Gymcastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

Emma Spence Interview Tokyo Olympic alternate, Emma Spence, represented Canada at the 2022 World Championships and Commonwealth Games winning bronze in the team event at both competitions. The World bronze was the Canadian women's first team medal ever. Emma is currently a gymnast at Nebraska while serving on the FIG Safeguarding Working Group. We discussed: Traveling on a pre-G7 peace mission with other gymnasts and FIG President Watanabe to Japan. And of course, cultural goofs. Which parties are the best;  elite or college. Simultaneously competing for a world medal and speaking at the first ever FIG Safeguarding Symposium at Liverpool Worlds. Yes, literally on the same day. The current state of Gymnastics Canada under investigation for abuse. All the culture shock competing at Nebraska; including wild things Americans have said to her international college athlete group. Having to get ultrasounds at Nebraska to make sure her spleen was safe to return to training before Worlds. Why a coach had to come ou

The Best Beam Routines All other apparatuses take a seat. Today is a beam day. We discuss what makes beam the best apparatus and the qualities consistent across history's greatest beam routines The best overall beam routines, starring Yang Bo, Li Li, Fan Ye, Tatiana Lysenko, Kui Yuanyuan, and Chen Cuiting Honors for excellence in specific fields of study, such as badassery, hands, spinning, ease, aggression, rhythm, and Kathy Johnson moans And finally, how do we make beam more like Yang Bo? 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

Today, we update and revisit some of our favorite busted gymnastics myths—and bust some new myths as well Myths that sound too crazy to be true, naked gymnastics edition Dumb crap left over by haters about periods, height, and lines Who REALLY scored the first perfect 10? The myth of the "candle" mount and the "Liukin" Fighting for justice for Olga Mostepanova, Kerri Strug, Larissa Libby and more Who REALLY won the world all-around title in 2005? Is gymnastics a sport dominated by high schoolers? Was the Sydney vault REALLY set wrong? Was Olga Korbut REALLY the first to do the Korbut? Is Simone Biles the most decorated gymnast of all time? 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 N

How to Get to Paris The gymnastics qualification journey for the 2024 Paris Olympics is already underway, and we're here with a full explainer of the pathways for team and individuals. We'll explain what's different from the 2020 qualification process, answering important questions like, how do Lynnzee Brown and Oksana Chusovitina make the Olympics? Headline News NCAA moving and shaking: With Kayla DiCello deferring for the Olympics, three Utah gymnasts entering the transfer portal, and the new head coaching hires, college gymnastics has been busy since nationals Melanie De Jesus Dos Santos (FRA) is scheduled to compete at the US Classic as an exhibition athlete! Dysfunction and the Romanian federation: a rundown of the latest trouble Puflea accused Lucian Sandu of abuse. Texting her mother that she wanted to jump out the window to get away from Deva. A new head coaching staff, including Patrick Kiens (NED) were hired to coach the national team. Gina Gogean resigned and then was reinstated by the Romani

Oklahoma won its 6th title by .150 over Florida. We discuss whether this makes sense, the perils of recency bias, and the exquisite joys of motivational lying Trinity tied the all-time 10s record in her final competition and we relive the journey of watching Trinity during the warmup periods this weekend The semifinals, UCLA being eliminated with a 197.9, Cal doing its best Michigan impression, and the problems with trying to compare the two semifinals The story of Tasha Brozowski at regionals and how to help her family Maile O'Keefe, Olivia Trautman, and Jordan Chiles are individual NCAA champions Behind-the-scenes stories from the area, including the Falling Table of Doom and the Gator of Spencer's Sorrow We try to speak some rules for 2024 into existence, plus some quick items from European Championships before we get into more details next time and an update on Riley McCusker's lawsuit against Maggie Haney. Photo Galleries from NCAAs here  JOIN CLUB GYM NERD Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!)

