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The greatest rivalries of the 1980s! This week, we have a commissioned episode from Club Gym Nerd member Kimo, who asked for an episode all about the 1980s rivalries between the Romanians and the Soviets, both team and individually. We are oh so happy to oblige! Setting the scene

• A history of Soviet dominance
• Romania’s 1976 emergence
• The 1977 Europeans Romanian WALKOUT!
• The first great Romanian/Soviet rivalry—Nadia vs. Nellie and how it may or may not have influenced the future of gymnastics
• Romania wins in 1979, where Nadia saves the day with one hand.

The Rivalry

• The 1980 Olympics of crazy judging
  • Nadia vs. Davydova and the case of the 30-minute delay
  • Nadia vs. Nellie and the case of the “computer malfunction”
  • Mukhina’s paralysis and the race for innovative difficulty
• 1981 Worlds
  • The silliest scores of 1981 (oh, it’s 9.800 for this)
  • The case of the Szabo/Agache impersonation of 1981
  • Romania ends up 4th. That’s right 4th.
• 1983 Worlds
  • Innovation from an all-star Soviet team—YURCHENKO vaults, the SHISHOVA
  • Just fangirling about Mostepanova for a while
  • More fun with bonkers scoring
• 1984 boycott gives us an opportunity to talk about China
• 1985 Worlds
  • Soviet Union casually adds Omelianchik and Shushunova to its already stellar 1983 team
  • The Soviets were so deep that Shushunova placed FIFTH on her own team in qualification
  • The evolution of Romanian floor to be less “chicken dance” and whether it contributed to what happened next
• 1987 and THE TIDE TURNS
  • Silivas wins the European AA title in Moscow, and the Soviets (gasp) fall
  • Romania gets its first world team title in 8 years
  • How the addition of Aurelia Dobre changed the game for Romania
  • Pro-Soviet bias in skill naming
  • Dobre vs. Shushunova vs. Silivas vs. Baitova vs. Omelianchik. This was no two-way rivalry
  • The 1988 Olympics and how timing is everything

Thanks to our sponsor, Huel. Get Huel today with this exclusive offer for New Customers of 15% OFF + a FREE Gift with code GymCastic at https://huel.com/GymCastic (Minimum $75 purchase).

UP NEXT

• Behind The Scenes: at noon Pacific on Friday 3:00pm Eastern/7:00pm GMT

OUT NOW IN US & EUROPE

• The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles by Aimee Boorman with Fact Checker is topping the sport charts - SUCK IT SPORTS BALLS! Get your copy now. And if you loved reading (or listening) to the book, please leave a review.

PARIS FX FINAL : LIVE SHOW with the ROMANIAN HEAD COACHES

Jessica and Spencer were joined by former professional musical theater boys turned super choreo-coaching duo, Daymon Jones and Patrick Kiens to discuss Celine van Gerner’s iconic Cats makeup, the Paris Olympic FX final from their perspective as Romanian team head coaches, choreographing in over 15 countries combined and being the new coaches at WCC.  Replay tickets available for a limited time.

BONUS CONTENT 

• Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind the Scenes episodes.
• Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and get access to all of our exclusive extended interviews, Behind The Scenes and College & Cocktails.

MERCH

• GymCastic Store: clothing and gifts to let your gym nerd flag fly and even “tapestries” (banners, the perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast!
  • Baseball hats available now in the GymCastic store

RELATED 

• The Karolyi Secret Police Files
  • Olympic Gymnast Claims Karolyi Beat Her KRCA 2008
  • Dateline: Silent No More. Bela Karolyi "probably over 50 years ago in Romania" when asked if he ever hit a gymnast.
  • Heavy Medals A seven-part story about the Karolyis and the steep price of gold.
• Firsts, Named Skills, and Innovators in Women's Artistic Gymnastics
• Nadia and the Secret Police: Interview part one and two
  • Nadia Comaneci and the Secret Police book by Stejarel Olaru
• Olympic coach John Geddert criminal charges and death
• Doug Boger:
  • OC Register: Doug Boger banned
  • Story on Colorado resident, Doug Boger: “Gymnasts Accuse Colorado Coach Of Sex Abuse, Torture”
  • GymCastic episode Preventing Abuse in Gymnastics
• Episode where we predict the future: Biggest Olympic Judging Scandals 

• 344: Shushunova vs. Silivas 1988 (Commissioned)
• 342: A Quitter’s Try – The CNN Parkettes Documentary (Commissioned)
• 341: The Call Is Coming from Inside the House
• 340: USAG and The Case of the Missing Documents
• 327: 1993 NCAA Nationals (Commissioned)
• 325: Olympics of Difference Makers (Commissioned)
• 313: Best Floor Routines EVAH! (Commissioned)
• 312: 4th Is the New 1st (Commissioned)
• 309: Perfect Form – The O’Beirne Code (Commissioned)
• 308: 2004 Olympic All-Around Final (Commissioned)
• 306: Gymnastics Fails (Commissioned)
• 304: The GymCastic Olympics (Commissioned)
• 281: Myths, Legends, and Unexpected Moments PART 2 (Commissioned)
• 279: A Diva Is Magical: The Svetlana Khorkina Episode (Commissioned)
• 278: 2000 Sydney All-Around Final (Commissioned)
• 262: 1996 Olympic Event Finals (Commissioned)
• 258: The Fluff Cast (Commissioned)
• 256: 1996 Olympic All-Around Final (Commissioned)
• 255: 1996 Olympic Team Final (Commissioned)
• 252: Myths, Legends and Unexpected Moments in Gymnastics History (Commissioned)
• 228: Leotards (Commissioned)
• 225: 1992 Olympics Recap with Wendy Bruce (Commissioned)
• 185: 2008 Olympic All-Around Finals (Commissioned)
• Find all our recent episodes here

NEWSLETTERS

• Sign up for all three GymCastic newsletters 

RECENT 

• Behind The Scenes: Calzones Confessions
• Demand More
• Behind The Scenes: Pottery Wheel Massacre

RESOURCES

• Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation 
• Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim

RESISTANCE  Submitted by our listeners.

