Artistic Gymnastics: Stick the Landing!

[Minneapple]

I think of Simone like the 1992 Dream Team. I always wanted them to put the pedal to the medal and crush their competitors. There's nothing like watching the greatest ever right in front of your eyes.

My 4-year-old daughter has been watching some of the gymnastics on my iPad with me. She watches the routines, tells me, "I can do that!" Then proceeds to twirl and forward roll her way around the room. She told me she wants a sparkly pink leotard. I think I'll have to sign her up for gymnastics class soon lol.

[Rinaldo]

25 minutes ago, Bean421 said:

Yup, yup, yup. Little Boy Bean has been on his team for 3 years and loves the sport. The challenge we've had having to teach him to defend choosing a "girl sport". It's utter bullshit but it happens all the time. With other sports kids are able to try football in the fall and basketball in the winter. Gymnastics tends to be all consuming. 

Has this changed over the years? I remember men's gymnastics in my suburban-Chicago high school (the same one Bart Conner attended, though he's a decade later) being pretty active and well attended. Was my school exceptional? or have programs been downgraded or eliminated since then?

[BitterApple]

15 minutes ago, choclatechip45 said:

I agree. I hope after the Olympics Gabby realizes some of the people in her life arent doing things that are best for her. It's sad when I think Martha Karoyli might be the only one who has Gabbys best interests in mind. 

That's interesting to read. I don't follow gymnastics intently unless it's Worlds or the Olympics, but after watching Gabby's lackluster floor routine the first night of competition my first thought was that she seemed distracted and off mentally. Maybe it's the pressure of being the defending champion or having Simone take over as the top gymnast, but I couldn't help but wonder if there was "off the field" stuff bothering her. I don't know much about her family background, but I wonder if it's one of those deals where she's supporting everyone financially and there's pressure to keep the gravy train rolling. She just doesn't seem like she's enjoying this Olympics as much as her teammates.

[Aliconehead]

Just saw Nastia on the Today Show, I think she implied her dad is taking over the team from Martha.  Am I wrong????

[choclatechip45]

4 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

That's interesting to read. I don't follow gymnastics intently unless it's Worlds or the Olympics, but after watching Gabby's lackluster floor routine the first night of competition my first thought was that she seemed distracted and off mentally. Maybe it's the pressure of being the defending champion or having Simone take over as the top gymnast, but I couldn't help but wonder if there was "off the field" stuff bothering her. I don't know much about her family background, but I wonder if it's one of those deals where she's supporting everyone financially and there's pressure to keep the gravy train rolling. She just doesn't seem like she's enjoying this Olympics as much as her teammates.

She is her mom is her manager and two sisters are as well. I watched her reality show her mom, two sisters and brother are living in a mansion in LA while Gabby and her grandmother are living in a condo in Ohio. Her mom said she has to live in LA to manage Gabby's brand whatever that means. 

3 minutes ago, Aliconehead said:

Just saw Nastia on the Today Show, I think she implied her dad is taking over the team from Martha.  Am I wrong????

She definitely did. It's been rumored ever since Valeri took over the developmental program and stopped coaching elite. 

Edited August 11, 2016 by choclatechip45

[windsprints]

I excited to watch the AA final today. I'd love to see every gymnast have the meet of their lives and have some underdog win a medal (don't care about the color) out of nowhere. That Cinderella story quality has always been something I loved about the Olympics as a whole not just gymnastics. IMO, that's been lessened with each Olympics over the past couple of decades as the athletes became more professional.  

Simone winning is a given just like the American win was a given. I admit it does remove a bit of the excitement for me (nothing specific to Simone its the same for me in any Olympic sport with any totally dominant athlete) but I still love watching great gymnastics. I'm rooting hard for a medal for Laurie because she's been my favorite to watch from the trials.  I really don't get why rooting for one athlete is perceived as rooting for another failure.  I don't view it that way at all but YMMV.

As for the Gabby stuff - so dumb.  I give people a pass in general during big emotional moments of their lives. I seriously doubt Gabby meant anything by it.  I don't get people acting like she turned her back on the flag or gave it the finger.  Trolls will be trolls, before Gabby a female gymnast from Mexico was being body shamed because trolls didn't find her thin enough. I'm sure after today's competition another gymnast will be the troll target. Its unfortunate that there are people like this. Hopefully all of the women can shrug off any negativity and be happy & proud about what they accomplished. 

