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Kensley Behel

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History of Female Brevet Judges in Men’s Artistic Gymnastics

gymnastics judging

Where are all the female judges in Men’s Artistic Gymnastics (MAG)? With 852 MAG Brevet level judges worldwide, only 13 are female. That’s a radically lopsided discrepancy and it might be that way because of the hurdles women have historically had to jump and the patriarchal seat women are given when they are awarded an assignment. It wasn’t until 2013 when Great Britian’s Nikki Hanley became the first woman to judge men’s gymnastics at the World Championships level. As the only female, category-1 rated Brevet judge in the world, she has rightfully received international attention. As a pioneer in the field, she hopes to bridge the gap for others.

While Nikki was the first female MAG Brevet judge to judge at a world championships, Australia’s Kath Graham was the first known woman to pass the MAG Brevet exam. After passing the exam in 1989, and each successive 4 years after that, she was repeatedly denied accreditation by the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG). The FIG was contacted for comment and noted that they had no records regarding the first female Brevet judges.

Finally, in 2001, Kath was approved to begin judging, however, it wasn’t until 2005 that she became the first Brevet-level female to judge MAG internationally. Kath’s first assignment was the University Games in Izmir. The following year, she became the first female to judge the Commonwealth Games.

In the United States, Karen Muschinske was the first woman to attain the Brevet rating (2006). In her tenure at the highest level, she has been told by NCAA coaches, “I don’t want women judging on the floor,” showing just how difficult it is to break into the judging realm as a female. As with any field, women have had to persevere to be treated with respect

The struggle to break into men’s gymnastics as a female judge has continued into recent years. 2017 was the first time an American woman judged at the American cup. Former national team member, Amanda Stroud Gagnon, former U.S. national level rating, and became certified as a Brevet judge in 2013. Amanda is one of four known judges to be certified Brevet in both MAG ( FIG 3) and WAG (USA-non F.I.G.). Despite her accomplishments, she notes that it hasn’t been easy.

Great Britain continues to lead the way in giving opportunities for female, MAG judges. In the past several years, they have offered Brevet judge, Kathi-Sue Rupp several opportunities to judge FIG competitions. She, like Nikki, is forging the way for female judges by researching and compiling data on biases within the gymnastics judges’ community. Unlike Nikki who said females judging in GBR is normal and accepted, in the U.S. women have often been overlooked in the place of men with lower ratings.

According to Karen Muschinske, “Women have to work harder and know more to get the same respect as men.”  This idea is exemplified as four sources confirmed that at competitions including Winter Cup, NCAA championships, and others, female brevet judges with higher ratings have been seated lower than male judges with lower ratings.  Thank you to the 13 amazing women worldwide who continue to bridge the gap and lead the ways for others.

Lynn Boman (USA) – 4

Janet Davies (GBR) -2

Joanie Fortin (CAN) – 3

Kathleen Elizabeth Graham (AUS) – 4

Nicola (Nikki) Hanley (GBR) – 1

Caroline James (AUS) – 4

Melanie Jenkins (AUS) -2

Claire McAneny (GBR) – 2

Kristen Miller (USA) – 4

Wai Mui Ngan (HKG) – 4

Kathi-Sue Rupp (USA) – 3

Montserrat Sirera-Garrigos (ESP) – 4

Amanda Stroud (USA) – 3

 

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What is the German Bundesliga System?

When the 2019 World Gymnastics Championships came to a close on October 13th in Stuttgart, Germany the competition season for the German team didn’t end. A little over a month later on November 30th was the Bundesliga Finale, just outside of Stuttgart in Ludwigsburg. The first thing you need to know is that the German gymnasts compete under two different systems: The German Gymnastics Federation and the German Gymnastics League. The German Federation is responsible for choosing athletes to compete in international events, but the German Gymnastics League is the one responsible for managing the Bundesliga system. This article will provide insight into the men’s gymnastics Bundesliga system.

What is the German Bundesliga system?

The German Bundesliga (literally translated as Federal League) is a system where professional and semi-professional athletes compete in various sports including: gymnastics, soccer, ice hockey, and basketball, among others. It’s important to note that though they all use the term, Bundesliga, the systems are not interrelated.  The German gymnastics Bundesliga system, currently referred to as the Deutsche Turnliga, was created in 1968 with eight teams. However, the women’s gymnastics league was not created until 2008.

How many gymnastics leagues are there in the Bundesliga system? 

