Showing posts with label Articles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Articles. Show all posts

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Most shocking things to happen at Worlds so far #Glasgow2015

Most shocking things to happen at Worlds so far:

 1) Brenna Dowell's heroic floor performance
Brenna's floor music failed to play, but she didn't let it bother her! She performed like a champ. I suggest "Honey Badger" as her nickname, if it hasn't been suggested already.



2) Romania's Implosion
Everyone already knows about this. The End.

 3) The Netherlands Qualified to Team Finals, and therefore Rio!
Wow, they did it! So thrilled for them :)  Such a talented team!




4) Aly's Meltdown
Shockingly, Aly had a rough floor performance, a rough vault landing, a fall on bars, and then finally pulled herself together on beam.  She did have a weird leg shaky thing going on before her beam dismount though:


I certainly feel for her, but I hope Marta doesn't take away spots from others who qualified for the all-around or event finals to give her a spot. 

 I know...I'm a horrible, mean person for GIF-ing her mistakes...but this post IS about shocking things and Aly making mistakes is shocking.

 5) Maggie Nichols qualified to floor finals over Aly!
This girl is a rock star.  I hope she doesn't get bumped from it and gets to shine even brighter than she already has on the world stage!

6) Russia didn't need Aliya
They showed the world that they can do just fine without her! Yes, they certainly had some major mistakes (as did just about everyone so far), but they certainly did better without their fearless leader than many expected.



7) This terrifying fall on bars
Paola Moreira Irizarry of Puerto Rico had a nasty fall on her dismount where she hit both bars.  Thankfully she is ok!


More to come soon!
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Friday, October 23, 2015

Things that DIDN'T happen at Worlds - Qualifications Day 1 #Glasgow2015

I figured there are probably PLENTY of articles about the things that did happen today, but i doubt there are many about the things that didn't happen.  I apologize in advance if some of the items on this list may re-break any gymternet hearts. Consider yourself fairly warned!  

 Here we go; things that did not happen today:

 1. Maria Paseka's Beautiful Wolf Turn
In case you've been living under a rock, you should know that Maria Paseka's wolf turn is probably the worst one we've seen yet. @arfedorova created this wonderful gif that made the rounds on Twitter so that everyone could experience this piece of gymnastics history:


 2. Chuso's Perfect Produnova
I was all for her and believed she could TOTALLY do it, but Chuso did not land her Produnova.  It wasn't suicidal, but it also wasn't all that much better than the other near-landed attempts we've seen over recent years.  Hopefully it will still be enough to land her a spot (no pun intended) in event finals. *Fingers crossed* #PrayersforChuso


3. A Successful Romanian Bars Rotation
Yeah...I'm not even going to go there. If you want to know what happened, go to Twitter...or any other website with gymnastics-related news. I'm watching it right now because apparently I'm a masochist. Be warned: it's extremely depressing.

 4. #DoubleDownies and Bars Finals
The Double Downies were double down on bars. There, I said it. I made the worst joke ever and I should be sorry, but I'm not, because I'm still in denial that this happened.

 It's ok; they'll come back next year and dominate at Rio...right? Please tell me yes...

 Here's a video of Becky Downie winning the bars title at the 2014 European Championships to make you forget about everything that happened today:
5. Correct Spellings of Glasgow
In the hashtag wars the other day, I ALMOST said that it was "really easy to spell Glasgow" as a reason why #Glasgow2015 was a better hashtag than #2015WGC. Sadly, no one seems to be able to spell it correctly; even some of my favorite people and organizations :(





Well, that's all for Day 1 before it gets too depressing.  Hopefully Day 2 will bring much more joy, happiness, and healing of gymternet hearts <3
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Thursday, October 15, 2015

Excuses to give work/school so you can watch gymnastics Worlds live #Glasgow2015

Worlds are soon to be upon us, which means we, as diehard gym fans, need to watch it!

 I've been struggling to figure out how I can find an excuse to miss work on the 27th and 29th during the ~2-3 hour slots for the women's team final and all-around final so I figured I'd share some of my ideas!  Naturally, both are smack dab in the middle of my work day.  If it were two days in a row then it would be easier, but it would be awfully suspicious for me to be "sick" on two days within the same week and fine on the day in-between :P Therefore, I need to get creative! I'd feel bad lying* so I need to come up with something that is somewhat true, but maybe not quite what it sounds like. 

 *For the record, I DO NOT condone lying to your employer...but I do believe in watching Worlds...How you decide to make that possible is your own decision to make and for which to be responsible.

