Gymnastics

[CeeBeeGee]

The Classic is July 28-29 and Nationals are August 15-20.

[CeeBeeGee]

Sorry to reply to myself--I today realized the Classic airs on those dates. It actually happened last week. Sorry!

[HartofDixie]

Roster for Classics.

http://www.flogymnastics.com/article/58636-rosters-2017-american-classic-hopes-classic#.WXE_joUpCEc

Edited July 20, 2017 by HartofDixie

[Indy]

On 7/14/2017 at 8:26 PM, CeeBeeGee said:

Sorry to reply to myself--I today realized the Classic airs on those dates. It actually happened last week. Sorry!

There are two meets with "Classic" in the name this summer, to make things nice and confusing. The American Classic was held at the Ranch a few weeks ago and was an Nationals qualifier meet - and not televised. The U. S. Classic (formerly called the Secret Classic, when Secret deodorant was the title sponsor) is this coming weekend, and is televised. Why one of them couldn't get a different name is beyond me.

[CeeBeeGee]

12 hours ago, Indy said:

There are two meets with "Classic" in the name this summer, to make things nice and confusing. The American Classic was held at the Ranch a few weeks ago and was an Nationals qualifier meet - and not televised. The U. S. Classic (formerly called the Secret Classic, when Secret deodorant was the title sponsor) is this coming weekend, and is televised. Why one of them couldn't get a different name is beyond me.

Damn, thank you! I realized from my tumblr gym blogs, that my correction was wrong and my original post was right but I was too mortified to post yet ANOTHER correction! I was thrown off by a blog that kept talking about the recent "Classic" meet--it must indeed have been the American Classic. Thank you!

[MostlyC]

Who is airing the competition?  What network?

[Indy]

14 hours ago, MostlyC said:

Who is airing the competition?  What network?

The Seniors' session is going to be on NBC's new Olympics Chanel. And also both the Hopes (Friday 1:30 CT), the Juniors (Saturday 1:00pm CT), and the Seniors (Saturday 6:30pm CT) are going to be broadcast on USAG's YouTube channel.  Usually the YouTube broadcasts are available to watch later too so you don't have to watch them live. 

[HartofDixie]

I think we can also watch the live feed on their YouTube channel.

[SophiaD]

I'm watching the rebroadcast of the US Classic.  John Roethlisberger told Valeri Liukin that he lobbied to have him take over the men's program, but he "guessed that women's program was second best."

Um, WHAT?

John, the US Women have won multiple Olympic and World Championships.  They are not "second best."  Jeez!

[CeeBeeGee]

I livestreamed the USAG channel on YouTube so no commentary. Where did you see this? (And--yeah, John, keep telling yourself that. The US men's program is a pale shadow of the women's. But yeah, be like Sam et al. and keep fist-pumping after every routine that doesn't win a medal.)

[Mittengirl]

I though John sounded like he was kidding when he made that remark.

[SophiaD]

Oh, maybe he was.  I haven't heard him much as a commentator, so maybe that's just his sense of humor.  In other news, I wish Tim would quit talking over Nastia.  I really like hearing what she has to say.

US Classic was rebroadcast last night on the new Olympics Channel.  

Morgan Hurd is my pick for one to watch in this next cycle, if she stays healthy and doesn't grow too much.  She is amazingly poised and seems to have great skills.  I wonder if Simone would come back?  Tim seems to think she might.

[choclatechip45]

I really Morgan Hurd! I hope she does well at Nationals. I think its too early to tell if Simone will come back. She is still in Houston so she might.

[HartofDixie]

On 7/30/2017 at 5:06 PM, choclatechip45 said:

I really Morgan Hurd! I hope she does well at Nationals. I think its too early to tell if Simone will come back. She is still in Houston so she might.

Aimee is now in FL. I suppose she could train with someone new at her gym. Curious to see if she, Aly, and Laurie return to competition.

[cesstar]

From what I've been able to see in the videos uploaded, the juniors looked impressive, there is some good talent there which bodes well for the next cycle. I liked Emma in particular. Not sure how many of the current seniors will still be in the running for Tokyo, it's hard to stay healthy for that long and also maintain your skills/difficulty. Simone was quite exceptional in that regard. Morgan is delightful though, such poise and elegance in her skills. I hope she gets to go to Worlds.