• ACTION
  • Indivisible
    • Practical ideas about what you can actually do in this moment, check it out: indivisi.org/muskorus
  • 5Calls App will call your Congresspeople by issue with a script to guide you
    • • Make 2 to your Congressional rep (local and DC office). 2 each to your US Senators (local and state offices)
        • State your name and zip code or district
        • Be concise with your question or demand (i.e. What specific steps is Senator X taking to stop XYZ)
        • Wait for answer
        • Ask for action items -  tell them what you want them to do (i.e. draft articles of impeachment immediately, I want to see you holding a press conference in front of...etc.)
  • ResistBot
    • Turns your texts into faxes, postal mail, or emails to your representatives in minutes
  • ACLU Mobile Justice App
    • Allows you to record encounters with public officials while streaming to your closest contacts and your local ACLU; REPORT any abuse by authorities to the ACLU and its networks.
• LAWSUITS
  • Donate to organizations suing the administration for illegal actions
    • ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Northwest Immigration Law Project
• STAY INFORMED
  • Suggested podcasts:  Amicus, Daily Beans, Pod Save America, Strict Scrutiny
• Immigrant Rights
  • Know Your Rights Red Cards, We Have Rights Video, Your Rights on trains and buses video

Kaylia Nemour is leaving Avoine-Beaumont, Chinese Championships, the Koper World Cup, and a Mini-Commision on Civil Rights and the NCAA Not a member?

Support independent journalists by joining here.

HEADLINES

• Kaylia Nemour announced that she has left her club, Avoine-Beaumont, and is currently training in Dijon under Nadia Massé
• The Brazilian gym gods have answered our prayers because Daiane dos Santos is getting her own movie, The Girl Who Could Fly
• Becky Downie took to Instagram to raise share her struggle with fibroids
• Sugihara Aiko wore a half-turtleneck, half denim jean shorts singlet and obviously we  need to talk about it for three hours
• Follow-up on the Crandall-Howell's move to Clemson: Greg Marsen's response to Jessica's comments

Chinese Championships

• Chinese Championships are underway. If you don't have a 6.8 D-score on beam, you should just go home
• Ou Yushan had a hilarious post-meet interview moment that most gymnasts can relate to about the social media gremlins
• Zhou Yaqin deigned to bless us with her beam excellence, scoring a 15.0 with a 6.8 D!
• Huang Ziyi's chest roll mount to shoulder roll charm offensive and a casual 6.8 D
• What skills, combos, and code hacks did we learn from this meet?

Koper World Cup

• Why this was the "involvement of all the body parts" Championships
• Individual event titles
  • Teja Belak took the vault title with a 13.516
  • Lucija Hribar won bars with a 12.400
  • Georgia-Mae Fenton won beam with a 13.166
  • Julia Coutinho won floor with a 13.100

Gymternet News

• Who is transferring and changing commitments?
  • Double the Price in Arkansas: As reported three weeks ago, Morgan Price announced her departure from Fisk to Arkansas
  • Morgan Reihl and Sydney Snyder change their commitments from Cal to Clemson
  • Alexis Czarrunchick is transferring from Georgia to Maryland
  • Molly Brinkman changed her commitment from Clemson to LSU
• Mizzou's Kaia Tanskanen will represent Finland at the 2025 European Gymnastics Championships
• Jordan Bowers was named the Honda Sport Award Winner for gymnastics
• Hire all the gymnasts: Suni Lee, Livvy Dunne, and Jordan Chiles are Sports Illustrated swimsuit models
• Start your engines: Paul Juda is the Grand Marshall for the Detroit Grand Prix
• Beth Tweddle, Andreas Wecker, Catalina Ponor, and Paul Ziert were inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
• Pauline Schaefer-Betz announced on Instagram that she's working toward LA 2028

What's on the Socials?

• Frederick Richard is training in Beijing with the Chinese National Team and also creating hilarious high five-content while he's at it
• SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK: Shawn Johnson addressed the sexualization of leotards on a podcast
• Suni said hell no to snowboarding in this interview with Chloe Kim at the Gold Gala

Mini Commission: Civil Rights Attacks and the NCAA

• From World Champion level Club Gym Nerd member “Gymnastics Fan”
  • "We're experiencing the spread of laws in the US that promote sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc., in addition to a lack of accountability for those who promote racism, violence, etc. What is the likelihood that the championship might move if an NCAA team refused to travel somewhere? Could the athletes unionize as a team, or does it have to be an entire school's athletes? I know not all athletes have the same core beliefs, so that would create more challenges, but could the progressive athletes create change?"
• Examples of successful campaigns
  • In 2016 the NCAA moved 7 championships out of North Carolina
  • Colin Kaepernick's kneel during the national anthem helped propel the Black Lives Matter movement into the sports world
  • The Sporting Boycott of South Africa during its apartheid policy
  • The Iranian Women's Stadium Entry Protests of 2019
• What is the likelihood of any of this happening in gymnastics? Can athletes unionize? Could a team boycott championships? Mid-meet walk out? IRONIC STICK CROWNS?

Feedback

• Follow-up on routines that should be retired like a Jersey
• Is having "bow legs" an advantage in gymnastics?
• How can international fans follow along with NCAA gymnastics?