Edited August 11, 2016 by windsprints

[Shangrilala]

I can understand wanting to see the AA be a bit more exciting.  I said the same thing about the Team Final.  I think what USA Gymnastics has done has been absolutely amazing, I love that those girls just went out there and did their thing and won that gold.  But it wasn't exactly exciting.  I mean, those girls could have fallen NINE times and still walked away with the gold.  That's insane.  I don't think there's any denying that Simone will win the gold.  And I think she deserves the gold.  But, I don't think it's horrible to wish for something more exciting.  That said, on floor finals, I would love it if Aly won that gold.  That's just personal preference.  I like her floor better.  And I actually think she performed better than Simone the other night.  And I don't think it's a complete impossibility for that to happen.   

I'm not completely familiar with the international gymnastics scene, but when I started watching the replay of the NBC live stream last night, I thought the comments about the Chinese gymnastics team were interesting - I guess they are basically starting over.  They said it was a whole new program, and that they are also opening smaller local gyms, similar to the US model which has the local gyms to feed the national program.  So they are clearly in a transition period.  Who knows.  in 4-8 years, China may find itself back up on top, or at least nipping on the US heels a little bit.  Or maybe Russia will or even Great Britain.  We don't know what's going to happen when Marta walks away.  The system is place, there will be a replacement for her.  But will that person produce the same results?  There's no way to know.  They have always said, she put the system in place, but she also had an eye like nobody else.  

P.S.  I absolutely adore that picture of Marta crying when the girls told her their final five name.

 

[Bean421]

23 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

Has this changed over the years? I remember men's gymnastics in my suburban-Chicago high school (the same one Bart Conner attended, though he's a decade later) being pretty active and well attended. Was my school exceptional? or have programs been downgraded or eliminated since then?

I don't know of any high schools in my state that offer gymnastics for men or women. It's all club, so the price is a bit steep for many people too. 

[choclatechip45]

5 minutes ago, Shangrilala said:

I can understand wanting to see the AA be a bit more exciting.  I said the same thing about the Team Final.  I think what USA Gymnastics has done has been absolutely amazing, I love that those girls just went out there and did their thing and won that gold.  But it wasn't exactly exciting.  I mean, those girls could have fallen NINE times and still walked away with the gold.  That's insane.  I don't think there's any denying that Simone will win the gold.  And I think she deserves the gold.  But, I don't think it's horrible to wish for something more exciting.  That said, on floor finals, I would love it if Aly won that gold.  That's just personal preference.  I like her floor better.  And I actually think she performed better than Simone the other night.  And I don't think it's a complete impossibility for that to happen.   

I'm not completely familiar with the international gymnastics scene, but when I started watching the replay of the NBC live stream last night, I thought the comments about the Chinese gymnastics team were interesting - I guess they are basically starting over.  They said it was a whole new program, and that they are also opening smaller local gyms, similar to the US model which has the local gyms to feed the national program.  So they are clearly in a transition period.  Who knows.  in 4-8 years, China may find itself back up on top, or at least nipping on the US heels a little bit.  Or maybe Russia will or even Great Britain.  We don't know what's going to happen when Marta walks away.  The system is place, there will be a replacement for her.  But will that person produce the same results?  There's no way to know.  They have always said, she put the system in place, but she also had an eye like nobody else.  

P.S.  I absolutely adore that picture of Marta crying when the girls told her their final five name.

 

Also you have no idea how the juniors will do when they become seniors. Simone wasn't hyped as a junior four years ago and she was a large reason why the US was so dominant this quad. The top juniors in 2012 were Ohashi, Priesman and Key. 

[selkie]

6 hours ago, katisha said:

All I know about Alexa Moreno is what I have read in this article but I was wondering if anyone else in this thread could shed some light? To my extremely untrained eye, there is no way she could compete at that level if she really was too big, so is it a case of fitness looking different on different body types?

Eating disorders are the starving elephant in the room in women's gymnastics and if Moreno's larger size and presumed increased nutrition lets her avoid female athlete triad and the injuries that often go with it, she might have better career longevity than some of the girls who are in a constant fight to keep that last five pounds off like their coach is demanding they do.

