In Approval

As far as sports betting goes, the Superbowl takes in the largest amount of betting handle for Las Vegas and the sportsbooks. As a result, a lot of websites spring up offering absurd lines, odds, promises to get the naive gambler to join their site and gamble. These sites spring up but are fake.

Since the online sports gambling field is unregulated, anything goes. In fact, there is reason to believe that the act of gambling online is illegal in the United States. This is another key element in the unregulated nature of internet gambling. There have yet to be any cases against internet gamblers however.

Many internet gambling sites are based out of Latin America where the rules for setting up a business, accepting cash payments online are relaxed and unregulated.

So as you begin to gamble online for the NFL Football Playoffs and for the Superbowl, beware of the young websites by checking their age on alexa.com. Even call their customer service phone numbers and make sure that the website you deal with is legitimate.

An ideal thing to do would be to start betting immediately and wager a small amount. Withdraw your betting amount after some time and when you find yourself happy with the results, deposit the amount you would like to wager on the Superbowl and wager in confidence.

We give you a list of the safest online sports betting sites and review them for your convenience. We recommend you join one of these sites and begin betting today!

Balance beam is the most critical competition event for women because of the relative ease of falling off and the harsh deductions for a fall. A single fall can eliminate gymnasts from winning a medal in the beam event and often also in the All-around. Beam medallists are often the All-Around winners.

Complete Beam Basics in One Training Program

Because beam is different from the other gymnastics events, gymnasts and coaches find the need to work on a special and complete basic training program for balance beam that is designed to build strength for beam, develop balance, completely eliminate falls, and improve balance beam skill consistency.

Beam Basics are Critical to Future Beam Success

Successful mastery of such a program can allow gymnasts to acquire more complex beam skills with less effort, more confidence and in a shorter period of time. Mastering such skills and drills has short and long term benefits. Skipping the basic beam building blocks puts a gymnast in a position where at some point their bad habits can stop them from having success in staying on beam.

Train Basics Before Trying to Learn Advanced Skills

As with building sufficient strength and flexibility for the skills that need to be learned, working on this basic beam training program before attempting to learn more difficult skills will pay the biggest dividends.

Continue with the Beam Training Program Throughout Your Career

Every level of gymnast, from beginner to advanced, will want to continue this training throughout their career to prevent bad habits from seeping in and to reinforce beam techniques and landings and to further improve their beam capabilities. A program like this is not only a supplement for an advanced team training beam program but can and should serve as the major part of the basic development of younger and lower level beam basic training, even in a recreational program.

Romanian Beam Complex

A relatively well-known program that accomplishes some of these goals is the Romanian Beam Complex which is specifically designed to build the necessary habits of balancing on the feet and with proper foot and body position.

Soviet Beam Complex

A relatively unknown program is the Soviet Beam Complex, which emphasizes becoming comfortable on your hands in the handstand position and on increasing and developing specific strength for beam skills.

Build In a Margin of Error for Beam Landings

There is an additional need to develop a series of good skill landing habits for both front and back (and side) beam tumbling skills. When landings are practiced and done in a particular way, it can create a margin of error to avoid falls. This additional margin of error can be utilized to stabilize landings and eliminate falls.

Have to Expand Original Beam Complexes

Both the Soviet and Romanian Beam Complex systems will have to be significantly expanded to deal with new and more difficult skills and to train for skills that are now popularly done to comply with the updated difficulty requirements.

In this article I write about the England and Real Madrid footballer David Beckham. Beckham no doubt is looking forward to leading England at the forthcoming Fifa World Cup of football and victory would provide that final acolade to what has been a very successful career.

David Beckham was born around the London area of England and as a child soon developed a passion for playing football. His dad would take him to the local park to practice his skills including how to trap and control a ball. He would at times kick it up in the air as high as he could and would then ask David to attempt to control it as it came back down towards the ground. Young Beckham would also practice the art of scoring a goal from the other half of the pitch. This is a particular skill which is very hard to perfect. Years later when he played a famous game at Wimbledon, he scored such a goal which highlighted his talent and put him on the football map.

