Gymcastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

German and NCAA Champion, Pauline Tratz joins us live from Munich. We discuss the absolute blow out where Italy dominated, the British improved their prelims performance for silver and Germany's historic bronze. 

GymCasitc Live Show Who: Jordyn Freakin' Wieber! Olympic Gold medalist, all-around World Champion, Arkansas head coach… national treasure! When: August 19th, Friday--festivities will begin at 11:30 a.m. (EDT) Where: At Nationals in Tampa, FL Tickets now on sale! The theater is half the size as our last show, so we expect the in-person seats to sell out. So don’t wait. BUY NOW!   European Championships German and NCAA Champion Pauline Tratz joins us live from Munich with Dr. Kensley Behel. The finals and qualifications were combined today. We discussion the team qualifications, who qualified to the World Championships and how Italy blew everyone away! MORE HERE Keep listening here. Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and see some of the gymnastics we discuss, plus get access to all of our exclusive interviews and Behind The Scenes episodes. Club members get 8 extra episodes in August with live coverage from Euros and US Championships.    JOIN CLUB GYM NERD Join Club Gym Nerd (or give

LIVE SHOW WITH JORDYN WEIBER! Who: Jordyn Freakin' Wieber! Olympic Gold medalist, all-around World Champion, Arkansas head coach… national treasure! When: August 19th, Friday--festivities will begin at 11:30 a.m. (EDT) Where: At Nationals in Tampa, FL Tickets now on sale! The theater is half the size as our last show, so we expect the in-person seats to sell out. So don’t wait. BUY NOW! Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and see some of the gymnastics we discuss, plus get access to all of our exclusive interviews and Behind The Scenes episodes. Club members get 8 extra episodes in August with live coverage from Euros and US Championships. Please login to your Club Gym Nerd account to listen and/or watch this episode. Not a member? Join here. European Championships Preview The women's competition begins Thursday. Pauline, Kensley, and Deanna will be in the arena bringing you all the details with Behind the Scenes member shows on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Pauline fills

US Classic We discuss the Leanne and Shilese show and what was so exciting about their performances, despite some Classicy mistakes Attendance: Nearly dozens of people came to the event. What was up with that? How did John Roethlisberger and Laurie Hernandez do as a commentary duo? Plus, the vault revolution is here thanks to Wong and Joscelyn Roberson, why bars was the best event of the meet, and Nola Matthews' floor, reinterpreted Jayla Hang won the junior title, and Jessica bestows her "Knock Your Teeth Out" award for sissones Hear what Chellsie Memmel had to say about developing artistry in US routines and reading the code of points On the men's side, we discuss how Brody Malone stacks up against the world right now, the best Donnell Whittenburg has ever looked, the pluses and minuses of this wacky bonus system, and the virtues of mounting with a quad on floor. Then, Jessica has a detour about neck braces and Star Wars that we're all still trying to figure out LIVE SHOW  Who: Jordyn Freakin' Wieber! Ol

US Classic Preview But first, we're having a live show at US Nationals with Jordyn Weiber! Listen for details. Leanne Wong was a surprise entrant on the US Classic roster. What do we expect? A discussion of the title race: What we're looking to see from Konnor McClain, whether Shilese Jones is the best bars worker in the US, and the current status of Kayla DiCello after just competing at Pan Ams Who isn't competing: Most of the college Olympians, most of the Pan Ams team, and more Plus, a possible Addison Fatta and Ciena Alipio revenge tour and the importance of a Nola Matthews floor routine There are men at this meet now! A lot of them. We discuss some weird scheduling, what we're expecting to see from Donnell Whittenburg and Colin Van Wicklen here, and what Stephen Nedoroscik needs to do to make teams leading up to Paris. Gymternet News We discuss what Greg Marsden and Cecile Landi had to say about Roe, the petitions calling for the NCAA to remove all Championships from Texas (and any state with similar l

