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Gymnastics


SophiaD
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14 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I wonder who's choreographing UCLA's floor routines now that Miss Val has retired? They're earning their paycheck. 

UCLA gymnasts like Nia Dennis are going viral. Their secret weapon is choreographer Bijoya Das

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“B.J.” Das, a volunteer assistant coach for UCLA Gymnastics. Her choreography is a mix of traditional gymnastics moves and dance trends you might see on TikTok.

Das tells KCRW that the team always inspired her, and she was a collegiate gymnast too. 

[...]

She says UCLA stands out with its culture of integrating dance and gymnastics, and other teams are following suit. “It really brings a wider audience to watch sport. … We definitely have a bit of fearlessness when it comes to just trying things that aren't very traditional in the sport of gymnastics.” 

Doing this integration is difficult because many of the gymnasts don’t have formal dance training, Das notes. “And if they do, maybe it's a ballet instructor coming in once a week to work on their turnout and their posture. But it's generally not a whole lot of extra time that you can dedicate to dance. Because especially in the elite world, there's hours and hours dedicated to all four events. … But I think like for athletes who make that [combining dance] a priority, it can definitely be done. … It would be lovely to see that more artistry, I think, just across the board.”

[...]

Das adds Dennis’ father was involved with the dance steps during Missy Elliott’s “Pass That Dutch” song. 

“Her dad was in a fraternity, and he had a bunch of different step routines. And so we ended up FaceTiming him and asking him to show us some cool step moves from his college days. And so he ended up putting on his boots and his UCLA sweatshirt. He sent us these tutorials and we're like, ‘We have to include this interchain.’ So the choreography is actually from her dad.” 

[...]

Das says she’s not paid for her work with the UCLA Gymnastics team, but she does get paid for running UCLA’s recreational program and summer camps. 

 

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https://www.espn.com/olympics/gymnastics/story/_/id/30969557/court-documents-detail-deceased-coach-john-geddert-alleged-abuse

I'd like to think that the problems with this sport end here, but we all know it doesn't.  How does gymastics ever recover?  They need to blow up the entire system from the bottom up and start over.  And if we miss a few medals in the Olympic cycles then that is PERFECTLY FINE.  

Twistars must have been hell on earth for those poor girls.  

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Former British gymnasts allege decades of physical, psychological abuse

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The litany of allegations by 17 female claimants includes bullying, controlling behavior and inappropriate use of physical force against athletes as young as 6 years old in a "winning at all costs" mentality.

Their notice told British Gymnastics that they are seeking financial compensation and an acknowledgement of negligence. The law firm representing the group of women -- who now range from 15 to 43 years old -- expects the number of gymnasts to increase and possibly include men.

 

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Gold Over America Tour - post Olympics national tour! Current tour dates are September 21-November 7.

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The GOLD OVER AMERICA TOUR starring SIMONE BILES is a celebration of powerful female athletes who, together, are a united force proudly representing the sport of women’s gymnastics and inspiring the next generation of female athletes.

Biles and an all-star team of gymnasts featuring Laurie Hernandez, Katelyn Ohashi, Peng Peng Lee, Danusia Francis, and Morgan Hurd among others will be coming to a city near you to celebrate world-class gymnastics in the afterglow of the world’s preeminent international competition. From September through November, this 35-city tour will feature some of the most exciting female athletes in the world in a way you’ve never seen before… their way!

“I love the sport of gymnastics and want to help create a show that celebrates the pure joy of performing,” said Simone Biles. “I believe there is GOLD inside of us all and it’s time to let that GOLD shine.”

The GOLD OVER AMERICA TOUR will be a high-octane, fun-filled experience that will not only showcase athletic brilliance but also showcase each athlete's own inspiring championship journeys and bring the audience closer to the action than ever before.

 

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The NCAA National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championships will be making its broadcast debut on ABC this year as ESPN expands its gymnastics coverage across several of its networks

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For the first time, the four NCAA regional competitions will be available live on ESPN3, covering “every gymnast and apparatus,” according to a release. This year’s regionals will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah; Athens, Georgia; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and Morgantown, West Virginia, with coverage available starting with days two and three on April 2 and 3. The championships begin on Friday, April 16, with the two semifinals broadcast on ESPN2. The final will air live on Saturday, April 17, at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.

