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More Training Camp Pics

Valerii Luchko A Big Help

At the training camp we had a surprise expert visitor Valerii Luchko of the Ukraine.

Valerii was a world class acrobat in Men's Four competing for the Ukraine. Recently he was part of the creation process for Cirque Du Soleil's new show OVO. Now he's helping out at the Zacada Circus School in Stoney Creek.

Valerii had found out about our training camp and came by to offer his assistance. We were very privileged to have him working with the athletes and coaches. As the former base for a Men's four he was able to carry more than his share of athletes (and coaches) in order for us to get a better idea of what a really strong base should feel like.

Thanks to Valerii for his assistance and participation in our first Acrobatic Gymnastics Training Camp. We hope to see him at the next camp in February!

Here are a couple incredible videos of Valerii Luchko's performances that you can find on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuVCT0_YoGU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYRBMSssneI&feature=related

Ren Torosyants Mississauga

If you are in the Mississauga or West GTA area and are looking to participate in Acrobatic Gymnastics classes check out the info on the Gymnastics Mississauga website for registration information.

http://gymmississauga.org/view_program.php?session=Winter%20Session%20-%20Term%20II&program=Acrobatic%20Gymnastics&year=2010

Ask to talk to Suzie.

Day 2 Afternoon

In the afternoon on Day 2 Ren Torosyants from Gymnastics Mississauga was our clinician for the training camp. Ren has a long history of acrobatics and circus performance and has been helping Canadian Gymnasts develop new and unique skills for many years. Recently he was able to begin his own acrobatics recreational program at the Gymnastics Mississuaga facility. Just like acrobatics in the rest of the country, Ren's program is just getting off the ground. He was able to bring a women's trio to perform a short routine for us and we thank them for participating and assisting with the camp as well. Ren's group showed the rest of us that creating acrobatic gymnastics routines here in Ontario is simply a matter of will and knowledge. Sharing his knowledge with everyone at the camp is great stepping stone for us and we will rely on Ren in the future to help us develop ourselves as coaches technically.

A big thanks to Ren for this enthusiasm and willingness to participate.

As well Ren delivered a final thought for the athletes that if they are willing to train with heart and determination they will be able to train safely and with higher levels of success and enjoyment. Acrobatic gymnastics more so than any other discipline requires team work and communication. This was not only a great lesson for the athletes but a model we will need to follow over the next few years as we all work together in Ontario and Canada to make Acrobatic Gymnastics a strong discipline.

Thanks Ren and Gymnastics Mississauga!

Day 2 Acro Training Camp

On Saturday, November 28th we broke up the training camp with two sessions. The morning was flexibility training mixed with handstand basics work lead by Don Holmes and the afternoon was back to pairs, trios, fours, static and dynamic elements with our clinician Ren Torosyants.

The morning session was two hours of warming, stretching, and handstands. Don's background is in Power Tumbling and Springboard Diving. He has coached power tumbling at all levels for the past 10 years in the Burlington and Oakville area and been the Canadian National Team Coach for World Championships and World Games. Recently Don has performed and trained as an acrobat. He is also the Chair of the Gymnastics Ontario Acrobatic Gymnastics Working Group and a member of the Gymnastics Canada Acrobatics Development Committee.

His session was informative and had a balance of stretching and handstand elements.

Special Guest Oleg

We had a special guest helping Kostia while we were at the Zacada Circus School. Another past Cirque Du Soleil performer, Oleg Ouchakov, was out on the floor sharing his excitement and expertise with the acrobats and coaches.

Oleg is originally from Siberia, Russia and has been both a competitive acrobat for the Soviet National Team and a performer in the Moscow Circus. He has also been a performer in the Mexican Circus and speaks Spanish as well as Russian and English. His background in CDS comes from traveling with Quidam for five years and then he was a featured performer in the Canadian television show "The Fire Within" highlighting the creation of the traveling show Veraki which he then traveled with for several years. Oleg has recently left Cirque Du Soleil behind and joined the team at the Zacada Circus School offering his expertise. Lucky for them and us.

We would like to say thank you to Oleg for jumping in and helping us out on the Friday night of the training camp. We hope to be able to put his knowledge and experience to good use in the next while as we develop acrobatic gymnastics in Ontario.

Day 1 MORE PICS!!!

1st Training Camp

DAY 1: ZACADA CIRCUS SCHOOL

The first Acrobatic Gymnastics Training Camp took place on November 27th and 28th. The Friday evening was hosted by the Zacada Circus School in Stoney Creek and the guest instructor was Kostia Zakharenko, the co-owner and founder of the School. Kostia was a 2 time silver medal winner of the World Championships for Acrobatic Gymnastics while representing the Ukraine. He was a performer in the Moscow Circus and Cirque Du Soleil for 10 years specializing in acrobatics. Kostia has been providing technical knowledge and lending his vision to Gymnastics Ontario over the past three years and we greatly appreciate his willingness to invite us into his facility in Stoney Creek. Kostia's enthusiasm for Acrobatics and his cool headed, kid friendly coaching makes him one of the great acrobatics coaches in the GTA.

