#MCM Gymnastics Image of the Day - Sam Oldham

Sam Oldham competed for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics where he and his team won a surprise and thrilling bronze medal!

Image source: Cecilie Harris

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Taylor Rice

Stanford standout Taylor Rice brings sass, skills, and entertainment to gymnastics. She also is an excellent and hilarious writer!  Read her blog here :)

Image source: Stanford

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Marissa King

Marissa King is one of a few Brits who competed internationally and then went on to compete in NCAA.  Marissa was a member of the 2008 British Olympic team and contributed to Florida's maiden NCAA championship during her senior year in 2013.  She also was the 2011 NCAA vault champion.  Here she is competing for Great Britain at the World Championships in 2009.  Such a gorgeous leo!

Image source: ProfessionalGymnastics

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Jennifer Pinches

I first heard about Jennifer Pinches when I stumbled upon a documentary about her from 2005 called A Different Life.  I became a fan of her after that and have been ever since!  I was very excited that she made the British Olympic team for London 2012 and even more excited when she went to UCLA, my alma mater :) Here she is in a beautiful shot from the London 2012 Olympics:

Image source: Girls are Geeks

#tbt Gymnastics Image of the Day - Henrietta Onodi

Two-time Hungarian Olympian Henrietta Onodi won the gold medal on vault and silver medal on floor at the 1992 Olympics.  While beam wasn't her strongest event, one of the most beautiful skills on beam bears her name: the Onodi!

Image source: img.fanbase.com

5 Current Gymnastics Trends That Need to Go

1. Wolf Turns
Sarah Finnegan put it best:

Everyone and their mother is doing wolf turns now

— Sarah Finnegan (@sfinnegan37) August 16, 2015

Unless your wolf turn looks like this, it has to go: 

Brava, Nia Dennis!

2. The Flamingo
The "stand-one-leg-in-the-corner" rule was supposed to prevent a gymnast from standing in the corner and taking a break while huffing and puffing before her next tumbling pass. Instead it has just created an overabundance of flamingo poses.

Aly, we love you, but no. However, I was very happy to see that miss Swaggie Maggie does not flamingo in her routine at all! There is hope!

3. NBC's Dumbed-Down Scoring
Do we look like idiots, NBC? Ok, that's up for debate, but I can tell you that most of us are perfectly mentally capable of understanding the basics of gymnastics scoring.  

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Emily Gaskins

Emily Gaskins is just too perfect for this world!  Can't get over her gorgeous, balletic lines in everything she does.

Image source: The Gymnastics Nerd

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Aliya Mustafina

Aliya Mustafina's power and grace captured the world's attention when she won the world all-around title in 2010. Here she is in London 2012 where she won the gold medal on the uneven bars.

Image source: En.people.cn

#MCM Gymnastics Image of the Day - Chris Waller

Here is 1992 Olympian Chris Waller on rings!  He now owns a gym with his wife and is the associate head coach at his alma mater, UCLA.

Image source: USGHOF

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Rachel Gowey

Rachel Gowey's polished, beautiful lines make her a fan favorite in the U.S.  After suffering an ankle injury in 2014, she has returned to competition and will be on the 2015 World Championships training squad.

Image source: Des Moines Register

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Morgan Hurd

Morgan Hurd's routines are full of unique and interesting choreography!  Here she is on beam during podium training for the 2014 P&G Championships. 

Image source: Gymnastike

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Laurie Hernandez

Today's image features the elegant, powerful, and energetic Laurie Hernandez: the 2015 US Women's Artistic Gymnastics Junior National Champion!

Image source: Pinterest 

#tbt Gymnastics Image of the Day - Madison Kocian

Madison Kocian: uneven bars phenom, 2014 Team World Champion, and future UCLA Bruin! Here she is performing an impeccable split jump circa 2010/2011.

Image source: Triple Twist Gym Blog

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Catherine Lyons

I can't get over how impressively gorgeous this picture of British champion Catherine Lyons is!

Image source: Gymnastike

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Mary-Anne Monckton

Today's image features Mary-Anne Monckton saluting to the judges during the Women's Beam Final at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Image source: Zimbio

#MCM Gymnastics Image of the Day - Sam Mikulak

Today for #MCM we have US men's gymnastics three-time national AA champion and 2012 Olympian  Sam Mikulak!