UP NEXT

• Behind The Scenes: at noon Pacific on Friday 3:00pm Eastern/7:00pm GMT

CHECK OUT FACT CHECKER'S NEW BOOK WITH AIMEE BOORMAN

• The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles by Aimee Boorman with Fact Checker is topping the sport charts - SUCK IT SPORTS BALLS! Get your copy now. And if you loved reading (or listening) to the book, please leave a review.

PARIS FX FINAL DEETS with ROMANIAN HEAD COACHES 

Jessica and Spencer were joined by former professional musical theater boys turned super choreo-coaching duo, Daymon Jones and Patrick Kiens to discuss Celine van Gerner’s iconic Cats makeup, the Paris Olympic FX final from their perspective as Romanian team head coaches, choreographing in over 15 countries combined and being the new coaches at WCC.  Replay tickets available for a limited time.

BONUS CONTENT 

• Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind the Scenes episodes.
• Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and get access to all of our exclusive extended interviews, Behind The Scenes and College & Cocktails.

MERCH

• GymCastic Store: clothing and gifts to let your gym nerd flag fly and even “tapestries” (banners, the perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast!
  • Baseball hats available now in the GymCastic store

NEWSLETTERS

• Sign up for all three GymCastic newsletters 

RECENT 

• Behind The Scenes: Calzones Confessions
• Demand More
• Behind The Scenes: Pottery Wheel Massacre

RESOURCES

• Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation 
• Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim

RESISTANCE  Submitted by our listeners.

• ACTION
  • Indivisible
    • Practical ideas about what you can actually do in this moment, check it out: indivisi.org/muskorus
  • 5Calls App will call your Congresspeople by issue with a script to guide you
    • • Make 2 to your Congressional rep (local and DC office). 2 each to your US Senators (local and state offices)
        • State your name and zip code or district
        • Be concise with your question or demand (i.e. What specific steps is Senator X taking to stop XYZ)
        • Wait for answer
        • Ask for action items -  tell them what you want them to do (i.e. draft articles of impeachment immediately, I want to see you holding a press conference in front of...etc.)
  • ResistBot
    • Turns your texts into faxes, postal mail, or emails to your representatives in minutes
  • ACLU Mobile Justice App
    • Allows you to record encounters with public officials while streaming to your closest contacts and your local ACLU; REPORT any abuse by authorities to the ACLU and its networks.
• LAWSUITS
  • Donate to organizations suing the administration for illegal actions
    • ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Northwest Immigration Law Project
• STAY INFORMED
  • Suggested podcasts:  Amicus, Daily Beans, Pod Save America, Strict Scrutiny
• Immigrant Rights
  • Know Your Rights Red Cards, We Have Rights Video, Your Rights on trains and buses video

The Crandall-Howells are leaving Cal for Clemson with a contract worthy of the sport, floor joy at Varna World Cup, Level 10 Nationals, and an Ellie Black Mini-Commission. 

Support our independent journalism by joining here.

HEADLINES

• Liz Crandall-Howell and Justin Howell are heading to Clemson. How much Clemson spent to snatch them up and why the economics makes sense.
• Varna Challenge Cup
  • Everything in the world is right because Nola Matthews won bars and floor
  • Jennifer Williams reminded us what a double pike is supposed to look like
  • Are you on your highest toe? Antea Sikic Kaukic is
  • Why Thelma Adalsteinsdottir wins the "involvement of your face" award
  • Why Marcus Cassamento needs to teach the other men how to artistry properly
• Level 10 Nationals happened and we need to talk about this vault  
• What are the new updates on Mixed Team Format for the LA28 Olympics?

GYMTERNET NEWS

• We told you it was coming...Morgan Price announced her departure from Fisk
• Arkansas gymnast Dakota Essenpries transfers to Missouri
• Ashlee Sullivan is now heading to UCLA
• Gabby Douglas to be inducted into the USOPC Hall of Fame
• Club members can watch Vanessa Atler’s live show by logging in to her live show page, it will appear below.

MINI COMMISSION: All About Ellie Black

•  From World Champion level Club Gym Nerd member Clarie K, "I would like my mini commission to be all about Ellie Black and how her gymnastics has evolved and what an incredible person and important figure in Canadian Gymnastics she is. Perhaps, you could also speak about her part in Canada's historic world bronze medal."

Feedback

• Please post your feedback on the GymCastic forum or email us at [email protected]
• How to properly pronounce "Kovacs"
• Feedback on last week's mini-commission regarding coaching changes

UP NEXT

• Behind The Scenes: at 2:00pmPacific / 3:00pm Eastern / 7:00pm GMT Fridays.

CHECK OUT FACT CHECKER'S NEW BOOK WITH AIMEE BOORMAN

• The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles by Aimee Boorman with Fact Checker is topping the sport charts - SUCK IT SPORTS BALLS! Get your copy now. And if you loved reading (or listening) to the book, please leave a review.

PARIS FX FINAL DEETS with ROMANIAN HEAD COACHES 

Jessica and Spencer were joined by former professional musical theater boys turned super choreo-coaching duo, Daymon Jones and Patrick Kiens to discuss Celine van Gerner’s iconic Cats makeup, the Paris Olympic FX final from their perspective as Romanian team head coaches, choreographing in over 15 countries combined and being the new coaches at WCC.  Replay tickets available for a limited time.

BONUS CONTENT 

• Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind the Scenes episodes.
• Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and get access to all of our exclusive extended interviews, Behind The Scenes and College & Cocktails.

