GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

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60: Terin Humphrey Mar 30, 2016

Show notes

Above - World Champion, two-time Olympic silver medalist, and two time NCAA Champion, Officer Terin Humphrey.

This week in meet news: Larisa Iordache pulls out both fulls on beam at Elite Gym Massilia but first year British senior Claudia Fragapane stole the show, yet another World Champion for the US, as Brandon Krzynefski wins in tumbling, NCAA signing day excitement happened here, while Catalina Ponor was adorable with her boyfriend for the Gala de Estrellas de Gimnasia series in Mexico.

Around the Gymternet we chat about: Al Trautwig going semi-postal on a Tweeter; Jessica tells her leotard injury story; gymnastics' answer to Batkid, Faith Falzon who's wish to compete in a gymnastics meet came true; video of Simone Biles double double off beam, Aly Raisman training and Jordyn Weiber's new release and a scary new study about a possible carcinogens in pits.

Our lovely guest this week is Terin "I'm a very honest person" Humphrey. Oh, is she ever! She told us about conditions at The Ranch back in the day, what it was like having Courtney McCool as a training partner, surviving the injury plagued 2003 World Championships, why the treatment of alternates should be changed, navigating college recruiting in an inhospitable club environment, how she was informed of her retirement from Alabama, being burnt-out, partying and wanting to be normal, what being the athlete rep for USA Gymnastics entails, how disputes are resolved within the selection committee, what she thought- Brenna Dowell's experience in Antwerp, those infamous GAGE leos, the Code, Memmell's petition denial in 2012, sweaty feet on bars and finally in this round of Gymternet Myth-busters we find out just what ethnicity Miss Humphrey really is!

Results from the episode 50 Gym Nerd Poll

Our Chellsie Memmel interview

Our Laurie Hernandez interview

This week's video playlist

191: Jesolo, Stuttgart and NCAA Conference Championships Mar 23, 2016

Show notes

This week Olympic medalist, World Champion and NCAA Champion, Sam Peszek, along with Evan Heiter, Uncle Tim, Spencer, and Jessica chat about:

NCAA Conference Championships:
- Pac-12 Championships: what went wrong for Utah, why people are freaking about UCLA's insane beam team and Arizona State's emotional Olympic meet.
  - What's it's like for Sam to be on the other side of the camera as an analyst (19:50)
  - Elizabeth Price (Ebee) and the vault
  - The sad truth about first-up sacrificial lamb of college gymnastics rotations.
  - Sam responds to our in-depth discussion in episode 185 about whether or not Sophia de Jesus could do her college choreography in elite. (22:00)
  - Gym Myth Busters: do judges really score higher later in the day. (37:00)
- SEC Championships (40:35): Florida won, but could Alabama or LSU take them out at NCAAs?
  - How did the end of the meet get conspiracy theorists buzzing; and what really happened? (42:50)
  - Who was the overshadowed star of the first session/ had best meet of her life? Spoiler alert, Brandi Jay of Georgia.
- Battle of Gymternet Love at Regional will be Big 10 all-around champ Lindsay Mable vs. Nina McGee (52:00)
- Which team has the best bar routines that you have never, ever seen. (55:00)
Jesolo (59:00)
- How Gabby and her upgrades are coming along
- Why Italian gymnastics fans are the best!
- Marta is soooo excited for her retirement.
- The Jesolo Bee
- How Ragan Smith and Laurie Hernandez are making a case for the Olympic team
- Carlotta Ferlitto's beam crash
- Aly Raisman's uncharacteristic fall on vault.
Stuttgart (1:16:00)
- What this told us about the status of the Russian Olympic team
- Oleg and the Ukranians

Our weekly roundup of the latest news stories from around the gymternet include (1:25:45):

The Bronze movie review
Thema Williams is going to the Test Event! Suck it slut-shamers!
Valentina Rodionenko says Russia will have no meldonium problems.
Aliya Mustafina not likely to compete at nationals
Catalina Ponor and Diana Bulimar's new floor routines
U.S. Men sweep a meet and wear cowboy hats
English Championships

What: The GymCastic Mock Press Conference Contest Prize: Two all-session passes to the 2016 Pac Rim Championships in Everett, WA April 8-10 How: Hold a mock press conference as if you have won the contest. Record yourself (or friend, pet, stuffed animal etc.) answering any question as if you have won. Tag us on Instagram or Twitter using #PacRimPC (PC as in press conference). One entry per day. Use these questions to get you started:

What does this win mean to you?
What were your goals coming into this contest?
As a superfan, the expectations are high, what kind of fan shenanigans do you have planned for the meet?
With this win, have you silenced the haters?