Image source: Detroit Free Press

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Olivia Vivian

Today's image feature's Olivia Vivian of Australia competing at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

Image source: Zimbio

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Kim Zmeskal

Today's image of the day features 1991 US National Champion Kim Zmeskal.

Image source: http://www.olywa.net/radu/valerie/kimbo.html

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Beth Tweddle

Today's image features star British gymnast Beth Tweddle on her signature event, the uneven bars.

Image source: Metro

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Vanessa Zamarripa

Here is Vanessa Zamarripa of UCLA on her best event: the vault. Vanessa scored multiple perfect 10s during her career at UCLA and was the 2010 NCAA vault champion!

Image source: Daily Bruin

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Grace Glenn

Today's image of the day features future UCLA Bruin Grace Glenn in a perfect split, or rather, BEYOND a perfect split in a jump!

EDIT: Sadly, the original photo is no longer available, so here is a beautiful photo of Grace in a perfect switch ring :)

Image source: South Charlotte Weekly

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Viktoria Komova

Whether you want to root for her or not, Viktoria Komova has some of the best lines - just look at those feet!

Image source: Examiner.com

#MCM Gymnastics Image of the Day - Alexander Artemev

Alexander Artemev is today's #MCM: Bringing elegance and lines to Men's Artistic Gymnastics.

Image source: Zimbio

How important is the pre-Olympic year?

How well do the Nationals results and World Team selection the year before the Olympics predict the members of the subsequent year's Women's Artistic Gymnastics U.S. Olympic team?  
Answer: Nationals - not very well; World Team selection - slightly better.

There was only one clear correlation: The winner of the U.S. WAG National Championships in the last four (actually, 6!) pre-Olympic years has made the Olympic team.

How to read these results:
Red = Olympian the following year
Orange = Olympic alternate the following year
WT = World Championships Team Member
WA = World Championships Team Alternate

2011 Results
First, let's take a look at the most recent pre-Olympic year's results: 2011.  The 2012 WAG U.S. Olympic team consisted of Jordyn Wieber, McKayla Maroney, Alexandra Raisman, Gabrielle Douglas, and Kyla Ross with Anna Li, Sarah Finnegan, and Elizabeth Price as alternates.  Here are the results from Visa Championships the year before the Olympics:

2011 Visa Championships - Seniors				2011 Visa Championships - Juniors
Rank	Name	Score		Rank	Name	Score
1	Jordyn Wieber WT	121.30		1	Katelyn Ohashi	120.95
2	McKayla Maroney WT	115.15		2	Kyla Ross	117.65
3	Alexandra Raisman WT	114.60		3	Sarah Finnegan	115.30
4	Mackenzie Caquatto	112.50		4	Lexie Priessman	115.10
5	Sabrina Vega WT	112.05		5	Amelia Hundley	112.05
6	Bridgette Caquatto	111.50		6	Brenna Dowell	111.60
7	Gabrielle Douglas WT	110.35		7	Kennedy Baker	110.75
8	Chellsie Memmel	109.85		8	Kiana Winston	110.25
9	Sophia Lee	109.20		9	Bailie Key	109.55
10	Grace McLaughlin	108.60		10	Mykayla Skinner	109.40
Specialist	Anna Li WA			11	Elizabeth Price	109.50
Specialist	Alicia Sacramone WT

Looking at those results, apart from the top 3 on the senior side, there really isn't a whole lot of overlap between these results and the Olympic team selection.  As seen here, we could have some surprises from those who are juniors this year (2015) but will be seniors next year (2016).

The 2011 World Team matched up better. The only Olympian missing is Kyla Ross who was a junior at the time and therefore not age eligible to compete.

It should also be noted that Alicia Sacramone tore her achilles right before the 2011 World Championships and therefore did not compete.

Read more after the jump:

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Nastia Liukin

Today's image is of 2008 Olympic WAG all-around gold medalist Nastia Liukin's gorgeous pak salto.

Image source: FavGymnastics

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Anna Li

Known for her high-flying releases and intricate bar work, today's image features American gymnast and UCLA Bruin Anna Li.

Image source: Coolspotters

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Jamie Dantzscher

Jamie Dantzscher of the USA runs down the vault runway during the Sydney 2000 Olympics

Image source: Pinterest

#tbt Gymnastics Image of the Day - First Women's Olympic Gymnastics

Throwing it way back to the first women's Olympic gymnastics competition in 1936.  Parallel bars used to be a women's event too!