Beckham was soon spotted as a youngster by a variety of clubs but decided to join Manchester United. He still remains a staunch United supporter despite moving to play for Madrid and admits that he is still hurt by the way Alex Ferguson hounded him out of the club. David always believed that he would end his career at Manchester but this was not to be. He is now very happy at Real Madrid and the supporters have really taken to him. Despite a lack of silverware at his new club, Beckham has kept his form and has been one of the most consistent performers in the team.

David Beckhams international career for England has been some what of a mixed bag. No England supporter will ever forget the moment when he was sent off against our great rivals Argentina, eight years ago at the World Cup. It was a moment of madness which I am sure he will regard as his biggest mistake in football. The way many people in England reacted to this error was far too over the top and totally out of order. A lesser man may have even quit the game under the huge amount of pressure and the constant abuse from supporters up and down the country.

This however is not Beckhams style and he came back fighting. His performance in the last group qualifying game against Greece was nothing short of sensational and the free kick he scored in the final moments was one of the best I have ever seen. In the World Cup itself four years ago, England again were drawn to play Argentina. During the match they were awarded a penalty which David stepped up to take. My heart was in my mouth and I was willing the ball in for him and our proud nation. The pressure he must of felt would have been immense but he kept his cool and slotted the ball into the back of the net.

I really hope that Beckham can captain England to go all the way to win the 2006 Fifa World Cup as in my opinion he truly deserves it.

Stephen Hill helps to promote a number of websites including:

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Archery Moose hunting is the Holy Grail for many hunters. As the largest of the deer family, the moose is an attractive draw for hunters. Its massive size (over one thousand pounds) and incredible horn spreads (up to seventy inches) make it the king of kills.

Moose are an especially good hunt for archers. Archery moose hunting is also ideal because moose are nearly blind, and easy to sneak up upon and reach with a fatal bow shot. It is highly possible for an archer to get within ten feet of the moose they are targeting.

The fall season is the best time for moose hunting. This is its mating season, and bulls will be susceptible to moose calls, making it easier prey. Bulls will also begin to move away from their homes to search for a mate, which will increase a hunter’s chance of spotting one. Despite this movement, moose can be difficult to locate, because they have a variety of habitats: from swamps, to lowlands, to marshes, to as well as more wooded areas. It is recommended that new moose hunters hire a guide, as an experienced moose caller can successfully call moose up to three or four miles away. Since the moose may already be traveling in search for a mate, this can be especially useful in locating them.

Generally there are two primary methods of archery moose hunting: still hunting and stand hunting. Both methods should be used in an area known to be populated by moose trails, droppings, and other signs of moose habitation. Still hunting is recommended for rainy days, as it will be harder for the moose to detect hunters. The hunter will circle slowly in a area looking for moose. This may be more effective in locating moose, and requires a less powerful call. In stand hunting, the moose hunter stays in a stand that is located on a known moose trail. This method requires a powerful moose call, as the hunter is relying on the moose coming to the stand. This also requires that the stand be placed in a wooded area to avoid detection. This can also pose problems for hunters as moose aren’t always located in wooded areas. This is why it is especially important to check for moose signs when setting up a stand.

Archery moose hunting is exhilarating and requires a lot of planning, preparation, and skill. However, with a little preparation and some skill, you can hunt the monster of all deer.

My name is Ted Lake and I’m building a website in memory of my dad Deuaine Lake. This site is all about Archery and Archery Hunting. My dad started me when I was 5 years old (1956) and I’ve continued to teach both my boys the same respect for the sport of archery.Please feel welcome to visit my free website at http://www.complete-archery-information.com.

Deer hunting on the move, or stillhunting, is commonly misunderstood as to what it is and how to go about it. It is stalking deer, not waiting on a stump or in a blind for the deer to come to you. It can be the most rewarding deer hunting experience you can do. It can also be the most frustrating, since it is a skill which requires you to slow everything everything – your sight, your breath and your walking gait. But the payoffs go beyond the hunt to your better enjoyment of nature itself.

This article will talk about some things I’ve learned while hunting deer in the Vermont woods and oak mast ridges of Wisconsin. These few simple techniques can be used on your next hunt – whether you choose to stillhunt or not, the principles are the same. These techniques will also make your deer hunt a richer experience. It’s all about: you’re outdoors – enjoy the scenery, hunting or not.