5 hours ago, HartofDixie said:

Aimee is now in FL. I suppose she could train with someone new at her gym. Curious to see if she, Aly, and Laurie return to competition.

I have a feeling Simone right return. Before the Olympics she sounded really keen to have a break and potentially move on but I think she might miss being in the gym now. And she has put the occasional video on instagram of her keeping fit and trying some tricks. I think Aly might give it a go too. I'm not sure about Laurie, I think she timed her run perfectly for Rio but I can't see her coming back as strong with her previous knee injury (which kept her out for a year?) and she has started to mature/develop body-wise which might also curtail a comeback. But I guess we'll see!

[Indy]

I see Simone at least giving a comeback a go. She seems to still love gym and she has the potential to still be a factor, especially with the new format and the elevation of specialists. She could come back for floor/vault and win.  I really hope she does come back, she's just so freaking talented.  As much as I'd love to see Laurie back, I think she's done.  And even if she came back, with all of the upcoming juniors, there might not be a place for her. 

[cesstar]

Yeah, I think if Simone wants to and stays healthy (and she's been remarkably blessed with few injuries through her career so far - just her shoulder right?) I can see her having a successful comeback. For someone so small, she looks to still be in excellent shape and she has probably already gone through any growing pains at 20. And her level of difficulty is unsurpassed with the current gymnasts competing. 

I personally don't see Gabby coming back again because I think the last cycle really took it out of her emotionally, but according to this article she is still keeping her options open by completing her USADA requirements - http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2017/07/27/gabby-douglas-gymnastics/ 

She could be a great bars specialist though if she was interested in continuing. I would love for her to get an individual event medal, her bars work at Rio was good enough for the podium, she just seemed to be exhausted by the time of event finals.

Am looking forward to World Championships and seeing some of the non-US contenders.

[HartofDixie]

http://www.pgchamps.com/2017/08/horton-peszek-wieber-will-lead-pg-championships-online-coverage/

[Mittengirl]

Is anyone else watching the P&G men's event on The Olympics Channel?  I have no sound, except ambient background noise, and was wondering if others have the same issue.  

 

Whoops! I should have waited a minute.  After the commercial break I have commentators.  Not necessarily an improvement, but at least I know it isn't my overpriced cable screwing up again.

Edited August 18, 2017 by Mittengirl

[choclatechip45]

I watched last night. Yul Moladeur gymnastics are so pretty. I hope he does well in the next few years. It's great to see all of the guys who are now getting attention since most of the guys have retired.

[HartofDixie]

https://myusagym.com/meets/live/62003/session/2W/startList/

[QuinnInND]

Because it can't be said enough, Shut up Al!!  Enjoying watching, but Al Troutface makes me stabby.  And once again, I find myself wishing the girls would wear leos that don't wind up being thongs at the end of the routine. 

[CeeBeeGee]

Some Night 1 thoughts:

Riley McCusker executed so beautifully--is there a reason all her scores are sub-14? (I don't know the COP so maybe her difficulty is low?)

Trinity Thomas's gymnastics are just lovely! What a nice discover! (She's new to me, anyway.)

Was bummed my Ashton fell on beam. At least her bars were stunning.

OMG that fall that girl (Leah something?) took on beam looked horrifically painful. Major props to her to finishing cleanly and then going on to floor.

[Misslindsey]

I am not a fan of Ragan's floor routine. It just looked way too cutesy for my taste. I am underwhelmed by Ragan. I feel like I am suppose to really like her and she is just meh to me.

I have not seen Trinity Thomas before, but I thought she was great. I really liked watching Jodan Chiles, Riley McCusker (who looked so much better at this competition), Margzetta Frazier, and Morgan Hurd as well.

I am not a fan of Ashton. 

I cannot express how much I hate the wolf turn. It always looks so awkward and clunky to me even when it is done well.