There are 11 leagues. There is one 1st league, two 2nd leagues, two 3rd leagues, and a handful of other regional leagues. They could be compared by level to DI, DII, DIII, and Club Sport teams in the United States, accordingly.

Have any Americans competed in the Bundesliga system? 

Yes! Alex Bubnov, Matt Felleman, Kanji Oyama, Michael Reid, and Colin van Wicklen just to name a few.

Why do gymnasts from other countries compete in the German system?

Unlike the United States, Germany has a professional and semi-professional league that allows gymnasts to be paid.  The German system requires a tactic beyond creating line-ups each week that increases the intensity of the sport. Gymnasts from all over the world including: Oleg Verniaev, Sam Oldham, Bram Verhofstad, Courtney Tulloch, Artur Dalaloyan, and Nikita Nagornyy have all competed for the German Bundesliga.

Is there a roster cap? 

A maximum of 15 gymnasts can compete for each team.

What is the format of the competition?

Similar to the NCAA format, teams go head-to-head in a dual-meet format. In the Bundesliga, teams flip a coin to decide who goes first. On each of the apparatuses only four gymnasts compete for each team. Of those four, there must always be more German gymnasts in a rotations than foreign gymnasts; therefore, only one foreign gymnast is allowed to compete per apparatus.

Duel 1: A1 vs. B1
Duel 2: A2 vs. B2
Duel 3: B3 vs. A3
Duel 4 B4 vs. A4

The teams rotate in Olympic order and no gymnast may be used twice on the same apparatus. Unlike the NCAA or other elite meets, there is no set lineup, therefore creating a need for strategy. Every decision for which gymnast will compete is made mere seconds before they actually compete. These head-to-head battles are referred to as duels. The question is, do you use your best gymnast first, or do you save them in case your opponent saves their best gymnast for last?

For simplicity sake, the format of the competition will be explained using team TSV Pfuhl and team TG Saar. If TSV Pfuhl won the toss, they would send up a gymnast to compete on floor first. Next, TG Saar would choose a gymnast to match. In the second round of the first apparatus, TSV Pfuhl would again choose a gymnast first and then TG Saar would choose gymnast to match.

Halfway through the round, the order switches. After two gymnasts, then TG Saar would choose the 3rd gymnast on floor and then TSV Pfuhl would need to choose an opponent. And again for the fourth duel, TG Saar would choose first with TSV Pfuhl choosing the final opponent.

The team order throughout the competition is as follows: Floor: Team A; Pommel Horse: Team B; Rings: Team A; Vault: Team B; P Bars: Team A; and High Bar: Team B.

Less than .15 = 0 points
From 0.15 to .25 = 1 point
From 0.30 to .50 = 2 points
From 0.55 to 1.0 = 3 points
From 1.05 to 2.0 = 4 points
From 2.05 to 6.0 = 5 points
More than 6.05 = 10 points

What scoring system do they use? 

For individual scores, they use the FIG scoring system; however these scores in their original format are not used to tally a team score. Since 2004, a point system was introduced to create an overall team score. The score for the team is generated by the head-to-head duel match between two gymnasts. There are a total of 10 points up for grabs. The scores are calculated by the difference in the FIG scores per duel.

The 10 points available are not split between the two teams. It’s a “winner-take-all” system where the amount given to the winner is solely determined on the difference in scores between the winner and loser of the duel.

How are teams ranked within the league? 

Teams are ranked by their overall scores totaled throughout the season.

Are the Bundesliga gymnasts paid? 

Yes, gymnasts are paid to compete in the Bundesliga system. In some instances, the top gymnasts can earn as much as $30,000 for the season. Additionally, their travel and housing expenses are also provided for them.

How can I participate? 

If you are interested in participating in the German Bundesliga, you can contact info@deutsche-turnliga.de to receive more information.

When was the Final and how can I watch? 

The 2019 final was on November 30th in Ludwigsburg. The competition can be found at sportdeutschland.tv.

Interested in learning more about the German Bundesliga? Check out their website at www.deutsche-turnliga.de.

 

Article by: Kensley Behel

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Moving Forward: A Conversation with Li Li Leung

Li Li Leung
Five months to the day after taking the job with USA Gymnastics, 11 news organizations were invited to take part in a sit-down interview with Li Li Leung, president and CEO of USA Gymnastics. A 20-minute retrospection of her tenure with the organization revealed that USA Gymnastics has implemented 67% of the Daniels’ report, a far cry from the 80% claimed under her predecessors. And as her predecessors attempted to silence athletes from speaking up, she welcomes it.

