[Nov 30] Nadia Comaneci at Romania's National Day Ceremony
   Former gymnast Nadia Comaneci (photo, look of "X" mark) was among the guests at Romania's National Day Ceremony hosted by the Presidency.




[Nov 30] Marian Dragulescu received Medal from Presidency  
   Romanian gymnast Marian Dragulescu has received "For Merit" medal from President Basescu, during the National Day of Romania reception at Presidential Palace.
  Marian Dragulescu is the only athlete which received a medal during the ceremony..


[Nov 30] Court: Boy can't join girls' gym team
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
  MADISON, Wis. -- A state appeals court on Thursday rejected a lawsuit by a boy who wanted to compete on his high school's girls' gymnastics team. The District 4 Court of Appeals upheld a judge's dismissal of Keith Michael Bukowski's lawsuit against the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, which has a rule prohibiting boys from competing in girls' sports.
   Bukowski filed the lawsuit as a junior at Stevens Point Area High School in 2004. He argued the WIAA rule preventing him from trying out for and competing on the girl's gymnastics team discriminated against him because his school did not have a boys' team.

  Romanian Gymnastics Fan Postcard from Aarhus   
In the first event World championships in gymnastics, with only having a team from which not much was expected, the red-yellow-and-blues were only fighting hemselves (the Chinese were out of reach anyway).

[Nov 30] Happy (name) Birthday! to... 
Andreea Raducan, Andreea Munteanu , Adriana TAMARJAN , 
Andreea Chelaru , Andreea GRIGORE , Andreea ACATRINEI ,
 Andreea Isarescu , Andreea Taclit !
  St. Andrew's Day St Andrew's Day is celebrated on the 30th November. Many people wonder what they should eat on St. Andrew's day. Because Andrew was a fisherman, it seems appropriate to eat fish. Otherwise you could eat any traditional Scottish food. Other countries have St. Andrew as their patron saint - Romania, Greece and Russia. Scotland is one of the few countries to have one of Christ's disciples as their patron saint.

[Nov 30] Gymnastics at Eurovision contest hosted by Romania
   The 2006 Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be broadcast by the 15 competing countries, but also by Bosnia-Herzegovina, Andorra, Australia and live on the internet, all over the world. In Romania, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest is particularly popular. Last year’s final was watched by 2.5 million Romanians, a number expected to rise significantly this year as Romania is hosting the show.
   The opening act It will be a very original opening act, the Creative Director assured us. “It is built like a dream that Ioana has, with many characters: 15 children, champions from the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, plus characters from the Bucharest State Circus.

 [Nov 29] Nadia Comaneci will promote Romania's joining of European Union
romanian-gymnastics.com
  GMT 13,00/Bucharest : Gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci, former tennis players Ilie Nastase and Ion Tiriac (which is also a local Business mogul) met Prime Minister Tariceanu.
   They will discuss and agree about the involvement of these Romanian Sport Legends in the events which will celebrate the Romania's joining of European Union on Jan 1st.

[Nov 29] Nadia Comaneci heard about Birthday Star Gift from Net
  Nadia Comaneci was asked yesterday by the Romanian TV crews about her
special Birthday Present from Romanian gymnastics Fans: naming a Star after her name. This is the news aired last evening by Realitatea TV:
Did she know in advance about it?
No, it was a surprise...


[Nov 29] Today in History; Greatest Escape: Nadia Comaneci
   1989, Nov. 29: Romanian gymnast and Olympic gold medal-winner Nadia Comaneci escaped to Hungary and asked for political asylum.
   Her "escape" was one the signal for the Romanians that something "Big" will come soon: The Romanian Revolution.

Nov 28: TV Sport/ 20,30 : live with Nadia Comaneci (canceled)
  Despite being heavily advertised in local media, Nadia's attendance in the Sport Show at Romanian TV Sport was canceled this afternoon.
[update: Nadia's closest relatives have told romanian-gymnastics.com that she was not notified in advance about this event, to change her schedule]
  Instead, Andreea Raducan will attend the program.

[Nov 28] Nadia Comaneci..."The Peace Maker"?
   Part of her (€150,000 / $200,000) disputed image contract with Onesti "RAFO" Oil Refinery, former gymnast Nadia Comaneci has visited yesterday the Onesti Refinery, as an attempt to détentes the local (3 years old) tense situation among workers and management of refinery, also to help the new company management to convince the Local Court to give them more time for the rebuilding of a profitable company. Will see...
   Pro Sport photos with Nadia's visit, click here ; Rompres photos , click here.
Nadia also visited her former Onesti gym Club (before giving them any other funding, please force them to make the required insurance, to prevent other cases like this ) and her family. Nadia's father still lives in Onesti and, despite his age, he still have (mostly for fun) a small five years old business, selling his own made (delicious, spiced), pickles on the local market. (Photos here)

[Nov 28] About Romania : Numa Numa video, 700 million viewers!
    Viral marketing agency, The Viral Factory has collated page impression figures from a number of online video hosting services (youTube included) to generate a list of the most viewed viral videos of all time.
    On 2nd place: Numa Numa video,Viewers: 700 million. Numa Numa is an internet phenomenon involving lip-synched videos to the Dragostea Din Tei song by Romanian pop band O-Zone. Originally a Japanese craze, Numa Numa exploded in the US when Gary Broslma uploaded his version to Newgrounds in 2004.
    His version has been viewed millions of times and literally thousands of parodies have been created. An article in The Believer magazine argues that Brosla's Numa Numa "singlehandedly justifies the existence of webcams . . . It’s a movie of someone who is having the time of his life, wants to share his joy with everyone, and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks."