MERCH

• GymCastic Store: clothing and gifts to let your gym nerd flag fly and even “tapestries” (banners, the perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast!
  • Baseball hats available now in the GymCastic store

NEWSLETTERS

• Sign up for all three GymCastic newsletters 

RESOURCES

• Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation 
• Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim
• Kensley’s all things men’s gymnastics: Neutral Deductions

RESISTANCE  Submitted by our listeners.

• ACTION
  • Indivisible
    • Practical ideas about what you can actually do in this moment, check it out: indivisi.org/muskorus
  • 5Calls App will call your Congresspeople by issue with a script to guide you
    • • Make 2 to your Congressional rep (local and DC office). 2 each to your US Senators (local and state offices)
        • State your name and zip code or district
        • Be concise with your question or demand (i.e. What specific steps is Senator X taking to stop XYZ)
        • Wait for answer
        • Ask for action items -  tell them what you want them to do (i.e. draft articles of impeachment immediately, I want to see you holding a press conference in front of...etc.)
  • ResistBot
    • Turns your texts into faxes, postal mail, or emails to your representatives in minutes
  • ACLU Mobile Justice App
    • Allows you to record encounters with public officials while streaming to your closest contacts and your local ACLU; REPORT any abuse by authorities to the ACLU and its networks.
• LAWSUITS
  • Donate to organizations suing the administration for illegal actions
    • ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Northwest Immigration Law Project
• STAY INFORMED
  • Suggested podcasts:  Amicus, Daily Beans, Pod Save America, Strict Scrutiny
• Immigrant Rights
  • Know Your Rights Red Cards, We Have Rights Video, Your Rights on trains and buses video

*Correction, Fredrick Richard did beat the previous back flip record in 24 hours. He did not beat the record of 9 hours.

Why Melnikova has effectively ended her career, gymnast lifetime injuries, coaching change payoffs. 

HEADLINES

• Melnikova just got AIN status but it's going to be taken away...
• Frederick Richard now holds the world record for the most back flips within 24 hours
• Calling all publishers! Vanessa Atler has a book the world needs to read
• Serie A Final: French junior, Elena Colas beats Nemour and Esposito

GYMTERNET NEWS

• What would you wear to Jordan Chiles' vampire masquerade birthday party?
• Morgan Price leaving Fisk?
• Why is NCAA championships viewership down slightly?
• Which US elites we might see at Worlds this year in Jakarta
• Ukrainian refuses photo with Belarusian and Russian gymnast.
• Lots of coaching changes including Maggie Haney, who's suspension is up.
• Helen Hu got the shorthand of her iconic beam routine tattooed on her arm.
• Sentenced for sexual abuse and having child sexual abuse material, Lance Spencer of Bozhi's Gym Nest in West Virginia.

MINI COMMISSION: GYM SWITCHES

• World Champion-level Club Gym Nerd member Josh commissioned us to talk about coaching changes and gym-switching. How can some coaches bring out untapped potential within athletes and turn weaknesses into strengths? What are some notable examples of this across different eras?

MINI COMMISSION: LONG-TERM HEALTH

• World Champion-level Club Gym Nerd member Kara commissioned us to discuss the long-term physical effects that gymnastics has on gymnasts' bodies. We hear stories of how Mary Lou Retton and Morgan White requiring hip replacements at very young ages - is that normal? Is the degree of impact directly proportional to the level at which the gymnasts trained?
• Bonus question: In the sportsballs, athletes' jersey numbers can be retired as a tribute to their greatness. If we had an equivalent for gymnastics, what floor music should be "retired" based on the level of mastery of the gymnasts who performed to it?

UP NEXT

• Behind The Scenes: at noon pacific on Fridays.

CHECK OUT FACT CHECKER'S NEW BOOK WITH AIMEE BOORMAN

• The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles by Aimee Boorman with Fact Checker is topping the sport charts - SUCK IT SPORTS BALLS! If you loved reading the book, please leave a review

BONUS CONTENT 

• Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind the Scenes episodes.
• Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and get access to all of our exclusive extended interviews, Behind The Scenes and College & Cocktails.

MERCH

• GymCastic Store: clothing and gifts to let your gym nerd flag fly and even “tapestries” (banners, the perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast!
  • Baseball hats available now in the GymCastic store

NEWSLETTERS

• Sign up for all three GymCastic newsletters 

RESOURCES

• Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation 
• Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim

RESISTANCE  Submitted by our listeners.

• ACTION
  • Indivisible
    • Practical ideas about what you can actually do in this moment, check it out: indivisi.org/muskorus
  • 5Calls App will call your Congresspeople by issue with a script to guide you
    • • Make 2 to your Congressional rep (local and DC office). 2 each to your US Senators (local and state offices)
        • State your name and zip code or district
        • Be concise with your question or demand (i.e. What specific steps is Senator X taking to stop XYZ)
        • Wait for answer
        • Ask for action items -  tell them what you want them to do (i.e. draft articles of impeachment immediately, I want to see you holding a press conference in front of...etc.)
  • ResistBot
    • Turns your texts into faxes, postal mail, or emails to your representatives in minutes
  • ACLU Mobile Justice App
    • Allows you to record encounters with public officials while streaming to your closest contacts and your local ACLU; REPORT any abuse by authorities to the ACLU and its networks.
• LAWSUITS
  • Donate to organizations suing the administration for illegal actions
    • ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Northwest Immigration Law Project
• STAY INFORMED
  • Suggested podcasts:  Amicus, Daily Beans, Pod Save America, Strict Scrutiny
• Immigrant Rights
  • Know Your Rights Red Cards, We Have Rights Video, Your Rights on trains and buses video

Preventing Achilles and ACL tears starts with the Brain: How new concussion protocols may be the key to stopping lower body injuries in women’s sports. 