Leung acknowledged that survivors and athletes should be able to say what they feel and that it’s an important aspect of the healing process. The room was solemn as aspects of bankruptcy, mediation, and current complaints were addressed, but solemnity is needed. In trying to strike a balance between truth and sympathizing with survivors—and moving the sport forward—Leung noted the need to acknowledge the past and pushing forward with a cultural shift.

Part of that cultural shift includes opening a position for Vice President of Athlete Health and Wellness. She is looking to help athletes succeed in life after gymnastics as well by equipping them with tools focused on safety, accountability, integrity, listening, respect and transparency. “These values will guide us in how we operate on a day to day basis,” Leung shared, and will be delivered in part through tailored programs to educate athletes, coaches, parents and club owners; that is, assuming there is still an organization.

The uncertainty concerning the survival of USA Gymnastics (USAG) is also painfully evident, but the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee has outlined four areas in which they need to see USAG succeed to retain their role as the NGB: Leadership stability, Financial stability, Athlete safety, and Rebuilding Trust in the community. This begs the question, how can trust in the community be built when there are pending allegations against current coaches on the floor? Regarding Anna Li and her mother Jiani Wu, she said:

“There are complaints against Anna and her mother. Those complaints are currently being investigated, they are currently under the [US] Center’s [SafeSport]  jurisdiction. There has been no conclusion on the investigation… We need to wait for investigative process to be completed before action can be taken. If we believe there is imminent danger to any athlete, we will take an interim measure. In this case, it doesn’t appear there is imminent peril to any athlete. Every complaint that we get, we are 100 percent proactive on. I know sometimes it doesn’t appear that way. There has to be due diligence and due process in this investigative process. We can’t rush that because we have to get it right. I understand when you say optically it might not look great, but things are happening behind the scenes. They are happening and we need to let them happen.”

She also clarified that Scott Reid of the Orange County Register reported that there were complaints against Anna before she was appointed as an Athlete representative, which she vehemently denied. “Anna, she was voted in by current athletes in June. And then, in July is when the complaints were filed.”

Further questions were presented about the hiring of Edward Nyman. The position Nyman was hired for was scoped four months before Leung took the position at USAG and the hiring process was 80-90% finished before she arrived. She owned her mistake noting that she should have put the breaks on that hire. In doing better and in looking towards the future, Leung said no stone will be unturned for future hires, but some stones that still need to be uncovered belong to the past.

Robert Andrews, a psychologist who had previously worked with the men’s national team athletes revealed that scores were changed leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games, allowing for certain athletes to make the team. Leung has spoken with Robert and has helped to implement an independent observer position for future team selection processes to help regain trust in how teams are selected.

When challenged about how “independent” the observer would be considering the insular nature of the gymnastics community, Leung said, “This person will not come from the gymnastics community. That’s how we’re kind of keeping the walls up in a way in terms of keeping independence. I understand, you’re right, our community is very insular. One of the pieces around the selection procedures is that the independence part was really important to me and we did have discussions whether or not this independent observer should come from the community or not and in the end, we decided this person should not come from the community because there could always be that bias if they do come from the community.”

Even still, a cloud of distrust hangs in the air regardless of all these measures. There are still those too afraid to come forward among all disciplines. It was suggested that USAG hire an outside epidemiologist to perform quantitative and qualitative data analysis of past and current problems in the community. Leung was open to it.

The openness to change, the willingness to admit mistakes, and the vision and plan for the future left a lining of hope for those involved in the interview. Where that hope and where Leung’s direction will lead, we don’t know, but we do know the gymnastics community is watching.

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Junior WAG and MAG Podium Training Interview

The 2019 U.S. Gymnastics Championship is going to open in the most thrilling way possible; it’s going to open with Sydney Barros on Floor. 2019 Jr. World Team Member has one of the most exciting floor routines of the century. Self-described as sassy fun, and inviting, Barros says that she looks at the crowd during the performance to invite them in. Choreographed by Dominik Zito and Kim Zmeskal, this routine represents Sydney. Kansas City spectators are in for a treat.

2019 Jr. World Vault Champion and three-time medalist at this years’ jr. world championships has set a goal of improving her routines from the GK Classic and making the national team this year. She’s adding in a double lay full-out on floor to aid her chances of retaining her current spot on the national team. After placing 4th in the AA at the Junior World Championships, she is one to challenge for the AA title here in Kansas City.