[Arynm]

The Mexican gymnast that is supposed to be so freaking big, weighs 99 pounds. All the haters can kiss my ass. If she can do the work, which she obviously can since she's in the fucking Olympics, she deserves the respect of everyone. Have several seats haters, lets see you in the Olympics before you open your mouths

[DawnDavenport]

1 hour ago, Minneapple said:

I think of Simone like the 1992 Dream Team. I always wanted them to put the pedal to the medal and crush their competitors. There's nothing like watching the greatest ever right in front of your eyes.

My 4-year-old daughter has been watching some of the gymnastics on my iPad with me. She watches the routines, tells me, "I can do that!" Then proceeds to twirl and forward roll her way around the room. She told me she wants a sparkly pink leotard. I think I'll have to sign her up for gymnastics class soon lol.

I totally agree. Simone is a once in a lifetime talent and I think she will go down as probably the best female gymnast of all time. The fact that she can win with a wide margin just tells you how talented she is and I would love for her to really win big today. Plus, how can you no like her? She's so damn likeable and humble.

[kittykat]

Welp no streaming for me today. I've got chores I've put off for three days and a guest coming in at 3 so I'll follow on this oh so wonderful thread when I can. 

Go Simone,  Go Team Drama, go clean, beautiful routines for all the ladies.

[pivot]

2 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

I agree. I hope after the Olympics Gabby realizes some of the people in her life arent doing things that are best for her. It's sad when I think Martha Karoyli might be the only one who has Gabbys best interests in mind. 

Chow didn't have her best interest at heart either. He wanted a cut of her winnings which was part of the reason she left Chow.

[izabella]

I've been watching gymnastics off and on over the years, and have always wondered why the girls wear make-up.  Does anyone know?  In figure skating and ice dancing, fine, they have costumes so it seems the make-up is for dramatic purposes, to some extent, maybe.

I just have a hard time taking "sport" seriously when people are wearing make-up, despite the incredible athleticism.

Edited August 11, 2016 by izabella

[DawnDavenport]

8 minutes ago, pivot said:

Chow didn't have her best interest at heart either. He wanted a cut of her winnings which was part of the reason she left Chow.

But is that really such a bad thing? I mean unless he was asking for 50% or something, I think it's reasonable to maybe expect something, maybe 5%-10%. Especially if her coming back was going to take time from his other up and coming students. I heard stories that Gabby's mom was very demanding with sponsors after '12 so maybe he wanted to protect himself as well since there was a little controversy over her previous gym not getting paid. I really like Gabby and am happy for her but I don't think she is surrounded by people that have her best interest at heart. 

I know there was speculation that Frank Carroll wanted a percentage of Michelle Kwan's earnings if she won gold in '02 and her dad said absolutely not and that was one of the reason's she left him in '01 and decided to remain coachless until over the Olympics.

I do think a common thread of both of these athletes is that neither Kwan or Douglas came from wealthy families. Given the high price tag for both sports, upward of $20,000 a year, potential earnings from winning the Olympics can be a huge sticking point and I can see where parents can be very demanding. Although, Michelle Kwan had earned quite a bit of money even before she won silver in Nagano and has probably earned more money than any non-gold medal winning athlete i the US if not the world.

[legaleagle53]

7 minutes ago, izabella said:

I've been watching gymnastics off and on over the years, and have always wondered why the girls wear make-up.  Does anyone know?  In figure skating and ice dancing, fine, they have costumes so it seems the make-up is for dramatic purposes, to some extent, maybe.

I just have a hard time taking "sport" seriously when people are wearing make-up, despite the incredible athleticism.

It's because of the "artistic" factor in floor exercise, where they are supposed to be showing expression in accordance with the music they're performing to.  That expression needs to be visible in the nosebleed sections of the bleachers (as well as to the judges), and makeup helps increase the visibility.  It's the same reason that figure skaters and ice dancers wear it.

It's not as big a factor for the men, since men's floor exercise isn't done to music, so expression doesn't play a part the way it does in the women's floor exercise.

[Sew Sumi]

Breaking in quickly to mention that Sam posted to his Instagram that he was "6 for 6" yesterday. I guess not falling off the horse counts as a victory? 