[Nov 28] Search is called off after girl is found
KNDO/KNDU - Yakima,WA,USA
   KENNEWICK, Wash. - A 5-year-old little girl had dozens of volunteers and family members worried Monday night. Many were wondering where she had wondered off to in below freezing temperatures. At around 3:30 Monday afternoon, 5-year-old Claire Warnick asked her grandmother if she could go to a friend's gymnastics meet. The answer was no, but she went anyway. At around 4:30 p.m., the girl's grandmother called police after Claire went missing from their home on West 7th Avenue in Kennewick.

[Nov 28] Daughter of German Olympian is rising U.S. gymnastics star
San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA
   MIAMI - If gymnast Jana Bieger makes it to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she won't get on the airplane without her most precious family heirloom - a turquoise stuffed dog. That 35-year-old toy accompanied Bieger's mother, Andrea, a former West German gymnast, to the Olympics in 1972, 1976 and 1980.  Her results catapulted her onto the international gymnastics radar, and solidified her as a bona fide Olympic prospect.

TV Alert:
Nov 28: TV Sport/ 20,30 : live with Nadia Comaneci (canceled)
Nov 29: B1TV / 20,00: "Campioana"
(available on web for a $9.95 fee, click here) will broadcast again the movie "Campioana" (The Champion"), on Nov 29, at 20,00.
   You may see Nadia Comaneci during late 80's (as referee), former Romanian gymnastics National Team coaches Tatiana Popa, Sergiu Popa and some "real" gymnasts of the late 80's-early 90's (Daniela Silivas, Eugenia Popa), filmed at Ploiesti (during International Championships) and Deva.

[Nov 27] Bulgaria Hosts Aesthetic Gymnastics World Cup Finals
Sofia News Agency - Bulgaria
    Bulgaria hosted for two days during the weekend on 25 and 26 November the first World Cup Final on aesthetic gymnastics.
    Right: Gracious girls showed their best performances on the aesthetic gymnastics World Cup Finals in Sofia. Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)
  The Bulgarian team, coached by Dessislava Mineva won the first place, leaving behind Finland and Estonia.
   
   Ensembles from 20 countries participated in the event. 20 judges, some of them members of the Aesthetic Gymnastics World Federation watched closely the participants and evaluated their performances.

[Nov 26] Romanian gymnastics (main) coach Nicolae Forminte at OTV
  Romanian gymnastics main coach Nicolae Forminte is the today's guest of the Sport show at Romanian OTV (live on Net, click here), at 18,30 local time,
along with Marian Dragulescu and former gymnast Monica Rosu. (it's over)
 
[Nov 24] cancel your flight to Monaco …
By coach Rick
    The 13th World Cup Final of Artistic Gymnastics - planned for December 15 & 16, 2006 - will no longer take place in Monaco.
   The new place will be Sao Paulo (BRA) … again. The Monegasque organizers were unable to raise the money. Brazil immediately made a bid. The 8 best gymnasts / apparatus on the FIG World Ranking List are invited. This is the “All Star Game” of our sport. The athletes love this meet.

[Nov 23]






 [Nov 22] A case of too much, too young?
The Herald - Glasgow,Scotland,UK
  The modern god of the pool announced his retirement yesterday in Sydney at the age of 24. After a lifetime of checking the pool clock, Thorpe could not resist one impulse as he made up his mind. "I needed a closing point, so I looked at my watch and that was the time. It's as simple as that."
    Nadia Comaneci was the gymnastics star of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, scoring a perfect "10" seven times during the Games and taking five medals back to Romania where Nicolae Ceausescu named the 14-year-old "Hero of Socialist Labour". Later, however, she complained that her coach, Bela Karolyi, "took away my childhood".
   Scottish sport is replete with age group championsand record holders who never make it as seniors. They discover the opposite sex, drink, discos, even homework or university studies. There's nothing wrong with wanting a life. Thorpe has often said he wishes to become a surgeon.

[Nov 22] SCMP report: Animal Olympics banned
  A popular performance and photo opportunities have been halted at the Shanghai Wild Animal Park after an outcry from animal rights activists, including the Hong Kong-based Animals Asia Foundation. But park spokesman Su Feilong would not rule out the return of the "Animal Olympics" show in the future.
   "We heard there were a small number of people, especially some foreigners, who objected to this show so we stopped it," Mr Su said yesterday. The show, originally scheduled to run from last month to the end of this month, included 300 animals, ranging from monkeys to elephants, competing in events such as soccer matches, bicycle races and gymnastics.

