Like I said, I don't really like how things are
going as far as vault SV's are concerned. You were
right about 90 percent of the gymnasts can not do the
10 SV's like the gymnasts that did them in the last
code. Even then, the gymnasts that did these 10 vaults
had difficulty in them. The new vault is a plus as
far as safety, but it still doesn't help many teams
that are just not strong in events like vault. China
is a prime example of this. Most of their gymnast
just can not generate the power. Although this isn't
the FIG's fault, I find it rather disturbing that a
team like China could possibly not win World or
Olympic titles for the team because of such a
disadvantage on vault. The SV's on vault for many teams at
Sydney couldn't even hang with Russia's or Romania's.
USA was hurt badly by their vault SV's, and so was
China. Yes China did have Dong Fangxiao, Yang Yun, and
Kui Yuan Yuan, but it still didn't make that big a
difference because they all still didn't have as many 10
vaults like the Russians or Romanians.<br><br>That's
funny how you said that no one will probably do a
Prodonova vault. So is it that diffcult like a Yurchenko
Double Back? LOL<br><br>-Richie

Hey Dore,<br> Yes, Sean is absolutel going to be
there. He is a definite to be at Nationals. If you want
to know the TV schedule, check a TV, or go to
usa-gymnastics.org and check TV schedule. I plan to tape the event
by the way.^_^ Let's hope Sean wins.<br><br>-Richie

um does ne one kno for sure if sean is gonna be at the nationals cuz i just
wanna find a few vcrs to tape it, if so when exactly is the mens part of it??
<br><br>dore :OP

There were lots of mistakes in that 3rd paragraph
so here's the 3rd paragraph again.<br><br>Like you
said, gymnasts are NOT becoming better vaulters because
of the code. Certain gymnasts (very few) are capable
of upgrading, but the majority will take the
penality of lower start values, and not likely upgrade.
For example, we were seeing a lot of Yurchenko Half's
from the US, which was only a SV9.6. The Chinese Women
are doing a lot of Yurchenko Half's and Piked
Baranis, which were both worth SV9.6. A lot of gymnasts
were still doing Yurchenko Fulls and Piked Fronts as
well. We really didn't see very many new vaults in the
last code, and the majority of gymnasts were competing
vaults that were only competitive in the early 90's
because they simply cannot do any more!<br><br><br>PS.
This new system also doesn't favor Chinese gymnasts
because before the kids need to develop lots of muscle
and power to be able to upgrade. However, due to the
fact that their light body weight advantage on bars
and beam, the coaches will not let the older gymnasts
adjust to their new weights after puberty and likely
kick them off the team in favour of mroe young kids
who are good on bars and beam. I'm afraid we might
see a lot more Yurchenko Halves (SV 9.4) and Piked
Baranis (SV 9.6) even in the new code because these young
kids simply don't have the power to do anything more
difficult!

Absolutely! At the end of the code we saw a
couple 10.0 vaults. Zammo and Lobaznyuk both did Tsuk
Doubles, Amanar attempted a Yurchenko 2 1/2, Denise Lopez,
Esther Moya and Andrea Raducan all did Laidout
Podkopayevas, Svetlana Khorkina did Half-On Rudi (now it's
named after her, the Khorkina II) and Elena Produnova
did the HS Double Front. At the 99 American Cup,
Vanessa Atler did a Laidout Rudi, but wasn't given credit
for it cause it wasn't a Worlds or
Olympics.<br><br>Right now, Yurchenko 2 1/2 is a 10.0, Tsuk Doubles are
9.9, Laidout Pods are 9.9, and the Khorkina II is
probably a 9.9. It's pretty sad because these vaults were
difficult for the gymnasts who did them, and almost
impossible for 90% of the gymnasts around the world. Also, a
Produnova is a 10.0, but that vault will probably not be
competed again by another women so there's no point in it
being in the code.<br><br>Like you said, gymnasts are
becoming better vaulters because of the code. Certain
gymnasts (very few) are capable of upgrading, but the
majority will take the penality of lower start values, and
now upgrade. For example, we were seeing a lot of
Yurchenko Half's from the US, which was only a SV9.6. The
Chinese Women are doing a lot of Yurchenko Half's and
Piked Baranis, which were both worth SV9.6. A lot of
gymnasts were still doing Yurchenko Fulls and Piked Fronts
as well. We really didn't see very many new vaults
in the last code, and the majority of gymnasts were
competing vaults that were only competitive in the early
90's because they simply cannot do any
more!<br><br>HOWEVER (yup there is a brighter side), with the new
Pegasus vault which is supposed to be bouncier, less
dangerous and easier to block off of, gymnasts might be
able to upgrade their vaults on there. Also, this new
code will last 8 years, not 4, which will also allow
gymnasts to take their time and develop the proper
technique that will enable them to work towards newer
vaults during the 8 years without worrying about another
code in 4. By 2008 we might see a lot of 10.0 vaults
or we might not. It'll be interesting to see what
happens.<br><br><br>Eric