HEADLINES

• Ana Barbosu (ROM) lost a tie breaker on floor to Alba Petisco (ESP)
• Which teams have the most NCAA Champions per event?

GYMCASTIC UPDATES

• The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles by Aimee Boorman with Fact Checker is topping the sport charts - SUCK IT SPORTS BALLS! If you loved reading the book please leave a review
• Scalding Hot Tea: At our Live show in at NCAA Championships where the new WCC head coaches (where Simone Biles trained) talk all about the Paris floor final controversy and what it was like to coach in Romania.Live Show replay tickets available here

INTERVIEW: Dr. Abigail Baldwin DPT

Repetitive head impacts directly correlate to the likelihood a lower body injury, up to 11%, but our guest developed protocols specifically tailored to women. This concussion prevention and prehab program could prevent the most common injuries in gymnastics.

• What can coaches and athletes do to prevent ACL and Achilles tears in women
• Protocol time frames from implementation to results
• Why female athletes more susceptible to concussions and lower body injuries
• What are the biggest misconceptions that still persist in women's sports medicine

UP NEXT

• Behind The Scenes: Friday May 2nd at noon pacific.

BONUS CONTENT 

• Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind the Scenes episodes.
• Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and get access to all of our exclusive extended interviews, Behind The Scenes and College & Cocktails.

MERCH

• GymCastic Store: clothing and gifts to let your gym nerd flag fly and even “tapestries” (banners, the perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast!
  • Baseball hats available now in the GymCastic store

NEWSLETTERS

• Sign up for all three GymCastic newsletters 

RECENT 

All April Podcasts and Photo Galleries

RESOURCES

• Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation 
• Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim

RESISTANCE  Submitted by our listeners.

• ACTION
  • Indivisible
    • Practical ideas about what you can actually do in this moment, check it out: indivisi.org/muskorus
  • 5Calls App will call your Congresspeople by issue with a script to guide you
    • • Make 2 to your Congressional rep (local and DC office). 2 each to your US Senators (local and state offices)
        • State your name and zip code or district
        • Be concise with your question or demand (i.e. What specific steps is Senator X taking to stop XYZ)
        • Wait for answer
        • Ask for action items -  tell them what you want them to do (i.e. draft articles of impeachment immediately, I want to see you holding a press conference in front of...etc.)
  • ResistBot
    • Turns your texts into faxes, postal mail, or emails to your representatives in minutes
  • ACLU Mobile Justice App
    • Allows you to record encounters with public officials while streaming to your closest contacts and your local ACLU; REPORT any abuse by authorities to the ACLU and its networks.
• LAWSUITS
  • Donate to organizations suing the administration for illegal actions
    • ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Northwest Immigration Law Project
• STAY INFORMED
  • Suggested podcasts:  Amicus, Daily Beans, Pod Save America, Strict Scrutiny
• Immigrant Rights
  • Know Your Rights Red Cards, We Have Rights Video, Your Rights on trains and buses video

The dramatic video review that corrected the NCAA Team Finals (Photo Galleries) and Aimee Boorman and co-author Steve Cooper are here to talk about Aimee's memoire The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles  OUT  NOW!

GymCastic LIVE SHOW at 2025 NCAAs

• What are people saying? Gymnerd808 said, "Hiiiii if youre not on the @GymCastic live show right now …... you're missing out! go purchase a replay ticket immediately. The tea being spilled is piping hot. Patrick is everything."
• REPLAY TICKETS: Virtual and In-Person tickets

NCAA Championships

• Oklahoma overcame the 2024 vault gremlins and won its 7th NCAA Championship title!
• UCLA defied early-season expectations and finished as the runner-up
• Missouri went out with a BANG, earning its highest final placement in program history
• Utah finished in fourth after a late-meet beam inquiry for Amy Weir bumped Missouri ahead by 0.012
•  Why Frida Esparza wins the "fighting fascism even when it's inconvenient" award
• Our rotation-by-rotation recap of this meet, plus our favorite moments
  • Oklahoma's beam domination vs. Utah's beam woes
  • Why Chae Campbell is the only person allowed to do a Yurchenko full
  • Helen. Motherfreaking. Hu.
  • Was UCLA close to upsetting Oklahoma?
  • Avery Neff's LEGIT 9.975 on vault

"The Balance" Interview with Aimee Boorman and Fact Checker 

• The story behind why Simone underperformed at 2013 Classics
• What does it mean that Marta was great at discriminated skill selection?
• The story Aimee has about *checks notes* cadavers?
• How Aimee was able to put up with Steve Penny for all of those years
• How Aimee was able to teach Simone the INSANE skills she does
• Why this book is a departure from the typical coaching narrative and opens up an honest conversation about vulnerability in elite sports
• The toll elite sports coaching takes on family life and Aimee's advice for coaches

Aimee Boorman Interviews

• Women’s Finals Recap with Aimee Boorman and Christian Gallardo 
• Aimee Boorman and Maggie Haney: The Olympic Experience
  • Aimee addresses her co-interviewee in her book
• Behind The Scenes: Aimee Answers More Questions

BONUS CONTENT 

• • • Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind the Scenes episodes.
    • Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and get access to all of our exclusive extended interviews, Behind The Scenes and College & Cocktails.
    • Not sure about joining the club?  College & Cocktails: The Friday Night NCAA Gymnastics Post-Meet Show is available to sample (even if you aren't a Club Gym Nerd member yet). Watch or listen here.
    • 2025 College & (M)Cocktails menu (including mocktails of course)

MERCH

• GymCastic Store: clothing and gifts to let your gym nerd flag fly and even “tapestries” (banners, the perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast!
  • Baseball hats available now in the GymCastic store

NEWSLETTERS

• Sign up for all three GymCastic newsletters 

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP EPISODES 

• Behind The Scenes: 2025 NCAA Team Finals Live from Ft Worth
• NCAA Championships 2025: All Around, Event Finals, Team Semifinals
• 2025 NCAA Championships Preview & Journalist’s First Gender-Diverse Gymnastics Meet

RESOURCES

• Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation 
• Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim

RESISTANCE  Submitted by our listeners.

