GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Best of GymCastic: The Leotard Episode Jul 09, 2020

Show notes

Club Gym Nerd member, Gym Coach Diana, has commissioned an episode all about the glorious leotard! Spencer, Lauren, and Jessica chat about leos leos leos; biggest leotard fails, the most patriotic, custom theme leos, Australia, cut outs, crushed velvet, rules for leotard design, technology, sewn in underpants, leotard deductions, controversies and the most notorious leotards of all time.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LEOTARDS WE DISCUSS IN ORDER: https://gymcastic.com/?p=61421&preview=true

This episode originally aired in November 2016.

431: 2003 Team Final Commissioned Jul 01, 2020

Show notes

This episode was commissioned by Club Gym Nerd member Jasmine, who asked for an episode all about the 2003 worlds team final. Hollie's number. "Oh, that's too bad." Warming up on the podium. "So little talent." A truly iconic choice!

WATCH HERE

Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded (pre-edits with all the flubs and hiccups) and watch the videos of the routines we're discussing right along with us.

BUT FIRST

A little breaking news nugget: We discuss Shawn Johnson's latest YouTube video about being given Adderall for weight loss, not an approved therapeutic exemption, for this banned substance, and what the potential fallout could be, if any.

2003 TEAM FINAL

US injury drama – and more questions about the US team medical care
Jessica's behind-the-scenes story about Khorkina interacting with children!
The birth of the legend of Chellsie Freaking Memmel
A frame-by-frame dissection of Tasha trying to block Martha's head smack
"So little talent" and what Shevchenko herself thinks of that comment
Interpreting Khorkina's choreography
Jessica's tale of spying on a US practice and Carly's crazy bars training
Hollie's number: Was the US team given preferential treatment?
China's neutral deduction for warming up on the podium
"Ooooh, that's too bad"
AND MORE!

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430: Athlete A with Jennifer Sey Jun 24, 2020

Show notes

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.

THIS WEEK'S INTERVIEW

Jennifer Sey became the US national champion in 1986, just seven months after breaking her femur at the 1985 world championships, an injury that led to a change in rules about bars spotting. In 2008, she published her groundbreaking memoir Chalked Up and has since been an advocate for survivors and those fighting against abuse in gymnastics. She produced the documentary Athlete A about the failures of USA Gymnastics to deal with the criminal ex-doctor, which premieres on Netflix this week. We talked with her about what she hopes the general public learns about gymnastics culture from the film, whether the Maggie Haney suspension represents progress or not, why watching Kerri Strug vault in 1996 didn't feel like a glorious moment to her, and balancing the horror of Athlete A with hope by focusing on the triumphs of Maggie Nichols, Rachael Denhollander, Jamie Dantzscher, and the Indy Star journalists.

Related Reading:

Jen Sey's Op-Ed in the New York Times: How Gymnastics Culture Breeds Sexual Abuse
Why Not Being Racist is Not Enough
Chalked Up by Jennifer Sey
Athlete A trailer

GYMTERNET NEWS

A vital episode dedication to Natalia Frolova
URGENT: An email from someone who coached at the Karolyi summer camps
Feedback on the John Orozco interview and Kensley's response
Seattle Pacific eliminates its gymnastics program
Major dumpster fire developments in bankruptcy court
Germany (kind of?) did a gymnastics over the weekend
Simone did a triple double off beam and we need to talk about it

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429: John Orozco Does Not Hold Back Jun 16, 2020

Show notes

THIS WEEK'S INTERVIEW

John Orozco is here and ready to blow it up. In this interview, he discusses the Black Lives Matter movement and the racism he experienced from leadership in the US men's program, different standards applied to white and black athletes in national team selection and drug/alcohol enforcement, favoritism and score changing, the reality of a family situation that was far from what was painted by NBC, what really happened in the 2012 Olympic team final, the lawlessness of the post-Olympic tour, his nationality switch to Puerto Rico, and so much more. You don't want to miss this one.