Generally, as deer hunters, we think of one thing when we hunt, and that is deer. Not deer in general, but that deer. We are aided in this compulsion by our brains, and our eyes. Let’s talk about eyes first.

Hunt Deer with Soft Focus – See Them as They See You

We see as all predators do – forward, and tightly focussed. Take a look at your average housecat and watch it stalk something. It pursues its object with its eyes narrowed and every muscle relaxed, yet steeled at a moment’s notice to pounce. We share with the cat and all predators having our eyes in the front of our head, designed to focus on a single thing.

However, deer, and all prey species, have eyes designed to detect motion. Deer and all prey species have eyes on the side of their head, and this aids in perceiving motion first, long before the animal can make out whether what they see is a threat, or just some pattern-breaking motion in the woods. When stillhunting for deer, we must adopt to the way they see. We must see motion first, patterns out of sync second, and the deer last. The only way to do this is to relax our focus and broaden our field of vision.

Here’s how to practice. Stand facing a wall, about six to eight feet away from it. Stare hard at a spot on the wall. Raise your arms, index fingers extended, fully out to the side from your head (and slightly behind). Now, keeping your arms straight and your index fingers extended, bring your arms slowly in front of your face. Notice the moment when your fingers come into view – this is your field of vision (FOV).

Now, turn to the wall again. This time, soften your focus so that your eyes, while seeing objects or spots on the wall, do not lock on any one spot. Repeat the index-finger practice. You should see your fingers enter your FOV much earlier than before. It is this type of sight – gained through practice, for it isn’t natural to us anymore – that allows us to see changes in woods patterns, motion – in short, to see deer out in the distance, possibly before they see us.

Now, onto walking.

Walk Toe-Heel, not Heel-Toe

YOu see it all the time – the hunter walking through the woods as if he’s on rice paper.

It doesn’t work. As a hunter, you’re going to make noise. But then, so do deer and other game. So does anything living and breathing in the woods. What you want to avoid is making the rhythmic gait a hunter makes when he’s running, usually after a deer, or doing everything he can to be quiet, when he doesn’t yet see one.

Walking toe-heel is the way to walk, because the palm of your foot can be more flexible in its response to the softwood twigs and deadfall underfoot – like deer, whose hooves make relatively light contact with the forest floor. Walking heel-toe makes for a heavy, stiff step – a human step. Walking heel toe, take a few steps, pause, and, using the soft-focus described above, take in the environment, in a holistic way. Above all else, if you find yourself entering in to a steady, rhythmic gait, break it up. You also want to avoid any obviously sounds coming from anything man-made, such as metal or hard plastic. Bottom line – brushing past an oak stump is o.k. Marching in cadence is not, nor is that canteen banging against your hunting rifle strap buckle.

Know the Wind

Finally, walk into the wind. Yes, this is rule 1. But many hunters, especially those used to staying in a relatively insulated hunting blind, forget this cardinal rule. I’ve stood with my bow drawn on a buck 10 yards away, with the buck clearly trying to figure out what the heck this would-be rambo was up to – only to watch it spring to life once the wind shifts, and thanksgiving was a bit – thinner that year.

Don’t even bother still hunting on blustery days, with no prevailing winds.

The bottom line, when you are hunting deer in this way, is to get used to is slowing yourself down, for hours at a time, and softening your focus to “deer hunt” for motion – not deer.

But act like, see like, deer, become more a part of where you are, and you will reap many rewards – whether you bag a deer or not.

Paul Smith lives in the northwoods of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He divides his time between his family, teaching the Japanese martial art of Aikido (Aikido Marquette) and building http://www.a1-outdoors.com, a website devoted to information and retail resources for hunting gear and other outdoor pursuits.

Backyard croquet is a gift that keeps on giving. You can use a croquet set and you can use it again and again and again and again for friend or family entertainment. I recently bought a croquet set and played a game of backyard croquet or poison croquet – another form of backyard croquet – with my family in my backyard. We had a nine-wicket, six player croquet set. Now that we have a set, we can play it as much as we want as a free, fun family outdoor activity. Anyone in the family can also invite their friends over for some cheap outdoor entertainment. They can also take it on dates or other group activities.

