Gymcastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

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,

 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 Two of Three podcasts: McKayla Maroney's coaches, Artur and Galina, responded to her interview with us. See the photos they sent with their response here. Gymnix (5:00): Mini-World Championships level gymnastics; better than junior Euros; hands-down the best Gymnix ever. Varvara Zubova (RUS): Her form isn't perfect yet, but the 1970's Soviet-esque pixie sent to the future with junior Komova-ish difficulty and Eythora fluidity turned heads. Watch her beam here.  Onysko leading Canada and the Belgian seniors team win 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

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 One of Three podcasts today: How to hold a gym nerd's mock press conference. The Glasgow World Cup recap (7:00) MyKayla Skinner's new floor routine. Ellie Seitz's new Latin-flavored floor. If the British can up their medal haul from London based on their performances here. 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

  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'

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 o

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 exci

                                                              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 awes

  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 (Ebe

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, s

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 Hul

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

  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

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

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

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

    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

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 pos

30-year-old Marian Drăgulescu (ROM) won his 10th world medal in Glasgow and the coveted Mr. Congeniality 2015 award from GymCastic.  © Christy Linder   Uncle Tim, Spencer, and Jessica discuss the state of gymnastics after the Glasgow World Championships: Awards: Miss & Mr. Congeniality Awards Artistry Award (both intended and unintentional) Highest non-vault E score Awards: FX - 9.066 - Simone Biles of USA (Quals) PB - 9.300 - Artur Davtyan (Quals) Biggest D Awards (non-vault): UB - 6.900 - Fan Yilin (TF, EF) and FX - 6.900 - Simone Biles (Quals) FX - Kenzo - 7.600  “Size Isn’t Everything” Award The State of Gymnastics: Rules most desperately needed to change. What worked in this code and what didn't. Our weekly roundup of the latest news stories from around the gymternet include: Mustafina has had knee surgery. Gulia Steingruber knee injury update. The Rio Olympic Qualifer Hunger Games-style rule changes have begun, starting with Trinidad & Tobago. Are Jordyn Wieber, Shawn Johnson a

Manrique (CUB) is going to Rio!   Jessica is reporting in person from the 2015 Women's Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland with the European Gymnastic Crew: Michelle Web, Cordelia Price, and Becca Emrick: What did Bruno say about black athletes in gymnastics? Steve Butcher addressed the delays in the press conference. Is there a pro European bias? More discussion of debunking myths--we discuss the state of gymnastics TODAY! We talk men's vault: we dissect each competitor. Are there rules about selfie-sticks on the floor? What the hell was with the walk-in music? We talk women's beam: of course we break down all the deets. Komova has officially become a fighter--and her leo was on point. Cordelia does her best Scott Bregman impersonation. Carol Angela is The Alchemist. Simone is a diamond--the more pressure the more sparkle she produces. Is the Azerbaijan buy-your-gymnast system working? We talk men's parallel bars: the cleanest final of the day. We talk women's floor: a great final, but Jess is n