Here's what I have in terms of potential excuses so far:

 1) Eye infection - caused by tears over Brenna Dowell's successes or setbacks, of course.  Hopefully the former, otherwise I really WILL have an eye infection.
Image source: Giphy

2) Headache - caused by someone's disgusting form.

3) Back pain - Hey, I'm a total hypochondriac and there's no doubt that at least one of those world class gymnasts has back pain, which means my brain will tell me I do too.  (Also let's face it, I will totally also have real back pain regardless since my body is falling apart. #ballerinaproblems)

Image source: Pinterest
K, yeah my back DEFINITELY hurts looking at that...The only way my body could end up in that position is if my back were broken.

4) The good old "personal business" excuse - let's be real: no one is going to ask you what that means. My "personal business" is that THE BEST ****ING SPORT IN THE WORLD NEEDS ME TO WATCH AND TWEET ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW INSTEAD OF DOING WORK!

Image source: Giphy 

5) I need more excuses! Help me out!
Image source: Giphy
Seriously...if you have a good idea, please share it either in the comments below or via Twitter @Gymtertainment so that all of us gym fans can figure out a way to enjoy Worlds :)


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Thursday, October 8, 2015

The Gymternet's Collective Waiting-for-Worlds Announcement Freakout #BreaktheGymternet

Every year the gymternet collectively freaks out over the impending US women's world team announcement, and this year was no exception. Here are some of the most entertaining tweets from tonight.  Enjoy :) 


Many teased and joked:



Unashamed stan displays were rampant:


EVERYONE was in constant refresh battery-killing mode:



And some just couldn't handle it all:


Then, it finally happened:

After the announcement, the gymternet celebrated and commiserated:







...I can only imagine what it'll be like next year! #RoadtoRio
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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

The "World" Championships - Competing for Another Country

What is the point of the world championships in gymnastics, or in any sport?  The world championships are a chance for the top athletes from a country to compete against the top athletes from other countries. In order to prevent one country from dominating the competition and it becoming more of a domestic event than an international one, most sports have rules in place that limit the number of entrants from one country.  In gymnastics, each country is limited to a team of 6 for the world championships, or 5 at the Olympic games. The all-around and event finals competitions currently only allow two athletes per country to compete. While there is controversy over this rule, the point of it is to allow representation from as many countries as possible.

 So what happens when athletes find loopholes in these rules and end up competing for a country with which they have no real affiliation? You end up with a "World" Championships that isn't really a true representation of the world's best athletes. Hmmm...
Image source: Giphy
There are examples of gymnasts switching nationality that are completely legitimate, such as Oksana Chusovitina who has competed for Uzbekistan, Germany, and the Soviet Union over her lengthy career. A second is Anna Pavlova who switched from competing for Russia to Azerbaijan over the last quadrennium. More recent examples include NCAA stars Danusia Francis and Toni-Ann Williams, who plan to represent Jamaica at the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow. All of these athletes have real ties to the countries for which they are competing or have competed.
Image source: Giphy

 Then, we hear some news from International Gymnast that two girls from AOGC named Alaina Kwan and Kylie Dickson are planning to represent Belarus: a country with which they have no affiliation, other than happening to know someone who can help them get citizenship. 

 To quote the IG article:
"IG: What kind of contact have you had with the team itself?
AK: As of right now we don’t have contact because the team is really small, but our coaches have a really good connection with Nellie Kim, who also helps the Belarusian team a lot. So that’s kind of how we got associated with them."
Image source: Giphy
I don't think I'm alone in thinking this, but you should not be allowed to compete for a country that you have no affiliation with.  Heck, it doesn't seem like they've ever even BEEN to Belarus!  That makes NO sense and is unfair to the Belorussian gymnasts who have spent their lives training there, hoping to get a spot on the world team, and then having some American girls come in and take their spots.

 Another interesting quote from the article: "I always had my mind set on competing for America because that’s my country. But once the idea sank in, it showed me how much I can do and see. I can travel the world and experience everything, but just representing a different name. So I’d rather go for the experience than for the name."

 Gee, well then lets just call it the "Everybody Pick a Name to Represent" Championships instead of the World Championships, because that's what it'll become! Forget having pride for your country, let's just all pick a random one and go with it!

 K, I'm done. Thoughts?
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Wednesday, August 26, 2015

5 Current Gymnastics Trends That Need to Go

1. Wolf Turns
Sarah Finnegan put it best:
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.  

Read more »
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Sunday, August 9, 2015

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:
Read more »
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Sunday, August 2, 2015

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!
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