That's amazing how Ji Liya of China was training
that back in the late 90's. With today's standards,
she'd be set then for the next 15 codes as you said. I
don't know how many people realize how dangerous a
Yurchenko vault can potentially be. If a gymnast misses the
horse, than that could spell bad new. Sang Lan is an
example of a vault gone bad... it cost her lower
body...<br><br>I'm just really upset at the fact that the vault SV's
are being deducted even more in the new code. It
seems like the code is asking for more difficult
vaults, and that's not what the sport really needs... it
needs more emphasis on the artistry and perfection of
the skills we have now. When will the vaults end? I'm
a big fan of innonvation, but all the new risky
skills are just terrifying... A vault that was a 10
eight years ago is not a 9.8. It's still as difficult
as it was either years ago, so why deduct it even
more? But SV's and things like that are difficult to
keep balance no matter what. I just am affraid of how
much the sport is asking gymansts now. I doubt we'll
find any decent floor routines with enough difficulty
tumbling wise, and beautiful choreagraphy as
well.<br><br>Someone mentioned how it'll be rare to find 10 ST's on
vault since there weren't many in the last
quadrenium.<br><br>-Richie

Oh man, you just can't compare a Yurchenko Double
Back to a Double Twisting Yurchenko! A Double Twist is
9.9 in the old code, 9.8 now, but a Double Back is
worth a 10.0 in the Men's code and probably will be
worth 10.0 in the Women's code for the next 15 codes!!
It is SO difficult to get the height and rotation. A
handspring double front you can run head first into the
vault and crank it around. Double back comes out of a
Yurchenko and you lose a lot of potential speed after the
roundoff, and it's also more dangerous because if you miss
the horse you can break your neck. I've seen some men
do it, but I do not believe any women has what it
takes to get it around. Not being sexist or anything...
perhaps Produnova could have done it, but it's SO
difficult.<br><br><br>Eric

His site is temporaryly down right now. I checked
his fan club on yahoo, and they mentioned something
about his site being down. I think he's doing fine. I
really hope his comeback goes well at Nationals. He may
not win the title, but I hope he does well. (Me being
a big Sean fan, I hope Sean would win it naturally.
*LOL*)<br><br>-Richie

I didn't know that about Peng Sha. I wonder if
she'll make the Chinese squad this year for worlds. She
certainly has the bars set well but I'm still roting for
Ling Jie.<br><br>Yeah, I figured Ji Liya had more
potential tumbling wise and she does get great height and
distance on her vaults. The only thing is, Dong Fangxiao
is a far more quicker tumbler. It gives Dong a
uniqueness I guess.<br><br>So has anyone been able to
complete a Yurchenko Double back, and is it more difficult
than say a Double Twisting Yurchenko?<br><br>As for
Ling and Bi. I think I prefer Ling's style because
there's a lot of focus on the artistry. Bi has many
exciting skills, but I think Ling is more polished. Don't
get me wrong, Bi is pretty graceful too. If I were to
go on artistry, I'd say Ling is better. And artistry
to me is a big thing so I would say Ling is better
in my opinion.<br><br>It is sad to see that not many
Chinese gymnasts stayed around for 8 or more years. I'm
very proud of Liu Xuan and Kui Yuan Yuan. Despite the
fact that Kui got her in the Olympics, I still thought
it was awsome she made the squad. Some say Bai
Chunye should have made it instead, but China is getting
the picture as far as experience is concerned. They
need that.<br><br>I'm planning on writing fan mail to
the Yang Yun, Dong Fangxiao, and Ling Jie today.
We'll see how that goes.