Coming off her GK Classic All-Around Championships win, Konner McClain isn’t looking to put pressure on herself, she just wants to stay calm. After some disappointment by just barely missing the World Championship team, she has worked on staying focused and calm throughout her competition performances. Though she was the traveling alternate, she did get to participate in the banquet at the World Championships and several members sent her a message congratulating her on her win. Other notable athletes like Morgan Hurd and Aly Raisman have used their spare time to nurture their hobbies like reading and fashion. They aren’t alone. McClain spoke openly about her love of make-up and said she may start a youtube channel.

While many of the junior women competing this weekend have multiple social media profiles with followers in the multi-thousands, the most anticipated junior gymnast in Kansas City has no social media. Asher Hong grew in popularity at the 2017 Winter Cup where he beat college students at the age of 13. Standing barely higher than the chalk bucket, his beautiful lines and clean gymnastics won over thousands of fans. Coming in as the reigning J.O. National Champion (15 year old division), he is expected to challenge for the 15-16 All-Around title.

His former teammate, current Oklahoma Sooner, and reigning J.O. National Champion (18 year old division), Laz Barnhill is also expected to challenge for the 17-18 title. Transitioning to the University of Oklahoma has brought a set of inspirations and challenges. He described the transition as going from the big fish in a big pond to a small fish in an even bigger pond. Even so, training in the bigger pond provides daily motivation as he trains under the same coach and in the same gym as Olympic and World medalists.

The future is bright with these athletes

You can watch and follow:

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Simone Sparkles With a GOAT on Her Leo & Expresses Frustration With USAG

Days before the 2019 U.S. Gymnastics National Championships, Simone Biles celebrated her two-year anniversary with boyfriend and former National Team gymnast, Stacey Ervin. Though the most decorated American gymnast uses social media to share her triumphs and joys, her raw emotion was evident on the floor following podium training.

Through tears, she said of USA Gymnastics, ” We’ve done everything they asked us for, even when we didn’t want to. And they couldn’t do one damn job. You had one job. You literally had one job, and you couldn’t protect us.” She further expounded on the significance of USAG’s inaction saying, ” It’s hard to talk about. It’s really hard to talk about. I just feel like … I don’t mean to cry, but it’s just … it’s hard coming here for an organization and having had them fail us so many times.” And again, ” It’s not easy being out here, because I feel like every day is a reminder of what I went through, what I’ve been through, and what I’m going through and how I’ve come out of it.”

There was truly not a dry eye among those in the chalk covered circle surrounding Simone.

And yet, through all the pain and through each failure that the National Governing Body throws her way, she still thrives. Biles unveiled two new skills including a triple double on floor and a double double tuck off beam. If she successfully competes both skills at the World Championships in Stuttgart this fall, they would be named after her, totaling 4 skills named Biles in the Code of Points. She added that she only did one double double tuck onto competition mats before adding it into her routine.

Her future shines equally as bright with poise and humor as she joked that she still hates bars and reiterated that her trust is in her coach, Laurant. “Laurant makes the Impossible, possible,” said Simone. The impossible may, in fact, arrive next year when Simone could have a skill named after her on every event with Laurant’s ingenuity and her superiority. While the NGB that she competes under continues to struggle under the weight and failings of the past, the sky is the limit for Simone. Truly, no one has been more worthy of a sparkling GOAT on the back of their leotard like the one Simone wore during podium training.

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MAG Junior Worlds Preview

In the inaugural year of the Junior World Championships, 62 nations will be represented. With 42 medals up for grabs and young talent on the floor, this promises to be an exciting competition.

Format

Like the Senior World Championships, men and women compete on alternating days for qualifications, however, there will be no separate team and all-around finals. The Junior World Championships is a four-day long marathon with MAG qualifications on June 27th and two days of event finals (29th and 30th). For those who make both days of finals, it will be a test not only of skill, but also of stamina.

For those countries who sent a complete team, the format is three-up, two count. The qualification round will also serve as the team final and the all-around final. Similar to the World Championships or Olympic Games, each country is only allowed two gymnasts per event final.

The US. Men will begin their competition on Pommel Horse in Subdivision 1.

Who to Watch

With participation restricted to gymnasts born in 2002 and 2003, many of the gymnasts with medal success at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games have been left off the World Championships teams. However, the star and reigning Youth Olympic all-around, floor, rings, parallel bars, and horizontal bar champion, Takeru Kitazono, will undoubtedly be the heavy favorite to take the all-around title and many other event titles again. He leads a strong Japanese contention that will rotate in Olympic order in subdivision 2.

