skipping with a wind turbine

Click PLAY or watch it on Twitter. 😀

D’Amato sisters

From what we can see online, the Italian team preparing for Olympics looks to be even stronger than at the last Worlds.

Click PLAY or watch it on Twitter.

Coach Dennis Rivera Lopez

What a fighter.

The Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation, a not-for-profit that provides free and low-cost gymnastics to underserved communities in Harlem, New York, and Detroit, Michigan, head coach Dennis Rivera Lopez who has undergone 4 brain surgeries during COVID-19. …

Dennis was diagnosed with hydrocephalus as a baby …

To date, the WHGF has provided free and low-cost gymnastics for almost 25,000 urban youth.

Harlem’s Dennis Rivera Lopez Is A Survivor

quad twist – hands in pockets

Proving arm action is only one of many ways to twist.

Click PLAY or watch it on Facebook.

Gym Nerd School

GymCastic launched yet another new initiative.

Episode #450 is the first of a series called Gym Nerd School 101.

Based on fan questions, Spencer and Jessica do some Gym’splainin‘

  • What does it mean to be an “elite”?
  • Code of Points, leotard rules, and named skills.
  • Why don’t they use the 10 anymore?
  • Why are leaps named for animals, how do I tell them apart, and no really WHYYYYYY?
  • How do I tell the difference between a split leap full and a switch leap full?
  • How do I tell the difference between those one-arm pirouettes—the Ono, Healy, and Ling?

They discuss a number of videos which you can watch LIVE ON TAPE.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Utah intersquad

Click PLAY or watch it on Twitter.

Bruins Inspire Campaign

Meet the 2021 UCLA Bruins.

Pauley Pavilion is closed. So the team is expanding their online reach. Starting with Emmy winning videographer Deanna Hong.

December 3rd is last day to donate.

Details.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Tumbl Trak Air Barrels

I love Air Barrels.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

But I wouldn’t buy them without the Tumbl Trak Cradle accessory.

When there’s a danger of the barrel unexpectedly rolling the wrong way, place one of the cradles to stop movement in that direction.

Maggie Haney’s NY Times interview

If you are not a subscriber, there’s a copy on The Morning Call:

If she could travel back in time, before she was suspended from gymnastics after being accused of berating and mistreating her athletes, including an Olympic champion, Maggie Haney says she would change the way she coached. …

… “Maybe what used to be OK is not OK anymore, and maybe it shouldn’t be. I think maybe the culture has shifted.” …

Haney said the accusations against her — particularly those from Hernandez, whom she coached from age 6 — had come out of nowhere, and she vehemently denied them.  …

Riley McCusker, who has a good chance of making the U.S. team for the Tokyo Games, filed a lawsuit against Haney last month. …

A gymnastics coach accused of emotional abuse speaks out: ‘I cared too much’

Aside from Maggie’s friends and some former gymnasts, most coaches I talk to feel the penalties decided by USAG were harsh but appropriate.

Spencer had the most entertaining reaction to the interview.

Read Stephanie Ventura’s response – An Open Letter to the New York Times Regarding Gymnastics, Abuse, and Sub-standard Journalism