[Cherry Bomb]

What these girls do just amaze me. The strength the have in such a compact little body is beyond me. Ragan I suppose is suppose to be the next darling and yes she is cute as a button, but sometimes just too cute. She is a fantastic Gymnast though. Riley amazes me with everything she does. She is seer beauty and just so artistic in everything. She definitely has determination as well. I also thought Morgan Hurd was very good and definitely an up and comer on the scene. Trinity, Jordan, Ashton, and Margzetta were also very good making the USA Girls team very impressive for the future. I definitely see Ragan and Riley on the next Olympic team.

[SophiaD]

Color me as another person who was underwhelmed by Ragan.  She is an amazing gymnast, but something about her just didn't resonate.  Of course, the constant, constant adulation from Al didn't help at all.  Yes, Al, we KNOW she's way ahead, you said that THIRTY SECONDS AGO.  Enough already.  

I really like Riley - she has beautiful lines and reminds me of Nastia.  Trinity and Jordan blew me away as well.  Morgan did beautifully on the second night.  If she stays healthy and is consistent, I could easily see her on an Olympic team.

On the men's side, it was really striking to see so many new people.  I have to hand to it Donnell Whittenburg.  I still don't know how he manages all of those finesse moves with his huge arms.  Yul Moldauer is fun to watch.  So is Alex Naddour on pommel horse.  That second-day routine was just epic.  Allan Brower was very impressive, very steady.  If we were fielding a team this year, I'd definitely want him on it.

I'm really ready for Jonathan Horton to take over the commentary on the men's side.  Tim has been doing it for YEARS and it really shows.  I like Nastia a lot.  And the sooner they replace Al with Terry Gannon or the guy they had doing the World Track and Field commentator the better.  Ugh.

Edited August 21, 2017 by SophiaD

[choclatechip45]

What a save by Jordan Chiles! I'm happy people are discovering Trinity Thomas I love her gymnastics. It's too bad she probably won't make the Worlds team. I'm happy for Jordan Chiles she has had a tough year and no one was expecting much from her. I like Ragan, but I understand why her gymnastics doesn't appeal to everyone. It can be too cutesy.

USA Gymnastics announced the Men's World Team https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=20691&prog=h

Not sure why they would name an injured Sam he can't medal when he is healthy plus I would give one of these other guys the experience and see how they could handle it like what the Women's program did in 2011 when they named Gabby to the team.

Edited August 21, 2017 by choclatechip45

[HartofDixie]

Was kind of bored with this National championships. Still not feeling the love for Ragan. I like Trinity and Morgan and most of the juniors. It will be interesting to see who gets named to the Worlds team. 

[topanga]

4 hours ago, HartofDixie said:

Was kind of bored with this National championships. Still not feeling the love for Ragan. I like Trinity and Morgan and most of the juniors. It will be interesting to see who gets named to the Worlds team. 

I haven't caught any of it. What made the Nat'ls boring? The routines? The commentators? Something else?

[SophiaD]

Allan Bower is only a replacement athlete????  Wow.  He was good.  I'm really happy for Donnell and for Marvin Kimble, especially.  I guess this means he is back on the National Team!  I thought it was kind of tactless of Tim and Al to go on and on about how he'd been kicked out of the USOTC, blah, blah, blah, blah.  I retain a faint hope that maybe they will shut up now, but I'm not holding my breath.  I'm sure they'll find plenty else to say.

I'm also bummed for Akash Modi, even though he has a lot of time ahead of him yet.

I can't speak for @HartofDixie, but, for my mind, there was absolutely no suspense about the women's event.  It was Ragan's to won, and she won it.  Once we saw how good and steady Yul was in relation to the other athletes, that wasn't exactly a nail-biter, either.  Also, with the retirement of so many gymnasts I like, it was hard to figure out who all of these new folks were - although it was fun to see new faces.  

I do hope Riley makes it to worlds.  I'd love to see Morgan go, too, but I'm not holding my breath.  I'm wondering if they will take Jordan and Trinity, or if they will offer a spot for that young woman (whose name escapes me right now) who was so good on vault and floor.   I have to say, much as I'm glad new athletes are getting a chance, I miss the Final Five, especially Simone.

Edited August 22, 2017 by SophiaD

[choclatechip45]

3 hours ago, topanga said:

I haven't caught any of it. What made the Nat'ls boring? The routines? The commentators? Something else?