The U.S. men are bringing a relatively young and internationally inexperienced team to Hungary this week. Only Isaiah Drake has competed outside the U.S where he placed 3rd at the International Junior Team Cup in the Parallel Bar Final. Garrett Braunton comes from a long lineage of Cypress greats including Olympians Jon Horton and Chris Brooks. His standout floor has won him multiple first place finishes at J.O. Nationals and P&G Championships. Rounding out the three-man team is Matthew Cormier, another exceptional floor worker who won the title at the world selection camp. This U.S. team does have one glaring weakness and that’s on pommel horse. With Cormier’s low start value, the team will need hits from Braunton and Drake to stay in the medal mix. Overall, look for the team to excel on floor, still rings, and vault!

Hometown favorite and leader of the Hungarian team, Krisztian Balazs was a multi-medal winner at the Youth Olympic Games. Though he suffered from injuries earlier this year, look for him to challenge for a spot on the medal podium. His teammate, Adam Dobrovitz, has been dubbed the “Lord of the Rings” by the Hungarian federation. The final spot on the Hungarian team was awarded to Szabolcs Batori, whose favorite event is vault.

The Russian Federation comes to Junior Worlds as the reigning junior European Champions; however, none of the 2018 team will be competing in Hungary this weekend. Ivan Kuliak leads the Russian contingent this weekend after winning the all-around gold at the Russian Junior National Championships. Joining Kuliak is Kirill Gashkov who won the silver medal on high bar at the International Junior Team Cup earlier this year… and is also fantastic on parallel bars.

One of the most anticipated performance this championships is from Brazil’s Diogo Soares. Soares won the all-around bronze at the Youth Olympic Games, as well as the silver on high bar. Having been successful at nearly every competition he has entered since, he is an especially poignant competitor on parallel bars and high bar. With clean lines and a propensity to stick the landing, look for him to challenge for the high bar title.

Named as one to watch by the International Federation of Gymnastics, Yang Haonan leads the Chinese in this Junior World Championships. He is particularly strong on still rings and parallel bars–look for him to make the finals on both of those events. Yang Yanzhi and  Li Hongyan complete the Chinese team.

Other notable gymnasts to watch are:

FX: Felix Dolci (CAN), Nazar Chepurnyi (UKR)

PH: Mammadi Sammad (Azerbaijan), Lorenzo Bonicelli (ITA)

SR: Docli Felix (CAN)

VT: Jasper Smith-Gordon (GBR), Nazar Chepurnyi (UKR)

PB: Robert Burtanete (ROM), Lucas Desanges (FRA)

HB: Ivan Brunello (ITA)

 

You can find an updated list of competitors here.

 

How to Follow:

For more information visit the official website of the 2019 Junior World Championships.

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Article by: Kensley Behel

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Former NCAA National Champion Seeks to be Jamaica’s First World Medalist

Born in Germany, Michael Reid looks to return there later this year to earn Jamaica’s first World Championship medal. The NCAA standout and former team and pommel horse national champion got his start in gymnastics near Ft. Hood, Texas where he was coached by Kathi-Sue Rupp; he later trained at Crenshaw’s Gymnastics in Austin, TX. As he progressed through the ranks, he wanted to compete at the collegiate level. He looked at Ohio State University before ultimately settling on the University of Oklahoma.

An unusual start to his collegiate career left his ability to compete for the Sooners in question. Showing up with no paperwork ready meant Reid would have to spend his first semester on the club gymnastics team. The following semester, he tried-out on pommel horse, parallel bars, and vault, and ultimately, it was Reid’s stellar pommel horse set that earned him a spot

in the Oklahoma Varsity line-up. After placing 2nd at the 2014 NCAA national championships, he won the pommel horse title in 2015. His former coach, Mark Williams, said of Reid’s accomplishments, “It’s one of the greatest walk-on success stories.”

Many gymnasts choose to retire after their collegiate career, but Reid felt he had more to give to the sport. Reid began pursuing a change of FIG license to being competing for Jamaica, his mother’s home country. In 2019, he was granted his Jamaican license after successful showings at the Houston National Invitational and the WOGA Classic. He will be representing Jamaica at the Paris World Cup in September and at the Jamaican Classic in November. His ultimate goal for this year is to represent Jamaica at the 2019 Stuttgart World Championships in October. No Jamaican gymnast has ever medaled in an event final and Reid has a shot.

