somersaults to roll...

[gymfanpolevaulter]

Few weeks ago a severe accident happened in Hungary. A very promising 17 years old gymnast Zsolt Virag fellt into his head from a 1 and 1/2 somersault to roll, and got very serious injury. Currently he can not move his legs, and waits for stem cell treatment...
Zsolt knew this move very well, his illfated attempt was high enough but he opened his body a bit too early.. few hundreds of second earlier than it has to be...
Somies to roll caused many frightening moments and sometimes severe injuries to other gymnasts as well. Women Code does not contain these moves, Man's does. (remember Dragulescus floor routine at Amsterdam few days ago! Even the best gymnasts are in danger... remember Elena Mukhina...)
What do You think ought to do with this problem?

1. Do nothing, this approach is correct...

2. Get rid of these rolling somersaults from Man Code as well...

There might be other options. Here is mine:
3. Prepare a reasonably soft, thick built-in landing area (which is large enough) in one corner of the floor, and constrain the rolls to this place... prohibite rolling somersaults over other areas!!

4. Any other ideas?

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I love rollout skills. All my favorite moves land in a roll.

That said, they are indeed the most dangerous skills on floor, without a doubt. Just a few days ago, I had a very close call doing a thomas full; I underrotated and landed on my head sideways, cranking my neck to the side, FOrtunately I was tumbling onto an 8-incher in a pit and managed to avoid any serious injury beyond having a sore neck. But then, that's a banned skill anyway.

Though they are very dangerous, I don't think they should be banned. Those of us who do them understand the risk and choose to do them anyway. They're fun, they're flashy, they're death-defying -- the perfect thrill-seeker skill. And though they are the most dangerous skills on floor, they aren't significantly more dangerous than a number of skills on, say, highbar.

[hammy]

I love watching them and doing similar things on a trampoline, but I personally dont think they're the safest skills to perform (then again....most skills aren't but you know what I mean).

I don't think they should necessarly be banned from Men's gymnastics. They look fun to do and they're cool to watch; even if they're scary sometimes. In all reality, one wrong move while doing any gymnastics skill could result in serious injury, it's a risk we take being gymnasts.

[JBS]

What a question...something that I just don't have the knowledge to answer. I would really have to see some stats on major injuries while performing those skills. There must be some pretty significant stuff since they are already banned for WAG.

I'm not really into banning skills, but making the sport safer can't be a bad thing.

[gymfanpolevaulter]

Thank You very much indeed for your reflections. I am not into banning skills either, but I can not forget my young friend Zsolt's accident...

That is why I try to draw the attention to the safety of at least young gymnasts...

Perhaps I ought to find gymnastic apparatus manufacturers with my "proposal" of "safe corner" of the floor... It would be similar fun to perform rollout skills over this "safe corner" I beleive...

[JBS]

Rick McCharles of GymnasticsCoaching.com saw this thread and added his opinion on his site. Check out his post at the link below:

http://gymnasticscoaching.com/?p=1640

By the way, if you don't check out Rick's site on a regular basis...you should.

[teachrugratswga]

That sort of skill even gave Marion Dragulescu trouble on floor this year at the Europian Champs. He came down a bit short, and shook himself up a bit. Enough so that he couldn't complete his dismounting pass. Very dangerous, but awesome to watch when done properly.

I don't think a skill should be banned. It is dangerous, but then again so are many other skills gymnasts are throwing these days. If you teach them, teach them properly. If you do them, be cautious. But please, please, please lets not start to ban skills.

[JBS]

Quote:
Originally Posted by teachrugratswga That sort of skill even gave Marion Dragulescu trouble on floor this year at the Europian Champs. He came down a bit short, and shook himself up a bit. Enough so that he couldn't complete his dismounting pass. Very dangerous, but awesome to watch when done properly.

Here it is...

[gymfanpolevaulter]

(First of all, thx for the Dragulescu video!)

If I recall properly, Andrei Lipsky of Ukraine performed double twisting-in, half-out 1 1/2 somersault in major competitions, but this move looked so dangerous, that it was banned before any serious accident happened. Unfortunatelly I could not find video of this banned "Lipsky" move.

Anyway, if we would have a proper "safe corner" Lipsky would be feasible - perhaps...

[T-Lewis]

I'm doubtful that a "safe corner" idea would ever be accepted by the gymnastics community. But who knows? Personally, the idea doesn't really appeal to me...while it could be a useful training aid, I think that it would take away from the excitement, thrill, and the inherent risk involved in our sport.

I've seen a few people crash on roll-out skills, to the point that they could not continue their routine (most notably and recently, Brandon O'Neill at the 2006 Canadian National Championships). While I think these skills do pose a definite safety risk, I don't think they should be banned.

As teachrugratswga said, if the skills are going to be performed, they need to be taught correctly, and gymnasts (and coaches) need to be aware of their limitations.