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428: Black Lives Matter This Week Too Jun 10, 2020

Show notes

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

Kurt Thomas, 1978 and 1979 world champion, died of a stroke at age 64. We discuss his legacy.
More athletes detail stories of racism in college gymnastics—what Alabama's Tia Kiaku, Auburn gymnasts Kennedy Finister and Telah Black, Florida's Kytra Hunter, and Nebraska's Ashley Lambert said this week
- Why the aggressively empty platitudes from coaches like Dana Duckworth and Courtney Kupets-Carter bother us so much—and why we love the statement from Sac State
- Plus, do we need to change our outro? And what should it be?

GYMTERNET NEWS

European Championships have been rescheduled for December in Baku. Jessica is concerned for COVID reasons. Spencer is concerned for rule-consistency reasons. Kensley is optimistic. No one is surprised by any of this.
The FIG published the new, official Olympic qualification rules for 2021
The retirements of Courtney McGregor, Senna Deriks, and most of Romania
Which US elites have decided to keep training for Tokyo
NCAA transfer news for Addy De Jesus, Bailey Ferrer, and Mercedes Sanchez
Problems with the FBI, NCAA, and Kathy Klages, as per usual, and a coach suspension at Chelsea Piers
Nile Wilson released a documentary on his battle with addiction and mental health—we watched and have thoughts
Plus, feedback on Alexis Brown, why the gymternet didn't come for Sam Mikulak like it did for Ashton, and sports' exploitation of black athletes

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427: Black Lives Matter with Alexis Brown Jun 03, 2020

Show notes

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.

THIS WEEK'S INTERVIEW

Alexis Brown was a UC Davis gymnast, is the co-program record holder on beam, and knelt during the national anthem in the 2017 and 2018 NCAA seasons. We caught up with Alexis to hear her thoughts on kneeling now—two years on—and how she feels about the current protests against police brutality of black Americans. She tells us whether she feels more hopeful or disheartened about the experience in retrospect, what she makes of the NCAA programs who haven't made statements, and what she would like to see from white members of the gymnastics community. Resources For Action: https://medium.com/equality-includes-you/what-white-people-can-do-for-racial-justice-f2d18b0e0234 https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co https://www.benjerry.com/about-us/media-center/dismantle-white-supremacy https://www.obama.org/wp-content/uploads/Toolkit.pdf https://www.obama.org/anguish-and-action/

GYMTERNET NEWS

We round up the reactions (and occasionally lack thereof) to the protests from those in the gymnastics community, including Kennedy Baker, Tia Kiaku, and Steve Butcher.
Plus, what we can do in the gymnastics community, obliviousness and defensiveness, reasons there might be silence, compassion fatigue, and how there's no better time to get rid of IOC's Rule 50 against demonstrations.

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RELATED EPISODES

426: Body Roll Abomination May 20, 2020

Show notes

WATCH HERE

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

GYMTERNET NEWS

USAG cancels elite events for the remainder of 2020. Inevitable sigh.
Some THOUGHTS about these new garbage Title IX regulations
The latest steps toward NCAA athlete compensation and what it means for gymnasts
NCAA gymnastics news, in which we discuss the sprouting of Long Island University and whether or not Nebraska is...OK?
How various nations are handling a return to elite training
Jessica has some feelings about priorities and the re-opening of gyms in the US
Dumpster fire developments on the suspension of Amy Nyman, the dismissal of charges against Lou Anna Simon, and USOC getting sued for fraud
Finally, how bad was the FIG's decision to use the qualification results from Baku as final? Score For Score has the numbers

MINI-COMMISSION

A mini commission from Nico T.L. asks us to go deep on three...shall we say remarkable?...floor routines from 2000—Elena Produnova's "Super Bitch Power Routine," Paloma Moro's "Cracked Out Spanish Hoedown Routine," and Alena Polozkova's "So Bad You Can't Look Away Routine." This is heavenly.

