The most senior remaining employee of USA Gymnastics resigned.
Galimore was elected a member of the FIG Executive Committee through to 2020. I haven’t heard if he’ll resign from that position as well.
Category: ethics
Life is Short, Don’t Wait to Dance – a review
Expecting to enjoy this book, it was even better than anticipated.
This book is must read for any Beam / Floor coach.
Life Is Short, Don’t Wait to Dance is a thankful celebration of Gymnastics, a refreshing respite in an era where conversations are often dominated by the crimes of an evil doctor.
Miss Val is one of the most successful College coaches all time. Yet, as a dancer, she doesn’t pretend to be a technical expert or biomechanist. Her specialities are artistry, musicality, dance and choreography. A non-gymnast, she became one of the greatest NCAA Beam coaches in history learning on the job.
Even more interesting to me is her skills set of all those MANY things that coaches need outside Gymnastics.
Miss Val is a case study on those MANY other things.
Surprisingly, I also recommend the book to non-Gymnastics readers. Life lessons for all. I learned a lot.
She discusses one issue I hadn’t seen addressed before: the awkward words ‘victim’ and ‘survivor’. She tells of Jordyn Wieber’s dislike of both words. I use victim as much as possible over survivor.
I loved the section on face tattoos. UCLA does NOT wear face tattoos. As an old dinosaur, I agree with Miss Val on this. Can we start phasing those out? Please.
For once an author openly admits her ghost writer is a contributor. That’s Steve Cooper, one of the GymCastic team.
Aly Raisman doesn’t do that, for example. Her co-author is journalist Blythe Lawrence.
I enjoyed hearing her team rules at UCLA. It’s a challenge to motivate young women away from home for the first time.
Miss Val didn’t talk enough about the high rate of injury in College Gymnastics, in my opinion. UCLA has had more than their share. I’ve always attributed that to her tendency to recruit Elite gymnasts over Level 10s. Elites tend to arrive with more injuries, I suspect.
Miss Val reads the audio book. It makes the content more personal. Get the audio version if you can.
Piibunina’s YouTube channel was deleted
USAG wants your input
If USAG gives up NGB status voluntarily, what are the consequences?
We want as little disruption as possible if there’s a new organization appointed.
Email members of the current Board of Directors directly if you have feedback:
Amanda Thomashow accused Nassar 2014
He was interviewed by police for two and a half hours. And talked his way out of it.
Amanda’s complaint also triggered a Title IX investigation.
After less than three months on leave from his job at Michigan State University, Larry was allowed back to work. With conditions. He’d have to follow basic medical guidelines: wear gloves, get consent, have a chaperone in the room. In other words, really basic things that any doctor working with minors in their private areas should do.
But nobody at MSU ever actually checked to see if Larry’s doing any of those things.
That means young girls and women kept streaming into Larry’s treatment rooms…not just at MSU, but at USA Gymnastics and local gyms, and a nearby high school. Even at his home, where Larry “treated” patients on a massage table in his basement.
Some 70 survivors say they were abused by Larry after MSU cleared him to go back to work.
NPR BELIEVED – Gaslighting Season 1, Episode 4
The criminal doctor did not contradict what Amanda said. Rather he stuck to the story that it was valid medical treatment.
via GymCastic
should FIG have hosted in Qatar?
Each nation needs make a post-competition review.
It turned out to be an excellent competition overall. Better than I expected.
One problem was poor attendance.
A bigger concern in advance of the meet was safety of participants.
Since 2014 the International Olympic Committee has listed sexual orientation as a protected category in the Olympic charter.
The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play .
Yet FIG hosted in a nation where homosexuality is illegal. It’s also illegal to campaign for LGBT rights in Qatar. That should be corrected before the World Cup of Football.
I was relieved that both Israel and the women from Egypt were able to compete in Qatar without a major incident. Pingpong diplomacy. Sometimes sport leads to greater international peace.
The World Athletics championships are scheduled for 2019. There’s concern that Saudi Arabia and its allies including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt might boycott.
Personally I’ve been focused on the upsides of a Muslim nation hosting a sport where female participation worldwide is greater than male participation. I’m hopeful small steps like this will help Islamic girls and women gain more access to fitness and sport.
At a time when the American President demonized Muslims, it was an eye-opener for gymnasts from around the world to actually visit a Muslim nation. To learn something about Arab culture.
I’d say the positives outweighed the negatives.
related – Highs And Lows Of The 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships
USAG expects to pay out $75 – $150 million
USA Gymnastics expects to pay between $75 million and $150 million to victims of Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse, according to financial statements it released Thursday. …
Anything could happen. Insurance might refuse to cover USA Gymnastics. Awards to victims might be much higher.
Mattie Larson gets settlement from her Gym Club
All Olympia Gymnastics Center … recently finalized a $1 million settlement with World Championships silver medalist Mattie Larson, her attorney confirmed to the Southern County News Group.
The settlement stems from Larson’s lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against AOGC and its directors Artur Akopya and Galina Marinova that alleged their treatment of Larson led to her being sexually abused by former U.S. Olympic and USA Gymnastics national team physician Larry Nassar. …
AOGC is shutting down its Hawthorne location according to a Nov. 3 letter from Akopya and Marinova to AOGC gymnasts, parents and coaches. …
believe Kyle Stephens
I believe Kyle Stephens.
The criminal doctor starting victimizing her at age 6.
Believed – The Basement
will USOC end USAG?
I thought USAG would be forced to declare bankruptcy after the first lawsuit found them guilty of being complicit in the crimes of their team Doctor.
That could still happen. But they may lose status as the National Governing Body for gymnastics in the United States first.
US Olympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland:
“Today the United States Olympic Committee has filed a complaint initiating a Section 8 proceeding against USA Gymnastics, seeking to revoke USAG’s recognition as a member National Governing Body of the USOC. This is a situation in which there are no perfect solutions. Seeking to revoke recognition is not a conclusion that we have come to easily. …
USAG responded:
USA Gymnastics Board of Directors message to the USA Gymnastics membership
I need Spencer to tell me what to think. Jessica to tell me what to feel.
This is the burn it all down scenario.
On the up side, it would be a completely fresh start.
On the down side, gymnasts and coaches may be hurt due to unintended consequences in the transition to an ALL NEW organization.
The USOC’s action Monday triggers a process that includes a hearing before a three-person panel. …
The USOC is known to have revoked the recognition or cut off the funding of an NGB only three times — with taekwondo, team handball and modern pentathlon.
It will be difficult to defend the actions of the current Board of Directors. Their decision to hire a former politician as CEO was the last straw for me. I can hardly imagine a worse hire.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 