GymCastic

The number one gymnastics podcast in the world!

Archives for August 2017

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265: Russian Cup, University Games, and Feedback

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  • All of our good thoughts and leotard sparkles are going out to the people of Texas, as we give 10 Khorkina glares to Hurricane Harvey. Here are the NY Times recommendations for how you can help.

MEET NEWS

Spencer and Jessica tell you everything you need to know about

  • The Russian Cup of Valentina Crazy Scores
    • How Melnikova won the all-around and hit beam (!), and it was all because of that sad Instagram post from Euros
    • Elena Eremina‘s 57.900 from qualification is the highest AA score in the world this year
    • Jessica explains why having a baby makes you better at floor, like Eleonora Afanasyeva
    • Maria Kharenkova is back with confidence! (And the highest scores of the meet on beam and floor) 
    • Is she challenging Anastasia Ilyankova‘s spot on the worlds team?
    • Uliana Perebinosova wears white socks on bars and is the next coming of Beth Tweddle
  • The Larisa Iordache University Games Starring Larisa Iordache
    • Iordache’s massively risky beam that could be a 6.7 D score, and that she can fall on and still win the all-around.
    • Canada’s team was NCAA strong and put the US to shame
    • Daria Elizarova is 26, has the most impressive tumbling in the meet, and didn’t get the memo about not smiling
  • Southeast Asian Games
    • Rifda Irfanaluthfi of Indonesia is the Simone of Southeast Asia
    • Farah Ann doesn’t need a last name anymore and is made of pizzazz and jazz hands
    • Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines aren’t sending anyone to worlds. We have feelings.

ATTENTION CLUB GYM NERD MEMBERS

  • We are giving away tickets to worlds. That’s right: Tickets to the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS in Montreal this October, including the sold-out women’s all-around final. Check your email for details.
  • Plus, Club Gym Nerd members will receive exclusive access to the loooooong version of September’s upcoming Aimee Boorman and Maggie Haney interview. (We basically imprisoned them in a sweltering hotel room for 78 hours and made them answer all of our questions—like torture.)
  • Note: Everyone will get to listen to the episode when it is released, but only Club Gym Nerd members will get the extended producer’s cut.

MINI COMMISSION

  • This week’s mini-commission—GAME OF WOLF TURNS—is brought to you by Slothanova. Thanks for supporting the show!
  • She asked us to rate the wolf turns from P&Gs in the following categories: Comedic Genius, Doesn’t Make Me Want to Burn Down the Building, Close to Perfectly Executed, and Transformative Life-Changing (Jordan Chiles Wolfkino) Art. It’s what we were born to do.
  • For GIFs of the horror-larity we discuss, check out The Wolf Turns of Nationals.

GYMTERNET NEWS

  • It was a good week for hilarious falls
  • Katelyn Ohashi wrote about cruel, unwanted body remarks she received and how body shaming has affected her life in Dear Standards.
  • Kathie Klages, deposed Michigan State head coach who did not report concerns about Nassar, is filling in at Geddert’s Twistars. Geddert is also named in suits along with Klages for failing to report concerns about Nassar.
  • NCAA coaching news
    • Tabitha Yim is going to save Stanford!
    • Chris Brooks is going to bring Cheeseburgers On Beam to Nebraska
    • McCool and Husband McCool are heading to Arkansas

FEEDBACK

  • Clarifications and additions to our coverage of nationals
  • Aly Raisman = hero
  • Jessica explains inbar skills
  • Genius ideas for women to get the same number of medals as men
  • Why it’s very good that USAG is not buying the ranch
  • Details on the famous Sho Fujimoto kneecap incident of ’76
  • Why the men don’t do step-out passes
  • A heartwarming story about removing the board from the 1988 Olympic Trials
  • How to advocate for gymnastics and reconcile all of the problems with our love for the sport

SUPPORT THE SHOW

  • Join Club Gym Nerd here with brand new membership tiers, commission your own episode, or commission your own segment.
  • Buy some of our awesome merchandise here.