Deadline: April 3rd

Support us!

Join Club Gym Nerd here.
Buy one of our awesome shirts here.

190: Part 3 of 3 Test Event Terror, NCAA Do-Overs and Drugs Tests Mar 16, 2016

Show notes

We are trying something new this week. The show has been broken into three parts for your enjoyment; Netflix binge style. Listen to all the three parts sequentially or pick the subject you want to start with first. Tell us what you think of this experiment.

In the news, Uncle Tim, Spencer, Lauren, Spanny, and Jessica chat about:

Part Three of three episode 190 podcasts:

NCAA:
- Oklahoma of the West Coast: Cal Berkeley, the little brainiac school that could.
- Why Stanford, the best team on paper, could end up out of the NCAA Championships
- (3:00) Sonya Meraz (UCLA) was allowed to repeat her beam routine after a fall when the judge reviewed video and saw a camera light during the crash. Do the rules really allow for this?
- (19:45) Pac12 Network worker walks onto the vault runway during warmups. Jessica loses her mind, demands punishment and firing.
- Is a gift of a 10 for a career where many 10s were not given ok?
Gymternet News (31:00)
- Test Event horror (33:30):
  - Can Romania make it to the Olympics with star, Larisa Iordache out with a broken finger?!
  - (39:43) Australia loses our beloved Mary-Anne "Mez" Monckton to an ACL injury one day after she was named to the Test Event team.
- Meldonium, the endurance drug (46:00):
  - A TON of gymnasts tested positive for the newly banned drug Meldonium at Euros in Baku, back in October 2015 before it was banned in January of 2016.
  - We dig deep into the facts vs rumors about its use in gymnastics.
- Tatiana Nabieva's volunteers to take over for the Rodionovas (we accept!)
- Giulia Steingruber's "The Hard Way To Success" episode was striking when compared to the conditions shown in this short video on India's Dipa Karmakar.
- The Washington Post made a major factual error in a story on gymnastics and don't give enough of a crap about their integrity to fix it.
- (1:04:00)The American roster for Jesolo has been confirmed and you can watch legally for free in the U.S. by using a VPN. Our listeners like Hola and Tunnel Bear.
Feedback (01:10:00): listener puts the criticism of Gabby's hair into the context of African-American beauty and criticism of young people living life in the public eye.

Contest Alert!

What: The GymCastic Mock Press Conference Contest

Prize: Two all-session passes to the 2016 Pac Rim Championships in Everett, WA April 8-10

How: Hold a mock press conference as if you have won the contest. Record yourself (or friend, pet, stuffed animal etc.) answering any question as if you have won. Tag us on Instagram or Twitter using #PacRimPC (PC as in press conference). One entry per day.

Watch samples on our Instagram or use these questions to get you started:

What does this win mean to you?
What were your goals coming into this contest?
As a superfan, the expectations are high, what kind of fan shenanigans do you have planned for the meet?
With this win, have you silenced the haters?

Deadline: April 3rd

Related Links

Ages of Pre-Olympic World Medalists

Support us!

Join Club Gym Nerd here.
Buy one of our awesome shirts here

Related Episodes:

189: Blinded by the Swag 2016 American Cup Mar 08, 2016

Show notes

In the news, NCAA Champion and former US men's national team member, Stacey Ervin joins Uncle Tim, Lauren, and Jessica chat about:

Why the American Cup and NBC's coverage of it, sucks so hard (1:07:45).
Our favorite routines or moments from the American Cup and Nastia Cup:
- Carlotta Ferlito floor performance and elegance.
- This genius routine from Helen Hu
- The best vault of the weekend from Rachael Lukcas
- Tabea Alt's (GER) bad ass side aerial loso loso beam routine glory.
- Tisha Vollman's (NED) pandering but extremely well done ode to Brazil floor choreography.
Gabby Douglas won her second but first official win at the American Cup, her wisdom despite Marta questioning her preparation, Jess's concerns about her vault technique.
Instructions for the national anthem : what not to do. (21:00)
Maggie Nichols
- New beam routine and it's many many wolf turns.
- (40:00) Can Maggie's increased difficulty beat Gabby or will Gabby throw everything at the last minute before Rio.
- How the hell was Carlotta Ferlitio's E score on floor lower than Maggie's - an analysis
The politics of African American hair and stupid gymternet comments (31:00)
Men's American Cup and the Elite Team Cup
- Stacey gives us insight into the why this was a complete splat-fest
- What was wrong with the floor?!
- (48:40) Would John Orozco's score from the Elite Team Cup really beaten Kato
- Why the men's Elite Team Cup was better than the American Cup
- (1:01:31) Stacey almost got a neutral deduction for doing "the dab" during his elite floor routine.