NCAA Nationals Preview  It's NCAA Nationals this week! We look at the competition from a few angles: the eagle-eyed view from the second tier, the view from the fan section, and the view from the judges table, to examine what we expect to see, what the fans want to see, and what the judges should be seeing. Is Florida still a top favorite, what do Cal and LSU need to do to advance, can anyone touch Oklahoma, is Utah's W/L dominance over UCLA foreshadowing, are the judges going to differentiate Yurchenko 1.5s, and will they be willing to go 10? Our very important wish list for in-arena comedy and thoughts on the LSU documentary The all-around title: Is it going to be the Jordan Chiles show? Or will Haleigh Bryant or Leanne Wong steal the crown? Plus, Pick Your Fighter: Spoiler Edition NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS LIVE SHOW ON SALE NOW Gymternet News The men's injury apocalypse, top gymnasts to watch, and abounding sexism at this week's European Championship Gymnasts are going to the G7, and a lawsuit over NCAA volu

NCAA Regionals The Denver regional broke us. We delve into what happened with the tiebreak and what happens when the results don't match what you see with your open eyes A brief intermission from fury for important honors in the field of coach outfits and stick celebration violence Back to controversy with Oklahoma counting a fall on beam and still winning its regional. We discuss whether that was correct, and whether it should be possible to win a regional final with two falls on beam The biggest shocks of regionals, from Jade Carey not advancing to nationals as an all-arounder, to no Big Ten teams making the final 8, to which team totally cheaped out on its intro video Plus, Trinity's leg injury in the semifinal and how it did (or didn't) affect Florida, Cal recording the highest score of all the regional finals, Auburn's 3-fall bars rotation, Kentucky returning to nationals, and UCLA fending off a challenge from Missouri Individual qualification brought some surprising all-around qualifiers and some egre

NCAA Regionals Preview It's elimination season. 36 becomes 16. 16 becomes 8. We break down the regional championships, renaming each one to give it a more accurate title, assigning the official regional agents of chaos, and profiling key matchups—like Kentucky vs Alabama, Cal vs Michigan State, and the Denver regional vs the judges. All the individuals who need to qualify to nationals otherwise the sport is canceled, and a rage-o-meter about treating gymnastics like an ACTUAL SPORT. NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS LIVE SHOW ON SALE NOW Plus, Jessica watched every 10.000 from this season and has the final verdict on how many of them were real, and we discuss the recurring themes of what deductions aren't taken and the hardest qualities to codify. Gymternet News and More The IOC really wants Russia to compete again, and we look at comeback season in Britain and beyond We have a mini-commission all about the wonders of Alaska gymnastics and a Rage-o-Meter about never clapping for the other team! EXTRA CLUB CONTENT Clu

The Brody Malone injury, Russia missing a critical deadline, Trinity Watch, and neutral deduction drama dominated the news this week Plus, NCAA regional assignments are out. We decide which semifinal is the group of death, learn some new pronunciations from the selection show, and explain why Arizona should start a rebellion Meet News Josc Roberson's floor final D-score exposed the code as a farce, and other developments from the DTB Cup in Stuttgart Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Utah won their conference championships. We discuss Oklahoma's program beam record, the high bars scores at SECs, improvements from Florida, and why this result was so important for Alabama Your feedback on whether we think an NCAA routine could get a 10.000 E score in elite. NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS LIVE SHOW  On sale now for Club Gym Nerd members with discount. Discount expires on March 24th when tickets go on sale to general public. EXTRA CLUB CONTENT Club Gym Nerd members can watch the video version of the show, join us for liv

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS LIVE SHOW On sale now for Club Gym Nerd members with discount. Discount expires on March 24th when tickets go on sale to general public. Headlines The latest on Suni Lee's and Jordan Chiles' competition plans Should Jordan's vault this week have been a 10??????? Haleigh Bryant got 3 perfect 10s in a single meet Plus, Oklahoma said playtime is over after last week's loss, Cal set more program records than it knows what to do with, and Kentucky elbowed its way ahead of Alabama and Auburn NCAA Gymnastics Week 10 How To Get To Nationals: A GymCastic Postseason Explainer — We trace the journey of some of your favorite, deeply dramatic individuals and teams and how they can advance through the postseason All your questions about hosting, seeding, individual titles, and geographic regionals placement Who needs a score this weekend, and what are some of the sleeper conference championships to watch? Finally, the wildest things that happened on BTN+ this week, and do we think Maile O'Keefe's be

