GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

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  • 17 minutes 30 seconds
    Fantasy Gymnastics Update - NCAA Week 5

    Your fantasy gymnastics update as you enter week 6 of the 2025 NCAA season: who’s a steal, who’s on a bye, who's competing twice, who's a bargain and much more.

    Week 06 Lineups lock at noon on Friday, February 7, at 3:30pm PT 

    00:00 Intro

    00:00:33 Roster Bargains

    00:01:33 Roster Bargains - Vault

    04:12 Roster Bargains - Bars

    07:16 Roster Bargains - Beam

    10:18 Roster Bargains - Floor

    13:12 League Leaders

    13:30 League Stats

    14:01 Byes & Injuries

    5 February 2025, 11:49 pm
  • 1 hour 30 minutes
    Art: Moors Ranked First on FX

    Jordan Chiles gets another 10, judging oversight updates, and Jay Clark had a lot of tired old feeling about judging oversight and he's not alone.

    Headlines

    • Collegiate judges received an email from the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) that there will be no judging feedback shared for the first year of the SCORE Board pilot program
      • The target for this year is on data collection and analysis
    • Jay Clark (LSU) had A LOT to say about the SCORE Board, we have thoughts (see full quote at bottom of notes page)

    Gymternet News

    NCAA

    Corrupt or Correct

    NCAA Week 5 Highlights

    • Jordan Chiles clenched her second 10.0 of the season, this time on FX
    • Is Michigan State the best vault team in the country?
    • Kara Eaker is back, this time at Georgia and she hasn't missed a beat
    • Opportunity for comedy: friends don't let friends do squat-ons in NCAA

    Feedback

    • What does it mean to be a Brevet judge and what does each FIG judging category mean?
    • What is the appropriate way to address gymnasts? Hint it's not by calling them "girls"
    • Our British listeners are wondering what is the culture like at Oklahoma?
    UP NEXT: 
    • College & Cocktails live Q&A podcast: Friday, February 7th
      • Immediately following the Meet of the Week: LSU at Alabama
      • Full NCAA schedule and links here
      • Never miss a live episode! Import the entire College & Cocktails schedule into your Google and iCal calendar here
    • Fantasy Lineups Lock: Friday, Feb. 7 - 3:30pm PT
    Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!):

    Join Our Fantasy League

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    THE LATEST  RELATED LSU Head Coach Jay Clark quotes from Jan 31 press conference

    Question “I hear there might be a mid-season change [re Scoreboard/judging oversight] in the way they do scoring is that is that possible do you want to see?”