Our weekly roundup of the latest news stories from around the gymternet include:

(1:20:00) Simone was finally on Ellen!
(1:23:00)The Under Armour gymnastics commercial featuring an all white team: We know Aly, Gabby and Simone can't do the commercial because they are signed to other contracts! We are talking about the lack of diversity! Gymnastics isn't dominated by white girls!
Aliya with a gun - it was a live escape game prop.
Douglas Family Gold has an official Facebook page, Oyxgen network premiers May 25th. We can't wait!
(1:28:51) Stacey Ervin shares his wardrobe malfunction moment during a floor routine.
Thema Williams Trinidad Olympic level slut shaming update. The T&T gymnastics federation are looking pretty bad right now.
Your feedback on concussions and questions about tumbling finish positions.

NCAA News

(1:36:35) What we have heard from insiders about why ASU coach, Rene Lyst was put on indefinite administrative leave.
"Boob-Tape Olympics" the NCAA meet where every team had backless bras:
- Stanford beat Georgia who beat UCLA
- Brittany Rogers and Danusia Francis earned well deserved 10 on vault.
- Ebee officially robbed of a 10 twice in one meet! A judge literally ran out the door with two tens under her arm. We have called the gymnastics police.

What: The GymCastic Mock Press Conference Contest

Prize: Two all-session passes to the 2016 Pac Rim Championships in Everett, WA April 8-10

Example: Pretending you have won and are at a press conference held in your honor, "I'm so happy I won! I'm going to take best friend because she's obsessed with Simone Biles and Coach Aimee's hair"

Sample Questions:

What does this win mean to you?
What were your goals coming into this contest?
As a superfan, the expectations are high, what kind of fan shenanigans do you have planned for the meet?
With this win, have you silenced the haters?

Deadline: April 3rd

Chris Rock's documentary about African American hair.

Under Armour sponsors African American ballerina, Misty Copeland. Watch this fascinating documentary on her rise to prima status.

Support us!

Join Club Gym Nerd here.
Buy one of our awesome shirts here.

188: Kyla Moves On, Concussions, Baku and American Cup Preview Mar 02, 2016

Show notes

Kyla Ross by Christy Linder

Dr. Caroline Just (00:01:15) She studied psychology and neuroscience in university, and then went to medical school at McMaster University. She is currently in the middle of her training as a neurology resident physician in London, Ontario, Canada. She has an interest in preventative medicine and public health awareness. She talked to us about concussions in gymnastics:

Euphemisms for concussions from "rocked," "shaken up," "bell rung," "loopy" to "seeing stars."
Second Impact Syndrome
Blain Wilson's 2004 Olympic fall and all of the euphemisms that were used to describe his traumatic brain injury.
Best Practices for for coaches, parents and teammates:
- ANY head injury during practice or a meet should be investigated with a concussion checklist, because if you keep going without it, the second concussion could make things much worse. Print out a checklist and put it on the wall of the gym or download the Heads Up App
- Take Tylenol not aspirin, Ibuprofen, Advil, Motrin, Naproxen or Aleve.
- Most concussions resolve within two weeks, but if you don’t go through the appropriate steps, waiting to be symptom-free for 24 hours before you advance stages, you risk not healing properly, which increases risk of long-term neurocognitive symptoms
- Go see a doctor if you are worried! It’s pretty unlikely that the doctor will tell you to quit, or to take a long break.
- Doctors are required, in most states and provinces, to inform authorities if the welfare of a child is in danger, including by coaches. If you think a coach is negligent – don’t be silent. Get parents involved, get head coaches involved, get athletic directors involved. The right people will take this very seriously.
- Gymnasts are tough. They are used to focusing on the goal and working through the pain. However, sometimes the toughest thing is to do what is right for your health, or your friend’s health. It’s better to miss the meet than miss the season, or miss out on your life.