Image source: Women Gymnasts

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Anna Pavlova

I'm going to pretend that a gif counts as an image, because this switch ring leap by Anna Pavlova is to die for.

Image source: Gymnast #391

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Ana Porgras

Many were disappointed when Romanian gymnast Ana Porgras retired shortly before the London 2012 Olympics.

Image source: International Gymnast Magazine

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Yang Bo

Today's image features Yang Bo of China performing her signature jump on beam.

Image source: Matthew Barber

5 Reasons Why NCAA Event Finals Should Stay

While giving gymnasts a day of rest within a grueling few days of national competition sounds like a good idea, doing so by taking away event finals is the wrong way to do it.  Here are 5 reasons why event finals should remain a part of the NCAA Women's Gymnastics national competition.

1. Pushing Boundaries
Event finals are a fun way to end the season and give gymnasts the opportunity to show off skills that might normally be considered too risky when their score is needed for team competition. We get to see the best-of-the-best do their thing and put on a spectacular show (assuming they were able to qualify).  Skills like the ones below are often seen in event finals but not usually during the regular season (exception being Danusia Francis' side aerial on the beam because she is AMAZING and can do it perfectly 99.9% of the time!)  Eliminating event finals would reduce the incentive for gymnasts to try more innovative skills.  If everyone does the same skills (*cough*Yurchenko full*cough*) then our sport will become monotonous. 

P.S. I'm biased and could only think of UCLA gymnasts doing amazing things, so please let me know in the comments if you have any ideas of more that should be highlighted here. I would be more than happy to include them :)

GIF source: Giphy

GIF source: Giphy

2. The Redemption Factor
Perhaps you (either as a fan or a competitor) are devastated that your team didn't have their best night or place where you hoped they would.  

GIF source: Giphy

Fear not, there is still hope because of the event finals!  Event finals gives gymnasts a chance to redeem themselves if the previous night did not go as they'd hoped.

GIF source: Giphy

3. More Awards!
Whether or not you are looking to redeem yourself or simply continue a winning streak, event finals are the perfect opportunity to add more awards to the trophy case.  Many college seniors within the past few years have had the chance to end their careers on a high note, thanks to the event finals.  We shouldn't take this opportunity away from them. 

GIF source: Giphy

4. Opportunity for Lesser-known Schools
If you are a top gymnast at a school that doesn't necessarily have a championship caliber team, you can still gain some recognition for your school through the individual all-around and/or event finals competitions. If event finals are taken away, then the team competition becomes all that matters and closes doors for talented gymnasts who aren't on a top team.


5. Icing on the Cake
Event finals are a fun way to wrap up the competition. After the high-stress qualification and Super Six rounds, event finals are a great way for everyone to come together to celebrate gymnastics and support one another regardless of school affiliation. Plus, there's usually a dance party at some point:

GIF source: Giphy

Share your thoughts on this topic in the comments below, or via Twitter.  I'm sure these aren't the only reasons that Event Finals should stick around!

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Viktoria Karpenko

Today's gymnastics image of the day features Ukrainian and Bulgarian gymnast Viktoria Karpenko.

Image source: Gymbox

Gymnastics Image of the Day - Hollie Dykes

Today's image shows former Australian gymnast Hollie Dykes and her beautiful toe point.

Hollie Dykes (Australia) performs on balance beam at the 2006 DTB Cup in Stuttgart.

Image source: International Gymnast Magazine

Welcome to Gymtertainment!

Gymtertainment was founded with the objective of regularly providing meet/news commentary, gymnastics-related jokes, and adding to the entertainment value offered by the wonderful sport of gymnastics.  Plenty of excellent blogs and websites publish the latest gymnastics news, but Gymtertainment aims to explore the most entertaining aspects of the sport.  There are limited numbers of competitions to watch throughout the year, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the sport of gymnastics every day. If you are a gymnast or gymnastics fan, we hope you will enjoy our updates!

Our logo was inspired by the elegant Italian gymnast Elisabetta Preziosa.  You can see one of her beam routines here.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter (see sidebar on the right) in order to get our latest updates!  Also, feel free to contact us at gymtertainment@gmail.com with any comments or questions.