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264: 2017 P&G Championships Mega Recap

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2017 US Elite National Championships

  • Results, the stick and vault bonus disclaimer, plus E and D winners.  (1:48)
  • Award Ceremony (6:11)
    • The 2017 Jessica O’Beirne Pussilanimouses Will Never Be Heroes Award to Sienna Robinson
    • The Best New Accidental Skill Award to Jordan Chiles
    • The Living Legend Hero Team Captain Award to Aly Raisman
    • The Wrong Answer Award to Nastia Liukin and Tim Daggett
    • The Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Fall Award to Leah Clapper once, and twice
    • The Funniest How I Learned This Skill Award to Emily Gaskins
    • The What Could Possibly Go Wrong Award to John Macready. Again.
  • Women’s junior competition (37:35)
    • Maile O’Keefe is a hit machine with room to upgrade
    • Emma Malabuyo is the real deal in the competition floor and off
    • “THE GAGE JUNIORS” is the new “hello.”
      • Kara Eaker’s 9.250 beam E is the highest non-vault E score of the whole meet
      • Leanne Wong held her L turn position for 88 minutes and it was breathtaking
      • JaFree Scott shows how to Arabian on beam
    • Adeline Kenlin did her Podkopayeva! Or is it a Faux-dkopayeva?
    • Jay Jay Marshall has all the skills and is planning an upgrade revolution
    • Anya Pilgrim’s casual Patterson
    • Gabby Perea has the highest bars D score in the world
    • Olivia Hollingsworth and how to do a double Arabian
    • Fake inbar skills and fake dismounts: an oncoming epidemic?
  • Women’s senior competition (1:04:27)
    • Ragan Smith only won by 3 and a half points. Simone would be so disappointed
    • The Smith Floor Controversy of ’17
      • The problem with using “Dixie”
      • The problem with using wolf whistles
      • Did we like it anyway?
    • Jordan Chiles comes back from Classic with a triumphant second place
    • Riley McCusker hit a lovely 8 for 8 and got third even with downgrades
    • The epic greatness of Trinity Thomas on floor, with a 2.5 stepout, a butterfly, and swashbuckling!
    • Did Morgan Hurd really have a “bad” meet?
    • Marissa Oakley’s phenomenal bars
    • Jade Carey
      • The best she has looked on floor so far this year
      • Did Amanar problems hurt her worlds chances?
    • Ashton Locklear – where does she fit right now?
    • Our WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS dream teams
      • We found the nation of feelings, so that feelings can send a team to worlds
  • Men’s senior competition (1:37:15)
    • The US men’s worlds team is Moldauer, Mikulak, Whittenburg, Penev, Naddour and Kimble
    • Alternates are Modi, Bower, and Van Wicklen
    • And Spencer would like to know what’s the meaning of all this!!!!
    • Jessica has the inside scoop from Brett McClure on his process
    • Our highlights

This month at Norbert’s

For the month of August, our dear friends at Norbert’s have a case of 36 1-lb boxes of Taiwanese Gymnastic Chalk for $275, shipping included.

#BEERWITHBETTY

Thank you to everyone who participated in Beer with Betty!

SUPPORT THE SHOW

  • Join Club Gym Nerd here with brand new membership tiers, commission your own episode, or commission your own segment.
  • Buy some of our awesome merchandise here.

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263: P&G Championships Preview with Jon Horton

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MEET NEWS

It’s P&G Championships this week, and we’re joined by two-time Olympic medalist, two time World medalist, high bar ninja Jon Horton for our very special national championship preview episode.

  • How to watch
    • Live podium training – Wednesday, August 16 – USAG Youtube
    • Junior webcasts, starring Jon Horton, Sam Peszek, and Jordyn Wieber – USAG Youtube
      • August 17 – Junior men day 1 – 4:00 ET/1:00 PT
      • August 18 – Junior women day 1 – 4:00 ET/1:00 PT
      • August 19 – Junior men say 2 – 3:00 ET/12:00 PT
      • August 20 – Junior women day 2 – 2:00 ET/11:00 PT
    • Senior TV coverage
      • August 17 – Senior men day 1 – 10:30 ET/7:00 PT – Olympic Channel
      • August 18 – Senior women day 1 – 11:00 ET/8:00 PT – NBCSN
      • August 19 – Senior men day 2 – 9:00 ET/6:00 PT – NBCSN
      • August 20 – Senior women day 2 – 7:00 ET/4:00 PT – NBC
  • Senior men (9:00)
    • The changing of the guard in US men’s gymnastics
    • Why Jon ultimately decided to announce his retirement
    • Yul Moldauer is bringing pretty back and fighting with Akash Modi for the title of best man
    • Why the Olympic experience made Alex Naddour the best he’s ever been
    • Eddie Penev’s magical floor and insane acrobatics
    • Donnell Whittenburg is half CGI and breaks all the rules on rings
    • Darkhorse Allan Bower who might surprise everyone
    • Is the US better on pommel horse than high bar now? WHAT????
    • What the selection committee values most in choosing a worlds team
  • Junior women (28:16)
    • Can Maile O’Keefe and Adeline Kenlin challenge Emma Malabuyo? The scores say yes.
    • Is Gabby Perea going to win bars without a dismount because of awesome again?
    • Difficulty brigade
      • Is Jay Jay Marshall going to hit all her insane acrobatics and challenge for the top floor D in the world?
      • Will Adeline Kenlin show her Podkopayeva?
      • Will Sunisa Lee get her Nabieva?
    • Leanne Wong is doing a couple JO routines and still beating all the people because of execution
  • Senior women (36:00)
    • Ragan Smith has brought a sack of upgrades this summer. Is the title hers to lose?
    • Battle Royale: Riley McCusker and Morgan Hurd for the second all-around spot
    • Is Ashton Locklear still the queen of bars?
    • Can Jade Carey do it every meet?
    • Will Marz Frazier show us her new Amanar?
    • Did everyone get the memo about floor leaps?