A big thank you to Kostia for his support of Acrobatics in Ontario!!!

The entire school joined in to try some new skills, help out the athletes and coaches attending the camp and lend to the overall atmosphere of sharing. Thanks to everyone at the Zacada Circus School.

Canadian 1st!!!!

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Canada has had its FIRST EVER Acrobatic Gymnastics Training Camp!!!

Gymnastics Ontario in partnership with host venues at the Zacada Circus School in Stoney Creek and the Oakville Gymnastics Club held the inaugural Acrobatic Gymnastics Training Camp.

Instructors, athletes and enthusiasts came from all across the province and from around the world to participate having found out about it via this blog, the Gymnastics Ontario website and word of mouth.

Congratulations to Gymnastics Ontario for breaking ground and leading the way for Acrobatic Gymnastics in Canada!!!

Keep checking out this blog for more updates and pictures from the training camp!!!

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Ontario Training Camp

Hello All:

Acrobatics is finally here!!! Gymnastics Ontario is starting the new discipline of Acrobatic Gymnastics. This is another option for your athletes and a great way to keep your retired artistic athletes in the sport. We are holding our first Acrobatic Training Camp on November 27-28, 2009 hosted by the Oakville Gymnastics Club.

Coaches . . . come and learn how to coach this exciting new discipline. Bring your Athletes and they will learn moves and techniques that will have them mastering acrobatics in no time. Please find information and the registration form attached.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Doug Shirton
Program Manager
Acrobatics, Aerobics, Men's Artistic
Gymnastics Ontario
416-426-7104
416-426-7377 (fax)
www.ogf.com

ACRO Ontario On Major Website

Check out the article on the USA Gymnastics website about the Gymnastics Ontario Coaching Congress. There is a great slide show of pictures from the sessions.

Thanks again to all who participated.

You can find it by searching out the USA Gymnastics website or by following this link

http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/post.php?PostID=4165&prog=a

GO Congress ACRO!!!

On October 3rd, Gymnastics Ontario played host to the USA Gymnastics Acrobatics Program Director, Tom Housley and Chair of the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic Committee for Acro, Selena Peco as part of the Gymnastics Ontario Coaching Congress. This was only the second official Acrobatic Gymnastics event held in Ontario.

Tom and Selena provided two sessions to the Gymnastics Ontario community. The first outlined the Pre-Team Handbook and how to implement an Acrobatics Program in your gymnastics club. This session also involved some hands-on teaching of the simple skills outlined in the Pre-Team Handbook. If you'd like to check out the handbook or download it you can find it on the USA Gymnastics website under Acrobatics or you can follow this link

http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/PDFs/Acro/PreTeam/acropreteamhandbook.pdf

During the second session Selena lead us through the USA Acrobatics Level system with an emphasis on the lowest competitive levels. The Oakville Gymnastics Club Acrobatics Team provided all its members, young and old, as demonstrators. Thank you to the Oakville Gymnastics Club for being so enthusiastic and willing to help.

These two sessions provided coaches from a variety of gyms in Ontario the opportunity to learn about the system we will be using here in Ontario for this season 2009/2010 and possibly into the 2010/2011 season. We are waiting to see what Gymnastics Canada will provide as a system. Presently the Gymnastics Canada Strategic Planning Committee for Acrobatic Gymnastics is working on the creation of a Canadian system that will be implemented (fingers crossed) in the fall of 2010.

For right now we are happy to cooperate and collaborate with the USA Gymnastics Acrobatics Program as we have much to learn.

Thank you to Tom Housley and Selena Peco for informative and comprehensive sessions.

If you would like any of the material that was handed out at the GO Congress about Acrobatics please feel free to contact Doug Shirton.

Thank you to all the clubs, coaches, and athletes that participated in this event. Gymnastics Ontario is ahead of the curve and well on it's way to providing a unique and exciting way to keep more young people in gymnastics through Acrobatics.

On a side note we were happy to have Pat Leith join our Acrobatic Gymnasitcs session as she was one of the team of collaborators who wrote the Gymnastics Foundations manual for Gymnastics Canada (the first Canadian gymnastics manual to include Acrobatic Gymnastics as a discipline). Pat was part of the Expert Group that assisted with the Gymnastics Foundations manual and filled the role of Theory Learning Facilitator.

Thank you to Pat for sitting in and being a supporter of the Gymnastics Ontario initiative to promote and develop Acrobatics in our province.