My wife, Diana, and I took the ferry and visited Patty Steele-Smith's Edmonds Park and Rec gymnastics program. I was impressed by the number of classes offered by this small facility. One preschool class was mostly free play and kids had fun using our small prototype Fun Wheel. We did some back handspring drills with Patty's pre-team kids and they are getting good use out of their Porta Trak.

On October 29, I rode up Hurricane Ridge Road; with an elevation gain of 3307 feet in 12 miles! It was a slow, painful ride for 2 hours and 16 minutes. I averaged 145 Heart Rate, 136 watts, average 5.5 mph! The top is just short of a mile high. No snow at the top then, but there sure is now!

My friend Dave and I made a quick stop to visit Cathryn at the Dance Gallery in Port Orchard, WA. We checked out her prototype Bungee Mat we nicknamed, Clifford the Big Red Mat. We discovered what a fantastic climbing wall can be set up there. We also made another quick visit that day to NASA in Gig Harbor where we watched John Smith create more inventive ways to use the Fun Wheel-cast squat-through on the edges!

John Smith of NASA has impressed me as one of the most positive coaches I know, and is quite creative as well. I recruited him recently to become our first official "Ambassador" for Tumbl Trak. The goal of Tumbl Trak's new Ambassador Program is to support respected gymnastics coaches in their efforts to advance the idea of "smart" training for athletes. They will visit gyms, demonstrating and getting feedback about Tumbl Trak products, and will also present information at gymnastics events, as well as camps and clinics John has over 30 years of experience with gymnastics and has been a great resource new product applications. Rick McCharles, well-known Canadian, stopped for a few days in Port Townsend when he returned from the World Championships in Japan. He is another Tumbl Trak Ambassador.

For 3 days in early November, we helped Carrie Lennox and her crew from Jefferson County Parks and Rec with a tumbling camp in Quilcene. We took a loaded truck and minivan. The equipment from both vehicles easily filled half the basketball court at the Quilcene School gym! Last March, James was with us for a similar camp, and the 1st through 6th grade kids at Quilcene were glad to see us back again.

I also did a short bar casting clinic for Becca Cenovia and her pre-team and team kids at the local gym, Twisters Gymnastics. We set up progression stations starting with beginners learning cast-squat-on, to cast-handstands. Casting on-to or over a bar must address fear and I wanted to offer drills that will give gymnasts confidence and success. The kids were very receptive. We are planning to put together materials, video and print, for various drills/progressions, a project we have been working on for some time.

One event I enjoyed most this month was when Diana and I spent a weekend in downtown Seattle and I did not visit a single gym! We attended Sally Edwards' HeartZones "To the Max" conference. It was especially inspiring to watch a 93-year-old man generating watts on an indoor cycle-he was racing a 30-year-old woman and beat her by a few watts for the 30-minute period.

I wish everyone a happy, healthy holiday season!

Doug

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