GYMTERNET NEWS (46:07)

  • Kristen Smyth has “stepped down” as Stanford’s head coach. Jessica brings the inside scoop, and Jon tells us what qualities make for a successful college gymnastics coach versus club coach
  • Ellie Downie is going to miss worlds, so worlds is canceled. Sorry. 
  • Thais Fidelis of back handspring + Arabian fame on beam is the new Brazilian champion
  • The case against USAG, MSU, Geddarts, etc. over Nassar abuse has been sent to arbitration. GOOD NEWS! It means the case should settle and victims won’t have to tesitfy.
  • Brooklyn Moors is the Pan Am floor champion, and Jon discusses what’s so difficult about front tumbling, half out skills (spoiler alert: it’s everything about them).
  • The Russian worlds team has kind of, sort of been named, and a certain Olympian isn’t on it.
  • Training videos galore!
    • Carl Meader showed a stretched Gaylord. Because that’s a thing now.
    • Evangelina Plyta does a Maloney to Deltchev and Tkatchev to Gienger.
    • Taeja James is working a front triple full!
    • Jordyn Brent is training a YURCHENKO DOUBLE BACK. WHAT THE WHAT.

FEEDBACK (1:10:35)

We get to your emails about

  • Crying in gymnastics and Jon’s perfect response
  • Elfi’s completely different personality when she’s commentating in Canada
  • Conflicts of interest in judging and the messed-up system of Brevet judging
  • More advice about Congress, including the MUST-SEE speakers who dish all the dish
  • Clarifications about gymnastics drag queens, the Swedish worlds spot, Rayderley Zapata’s floor, the MO salto, the Rio leos, and something Jessica forgot to be outraged about from 1996 event finals.
  • Plus, Jon tells us how he feels about his gay teammates.

BEER WITH BETTY

Beer With Betty: The Greatest Scavenger Hunt in the Galaxy STARTS THURSDAY!

  • Here are the 10 tasks you must complete. Submit video OR photo by tagging BOTH @gymcastic and @precisionchoreo with hashtag #beerwithbetty on Twitter or Instagram by noon on Saturday August 19th.
  1. Man Wipe
  2. Pose in front and of P&G Championships sign. The more ridiculous your interpretation of poses on the sign the better!
  3. A coach watching bars (or any routine) with their head tilted to the side
  4. Someone casually waiting in line in wolf turn position
  5. Pretend to mount a piece of non-gymnastics equipment mouthing “I got this” a la Laurie Hernandez
  6. Find mustached person (doesn’t have to be real) and recreate Bela carrying Kerri. (Bonus! Precision will choreograph a free beam routine for anyone who does this with Steve Nunno playing the part of Bela)
  7. 5 folks strumming tummy guitar a la Boguinskaya’s 1989 FX routine
  8. A leotard that needs a seizure warning
  9. Simone’s ending pose amongst a group of unsuspecting people
  10. Gather 10+ people to do their best gymnastics salute (bonus for college style)
  • Help us out by numbering your entries. You must tag both @gymcastic AND @precisionchoreo
  • STARTS: 8am on Thursday, August 17 and will end at 12pm on Saturday, August 19.
  • The winner will meet with THE Betty Okino at 3pm in Anaheim on August 19th!
  • Remember: You don’t have to do them in order! As long as they are completed between Thursday, August 17 and Saturday at NOON.
  • There are daily awards so be creative! Anyone or anything can be in the photos. It doesn’t have to be you.
  • Make sure you are following us and Precision so we can message you with details of the TOP SECRET LOCATION right after the deadline of noon on Saturday so you can be there right on time to meet Betty at 3pm in Anaheim.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

  • Join Club Gym Nerd here with brand new membership tiers, commission your own episode, or commission your own segment.
  • Buy some of our awesome merchandise here.