[Nov 20] Barry Tompkins: Your cave or mine?
Marin Independent-Journal - San Rafael,CA,USA
  GOOD NEWS week for Neanderthal lovers everywhere. It seems that Neanderthals and humans actually met, mingled and procreated in someplace other than football dormitories. According to a report of a very lonely man named Erik Trinkaus of Washington University, who decided how fascinating it would be to study 30,000-year-old Romanian bones, modern humans spreading across Europe met and interbred with Neanderthals, creating the existence of a long-denied hybrid species.
   And how, you might ask, do scientists know that there was a little Romanian hanky-panky going on between the resident Neanderthals and the nomadic humans? How else can you explain Nadia Comaneci?

[Nov 20] Exercise makes brains younger
Kansas City Star - MO,USA
  NEW YORK | The key to keeping intellectually sharp as we age may not be mental gymnastics, as commonly recommended, but real gymnastics.
  As little as three hours a week of brisk walking apparently increases blood flow to the brain and triggers biochemical changes that increase production of new brain neurons.

[Nov 20] Oklahoma celebrities in the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade
KOTV - Tulsa,OK,USA
   STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma State head wrestling coach John Smith will be one of seven Oklahoma celebrities to represent Oklahoma in the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. The float is called ``Oklahoma Rising,'' and Smith will be on it along with World Series hero Joe Carter, Olympic gymnasts Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci, basketball great Wayman Tisdale, BMX legend Matt Hoffman    

The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
  “… Andrei Munteanu, eighteen, a finalist for the 2004 Intel competition, whose parents had moved from Romania to the United States five years earlier. Munteanu started American public school in the seventh grade and found it a breeze compared to his Romanian school.‘The math and science classes [covered the same subject matter] I was taking in Romania … when I was in the fourth grade,’ he said.” -From page 336 of the Release 2.0

   do you have ice in the gym?
By coach Rick
  This ice making machine at Calgary Gymnastics Centre is perfect. It’s positioned centrally inside the gym.
  Photo: Compact Ice Maker 
Any athlete or coach has quick and easy access. Fill your own (double) plastic bag in case of inflammation or injury.

[Nov 18] Gymnastics school’s office manager charged with theft
Louisville Courier-Journal - Louisville,KY,USA
  The former office manager of the Southern Indiana Gymnastics School in New Albany was charged Friday afternoon with stealing more than $350,000 from the school between July 2004 and July 2006. Georgetown resident Deborah K. Weathers, 40, was charged with nine counts of theft.

[Nov 17] Child sex trial set for Penev Gymnastics owner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Rochester,NY,USA
  Barring a last-minute plea deal, East Rochester gymnastics center owner Marian Asenov Penev will go to trial early next year on federal and state charges that he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old student.
   The federal charges allege that Penev used his home computer to send e-mails and instant messages to the girl in an attempt to entice her into having sex with him.

 Celebrities Who Have Suffered From An Eating Disorder...
Hollywood Statistics
By Lindsey(Lindsey)-photo left
Paula Abdul (musician); Model Christine Alt (Carol Alt's sister); Singer and songwriter Fiona Apple (anorexic); Barbi Twins - battled anorexia and bulimia; Victoria Beckham (Victoria Adams, former Posh Spice from the Spice Girls) publicly admitted struggling with an eating disorder; Nadia Comaneci (gymnast) [our note: bulimia during her gymnast career and first years after retire]; Model and actress Sandra Dee (anorexic); Actress Calista Flockhart (anorexia);...

[Nov 17] World-beating Chinese gymnasts wary of Asian rivals font size
People's Daily Online - Beijing,China
   The eight gold medals at the Aarhus world championships did not make Chinese gymnasts more relaxed to compete in next month's Asian Games. The world champion squad keep a low profile pending the year-end grand gathering despite the fact that they steamrollered their rivals to pick up a record eight out of 14 titles on offer at the worlds last month, including both the coveted team crowns.
  However, the 2004 Olympic waterloo defeat has taught them to keep wary even at an Asian Games which does not feature powerhouses Romania, United States and Russia.
  
[Nov 15] Philly To Host Gymnastics Olympic Trials For 2008 Games
Evening Bulletin - Philadelphia,PA,USA
  Indianapolis - USA Gymnastics selected Philadelphia to host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Friday. The event, scheduled to be held at the Wachovia Center from June 19-22, 2007, is the first time the gymnastics trials have come to the "City of Brotherly Love."

[Nov 15] Balu to host 23rd European Gymnastics Championships
AzerTag - Azerbaijan
    Azerbaijan Gymnastics Federation said the 23rd European Gymnastics championship will be held in Baku in 2007.
    The competition will be broadcasted by Azerbaijan’s television channel Lider. The number of countries who will attend the European Gymnastics Championship is thirty-three.