    “It that just adds to the Ridiculousness right so what so the the the issue it is not that I think scores should remain unduly high the issue is that this thing we've put in place either intentionally or unintentionally has only attacked one part of scoring and it is tamped down the ceiling and done very little about anything else and so it's not Equitable across the board I'm all for credibility and scorting I'm all for uh you know increased um accuracy understanding that we are a subjective Sport and you will never remove the subjectivity I just don't think that this thing has been rolled out in a manner and it's supposed to be a pilot program and yet we're getting newsletters and we're getting we're getting told you know what the deductions are that are being missed most says who judging in venue is a different deal than sitting somewhere who knows where in a living room on a video screen and then that's that level of subjectivity is supposed to add more credibility and so I think what we have created is that with a with a targeted part of the scoring Spectrum we have judges looking over their shoulder and there's better ways to do this I I am not about like everything should get a 10 that's not it at all but there there has to be it's got to be whatever we do to increase uh credibility or or or Tamp down or whatever like no one has I've never had anyone present to me that on a consistent basis the wrong team wins or the wrong gymnast wins or whatever now you could say the score might have been too high but was it ranked correctly on that night that's the that's the real question right was it the best routine on that night and you know to the point where people SC scream and clamor enough that that you know at some point Trinity Thomas issued a public apology for getting a 10 for crying out loud here's the thing when you go to a sporting event Scott when you go to a baseball game what's one of the things you hope you see a home run what when you go to a when you go to a football game you you want to see an explosive play a long touchdown pass or things like that you hope to see those things that's sport controversy is also sport and there's nothing wrong with there's never going to be a time when we're when we're all happy with all the scores we see because all of us have biased all of us coaches fans everyone the point is is it ranked correctly is it consistent across the board and by any real objective measure we haven't created a more consistent situation this year we've created a more erratic situation here and and and I'm don't blame the judges one bit because they're doing the best they can to do the job that that that we've asked them to do there are easier ways to correct wrongs in venue and it should be in my opinion given the meat referee authority to convene a conference right now our meat referees have no authority to do much of anything um and and so in tennis the chair umpire can overrule the line judge in in uh the the home plate umpire in baseball can can walk out and call a conference if they thought something was missed at second base these are things that are common in other sports our meat refs are to sit on their hands they judge every routine and many most in almost every venue we we were required to have them but yet they really can't do anything except be a liason to deliver papers from a coach to to the panel to me if I'm if I'm an official I'm going to feel a whole lot better about somebody who's in venue with me as part of the official panel in the meet to be able if something egregious happens to be able to have the authority to walk over and say hey guys let's talk this over and and let's make sure we get this right um that's a simpler solution than than having to use technology from different angles not in venue it's a whole different ball game when you're not judging in venue and so I you know I don't want anything I say or anything live tweeted by the way I had nothing to do with that she just knows how I feel about it and and uh but she's right and and we're we're in a time where where Collegiate athletics's Olympic sports programs many are in Peril for funding and revenue share is is is coming in and scholarships are going to be moved from sport to sport all this everybody got an increase in scholarship no they didn't they got an increased limit and not every school is going to be able to do that and so at a time when when that uncertainty exists for at least 50 or 60% of our programs in our sport we drop this little poison pill into our scoring so that the fans sit there and wonder what the heck's going on so it's ill-timed it's incomplete it's illc conceived and and and it it just is and we keep having to make adjustments and now we're not going to put suggested uh deductions in the in the newsletter anymore I hear and we're not going to put those things out there we're just data collecting that's what we were supposed to be doing in the first place but and then but but there's all this information leaking about what's being looked for and what's not being taken and so it it's just been in my opinion an abject disaster and uh it was fairly predictable that it would be and I hope uh there's growing sentiment that we need to go about this a different way let's examine what we do in scoring let's try to create more accuracy yes but in a time like this we cannot be some kind of purist we can be marketable or we can be purist we're probably not going to be both and and and if we're going to be purist then let's look at the run the gamut let's look at the routine that goes 975 that should go 96 as well you know let's let's let's look at all of it not just the the the higher end scores because these kids work hard and then you see things like this you know where where kids they know they just did the best Vault their life it goes 9925 the next kid's like man what do you got to do to get a 995 I'm not even talking about a 10 Helen Hu should have got a 10 Helen that beam set is the best beam set in the country and she did it flawlessly I dare anybody to tell me where the real deduction was now I was standing I wasn't sitting where the judges were and I'm not questioning their credibility I'm questioning our judgment as a coaches group for for doing this thing that has just created some pendulum swing back and forth where the judges keep trying to find themselves and it's it's just unfortunate so thanks for putting me on my soap box I mean it's not affecting the rankings if you look year to year over the last several years I mean the rankings and the teams that are in the top 15 or what ever you know it's it's The Usual Suspects but if you look at where the uh at the at the higher end scores on each team and where they're capped there's where the change is and so the fans don't get to see their home run they see them and they clear the fence we just don't call them home runs anymore I said that on the air um but it's that was kind of what I meant anyway...” - Jay Clark

    4 February 2025, 3:23 am
  • 18 minutes 52 seconds
    Fantasy Gymnastics Update - NCAA Week 4

    Your fantasy gymnastics update as you enter week 5 of the 2025 NCAA season: who’s a steal, who’s on a bye, who's competing twice, who's a bargain and much more. Week 05 Lineups lock at noon on Friday, January 31st, at 2:30pm PT 00:00 Intro 00:00:29 Roster Bargains 00:00:43 Roster Bargains - Vault 03:17 Roster Bargains - Bars 07:11 Roster Bargains - Beam 10:15 Roster Bargains - Floor 14:10 League Leaders 15:23 League Stats 16:20 Byes & Injuries Link to the College & Cocktails Schedule: https://gymcastic.com/community/postid/4336/