I went on his official site to see if there was a diary or something that would
tell us his current state. But apparantly the site doesn't work so we'll have to
wait and see :o).<br><br><br>Eric

Peng Sha could have been considered chubby last
year but she's really slimmed down this
year...<br><br>Also, a side note, it's kinda funny when you think
about it, because if you think hard, you can remember
SO MANY Chinese gymnasts in the past decade, and you
see on the US side or any other country, you have
like a couple gymnasts who stuck around for the entire
decade or at least for 8 years. Very interesting, and
how the Chinese gymnast kept disappearing and we
didn't even notice it. Seems like new faces appear at
every meet, and by the time you get to notice them,
they're gone! Whoa...<br><br>Comparing Ji Liya and Dong
Fangxiao...<br><br>Floor<br><br>Ji Liya <br><br>- 1996 Laidout Full In, Front
Full-Punch Front, 2 1/2 Punch Front, Full In Tucked.<br>-
1997 Whip-Arabian Double Front, 2 1/2 Punch Front,
Front Full-Punch Front Triple Twist.<br><br>Dong
Fanxiao<br><br>-Arabian Double Front, Whip 2 1/2-Punch Front, Triple
Twist, Double Pike<br><br>Tumbling wise, Ji Liya is
better potentially and she gets a lot more height. But
Dong Fangxiao is more consistant with her tumbling and
I haven't seen her make as many
mistakes.<br><br>Vault<br><br>Both gymnasts competed Double Twisting Yurchenkos.
Ji
Liya has better height and form on hers. Ji Liya was
also working on a Yurchenko Double Back in 1997! Dong
Fangxiao does a 2nd vault, a Phelps but often with bent
knees. So I think Ji Liya is better here as
well.<br><br>Beam<br><br>Dong Fanxiao is fantastic on beam. Round Off Laidout
Full, and other tricky combinations. Ji Liya has about
the same skills, but not the big tumbling pass like
the Laidout Full. Think she did a BH-Layout-Layout.
However, Ji Liya does a triple full dismount which is
incredibly difficult. I think they're about equal
there.<br><br>Bars<br><br>No comment, neither one was very good on
bars.<br><br>Comparing Ling Jie and Bi Wenjing<br><br>Bars<br><br>Ling
Jie is smooth on the bars, like we know. Great
flexibility, makes everything look easy. Beautiful double
layout with great extension.<br><br>Bi Wenjing is not as
smooth, but daring tricks like the Gaylord she performed
in 96, and her Bi piourette (invert full on one
arm). Her double layout doesn't have as nice of a
position and lands low at times.<br><br>You decide,
lol.<br><br>Beam<br><br>Ling Jie, once again, smooth, crispt choreography.
Everything goes together well, and a pretty
package.<br><br>Bi Wenjing also has more tricks. 2 Feet Layout, and
a double twisting front (!!!!)
dismount.<br><br>Once again, depends if you like power or beauty. Hard
to decide.<br><br><br>Eric

That is the toughest thing to do with a club
that's aimed at a specific gymnast. I know there a
plenty of Sean Townsend fans since there are about five
other clubs on yahoo dedicated to him. Hopefully I can
make this club worthy of more members to join. I
really want to see some discussions like the one we're
having now. Thanks for stopping by and
posting.<br><br>Yeah, there's only so much you can talk about Sean. I
just hope he gets the National title this year. I
think it's his to lose at this point and I hope Jason
Gatsn makes a comeback. That would be awsome!

Well, I remember reading an article called "China
Dolls" off International Gymnast, where it had a feature
on Liu Xuan. Liu Xuan did mention that there were
certain skills that judges thought were too dangerous,
but she said that these skills were skills that were
natural or easier for the Chinese physique (refering to
insane skills on bars and beam). I would have to agree
on how their natural phsique plays a huge part in
their success on their strengths : bars and beam. I've
never really seen a "chubby" Chinese gymnast Liu Xuan
put in the article. She mentioned how there many
skills on floor and vault that were difficult for
Chinese gymnasts to do, but were so easy for the more
"chubby" American gymnasts as Liu Xuan puts again. It's an
interesting article to read on intlgymnast.com<br><br>I find
it rather interesting that Yang Yun didn't have the
best bar basics, yet she managed to pull a bronze at
2000 Sydney. There's got to be something the Chinese
do to produce good gymnasts like that.<br><br>It's
interesting how rare it is to find gymnast like Dong Fanxiao,
Ji Liya, or Sang Lan who specialized in the more
"explosive" events like floor and vault - traditional
weaknesses of China.<br><br>I was wondering who you thought
was better. Dong Fanxiao or Ji Liya?<br><br>The same
goes for bars and beam. Bi Wenjing or Ling Jie?