For my family it is especially nice to have outdoor games such as croquet to play. Each Friday we have a family barbecue and find ways to entertain ourselves during the barbecue. Outdoor games provide a form of entertainment that we can enjoy many times over for an affordable price. We also have other outdoor games like ping pong, frizbee, Kubb, and more. We just had to buy one croquet set and now we can use it as often as we like.

The last time that we played outdoor croquet in my backyard, during our barbecue, hardly anyone in my family had played it before, so I got to teach them all how to play. It is always fun when it is someone’s first time, especially when they learn the rule of roquet or of placing your foot on your ball, next to another player’s ball, to hit their ball far out of play.

During our first game, the lawn was not mowed, so it made the game a little more interesting. It was harder to aim and set the correct distance for your shot, so it made it more difficult for the experienced players to get an easy win. My brothers and sisters were able to keep up with me or at least keep pretty close throughout the game, although, I had not played for years myself. My sister just younger than me even pulled ahead of me near the end. I thought she might even beat me. My brothers and sisters thought it was fun to roquet or hit my ball, since I was the experienced player. Everyone always gangs up on the leading player in any game, it seems like.

My sister missed the wickets at the end and passed them, so it gave me the opportunity to pull ahead hit the final stick and become poison. I stayed close by my sister just younger than me for a while, threatening to kill her ball with my poison ball, to stop her, but also to give the other member of my family the chance to catch up and feel like they had a chance to win before I crushed them. Finally, I finished my sister off, and subsequently defeated all of the others. Even though none of them had ever played before, I still felt a sense of pride from defeating them.

We mowed the game for the second game, and this time everyone knew how to play and understood the rules, so I did not have to play that time. So it was a little better. I recommend playing on a nice cut lawn. It is more fun to be able to hit your ball a further distance without hitting it hard. The second game was probably a little more fun for everyone once they knew the rules. We did not have to stop and explain things to anyone either, so it flowed a little quicker and more smoothly.

Peter Jay is a Vice President with Yard Game Central and a manager and web administrator with PlayCroquet.com. For more information about http://www.playcroquet.com/croquet_sets.php>croquet sets, visit PlayCroquet.com.

About 8 years ago, I got a call from the daughter an old friend. “It’s Dad’s 60th birthday soon and the family wants to send him on a ski trip. We are hoping that you and Bill and Owen will keep him company”. “Sure”, I said, expecting a destination like Sun Peaks or Rossland. “Where are we going?” “Cat Skiing near Fernie.” “What skiing?” “Cat skiing!” “What’s Cat Skiing?” “Its backcountry skiing from snowcats, sort of a poor man’s heli-skiing.” “Can I afford it?” “You can’t afford to miss this!”

That four-day trip was the start of seven years of superb skiing. On that first trip, we had a marvelous time and powder skiing, the likes of which none of us could remember. Run after run in fresh, untracked snow. There were steep rollovers that put my heart in my throat, where the deep snow seemed to support us like an invisible hand, letting us down the fall line slowly and gently. Wow! Face shots galore! I thought, “Life is too short not to be doing this every year!”

On the second day of that tour, I presented myself at the lodge office and requested a booking for the following year. “Sorry, full up”. “No!” “Yes!” “However, the year after has an opening, and you could have a whole cat.” “Done”, I said, and thought, “You fool, what are you doing?”

After much effort, evening after evening of phone calls, hounding old friends and a very long wait, we were back two years later with twelve good men and women. Some were old ski friends of almost 50 years. We had another wonderful trip with great skiing, great snow and great company.

Now, years later, we are still at it. We’ve changed venue from near Fernie to a spot near Golden, B.C., where the skiing is a little higher and the snow seems to be a little more reliable. Our host is Chatter Creek Snowcat Skiing (www.chattercreekcatskiing.com), a partnership of four personable young men who run an excellent operation, about 20 minutes by helicopter north of Golden, on the western flank of the Rocky Mountains.