    30 January 2025, 12:54 am
  • 1 hour 30 minutes
    Bronze Debacle: GymCastic Has Entered the Chat

    The GEC Conference refuses to participate in the S.C.O.R.E. board judging accountability system. Wondering what happens now? We have answers from the oversight committee. Romania and the U.S. are both using GymCastic to argue their sides in the Paris bronze medal debacle, Livvy Dunne has thoughts on scoring, plus Corrupt or Correct and all the gymternet news.

    Headlines

    Gymternet News

    • Ella Zirbes' (Utah) social media update about her floor troubles.
    • Why former Russian rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva and her alleged relationship with Putin could help her win a political battle against Irina Viner
    • People are mad at Livvy Dunne for her Tweet about NCAA scoring
    • Anna Li's gymnasts and #itsnottrue reposts
    • Follow-ups from last week
      •  What is Helen Hu's valdez-thing called?

    NCAA

    • Surprise, surprise. Oklahoma still tops the NCAA rankings while Jade Carey leads the all-around
    • Florida is the first team of the season to break into the 198s but we have thoughts
    • LSU forgot to sacrifice another high heel this week and had some issues at Arkansas
      • Aleah Finnegan (LSU) accidentally got ejected from the floor on her double Arabian
    • Opportunities for comedy
      • Eastern Michigan hosted the first annual Golden Girls Meet!
      • Raphaelle Perreault (LIU) accidentally launched herself into the guard rails and it was hilarious
      • A boy at the Alabama vs Oklahoma meet tried to distract Audrey Davis on vault but she was too locked-in to care

    Corrupt or Correct

    • Kaliya Lincoln and Amari Drayton both got 9.85s for their Yurchenko one-and-a-halfs. Neither vault score is possible.
    •  Follow-up question: is cowboying a deduction? This is why we need front and back judges.

    NCAA Week 4 Highlights

    • Brenna Neault's (Stanford) ring leap is the ONLY one that should be getting credit

    Feedback

    • Can individuals qualify to SEC Championships?
    • How to watch NCAA gymnastics abroad
    UP NEXT: 
    • College & Cocktails:
      • The NCAA Post Meet Show, our live Q&A podcast: Friday, January 24th
        • Immediately following the Meet of the Week: Battle Fine Arts! Michigan State at UCLA
      • Full NCAA schedule and links here
      • Listener Brooke has created a link that imports the entire College & Cocktails schedule into your Google and iCal calendar
    • Fantasy Lineups Lock: Friday, Jan. 16 - 3:30pm
    Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!):

    Join Our Fantasy League

    MERCH
    • GymCastic Store: clothing and gifts to let your gym nerd flag fly and even “tapestries” (banners, the perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast!
    NEWSLETTERS FANTASY GAME:
          • GymCastic 2025 College Fantasy Game now open. Never too late to join!
    THE LATEST 
    28 January 2025, 7:46 am
  • 1 hour 34 minutes
    We Have 10s and Suspensions

    0:01:25 Headlines

    • Kaliya Lincoln: Olympian, or Not?
      • Correction/Clarification: in the U.S, the USOPC recognizes traveling alternates as Olympians, but the IOC does not. Non-traveling alternates are not officially considered Olympians.
    • West Virginia gymnasts did a photoshoot in a coal mine and now they have a Plunger Stick Crown
    • Rutgers head coach, Umme Salim-Beasley, on administratie leave after investigation.
      • The investigation concluded that there was an inappropriate relationship between Salim-Beasley and the former AD Pat Hobbs.
      • Salim-Beasley refused to answer any questions about her relationship with Pat Hobbs, a violation of her employment contract.
      • The gymnasts on the Rutgers team noticed things that seemed wrong with the relationship between Salim-Beasley and Pat Hobbs.
      • Parents and gymnasts had complaints that were not being addressed.
      • Pat Hobbs forwarded emails with the names of the parents and gymnasts that were complaining to Salim-Beasley.
      • Children at practice were unattended and running around, causing dangerous situations.
      • Gymnasts reported their complaints to the head coach and AD, but felt unsatisfied with the results.
      • Rutgers investigation stated that they are keeping records of complaints.
    • Avery Neff  (Utah) suffered double sprains on a rebounding pass.
    • Yul Moldauer (USA) has been suspended for whereabouts violations from USADA.

