Category: parents

Cal parents supporting their gymnast daughters 😀

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My girls will be feared by weak men.

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Poem by Daragh Fleming.

I𝙛 𝙄 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙢𝙚𝙣.
But to everyone else they’ll be a consistent friend.
They’ll never lack meaning.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜.
They’ll take up space and they’ll like what they like.
𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚.

My girls will be feared by weak men.
𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙩.
They will always know love, and never feel they have to earn it.

They’ll know their value is inherent, has nothing to do with their looks.
𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙨, 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨.
They’ll be mothers one day if they so choose.
But their value won’t be defined by the use of their wombs.

They will be whatever lives in their hearts.
𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩.

My girls will know poetry and song.
They know I will listen when something feels wrong.
They will learn that ‘women are too emotional’ is an original lie.
And they will not grow up with a father who refuses to cry.

So yeah,
My girls will make some weak men shake in their knees.
𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨.

Thanks Jeff.

GAGE gymnasts to new Clubs

Lauren:

Last month, USA Gymnastics terminated GAGE’s membership effective immediately due to allegations that coaches were not complying with the terms of their suspensions tied to claims of abuse. The decision prevented its athletes from participating in meets sanctioned by the governing body, which of course includes every major elite competition in the country.

Because of this, gymnasts who trained at GAGE have started finding refuge in other programs, including first-year senior Lavi Crain and her younger sister Vivi to World Champions Centre, Winter Cup competitors Annalisa Milton to Missouri Elite and Kaylee Sath to WOGA, and junior national team member Aulya Daniels to Liberty Gymnastics.

Around the Gymternet: Alice D’Amato’s Surgery, GAGE’s Mass Exodus, Radomyr Stelmakh is German

GAGE no longer USA Gymnastics club

One of the top U.S. Gymnastics clubs refused to stay in compliance with SafeSport guidelines.

What happens to the many excellent athletes from that Gym?

interview with Al Fong – Jan. 20, 2026

Al Fong and Armine Barutyan plan to take their suspension to court.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

NCAA Gymnastics is not for everyone

Heather Parker, entering her second season as a gymnast at Central Michigan after transferring from Georgia, posted an important article on College Gym News:

College gymnastics can project an image of perfection–skills look effortless, and the athletes finish successful routines with glowing smiles. Teams broadcast the wins, celebrations, recruits, and rankings on social media.

Less often discussed is what goes into making a team successful and what happens behind the scenes to make those exciting competitions happen.

Jason Vonk, a former assistant coach at George Washington, Yale, and Georgia, had 12 years of experience across the three universities when he moved on from college coaching.

According to Vonk, a lot of what defined his time in college gymnastics wasn’t reflected in the polished version of the sport that fans and recruits see. For him, it was a system marked by fear, silence, and a culture where, as he puts it, “head coaches get complete leeway, and the assistants can’t report them, or they will lose their job.” …

Read more:

College Gymnastics Looks Perfect—

Until You’re Inside It


Greg Marsden responds:

SafeSport suspensions: Al Fong (5 years) & Armine Barutyan (1 year)

Both pending appeal.

Fong and Barutyan’s suspensions are active and enforceable as of the date of issuance: December 22, 2025. They retain the right to appeal the sanctions, which could result in the suspensions being upheld, modified, reduced, or otherwise altered.

Here’s the only response I’ve seen, so far.

Gymnast paralyzed training Round-off Back Tuck

Gymnastics is dangerous.

This severe injury resulted in a lawsuit in Arizona.

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gymSAFE

This organization has been around since 2015.

From injury prevention lectures at clubs, it’s evolved into gymnastics-specific movement screenings and full on symposiums.

Mission

To provide gymnastics professionals and athletes with the tools and knowledge to prevent gymnastics-related injuries.

Vision

To promote the concept that physical and mental wellness are vital components of gymnastics excellence.

Check it out at discovergymsafe.org

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.