LISTEN HERE

WATCH HERE

Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded (pre-edits with all the bloopers and blunders that don’t make it onto he final show) and see video clips of the gymnastics while we discuss.

GYMTERNET NEWS

• The college COVID wars are raging. We discuss whether it’s possible to have an equitable college gym season with such varying preparations.
• Gymnast Alliance: The latest in Amy Tinkler’s saga, as well as what’s been happening in Australia
• Simone posted some triple pikes and Yurchenko double pikes for national gymnastics day

MEET NEWS

• At Japanese Masters, Shuko Uchimura (Kohei’s mom) competed again at 53 and we were treated to the most important men’s floor routine of the age 
• Everyone is injured on the eve of Chinese WAG nationals and we’re not OK

INTERVIEW

This week, Jessica speaks with Annemarie Alf, an American Doctor of Physical Therapy and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist who has spent the last three quads working with the Chinese women’s gymnastics team. We talk about strength training, why there seem to be so few Achilles tears, nutrition, medical treatments, what we can learn from the Chinese Olympic system, and her thoughts on SafeSport. Plus the personalities of Cheng Fei, Yao Jinnan, Deng LinLin, ChenChen, Chen Yile.

MINI COMMISSION

Jyl has commissioned us to have a conversation about the trauma of leaving the sport. “How can we better prepare these young athletes for the ‘after-life?’ Offering quality training while still enabling them to be actual functioning people after the mats are gone?”

JOIN CLUB GYM NERD

• Join Club Gym Nerd for access to Behind the Scenes episodes.
• Buy our awesome clothing and gifts here.
• We have masks too!

RELATED EPISODES

• • 439: The Curious Case of the Extra Urine
  • Best of GymCastic: The FluffCast (Commissioned)
  • Best of GymCastic: Vanessa Atler Interview
  • 432: #GymnastAlliance

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN

LISTEN HERE

WATCH HERE

Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded (pre-edits with all the flubs and hiccups) and see video of the routines we discuss.

HEADLINES

• Jessica talks about the Alyssa Beckerman episode
• Gymnast Alliance: Ellie Downie’s weight-shaming complaint was “not upheld” and multiple gymnasts disclose issues at Cincinnati under MLT. Kensley has some thoughts on MLT’s Bible defense.
• Gymnastics is Coming Back! Spencer previews what we’re excited for at the upcoming Japanese Championships, Chinese Championships, and Szombathely World Cup. Meanwhile, Anastasia Motak’s beam from Ukrainian Nationals is the new president.
• Spencer watched the Andreea Raducan documentary Golden Girl and is bursting to tell you everything about it
• The latest on men’s NCAA gym and its slow march toward death:
  • The Long Brewing Crisis in High Education.  Higher education as hedge fund luxury brands
  • Cutting sports to steal endowments: The myth of football-funded athletics

GYMTERNET NEWS

• The weekly “Chellsie Memmel is our only hope” update
• Thoughts on USAG’s tentative women’s calendar for 2021
• Maggie Haney is…still working with gymnasts?
• Jordyn Wieber won’t attend the USAG Hall of Fame induction
• And a new gymnastics docuseries is coming!

JOIN CLUB GYM NERD

• Join Club Gym Nerd for access to Behind the Scenes episodes.
• Buy our awesome clothing and gifts here.
• We have masks too!

RELATED EPISODES

• Best of GymCastic: The FluffCast (Commissioned)
• Best of GymCastic: Vanessa Atler Interview
• 438: Agree to Disagree
• 437: Lineup Racism?
• 436: 2000 Women’s Team Final (Commissioned)
• 435: Let’s Talk about Terin

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN

LISTEN HERE

Originally published on July 15, 2017. It’s the commissioned episode you’ve all been waiting for…the FLUFFCAST! We jump into all the most insane, hilarious, horrifying, sexist, perfect, amazing, diva-tastic, butterfly-gazing, Romanian candle-holding fluff pieces in the history of gymnastics broadcasts. Thank you so much to Fluff Feels for commissioning the episode we were born to do, and thank you to everyone who sent in suggestions!

Jessica and Spencer dissect:

• 2000 Olympic All-Around fluff 
  • NBC’s Living-Parents Championship, starring Russian daddy issues and soldiers kidnapping Zamo.
  • Prod’s shaved eyebrow
    • Prod’s convertible flexing fluff, the only verifiably true fluff ever
  • The legendary Romanian candle cups
  • Elise Ray and the butterfly
  • NBC’s weird obsession with 1950s-style nuclear families
• 2000 Atler v. Dantzscher v. Beth Rybacki’s tears
  • How much resentment and blame? ALL OF IT!
  • What’s the deal with that wild west picture? And that helicopter-parent one?
• 1996 Kerri Strug lives in everyone’s shadow fluff 
  • Is this the most sexist fluff of all time?
  • Jessica’s expletive parade
  • Invention of the Bechdel Test for gymnastics fluff pieces
• “A diva is magical”
  • That time Khorkina was perfect in every way
  • Was saying, “I want to win as much as I want to mother my own child” really such a big deal?
• 1994 Romanian terrifying fluff of horrors
  • The twist ending and the LITERAL DEAD BODY
  • Trouble with keeping communist narratives straight
  • NBC’s fascination with Romanian people’s eyes
• 1995 Moceanu fluff
  • A creepy pedophile wonderland of a fluff piece
  • Why is Bela so bad at boats?
  • That insane 1997 “I Will Remember You” fluff
  • Moceanu standing in a forest in a leo clawing that tree in 2000
• 1992 Bogi and her coach fluff
  • How respectfully and maturely do we think NBC handled the issue of suicide?
  • Bogi has no time for family or your sexist coach narratives
• Kim Kelly gets bumped
  • Blurry smoke-filled rooms! Shadiness!
  • “Who’d they drop?” “You, Kim.”
• Mohini delivers pizzas (1) (2)
  • Why let fact get in the way of narrative?
  • Important question: what are raffle bars?
• The most upsetting and bizarre fluff you will ever see
  • A lesson on which issues should never be addressed in fluff pieces
• Elvire Teza 1998
  • More fun with racist Chinese music!
  • Why we want to move to France and live with the French team

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

• 257: The Daniels Report
• 256: 1996 Olympic All-Around Final (Commissioned)
• 255: 1996 Olympic Team Final (Commissioned)
• 254: Vanessa Atler
• 200: Alicia Sacramone
• 197: Betty Okino
• 187: McKayla Maroney
• 38: Svetlana Boginskaya
• 31: Elise Ray
• 28: Kristen Maloney
• 19: Andreea Raducan
• 17: Growing Up In The Soviet Gymnastics System And Training At Round Lake
• 225: 1992 Olympics Recap with Wendy Bruce (Commissioned)
• 185: 2008 Olympic All-Around Finals (Commissioned)
• 252: Myths, Legends, and Unexpected Moments in Gymnastics History (Commissioned)

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN 

LISTEN HERE 

BEST OF GYMCASTIC

Originally released in June 2017. Vanessa Atler is an American treasure and fans have loved her from the moment they first saw her elegant power. She’s a multi-time national champion, multi-World Cup champion, Goodwill Games event champion. She would probably have made the 1996 Olympic team had she been age eligible. She was one of those gymnasts for whom nothing ever worked out the way it should have and fans hearts broke along with her through the 1996-2000 quad. We discuss:

• Why she requested the interview with us
• Her thoughts on age limits and specialists (13:10)
• Elements she worked on but never competed (19:25)
• Dealing with emotions and tears of frustration
• The Comaneci-Salto & The Rybackis – (22:34)
  • Why didn’t she just take the Comaneci out of her routine and win all the things? 
  • Beth and Steve’s differing opinions on bars 
  • What worked and didn’t work with the Rybackis 
  • How being at Charter Oak effected her own coaching
  • Did she seek counseling or therapy? (31:01)
• Her early online presence… and her mom’s (32:50)
  • Epic fluff from 1997 on Vanessa’s online diary
• 1999 Goodwill Games and Sang Lan’s vault accident (34:43)
• Why she left the Rybackis (39:00)
• The real story behind the ankle injury (47:57)
• Why she did not train with Bela Karolyi (50:47)
• The letter Larry Nassar said USAG received about him that caused him to be banned from the Ranch (52:16)
• Pre-2000 Olympics, moving to WOGA (1:00:01)
  • What did and didn’t work for her with Valeri 
  • How Valeri helped make her more confident on bars
  • Weigh-ins (1:04:29)
• 2000 Olympic Trials
  • When an agent gets into the mix: where the “you didn’t make the team because you were fat” rumor came from (1:08:35)
  • Bela told her he’d put her on the team 
• Did she try and compete after 2000?
• What are her feelings toward gymnastics now?
• Being on the realty show “Starting Over”
• Outside influences: family members and agents
• The decision to turn professional
• Fibromyalgia after her motorcycle accident
• Dealing with anxiety and food
• Talking about her support for the defendants in the Larry Nassar case (1:36:00)
• Worlds in China: Nassar asking who wanted a cortisone shot without parental consent and alone in room (1:39:36)
• What she overheard during a coaches meeting through the walls of a hotel (1:44:11)
• Would she want her son to participate in elite gymnastics?
• What she does to keep gymnastics fun for her gymnasts
• What are her upcoming plans… is another book in the works?
• What are her thoughts on the Nassar situation and USAG today?
  • How terrible the food was when she was at the Ranch for national team camp (2:00:11)
  • The group message exchange asking for support for Nassar (2:02:04)
  • Asking for help for her bulimia and being told to do what it takes (2:03:55)

GUEST LINKS

• Witness her amazing beam skills.
• Her floor at the height of her awesomeness.
• Vanessa Atler blog and diary
• Vanessa Atler Children’s Book: Let the River Flow

SUPPORT THE SHOW

• Join Club Gym Nerd here.
• Buy one of our awesome goodies here.