Pan Am Championships The Brazilian women won team gold over the US at the Pan American Championship. We discuss: Flavia Saraiva as team MVP and the beam rotation that made us remember why we like this sport Rebeca Andrade nearly getting a 9 E-score on bars A big week for Lexi Zeiss Skye Blakely's magic beam feet The current state of US floor artistry And how much (if anything) should be read into what the US performance means for worlds Plus, Canada brought the new skills on bars, Jamaica missed the team final because of a leotard deduction, and the US men won a tight final over Brazil. And most importantly: the shorts incident, Barbara Achondo excelling at 39, the music tastes of the US team, and the glory that is Argentinian junior sensation Isabella Ajalla. JOIN CLUB GYM NERD   Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to Behind the Scenes episodes. Buy our awesome clothing and gifts here. We have a Ukraine Fundraiser design, all proceeds go to the CARE Ukraine Crisis fund. RELATED E

Headlines The US women's team for the Pan American Championships has been named, and it didn't go by all-around rank order! We discuss what we're celebrating as well as the issues we still have with how team selection is being conducted in the new era Dan Baker, USAG team selection committee member, interview on the role of specialists and laws effecting women.  A preview of the competition: How to watch on YouTube and the Pan Am Channel, how teams qualify to worlds from this meet, how Andrade and Saraiva will match up against the US team, and how many new Cubans will become stars Meet News The American Classic happened. We discuss the weirdness of this meet being streamed while Pan American selection wasn't, as well as the etiquette for doing a Memmel turn in front of Chellsie Memmel Meet news from around the world, including the results of French Championships and worlds qualification from Africa. Gymternet News and Feedback Who's returning to Florida next year, Alabama's surprising new assistant coach

This week’s episode is commissioned by Club Gym Nerd Member Ryan, who asked for an episode all about GYMNASTICS FAILS—“the craziest, jaw-dropping-est, and most importantly hilarious instances when it simply wasn’t someone’s day—the most ridiculous falls, the wardrobe malfunctions, and infamous equipment fails. No one is off limits for gymnastics blooper reels. I want this episode to be lighthearted, nostalgic, and a reminder that gymnastics is a struggle for basically all of the human race at one point or another.” WATCH LIST Follow along as we discuss each magnificent fail, which are linked in the order in which we discuss them. Martina Rizzelli Michelle Kenney Laura Mitchell Margret Kristinsdottir Purvising the judges Sydney McGlone Toni-Ann Williams Lisa Panzironi Catalina Ponor Ana Derek Shayla Worley Chair 1, Zamo 0 Zamo and Khorkina Shang Chunsong Bart Deurloo and the case of the wandering nut Tracie Ang Flavia Saraiva Kerri Strug Kennedy Baker Tatiana Nabieva Zamo pull-ups Alyona Shchennikova and L

Headlines The overturning of Roe, the disastrous implications for human rights and gymnastics, and which gymnasts have hit the streets The good news: Sanity has prevailed and Rhys McClenaghan can compete at the Commonwealth Games Japan has left world beam champion Ashikawa Urara off this year's worlds team. We dissect how this happened and whether it makes sense Meet News Germany got the band back together for nationals, Kim Bui won two titles at 33, and a wolf turn reaction for the ages Naomi Visser dominated Dutch nationals, Eythora returned with a new floor routine, and Sanne left the national team! Italy sent its A team to win the Mediterranean Games, while France took 2nd despite an injury to Lorette Charpy because we can't have nice things. BUT, Melanie is back to being perfect in training Olga The film about a Ukrainian gymnast who goes to live in exile in Switzerland during the 2013-2014 rebellion is out in limited release in the US. We discuss the AMAZING performance from Anastasia Budiashkina,

Normally BTS is just for Club Members but considering the gravity of the news today, we had requests to make it public.  Today we grieve the loss of human rights in the United States and discuss how the Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe v. Wade will impact the sport; answer your questions live and read your excellent letters: What are Ukrainian Bars; why did Khorkina wear a t-shirt with her own face on it; Full Out 2; girls wrestling recruiting gymnasts; Jessica accidentally throwing her doctor off balance; Olympic transportation and volunteer conditions; two family vault changes; lack of Gadirovas and more. BTS is a weekly Q&A podcast just for club gym nerd members! If there isn't a competition, we record every Friday at noon (PST). It's our appreciation love letter to club members for supporting the show. Here's how to ask questions live.