[DawnDavenport]

2 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Breaking in quickly to mention that Sam posted to his Instagram that he was "6 for 6" yesterday. I guess not falling off the horse counts as a victory? 

So his vault was considered hit? Didn't his knees touch and he received at least 2 points in deductions. Way to set the bar low, Sam. I can't believe Kohei eeked out a victory over Sam yesterday. It was so close!

Edited August 11, 2016 by DawnDavenport

[Misslindsey]

I do not mind some of the make-up that they girls wear. If I was on television I would definitely be wearing make-up as well. I look deceased if I am not wearing some sort of lipstick/gloss/stain. I am pretty fine with mascara, lipstick, and some of the eyeliner. Some of the girls go a bit crazy with the eyeshadow and eyeliner which I am not really a fan of, but some make-up does not bother me at all.

[Sew Sumi]

Yup. He was in 15th after his supposedly "hit" vault. #delusional

eta: As I noted yesterday, he only started to hit routines after he buried himself in the standings...too little too late. 

Edited August 11, 2016 by Sew Sumi

[caprice]

13 hours ago, Scovies said:

Is anyone else annoyed at the "Oleg's country has never won a gold medal in gymnastics" narrative? It's like Lilia Podkopayeva never existed. Qualify your hyperbole, NBC!

I wonder if the intent was to say that Ukraine hasn't won gold in AA, because according to my google-fu, Rustam Sharipov (1996) and Valeri Goncharov (2004) won gold in PB. @Scovies is right about Lilia winning AA in '96, but we all know that the commentary folks have total tunnel vision and forget about the other gender depending on who we're watching.

 

On the make-up question, I'd think that it's so their faces appear as something other than blobs above their unis. If you're trying to present artistry (as some used to), it is easier to sell a facial expression if your face is obvious. At least, that's the excuse we use in theater. I'm just thankful the era of glitter gels seems to be over.

[choclatechip45]

1 hour ago, pivot said:

Chow didn't have her best interest at heart either. He wanted a cut of her winnings which was part of the reason she left Chow.

I know I posted that rumor a few weeks ago on the other board. I'm curious if you have some inside knowledge  on the situation. 

 

50 minutes ago, DawnDavenport said:

But is that really such a bad thing? I mean unless he was asking for 50% or something, I think it's reasonable to maybe expect something, maybe 5%-10%. Especially if her coming back was going to take time from his other up and coming students. I heard stories that Gabby's mom was very demanding with sponsors after '12 so maybe he wanted to protect himself as well since there was a little controversy over her previous gym not getting paid. I really like Gabby and am happy for her but I don't think she is surrounded by people that have her best interest at heart. 

I know there was speculation that Frank Carroll wanted a percentage of Michelle Kwan's earnings if she won gold in '02 and her dad said absolutely not and that was one of the reason's she left him in '01 and decided to remain coachless until over the Olympics.

I do think a common thread of both of these athletes is that neither Kwan or Douglas came from wealthy families. Given the high price tag for both sports, upward of $20,000 a year, potential earnings from winning the Olympics can be a huge sticking point and I can see where parents can be very demanding. Although, Michelle Kwan had earned quite a bit of money even before she won silver in Nagano and has probably earned more money than any non-gold medal winning athlete i the US if not the world.

To be fair all of these coaches get a huge boost if they have an Olympian. I think you are right about about taking time from his other students since Chow also had four elites at the time he was training who were all predicted to be contenders for 2016 Olympic team all suffered from injuries. I remember back in 2012 people thought Chow was paying more attention to Gabby then Shawn. I always thought that's why Chow seemed like he didn't care if Gabby came back or not because he had his new generation of gymnasts. Even Martha was hyping them up.

