GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

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183: Front Chicken Dump Jan 27, 2016

Show notes

The kick-over-front, front-toss, dump, chicken-flip has an actual name, the "Rowe". Gymnast photos by the wonderful Christy Ann Linder of Gym Focus.

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

Gymternet News:
- Russian news: Mustafa is back on bars! Rodionenko announced retirements, but are they all true? And why Russian athletes go to Germany for treatment.
- The IOC announced that transgender athletes can now compete without gender reassignment surgery. We wonder how the gymnastics community will react and discuss why the IOC is far ahead of the NCAA when it comes to trans issues.
- Grandi says people think he is obsessed with justice. Has his biggest impact in the sport been one of fairness in judging or nah?
- A kick-over-front tuck on beam was at one time named after "Rowe" but it's also known by 700 other crazy names. We establish the best name ever (see eponymously named episode)
Listener Feedback (23:00):
- NastiaFan101 says we're wrong about Valerie and his WOGAtchev, some of his gymnasts had great tkatchevs.
- Jill asks who do we think will replace Marta Karolyi as US Team Coordinator and who should replace her.
- Professor Nin took issue with Jessica's implication that people of color are less educated and therefore not eligible for head coaching positions (not what she meant! She was talking about these statistics). The professor goes onto explain what she thinks schools and athletes look for in a prospective college.
NCAA Women's and Men's News:
- What made vault world champion, Alicia Sacramone squeal with joy when Ashley Gnat (LSU) competed
- The cartoon mouse who makes every Oklahoma home meet worth watching and why.
- Which beam rotation was the bleakest this week.
- Could Ukraine beat Georgia at anytime if they wanted to?
- Why Florida will never remove Bridgey Caquatto from the anchor position on floor and what the television crew thought of her performance.
- What kind of amazing things could you accomplish in life if you had a mic-ed up Dana Duckworth in your ear 12 hours a day?
- Why gymnastics fans should care about men's gymnastics--Anton Stephenson and Maggie Nichols video, the biggest fashion faux pas in men's college gymnastics and Ethan Lottman for Olympic pommel horse champion.
- Should the beam be changed after Katelyn Shashi's terrifying beam fall, and should she have really done her routine again even if she was ok?
- USA Today reports that the SEC had half-BILLION in revenue in 2014. Olympic reporter Nancy Armour asks “And athletes aren't getting paid why again???”
- Which underdog teams can legitimately contend for a Super Six spot this year? New Hampshire's beam team and Missouri's all-around game are on our radar.
- Rage-o-Meter: The Dumbass Award so far goes to Temple University for getting stuck on the highway in a blizzard for 30 hours. Smart move. Nobody saw that surprise blizzard coming.

Gymnastics and Trampoline Scholarship http://www.trampolines.com/pages/jump-ahead-scholarship Support us!

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Listener Inbar_Gienger will have this series written into book two of the Lauren Hopkins 2016 trilogy! Congratulations!

Please email us to claim your prize, a copy of Lauren's book, "Finding Our Balance"

#ShowYourScreens Twitter challenge. This is how gym fans roll on Friday night.

We have video recaps of some of your favorite episodes. Here's Nanning Event Finals. Thanks Ms. M for putting these together!

Check out our YouTube Channel with new video summary episodes here.

182: Triumvirate of Glory Jan 20, 2016

Show notes

Paul Ruggeri, Steve Legendre, Brandon Wynn, Donell Whittenburg, Sam Mikulak, Danell Leyva, Alex Naddour and Jake Dalton (L-R) at training camp in Rio.

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

The most important innovator on vault of all time, Natalia Yurchenko gave a fantastic interview which made us wonder if more cultural context is needed when commentary is given about the Russian gymnast's sideline
Who we are most excited to see at the American Cup and why Mai Murakami is going to win floor according to Jessica.
NCAA (19:00)
- Why aren't there more head coaches of color in the NCAA?
- Heroes of the week: Alex Marks (OU), Kennedy Baker (FL), Michaela Gerber (UCLA)
- The Yurchenko 1.5 situation
- Can someone interpret Charity Jones (OU) floor routine for us?
- Which team we'd buy a workout video from because their conditioning is insane!
Gymternet News (49:00)
- Afanasyeva has ankle treatment in Munich
- Why do all the Russians have to go to Germany for medical care?
- Nica Hults got a 10 on beam while Simone Biles cheered like crazy and Chusovitina intimidated the judges at the Texas Prime meet.
- The US men wore culturally appropriate bathing suits on their trip to Rio, and shocker, the world responded with joy!
- Where we'd send the US women for international training camps like the men have.

What: One lucky listener will have their very own unique skill or routine written into book two of the Lauren Hopkins 2016 trilogy.

How: Tag us in your routine (5 skills) or skill invention with #2016trilogy on our Facebook page or Twitter. For example, "1.5 twisting Shapahnikova catch in reverse grip to immediate Geiger @GymCastic #2016Trilogy"

Prize: A copy of Lauren's book, "Finding Our Balance"

Deadline: Enter by midnight on Sunday, Jan 24th

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181: Hipster Team 2016 Jan 15, 2016

Show notes

D.C. is on our radar! The 2016 George Washington University Gymnastics team scored a 196 to open the season. They are the hipster, underdog team to root for this year. Photo by Carl Cox.[/caption]

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

Why Uncle Tim is soooooooo over the NCAA vs. Elite debate.
Which elite superstars we are following in college.
Our top skills, hilarious commentary fails and squeal worthy moments from the first week of full NCAA competition.
- Why water bottles should never, ever, ever be on a gym floor. Ever.
- Spencer's first "Balance Beam Situation" Code of Points rule.
- Which school all the hipster kids will be fan-girling over this year. Haaaai, George Washington with your 196.
- Reasons why the rare and hardly ever seen in the wild, side tumbling pass for women should be worshipped and appreciated (Thank you, Sadiqua Bynum of UCLA)
- Ebee didn't compete with a concussion.
- Banning the WOGAtchev
- Sabrina Schwab's (Utah) floor routine.
- Nina McGee's 10!
- A review of the new vault values in college gymnastics.

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

Louis Smith's dog exercise video
A listener hypothesizes about senior elite injury issues at Cincinnati Gymnastics
How coach Martin O'Hara was to abuse gymnasts for 20 years before being caught and what the gymnastics community can do to stop this from happening again.

What: It's the Olympic year, time for another amazing GymCastic giveaway. Frequent guest host, Lauren Hopkins of the Gymter.net has released the first in her young adult fiction series, Finding Our Balance. One lucky listener will have their very own unique skill or routine written into book two of the 2016 trilogy.

How: Tag us in you routine (5 skills) or skill invention with #2016trilogy on our Facebook page or Twitter. For example, "1.5 twisting Shapahnikova catch in reverse grip to immediate Geiger @GymCastic #2016Trilogy"

Prize: A copy of Lauren's book, Finding Our Balance.

Deadline: Enter by midnight on Sunday, Jan 24th

Elites in the NCAA data
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180: Flamethrowers are the must-have accessory for 2016 Jan 06, 2016

Show notes

In the news, Uncle Tim, Spencer from The Balance Beam Situation, and Jessica chat about:

A clarification to start the year off : USA Gymnastics did not actively delete Marvin Sharp's name from Bridget Sloan's biography page, it was automatically deleted when his gym became ineligible for sanctioned competition.
Why flamethrowers are the must-have accessory for 2016 and our favorite trends from 2015
American Cup competitors announced while Russia names 90% of it's Olympic team and Romania announces the Rio training squad.
Our thoughts on Shawn Johnson's new wedding-YouTube channel.
Spencer tells us which elites are killing it in NCAA already, which freshman are on his must-watch list and we discuss our hopes and dreams for the new Greg Marsden, Sam Peszek, Alicia Sacramone commentary team.
Lots of listener feedback about:
- MyKayala Skinner's use of the N word on twitter
- Do we victim blame on the show?
- Who won Uncle Tim's Tattoo World Championships in Glasgow

Take our survey! Help us make the show better and pay the bills too. Your opinions matter!

What: It's the new Olympic year, so now is the time for your New Years Gymsolutions. With steady work (and some Brestyan's leg drills) you will be able to do some amazing things by December, 2016.

How: Write your gymnastics resolution with the hashtag #gymsolution2016 on our Facebook page or Twitter. For example, "My #gymsolution2016 is join an adult gymnastics class so I can learn to point my toes like Jake Dalton"

Prize: Finding Our Balance, book one in the 2016 trilogy by Lauren Hopkins of the Gymter.net

Deadline: Sunday, Jan 24th

Join Club Gym Nerd here and get the personalized GymCastic treatment.
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137: Lisa Mason Interview Jan 06, 2016

Show notes

Olympian, Khorkina beater, adult elite, mother and jet pack booty owner, Lisa Mason.

Lady Lisa Mason, as she will be known on this show because she is the owner of the sexiest gymnastics property in the land (AKA, her Instagram), is an Olympian; a World Cup champion; won the British Championships three time in a row; was the youngest British Champion ever and even beat Produnova and Khorkina on Floor at a World Cup on her way to a historic all-around appearance final in Sydney--the first ever for a Brit. She's back, competing again at age 32. Oh, and she has a daughter, goes to night school, works for a living and trains for elite competition yet still finds time to make us laugh with her uncensored tweets. We discuss:

Missing out on the balance beam final at the Sydney Olympics, the vault height debacle, its effect on her to this day, and her opinion of Raducan's ban for taking cold medicine.
How her training has changed over the years, the dance secret that allows her to keep going, adjusting to the new vault table, handling nerves and muscle memory versus strength.
Teen Shenanigans: Sneaking into the Lilleshall gym at night, busking at meets abroad and putting naked teammates into suitcases.
Motherhood: The decision to become a mother (was labor easier because of her 12-pac abs?), post-natal pelvic floor strengthening, why she banned her own mother from meets, and her advice for parents on health and fitness.
Does she ever regret wearing her heart on her sleeve and being so outspoken?
Working at International Gymnastics Camp, which she calls a "Gymnastics Utopia" with waffles for breakfast and the competing in Pro Gymnastics Challenge.
Managing uneven bars despite her jetpack booty acting as a counter weight.
Beating Khorkina and Produnova at the old school World Cup battles where the only a back-to-back routines won gold, and got lifted up on a fork lift.
Training at the Romanian national training center, Deva as a kid, smuggling cheeseburgers to Lavinia Milosovici and that one time Octavian Belu apologized for his gymnast winning the silver medal instead of Lisa.
Loving the American way of life and how it connected her to Australian, Oregon State alum, Olivia Vivian.
Finding the financial resources to pursue her career as an adult.
What to do when the bars come unhinged but you still have to compete.
The beauty and elaborate modesty preservation efforts it took to photograph her naked for Sports Uncovered.
Then, in a GymCastic first she translates her tweets for us, so that we don't have to look everything up on Urban Dictionary.

Follow Lisa on Instagram, Twitter or book her for for stunts or modeling in your next commercial here. Download the Sport magazine app to see the Sports Uncovered raw photo shoots with Lisa, Dan Keatings and Hannah Whelan (no dates have been revealed as of this episode posting).

179: Aliya's Ink Dec 16, 2015

Show notes

138: Prince Emyre Cole Dec 16, 2015

Show notes

Who's that in the bunny costume? Why it's Winter Cup Prize for Elegance winner, Mr. Emyre Cole.

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

LSU putting a whoopin' on Florida where Bridget Sloan returned to competition for the Gators. But Tiger fans are riled up by the bad sportsmanship allegations levied by Faehn and Caquatto. We give you our opinions on the controversey.
Massive scores at Alabama v. Georgia meet with seven 9.9 or above in the first three rotations for the Tide. Meanwhile, Georgia is having their worst start since 1998.
Lindsey "Perfection" Mable moves into first in the all-around ranking this week with a 39.545 RQS (regional qualifying score), but Rheagan "Alpha Tigress" Courville scored a season high of 39.825 at home. We tell you what the RQS means at this point in the season.
The only non-pro gymnast from the Fierce Five, Kyla Ross, committed to UCLA.
Understanding the new four-year-guarantee scholarship rules and what it means for gymnastics teams with more than 12 gymnasts on their roster in 2016. It's not retroactive people!
The comeback is real! Gabby Douglas shows off a new bar combo and a solid standing full in the latest USA Gymnastics video.
Updates on seniors from the latest US National Team camp at the Ranch; Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and even Sabrina Vega.
New gymnastics movie alert! The Bronze, starring Bernadette from Big Bang Theory is getting rave reviews, but not for the dialog.

The Balance Bean Situation Road to Nationals

College Fantasy Gymnastics

USA Gymnastics YouTube Channel

Gymnastics Meets

ManServants.co

Emyre Cole's is also a dancer. Check out his Instagram eb.cole

Emyre Col with coach, Nalani Cook

What this week's video playlist on YouTube here.

178: Eythora Thorsdottir and Coach Patrick Kiens Dec 09, 2015

Show notes

Patrick Kiens and Eythora Thorsdottir at the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2013 where she won silver on beam.

This week the girl who's name we have been mispronouncing for years, the magical ethnically Icelandic sprite from the Netherlands, her Dutch majesty, the crown jewel of Holland who makes fans cry with her performance art known as gymnastics, Eythora Thorsdottir is here! (It's pronounced AYE-tora Thor-s-DOT-er by the way.) The Ljubljana World Cup beam champion and her coach, Patrick Kiens, who's musical theater background and genius strategy got Eythora to beam finals in her first world championship talk about:

Eythora:

What kind of attention the Dutch team has received since returning from Glasgow as a Rio qualified team!
Her future career plans in the performing arts and if college gymnastics in the United States is a possibility.
Did she notice the positive response from fans during her coming out party at European Youth Olympic Festival?
Upgrades, Rio plans and her unique style and routine construction on beam.
On being compared to Princess Catherine Lyons.
Does it surprise her that fans cry during her performances?
Training with and learning from the American team, especially Simone (who she adorably calls See-mo-nah)
Was she surprised to make it to the World Beam final in Glasgow?
The advice her coach, Patrick, gave her after her beam final fall.
What she has learned from both the positive and negative experience in the sport so far.

Patrick:

Why one size does not fit: how the Dutch program has changed, why that change was necessary with a small population and how Holland's strategy proves that the code is for everyone.
Lack of depth and limited gymnasts, "Everyone can stretch their knees but not everyone can do a double layout"
Personal taste vs. artistry
Why Simon Bile's Amanar is artistic
The arm swing rule at Worlds, was it enforced?
Acting classes, smart routine construction and ballet on the beam
We debate -- can bars be artistic?!
How college style artistry can be applied to elite gymnastics.
Backstage shenanigan tories from his glory days on the stage.

Follow Eythora on Instagram

Here is a link to the Dutch gymnastics scandal that changed the system in the Netherlands. Much like the 2000 US women's Olympic team, their experiences changed the system and ousted a coach.

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Watch this week's playlist filled with videos of baby Eythora to elegent teenage Eythora and young, hot Patrick in the background on YouTube here

177: Stella Umeh Dec 02, 2015

Show notes

This week Canadian legend, Olympian, World vault finalist, 13-year Cirque du Soliel veteran, entrepreneur and NCAA team champion, Stella Umeh tells her story. Known for her incredible power combined with her dance background helped Stella perform floor routines that ballerinas and jazz dance fans alike sigh with ecstasy. Jessica joined Stella and her 3-month-old daughter, Billie (cue adorable baby gurgles in the background), in November while Stella and her husband, Sam, (head electrician for Cirque's Kurios show) stopped in California. We discuss:

On being an A-typical Canadian gymnast in her era and being labeled as difficult for standing up for herself and doing things her own way: "I work hard, I play hard. I'm responsible because I love what I'm doing, I'm not going to jeopardize it (also because I don't want to get injured).... I would always do the job but because I didn't fit the mold, it looked like I was fooling around or Mickey Mousing or I wasn't taking things seriously. But I don't think you have to completely conform and lose yourself to take something seriously--because if you are meant to do it, and it is your passion, it's going to be serious regardless of who you are or what you look like. You see a person's heart and soul in what they are doing; and that is what people should be looking at."

Injuries and accidents:
- Crying and developing an eye twitch every single day for a year she performed on Teeter Board in Cirque du Soleil's Mystère because she was terrified of the apparatus.
- Competing with a sprained neck and back .
- Competing with labyrinthitis, a condition caused by California-specific seasonal allergies, which led to a broken bone and very scary crashes.
College Culture Shock
- Moving to LA immediately after the 1994 earthquake when UCLA looked like "Beirut"
- Not finding the United States to be as multi-cultural as her home in Mississauga, near Toronto, Canada.
- Getting booed in a college meet.
- Her opinion of current college difficulty compared to her era in the 90's and how the loss of compulsories effect the current skill level of incoming elite gymnasts.
Being Different
- Her dance foundation and wanting to be like her famous choreographer sister, Anastasia (Stacy) Umeh
- Feeling out of place in school and in her upper middle-class gym
- Being bullied--being chased home from elementary school by rock-throwing girls
- Gymnastics always being the happy, safe place.
Elite Gymnastics
- Scoring low domestically
- Her advice for learning a painful skill, doing it
- Fashion show, changing leotards for each event, mobster leos
- Hair fashion when Stella didn't have enough hair for a scrunchy, but the head coach wanted her in one (cue comedy)
- "I never saw myself as a black athlete. I always come back to, this is what I love to do. I don't really care what my color, my creed, my size, my shape is. This is where I am supposed to be. If someone wants to sort of, discriminate against me or make things difficult for me because I'm different, then that's their shit. I'm still going to go out and do what I need to do."
- Dealing with the reputation of being difficult and non-conforming because she stood up for herself and her teammates. For example:
  - The time Stella asked a judge what rumors she has heard about her.
  - The time Stella told off a Canadian judge for giving the Canadians lower scores than the international judges from the window of a taxi, as she took Larissa Libby (née Lowing) to the emergency room!
Artistic Style
- The story her coach, Alex Bard, loves to tell about the time she refused to dance for him!
- Her unique style was "not revered in Canada," but it was abroad because being different was an asset. "I was loved internationaly, because in the end of the day, it was just about what I was doing on the floor."
The Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992
- She cried for 30 days after the games because of the emotional investment in the journey and how fast it came and went.
- Parties, make-out sessions and how she snuck out of her room with the help of the Olympic wrestling team.
Transitioning out of sport for the first time at age 40
- Never had an orthopedic surgery due to or during her gymnastics career.
- Had her first surgery after 13 years as an acrobat with Cirque du Soliel.
- Thought she wouldn't be able to walk after college. Thought her body would be "decimated."

Advice to her younger self, "Do it your way. Do it the way that feels right and intrinsic to you. Follow that passion. Dream huge and don't let any thing or anyone, including yourself, stand in your way. Because if you believe in what you are doing and you are loving it, you can't go wrong. Whether you place first or last, you can't go wrong."

The Ivory Elephant Group: theivoryelephantgroup.com

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Classic Episode 142: They Broke Bart Conner Nov 25, 2015

Show notes

South Durham Gymnastics Club, home of English all-around champion, Amy Tinkler.

Originally aired March 25, 2015. English Nationals, NCAA Conference Championships and Jesolo are on the menu this week. Uncle Tim, Emma, Spencer, Spanny, Evan, and Jessica chat about:

Princess Catherine leading her troops to battle to strike fear into the heart of the balance beam.
Senior champ Amy Tinkler, is her pepto-pink gym at South Durham, the key to her success?
Claudia Fragapane's improvement from her American Cup fall-a-thon.
Lisa Mason's triumphant performance, pep talks to the baby gymnasts, Artistry award and practically leaping onto the judges table to dare them to deduct from her floor routine!
The British Bars Revolution: Kelly Sim and Becky Downie are doing bars that make you wonder if their routines aren't actually YouTube edited pranks.
Jingoistic floor routine musical advice for the Rio Olympics, from a self-proclaimed Brazilian cultural expert.
Louis Smith competed well but raised some eyebrows with his post-meet exit.
The reason for Max Whitlock's spectacular but limited performance plus, injury updates on our favorite English gymnasts.

NCAA Conference Championships (28:00)

Shawn Johnson tweeted that she wants to coach a college team. Where do we think she'd fit in and what are the most important traits of a great coach?
Bedazzling Beelzebub sparkle-tards -The leotard debate.
New vocabulary word "pusillanimous: showing a lack of courage or determination; timid." as in, wimp.
Would Minnesota's Linday Mable get better scores if she was a member of one of the six schools that have won an NCAA Championship.
Regional seeding and our picks for biggest upsets.
Coolest vault in college, Alex Marasco - Yurchenko ½ on or a Yurchenko full-on Cuervo.
Most robbed vaulter last weekend, Jaida Lawrence of West Virginia.
Rage-o-Meter regarding the Pac 12 Networks decision to zoom in on every inopportune moment of every routine. Dear Director's of Television Gymnastics, here are the rules:
- We do not use stick and ball sports analogies to explain artistic gymnastics.
- Never, ever, zoom in during a routine, ever. That's what secondary camera playbacks are for.
- We do not zoom in between the hip bones and thighs, ever. If that accidentally happens, the director will immediately switch to a different camera.

Jesolo Competition Preview! (1:35:00)

How did this meet become the debutant ball of US Gymnastics?
Gabby, Aly, Simone, Skaggs, Hernandez, Flatley - gymnasts we are most excited to see in Italy!

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