 

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Simone Biles drops Nike and signs with Athleta

Some excerpts:

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Biles has often seemed overlooked during her time at Nike, despite her athletic success. A recent Nike ad highlighting Black female athletes did not include any recognizable images of Biles.

[...]

Although Nike has many leading female athletes under contract, including Serena Williams, the company has faced criticism over over how it has treated athletes who become pregnant.

Biles joins fellow Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix, a track star who became the first athlete to sign an endorsement deal with Athleta in 2019 after leaving Nike. Felix was one of several athletes drawing attention to Nike's pregnancy policies.

Felix said she was offered 70% less by Nike after she had an emergency C-section in 2018.

More info:

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Simone Biles is leaving Nike to join Athleta, which will help sponsor a post-Olympics tour that she's organizing herself, rather than one that's usually run by USA Gymnastics.

"I feel like they also support me, not just as an athlete, but just as an individual outside of the gym and the change that I want to create, which is so refreshing."

The deal, announced Friday, includes a line of active wear, plus other sponsorship considerations.

 

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German athlete Sarah Voss praised for wearing bodysuit to protest sexualisation of female gymnasts (back in ye olden days, we used to call these unitards)

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German gymnast Sarah Voss has been praised for taking a stand against the sexualisation of female athletes by choosing to wear a full bodysuit at the 2021 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Basel, Switzerland.

Typically, female gymnasts are told to wear leotards for competitions that can either be half or long-sleeved.

A full bodysuit like the one Ms Voss chose to wear are seldom worn by women at competitions.

However, Team Germany has since confirmed on Twitter that Ms Voss’s decision to wear one was to protest the way in which female athletes are often sexualised through their outfits.

The team shared in a statement on Twitter via the European Gymnastics account, saying: “Our girls want to be role models for young gymnasts and show them how they can present themselves differently without feeling uncomfortable about certain elements.”

 

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On 4/28/2021 at 8:07 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

In recent years I’ve wondered why the hell do female gymnasts have to wear leotards that are skin tight, including the genital areas, and often don’t actually cover their butts.  Why?  It can’t be only for body line.  The males wear shorts and pants that aren’t skin tight and that revealing.  So, again ... why?  For the pleasure of Larry Nassar et al?

At a certain point, most teen girls want to look and feel sexy (and also to fit in with their peers), so I’m sure it’s rather easy to convince them to wear such revealing attire.  But, again, a question for the adults in the room: why?  

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On 4/29/2021 at 6:23 PM, Harry24 said:

In recent years I’ve wondered why the hell do female gymnasts have to wear leotards that are skin tight, including the genital areas, and often don’t actually cover their butts.  Why?  It can’t be only for body line.  The males wear shorts and pants that aren’t skin tight and that revealing.  So, again ... why?  For the pleasure of Larry Nassar et al?

At a certain point, most teen girls want to look and feel sexy (and also to fit in with their peers), so I’m sure it’s rather easy to convince them to wear such revealing attire.  But, again, a question for the adults in the room: why?  

It's for the same reason that ballet dancers wear leotards - teachers and judges want to see their lines at all times. They want to be able to easily see when their hips aren't squared or if their knees aren't squeezed together. Historically, leotards have been worn for both dance and gymnastics. It isn't a matter of "convincing" female gymnasts to wear leotards. Most girls who become good enough to go to the Olympics begin training when they're toddlers. Gyms require them to wear leotards. By the time they're 16, it's just an accepted part of their daily lives, the same way the rest of us accept that we have to wear shoes in public places or that we have to flush the toilet. It's what we've been taught to do and we don't question it. They wear leotards to train, so they accept that they also wear leotards to compete.