In the news, Uncle Tim, Spencer, and Jessica chat about:

Gymternet News (23:37):
- Is it a surprise that Kyla Ross has retired from elite?
- Bryestians finally hired some bar coaches!
- Olympic Champion Alexi Nemov was in a street fight in Russia
- Shawn Johnson is writing a young adult novel
- International assignments from camp!
- Trinidad & Tobago gymnasts are being slut shamed by an anonymous complainer and their own federation.
- Is the Under Armour commercial amazing, exploitative or just a missed opportunity to showcase the diversity of US gymnasts.
- Rio Test Event news and the Zika virus, shouldn't everyone be warned, not just pregnant women?
Meet News (1:04:43):
- Baku World Cup: our thoughts on Flavia's beam and new floor routine.
- Winter Cup: Why do they have this meet and do Kenzo and Kohei just watch the live stream and laugh?
- Storylines to watch at this weekends American Cup!
NCAA Roundup (1:33:46) with Spencer including Nicki Shaprio's "play it off" moment and Nikki Guerrero's excellent save on beam

USA Gymnastics University has concussion materials here as well as a list of concussion safety laws.

Help us pay out bills!

Join Club Gym Nerd here.
Buy one of our awesome shirts here.

T-shirt Design Contest Winners:
- Winner #1 FlipFlyTumble for "The Princess"
- Winner #2 Romina Castellini for "Bilingual"

Return to Gymnastics Following Concussion (International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, Vol 9, No.2, April 2014, Pg. 242)

186: Amanda Borden Feb 17, 2016

Show notes

Olympic gold medalist, Amanda Borden

The smiliest gymnastics queen in all the land visited Uncle Tim this week. On the 20th anniversary of her Olympic gold, the commentator, gym owner, coach and member of the Magnificent Seven, Amanda Borden, chatted about (01:15:10):

Why that forward shoulder roll in 1992 compulsory beam routine was so hard
Whether or not horrific fall replays should be shown on TV
Committing to the University of Georgia; going pro and never leaving home for training
Her thoughts on the gymnastics fans theory that Mary Lee Tracey has an injury curse
If NCAA coaches should ditch the ties and heels and rock a warmup suit like elite coaches
Being one of Mary Lee Tracy’s first stars and learning to navigate that elite world together
The significance of female head coaches winning the first team Olympic gold medal

Jessica, Spanny and Lauren have your weekly roundup of the latest news stories from around the gymternet:

Uncle Tim's major news (forgive us this indulgence, we are really excited for him)
Beth Tweddle broke her neck on a reality show but she's up and walking
Orozco won the all-around in his first competition back after his second Achilles tear
Chusovitina killed it at the WOGA Classic. Proving that age is nothing but a number and we have the data to prove it
- Ages of Pre-Olympic World Medalists
(11:30) Sophia de Jesus's floor routine went viral, like way beyond Lloimincia or any other gymnastics routine we can find.
- Spanny broke down just how huge her numbers are.
- We analyze why this routine, in particular, broke through.
- (24:40) Could Sophina de Jesus do her hip-hop floor choreography in elite? We asked two elite judges. You must hear their answers!
(41:26) NCAA News :
- We talk about teams we love who ranked 8-16
- Cal's WOGA-ness and throwing every vault in Code
- OSU's unique and innovative commitment to artistry
- Auburn gymnastics beat Alabama for the first time since 1979
- Sacramento State and their robot choreography and insane skills (Ezhova)
- Kentucky's Sidney Dukes
- Georgia who just beat LSU and Florida!
- Agree or Disagree Greg Marsden who said, college meets should stop extended awards ceremonies at the end of a dual-meet.

February is the month of love and what do we love? Gymnastics t-shirts! We are having our very first design contest, and your art could be Gymcastic's newest t-shirt. Submit your best gymnastics themed art to be made into some sweet swag. Grand Prize (x2 Winners): Your design featured on our page, your artwork on the bodies of gymnerds everywhere, and a free t shirt with your design! How to Submit: Post your design on Instagram, Tumblr, or Twitter. Use the hashtag #gymcasticdesigncontest FAQ and Rules here.

Club Gym Nerd is our way of saying thank you for helping us pay the bills! GymCastic members are automatically entered to win 6 awesomely gym nerdy prizes per year. Members also got the first look at next week's big interview with McKayla Maroney and will get to see the interview in it's entirety, before anyone else. This month, one lucky member will win the exclusive, sold-out, Cloud & Victory Legends sweater.