    0:25:37 Spencer is Raising an Army of baby bloggers

    0:26:58 GymCastic Updates 

    0:29:24 Gymternet News

    • The Gymnastics Canada CEO, Andrew Price, is leaving.
    • Donnell Whittenburg is joining EVO.

    0:30:48 NCAA

    • Jade Carey is ranked number one in the all-around.
    • Brooklyn Moors competed on three events, and her vault has improved over the last two weeks.
    • The crowd at the Maryland meet was large and supportive.
    • Chae Campbell wants to be a dancer, and her floor routine is her audition tape.
    • Jordan Chiles finally got a 10 on bars.
      • The First 10's OF 2025
    • Dominique Dawes went to the Maryland meet.
    • Simone Biles went to the Georgia meet and participated in some of the athletic traditions.

    0:48:52 Corrupt or Correct

    • Aleah Finnegan floor routine at LSU received a 9.975, which is impossible.
      • She stepped back on her final pass, which was a forward landing.
      • A step back on a forward landing is a mandatory tenth deduction, making the score a 9.85.
    • Audrey Davis's beam routine received a 9.925
      • She had a balance check on her aerial and soft knees throughout the routine.
    • Oklahoma gymnasts are very good at covering up errors with choreography.
    • Use choreography to gaslight the judges!
    • Faith Torrez's beam routine received a 9.80.
      • Defining built-in deductions

    0:59:05 NCAA Week 3 Highlights

    • Riley McCusker is back on bars for Florida.
    • Sloane Blakely looks amazing this year.
    • What makes a meet entertaining versus boring.
      •  exhibitions, time to go or save for your favorite who can't make the lineup
    • Bring back phones on desks to make judges conferences shorter.
    • Iowa State was a beam team on Friday night.
    • Grace McCallum hit her routines after witnessing Avery Neff's injury.
    • Jaycie Ranger needs a radar gun to clock her DLO speed.

    1:09:40 Where Would 90's Romanians go for ncaa gymnastics? 1:17:53 Feedback 1:22:30 Sisters in Lineups

    • McBride and Co sisters competed in the same lineup for Southern Utah in 2023.
    • The Blakely sisters being the first sisters in the same lineup for Florida since 2014 .

    1:28:02 Judging News

    •  FIG Intercontinental Judging exam are available.
      • The majority of level one judges from the last cycle did not make it back to level one this cycle.
      • There is no U.S. judge with a level one rating (the World and Olympic rating).
      • Cheryl Hamilton received a level three rating.This is not the first time Cheryl Hamilton has not passed the exam for the top level.
    • The U.S. has a big disadvantage because there are no level one judges.
    • The hosts discuss how the U.S. brevet testing invitation system works and why some people have complaints about it.
    UP NEXT: 
    • College & Cocktails live Q&A podcast: Friday, January 24th
      • Immediately following the Meet of the Week:
      • Full NCAA schedule and links here
    • Fantasy Lineups Lock: Friday, Jan. 16 - 3:30pm

     

    Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!):

    Join Our Fantasy League

    MERCH
    • GymCastic Store: clothing and gifts to let your gym nerd flag fly and even “tapestries” (banners, the perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast!
    NEWSLETTERS FANTASY GAME:
      • GymCastic 2025 College Fantasy Game now open. Never too late to join!
    THE LATEST 
    21 January 2025, 12:43 am
  • 1 hour 17 minutes
    Still No 10s
    Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!): UP NEXT: 
    • College & Cocktails: Friday, January 17 6:15pm PT
      • Meet of the week: Florida @ LSU (ESPN 2)
    • Fantasy Lineups Lock: Thursday, Jan. 16 - 3:30pm