Oh Excalibur I've always thought Martha was the one who made Gabby switched gyms. I don't think Martha ever liked the coaches at Excalibur since she always defended Gabby leaving them and criticized Gabby for leaving Chow multiple times in the media. I remember Gabby was known for being really good on beam as a junior which is interesting now because of all her issues on beam since she became a senior. I remember people online saying she needed better coaching on bars. There were also rumors of Kelli Hill thinking of delaying her retirement to coach Gabby. After she came back from the pan am games and won gold on uneven bars she announced she was leaving Excalibur. It was very strange because she just made the National Team. It was rumored she was going to WOGA, but they rejected her It's been rumored out of loyalty to Excalibur (which never made sense since they've accepted almost every GAGE gymnast) or that Valeri knew about Natalie not paying the bills. Which was probably the best thing that happened to Gabby. Imagine how Valeri would have acted with her beam performance in 2011? It was surprising that she went to Chows  at the time because he wasn't known as a bars coach. I remember a theory Aunt Joyce posted that Martha and Kathy Kelly put Gabby at Chows to motivate Shawn. I thin the basis of the theory was that Mattie Larson who was at the same gym at McKayla wanted to leave her gym after worlds but no gym would accepted Mattie which people thought was because of Martha.

Edited August 11, 2016 by choclatechip45

[ExplainItAgain]

Today's schedule:

Aly & Simone (& Aliya) will start on vault, move to bars, beam and finally floor. Elissa Downie will go floor, vault, bars, beam.

[izabella]

46 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

It's because of the "artistic" factor in floor exercise, where they are supposed to be showing expression in accordance with the music they're performing to.  That expression needs to be visible in the nosebleed sections of the bleachers (as well as to the judges), and makeup helps increase the visibility.  It's the same reason that figure skaters and ice dancers wear it.

It's not as big a factor for the men, since men's floor exercise isn't done to music, so expression doesn't play a part the way it does in the women's floor exercise.

Ah, artistic expression.  Lol, don't get me started on all the arm waving and dancing the women have to do on the floor exercise that the men do not bother with.  The men just do extra strength moves.  Sexism is still alive and well! 

I guess I'm a purist.  I just want to see their athletic skill and never mind the floofy filler and pretty make-up.

[iMonrey]

So, once again we got 5 hours of swimming and about 40 minutes of men's gymnastics last night. I don't care if you can watch them on the NBC app or online - not everyone wants to watch the Olympics on their computer or phone, and not everyone can watch the internet on their TV. We're not all millennials. 

I guess if the men don't win medals we don't even bother showing much of the event? Would they do that with women's gymnastics, or swimming, or track, if the USA wasn't winning medals? Does anyone really want to watch an hour of beach volleyball?

I don't get it. They didn't do this with Men's figure skating during the Winter Olympics, even though there were no Americans really vying for the gold medal, so why is men's gymnastic getting the short shrift this summer?

[ExplainItAgain]

Ha, get ready, because there is MORE!SWIMMING! tonight. Or do I mean Phelpsapalooza? I bet they show gymnastics for the first half hour or hour, switch to swimming and then back to gymnastics about 11pm.

[CeeBeeGee]

19 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Yeah, she's an adorable BEAST on beam! 

LOVE me some Flavia! Someone (months ago) on tumblr described her as "an actual ball of precious sunshine," which I love.

 

18 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

Sam said he is going to continue until Tokyo and even beyond Tokyo. Hopefully someone has a talk with him.

We really, really do not need a Jeremy Abbott in men's gymnastics.

 

15 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

I heard a radio talkshow host talking about what the women's soccer team gets paid a few weeks ago. It was something crazy outlandishly uneven. Like here you go men's team, here's a billion dollars and here you go women's team… you get a free tee shirt and you owe us for your lodging and transportation. 

Yep. It's utterly shameful how little our very successful USWNT is paid in comparison to our relatively mediocre USMNT.

 

6 hours ago, topanga said:

I think you underestimate the racism of people on the Internet. Sure, people might have started out wanting to criticize Gabby for not putting her hand over her heart, but comments quickly became about that monkey, animal, jungle bunny, N*****, black slut, black C***, black B****, etc, who didn't deserve to be on the team in the first place.

Yeah, there is a ridiculous amount of animosity toward Gabby and her mother. Like, I don't agree with everything Gabby or her mother has done, and I'm not sure I agree she should've been on the team. But the sheer vitriol--it just doesn't pass the smell test. I read a lot of gymnastics blogs and some of them really are casually racist. 

 

5 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

Aliya has never been about being bitchy to competitors. I remember in London she dragged a crying Komova over to congratulate the Americans. Other girls (including the Chinese team) have always said that she's very nice and will give them hugs or gifts if they fall. She cheers on competitors. She's not a bad sport.