Join Club Gym Nerd here.
Get one of our awesome shirts here.

The Gymnastics Legends Sweatshirt by Cloud&Victory

Precision Choreography Award for Excellence Winners.

Be The Match one of our listeners needs a bone marrow donor.

Make sure to give your breasts a good self exam with this handy reminder.

185: 2008 Olympic All-Around Finals (Commissioned) Feb 10, 2016

Show notes

AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFE

Our first ever commissioned podcast! Club Gym Nerd member, Red, ordered a recap of the 2008 women's Olympic all-around finals with "fairytale expectations as if we didn't know what happened to the competitors." We talk about the medal contenders, the fan favorites, sideline shenanigans, judging flubs, standout skills and routines, with routine play by plays. From Anna Pavlova, Stelliana Nistor, Chusovitina, Jiang Yuyuan, Kesenia Semenova, Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Yang Yinlin; we cover all the juicy details and include leotard fashion reports. Spencer, Uncle Tim and Jessica take you through every last drop.

Club Gym Nerd members support the show and in return are automatically entered to win 6 awesomely gym nerdy prizes per year. This month, one lucky member will win the exclusive, sold-out, Cloud & Victory

Commission your own podcast here.
Join Club Gym Nerd here.
Or buy one of our awesome shirts here.

Grand Prize (x2 Winners): Your design featured on our page, your artwork on the bodies of gymnerds everywhere, and a free t shirt with your design!

How to Submit: Post your design on Instagram, Tumblr, or Twitter. Use the hashtag #gymcasticdesigncontest FAQ and Rules here.

Condensed 2008 all-around finals recap here. Anna Pavlova beam video.

2008 Olympian Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs' training partner, Taylor Lindsay-Noel talks about her injury in this video. The way her mother spoke out after the accident, forever changed the way catastrophic injuries are handled in the gymnastics community. These days most federations, coaches and gyms respond immediately to help the gymnast cover medical care and assist the family.

184: Chow Loves Bush Feb 03, 2016

Show notes

In the gymternet news, Uncle Tim, Lauren Hopkins, Spanny Tampson and Jessica chat about:

The Bronze trailer got even raunchier and we can't wait for this movie to come out!
Mustafina's bad joke: a photo of her holding a gun to her head
Liang Chow posting photo of himself and his gymnasts holding Jeb Bush signs
American Cup roster updates and why Jesolo is becoming the greatest meet ever.
Our sadness of the lack of camp news.
Lauren's profile on 26 year-old Armenian-American, Houry Gebeshian who could be the first female gymnast ever in the Olympics for Armenia.
(30:00)What kind of themed gymnastics video what Mr Moceanu (Dr. Mike Canales) should do for his 40th birthday with his wife, Dominique Moceanu.
What gymnastics spin is greater than the Temple women's team who turned getting stuck in a blizzard for 30 hours into a team building event.
(00:46:00)Feedback from Angela who thought our discussion of transgender athletes was uninformed, to say the least.
(01:03:00)NCAA NEWS:
- Why we love Elizabeth (Ebee) Price
- An update on Katelyn Ohashi who, after x-rays came back negative, was revealed to have a fractured sternum after a CT Scan on Wednesday.
- Is the Michigan men's dynasty over?
- Some of the Florida 10's made us squeal with joy, like Bridget's beam, other's were questionable.
- Why Aja Sims got 700 million Spanny points.
- The best comeback skill of 2016: hint, Boguinskaya and Nastia argued about it at length.
- Why UW is the team we should all be watching.
- The most heartbreaking meet we've ever watched: Auburn vs. Arkansas.

Grand Prize (x2 Winners): Your design featured on our page, your artwork on the bodies of gymnerds everywhere, and a free t shirt with your design!

How to Submit: Post your design on Instagram, Tumblr, or Twitter. Use the hashtag #gymcasticdesigncontest FAQ and Rules here

GymCastic members are automatically entered to win 6 awesomely gym nerdy prizes per year. This month, one lucky member with win the exclusive, sold-out, Cloud & Victory Legends sweater.

The Gymnastics Legends Sweatshirt by Cloud&Victory

Join Club Gym Nerd here.
Get one of our awesome shirts here.

Remember this show is rated PG 13 for language and discussion of a hook-up in the tv series Orange is the New Black which obviously directly relate to gymnastics, as you will find out in this episode.

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