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262: 1996 Olympic Event Finals (Commissioned)

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This week, we bring you the final installment in our epic 1996 Olympics TRILOGY: the event finals. This episode is brought to you by Club Gym Nerd member Kris (who also commissioned the 1996 all-around final because of legendary status—the rest of us could never), who thought it only fitting that we leave no stone unturned and no competition un-dissected when it comes to the glory and wonder and pageantry of the 1996 Olympics. Correct. Thank you for supporting the show, Kris!    

You can watch the 1996 Event Finals along with us here.

Spencer and Jessica discuss:

  • VAULT
    • Round-the-clock Kerri Strug ankle coverage
    • Why the vault format at the 1996 Olympics was…weird
    • Jessica’s plan to institute martial law at gymnastics meets
    • MO FREAKING HUILAN. END OF STORY.
    • Spencer has a problem with certain vaults having certain 10.0 starts (because of course he does)
    • Who should have won bronze: Gogean or Galieva? (Or Boginskaya!)
    • Shannon Miller’s death-trap Tsuk of death
    • GroshevaEarringSituation.com
    • ARE THERE NO RULES FOR JOURNALISTS AT THIS MEET?
    • Amanar’s controversial-ish victory
  • BARS
    • Fun with casual sexism!
    • Is the current code inhibiting our appreciation of Podkopayeva’s bars?
    • Dominique Dawes and the age-old question of over-scoring stuck landings
    • Svetlana Khorkina and the low-bar clip heard (but not seen) ’round the world
    • Level 4 transitions in an Olympic event final
    • Are Tim and Elfi unnecessarily/undeservedly harsh on the Romanians compared to the other nations?
    • The INNOVATIVE DIFFICULTY of co-silver medalists Amy Chow and Bi Wenjing.
    • Aggressive American bias in commentary
    • Who really should have won which medals?
    • URGENT: What is Khorkina drinking? And is it a special bars potion?
  • BEAM
    • How many VHS tapes does it take to measure a beam?
    • Moceanu’s terrifying head-crash onto the beam
    • KOCHETKOVA WAS ROBBED. THE INJUSTICE WILL NEVER DIE.
    • Shannon Miller‘s perfect, difficult, intergalactic champion routine
    • Lilia Podkopayeva‘s almost-as-perfect, difficult, intergalactic champion routine
    • Gina Gogean‘s “unexciting” routine, whether it really was “unexciting,” and the etiquette of scary-fall replays
    • That shot of Shannon’s face immediately after Galieva fell
    • The only medal ceremony we got to see (look how that worked out) and the outfits these poor women were put in
  • FLOOR
    • China’s editorial comment on American trash dancing
    • Everybody in the entire world starts with a floppy, bent-knee double layout
    • Kochetkova‘s score and whether it was an apology for the beam result
    • Should Simona “nutrocker” Amanar really have scored better than Dawes? We discuss.
    • Moceanu’s best routine of the Olympics and why it should be a lesson for all future codes of points
    • Even Lilia Podkopayeva’s uncontrolled landings are more artistic and more deserving of gold than anything anyone else has ever done
    • The 100% true story behind Mo Huilan’s floor routine (it involves roller-scoring and It’s A Small World)
    • Did the judges actually get it right?

CONTEST

WHAT: #BeerWithBetty: The Greatest Scavenger Hunt in the Galaxy!

PRIZE: The winner will share a beer (or root beer if you are under 21) with the great Betty Okino, Olympic and World medalist, creator of the triple turn on beam, and a member of the Precision Choreography team.

WHEN: The hunt will start at 8am on Thursday August 17 and will end at 12pm on Saturday, August 19. The winner will meet with the Betty Okino at 3pm in Anaheim on August 19th! If you enter, be READY FOR BETTY because winner will meet this gymnastics legend at 3pm that day!

HOW IT WORKS: Your mission will be to complete each of the following tasks and post a photo or video to Twitter or Instagram tagging @GymCastic and @PrecisionChoreo using #BeerWithBetty:

  1. Man Wipe
  2. Pose in front and of P&G Championships sign. The more ridiculous your interpretation of poses on the sign the better!
  3. A coach watching bars (or any routine) with head tilted to the side
  4. Someone casually waiting in line in wolf turn position
  5. Pretend to mount a piece  of non-gymnastics equipment mouthing “I got this” a la Laurie Hernandez
  6. Find mustached person (doesn’t have to be real) and recreate Bela carrying Kerri. (Precision will choreograph a free beam routine for anyone who does this with Steve Nunno playing the part of Bela)
  7. 5 folks strumming tummy guitar a la Boguinskaya’s 1989 FX routine
  8. A leotard that needs a seizure warning
  9. Simone’s ending pose amongst a group of unsuspecting people
  10. Gather 10+ people to do their best gymnastics salute (Bonus for college style)

The winner will be selected at random among everyone who completes all ten items.