    Join Our Fantasy League

    MORE GOODIES:
    14 January 2025, 4:41 am
  • 1 hour 21 minutes
    Luisa Blanco Interview and Oversight Season
    Interview: Luisa Blanco (48:17)

    NCAA champion for Alabama, Colombian Olympian and Paris all-around finalist talks about her career and what's next. In this week's interview we discuss:

    • Her next chapter in gymnastics
    • Growing up at WOGA
    • What her parents did to afford gymnastics
    • Her most embarrassing fall of all time
    • Learning a Patterson
    • Why she went elite and what she learned about herself
    • Details about her shoulder injury
    • The Paris Olympic experience
    Gymternet News
    • German gymnasts are speaking up about abusive coaching practices. (2:31)
    • Oceanside quad meet's organizational disaster and the 2019 article in Variety detailing a lawsuit against the organizer.
    • We said goodbye to Olympic great and holocaust survivor, Agnes Keleti. Watch her gorgeous beam routine under trees.
    Week 1 Meet News
    • Jessica and Spencer attended the American Gold Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Classic in Oceanside, CA and share their impressions
      • How Jade Carey, even after all her success, continues to improve
      • The return of Brooklyn Moors to three events
      • Cal's steady performance to open the season
      • Reactions to the scoring and Score Board from Cal co-head coach, Justin Howell (27:02)
      • Ondine Achampong (Cal/GB) on adjusting to life at Berkeley and her ACL recovery (46:26)
    Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!): RELATED COMMISSIONED EPISODES
    7 January 2025, 5:52 am
  • 1 hour 45 minutes
    Dumbest Rules in Gymnastics (Paris Quad Edition)
    WATCH REPLAY for a limited time only!  GET MOHINI LIVE SHOW REPLAY NOW! Gymnastics' Dumbest Rules (Best of GymCastic)

    Recorded in June 2023. We’re calling out the worst, stupidest, most self-defeating and awkward rules and conventions in gymnastics, starting with...

    • Leotard Rules - aka the Olympics of regulating women's bodies
      • Venture with us to a world where "elegant," "proper," and "modest" are all words found in the official rule book of a competitive sport in the year 2023—and breasts are expressly prohibited
    • Why Is Gymnastics Still the Military?
      • Saluting and lining up in front of the generals for inspection? Where are we? (with a Simone Paris update)
    • The Apparatus World Cup of Stupidity
      • From the assumption that all women are the same height, to what the FIG considers to be "undisciplined and abusive behavior," to that thing where a double front doesn't fulfill the front tumbling requirement, we take on the worst rules on each event
    • Rules Mythbusters
      • Things someone (usually Martha) pretended were rules, and everyone believed it, but they actually aren't
    • Plus, they may not be rules, but some old-fashioned and infantile gymnastics conventions are on our list!

    JOIN CLUB GYM NERD

    • Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind the Scenes episodes.
    • Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and see some of the gymnastics we discuss, plus get access to all of our exclusive interviews and Behind The Scenes episodes.
    • Not sure about joining the club?  College & Cocktails: The Friday Night NCAA Gymnastics Post-Meet Show is available to sample (even if you aren't a Club Gym Nerd member yet). Watch or listen here.
    • Buy our awesome clothing and gifts here.
    RELATED EPISODES & RESOURCES MORE WAYS TO LISTEN HERE

     

    25 December 2024, 6:37 am
  • 1 hour 20 minutes
    Vanessa "First American Cheng" Interview and Live Piano for Floor
    WATCH REPLAY for a limited time only!  MOHINI LIVE SHOW! Headlines
    • Finally: Utah brought in a live piano
    • Jordan Chiles did a genius farewell last ever performance of her bronze medal winning floor routine
    • Kentucky had a proposal at their instrasuqad
    • Rhys McClenaghan on Dancing with the Stars
    • We have a New Skill Alert
    Interview: Vanessa Zamarripa

    Stunt woman, author, NCAA Champion, national team member while in college, first U.S. woman to ever successfully compete a Cheng tells us about her career and her new children's book, Mia and the Win From Within. Zam also shares her best advice for other gymnasts or athletes looking to break into the stunt world and what skills she recommend they sharpen up on.

