What We’re Talking About
Supporting independent journalism matters. Last week we learned that the Washington Post laid off a third of its staff. Among the wreckage was the dismantling of their Sports section. Journalism is a tough business, but this was self sabotage. At GymCastic, we have tried to control our own destiny as best we can while holding onto the values that matter to us. Over the years we’ve seen social media algorithms change, podcast advertising boom and falter, website ad rates crash, Google search traffic rise and tank, and much more. And don’t get us started with what’s coming with AI. The thing that allows us to provide the coverage we do and to speak truth without fear is you. We work for you–our listeners–and more specifically our club members.
We often say things that upset governing bodies, coaches and sometimes even athletes. We’re not trying to upset anyone, but oftentimes being honest and telling a complete story doesn’t fit nicely on a social media post that athletes and schools will want to share. This is less complicated because our beacon is always you, the fans, who make all sports viable–and we think our relationship with you is special and we don’t take that for granted. We don’t worry about upsetting advertisers or some benevolent funder because our work is a direct result of your contributions. Yes, we have advertisers (and the ones we’ve worked with directly have been great), but they are not the driving force. In fact, we removed advertising from our website because we found it was a better experience for you and wasn’t worth it for us. Our business model isn’t to chase clicks and get likes. It’s a straight-forward proposition of asking you to directly support the reporting and commentary that we provide; and in exchange we will work our butts off to deliver the best analysis and insights along with a bunch of laughs and entertainment. This unfortunately seems to be coinciding with the collapse of institutions. We’re deeply saddened by this because journalistic institutions, in particular, come with a professionalism that is still needed. Journalism isn’t a job, it’s a process. Before we record or post news, we do a lot of background reporting. Jessica, in particular, hasn’t always explicitly discussed her many hours running down sources and stories before saying things that oftentimes read as off-the-cuff. While she doesn’t like to talk about the work she does, she is now making an effort to be more transparent about doing the work because you, the listener and club member, should know that your support isn’t just for fun thoughts, but for vetted journalism.
We love this community and are excited to see it continue to grow. As a fun way for you to keep updated on everything that’s happening in gymnastics we have just launched GymCastic Games. These games are filled with current events, gymnastics lore and GymCastic insights. As institutions fall we want to say “thank you” for allowing us to continue exploring the best way to stay informed and to share our mutual love of the sport.
Feelings
- Loved seeing Rebeca Andrade back at the Olympics
- Something is rotten in Iowa State
- We knew Jordan Chiles doing her Prince routine in Minnesota would be epic, but using her voice after made it iconic
- It was great to see Aly Raisman chatting with Michelle Obama
- The Winter Cup roster is taking shape
- Tribute: UW-Whitewater hosted a meet to honor slain teammate Kara Welsh
- The conference shake ups have helped in setting new record attendances
- Looking forward to it: Rhys McClenaghan set to compete for the first time since Paris
- It was nice that the NFL had Sunisa Lee at the Super Bowl so people would tune in
- Brought joy to see Hallie Mossett using her platform and back on the mic
- Bonus: You should definitely get your Live Show Season Pass and/or your Cecile Landi Live Show Replay Ticket
Facts
- Iowa State has cancelled the remainder of their season
- 4/8: Jordan Chiles now has half of the perfect 10s this season
- She has scored a perfect 10 in all but two meets so far this season
- Six UCLA gymnasts had a 4.0 GPA in the fall quarter
- Mackenzie Estep is the first freshman this season to score a perfect 10
- 49.675: Arkansas set a program vault record on their way to upset Georgia
- Simpson broke 190 for the first time in program history
- 9.975: Hailey Klein and Lauren Williams both set Arkansas program vault records
- Itay’s former rhythmic coach, Emanuela Maccarani will stand trial over the mistreatment of young athletes
- Romania’s National Agency for Sport has ordered recovery of 153,031 lei in unduly paid salaries (incl. national team bonus) from Camelia Voinea
- USAG’s 2026 streaming schedule has been released
- Bonus: Get – The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles for under $5!
Award(s)
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- Dr. Strange: Katelyn Rosen
- Courage Award – Jordan Chiles
What’s On the Socials?
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Quotes
“This weekend, my class advocated for mental health. I chose to represent eating disorder awareness—a battle I struggled with immensely… Wearing this green and purple bow (my friend from treatment made me), meant the world to me. It’s a reminder of how far I’ve come…”
~ Levi Jung-Ruivivar, Mental Health Advocate
Levi wore a green and purple bow, turning her own struggles with an eating disorder to help others through awareness and advocacy.
♦
“After a careful and thoughtful review of the program over the last week, it became apparent that we do not have enough student-athletes available to safely compete, and thus have made the painful decision to cancel the remainder of our gymnastics season.”
~ Shamaree Brown, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student Services at Iowa State
A statement put out by the Cyclones program after they decided to abruptly end their gymnastics season.
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“I miss flipping every day.”
~ Simone Biles, GOAT
In a social media post trying on a leotard, Simone shared five little words that we will hold onto for dear life… no pressure of course.
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What? You want even more? Join Club Gym Nerd and you get a bonus episode, College & Cocktails, every weekend after our meet of the week. Once the NCAA season is over you continue to get a weekly bonus episode every Friday afternoon. Plus you get access to all of our archives, exclusive content and more. Then we give the sober analysis on Monday (or Tuesday) after we’ve allowed the data to penetrate our feelings.
This column was composed and compiled by Steve Cooper, Editor at GymCastic and co-author of “The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles“; some thoughts culled from hosts Jessica O’Beirne and Spencer Barnes.
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