[Nov 15] Stacey’s determination an inspiration
Cranbourne News - Pakenham,Victoria,Australia
  A HAMPTON Park girl has used the death of her father to inspire her to succeed in gymnastics. Less than a year ago Stacey Bull, 12, lost her father Alan. Two weeks later she was due to compete in a state competition but her mother, Denise, wanted to pull her out. The Kilberry Valley Primary School grade six student decided to compete anyway and her team ended up coming second.
Photo: Hampton Park’s Stacey Bull accepts her cheque and trophy from Justice League character Green Lantern at Movie World.
     Stacey said now every time she went out on the floor she competed for her dad. “I feel it made me go a lot further and try harder,” Stacey said. Her dedication to the sport recently earned her a hero award through Cartoon Network’s nationwide hunt for young Australian heroes.
 
[Nov 14] Young gymnast who broke his neck could receive £6m
Times Online - UK
   A SCHOOLBOY gymnast who broke his neck performing a “difficult and dangerous manoeuvre” is in line for up to £6 million in compensation after settling his case yesterday. Josh Harcourt, now 18, of Charring, Kent, was left tetraplegic by the accident and will never be able to work or support himself.
   Through his mother, Maxine Harcourt, he sued the club and his trainers, Ovidiu Rugina and Ionut Trandaburu, from Kent, both of whom were high-level Romanian gymnasts before they qualified as performance coaches in Britain.

[Nov 13] Olympic medalist Shannon Miller talks about running 26.2
   Only a week removed from her final gymnastics performance, Shannon Miller completed her very first marathon; running all 26.2 miles at the 2006 ING New York City Marathon.
   Q: So you did it! You ran your first marathon! How was it and how do you feel now?
    Shannon Miller: It was amazing. It was just so weird you know, because I finished and felt great. I really felt good throughout the entire marathon. My legs were a little sore, but nothing horrible. I had heard all these horror stories about blisters and cramps...

[Nov 12] Happy Birthday Nadia!
Olympic.org (press release) - USA
   The year 2006 is synonymous with a double anniversary for Nadia Comaneci: 30 years ago, on 18 July 1976, she achieved a perfect 10; today, 12 November 2006, she is celebrating her 45th birthday. [...]
  This young Romanian with the precocious talent today remains an undisputed sporting and Olympic reference.She is the dream of every young gymnast; she remains an example of perfection.
   Once again, Happy Birthday Nadia!

[Nov 12] Nadia Comaneci receive Birthday Star Present on 45 Anniversary
   Nadia's name is now recorded into the Sky, too: (the brightest) star from Hercules Constellation (known as the Champions constellation, also) was named after Nadia's name, early morning today.
    We (seriously) doubt there is any person on Earth which don't know or agree that Nadia Comaneci is not a Star already; we liked to have it recorded for generations to come, on Earth or (even) from outer Space, so we did it.

[Nov 12] This day in sport: Nadia Comaneci
The Sunday Times - UK
   The extraordinary Romanian gymnast who would change the face of her sport for ever is born on this day in 1961 Nadia Comaneci stole the hearts of television viewers around the world when she competed in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and rewrote the record books.
   Comaneci, who was born on November 12, 1961, achieved her first perfect 10 on the uneven parallel bars in 1976 and the judges awarded her the maximum mark seven times during the Games.
Related: See Nadia Comaneci's birth chart (Astrotheme, no birth time)

[Nov 12] Born Today:    Grace Kelly 1929;
                                           Neil Young 1945;
                                           Barbara Fairchild 1950;
                                           NADIA COMANECI 1961;
                                           David Ellefson (Megadeath) 1964;
                                           Tonya Harding 1970

  NADIA COMANECI weekend special contest for gymnastics fans
  November 12 is Nadia's Birthday. Send us (use our Contact page) your greetings, thoughts, contributions (drawings, photos, essays about what she changed into your lifelike you become a gymnast) by Monday midnight (EST). Mention your (nick)name and country.
  Best work will be published on our site. Special Prize: a very rare, 30-years old, "Comaneci at Montreal 1976" stamp; other 6 prizes (limited edition Montreal 1976 gymnastics stamps); all winners to be announced Tuesday and receive their prizes by registered Air mail (online tracking). Good Luck!
[update: all winners were send emails and to most of them-which send us their addresses- the prizes were send; winnings messages were given to the editor of a sensational book about Nadia's life, to appear next year in US]

[Nov 11] Glasgow Grand Prix Finals Results
WOMEN'S BARS: Worlds finallist Steliana Nistor was the next to mount a challenge to Beths lead, performing three release and catch elements she solidly went through her exercise lovely Pak salto, wonderfully flighted full twisting double back dismount STUCK for 14.975.
WOMEN'S BEAM: Romanians Steliana Nistor and Sandra Izbasa sort to steam roll past Anna Pavlovas leading performance and they bypassed this station with undoubted certainty casting themselves into the leading ray of light. Steliana performed a difficult flick to back handspring and was equally exact in her free walkover-one armed flick-layout, displaying the Romanian supremacy of old she punctuated her routine with a difficult flick to one, flick to two double pike dismount for 15.425.
   1 NISTOR STELIANA - ROM - 15.425
   2 ZGOBA DARIYA - UKR - 15.200
   3 PAVLOVA ANNA - RUS - 15.025
  WOMENS FLOOR: The Romanian express continued as they sustained there dominance in the floor finals with current European Floor champion Sandra Izbasa giving the other gymnasts a lesson in how to tumble and win! Floating through the sky with clinical precision she nailed her full twisting double back and triple twist with ease powerful tumbles which complemented impressive artistic work in the middle to score 15.300. 2000 Olympic Vault and Floor Champion Elena Zamoldchikova of Russia took the silver with an impressive exercise landing every tumble without a step to hold off Romania’s Steliana Nistor, the 2004 Junior European Floor champion who only returned to competition this year after a near 18 month lay off is coming back to her best and should she stay injury free will be an exciting prospect by the time Stuttgart rolls around next year.
1 IZBASA SANDRA - ROM - 15.300
2 ZAMOLODCHIKOVA ELENA - RUS - 15.00
3 NISTOR STELLIANA - ROM - 14.725

Related: Romanian Gymnastics at Glasgow International Grand Prix

   LIVE Internet broadcast from Glasgow 11th November
  (video archive available Monday evening)

[Nov 11] How the fit and fabulous stay that way: Beth Tweddle, gymnast
Times Online - UK
   Q: You are six times British champion, now our first world champion gymnast on the bars; still flying high?
   Beth Tweddle: Absolutely, it may take some time to come down.
   Q:So how did it all begin?
   Beth Tweddle: It was partly a parental ploy to find an outlet for my hyperactivity. By the time I was 7 I’d tried pretty much everything else.
   Q:How fit does a champion gymnast have to be?
   Beth Tweddle: I work at it six days a week, up to six hours a day. One minute 30 seconds of floor exercise is intense, non-stop exercise. Believe me, your fitness builds up quickly.

[Nov 10] Gymnastics flip ends in death
New Brunswick Home News Tribune - New Brunswick,NJ,USA
  When Old Bridge resident John McCurdy III visited with his mother last month in Pennsylvania over his birthday weekend, he told her he had found his passion: gymnastics.
   But earlier this week the 27-year-old gymnastics instructor died from injuries he suffered in a freak accident at a Marlboro gym, authorities said. McCurdy died early Wednesday from injuries he suffered Tuesday night while trying to perform a move called the Quad Front Flip, police said.

[Nov 9] Indiana Daily Student - USA: Romanian pride
   Upon telling people that I'm of Romanian descent, I often get reactions of bewilderment. I imagine a screen in the person's head projecting a scrambled map of the world or pictures of Nicolae Ceausescu (communist), Nadia Comaneci (gymnast) and Dracula (vampire). The truth is, there's so much more to my motherland.
    Romania, located in Eastern Europe, is a quite beautiful country. With four distinct seasons, one can go skiing in the Carpathian Mountains in the winter, visit the beautiful Oltenian countryside in the spring, swim in the Black Sea in the summer and go shopping in Bucharest in the fall.
    Romania has also had an impact on America. All of those beautiful mountain scenes in "Cold Mountain" were actually filmed in the Carpathian Mountains. Born in Bucharest, the Romanian capital and my hometown, Maia Morgenstern played Mary, Jesus' mother, in "The Passion of The Christ." Gheorghe Muresan, the 7-foot-7-inch Romanian basketball player, played for the NBA's Washington Bullets and New Jersey Nets. He also starred in "My Giant" alongside Billy Crystal (not that anyone went to see it).

[Nov 8] Ipswich bids for Olympic glory
Suffolk Evening Star - Ipswich,England,UK
  LONDON'S Olympic Games may still be just under six years away but the preparations for 2012 are well under way. Today Ipswich stepped up its campaign for a piece of the action by opening its doors to the world's elite athletes.
   IPSWICH stands a real chance of luring an international sporting team to the town in the lead-up to the London Olympics, the group heading the town's bid for a piece of 2012 Games action said today.
   The borough council has not revealed which countries have expressed interest in using the gymnastics centre as a training venue but Mr Wood said:    “We had the Danes over here in August for a competition. They're very keen to come back and use it as a training camp. I know there is a Romanian guy who was with them, he could be putting feelers back to his national association.”

[Nov 8] Gymnastics' golden girl calls it quits
Turkish Daily News - Ankara,Turkey
   Sukran Tasyuran, the first and only Turkish gymnast who has a figure registered under her name by the Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG), has decided to end her career.
    The 18-year-old gymnast, who is also a student at the Ege University School of Physical Education and Sports, said she she will continue to contribute to Turkish gymnastics. "I want to carry on my career as a coach, judge and teacher. Teaching is very important for me; I want to pass my experience on to younger athletes", Tasyuran said.
   Tasyuran added she will always be grateful to her Moldovan coach Maya Kondokova and to the Çimentas, Sports Club for their support.

[Nov 8] Gymnastics contributions to Children’s Miracle Network top $640,000
   INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.– Through the efforts of clubs and gymnasts across the country, the USA Gymnastics family has raised more than $645,500 in donations to Children’s Miracle Network in just six years as part of National Gymnastics Day, which promotes physical fitness and gymnastics in communities throughout the country.
   In 2006, National Gymnastics Day was “a celebration of fitness,” and the Tyson Fitness Challenge, a combined effort by USA Gymnastics and Tyson Foods to get kids active, was the main vehicle for clubs and gymnasts to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network.

[Nov 7] Tweddle reveals the scars that made her a world beater
Guardian Unlimited - UK
   Tweddle, a 21-year-old Liverpool student who really does look like she can fly as she spins and hurtles from one uneven bar to another in a display of strength and finesse far more dizzying than any wild night out on the town, became Britain's first-ever world champion gymnast on October 20. Her achievement in winning gold on the asymmetric bars should soon see her catapulted from obscurity into the glaring limelight when she features in an otherwise meagre field of contenders for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year.
   Tweddle, who likes films, going out with her friends and shopping ("especially shopping"), is so unaffected that it is easy to slip into some boyfriend talk. Does she even have time for one? "Oh yeah, but it all depends on when you start going out with them. If it's the summer when there's not so many competitions it lulls them into a false sense of security. I've been going out with this guy, Dave, for five months now and I've had to break it to him gently.

[Nov 7] My School Sport: Beth Tweddle
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom
  Where did you go to school, and was sport an important part of school life?   -I went to Bunbury County Primary School, Merton House School and The Queen's School, Chester. At Queen's, you had to do sport, unless you had a letter excusing you, but most people quite enjoyed it.   
   What advice would you give to schoolchildren interested in a career in sport?
  - If you have a dream, just keep at it. Friends and teachers will tell you that you will never make it, but just ignore them.
   
[Nov 7] Olympic Gymnast Dominique Moceanu Gets Married- Comments
By LaLa
  I remember Dominique Moceanu being SUCH A Big Deal! She was really big at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, so that probably had something to do with her "bigness" as I lived in Atlanta during that time.
   Gymnastics became HUGE around this time and every other kid was training to be a professional gymnast (hahaha). There were always gymnastic birthday parties and so on. I loved the long trampolines, and I was pretty good at the balance beam.
   Luckily though I was older and grew up in the age where dance classes were what was cool, not gymnastics. And thank God for that! Haha... DANCE is much more useful than GYMNASTICS! So take that Dominique Moceanu! Allright, Just Kidding... BEST WISHES! 

[Nov 7] Gold medalist speaks at Ball State
Muncie Star Press - Muncie,IN,USA
   MUNCIE -- In the 10 years that have passed since she won her gold medal, Kerri Strug has laid hands on the treasured possession only a few times. Yet the world-class gymnast frequently travels the country to speak about her Olympic experience and storied career, as she did to a crowd of about 200 students Monday night at Ball State University.
    "If you truly believe in yourself, and block aside all the distractions in your life, then anything is possible," Strug said, speaking about her courageous turn on the vault at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
    Strug said she continues to keep in touch with the other members of the "Magnificent 7," as the gold-winning team was dubbed. Over the weekend, she was an attendant at the wedding of Dominique Moceanu, with whom she trained.

[Nov 6] Romania Wins Six Medal In Rhythmic Gymnastics Competition
Mediafax - Bucuresti,Romania
   The Romanian Delegation won six medals (two gold, three silver and one bronze) at "Eury Gym Cup", an international rhythmic gymnastics competition which took place at the end of the last week in Verviers, Belgium the specialized Romanian federation reported. The competition in Verviers was at its 20th edition.

[Nov 6] Nadia Comaneci Multipurpose Indoor Stadium to be inaugurated
Hindu - Chennai, India
    Chennai: The first World tennikoit championship will be held at the Velammal International School, Panchetti here from November 6 to 10. South Africa, Germany, UK, Brazil, Bangladesh, Pakistan and host India are taking part in the championship, which has events in men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.
    B.S. Nagaraj, Secretary General, Tennikoit Federation of India, said: "We are confident that the championship would provide a good impetus to the sport." M.V. Muthuramalingam, Chairman, Velammal Education Trust, said that the Nadia Comaneci Multipurpose Indoor Stadium would be inaugurated on the opening day.     

[Nov 5] Gymnast Dominique Moceanu Gets Married
People Magazine
   Dominique Moceanu, who won a gold medal at the 1996 summer Olympics as part of the U.S. women's gymnastics team dubbed the Magnificent Seven, wed longtime beau Michael Canales in her hometown of Houston on Saturday afternoon. Conner and Comaneci, who have been married for 10 years and welcomed their first child in June, served as honorary godparents for the newlyweds.
   Three of her Olympic teammates – Amanda Borden, Dominique Dawes and Kerri Strug, a bridesmaid – were among the 175 wedding guests, along with Olympic greats Paul and Morgan Hamm, Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci.   "This is the best day of my life!" a gleeful Moceanu told PEOPLE following the traditional Romanian Orthodox service, which was presided over by three bearded clerics. "I'm marrying the best person for me."
romanian-gymnastics.com: Casa de Piatra, Dominique!
 Dominique Moceanu wedding photos

