Category: safety

USAG: Black Lives Matter

On June 1, we unequivocally affirmed that Black lives do matter, and that we stand in solidarity with the Black community and with all of those who fight for racial and social justice. …

  • We will require implicit bias training for USA Gymnastics staff and leadership positions, and will endeavor to make similar training available to all members.

  • We will work with a credible researcher to analyze the role of implicit bias in judging.

  • We will use our platforms to amplify the voices of our community members from traditionally underrepresented groups, in order to share their experiences more broadly and facilitate continued conversation across the gymnastics community.

  • We will strengthen our internal hiring practices for both employees and contractors, to ensure that we are more intentional and proactive in seeking out staff, contractors, and business leaders from underrepresented groups.

  • Juneteenth (June 19th) will be a day of reflection for USA Gymnastics staff going forward. We are encouraging our staff to spend this day listening and learning, and finding ways to commit to concrete action steps to become better allies and advocates. We invite member gyms and clubs to recognize this important day in the history of our nation in their own way. …

A Letter to the Gymnastics Community on Racial and Social Justice

 

Celebrating Juneteenth

Juneteenth (a portmanteau of June and nineteenth; also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day) celebrates the liberation of those who had been held as slaves in the United States.

Trampoline Park injuries

Are the drop-in Trampoline facilities in your area open?  😕

Graphic video showing accidents.

Click PLAY or watch a TV News report from 2019 on YouTube.

Concussion first responders

“50% of concussions go unreported.”

What to do if you suspect a concussion

In all suspected cases of concussion, the person should stop the activity right away. Continuing increases their risk of more severe, longer-lasting concussion symptoms, as well as increases their risk of other injury.

Anyone with a suspected concussion should be checked out by a medical doctor.

Red flags

  • Neck pain or tenderness
  • Double vision
  • Weakness or tingling in arms or legs
  • Severe or increasing headache
  • Seizure or convulsion
  • Loss of consciousness (knocked out)
  • Deteriorating conscious state
  • Vomiting more than once
  • Increasingly restless, agitated or combative
  • Growing confusion

If any red flag symptoms are present, call an ambulance right away. These may be signs of a more serious injury.

parachute.ca

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Michael Reid on #BlackLivesMatter

Michael Reid was NCAA Pommel Champ in 2015 for Oklahoma.

Click PLAY or watch it on Facebook.

diversity in College Gymnastics

The Routine Podcast, from the beginning, has celebrated NCAA diversity.

Episode #87 is a highlights reel of many past interviews.

Inspiring.

Michigan’s Gabby Wilson on #BlackLivesMatter

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Good news.  Gabby has felt respected at Michigan.

In this very personal post Gabby asks us to take ACTION, not just offer hopes and prayers.

Which NCAA teams support #BlackLivesMatter?

It’s not easy to keep up with the responses from NCAA Gymnastics teams.

How much is empty talk?  How many will improve over coming seasons?

Catch up by listening to episode #428: Black Lives Matter This Week Too

GymCastic was disappointed with “empty platitudes from coaches like Dana Duckworth and Courtney Kupets-Carter“.

One concept new to me was optical allyship: when we focus on ourselves rather than the victims. It’s a dodge.  For example …

https://twitter.com/CoachJeffGraba/status/1268979062992756736

One ‘tell‘ for me is whether or not statements include Black Lives Matter #BlackLivesMatter.

If not, they are usually avoiding the biggest controversy to not offend somebody or other.  Weak support.

Check too if there’s an actual apology for past injustice at the University.  A promise of action in future.  If not, it’s likely just weasel words.  Nothing will change.

GymCastic was impressed that K.J. Kindler and Mark Williams marched for George Floyd.

Cal Women’s Gymnastics supported the Black Lives Matter run June 8th. A good sign.

Other sports have done more. Especially football. A racist coach was put on leave at Iowa. His base pay $800,000 / year.

Margzetta Frazier on racial injustice

UCLA gymnast Margzetta Frazier talks to BBC Sport about the death of American George Floyd and discrimination in gymnastics.

Confident to speak her mind, Marz also talks about racial stereotyping in Gymnastics.
(You’d think we would have learned our lesson from Olympic Champion Gabby Douglas who’s best apparatus was Bars.)