The 130 sq. km. tenure includes a large glacier at just under 10,000ft. elevation, huge open alpine slopes and bowls and a number of enormous ridges that offer superb tree skiing. After many trips to Chatter Creek, we have yet to ski the entire area. Each summer, snowcat roads are extended to open up ever more terrain. An application has been made to increase the terrain size by about 85%. See Cat Skiing Terrain (http://www.cat-skiing-terrain.blogspot.com) for a photographic tour of the Chatter Creek tenure.

Skiing on the Vertebrae glacier is “mellow” and the views are spectacular. From the highest point, the view spreads to the west, over nearby peaks and ridges to the distant Adamant Range and Selkirk Mountains. To the east, much nearer and in clear view, are countless peaks and snowfields of the Continental Divide, including the Clemenceau Icefield, Mt Columbia and the Snow Dome. The latter is the source of the famous Columbia Icefield and contains the hydrographic apex of North America. As skiers ski on the glacier, the unusual “squiggles” of the Sullivan Fault fill the view and forms the backdrop of many a guest photograph. See Glacier Skiing at Chatter Creek (http://glacier-skiing.blogspot.com) for many photos from the Vertebrae glacier.

On bluebird days, the guides usually head to the high alpine for a few runs on the Vertebrae glacier, or in one of the many large bowls or slopes such as the Clamshell, upper Lodge Ridge, Super Spruce, South Park, Lakeview , and Oyster Bowl. After a few of runs, the group will move on to nearby areas, skiing here and there on the way, never staying long in any one spot. Every run in untracked snow!

Snowcat rides are rarely more than 15 to 20 minutes long, usually just long enough to enjoy half a sandwich and a drink, to rest the legs and to share a couple of bad jokes with our companions. The Bombardier snowcats (http://www.bombardier-snowcats-at-chatter-creek.blogspot.com) are warm and comfortable. They accommodate 12 guests, two guides and a driver. The three cats move independently and are usually out of sight of one another all day.

When skiing, the guide keeps the group together, while allowing everyone their own line in unbroken snow. There’s no pressure to “farm” snow.

The speed of the group and number of stops depends on the group. Faster groups of expert skiers may ski non-stop to the bottom. Groups of intermediate skiers may stop along the way, to regroup, rest, share experiences and take pictures. Cat skiing is laid back and relaxed. The guests “call the shots” and determine the pace. The guides concentrate on the preferences and needs of the group and provide a “tailor made” skiing experience.

A favorite with many skiers is the tree skiing on the great ridges. A group can ski for many days on any one ridge and not run out of fresh snow. Runs pass through old burns with widely spaced snags, living forest with open glades and cut blocks with deeply buried stumps that form “pillows” and undulations of endless variety.

Intermediate skiers who rarely ski “the trees” not only find they can do it, but that it’s fun. The snow in the trees tends to be deeper and unaffected by sun and wind. Snow is soft and consistent and there are no moguls and lumps. The short, fat powder skis that can be rented from Chatter Creek make it all pretty easy. Novices learn very quickly. Cat skiing does not require prior experience or special equipment, just boots and clothing and enthusiasm.

Cat skiing at Chatter Creek is well suited for skiers and snowboarders having a wide range of ability. My group of expert skiers has enjoyed every trip and is always challenged and experiencing new terrain. Chatter Creek recommends that guests be at least strong intermediate skiers. However, I have organized “friends and family” groups that have included skiers of lesser ability and everyone got on fine. Good physical condition makes up for a lack of experience. Ages have ranged from the 20’s to 70, with most group members in the 50 to 65 year range.

As the ski-day wears on and people may begin to tire, guests are welcome to sit-out a run and ride back down the hill with the snowcat driver. If someone wants to “call it a day”, a staff member will drive the guest back to the lodge on a snowmobile.

Runs can vary from about 800 vertical feet to over 2000 ft. Typical runs drop 1200 to 1500 ft. The amount of skiing done in a day depends entirely on the strength of the group. Daily “vertical” usually varies from 9,000 to 14,000 feet. Very fast groups may do 16,000 ft, or even more. Our group has always worn itself out, day after day.

A nice feature at Chatter Creek is that almost always, the cat picks up the group where they finish their run. Unlike some operations, there is very little skiing on hard-packed roads to get to the cat.