NCAA Gymnastics Week 9 Florida didn't put up full-strength lineups against Oklahoma and it was the talk of the town. The people were triggered! We discuss why it felt like a letdown and missed opportunity, make the argument in favor of Florida, and generally fix the problems with the NCAA schedule Heroes don't need capes, but they do need vault collars Updating the All-Time Record Watch for Trinity and Jade heading into the last meets before championship season Michigan upset Oklahoma (!) on Monday. We have thoughts. Spencer gives the update on how scary regionals would be if the season ended today and why Auburn is the most interesting team to follow this week Plus, your feedback on intimidating the opposition, what counts as a "hit" routine, Florida conspiracy theories, the Fisk fan club, and attending meets in person 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 th

Winter Cup This was the year the women truly understood the meaning of Winter Cup: Falling We discuss Lexi Zeiss going full Ellie Black on this meet, the importance of being Nola Matthews, and our breakout stars—and breakout comedians—of the women's senior session (with some Cottbus thrown in for luck) Whose floor routines escaped THE WRATH OF DONATELLA? Not many. But a couple. Like, exactly 2. One, Two. Then we send some overdone choreographic gestures to a farm upstate. The broadcast: why NBC is actually...getting better? Plus, some gymnerd deep cut YouTube assignments, and that time Yul Moldauer went "ALTERNATE THIS" all over the men's competition. NCAA Week 8 Headlines Standing full alert! An update on the 10s record chase, and we answer the question: Why does Jade Carey have nine 10s while Jordan Chiles has four? Oklahoma set a program record and an all-time NQS record this week Dear the equipment, um...are you OK? Feedback on SABOTAGE and the importance of HBCUs in gymnastics We had a rare, mythic 10

Headline News Starting with the good stuff: This Def happened from Haruka Nakamura (JPN) Now to the bad: Al Fong is under SafeSport investigation with 40 allegations spanning decades. We discuss why on earth this investigation has taken 2.5 years so far and whether it is acceptable to take a break from an investigation for the Olympics. John Roethlisberger breaking the news that USAG Team Strategic Lead is pregnant and Simone Biles is "back in the gym". Winter Cup Preview We preview the senior women's competition at Winter Cup this week, featuring the most anticipated new seniors and injury comebacks, top returning favorites, and whether there might be any Donatella Effect. Plus, what's on the line for the junior women and whether there might be an EVO factor in the men's meet. NCAA Week 7 Headlines National Qualifying Score (NQS) is now in effect. We discuss what it is and who it benefits, and how Oklahoma already has a chance to set an all-time record. In February. Strategy season: Which teams are ta

NCAA Headlines Grace McCallum was injured on vault at the Meet No One Could See Correct or Corrupt: The judging incident in Florida. We discuss how this (and all the other judging problems at this competition) might have even happened and why it was allowed to stand, why it matters, why overscoring gymnasts isn't actually a kindness, and why there's no public accountability. Is USAG suddenly beating college gymnastics in the competition accessibility department? Plus, updates on the race to the 10s record and other ranking changes NCAA Week 6 Notes Some important DOs and some very important DON'Ts A tribute to beam amplitude and those who are not basic Your feedback on leotard bonus, college gymnastics music mixes, cringey in-arena nonsense, pickle sponsorships, and more Plus, fantasy gymnastics notes for week 6, and some elite Winter Cup roster news 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 podc

There was a special guest at the women's national team camp this week. How do we feel about this? And what do we hope was said? Morgan Hurd discussed her potentially misdiagnosed knee injury in the run up to the Tokyo Olympics. Bart Deurloo announced his retirement. We pay tribute. NCAA Week 5 Friday featured the most 10s given out in a single day in college gymnastics in 19 years. Spencer is......going to be fine. We discuss which 10s might have been the realest, the problem with going stick-blind, and bring Correct or Corrupt to a possible 10 that wasn't. Plus, feedback on how judges get assigned to meets, how receipts would change everything, the judging of Suni Lee's vault, and when/why handstands became the be-all, end-all of bars Jessica has some awards of the week, an ode to Jordan Chiles, a score protest to honor, and some ideas for future post-routine celebrations SURVEY We want your opinion! Tell us what you think here. EXTRA CLUB CONTENT Club Gym Nerd members can watch the video version of the

