Tamayo times TWO!!!

Charlie is back in San Diego for two weeks!  He is so excited to see his wife and his athletes.  He is also very excited to become a father-Charlie and his wife are expecting twins!  He will be spending his time, training, coaching, attending a gym sleepover with his athletes, celebrating Christmas and the new year, and celebrating is 2nd anniversary with his wife.  He is so excited to be home and returns motivated to keep up his training and return ready to go!

Training Update

(L-R) Spencer Johnson, Chris Brooks, Charlie Tamayo, Jonathon Horton

 The last week at Cypress Gymnastics Academy Chris Brooks was in town to train with the boys.  Charlie said "it was great to have him there-his energy and personality brought something extra to the training environment.  Chris is a great athlete-he is one of those athletes whose training and work ethic makes you want to train harder."  The last few weeks of training have been some of the best weeks Charlie has had while in Houston.  His coach Tom Meadows made a point to commend Charlie on his latest training efforts.   It was a fun week and it was a great way to end his last week of training before coming home for Christmas!

What's New....

German Documentary Filmmaker, Niklas Schenck, has been following Charlie- from a distance- since Charlie's Bronze Medal at the World championships in 2001. As a journalist for German's equivalent to National Public Radio and for the largest newspaper in Germany, Niklas has decided to use Charlie as the subject of his next project. He recently traveled to the US to interview Charlie and get more of his story. (see pic of them together below!) We are so excited about this prospective documentary and Niklas has told us he will continue to follow Charlie on this journey to the 2012 Olympics. As soon as we know more on this developing story, we will let you know!

Niklas and Charlie during his recent visit to Houston.

Charlie has had his best training week ever!  He came back from Thanksgiving break recharged and extremely motivated!  After the first three days his coach Tom called him to let him know he was so impressed with his workouts and so proud of what he has been seeing from Charlie.  His focus right now is on Winter Cup in February.  He is taking things one step at a time-putting all his energy both physically and mentally into each step towards his main goal of 2012.  Winter Cup should be exciting as Charlie is in his best shape ever since leaving his home country of Cuba in 2003.  The encouragement form his fans has really helped-he appreciates every encouraging comment and wants to thank all those who have visited his website- www.flipforcharlie.com for their support.  

Keep it up Charlie!

Flips and Fundraising

Now that the blog has launched and you've been updated on Charlie's training for 2012, we'd like to stop for a minute and give one big (HUGE, actually) THANK YOU to everyone who has been supporting Charlie's journey.  Collectively, you've been providing the means for one person to reach for their lifelong dream.  No matter how big or small the donation, you've become a part of this journey and Charlie's appreciation is beyond words. We love to hear the stories that occasionally come in along side a donation. Here is one that particularly touched our hearts..
"My sons met Charlie at the CATS Super Camp in Boulder, Colorado last month. They have not stopped talking about him. Each year the boys select a different charity to donate money instead of gifts from their friends for their birthday. This year, they wanted to support Charlie. The boys raised a total of $365. We wish Charlie all the best of luck, and will be cheering all the way to London 2012!"
 
Thanks to these boys for having such big hearts and thank you to everyone who have donated their dollars, given their time or simply shared Charlie's story. 

CONGRATS!

Congratulations to Jonathan Horton who took home his second consecutive all-around title at 2010 Visa Championships!! Read all about the competition here.

Off to Texas!

Jonathan & Charlie  taking a quick break during training in Texas

First up, we want to update all of Charlies supporters on his training. Soon after  FlipforCharlie.com launched, Charlie was on his way to Houston, Texas. He has been training at Cypress Gymnastics Academy alongside Jonathan Horton with coach Tom Meadows.  So far, training is going well. He trains 2 times a day- 2 hours in the morning and 3 hours at night and hopes to start in national competitions this coming December. Check back here for dates and locations. Once a month, Charlie returns to San Diego to visit with his wife and continue to train their team at San Diego United Training Center.   At the end of the week, it's back to Houston for his own training.

On his (rare) downtime, Charlie is adjusting to life in Texas-- today's forecast 97 degrees!

(New to Flip for Charlie? Get all the details at www.flipforcharlie.com)

Welcome to the Flip for Charlie Blog!!

We're flippin out! The Flip for Charlie blog has (finally) launched.  Here you can keep up to date with Charlie's training, fundraising, events and news! It will be the place to go to find the most current information. Check in often, or follow this blog so you will be notified everytime we post something new.
It's been a busy year and there is a lot to catch up on so stay tuned!