Where Aliya has truly rocked the bitchface is with her coaches after events. I've seen her give her coaches a "talk to the hand" gesture after a routine. Such a diva <3

Agreed, Aliya is really not a diva or rude to her competitors. She didn't deserve that sexist diva crap Shut Up Al laid on her in '12.

 

4 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

Speaking of tiny people who were able to get an enormous amount of power on beam, here's Tatiana Gutsu. Watch her dismount. In today's CoP I believe that's a G level skill. It's the same dismount as Simone Biles.

 

Love me some Gutsu! Her tricks were sick! My favorite was that split-leg layout on floor--incredible. She was way ahead of her time in difficulty.

Break a leg, Aly and Simone! I know you both will slay tonight!

[againstthewind]

I absolutely understand the need for CoP but I kind of miss going into the finals knowing it could be anyone's game.

[DawnDavenport]

Quote

We really, really do not need a Jeremy Abbott in men's gymnastics.

HAHA!

[vavera4ka]

re: Hand over heart. I'm a naturalized citizen and there was nothing "in the handbook" lol just partially kidding, but if it's that important to so many people, you'd think they'd mention it to new Americans :)

23 hours ago, Elsydeon said:

Just put your hand on the middle of your chest. That way there's no boobage feels. Soccer players do it all the time.

 

I just tried different spots (good thing nobody was watching how I was "feeling myself up" at work lol) and I can say that being a medium framed, short limbed DDD girl, the only comfortable spot is around collarbone lol kinda looks like i'm almost choking myself

[Daisy]

1 hour ago, Sew Sumi said:

Breaking in quickly to mention that Sam posted to his Instagram that he was "6 for 6" yesterday. I guess not falling off the horse counts as a victory? 

Or his knee hitting the mat? 

OH! There's a Canadian girl in Simone's flight! Maybe NBC will show... bwahahahahahahahaa I almost kept a straight face. come on Canadian Girl! You can do it! 

[DawnDavenport]

Quote

Love me some Gutsu! Her tricks were sick! My favorite was that split-leg layout on floor--incredible. She was way ahead of her time in difficulty.

Break a leg, Aly and Simone! I know you both will slay tonight!

Shannon Miller did the same dismount in '92 as well as '96. I don't remember if Dawes had it in '92 but she had it in Atlanta. Ah Gutsu. She had some cool skills, but my goodness, she spent her entire beam routine looking at her feet! While that split-leg double layout was cool, she was always short on it in Barcelona
 

Quote

Agreed, Aliya is really not a diva or rude to her competitors. She didn't deserve that sexist diva crap Shut Up Al laid on her in '12.

I never got a bitch vibe from her at all. Now Komova is a different story. I got so tired of her crying and entitle attitude. Maybe if she had landed her vault better in London she could have one but she always seemed to just kind of give up and cry. 

[Bastet]

Quote

That said, on floor finals, I would love it if Aly won that gold.  That's just personal preference.  I like her floor better.

Same here.  I only watch gymnastics every four years, so all I know about which moves are more technically difficult than others is what the announcers - and top score available - tell me.  So I understand the numbers behind why Simone's floor routine was scored higher than Alys, but Aly's was the one I most enjoyed watching.  I think I said, "Holy shit!" to my cat when it was done.  Simone's was great, too, of course.  But Aly's really got my attention, and I normally don't care for floor all that much, because of all the floofy stuff in between tumbling passes.

Simone is just incredible, and I can't wait to see her again tonight.  Same with Aly, who really seems on fire this year. 

That move Simone does on the beam, where she spins around while crouched down on one foot, with the other leg out, is mind blowing. 

[Daisy]

I curse Brazil for not giving us Flavia in the AA. 
(not really, but still). 

[Fostersmom]

54 minutes ago, izabella said:

I've been watching gymnastics off and on over the years, and have always wondered why the girls wear make-up.  Does anyone know?  In figure skating and ice dancing, fine, they have costumes so it seems the make-up is for dramatic purposes, to some extent, maybe.

I just have a hard time taking "sport" seriously when people are wearing make-up, despite the incredible athleticism.