PLUS: We will give six additional prizes for Most Outrageous photos! The top three most outrageous photos on Friday will win a personal voice message from one of Precision Choreography’s gymnastics stars (people like Chellsie Memmel, Alicia Sacramone, Houry Gerbesian, and Holly Vise)! The top three on Saturday will get a special shout-out on the GymCastic podcast.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

  • Join Club Gym Nerd here with brand new membership tiers, commission your own episode, or commission your own segment.
  • Buy some of our awesome merchandise here.

RELATED EPISODES

 

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261: 2017 U.S. Classic

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U.S. CLASSIC

Spencer, Lauren, and Jessica discuss everything important and unimportant that happened at Saturday’s U.S. Classic.

  • JUNIORS
    • Our favorite, favorite, favorite future presidents
      • Emma Malabuyo basically Simone-ed the entire junior and senior fields
      • The glory of Kara Eaker on beam
      • Annie Beard wins the performance award of the meet
      • Gabby Perea won bars WITHOUT EVEN DOING A DISMOUNT
      • Jay Jay Marshall channeled Kennedy Baker with her Dos Santos
    • Surprises who rocked our worlds
      • Audrey Davis unites the magic of China and Ukraine on bars
      • Madelyn Williams has presence on floor and a bars that’s ready for seniors
      • Lilly Lippeatt and Love Birt are tiny adults made of perfection
    • Moments of the meet
  • Lauren’s inside scoops from the Hopes competition, including the girl who threw off her crutches and tried to do a bars routine and the newborn baby who will soon rule us all on beam.

Want to commission a mini-discussion? Club Gym Nerd members can do just that! We’ll answer your burning questions or passionately discuss your favorite topics, anything and everything even tangentially gymnastics related.

  • This week, a loyal Club Gym Nerd member asked us to talk about the National Gymnastics Congress in Anaheim this year: whether it’s scary (it isn’t!), how to act, what to do, and the best way to get the most out of the experience.
  • Plus, a bonus discussion featuring our definitely expert and unimpeachable advice on how to handle conflict in the workplace!

 

  • SENIORS
    • Jessica is NOT HAPPY about gymnasts being allowed to pass compulsories and compete elite when they don’t have the foundation to compete safely.
    • The big winners of the meet
    • Gymnasts that made us burst into a standing ovation
    • We give out the Simone Biles 2013, Classic Doesn’t Really Matter awards
    • Major trends we noticed in routine composition and judges doing their job

GYMTERNET NEWS

  • Russia repeats as champions at EYOF (European Youth Olympic Festival)
  • The Olympics are coming to LA in 2028. Yea or Nay? We discuss.
  • The FIG Executive Committee announced the JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
    • How many people should be on each team? And is it 50?
  • That video of Simone getting her wisdom teeth out. We translate.
  • There’s going to be a SIMONE BIOPIC. Memo to producers: we’ve already cast all the parts.

GIVEAWAY

The winner of the Norbert’s sectional beam  is Laura Dahlin! Thanks so much to Laura and to Norbert’s for supporting the show!

CONTEST

WHAT: #BeerWithBetty: The Greatest Scavenger Hunt in the Galaxy!

PRIZE: The winner will share a beer (or root beer if you are under 21) with the great Betty Okino, Olympic and World medalist, creator of the triple turn on beam, and a member of the Precision Choreography team.

HOW IT WORKS: In August, we will release a list of 10 items on this photo scavenger hunt. Your mission will be to complete each one and post a photo to Twitter or Instagram tagging @GymCastic and @PrecisionChoreo and using #BeerWithBetty. The winner will be selected at random among everyone who completes all ten items. The hunt will start at 8am on Thursday August 17 and will end at 12pm on Saturday, August 19. The winner will meet with the Betty Okino at 3pm in Anaheim on August 19th! If you enter, be READY FOR BETTY because winner will meet this gymnastics legend at 3pm that day!

PLUS: We will give six additional prizes for Most Outrageous photos! The top three most outrageous photos on Friday will win a personal voice message from one of Precision Choreography’s gymnastics stars (people like Chellsie Memmel, Alicia Sacramone, Houry Gerbesian, and Holly Vise)! The top three on Saturday will get a special shout-out on the GymCastic podcast.

SUPPORT THE SHOW

  • Join Club Gym Nerd here with brand new membership tiers, commission your own episode, or commission your own segment.
  • Buy some of our awesome merchandise here.

RELATED EPISODES

 

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN 

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