• ACTION
  • Indivisible
    • Practical ideas about what you can actually do in this moment, check it out: indivisi.org/muskorus
  • 5Calls App will call your Congresspeople by issue with a script to guide you
    • • Make 2 to your Congressional rep (local and DC office). 2 each to your US Senators (local and state offices)
        • State your name and zip code or district
        • Be concise with your question or demand (i.e. What specific steps is Senator X taking to stop XYZ)
        • Wait for answer
        • Ask for action items -  tell them what you want them to do (i.e. draft articles of impeachment immediately, I want to see you holding a press conference in front of...etc.)
  • ResistBot
    • Turns your texts into faxes, postal mail, or emails to your representatives in minutes
  • ACLU Mobile Justice App
    • Allows you to record encounters with public officials while streaming to your closest contacts and your local ACLU; REPORT any abuse by authorities to the ACLU and its networks.
• LAWSUITS
  • Donate to organizations suing the administration for illegal actions
    • ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Northwest Immigration Law Project
• STAY INFORMED
  • Suggested podcasts:  Amicus, Daily Beans, Pod Save America, Strict Scrutiny
• Immigrant Rights
  • Know Your Rights Red Cards, We Have Rights Video, Your Rights on trains and buses video

Helen Hu, Brooklyn Moors, Kailin Chio, Jordan Chiles and Jordan Bowers are NCAA Champions! Utah, UCLA, Mizzu and OU advance. Alabama, Florida, MSU and defending national champion, LSU are out. Photo Galleries

TICKETS ON SALE NOW 

GymCastic LIVE SHOW at 2025 NCAAs

How: Virtual and In-Person tickets

When: Between meet days on Friday, April 18. Doors open at 6:30 PM; show starts at 7:00 PM CT

Where: Fort Worth, Texas, or online from anywhere.

Jessica and Spencer are joined by former professional musical theater boys turned super choreo-coaching duo, Daymon Jones and Patrick Kiens to discuss Celine van Gerner’s iconic Cats makeup, the Paris Olympic FX final from their perspective as Romanian team head coaches, choreographing in over 15 countries combined and the 2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships of course. They will also take your (virtual and in-person) questions live! 

Live Show Season Pass now available (until 8 am Pacific Friday, April 18th)

2025 NCAA Championships Report Live The All-Around, Event Finals, Team Semifinal Post-Meet Show

This is our live post-meet recap and Q&A episode. Today we are in Ft. Worth for NCAAs. We will go live after the meet (right here, on this page) Thursday, April 17th at 10:30-ISHpm Central/11:30pm Eastern (as soon as we can after the post-meet press conference). Login to reveal the full show.

• • Full meet schedule. Watch the meet on ESPN2, follow scores
  • Here's how to ask questions live.
  • Can't make it live? Add Club exclusives to your favorite podcast player (instructions here).

Every week we do a live Q&A, right here on this page to discuss our immediate thoughts about the week or the meets. For more info on how to watch your favorite elites, Olympic and World medalists in college and all year long, check out The Balance Beam Situation's schedule with links. College & Cocktails combines our weekly Behind The Scenes Q&A live podcast with a college meet of the week. It's all part of the bonus content for our Club Members who support our work year around.

BONUS CONTENT 

• • • Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind the Scenes episodes.
    • Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded, participate in watch-alongs with Spencer, access to all of our exclusive extended interviews, Behind The Scenes and College & Cocktails.
    • Not sure about joining the club?  College & Cocktails: The Friday Night NCAA Gymnastics Post-Meet Show is available to sample (even if you aren't a Club Gym Nerd member yet). Watch or listen here.
    • 2025 College & (M)Cocktails menu (including mocktails of course)

MERCH

• GymCastic Store: clothing and gifts to let your gym nerd flag fly and even “tapestries” (banners, the perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast!
  • Baseball hats available now in the GymCastic store

NEWSLETTERS

• Sign up for all three GymCastic newsletters 

FANTASY GAME:

• • GymCastic 2025 College Fantasy Game now open. Never too late to join!

RESOURCES

• Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation 
• Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim
• Kensley's all things men's gymnastics: Neutral Deductions

RESISTANCE  Submitted by you.

• Action
  • ResistBot
    • Turns your texts into faxes, postal mail, or emails to your representatives in minutes
  • 5Calls App will call your Congresspeople by issue with a script to guide you
    • • Make 2 to your Congressional rep (local and DC office). 2 each to your US Senators (local and state offices)
        1. State your name and zip code or district
        2. Be concise with your question or demand (i.e. What specific steps is Senator X taking to stop XYZ)
        3. Wait for answer
        4. Ask for action items -  tell them what you want then to do (i.e. draft articles of impeachment immediately, I want to see you holding a press conference in front of...etc.)
  • Indivisible
    • Practical ideas about what you can actually do in this moment, check it out: indivisi.org/muskorus
• Donate to organizations suing the administration for illegal actions
  • ACLU
  • Southern Poverty Law Center
  • Northwest Immigration Law Project
• Stay Informed: Podcasts
  • Amicus
  • Daily Beans
  • Pod Save America
  • Strict Scrutiny
• Immigrant Rights
  • Know Your Rights Red Cards
  • We Have Rights Video
  • ACLU Your Rights on trains and buses video

The Elite season is heating up, we look ahead to this week's NCAA Championships, and chat with Will Graves about his piece on trans and non-binary athletes in NAIGC gymnastics

LIVE SHOW at 2025 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Jessica and Spencer are joined by former professional musical theater boys turned super choreo-coaching duo, Daymon Jones and Patrick Kiens to discuss Celine van Gerner's iconic Cats makeup, the Paris Olympic FX final from their perspective as Romanian team head coaches, choreographing in over 15 countries combined and the 2025 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships of course. They will also take your questions live.

How: Virtual and In-Person Tickets 

When: Friday, April 18, Doors at 6:30, Show 7:00 CT

 Where: Ft. Worth, Texas or online from anywhere

Live Show Virtual Season Pass now available (For a limited time, four live show tickets for the price of three)

Updates

• Meet and Show Schedule for NCAA Week
  • Thursday, April 17 - All-around, Event Finals, Team Qualifying & LIVE Podcast
    • Semifinal One: ESPN2 at 4:30pm ET/1:30pm PT featuring Oklahoma, Florida, Missouri, Alabama
    • Semifinal Two: on ESPN2 at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT featuring LSU, Utah, UCLA, Michigan State
    • After awards and press conference, we will go live for a post-meet podcast for club members after semifinals. The top two teams will advance to finals
  • Friday, April 18 at 7 pm CT - GymCastic LIVE SHOW
    • No meets, but our first live show of 2025! Expect games, shenanigans, and interviews
    • Got a question? You can submit it with a virtual or in-person ticket
    • Want to upgrade to an in-person ticket? Be sure to do it before Friday!
  • Saturday, April 19 - Team Finals & Podcast
    • 4:00pm ET/1:00pm PT on ABC
    • The four teams battle it out for the 2025 NCAA title
    • Join us after the NCAA Finals press conference and award ceremony for our live reaction podcast

Headlines

• A mixed-gender gymnastics event is coming to LA 2028!
  • We spent 300 hours discussion options on Behind The Scenes: Mixed Team Event Added to LA28. We still don't have details on the format, but expect more information in May after the next FIG meeting
• Livvy Dunne spoke at the House NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) settlement hearing about being consistnetly undervalued and not having a say in the process.

GYMTERNET NEWS

• Italy won the team final Jesolo!
  • Manila Esposito won the all-around with a 55.750
  • Zoey Molomo suffered a knee injury on vault during training
  • Both of the D'Amato sisters made their return
• Osijek World Cup
  • First-year senior Jun Iwai tied Tokyo Olympic Champion Artem Dolgopyat for the floor title
• Naya Howard announced she is transferring from Georgia
• Badass woman alert: Marta Pihan-Kulesza won the Polish national championships for the thirteenth time
• Carly Baumann and Reyna Guggino (University of Michigan) announced they will be returning for a sixth year
• Morgan Price (Fisk University) makes history again for HBCU gymnastics, repeating as the USA Gymnastics All Around Champion
• The University of Iowa opened its new $20 million training center for its spirit squads and gymnastics teams

NCAA Nationals

• Four enter only two survive!
  • Semifinal #1: Oklahoma, Florida, Missouri
  • Semfinal #2: LSU, Utah, UCLA, Michigan State
• What does a victory look like for each team?
• Who is each team's secret weapon?
• What is each team's biggest roadblock to winning?
• Who is our favorite to win the all-around
  • You may have heard of her, but we think Jadey Carey has a convincing argument
  • Jordan Bowers' 39.900 at Regionals (with three 10s) could challenge Carey
  • Chae Campbell won the Big 10 all-around title - how could she fit into the equation?
• What about our apparatus champions?
  • We pick our likely and our dream winners for each event

Olympic Team Draft: College Edition

• If we draft a hypothetical Olympic team made of gymnasts competing at NCAA Nationals, who would be on our teams?
  • Round One: Pick any gymnast, but only one per school
  • Round Two: Pick ONLY gymnasts who have never competed at a Worlds or Olympics
  • Round Three: Using the NCAA code, pick ONLY gymnasts who have never competed at a Worlds or Olympics

Interview: Will Graves

• Read Graves' article on how NAIGC gymnastics is provides trans and non-binary athletes an inclusive space to compete and thrive in the sport

Fact Checker Wrote a Book with Simone's Coach Pre-Order Now! UP NEXT

• Two podcasts and a live show from NCAA Championships in Ft. Worth
• Pre-order Fact checker and Aimee Boorman's book "The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles"
• National Championship Fantasy Game is open now!

BONUS CONTENT 

• • • Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind the Scenes episodes.
    • Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and get access to all of our exclusive extended interviews, Behind The Scenes and College & Cocktails.
    • Not sure about joining the club?  College & Cocktails: The Friday Night NCAA Gymnastics Post-Meet Show is available to sample (even if you aren't a Club Gym Nerd member yet). Watch or listen here.
    • 2025 College & (M)Cocktails menu (including mocktails of course)

MERCH

• GymCastic Store: clothing and gifts to let your gym nerd flag fly and even “tapestries” (banners, the perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast!
  • Baseball hats available now in the GymCastic store

NEWSLETTERS

• Sign up for all three GymCastic newsletters 

NATIONALS FANTASY GAME:

• • Lineups are now open (with new pricing!) Get your teams set before Thursday at 1 pm PT for the chance to win a mini-commission!
  • GymCastic 2025 College Fantasy Game. Never too late to join!

