Monday, May 17, 2010

“Extreme sports find new venue in Beijing” plus 2 more

“Extreme sports find new venue in Beijing” plus 2 more

Extreme sports find new venue in Beijing

Posted: 17 May 2010 01:39 AM PDT

American skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and US Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Shawn Johnson were among the celebrities mobbed by legions of teenagers and young people at Saturday's grand opening of Woodward Beijing, a 425-acre extreme sports arena and educational facility in Daxing district.

"Woodward is one of the best organizations in the world when it comes to extreme sports," Hawk said.

"It's amazing they were able to set up a park like this in Beijing," he said.

Founded in 1970 largely as a gymnastics training institute, Woodward operates or cooperates on five camps in the US. For all the rising popularity of Western sports in China, Woodward's featured activities - including skateboarding, BMX biking and snowboarding - remain largely unknown to Chinese.

Woodward founder Gary Ream says he hopes more Chinese young people will be attracted to the extreme sports.

"The Chinese government approached us with the goal of getting more Chinese young people out from behind their computers and into a more active lifestyle," Ream said. "This isn't something that colleges are doing - it's really been pushed along organically by the passion of young people for these kinds of sports."

The opening ceremony included a press conference, ribbon cutting, skateboarding competitions and demonstrations including a showcase from Hawk that saw the 42-year-old skateboarding icon sail up a massive vertical half-pipe at heart-stopping speed.

"He's still the best skateboarder in the world," said Guan Mu, a Beijing-based skateboard blogger in attendance at Saturday's festivities.

"We've had a lot of famous Western skaters visit China before, but not Tony Hawk, until today."

Though the details of Woodward's summer camp schedule are still being sorted out, Woodward Beijing general manager Zhou Qiang said it will feature long-term sleep-away camps and weekend sessions for students aged 7 to 22 when it commences programming in June, with a one-time door fee for daily drop-in visitors who wish to use the facilities independently.

Source: Xinhua

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Former Brookfield gymnastics coach on trial for rape in Massachusetts

Posted: 17 May 2010 06:18 PM PDT

The rape trial of former Brookfield gymnastics coach Steve Infante is under way in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn, Mass., where the 52-year-old Infante is facing a multitude of sex charges.

The former New Milford resident allegedly assaulted two of his former students as far back as the 1990s.

One former student, now 34, had a sexual encounter that Infante initiated when she was 14, according to court documents.

The investigation into this woman's allegations reportedly uncovered numerous tales of alcohol use and sexually charged horseplay between young girls and Infante and his partner, Steve DiTullio, in a camp the woman attended as a girl.

The incidents are detailed in a search warrant application filed by Connecticut State Police as part of the investigation.

Police said such acts are a way pedophiles "groom" children for sexual relations, according to the July 2007 document.

In addition to having a long-running affair with the 14-year-old that investigators say resulted in an abortion when she was 17, Infante is accused of sexually abusing a second female student, according to police.

Infante, now of Milford, is charged with rape of a child, rape and indecent assault and battery on the former student, and battery on a second alleged victim, who was 16 at the time the assault allegedly occurred in the summer of 1993.

His trial began May 10.

In 1998, Infante was banned for life from coaching by USA Gymnastics, the sport's national governing board, after sexual misconduct claims surfaced from three former gymnasts at Olympia Sports Academy in Brookfield, which was owned by Infante.

Because all three girls were 16 when the relationships allegedly began, no criminal charges were brought against him.

At the time he was banned by USA Gymnastics, Infante owned Olympia and lived in New Milford.

Despite being banned, Infante continued his career. He ran a gymnastics camp, Five Star Gymnastics Camp in Massachusetts, with DiTullio.

Acton, Mass., Police Chief Frank Widmayer said his department's investigation identified as many as a half-dozen girls with whom either Infante or DiTullio allegedly had sex.

But because the statute of limitations had expired on several of the alleged incidents, the cases couldn't be prosecuted, Widmayer said.