When I was a kid, I twirled baton. I did the normal parade stuff, but then was also part of a dance twirl team that would do competitions. It was generally the same teams you always saw and a lot of the same judges. I was maybe 11 when I quit both. This was almost 30 years ago. At one of the competitions one weekend the judges sheets came back saying we didn't have enough make up on. We already were wearing some, one mom did all of the girls. This note made ALL of the moms mad. Next competition…. we looked like little whores! LOL! I don't think I've worn that much makeup again at one time in my life since. Tell moms of 10 year olds that their kid isn't wearing enough make up, especially 30 years ago, and you get passive aggressive moms! Luckily we were one of the top teams, it was always us and one other that won every comp and as evil as our coach was, she went with it, she knew our moms could push that envelope and the judges might knock us from first to second for that comp, but that was it. This was in high school gyms, certainly not all that special. I'd imagine the gymnasts these days get similar notes. 

[Daisy]

Aly now...
good vault, had a hop. 15.633

Edited August 11, 2016 by Daisy

[ExplainItAgain]

Aly's vault: 15.633

[kittykat]

2 minutes ago, Daisy said:

I curse Brazil for not giving us Flavia in the AA. 
(not really, but still). 

Wait.  I just checked the roster, why is Jade in over Flavia?  Flavia was 2nd in her country in qualifying.

[Daisy]

Simone had a good vault, hop/foot out but it was a huge vault.

[ExplainItAgain]

Simone's vault: 15.866

[Dots And Stripes]

Is that guy in the stands wearing the American flag onesie part of Simone's cheering section?

[Daisy]

3 minutes ago, kittykat said:

Wait.  I just checked the roster, why is Jade in over Flavia?  Flavia was 2nd in her country in qualifying.

She was Gutsu'ed >.<  Flavia is the Galiava in this situation
They put in someone else. to "save" Flavia. 
Robbing us of sunshine awesomess.

Simone had an 15.866

Edited August 11, 2016 by Daisy

[ExplainItAgain]

They'll definitely have long waits today with 6 people on floor and beam.

[pivot]

1 hour ago, DawnDavenport said:

But is that really such a bad thing? I mean unless he was asking for 50% or something, I think it's reasonable to maybe expect something, maybe 5%-10%. Especially if her coming back was going to take time from his other up and coming students. I heard stories that Gabby's mom was very demanding with sponsors after '12 so maybe he wanted to protect himself as well since there was a little controversy over her previous gym not getting paid. I really like Gabby and am happy for her but I don't think she is surrounded by people that have her best interest at heart. 

I know there was speculation that Frank Carroll wanted a percentage of Michelle Kwan's earnings if she won gold in '02 and her dad said absolutely not and that was one of the reason's she left him in '01 and decided to remain coachless until over the Olympics.

I do think a common thread of both of these athletes is that neither Kwan or Douglas came from wealthy families. Given the high price tag for both sports, upward of $20,000 a year, potential earnings from winning the Olympics can be a huge sticking point and I can see where parents can be very demanding. Although, Michelle Kwan had earned quite a bit of money even before she won silver in Nagano and has probably earned more money than any non-gold medal winning athlete i the US if not the world.

It's pretty much unheard of in gymnastics to kick back endorsement money to the coach. So, yeah it was a bad thing.

[blackwing]

Regarding "artistic expression" on the floor exercise... is there also some "artistic expression" component on the balance beam?  I have wondered for years why there is so much unnecessary arm flailing on the balance beam.  I get that some of it is to steady themselves, but it's like anytime they aren't doing a skill there's all this wild flailing, like they are trying to show off their 37 pieces of flair.  Is there an actual, competition reason (i.e., it's required) for the flailing, or is it just supposed to make them look more artistic and beautiful?  I think it looks silly.

[DawnDavenport]

1 minute ago, PoshSprinkles said:

9.566 execution score is a bit high for that step out when compared to Aly. Just sayin'. 

Biles didn't step out though. She just had the step. Plus, her form is better than Aly's. Aly has a leg separation on her pre-flight and her knees are slightly bent in the air. Simone's slightly crossed toes is less of a deduction. 

[ExplainItAgain]

Aliya's vault: 15.2

Downie on floor: 14.3

Edited August 11, 2016 by ExplainItAgain

[Cherpumple]

When did they stop doing two vaults each?

[DawnDavenport]

Just now, Cherpumple said:

When did they stop doing two vaults each?

After Sydney. The same year the new vault table was introduced.