With an eye-catching, upgraded 6.7 difficulty, his routine has a higher degree of difficulty than anyone in last year’s World pommel horse final, except reigning Olympic Champion, Max Whitlock. Jamaica will send three gymnasts to the World Championships this year and Reid is hoping to be one of them. Aside from medaling at the World Championships, Reid’s other goal is to qualify to the next Olympic Games. To qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo as an individual, Reid needs to be named to this year’s World Championship team, make the pommel horse final, and be among the top three competitors not already belonging to a qualified team. He believes he can do it.

Many Olympic hopefuls plan their careers in quadrenniums around the Olympic cycle. Reid, however, hasn’t given a timeline for his retirement stating, “I’ll keep going until I’ve hit my ceiling.” His goals are not solely medal related, rather, he also hopes to bring more awareness to the sport by entertaining fans and utilizing social media to his benefit. His original idea for Instagram live challenges will showcase skill for skill challenges among the best gymnasts in the world in an attempt to bring more awareness to men’s gymnastics.

In tandem with is training schedule, Reid works 40 hours a week at Texas Dream Gymnastics in Coppell, Texas to train the next generation of athletes. Some weekends, he plays both coach and athlete at the same meet. Though his schedule is busy, his love of the sport and his goals are clear, to become Jamaica’s first world medalist. You can follow along with his journey on Instagram at mjrview.

Good luck with the rest of your season!

Article by: Kensley Behel

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Team USA Men’s Gymnastics Update

Men's Update

The 2019 Junior World Championships are set to take place June 27 – 30 in Gyor, Hungary. The U.S. men began their second of two qualifying events yesterday at the Olympic Training Center. Garrett Braunton, Matt Cormler, Isaiah Drake, Ian Lasic-Ellis, Brandon Nguyen, and Khoi Young have been confirmed the six gymnasts invited to compete for a spot on the Junior World’s Team. Per USA Gymnastics, three team members and a traveling alternate will be named to the team at the conclusion of the camp.

The first qualifying event was the Men’s JO Nationals and took place in Reno, Nevada from April 30th to May 30th where Asher Hong (15), Brandon Nguyen (16) Colt Walker (17),  and Lazarus Barnhill (18) won each of their respective divisions. Barnhill, who also won the Mas Wantanabe award, is age-ineligible for the Junior World Championship and will head to college later this year to compete for the University of Oklahoma. Asher Hong, who first came on the elite scene by winning the 2018 Winter Cup challenge, is ineligible due to his age.

In addition to the Junior World Championships, this camp serves as the qualifying meet for the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. For the senior division, the MPC invited former national team members Cameron Bock, Grant Breckenridge, Adrian de los Angeles, and Brody Malone to the national team camp to vie for a spot on the Senior PanAm team. Malone was accepted by petition on April 9, 2019 to this camp and later that month won the NCAA individual all-around title and helped his Stanford team unseat reigning champions, Oklahoma, at the NCAA Championships. It is unclear how the other three gymnasts were selected. Joining them in their quest for the Pan American Games are current National Team Members Robert Neff of Stanford University, Genki Suzuki of the University of Oklahoma and Riley Loos who will head to Stanford this fall.

The remaining Senior National Team members will use the camp to train for 2019 National Championships in Kansas City, MO and the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart Germany.

 

Article by: Kensley Behel

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Preview: Winter Cup 2019

Winter Cup 2019 - Preview

The gymnasts spoke and the coaches listened. According to a recent interview by Blythe Lawrence, the gymnasts asked for a revision of the mandatory two-days of competition at Winter Cup, which they were granted. This year, the top six all-arounders, (and Sam Mikulak) will have the opportunity to save their body if they don’t wish to compete the second day of competition. As long as Sam competes on day one and qualifies to finals in any capacity, he will be named to the national team because he won a medal at the 2018 World Championships. If history is any indicator, should the five-time national champion compete in the all-around he should place well within the top six, and he will probably lead the all-around standings–meaning a total of seven gymnasts will be named to the national team after night one. Consequently, there will be only five spots to be determined by the second night of competition or medical petitions.

The 2018 all-around silver medalist and 2017 National Champion, Yul Moldauer, has yet to compete in the all-around this year; making Winter Cup his all-around debut. This will be a lead-up meet to his competition at the American Cup in March. The 2017 world bronze-medalist on floor has upped his difficulty by .3 tenths from last year’s world championships. Expect him to contend for the the floor title here should he perform with his normal form and ability to stick the landings.

Allan Bower, who placed third at nationals last year, is coming off his win at the Houston National Invitational where he took home the all-around, floor (tie), and vault titles. His teammate and current national team member, Colin Van Wicklen, placed second in the all-around at the same competition and took home the floor (tie) and high bar titles as well. Van Wicklen has changed vaults from a Dragulescu (handspring double front half) to a Blanik (handspring double pike). Both vaults are worth the same, however the Blanik has a forward landing which is easier on his ankles. In a recent interview with Gymnasticsville, he stated that he hopes to upgrade the Blanik to a double front pike half known as a Ri Se Gwang 2 and holds a start value of 6.0.

Trevor Howard, who was named to the national team after being named a non-traveling alternate for the 2018 World Championship squad, placed third in the all-around at the Houston National Invitational. He has two vaults and a superb ring set to anticipate.

The final member of the 2018 World Championships team competing this weekend is Akash Modi. He is best known for his work on parallel bars.

The Comebacks

Unfortunately, injuries have plagued a large number of our current and former senior men’s national team members.  Last season Donnell Whittenburg, Eddie Penev, Marvin Kimble, and Donothan Bailey, all suffered from significant injuries that prevented them from competitively competing for a spot on the World’s team.

In an interview with GymCastic, Donnell described his journey through gymnastics the last few years as he has continued to work to come back from a partially-torn rotator cuff. It is undecided if he will compete the all-around or choose to compete less events this weekend. For him, health is his priority because the end-goal is the Olympics.

Donnell has down-graded his routines to allow for him to stay as healthy as possible and wants to communicate that he is back and that his return will only get better from here. When asked about his choice to compete at nationals last year instead of petitioning for medical reasons, he said, ” I wanted to compete. I wanted to do something.” Though his choice to compete didn’t earn him a spot on national team, he had an extremely positive outlook because he was finally able to fully cheer his teammates on.

The most anticipated comeback for this meet is none other than former NCAA star and current national team member, Eddie Penev. Known for his explosive power on vault and dynamic tumbling on floor, the 2017 World Challenge Cup floor champion couldn’t be happier to be doing gymnastics again.

He said he will be doing five events and is thrilled to be back given he had surgery just 6 months ago. He has  upgraded pommels, p-bars and high bar. He will be performing a slightly watered down floor, but thinks it should be the highest start value. On vault he’s doing a “Simone-esque man-amar.”

Marvin Kimble is also a superb vaulter and pommel horse worker. Showing consistency here will go a long way in his quest towards a second world championship team.

Still missing from the senior field at Winter Cup is Donothan Bailey as he recovers from surgeries last year. He will, however, have the opportunity to petition to the national team.

NCAA in Elite

There are only three–out of the 56 gymnasts competing–that do not have ties to the NCAA. That means 94% of senior gymnasts this weekend are competing or have competed in collegiate programs around the country. This number shows the significance and continued relevance of the NCAA men’s gymnastics programs to our elite national program.

Current NCAA stars and national team members competing in this meet include Cameron Bock of the University of Michigan, Genki Suzuki of the University of Oklahoma, Shane Wiskus of the University of Minnesota, and Alec Yoder of Ohio State University. Bock owns the highest AA score this year in the NCAA and Yoder is known for his internationally-competitive pommel horse work.

Under the Radar

Names like Sam Mikulak and Yul Moldauer are familiar to most gymnastics fans, but who are the ones with an outside chance a national team?

Levi Anderson (Oklahoma) is my pick for a surprise spot on the national team. He’s ranked first on HB in the NCAA and can put together a solid all-around score that may well earn him the chance to wear red, white, and blue. High Bar is the weakest event for Team USA right now and his score could be invaluable in the future.

Stephen Nedoroscik has a phenomenal pommel horse routine. Though it would be hard to win a spot on the team by only competing one event, he could easily snag the title this weekend.

Sean Melton, though a familiar name to most, hasn’t competed since last year’s national championships. He has often been a regular on the national team, but was dealing with some nagging injuries at last year’s championships. Look for the reigning Winter Cup still rings champion to compete to retain his title.

In fact, all 2018 Winter Cup champions are returning to reclaim their titles. The 2018 event winners were:

Sam Mikulak: AA, FX, PB, HB

Alec Yoder: PH

Sean Melton: SR

Marvin Kimble: VT

Junior Gymnasts

The 2018 Winter Cup junior champion, Asher Hong, will not be competing in this event. He is healthy and is choosing to focus on other meets coming up.