The perfect end to a day at Chatter Creek is a run on Lodge Ridge, ending at the door of Vertebrae Lodge (http://www.lodge-life-at-chatter-creek.blogspot.com). We step out of our skis and boards and into the bar, dropping into soft couches, with cold beers in hand. After some laughs with our mates and browsing on the afternoon snacks, we stumble off to the outdoor hot tub to enjoy another beer or a Caesar and to watch the sunlight disappear from the peaks.

In 2004, Chatter Creek built a second 9000 sq. ft lodge and expanded to 36 clients. All guests enjoy double occupancy bedrooms, each with a private bathroom. Our group has expanded to fill the lodge and we have 36 enthusiastic skiers and snowboarders all signed up and waiting patiently for next year. Some of the old-boys are now taking along their grown offspring, and one cat is set aside for two entire families. It’s going to be a great party, with great skiing!

Just What is a Commercial Gymnastics Camp?

There are two types of Commercial gymnastics camps. There are the large commercial camps that only operate in the summer and are designed to attract large numbers of gymnasts for huge profits. There are also other gym programs, ranging from YMCA programs to regular gyms to college programs, that use this as an additional profit center.

Large Commercial Camps

Charging the highest prices, these camps offer a wide-ranging array of normal camp activities (even a variety of different types of camps) in addition to their version of gymnastics training. Coaching quality varies from college gymnasts to college coaches free for the summer to coaches who just happened to bring their team along to the camp. The best-known name coaches at these camps are usually either the camp directors and do little actual coaching or are merely visiting. It is not uncommon for name coaches to trade the use of their name in the advertising for the right to use the camp facilities to train their own gymnasts.

Commercial Camps

Other programs that run their own versions of commercial gymnastics summer camps do so to boost their summer income, traditionally a down time in the gymnastics business. They count on drawing customers from other programs that have less talented coaching and poorer facilities than they themselves have.

High Quality Coaching?

There are only a handful of gyms in the country that both produce Elite level gymnasts and run a summer camp program. Coaches at ordinary gyms are sometimes hesitant to promote these camps to their gymnasts, because the difference in the level of their programs might become evident and because their gymnasts were sometimes recruited.

Meet the Stars in the Sport at Camp

Commercial gymnastic camps often have nationally known gymnasts and coaches visit which can be inspirational and educational. They usually do not coach in any significant way, but it is fun for young gymnasts to meet their heroes in the sport.

All the Best Equipment

Large commercial gymnastics camps have all the latest training equipment, which may or may not be available in your own gym. Those gymnasts who attend gymnastics facilities that still exist without pits often want to attend a camp that has them.

Gymnastics Camp Gives Your Gymnast the Summer Camp Experience

The other thing that commercial gymnastic provide is a camp experience including the social aspects of going to summer camp, meeting new people and making new friends and participating in traditional camp activities. If this is your goal, then the large commercial camps fill this need. If you want a camp that will give your gymnast a kick start in their gymnastics training, you will need to be much more selective and seek a gym that has high level coaches that will actually be working with your gymnast.

Compulsory Level Skills are Not Always Used at Higher Levels of Competition

About half of Compulsory level skills, especially bar skills, are never used at the higher optional levels of competition. This means that about half of Compulsory practice time is used on skills that will not be used later in a gymnast’s career.

There is More to Gymnastics than Compulsories

The emphasis of many teams, coaches, gymnasts and parents seems focused on doing everything possible on winning at the Compulsory levels, as if that were the best and most important way to develop into a successful high level optional gymnast. Actually, the most important things for a young gymnast are to develop a high level of gymnastics strength and flexibility and to begin to train for the high level skills that will be used later in their career. In the long run, this is significantly more important to future gymnastics success than anything that has to do with Compulsories.

How Do We Know This is True?

We know this because most of the gymnasts on the USA Olympic and World Championship teams trained in special developmental programs like the USA Gymnastics TOP program and the USAIGC (United States Association of Independent Gymnastic Clubs) STEP program. Both of these programs and similar programs developed by top Elite coaches emphasize strength and flexibility development first and the development of future optional skills.