FEEDBACK

We conclude with some feedback about Li Li's culpability in the Maggie Haney situation, autism, Nazis (?), and our judging episode.

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425: GymCastic Fixes Judging (Commission) May 13, 2020

Show notes

This week's episode has been commissioned by an anonymous Club Gym Nerd member and current gymnastics judge who said, "You complain about judging all the time." (WHAT, US??? NEVER!) "Tell us what you would do if you were in charge of women's officials for NCAA and JO meets." We shall gladly oblige! Surprise, surprise, we're not short of opinions. We tackle nasty problem areas like transparency, the Old Girls Network, "reputation," judging consistency, bias, and subjectivity, while answering questions about whether having been a gymnast makes you a better judge, appropriate processes for judge selection and evaluation, and how judges should get the $$$$$$$. We also make a list of the problems with college judging and what to do about them. So basically, we fix everything that's wrong with everything. You're welcome, gymnastics.

GYMTERNET NEWS

We couldn't not talk about the latest harrowing details on Maggie Haney's 8-year suspension, so we take a moment to be horrified about that as well.

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424: Emotional Abuse: The Maggie Haney 8 Year Ban May 06, 2020

Show notes

THIS WEEK'S INTERVIEWS

This week, Jessica speaks with attorney and Olympic Champion, Nancy Hogshead-Makar of Champion Women about emotional abuse (A.C.E score) and SafeSport rules, the 8-year ban for Maggie Haney, whether this counts as progress, what a culture of silent obedience looks like, and a new bill pending before Congress. Learn more usopu.info She also speaks with Robert Andrews, therapist and founder of the Institute of Sports Performance in Houston, about the long-term effects of childhood trauma and emotional abuse and what needs to change for USAG to be able to prevent abuse. As a child. Andrews was inspired by the book They Fought Back. His series Champions Mental Edge is available here.

GYMTERNET NEWS

We won the COVID-19 Feeding America fundraiser. Still time to donate if you can. Watch here.
8 Years: Maggie Haney has been suspended for 8 years. We discuss what Laurie said about her experience, the details of the suspension, the information we'd still like to know, why now and why her (because there sure are others...), how shocked we are that emotional abuse was actually taken seriously, and what emotional abuse actually means
- Maggie's Rules from The Skating Lesson
Fantasy Floor Music: We finally learned the details of Dan Kendig's 2018 resignation for getting caught doing something that most college programs do—and rant about the stupid NCAA rules on paying for floor choreography

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423: Little Dumpster Fires Everywhere Apr 29, 2020

Show notes

LIVE VIDEO PODCAST FUNDRAISER

Attention! Dave Tilley of Shift Movement Science is hosting a FREE online gymnastics summit on Saturday May 2 to benefit Feeding America's COVID-19 hunger relief, and we're going to be part of it! The all-day video marathon will feature a bunch of people who know what they're talking about and then also us, with the GymCastic segment starting at 5:00pm ET sandwiched between Jordyn Wieber, Chris Brooks, Colin Van Wicklen, Kyla Ross, Madison Kocian, and Miss Val. Just like we were meant to be. Check out full details at the Event Info page and the Feeding America fundraising part at the GoFundMe page.

THIS WEEK

Gymternet News: Morgan's gym needs your help, the Netherlands and Italy are moving toward reopening gyms, there was a "calendar error" in the Maggie Haney ruling, and the Argentinian federation may have stolen USAG's dumpster title.
Less Is More: We're taking a red marker to the rules and crossing out the things we don't like.
Mini-Commission on Inbars: Why are they considered harder than the other entries? Why do they mess up everyone's backs? And why was Bridget Sloan's so different?
Mini-Commission on Spencer's Weird Opinions: One time, Spencer categorically asserted that Huang Mandan was robbed on bars in 2000 and should have made the bars final over Ling Jie and Yang Yun. That was a weirdly specific take to be so passionate about, so...talk about that.
Plus, some important feedback on Stick It pregnancies and Full Out 2.