Though the MPC has yet to finalize the qualification process for choosing a team for the 2019 Junior World Championships, we know consistency plays a role in who is chosen based on Brett McClure’s statistics database. Additionally, only all-around athletes will be considered for the team due to the format of the world championships, and the gymnasts must be born between 2002 and 2003. Unlike the senior men, junior gymnasts do not have the option of a second chance each year for a spot on national team. However, the good news is that a gymnast does not have to currently be on national team to be selected for the world team in Hungary. Gymnasts competing this weekend who are age-eligible include: Fuzzy Benas (NT), Garrett Braunton, Michael Jaroh, Rithik Puri, Luke McFarland, Isaiah Drake, Raydel Gamboa, Nicolas Kuebler, Ian Lasic-Ellis, and Khoi Young.

How to Follow

The meet will be live-streamed by USA Gymnastics.

Kensley and Jessica will be live blogging and giving behind-the-scenes coverage of event finals on Sunday night.

Start lists and live results can be found here.

Article by: Kensley Behel

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U.S. Men’s Team Conference Call

The overarching theme of last week’s conference call with the 2018 men’s worlds competitors was team and the NCAA’s role in helping create a bond that will benefit the five gymnasts in Doha. If there’s one message the team is sending it’s that they are ready and that they believe they will be on the podium. Yul Moldauer was emphatic, “I know we will do it.”

Moldauer described the mental game as the team’s biggest challenge, not Russia, China, or Japan, but simply themselves. They plan to take each event one by one and to trust in each other and in their training. In his training, he praised his coach, Mark Williams, saying “I feel like I could do my routines with my eyes closed because I feel so prepared.”

Moldauer’s back is now healed and he feels no pain. Even though there is no discomfort, he plans on competing his lower difficulty floor routine which holds the same start value as Sam Mikulak’s (5.7); and if he make event finals, the plan is to compete the 6.0 routine.

Akash Modi spoke of that same team unity that Yul focused on. Though former rivals in the NCAA, they are teammates and one for TEAM USA. The perfect picture of that was demonstrated in 2017 at the American Cup when Yul and Akash competed as TEAM USA then as soon as the competition was over, they watched the Oklahoma/Stanford meet on TV as their NCAA teammates competed against each other. This competitive spirit and camaraderie means they have each other’s back. Akash views this as their main advantage. He knows that landings are a weakness for him and has been focusing hard during his 7 am trainings to stick. To give himself and his teammates and even better shot at success, he has taken a leave of absence from Stanford’s program and will continue pursuing his M.S. in engineering after the 2018 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Alec Yoder is looking to make his return to Doha this fall after having won a bronze medal on pommel horse earlier this year. He, like Yul, has two different routines to choose from, but his choice comes on pommel horse. He talked about his consistency, having hit 12/12 at nationals and at the selection camp. He has looked up to Sam for a long time and said what an incredible honor it was to be named to the team with him and the other three members. When asked about how he’s been preparing for the new Taishan equipment, he said that he had not had the opportunity to compete or train on it before, but knew the high bar would be tighter as well as some other small differences, but that the team would have a week to adjust in Doha.

Sam has changed an element on rings. He changed his honma cross to a back uprise cross to focus on better execution. He talked at length about how stressed he used to be before competition, but incorporating normal parts of life—like coming home to his puppy and his girlfriend, as well as being ok with eating a slice of pizza once in a while—have helped take the pressure off.

Sam feels he will contribute to the team most on high bar and feels he should be good enough not to fall. He has been working specifically on checkpoints in his routine, when to pace and when to be aggressive. He says he is ready. Both he and fellow world teammate, Colin Van Wicklen, who is currently residing at the Olympic Training Center (OTC), have been waking up early for their main practice in preparation for the qualifications in Doha.

Colin talked about his move from the University of Oklahoma to Cypress and the reasoning behind it. He left so that he could chase his dreams in his hometown where other Olympians like Jon Horton and Chris Brooks also trained. While no decision to make another move the OTC has been made, he has been training there in preparation for Doha and will make his decision after Worlds as to where he will continue training.

At the OTC, they have worked on playing stick games to bring more of a light atmosphere with a serious goal in mind, particularly on floor. Colin is on a redemption tour for both himself and for the team as they search for that first team medal since 2014.

Best of luck to Team USA.

Article by: Kensley Behel