Acrobats have been wearing leotards since the 1800s. They're definitely tighter now than they used to be, but that reduces drag when gymnasts are tumbling (similar to the way skin tight uniforms are now worn in swimming and track). If given the choice, I doubt many gymnasts would choose to wear baggier clothing because every little bit helps when you're trying to rotate multiple times.

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
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28 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

If given the choice, I doubt many gymnasts would choose to wear baggier clothing because every little bit helps when you're trying to rotate multiple times.

I understand what you’re saying about the history of what acrobats and gymnasts have worn, but ... why don’t the males wear skin tight clothing if it’s so essential?  Why not have the females wear shorts like the males do or those stirrup pant things the males do?  Why do we accept this unthinkingly?

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9 hours ago, Harry24 said:

I understand what you’re saying about the history of what acrobats and gymnasts have worn, but ... why don’t the males wear skin tight clothing if it’s so essential?  Why not have the females wear shorts like the males do or those stirrup pant things the males do?  Why do we accept this unthinkingly?

For the record, I'd say the men's pants are pretty tight. They're stretchy lycra so they're the same material that leotards are made of.

Although it looks like they are wearing a tank top, men are actually wearing a leotard (called a singlet) underneath the stirrup pants. Men wear shorts for vault and floor because they want bare legs when they are doing multiple rotations in the air (they wear the stirrup pants on rings, pommel horse, high bar, and parallel bars because they are not tumbling). In the women's events, they are doing multiple rotations/tumbling on everything but bars so it makes sense that they want bare legs.

ETA: I think gymnasts should be able to wear whatever they’re comfortable with and I fully support the German gymnasts wearing unitards (as long as they feel safe tumbling with slippery material covering their legs), but I also think it is not a female's responsibility to make herself deliberately unsexy in order to avoid being a sexual object. If men are sexualizing females, that's on them. Perverts are going to project their sick thoughts no matter what girls wear. Leotards cover more skin than most regular swimsuits so I have no problem with anyone who wants to wear one. In all my years of dance, I never found leotards to be sexy. My sister was a gymnast and I'm pretty sure she never found her competition leotards to be sexy either. I found them utilitarian, not sexy.

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
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(edited)
On 4/29/2021 at 11:51 PM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

ETA: I think gymnasts should be able to wear whatever they’re comfortable with and I fully support the German gymnasts wearing unitards (as long as they feel safe tumbling with slippery material covering their legs), but I also think it is not a female's responsibility to make herself deliberately unsexy in order to avoid being a sexual object. If men are sexualizing females, that's on them. Perverts are going to project their sick thoughts no matter what girls wear. 

Took the words out of my mouth. Give gymnasts the choice (for the record, I actually think the unitard looks kind of cool). 

News about the Karolyis:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/secret-police-reports-show-nadia-comaneci-was-starved-by-her-coach-bela-karolyi-f003qlt98

Color me not surprised. I think the Karolyis are fucking monsters. Isolating their gymnasts in a creepy compound in the middle of nowhere (and dangerously far from a hospital), equipment that's often out of date, searching the gymnasts' bags for food, sometimes restricting them to 900 calories a day (if they even bother to feed them), verbally and physically abusing them, humiliating them, fat-shaming them, and that's only what I'm aware of. 

I understand that Nadia Comaneci is grateful to them, as are other notable gymnasts, and I'm not here to judge them or dictate how they should feel. My indignation is aimed squarely at the Karolyis. We let them get away with this shit for way too long, and it's time those heartless vultures paid the piper.

I agree that USAG needs to be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up. My #1 choice to head it? Dominique Moceanu.

 

Edited by Wiendish Fitch
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I am really curious to see how Chellsie Memel does this weekend. I’ve never been a huge fan of hers, but it would be really cool if she could come back as good as ever after a decade.

I’m just really nervous for all of them! It’s so unfair that there are only going to be 4 members on the Olympic team. If I had to choose right now, my ideal team would be  Simone, Sunisa, Grace, and Morgan. Then Jade and Kara as the event specialists. But that’s leaving off so many good people!

And that’s assuming the Olympics really will happen.

