Author: Rick Mc

Career gymnastics coach who loves the outdoors, and the internet.

new book by gymnast Rachel Haines

Available April 12, 2019.

In Abused: Surviving Sexual Assault and a Toxic Gymnastics Culture, Rachel details her experiences as a competitive gymnast and the painful realities of being one of Nassar’s many victims.

With honesty and candidness, Rachel shares how the sport she loved that gave her so much—friendships, accomplishments, a college education—is also tangled in a dangerously toxic culture that needs to be fixed. In a world that was setting her up for a lifetime of recovery, she tells how faith, family, and an army of survivors made healing possible.

Rachel Haines was a two-time member of the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team, a two-time National Champion, and a Division I college gymnast at the University of Minnesota. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in child psychology and a Master’s of Education degree in family social science. Haines lives in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities.

Melbourne World Cup wrap-up

With eight of the 10 titles, Asian gymnasts dominated down under at the FIG Individual Apparatus World Cup in Melbourne (AUS) this weekend, as the individual Olympic qualification continued for Tokyo.

Gymnasts from China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea and the Philippines divided the majority of the honours, with Vanessa Ferrari (ITA) and Igor Radivilov (UKR) winning one title each.

More than 90 athletes from 30 nations traveled to the Melbourne Arena

FIG

greater accountability for Gymnastics judges

I was an FIG judge for decades. Always willing to justify my scores to any gymnast or coach.

Over that time in MAG we sometimes published the names of judge scores on each apparatus. Sometimes we didn’t.

Personally I feel judging would be better — more accurate — more objective — if judges names were published with the scores they awarded.

Officials in other sports are far more visible than Gymnastics.

You can see them for NCAA meets on Road To Nationals. For example, if you go to the results page for the Jan-05-2019 Oklahoma – Arkansas meet, and click on the PDF link top left, you get the official score sheet signed by the judges.

Also. Perhaps they could TRY to not to score based on reputation.

Thanks Cordelia.

USAG is boycotting the IndyStar

A BIG red flag.

Li Li Leung should be driving over to the newspaper her first day on the job. To apologize. And pledge to work together closely in future.

Ronnie Ramos – Executive Editor IndyStar:

… With your hiring, we hope it will herald a new chapter for USA Gymnastics.

Unfortunately, the way your organization handled the announcement raises concerns we hope will be rectified. As has been the case for the last three years, USA Gymnastics specifically excluded the IndyStar from the initial media call announcing your appointment.

By excluding us, the state’s largest media organization, you excluded the people of Indianapolis.

This is meaningful in that it is indicative of an unwillingness to do what the abuse survivors — and this community — have repeatedly called for: a new path forward focused on positive change. Not a continuation of the secrecy of the past. …

IndyStar editor: An open letter to USA Gymnastics new CEO

Japan – China Men’s training camps

After the Japanese men’s national gymnastics team came to the Chinese National Gymnastics Training Center in Beijing for a joint training camp with the Chinese National Team last month, the Chinese men flew to Japan last week for another joint training session in Japan. The camp began on February 11th and lasted six days. …

Xiao Ruoteng, current two-time World Champion, stated the environment was very friendly since all the athletes were familiar with each other:

“I can tell the Japanese are very advanced on apparatus like floor, they also have some great training drills.

However, in terms of the gymnastics venues and accommodations, the Chinese team is better.

We aren’t talking too much with each other, mostly because we want to observe each other. The Japanese are all in good shape, which is about what we expected. Uchimura still looks like he’s affected by his injury, but he’s mostly recovered.”

gymnovosti

Xiao Ruoteng