That's why it's more of a challenge to do a club
like this. It's hard to talk about Sean Townsend all
day long and there's only so much to talk about. My
club theme is easier cause we can talk about anything
gymnastics related. But it's a good challenge and you're
doing a good job :o).

Yes, so it could be because of their natural
physical attributes that allow them to be great bar
workers, not necessarily that they're technique is great.
Meng Fei and Yang Yun have won medals at Worlds or
Olympics on bars, but like the article said, they don't
have the right basic techniques to advance on their
skills. Same idea with Bi Wenjing, Olympic Silver
Medallist, World Bronze Medallist on bars.<br><br>I'm
willing to guess that, the coaches in local gyms look at
what the code is looking for and makes their kids do
it. So from what we've seen so far, all the Chinese
are EXCELLENT, but when a new code is introduced,
most of the team is scratched off to be replaced by a
new crop of kids because they simply don't have the
right technique to tackle the new codes!<br><br>But
hey, whatever works for them I guess... Since they
have so many kids to just throw away like that. Kinda
sad...<br><br><br>Eric

Yeah, I need to work extra hard on this club. I
want to make more wallpapers and things available to
the members. First thing is to pack this club with
pics but most of the pics are on my Sean Townsend site
anyway. I do understand about the whole thing you
mentioned in your post. People will pour in as the club
gets better. I just hope I can get stuff on here that
no one can find anywhere else. That's the goal and
all. I also hope that people will post more on this
message board so it can be an interesting club.
Personally, I like clubs that do post stuff because it makes
me want to visit more. We'll see how things
go.<br><br>-Richie

I knew that the Chinese system was different from
the US but I didn't know it was like that! It gave me
so much insight on how the Chinese way is in
gymnastics, and it's a pity to see some of this. I did notice
the observation on how their basic skills on certain
events aren't the best ones.<br><br>Dong Fanxiao has a
hard time on bars, but she is good on floor and vault.
I guess that's why Dong has a better chance on
staying on the team because she's one of the few
exceptional gymnasts that China has as far as floor and vault
specialists. Many are bars and beam because of the flexibility
and light weight.<br><br>Thanks for the article Eric!
I recommend everyone read it if you get the time.
It'd be interesting what people think.<br><br>-Richie

I think first of all you should get this site
amazing, then the members will come. It took me forever to
get my club going, but when it did, I had a high of
120members rolling in in just one day, and 50-100 joining
every day for the rest of that week. You gotta have
enough content to make them want to stay, and of course,
update often. Also, members are often based on seasons,
and in this case, your perticular gymnasts success as
well. The Nationals and Goodwill games are coming up,
so I'm sure there'll be a boost in interest in
gymnastics, and which should result in more members. And
providing Sean does well at the Nationals, you might get an
extra boost on this club as well, but it also has its
share of downsides because if Sean doesn't do well,
then it'll be the opposite and you know. So for a club
with a specific gymnast theme, it's like an investment
almost :o). Things should start to look up in the next
few months or so, keep your fingers crossed. In the
mean time, add tons of pictures, and in your case,
CREATE tons of different pictures and it'll pay off in
the future.<br><br><br>Eric

I know you have an interest in the Chinese Women,
so I'm going to present you with this
page:<br><br><a
href=http://www.contactor.se/~dast/gymn/archive-2000-03/0198.html
target=new>http://www.contactor.se/~dast/gymn/archive-2000-03/0198.html</a><br><\
br>Tell me what you think.<br><br><br>Eric

Hmm.. that's in interesting observation by you. I
still believe Jason will do well at Nationals because
he was such a force to be reckoned back then. Yeah,
the code has changed and perhaps his skills may not
be the cleanest, but we haven't seen him awhile
either. I'm sure he's in top notch condition, or is going
to be within a few weeks. I really hope everything
works out for him because it's tough to have an injury
keep you out for so long.<br><br>In anycase, I still
list him as one of my favorites not only for his
talent, but also for his hear/spirit. I've never seen a
fighter like him and I know that spirit alone will
propell him further this year. Let's hope
anyway.<br><br>But anythings possible. Nothing's certain at this
point. I guess that's that.<br><br>I'm really starting
to wonder who will make the Chinese Team on the
Women's side.<br><br>I think : Dong Fanxiao, Ling Jie,
Yang Yun, Huand Mandan, Sun Xiaojiao, and Bai Chunye
or Qi Zi. But I don't know. Ling and Yang are
supposedly injuried, but I'm not sure how
serious.<br><br>-Richie