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12 hours ago, Jeddah said:

I am really curious to see how Chellsie Memel does this weekend. I’ve never been a huge fan of hers, but it would be really cool if she could come back as good as ever after a decade.

I’m just really nervous for all of them! It’s so unfair that there are only going to be 4 members on the Olympic team. If I had to choose right now, my ideal team would be  Simone, Sunisa, Grace, and Morgan. Then Jade and Kara as the event specialists. But that’s leaving off so many good people!

And that’s assuming the Olympics really will happen.

That's what makes it so hard. There are a lot of really good gymnasts to chose from. Having only four members makes me nervous. That's too few for gymnastics. I'm curious on how well Morgan is going to do. I really like her and she was doing well until she went to the Pan-American games and went down hill fast. Hopefully it was just a bad few months and she's doing much better. Jade makes sense as an event specialist since that's what she worked on. Can't rule out Laurie Hernandez but its been awhile since she competed but she was really good.  

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I hate having only four people on the team. I wish they'd go back to six people. Although I guess with only four people on the team at least it will hopefully force them to choose better all around gymnasts rather than specialists who end up competing in only one event.

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I’m so used to Simon defying gravity and doing amazing and impossible skills that I almost take it for granted now.  I mean, she is the GOAT.

Does anyone know why Grace McCallum was in the first group?  Int he final standings, she was in fourth.  

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52 minutes ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

I’m so used to Simon defying gravity and doing amazing and impossible skills that I almost take it for granted now.  I mean, she is the GOAT.

Does anyone know why Grace McCallum was in the first group?  Int he final standings, she was in fourth.  

I was wondering that too. I was hoping to see her routines. I hope Riley's okay. I'm glad to see Morgan doing much better. I'd hate to have to pick the team there's just so many really good gymnasts. Suni was awesome. So was Jordan Chiles and Leanne Wong. Kara did really good too. I'm not familiar with Kayla DiCello but she was high up in the scores too.

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This sport is brutal. It seemed like every gymnast was coming back from an injury.

When Tim was talking about Morgan’s activism against Anti-Asian racism, I just kept thinking of all the times he’s said something about her being so good that China will want her back. Tim, you’re part of the problem.

I thought Sunisa was a lock, but now I’m not sure. Jordan is really holding her own, and it seems like she is peaking at the right time.

Jade must be watching the Hunger Games happening around her for the other 5 spots and be so happy that she’s already qualified.

 

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30 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I am so confused about the Olympics team lol. So, there's 4 people on the team and then also 2 others, one of which is for sure Jade. Is that right? And what exactly do the 2 'individuals' do?

That’s right! Yup, he doesn’t make much sense!

The specialists will get to do their events in qualifying, and then go to event finals if they make it. They won’t be in the team competition. The US women could win the team event and those four people will get medals. The two specialists only have a chance to medal in event finals.

If these rules had been in place in Rio the team event probably would have been Simone, Aly, Laurie, and Gabby competing all four events. Then Madison would have only been in the UB event finals, and wouldn’t have gotten a medal for team. 

At least that’s my understanding of it!

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7 hours ago, Jeddah said:

That’s right! Yup, he doesn’t make much sense!

The specialists will get to do their events in qualifying, and then go to event finals if they make it. They won’t be in the team competition. The US women could win the team event and those four people will get medals. The two specialists only have a chance to medal in event finals.

If these rules had been in place in Rio the team event probably would have been Simone, Aly, Laurie, and Gabby competing all four events. Then Madison would have only been in the UB event finals, and wouldn’t have gotten a medal for team. 

At least that’s my understanding of it!

Oh thank you! I was so freaking confused. I kept wondering why they were having trials if athletes could qualify by another process, and I thought there were only 4 spots total. 

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On 5/25/2021 at 6:57 PM, huggybear said:

Oh thank you! I was so freaking confused. I kept wondering why they were having trials if athletes could qualify by another process, and I thought there were only 4 spots total. 

So does that mean that Jade cannot do the all-around?  Has she qualified in only floor and vault?  And does that mean that there are four additional gymnasts on the team, so five American women gymnasts all together?  

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