Other comments:
Smiles That Kill : "I had to include this today, if for no other reason then that I had a serious crush on her back in '96. My mom used to make our entire family watch the gymnastics competition during the summer olympics, and little miss Moceanu made it a little easier to stomach that year. I honestly used to sit there watching the TV planning on meeting her and becoming her boyfriend." - By SmilesD
[Nov 7] Olympic Gymnast Dominique Moceanu Gets Married- Comments
 By LaLa
  I remember Dominique Moceanu being SUCH A Big Deal! She was really big at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, so that probably had something to do with her "bigness" as I lived in Atlanta during that time.
   Gymnastics became HUGE around this time and every other kid was training to be a professional gymnast (hahaha). There were always gymnastic birthday parties and so on. I loved the long trampolines, and I was pretty good at the balance beam.
   Luckily though I was older and grew up in the age where dance classes were what was cool, not gymnastics. And thank God for that! Haha... DANCE is much more useful than GYMNASTICS! So take that Dominique Moceanu! Allright, Just Kidding... BEST WISHES! 

[Nov 8] visa this!- By gibbness(gibbness)
    dominique moceanu got married. it's true, it's true! and kerri strug, amanda borden, and dominique dawes were bridesmaids. this should be a tv show or at least an olsen movie, because how awesome is that? gosh, that was when the olympics were so cool to me.
   i loved those little gymnasts, and dominique moceanu was my favorite. seriously. i'm pretty sure i wrote journal entries about it. i used to bound about my room pretending to be her gymnast friend...and spin as kristy yamaguchi's ice skating friend. heck, i even bought a 1996 olympic candle and refused to burn it. i loved those olympics!
   and now she's 25. those were the days.

[Nov 5] Romanian gymnastics fan's photos from Swiss
Cari Steliana e Marian,
grazie per le belle emozioni che ci avete fatto vivere al Memorial Gander di Chiasso!
Monica Kellerman Sala e  Gianluca Sala di Lugano (Switzerland)

Steliana Nistor (middle) and Romanian gym fan Monica (right)

Photo at right:
Marian Dragulescu and Monica







[Nov 4] Olympic medalist Shannon Miller to run the NYC Marathon
   It turns out that Lance Armstrong is NOT the only celebrity athlete to give marathon running a try this weekend. Shannon Miller, the iconic Olympic gymnast, will also be giving 26.2 her best shot at Sunday’s ING New York City Marathon.
   Arguably the most decorated American gymnast in history, Miller won 7 Olympic medals and five individual Word Championships. Now 29-years old (and still adorable), Miller decided only a few weeks ago to run the world-famous marathon.
   Although she told me she has stayed very active since retiring form professional gymnastics, she has done only limited training for the marathon itself. Miller will be running with the Team for Kids, a Road Runners Foundation initiative that raises money for youth fitness programs.
   Related: [Oct 28]  World of sport attracts celebs

Egypt Today:  2006- Baby Season
    Celebrity gossip magazines the world over have been filled in recent months with rich, famous and pregnant stars. Alas, it is a story line limited to about nine months, and the tabloid racks are ready for the next installment: celeb moms and dads.
   First to be visited by the stork was Angelina Jolie, who, after adopting a pair of kids, thought that one the natural way would be a cool idea — natural by scheduled caesarean, at least.
   Jolie and daddy Brad Pitt went to what most people would consider the ideal place to birth a child: Namibia, whose indigenous population has a 5 percent infant mortality rate. The celebrity world’s rock-and-roll branch is represented as well, with the lead singers of No Doubt and Bush (Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, respectively) producing a (hit) single boy by the name of Kingston James McGregor Rossdale — also by scheduled caesarean.    Gymnast Nadia Comaneci and actors Brooke Shields, Tom Cruise, Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Weisz and Kevin Dillon have also brought bundles of joy to Hollywood.
   Following closely in the production line are Anna Nicole Smith, Sofia Coppola, Sinead O’Connor and Britney Spears — again!

[Nov 3]  USA brings home six medals from the 2006 World Championships
   AARHUS, Denmark – When the 2006 World Championships came to a close, the USA had claimed five silver medals and one bronze. Jana Bieger was the USA's biggest medal winner, claiming the silver medal in the all-around and floor exercise to go with the women’s team silver.
   Alicia Sacramone’s silver vault medal and Alexander Artemev’s pommel horse bronze were historic for those two events. Nastia Liukin rounded out the medalists with her silver in the uneven bars.

[Nov 2] Viewers choose "Greatest Romanian"
Southeast European Times - MD,USA
   Romanians have had their say about who is their country's greatest figure, digging deep into the past to choose Stefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great).
   The other nine finalists were, in descending order according to the number of votes, King Carol I; poet Mihai Eminescu; the ruler Mihai Viteazu (Michael the Brave); evangelical Christian minister Richard Wurmbrand; dictator Ion Antonescu; writer, philosopher and religious historian Mircea Eliade; ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza; sculptor Constantin Brancusi; and gymnast Nadia Comaneci.