Testimony is expected to be heard in the current rape trial from eight women who were Infante's former gymnastics students and who were allegedly sexually assaulted by him dating back to the 1980s.

DiTullio has been charged with perjury for allegedly lying to investigators. He will be tried separately.

Middlesex County District Attorney Thomas O'Reilly's office said Monday that the prosecutor wouldn't comment on the trial.

As to any possible arrest that might occur in Connecticut after the Massachusetts trial ends, Danbury State's Attorney Stephen H. Sedensky in Connecticut said Monday that he is "aware of the situation with Mr. Infante. However, I cannot discuss any investigations, pending or not."

Contact Susan Tuz

at stuz@newstimes.com

or 860-355-7322.

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Gymnastics in the genes: Taryn LaFountain's career mirrors her mother’s

Posted: 17 May 2010 04:08 PM PDT

Taryn LaFountain of Utica was an outstanding gymnast at the University of New Hampshire, from where she recently graduated. She had a successful high school career and has won numerous events and awards in college, including being named recently to the first team in the All-East Gymnastics League. Being an athlete is in her blood. Her mother was a top-notch gymnast while the rest of her family also excels in athletics. She's also a scholastic All-American and has been named to All-Academic teams.

Question: You come from a very athletic family. Your dad was an athlete, your mom a top gymnast, your brother a star baseball player. Was it tough growing up trying to compete with that?

Answer: It had its moments, but I think it certainly made me a better athlete. I had all of these great athletes to look up to and show me what it takes to be a successful athlete. I am really fortunate to have such an athletic family who knows what it takes to be a great collegiate athlete.

Q: You obviously got into gymnastics because of your mom. What do you remember most about learning the skills as a kid?

A: I can remember my first day of gymnastics, coming into practice and being so excited and nervous. I couldn't wait to practice. I never wanted to be late, and I would get so flustered if I was. I remember training on the beam for hours and learning new skills and being afraid to go. The best feeling is when you finally accomplish something new that you were afraid to do. You just feel so relieved and happy. It is so gratifying when you finally get a skill you have been working toward.

Q: How much of an influence has mom had in your gymnastics career?

A: My mom always knew what I was going through. She was the one I could talk to about if I were upset or thinking about trying new skills. She was my main confidence-builder. She always knew how to pick me up and inspire me to keep trying, and I knew I could trust her opinion because she knew me and was a successful gymnast. She did help coach during my high school gymnastics career, but she knew when to help out and when to just let me figure things out on my own. My parents are always showing their support because they know how important this sport is to me.

Q: What did you learn the most from your mom?

A: To believe in yourself because you are capable of anything. Having self-confidence is more than half the battle in all sports. If you believe that you can do something, you are most definitely right.

Q: How did college competition differ from high school?

A: Collegiate gymnastics is more of a team sport. You are not competing for your own personal score but for a big team score. I think competing for your team makes the sport more exciting and teaches you to stick together and support each other.

Q: Training and competing is a lot of hard work? Did you ever just want to say the heck with it?

A: There were certainly times where I would get frustrated and upset, but I never wanted to leave. I love the sport too much. Working through all of the tough times and training hard is one of the best parts of gymnastics.

Q: How tough is balancing athletics and academics?

A: I definitely struggled my freshman year of college, but I was also struggling to be away from home, so that had an effect on my academics. It is extremely tough, but once you get into a rhythm it isn't so bad. I think having to train for gymnastics helped me out. It was the only time when I could get away from studying to burn off some energy.

Q: What do you hope to do with gymnastics now that you've graduated?

A: I would really like to coach, optimally at the collegiate level, but also with high school club gymnasts.

Q: Is there one moment in your life that stands out as a turning point for you athletically or personally?

A: I would have to say my sophomore year of college. I think that is where my improvements started to show, and I think I matured a little bit. I think I became a better student and athlete that year and made more progress every year after that.

Q: Complete this sentence: "The one thing gymnastics has taught me is ..."

A: How to work hard and never give up on something you love.

Contact Fran Perritano at fperritano@uticaold.com

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