The Judge Survey This week, we had elite and NCAA judges complete an anonymous survey, and they did NOT hold back. We discuss: Parents offering sexual favors to get their children higher scores Judges getting bribed to adjust scores The deep generational tension permeating NCAA women's judging The politics of changing scores to stay in range with the rest of the panel Judging: Not for the faint of heart. Stories about thrown projectiles, threats of bodily harm, and the very real danger presented by passionate grandparents Judges offer up what needs to change in judging, including deep racial bias from other judges and the impossibility of judging accurately in NCAA The judges sound off on what they get most unfairly criticized for The biggest misconceptions about gymnastics judging—like the importance of lineup order and the alleged subjectivity of judging Plus, the hero child who punched the beam, a spate of judge food poisoning, and an important lesson about why you don't go to the bathroom to complain

HEADLINES Chellsie Memmel and Alicia Sacramone-Quinn spoke with the media about their priorities in their new positions of leadership at USAG, including: Artistry, the code, and what got lost in translation in the past The importance of having two vaults How to get everyone on the same page with expectations and selection procedures How to change camps to protect the gymnasts' health How abuse would be handled moving forward The FIG clarified why it is not allowing the Irish gymnasts to represent Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games. We discuss what the FIG is missing and why this is not actually comparable to typical FIG nationality changes. And why is this only being dealt with now, at the last minute? GYMTERNET NEWS The US has named the men's team for the Pan American Championship U.S. Gymnasts have sued the FBI for $1 Billion Results from Osijek, where Spencer mostly wants to talk about Romania Plus, Tasha Schwikert on the USAG board, a new gymnastics video game, terrible news for future S

GYMNASTICS TV SHOWS Make It or Break It and the art of the...punch fr-andspring back stepout Mr. T and cartoon gymnastic form BIOGRAPHICAL TV MOVIES How do you make a stunt person doing something literally only one person can do? When you're definitely not standing on the vault to do a Yurchenko 1.5. Not at all. WHEN NON-GYMNASTICS SHOWS TRY The Bones episode with McKayla Maroney Quincy ME and the danger of the GYMNASTIC DRUG PILLS SVU and the kitchen sink of gymnastics terrors When Bart, Nadia, and Kerri appeared on Touched By An Angel with the meanest angels ever Killing Eve and the case of the anachronistic bars Degrassi and the beam fall of pregnancy Plus, a moment for the Gymnastics and Figure Skating Spectacular when Nastia felt herself near the beam and Shawn had to wear hip shreddings.  JUDGE SURVEY Special episode on judges coming soon. if you are a NCAA or Elite rated judge (MAG or WAG), we want to hear from you. Anonymous survey here. JOIN CLUB GYM NERD Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it

USAG has named the three-member coalition that will lead the US women's program: Alicia Sacramone-Quinn, Chellsie Memmel, and Dan Baker. We discuss How responsibilities will be divided among the three of them Who makes up the new selection committee Potential pros of the new hires Potential cons of the new hires, including lack of elite coaching experience, lack of authority over old-time coaches, and the events of 2011 worlds Ashley Priess-Johnston is the new head coach at Alabama The FIG is preventing Rhys McClenaghan from competing at Commonwealth Games GYMTERNET NEWS World Championship qualification news and Australian nationals Canadian Nationals and a new element alert Norah Flatley is transferring to Arkansas The FIG is banning political propaganda. But how will that be defined? 175 gymnasts signed a letter in support of Chris Waller.  JOIN CLUB GYM NERD Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to Behind the Scenes episodes. Buy our awesome clothing and gifts here. We have a Ukrai

MYTHBUSTERS Today, Uncle Tim makes his triumphant return to the podcast to deliver a cornucopia of busted myths and preposterous facts that he has uncovered during research for gymnastics-history.com, including: Why was the Sydney vault too low? We finally know! The (less exciting) real story of Vera Caslavska, Larisa Petrik, and the 1968 floor final A 1968 beam protest A men's judging fight! Plus, Jessica and Spencer go head-to-head in a gymnastics history True/False quiz JOIN CLUB GYM NERD Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to Behind the Scenes episodes. Buy our awesome clothing and gifts here. We have a Ukraine Fundraiser design, all proceeds go to the CARE Ukraine Crisis fund. RELATED EPISODES & RESOURCES Donate grips and tape for Ukrainian gymnasts Donate to family of Alabama volunteer assistant coach in Ukraine To follow the effects of the Russian invasion to Ukraine on gymnastics, go to Gymnovosti Athletistry GYMKATA Myths, Legends, and Unexpected Moments Part 1 M