    Gymternet News
    • The FIG announced an increase to the number of athletes competing in the 2025 world championships in Jakarta, Indonesia
    •  It was also announced that the 2027 Worlds will be hosted in Chendu, China
    • Illia Kovtun is leaving Ukraine for Croatia
    • Hezly Rivera expressed her intentions of competing a full elite quad
    • WCC announced new coaches
    • Monica Phelps has died
    • ‪The Japan Gymnastics Association has decided not to “penalize” Shoko Maya
    • Utah NCAA Champion, Jayden Rucker, is out
    • Follow up: Arrest of Matthew Shriver, co-owner of Everest Gymnastics in New Jersey
    • Are we getting a mixed event in the 2028 Olympics?
    Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!): RELATED COMMISSIONED EPISODES

    Image courtesy of Utah Gymnastics; Illustration: Steve Cooper

    18 December 2024, 5:37 am
  • 49 minutes 15 seconds
    British Ute Amelie Morgan
    VIRTUAL TICKETS ON SALE NOW:  MOHINI  LIVE SHOW Interview: Amelie Morgan

    It had been 93 years since the British women's gymnastics team had won an Olympic team medal, then Amelie and her teammates took home a historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Now entering (and excelling in) her senior season at Utah, Amelie has hit 86 of 87 career routines. In this week's interview we discuss:

    • What she wished she had known about communication and time off as a young elite
    • Her decision to move on from elite gymnastics, and specifically why she didn't try to make the Paris Olympics team
    • The extraordinary loophole that now allows her, as a foreign athlete, to earn NIL money
    • Homeschooling
    • Changes in the British Gymnastics system
    • Competing in the high altitude in Utah
    • Doing gymnastics at a height of 5'6"
    • and more!
    Gymternet News Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!). It includes: RELATED COMMISSIONED EPISODES
    9 December 2024, 6:13 am
  • 1 hour 6 minutes
    Elle Reeve from Gymnast to Nazi Hunter
    VIRTUAL AND IN PERSON TICKETS ON SALE NOW: MOHINI LIVE SHOW

     

    Interview: Elle Reeve

    Elle Reeve is an award-winning journalist renowned for her incisive reporting on pivotal moments in recent American history. She gained national acclaim for her Vice News coverage of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, delivering an unflinching look at the event that highlighted the rise of white nationalism. Her work, praised for its depth and courage, earned a Peabody Award. Reeve has continued to report on critical political and social issues, including the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Known for her immersive storytelling and empathetic approach, she has contributed significantly to public understanding of extremism and its impacts on democracy. Much of her reporting is chronicled in her new book, "Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics." In this interview Reeve explains how her years of gymnastics training help keep her safe while reporting from the violent frontlines of domestic extremism. She explains how her many hours of watching fluff pieces about gymnastics teams living and training under fascism sparked her interest in politics from a young age.

    • Elle's gymnastics background helped her embed with neo-Nazis to cover the now infamous white nationalists, “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia where a white nationalist killed a counter protester.
    Gymternet News:
    • Tonya Paulson sparks change in Sweden with her switch to Taiwan
    • Igor Radivilov announced his retirement
    • Jordan Chiles has a memoir coming out in March
    • Margzretta Frazier is the new alternate for athlete rep on the USAG board
    • U.S. Nationals is heading to New Orleans in 2025
    • LSU has set a new season ticket record for LSU Gymnastics
    • Writer and editor of International Gymnast magazine for 38 years, Dwight Normile, has passed away
    • Ohio State is set to provide direct payments to student athletes next year, and their men's gymnastics team will maintain their scholarships
    •  Plus more!
    Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!). It includes: RELATED COMMISSIONED EPISODES
    3 December 2024, 10:02 pm
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