RELATED EPISODES

• Episode 15: Joan Ryan Author of Little Girls in Pretty Boxes
• Episode 17: Growing Up In The Soviet Gymnastics System And Training At Round Lake
• Episode 31: Elise Ray
• Episode 28: Kristen Maloney
• Episode 33: Simone Biles & Her Coaches
• 187: McKayla Maroney
• 163: ENOUGH
• 246: Kathy Johnson Clarke Regionals Preview
• Episode 56: Preventing Abuse in Gymnastics
• 63: Doctor Larry Nassar
• 245: Steve Penny is GONE
• 244: Russian Nationals & Gymnix 2017
• 243: Senate Bill 534
• 242: Standards
• 241: The Pittsburgh Incident
• 240: Chalkography
• 239: Elite Canada, Reykjavik & NCAA

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN 

LISTEN HERE

WATCH HERE

Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded (pre-edits with all the flubs and hiccups) and see video of the routines we discuss. Please note that video takes longer to render so it might be up a little later than the audio podcast.

HEADLINES

• Alyssa Beckerman penned a Google Doc about the emotional manipulation, ostracism, pettiness, and mishandling of weight and injury that she experienced at UCLA under Miss Val
  • What lessons other coaches can learn about the best ways to help athletes who experienced abusive club careers
  • Does this change how we look at Miss Val’s positive coaching tour?
  • Thoughts on Miss Val’s response and whether she should have said anything at all
  • Discussed:
    • International Socio-Cultural research group on Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (ISCWAG) research and interview
    • Jenny Pinches explanation (on August 7, 2020 before Alyssa’s letter) of the #AthleteAlliance movement re coaches
    • One Face: Project Gravitas
    • Related articles on Beckerman :
      •  Beckerman questions dismissal
      • Team supports Beckerman’s dismissal
      • Out of Balance: A look inside USA Gymnastics’ culture of abuse
• More #GymnastAlliance news
  • Cassidy Hyman’s statement about elite development coordinator Dan Baker
  • Athletes speak out about Amanda Reddin, WAG head coach at British Gymnastics
• The NCAA Gym is dying
  • Alaska’s women’s program and Iowa’s men’s program will be shut down after 2021. We mourn.

MINI COMMISSION

• Erin has commissioned us to bring back fluff pieces and reimagine the non-racist, non-condescending, non-awful versions we’d like to see. Obviously, we go right to Elena Produnova, Catalina Ponor’s closet, and lesbians

GYMTERNET NEWS

• Kensley’s article on Female judges in MAG, Suni Lee’s COVID scare, an exposé of the Brazilian club Pinheiros, and what we think of the survivors’ attorneys asking the court to reject Terin Humphrey’s claim

JOIN CLUB GYM NERD

• Join Club Gym Nerd for access to Behind the Scenes episodes.
• Buy our awesome clothing and gifts here.
• We have masks too!

RELATED EPISODES

• 437: Lineup Racism?
• 436: 2000 Women’s Team Final (Commissioned)
• 435: Let’s Talk about Terin
• 434: Svetlana Khorcanceled
• 433: Weirdest Gymnastics Exhibitions of the 90s (Commissioned)
• 432: #GymnastAlliance
• 431: 2003 Team Final (Commissioned)

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN

LISTEN HERE

WATCH HERE

Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded (pre-edits with all the flubs and hiccups) and see video of the routines we discuss.

HEADLINES

• Are you registered to vote? Double check. Vote.org
• Texas Dreams Fallout
  • Statements from more athletes about their Texas Dreams experiences, including Ragan Smith and Macy Toronjo
  • Discussion: What responsibility do college coaches have to speak out about abusive coaching in the elite world?
• ESPN article on racism in college gymnastics
  • The details on Alabama’s Title IX investigation, and…Dana what are you doing?
  • “Skin-tone” and the NCAA demographics database
• D-D Breaux retired
  • Her epic legacy at LSU and what’s next for the team

MINI-COMMISSION

• Last week, Kennedy Baker discussed her experience with racism at Florida and mentioned the much-discussed history of Florida floor lineups. We use that as a lens for this week’s mini-commission, in which Sophie asked us to discuss NCAA lineup strategy, what each of our strategies would be if we were making lineups, and whether there’s a program that excels at lineup strategy.

GYMTERNET NEWS

• Amy Tinkler’s former coaches suspended by British Gymnastics, Memmel upgrade news, the Kathie Klages sentencing, USAG’s 5-tier system for SafeSport reports, Donnell Whittenburg’s piece for Team USA that back-up Orozo’z racism claims, Nina’s new dismount, and more

JOIN CLUB GYM NERD

• Join Club Gym Nerd for access to Behind the Scenes episodes.
• Buy our awesome clothing and gifts here.
• We have masks too!

RELATED EPISODES

• 436: 2000 Women’s Team Final (Commissioned)
• 435: Let’s Talk about Terin
• 434: Svetlana Khorcanceled
• 433: Weirdest Gymnastics Exhibitions of the 90s (Commissioned)
• 432: #GymnastAlliance
• Best of GymCastic: The Leotard Episode
• 431: 2003 Team Final (Commissioned)

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN