GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Classic Episode with Beth Tweddle Apr 30, 2014

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90: The 2014 Women's NCAA Championships! Apr 22, 2014

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Oklahoma sophomore, Haley Scaman (L), co-national champions Oklahoma and Florida, Florida senior Mackenzie Caquatto embraces Alaina Johnson (R).

In the news, Jess, Uncle Tim, and Spencer from our absolute, hands-down favorite NCAA gymnastics analysis website, The Balance Beam Situation, chat about :

The Ljubljana World Cup - the return of Ana Pavlova with a win on bars, Danny Pinheiro-Rodrigues with his light as a feather-stiff as a board inspired, super-human skill on rings and Mr. Oleg Verniaiev winning two events.
The Korea Meet - Louis Smith beat Krisztian Berki (woah!), Brandon Wynn gold, Yang "The God of Vault" Hak Seon debuted a new vault and why Olivia Vivian and John Orozco should be on Dancing With The Stars.
Komova's latest injury and Ferlitto is forced to pull out of Euros.
Romania vs. Belgium vs. France - Iordache won everything, Diana Bulimar impresses in her comeback and we fall in love with a buttery french chocolate- eclair of a routine from France's Loan His.
Jessica gives us a behind the scenes and hotel bar report from NCAA Championships!
Home Court Advantage: Is it really possible to have a "neutral site" host the meet?
Scoring: The results of Spencer's analysis from NCAA's compared to the regular season and previous seasons. Was it higher or lower than regular season on each event? You'll find out why Jessica had to scream until she lost her voice.
The most ROBBED gymnasts of the meet.
Our favorite individuals and event specialists: Kalliah McCartney, Marie Case, Alexis Gunzelman, Lindsay "Precision" Mabel, Hannah Norquist, Chayse Capps, and gymternet heartthrob Katherine Grable.
The painfully long wait Oklahoma had to endure before finding out they had won the first ever NCAA Championship.
Brandi Jay's accidental double twisting yurchenko.
The Senior Curse: how the NCAA time-line effects performance.

The Balance Bean Situation - the best NCAA analysis.

Tons of videos from the floor at NCAA Championships on our Instagram.

Rewriting Russian Gymnastics on Komova's injury.

University of Oklahoma Women's Gymnastics site.

University of Florida Women's Gymnastics site.

Carlotta Ferlito on the illness taking her out of Euros.

University of Oklahoma had a painfully long wait while everyone scrambled to find out if there was a tie-breaker.

Video Playlist here.

88: Rhonda Faehn & Mackenzie Caquatto Apr 16, 2014

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An all-interview episode with 1988 Olympic alternate at the Seoul Games and Florida head-coach, Rhonda Faehn. She is a super gym-nerd, just like us. We discuss:

Competing at World Championships with no ligaments left in her ankle.
The pile of injuries that led to her injury-retirement from UCLA.
How she met her super-hot, French, tennis coach husband at Florida.
What was Rhonda thinking as her team made uncharacteristic falls at Regionals.
What it was like living away from home with Phoebe Mills and then the Kristie Phillips family.
Being a Karolyi Kid; one of the first crop of gymnasts to train with Nadia's coaches when they first came to the US.
If there were any perks, like extra leo sparkles for becoming national champions.

Mackenzie Caquatto won a silver medal with the US team at the Rotterdam World Championships in 2010. Then she became a key player at the University of Florida and led the Gators to their first ever, national championship.

Can having a boyfriend actually improve a girl's gymnastics?
Choosing artistic gymnastics over rhythmic gymnastics.
The injury that ended her elite career and landed her in a wheelchair two years in a row.
How college improved her consistency and confidence on beam.
How her elite coaches and college coaches worked together to help her reach her goals to compete for the US.
Her suggestions for improving the team dynamic in elite gymnastics to improve the confidence and experience of elite gymnasts.

Announcement! The first ever GymCastic Meet-up is happening at the NCAA Championships. Come join us for a drinky-poo and gym-nerd out with your people!

When: 3:30-4:30 on Saturday, April 19th before Super-Six Finals.

Where: Todd English Pub, right behind the parking structure at BJCC arena. It’s only a three minute walk to the meet from here. The address is: 2221 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. N, Birmingham, AL 35203.

Check out Rhonda and Macko in action in this week's playlist here.

86: British Championships & Doha World Cup Apr 04, 2014

Show notes

British all-around Champions, Rebecca Tunney and Max Whitlock. Why is his cup so much bigger than hers?!

In the news, Jess, Blythe, and Emma chat about:

Would dismounting onto a bed of nails be punishment enough for this coach?
After his domination at Doha, could Epke Zonderland take over p-bars next?
The return of Australian Floor World Champ, Lauren Mitchell at Doha.
Our new and veteran favorites from the British Championships.
Princess Catherine of Europa - was her leo created with the metal from an actual crown?
Our picks for Commonwealth and European Championships teams.
Can Azerbeijan grow their imported team into a sustainable future?
All the British gymnasts we want to come to the US to do NCAA gymnastics.

To see all four of our Gymitation contest winners go to our website here. Prizes are first come, first serve. E-mail us at gymcastic@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Someone recruit this girl to NCAA stat! We can't get enough of Laura Mitchell from Heathrow Gymnastics in London. She is fierce on beam. Here is her maniac beam mount.

85: John Roethlisberger and Justin Spring on 2015 FIG Rules Apr 01, 2014

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84: Jesolo and NCAA Conference Championships Mar 26, 2014

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83: Danna Durante the University of Georgia's Head Coach Mar 24, 2014

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University of Georgia head coach, Danna Durante.

This week's guest is Danna Durante (née Danna Lister). She grew up as an elite gymnast in Oklahoma. After the 1988 Olympic Trials she went on to a successful career at Arizona State where she scored 5 perfect 10's, then became a judge and college coach. She had a very rocky start at the University of Georgia. It was easy to see that the team was still loyal to outgoing coach Jay Clarke and reluctant to embrace a new head coach. But in her first year, she lead Georgia to their first NCAA Championship final in four years. Entering her second year at Georgia, we discuss:

If she will be wearing sequence gowns and heels like her predecessor Suzanne Yoculan.
Lindsey Cheek's vault - fans want it to get a 10 already for crying out loud!
Collaborating on choreography with Georgia alum, Cassidy McComb
How she got her very divided, Jay Clarke devoted team on board when she took over.
If former head coach Yoculan gives her advice or
Creating a welcoming environment for both atheist, agnostic and religious student-athletes.
How she determines when to push the difficulty level with athletes like Brandi Jay who's doing a full-out on floor.
How her college boyfriend made a gym-fantasy marriage proposal come true.
Making a gymnastics coach marriage work.

Danna Durante on Twitter.

The 2014 GymDog show.

Danna Durante (Lister) 1988 Olympic Trials article and results.

Danna Lister in her college days at ASU

82: Cottbus, English Championships & Danusia Francis finally gets a 10 on beam! Mar 19, 2014

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In the news, Jessica, Uncle Tim, Lauren Hopkins U.S. editor at The Couch Gymnast chat about:

Norah Flatley, the best thing out of Iowa since Chow landed, is going to Jesolo!
The Australian gymnasts have been released from gymnastics prison! We like Georgia Godwin.
Low scores, fulls on beam and clean gymnastics at Cottbus.
Rodionova, Scheder or Komova -who will be the new queen of the inbar stalder?
Princess Catherine Lyons of Europa teaches us how to salute
Broken floor plates, vault mastery and Louis Smith at the English Championships.
The 30 year-old swan of Chilean gymnastics, Ochoda ballet's it up on floor.
Danusia gets a 10 on beam with her insanely difficulty dismount.

GYMITATION CONTEST: Enter our #gymitation contest by imitating your favorite gymnast. Just take a photo or video of you doing a pose, skill or impression of a gymnast. Tell us who you are imitating, tag us and include the hashtag #gymitation. We’ll pick our favorites to win one of these fantastic four prizes! Check them out here.

No show is complete without discussion of the latest news stories from around the gymternet:

Shawn Johnson in the running for The Celebrity Apprentice
Our favorite commentators from the Big 10 Network
Alicia Sacramone marries her longtime love.
Kalon Ludvingson is on the mend and looking great.
Greg Marsden throws a fit about seeding and he's kind of right.
Beth Tweddle robbed of Dancing on Ice win.

Safe for Athletes survey.
Lisa Mason on Instagram

Gymitation Contest entries so far! Two weeks left!

Louis Smith in his Union Jack shorts at English Championships

81: Jenny Hansen Mar 12, 2014

Show notes

Jenny Hansen (R) with her coach Randy Lane.

Jenny Hansen is here! Follow her on Instagram as you listen this week and you'll be giggling along with us. The Wisconsin native attended the University Kentucky where she won three consecutive NCAA All-Around Championship titles between1993 and 1995. She is the only person to ever win three straight All-Around titles. Jen won a total of eight national titles. She accomplished all of this while competing as an individual, without a team to set up her scores at NCAA Championships. Then 14 years after her career ended, Make It Or Break It pulled Jen right back into gymnastics when she started doing stunts for the show. In 2011, she went elite again at age 37. We discuss:

Why you should never drink before taking a backflip bet while wearing steel toe boots
The sport that drew her to the University of Kentucky (Hint, it involves Fascinators).
Why she stayed away from elite gymnastics in her youth, but not as a adult.
The importance of fans when competing as an individual.
The ways in which trampoline can save your life.
How to describe your athletic lifestyle on blind dates when you are a stunt woman/gymnast/acrobat/horseback rider.

Jenny on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

38 year-old Jenny Hansen’s Beam Routine From The Final Elite Qualifier “I want to inspire…show there can be longevity in gymnastics” – new Jenny Hansen Interview 37-year-old Jen Hansen Says That Her Comeback Isn’t Over Yet Killing Age Stereotypes: 40 Adult Gymnasts to Follow to London 2012

Jenny Hansen on the cover on International Gymnast Magazine after winning her third NCAA AA title in a row.

80: Marta did commentary for Nastia! Mar 05, 2014

Show notes

This week Jessica and Lauren Hopkins from The Couch Gymnast chat about:

The 5th annual Nastia Liukin Cup: pink, roses, great level 10s and no ties!
Márta Karolyi commentating live during the Nastia Cup broadcast! SQUEAL!
Elizabeth "Ebee" "Consistency "Price winning by almost 3 points.
The solution for Orozco's mental game--we are sending him to Texas Dreams.
American Cup a preview of World floor podium? Ferrari, Ebee and Moors?
Why Moors' coach,Elvira Saadi, should always carry a spare leotard.
NBC broadcast commentary, including, "She doesn't look very Japanese."
Why John Macready should have his own game show for kids.
The level of difficulty for the women at the American Cup versus NCAA.
TV etiquette for gymnastics fans. Shame on you parents of North Carolina!

Coming soon our website, Christy Linder's In The Arena: a photo essay from The American Cup.

March gym nerd contest: Enter our #gymitation contest by imitating your favorite gymnast. Just post a photo or video doing a pose, skill or impression of a gymnast. Tell us who you are imitating, tag us and include the hashtag #gymitation. We'll pick our favorites to win one of these fantastic four prizes!

Here are the latest news stories we discussed from around the gymternet:

The Houston Chronicle reports that Simone Biles and Coach Aimee Boorman have left Bannon’s Gymnastix.
Oklahoma Men’s alumni have an acrobatic network at Disney World in Florida.
The dream team grows! Oleg Stepko is set to compete for Azerbijan.
Rebecca Tunney debuts a Church to Bhardwaj at the Welsh Open.
The Michigan’s Men’s team are training in PUERTO RICO for spring break!

2014 Nastia Liukin Cup

2014 American Cup

American Cup full results.

Kayla Williams reasons for leaving her home gym after becoming World Champion.

The pink and black leos from the Nastia Cup.