SURVEY We want your opinion! Tell us what you think here. EXTRA CLUB CONTENT Club Gym Nerd members can watch the video version of the show, join us for live podcasts once a week, get extended and early releases of interviews, and have early access to live show tickets. Please login to your Club Gym Nerd account to listen and/or watch this episode. Not a member? Join here. The Headlines Vitaly Marinich is out as the French men's coach. Who could have seen these problems coming? In a leaked letter, Ellie Black, Kyle Shewfelt, and Rosie MacLennan have called for the resignation of Canadian gymnastics leadership NCAA Week 4 Oklahoma notched the highest score in the country, and Arkansas and Kentucky both set program records Trinity Watch: The Race for the 10s Record moved another step forward From equipment failures to result changes to Correct or Corrupt, the UCLA/Oregon State meet sure was eventful Plus, a beam rules quiz, a heartfelt, unbiased plea for a judging time clock, the stupidity of gymnastics All-

BONUS CONTENT Week One of 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. Club Gym Nerd members can watch the video version of the show, join us for live podcasts once a week, get extended and early releases of interviews, and have early access to live show tickets. Please login to your Club Gym Nerd account to listen and/or watch this episode. Not a member? Join here. Vanessa Atler is Here! We get her honest takes on what skills are actually pretty easy, what skills...don't look the best, and what skills have impressed her so far this NCAA season: from front aerials to 2 feet, to back handspring fulls, to gainers, and yes...bars elements. Would she teach someone her old floor routines if they wanted to do a tribute? (Do itttttttt) The GymCastic NCAA Team Matchmaking Service: We use our scientifically patented, NASA-tested, 8-tier system to match Vanessa to her perfect NCAA team The News W

EXTRA CLUB CONTENT Week One of 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. Club Gym Nerd members can watch the video version of the show, join us for live podcasts once a week, get extended and early releases of interviews, and have early access to live show tickets. Join here. College Gym Headlines More 10s! Leanne Wong and Jade Carey both scored two 10.000s this week as we set a record for most 10.000s given out by the second week of the season. Hooray? We play "Which 10 was the 10iest?" and make the case for which athlete is most likely to score 40.000 Correct or Corrupt: This week, we're looking at some mandatory deductions that very much weren't taken in Florida and reaffirm that "the Nadia standard" for stuck landings isn't a thing A very important anonymous letter about a TV producer's behavior toward judges Kiya Johnson's torn Achilles and LSU's Monday comeback performance Blamin

EXCLUSIVE CLUB CONTENT College & Cocktails: The Friday Night NCAA Gymnastics Post-Meet Show is available to to sample even if you aren't a Club Gym Nerd member yet. Watch or listen here. Club Gym Nerd members can watch the video version of the show, join us for live podcasts once a week, get extended and early releases of interviews, get early access to live show tickets and merch discounts. Please login to your Club Gym Nerd account to listen and/or watch this episode. Not a member? Join here.  College Gym Headlines Debuts! The first week of the season brought college debuts from Morgan Hurd, eMjae Frazier, Kayla DiCello, and the first ever HBCU gymnastics team 10s! Trinity Thomas and Suni Lee got 10s on beam, bringing Trinity just 7 shy of the all-time record. Would her record come with an asterisk? The Super 16 meet actually happened, and Oklahoma won with one of the highest opening scores ever While the actual most important Olivia Dunne topic this week was wondering how soon she can get into LSU's b

THE NADIA MOVIE Lies, lies, and more lies! For today's commissioned episode, we watched the 1984 made-for-TV movie Nadia, a Very Highly Extremely Unauthorized biography of Nadia Comaneci, and we seriously just can't with it. We discuss: Things that definitely 100% happened and aren't lies at all, like Bela Karolyi creepily discovering Nadia at recess The villain of this tale: Communism The very important *IMMEDIATE CHOREOGRAPHED FRIENDSHIP DANCE* between Nadia and Teodora Interrupting the judges in the middle of Tourischeva's floor routine (!) Anachronistic hair: A deep discussion Marcia Frederick's stunts are the only watchable part The first double pike beam dismount ever competed? Maria Filatova (USSR) 1977 This movie did Teodora Ungureanu dirty Is this the only gymnastics movie where the stunt work is harder than the real routines they're portraying? Wait...did they turn Nellie Kim white? Creating the future: Did Bela reenact some of these scenes later in his career? Some very sensitive and thoughtful