It was predictable Ragan would win and everyone is doing a wolf turn on balance beam. The most exciting part was Jordan Chiles getting second place since people have been predicting she is the next superstar junior that burns out/can't get healthy as a senior. Plus she's had a tough year coaching wise which wasn't her fault. 

The one good thing was besides Morgan Hurd the first night people performed clean. There have been a too many splat fests at nationals. So I'm glad everyone performed well.

Edited August 22, 2017 by choclatechip45

[cesstar]

I have managed to catch up with some of the routines that have been posted online. I'm glad Riley had a good meet, that will be good for her confidence. I see that she beat Locklear out for the bars title, does that make it less likely that Locklear will get picked for the Worlds team?

Trinity Thomas was great, there is an elegance to her gymnastics that I find very appealing. It looks like she needs to upgrade her vault to have any chance going forward though, which is a bit surprising because she seems to have plenty of power in her floor tumbling and that often translates to vault as well. Maybe its more of a mental block? I always thought that if I did gymnastics I would find running at high speed towards an immovable object a fairly difficult mental challenge to overcome!

I was disappointed for Morgan Hurd, it didn't really seem to come together for her and that probably impacts her chances to make the worlds team with Jordan and Riley doing so well (Ragan was always a lock). She is coming back from injury so I guess the timing caught up with her.

The juniors looked great though! Some really promising talent there, and interesting that it looks like it will be a strong group for uneven bars. 

[choclatechip45]

7 hours ago, PoshSprinkles said:

Mainly because he's the only semi-decent high bar worker we have. Everyone else is bordering meh/bad. Even our saving grace, Yul, only scores mid-13s (usually) on high bar. Akash is our best high bar worker at the moment, but his other events aren't strong enough to take him. Sam can at least give a decent floor, high bar, and parallel bar routine when he hits (yeah, I know...). 

Good point. However, Sam can only do High Bar/Pommels right now. Plus its an Individual Worlds I don't see Sam getting a medal on High Bar since he can't hit a clean routine in competition.

[Libby96]

I don't claim to know anything about men's gymnastics other than what I observe while sitting on my couch, but I was really surprised that someone who had the kind of meet that Allan Bower did was not named to be the world team.  I hope his time will come.

The wolf turn in ladies' gymnastics is becoming what the Biellman spin is to ladies' figure skating.  Ubiquitous and not particularly attractive.

Edited August 23, 2017 by Libby96

[QuinnInND]

3 hours ago, Libby96 said:

 

The wolf turn in ladies' gymnastics is becoming what the Biellman spin is to ladies' figure skating.  Ubiquitous and not particularly attractive.

Is the Biellman spin the one where they hold up one foot above their head? 

Because if so, I hate that one and the wolf turn. Ugly. No one can make those look good. 

[Libby96]

You got it.  The Biellman is where they grab that skate blade and crank a leg up over their heads.  It became popular after skating changed the scoring system in the wake of the Salt Lake City Olympics.  Apparently it garners a lot of points.

[topanga]

34 minutes ago, QuinnInND said:

Because if so, I hate that one and the wolf turn. Ugly. No one can make those look good. 

Aww, I always liked watching Simone Biles do it--except the one time she lost her balance during the Olympics. It looks really hard, so Im always impressed when a gymnast nails it. 

[Jeddah]

On 8/21/2017 at 10:42 AM, Misslindsey said:

I am not a fan of Ashton. 

I cannot express how much I hate the wolf turn. It always looks so awkward and clunky to me even when it is done well.

I agree with you about the wolf turns, but I do like Ashton as a gymnast. Oddly enough, I think she has one of the better looking wolf turns, or at least one that's somewhat controlled. But Jordan Chiles wins with her save that was far more awesome than real wolf turns!

 

16 hours ago, Libby96 said:

The wolf turn in ladies' gymnastics is becoming what the Biellman spin is to ladies' figure skating.  Ubiquitous and not particularly attractive.

It's crossed over into men's skating too! Hanyu does it, and I think Jason Brown does a variation of it. I don't hate the Biellman. At least not like I hate wolf turns.

[Cherry Bomb]

The wolf Turn impresses me because of the balance and the flexibility it must take to get it done. Like I said in my other post, what these girls do amaze me. They do flips on a beam that I probably couldn't even walk briskly across without losing my balance and then there are the other routines I wouldn't even attempt. I give kudos to everything these girls and guys do. The work they must have to put in the gym must make my day at the gym look like nothing.