Not Enough Years for Compulsory Only Programs

There are seven competitive levels of compulsories and optionals in the USAG program from Level 4 to Level 10. Add 7 years to a gymnast’s age and you will see the best case scenario for them reaching Level 10. Add a couple more years for succeeding at the Elite level and you can see that trying to follow the Compulsory path may take you more years than you have left in your career. If you did not start Level 4 gymnastics competition by at least age 7 or 8, you may very well run out of years to successfully compete at the Elite Level before you graduate from high school.

Higher Levels are Harder

And if it takes a whole year to get through the easy Compulsory skills, isn’t it likely going to take more than a year to learn considerably more difficult high level optional skills in only one year. This is why successful high level coaches and gymnasts get a head start on teaching and learning future optional skills, instead of spending all of their time working only compulsory skills.

The News is Not All Bad

Compulsories are an okay way to learn to compete. The only way to really learn how to compete is to actually compete. Gymnasts must learn to deal with all the factors that affect competition performances, like crowds of people watching, different gyms, competing after traveling and nerves. So assuming a gymnast is primarily concentrating on strength, flexibility and optional skill progressions, competing at a compulsory level could have some positive benefits.

The Path to Elite

There are other ways to learn to compete, most notably, the USAIGC Optional Only Competitive levels. In fact, a number of our female Olympians and World Championship team members have trained only in TOP or STEP programs, competed in USAIGC meets for competition experience and then tested directly into Elite and never used the compulsory system at all.

Find a Compulsory/Optional and Present/Future Balance

None of this is to say that Compulsory gymnastics does not have a place in the sport, but gymnasts and parents should be aware of all the alternatives and what current compulsory gymnasts can and should be doing. Coaches and gymnasts should find the correct balance between spending time on Compulsory skills and routines and training for future optional gymnastics success.

For More Information

For even more of this type of in-depth information about the Compulsory levels you found in this article and other interesting and informative products, see our list of e-Books at: http://gymnasticszone.com/eBooks.htm

15 Books and Counting

John Howard is the author of 15 books and e-Books about gymnastics, gym design, gymnastics humor and cheerleading. More books are already on the way. He has 25 years experience and has coached State, Regional and National champion gymnasts, international competitors and cheerleaders at the National level in NCAA Division I.

Enter the Gymnastics Zone

GymnasticsZone.com is a highly informative gymnastics information web site for gymnasts, cheerleaders, coaches and parents with numerous FREE articles and information, fun pages and activities all available for viewing at: http://GymnasticsZone.com

Things you will need: 1 Skate board deck 1 sheet skate board deck griptape 2 skateboard trucks 4 skateboard wheels 8 skateboard wheel bearings 2 risers 1 set of mounting hardware 1 philips head screwdriver 1 skate tool 1 metal file 1 sharp razorblade

1. First apply the skate board deck grip tape. By unpeeling the backing and then carefully stick the tape evenly on the top surface of the skate deck. File down the grip tape around the edges of the skateboard, and then carefully use the razorblade to slice off the excess grip tape that hangs over the edges on the skatedeck. 2. Next, attach your skate trucks to your skateboard deck. Use one of the screws from the mounting hardware to poke a hole in the griptape. Then push the mounting hardware from the top of the skatedeck to the bottom. 3. Now slide the risers over the hardware. Next slide your skate trucks on. Make sure that the bushings from the trucks point toward each other or face the center of the board. Tighten the nut with the skate tool until it’s flush with the trucks. Warning: Do not over tighten; you can cause the wood to split. 4. Now press the bearings into your wheels using the skate tool. Repeat this for all four wheels. If you do not have a skate tool. You can use your axe on the trucks by placing the bearing on the axel and then pressing the wheel into the bearing, causing the bearing to slip into the wheel. Warning: Be very carefull not to dent or pinch the metal seal around the sides of the bearing. This will ruin the bearings and cause them not to spin! 5. Once the bearings are in place, you can put the on the trucks. Do not over tighten this will crush the bearing causing it not to role. 6. Now the board is ready to skate. You may need to fine tune the trucks to your liking by loosening them or tighten them. The looser the trucks the easier to carve. 7. Once you are done you can always customize your board with some stickers

Remember to skate safe and wear your pads when needed.