasps. They've never seen a girl fall off beam during competition before. The girl is stunned but unhurt and sits on the ground for several seconds before looking over at her coach who is angry, worried, or shocked. The coach nods at her letting her know she should get up and finish the beam routine. After wiping away tears with the back of her hand she gets up and finishes but the announcer lets us know this fall has probably cost her the competition.
- Mean girls. There is usually one Queen Bee mean girl who has a few minions and they bully our main character and her friends, although they are all on the same team. The coaches are totally oblivious to the conflict, despite the fact that there are a total of maybe 10 girls on the whole team. The coaches often make things worse by scheduling a lot of "inter squad" competitions that pit the girls against each other. They may also have a "leader board" posted at the gym ranking each of the girls.
-A confusing mix of skills. It's usually not stated exactly what level they are competing but it's always meant to be upper level, despite a confusing mix of skills. They'll show a girl doing about a level 8 floor routine, followed by shots of what appear to be level 5/6 beam routines. A girl will stick a front handspring on vault and get a 9.7, followed by a girl who flips a tsuk but takes a step on the landing and scores an 8.8. What level is this? Are there start values? Who knows!
Any fellow parents who've sat through many gymnastics tv shows and movies have more oddities to add?
I've watched many gymnastics movies and TV shows with my daughter and there are a few things that come up over and over and make no sense at all.
-Kid will be the underdog in some big competition and is (to everyone surprise!) just trailing the two time World Champion leader. She realizes that if only she throws in a huge skill she has tried a few times in practice and never quite landed she will win! She tells her coach, "I need to put in the double twisting Wallenski." Coach: "But you've never landed it!" Kid (with grim determination): "I know I can do it!" She and her coach share a meaningful glance. Kid competes and the whole thing is in slow mo, the announcer suddenly says, "Wait, Kurt-- is she really about to do a double twisting Wallenski??? It's never been done in competition before!" The camera angle shows our gymnast basically at ceiling height, and she makes the double twisting Wallenski! The whole crowd (and it's stuffed to the rafters with gym fans) goes insane and she wins the whole competition because the double twisting Wallenski must come with multiple bonus points that allows her to just beat the two-time World Champion!
- Girl falls of beam in a Big Competition. The crowd gasps. They've never seen a girl fall off beam during competition before. The girl is stunned but unhurt and sits on the ground for several seconds before looking over at her coach who is angry, worried, or shocked. The coach nods at her letting her know she should get up and finish the beam routine. After wiping away tears with the back of her hand she gets up and finishes but the announcer lets us know this fall has probably cost her the competition.
- Mean girls. There is usually one Queen Bee mean girl who has a few minions and they bully our main character and her friends, although they are all on the same team. The coaches are totally oblivious to the conflict, despite the fact that there are a total of maybe 10 girls on the whole team. The coaches often make things worse by scheduling a lot of "inter squad" competitions that pit the girls against each other. They may also have a "leader board" posted at the gym ranking each of the girls.
-A confusing mix of skills. It's usually not stated exactly what level they are competing but it's always meant to be upper level, despite a confusing mix of skills. They'll show a girl doing about a level 8 floor routine, followed by shots of what appear to be level 5/6 beam routines. A girl will stick a front handspring on vault and get a 9.7, followed by a girl who flips a tsuk but takes a step on the landing and scores an 8.8. What level is this? Are there start values? Who knows!
Any fellow parents who've sat through many gymnastics tv shows and movies have more oddities to add?