The competitions we have to look forward to this summer, and why this year is different from all other years SEA Games: Rifda Irfanaluthfi won the all-around title, Aleah Finnegan did the piked deltchev, Carlos Yulo did everything better than everyone, and we have some words about composition requirements Janelle McDonald is the new UCLA head coach. What should the first order of business be? Constant vigilance news out of the Netherlands, Great Britain, Canada, the US, and everywhere Plus, awards for Lexy Ramler and Trinity Thomas, Fisk's first gymnast, which gymnasts are coming back to college for extra years, which familiar names excelled at L10 nationals, Chuso doing Chuso, and Simone's new reality show And your feedback on the live show, rewarding difficulty, toxic coaches, college 10s, and who can hope to be a good gymnast JOIN CLUB GYM NERD Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to Behind the Scenes episodes. Buy our awesome clothing and gifts here. We have a Ukraine Fundraiser design

WATCH HERE Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and see some of the gymnastics we discuss, plus get access to all of our exclusive interviews and Behind The Scenes episodes.  Please login to your Club Gym Nerd account to listen and/or watch this episode. Not a member? Join here. GYMKATA This week, the episode Jessica and Spencer have been training in the woods for their whole lives: Gymkata. In 1985's action film spectacular, the dear departed Kurt Thomas must travel to the very real and geographically consistent nation of Parmistan to try to survive THE GAME, a totally unnecessary obstacle course where people kill you at the very beginning. We discuss: For a closed central Asian nation, everyone sure is American and can come and go as needed Very 3-dimensional female characters with clear goals and lines (JKKKKKKK) MULLETS Men holding giant birds for no reason Cool technological weapons, like a...little axe? That thing where you find a dead body and hear a BOIYOINGGGGG sound The most a

WATCH HERE Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and see some of the gymnastics we discuss, plus get access to all of our exclusive interviews and Behind The Scenes episodes. Please login to your Club Gym Nerd account to listen and/or watch this episode. Not a member? Join here. LEOTARDS Disclaimer: We like you as a worthwhile and beautiful human person, even if your leotard is objectively a garbage fire This week, Lauren from the gymter.net reunites with Jessica and Spencer to goof about leotards for a while. We discuss: What is the sign of a perfect leotard? Is it even a leotard at all? Why your leotard shouldn't make us think about leather hammocks The superhero leo trend. Where is it going next? Is it possible to lean in to a theme...too hard? Pride and BLM leos, plus actual skin color inclusion (what a concept!) Gold and flags. Stop. Don't. The Unitard revolution The gravity defying backless trend strengthens and of course, crotch fashion. Why compromise is the enemy of good leos

An episode all about the glorious leotard! Spencer, Lauren, and Jessica chat about leos leos leos; biggest leotard fails, the most patriotic, custom theme leos, Australia, cut outs, crushed velvet, rules for leotard design, technology, sewn in underpants, leotard deductions, controversies and the most notorious leotards of all time. Visit gymcastic.com to view all the leotards we talk about in this episode. 

NCAA Gymnastics Championships We discuss Suni's interview about whether (and how long) she's going to stay at Auburn Oklahoma is the national champion! How they did it despite a bad start, how they fought for every detail on the final three events, and how Spencer singlehandedly inspired them to victory How Florida successfully avoided a Florida postseason implosion but lost the title on vault, and the equipment problem in the semifinal that made everyone have to swaddle Trinity Jessica explains the very rare Triple Jinx that kept Utah in third place, and why Auburn was the second happiest group of people in Texas Rage about the lack of individual title acknowledgement and the AUDACITY to STAND UP and MOVE AROUND during certain routines Trinity Thomas won the all-around and two event titles, and Megan Skaggs surprised for 3rd AA as a perennial leadoff gymnast Michigan. Sigh. Stellar performances from Missouri and Minnesota to finish 5th and 6th. Man Things Kensley is here to recap men's gymnastics nation