[CeeBeeGee]

The wolf turn looks best when someone like Ashton or Terin Humphrey (who first popularized it--the 2.5 wolf turn mount on beam is named after her), i.e., someone with disproportionately long legs (and of course, good form) does it. I loved watching Terin's beam in Athens, she executed the wolf turn so elegantly.

 

Jordan's "mess up" was awesome! It was basically an Okino (+ a quarter turn) with a bent leg. so I'm calling it a Jazz Okino :)

[Cherry Bomb]

To really think about it, just to make a turn/spin on a 4" beam without falling off on your ass is an accomplishment in my book. :)

[Mittengirl]

Why is it called a wolf turn?  Is it something wolves are prone to doing?

[HartofDixie]

On 8/21/2017 at 8:50 PM, topanga said:

I haven't caught any of it. What made the Nat'ls boring? The routines? The commentators? Something else?

 It was expected that Ragan would win, nearly all the seniors from last year are on a break/NCAA so getting used to new faces etc.  With the team changing to 4 for 2020 I suspect many of the girls will head off to college rather than stick around to try to make the team.  I see Ragan and Ashton trying to stick it out until then but I found most of the girls were just happy to be at Nationals rather than going for it.  Curious to see what Liukin will do this quad.  I'm glad that Simone has started training again but if she chooses not to compete I'm ok with that.

[Mittengirl]

What is the reasoning for going to smaller and smaller Olympic teams?  It seems like have fewer opportunities at the highest levels will not help the sport.

[Smurf]

Deleted post

Edited August 25, 2017 by Smurf

[topanga]

21 hours ago, Smurf said:

 

Welcome, Smurf. Glad to hear from a 'real' gymnast--I say that because I'm totally not. 

But be careful about sharing personal information on public forums. Most of the people on this board seem cool, but you never know who's lurking. I wouldn't want anyone stalking you.

I sound like a mom, I know. 

I can't imagine what it must be like to train as hard as you do. Many retired gymnasts admit that they had no childhood. I hope you manage to have some fun

Edited August 25, 2017 by topanga

[Smurf]

49 minutes ago, topanga said:

Welcome, Smurf. Glad to hear from a 'real' gymnast--I say that because I'm totally not. 

But be careful about sharing personal information on public forums. Most of the people on this board seem cool, but you never know who's lurking. I wouldn't want anyone stalking you.

I sound like a mom, I know. 

I can't imagine what it must be like to train as hard as you do. Many retired gymnasts admit that they had no childhood. I hope you manage to have some fun  

@topanga sorry I am already getting harassed by some people on here so I deleted the post above and my profile. Could you please edit your post and remove my quoted post. Thank You. I guess I am not safe here so I am leaving. 

Edited August 25, 2017 by Smurf

[selkie]

7 hours ago, Mittengirl said:

What is the reasoning for going to smaller and smaller Olympic teams?  It seems like have fewer opportunities at the highest levels will not help the sport.

The Olympics have both hard caps for the total number of athletes and the athletes allowed per federation. Reducing team size in artistic gymnastics lets the FIG allocate more athletes to other disciplines like trampoline and still be within their quota and also allows better 'universality'- more athletes from more different countries. Take away a spot from a Russian or American girl, and you open up a spot for a girl from Argentina or South Africa or New Zealand.  The Olympic concept gives preference to diverse nation representation rather than just, say, the 20 best athletes in the world regardless of nationality. (And it gets discussed in far more sports than gymnastics- with track and field, there's a definite difference between the Olympic and World Championship meetings where national entries are capped and the Diamond League professional series where it's the best regardless of nationality and about 2/3 of the Diamond League final in the men's 1500M today in Zurich were Kenyan passport holders.) 

[HartofDixie]

Shocked that the men's team did not put Allan Bower on the Worlds team.  As for the women's World team selection I think they will go with two for the AA and two specialists.  I think for AA it will be Ragan and Riley.  Not sure who they will take for other spots but with Ashton not winning the bars title I think they will leave her home.

[HartofDixie]

Aliya resumes training.