[Nov 2] Utah Gymnastics: Marsden's injury leaves Utes without a spotter
Salt Lake Tribune - United States
   University of Utah gymnastics coach Greg Marsden has officially joined the injured list, after hearing back from doctor reports Wednesday morning that an MRI revealed he has a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Marsden is going to rehab and brace it to get through the season.
   The injury has serious consequences since assistant coach Jeff Graba tore his biceps and can't spot this year. With Marsden's injury, the Utes are without a coach who can do a lot of spotting in practice. The Utes have requested a hardship waiver from the NCAA to allow them to bring in someone to spot. The NCAA has made such allowances in the past.

 Romanian gymnastics fans...Postcard
 Photo right:
A group of Romanian gymnastics fans from US, posing for a gym-postcard








[Nov 2] Alcohol Involved As Man Dies Of Injuries Suffered At Gym
KETV.com - Omaha,NE,USA
   OMAHA, Neb. -- A man who was seriously injured after falling at a local gymnastics center has died, and police said alcohol was a factor. Omaha police told KETV NewsWatch 7 that John Harvey, 27, died on Tuesday night. On Saturday morning, officers were called to Cahoy's Gymnastics, near 85th and Madison streets, where they said Harvey had fallen and hit his head.
   Sgt. Teresa Negron said Harvey was at the gym with a group of people, one of whom worked there.

[Nov 1] From Cellmate to Celebrity
   A team from The Voice of the Martyrs recently spent some time in Romania, the home country of our founder, Pastor Richard Wurmbrand. This team was in Romania at a unique time; Romania’s television station was in the middle of hosting a contest to determine Romania’s top personalities through an opinion vote.
    Other names that topped the list included great Romanian kings and Olympic gymnastics. Yet the focus of many Romanians at that time wasn’t “Who is the greatest Romanian personality?” but, “Who is Richard Wurmbrand?”

Quote of the Day: Memories are made of sour, sweet, bitter and spicy
By QQ*librarian
   "My father always says that if life is too easy, then when one is old and tries to look back on his/her life, there is nothing memorable. Only when one goes through challenges in life (suan, tian, ku, la or sour, sweet, bitter and spicy), these are what memories are made of." -Jin Yang, a 15 years old
training for Beijing Games since she was four.

[Nov 1] Top athlete overcomes adversity
Sioux City Journal - Sioux City,IA,USA
    Jansen, who suffers from activity induced asthsma, progressed rapidly in gymastics, reaching the level 9 competition level before discovering that the powder/dust gymnasts use on their hands, arms and legs led to breathing problems. "I did like gymnastics, but just couldn't continue,'' remembers Jenna. "I hated to give up gymnastics, but I've been fortunate to be able to participate in other sports.''
Related: hand care - shaving calluses
  Every gymnastics coach has a slightly different theory on hand care. Here’s one I have never tried...

[Nov 1] Glasgow Grand Prix: Worlds greatest gymnasts descend on Glasgow
   A superb line up of the World greatest gymnasts will descend on Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall on 10/11 November, for the 2006 Grand Prix, which marks the Tenth anniversary of this Internationally renowned gymnastic spectacle, in a historic year for British Gymnastics.
    Numerous Olympic, World and European Champions and medallists will perform in Glasgow, with some of the most popular names in the Men’s field being: Marian Dragulescu (ROM), current World Champion on Floor and Vault, Diego Hypolito (BRA), 2005 World Champion on Floor, Krisztian Berki (HUN), 2005 European Champion on Pommels, Alexander Safoshkin (RUS), 2006 European Champion on Rings, Aljaz Pegan (SLO), 2005 World Champion on High Bar, Sean Townsend (USA), 2002 World Champion on P.Bars, Yuri Van Gelder, 2005 World Champion on Rings, Vlasios Maras (GRE), twice former World Champion on High Bar , and a number of other World Cup Qualifiers medal winners from 26 countries.
     The women’s list also boasts great gymnasts, such as the double Olympic Champion from Sydney Elena Zamolodchikova and Olympic and World medallist Anna Pavlova, both from Russia; the World Bronze medallists in the All-around from Aarhus Sandra Izbasha and Steliana Nistor from Romania, The Australians Daria Jura and Olivia Vivian who also left their mark at the recent World forum on Denmark, as did the Brazilians Lais Souza and Daniele Hypolito, the Ukrainians Daria Zgoba and Olga Sherbatykh (UKR) and the Czechs Jana Sikulova and Jana Komrskova.

[Nov 1] Tweddle in Glasgow event
The Herald - Glasgow,Scotland,UK
    Beth Tweddle Britain's first gymnastics world champion, will be among the competitors at the 10th Glasgow International Gymnastics Grand Prix at the Kelvin Hall next week.
   Numerous Olympic, world and European champions and medallists will take part in the tournament including the Romanian, Marian Dragulescu, the current world champion on floor and vault, and Elena Zamolodchikova, the double Olympic champion from the Sydney Games in 2000.

Halloween-gymnastics or... Fun videos? / Not the official tools of gymnastics
   ...that's for sure. I wonder if we can text message him some more points? He definitely deserves a perfect 10 for flying (video)


    October news...

  Special World Gymnastics Championships section

   Romanian Gymnastics News Archive.