Thank you Dore for joinning the club and visiting
my webpage. Tell more people about it because I
think I'm having trouble getting visitors to come. I've
worked so hard to get a good Sean Townsend
page.<br><br>Yeah, I'm one of the biggest Sean fans out there.
Hopefully this club will grow, and we'll have more
discussions and things like that. It won't get better though
if people won't join, but most importantly,
participate in the message board, or other interactive things
like that. Please come back to the site and club, and
participate. Thanks again for the positive
compliments.<br><br>-Richie

i just want to tell u that u have the coolest
site on the web! i absolutely love sean townsend and
ur site just exemplifies his eminence. the pics here
are sublime...keep up the good work! :op <br><br>dore

I don't know about Jason Gatson. He's never been
one of my favourites, and I don't think he'll factor
in very much this year. He'll likely make the world
team, that's probably a given, but I really wonder if
he's going to factor into the top 3. His skills are
not as polished as some of the top guys we've seen on
say, the Olympic Team. I think Jason is a good Vault
and Floor specialist, but he really needs to work on
his Pommel Work (most of the men in the US do too),
and work on his form and polish on his other events
if he's ever going to compete with the best of the
best.<br><br><br>Eric

Thanks for the pics Eric! I just wanted to point
out to everyone that the copyrights do belong to the
following for the pics:<br>American Gymnast Journal, Scott
Einus, Dana Utz, and International Gymnast. I don't want
to get in trouble for having pics here and not
giving the photographers credit so I just wanted to
throw that in.<br><br>In anycase, thank you Eric for
making a new Album for Sean. Like I said, let's get more
people to join this club!<br><br>-Richie

Hey Eric! Thanks for joining the club! Try to get
more people to join this club that would actually post
here. Yeah, I really think Sean has the best chance to
win Nationals this year. Steve McCain is doing well
too but I still think Sean has adapted to the New
Code the best. The New Code fits him because he's
really good at doing the big skills.<br><br>I'm hoping
his "brother" Todd will do well too. With the Hamms
and Wilson possibly out, this give Todd a chance to
move up and make a name for himself.<br><br>I'm also
hoping for Jason Gatson to do well. He's been dealing
with recovery for awhile, and it would be awsome to
see him place in the top three, even 1st but I'm
still a big Sean fan! *LOL* We'll see how it goes
though.<br><br>-Richie

"Misc Pics" contains 24 pics of Sean Townsend. Enjoy!

I'm thinking Sean Townsend has the best shot at
winning. If everyone's healthy and everyone performs well,
I think Sean still has a shot at winning. However,
with Blaine Wilson and the Hamms possibly out with
injuries (and definitely not in top form), it would be
surprising if Sean doesn't win the Nationals. The scores
that Sean posted at the 2001 American Cup are scores
that haven't been matched by any other US I've seen in
this new code, other than Blaine Wilson, but he's not
a factor this time around. So if Sean hasn't lost
that form, the title is his to lose. He really is the
only gymnast in the US right now who has been able to
deal with the new code and get decent start values on
most of his events.<br><br>People who could challenge
Sean include Steve McCain, Guard Young, Todd Thornton
and perhaps Jamie Natalie, but I really think he's a
lock for the title if he keeps doing what he's
doing.<br><br><br>Eric

Hey everyone! Thanks for those who've
joined...the four that have so far anyway. LOL<br>I just
wanted to encourage everyone on her to post stuff -
anything will do. Like I said, Nationals is coming up soon
and I hope Sean does well. I really think he'll win,
but anything can happen. I think Steve McCain has a
good chance, and even Jason Gatson, who I am another
fan of. What do you guys think? Well, just post and
welcome to the club!<br><br>-Richie

I hope Sean wins nationals this year. I'm pretty
sure he will but you never know. I'd like for everyone
who has joined, or planned to join this club to
perhaps post a small note wishing him the best of luck so
we can boost a good support system for him. For all
the upcoming new members, I'd like to thank you for
joining, and PLEASE post stuff ont his page!
Thanks!<br><br>-Richie<br>Sean Townsend Fandom Club Manager

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