RESOURCES

• Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation 
• Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim

RECENT 

• Behind The Scenes: Mixed Team Event Added to LA28
• The 5th Rotation: April 08, 2025
• Regionals: Carnage and Courage
• College & Cocktails: Regionals Day Four
• NIL Gymnastics Deals & Regionals Debate Club

RESISTANCE  Submitted by our listeners.

• ACTION
  • Indivisible
    • Practical ideas about what you can actually do in this moment, check it out: indivisi.org/muskorus
  • 5Calls App will call your Congresspeople by issue with a script to guide you
    • • Make 2 to your Congressional rep (local and DC office). 2 each to your US Senators (local and state offices)
        • State your name and zip code or district
        • Be concise with your question or demand (i.e. What specific steps is Senator X taking to stop XYZ)
        • Wait for answer
        • Ask for action items -  tell them what you want them to do (i.e. draft articles of impeachment immediately, I want to see you holding a press conference in front of...etc.)
  • ResistBot
    • Turns your texts into faxes, postal mail, or emails to your representatives in minutes
• SUPPORT THE LAWSUITS
  • Donate to organizations suing the administration for illegal actions.
    • ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Northwest Immigration Law Project
• STAY INFORMED
  • Suggested podcasts:  Amicus, Daily Beans, Pod Save America, Strict Scrutiny
• Immigrant Rights
  • Know Your Rights Red Cards, We Have Rights Video, Your Rights on trains and buses video

LIVE SHOW at 2025 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Jessica and Spencer are joined by former professional musical theater boys turned super choreo-coaching duo, Daymon Jones and Patrick Kiens to discuss Celine van Gerner's iconic Cats makeup, the Paris Olympic FX final from their perspective as Romanian team head coaches, choreographing in over 15 countries combined and the 2025 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships of course. They will also take your questions live. How: Virtual and In-Person Tickets When: Friday, April 18, Doors at 6:30, Show 7:00 CT Where: Rose Marine Theater, Ft. Worth, Texas or online from anywhere

Live Show Virtual Season Pass now available (For a limited time, four virtual live shows for the price of three)

GymCastic Updates

• NCAA Live Show Tickets are on Sale now!
  • In-person and virtual ticket options. Purchase your ticket here
• We launched a new store! Check it out here

Headlines

• We have our NCAA Championship teams! What are the rankings by qualifying score?
• What were our biggest lessons from regionals?
  • Why note every team is invincible
  • Why is the NCAA suddenly so concerned about athlete harassment from sports betting when it didn't say squat about the stalking, racism, verbal harassment, and cyberbullying athletes have already been facing for YEARS
•  USAG ends its contract with the healthcare provider that employs the National Team doctor, Dr. Marcia Faustin
• NIL Settlement News: Livvy Dunne will be speaking at the House vs. NCAA ruling, a multi-billion dollar settlement that will decide how college athletes can get paid
• Homophobia allegations from the FIG general secretary during a meeting on gender equity
• Russia withdrew rhythmic and artistic athletes from competition

GYMTERNET NEWS

• Former Boise State gymnast, Hailey Okula (Gasper), passed away due to complications from childbirth
• Injury updates
  • NCAA: Chloe Negrete (NC State), Csenge Bacskay (Georgia), Frankie Price (Arkansas)
  • Shilese Jones had another surgery
  • Kaliya Lincoln had shoulder surgery
• Gymnasts are among the 17 women filing a lawsuit against Michigan's ex-football coach, Matt Weiss, who is being indicted on 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft
• The president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine said Illia Kovtun and his coach could face consequences for switching nationalities
• Gymnastics Ireland is now incorporating anti-racism training into its new diversity strategy
• The Italian Federation has fired its rhythmic coach of 29 years after alleged mistreatment of former gymnasts
• USAG has announced international assignments for Jesolo, Osijek, and Varna. Who is going where?
• Nina Derwael got engaged!

NCAA Regionals

• Who are our team and individual national qualifiers?
• What did our eyes tell us from regionals?
  • LSU cannot be making mistakes if they want to stay No. 1
  • Could Michigan State be the national champions?
  • Who are our best teams by event from this weekend and why the best vault team was OBVIOUSLY Michigan State, duh!
  • Can someone get the judges a new pair of glasses? 
• A WTF-off brought to you by the Alabama, Penn State, Utah, and Washington regionals
  • BYU and Utah State tried to out-Utah each other by doing a mic'd up feature on the gymnasts' husbands in the audience
  • HOT DAMN DENVER. The Pioneers tied Utah to knock out Stanford during round one
  • California and Alabama looked nervy in that final rotation
  • Florida showed they deserve to be in the top three
  • Did Alabama get the benefit of home scoring?
  • Did you see that Auburn vault rotation???
  • We debrief the close race between Auburn and Missouri for the last spot
  • Injuries and unforeseen circumstances: Georgia didn't have a fun time at regionals
    • Explanation please? The Lily Smith beam start value that makes zero sense

Fact Checker Wrote a Book with Simone's Coach Pre-Order Now! UP NEXT

• College and Cocktails: Saturday at 6pm-ish Pacific after Regionals
• Regionals Fantasy Lineups Lock: April 2nd, 10:30am Pacific
• Pre-order Fact checker and Aimee Boorman's book "The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles"
• Add exclusive Club Content like College & Cocktails to your favorite podcast player (instructions here).
• Never miss a live episode! Import the entire College & Cocktails schedule into your Google and iCal calendar here

 

Join Our Fantasy League

BONUS CONTENT 

• • • Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind the Scenes episodes.
    • Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded and get access to all of our exclusive extended interviews, Behind The Scenes and College & Cocktails.
    • Not sure about joining the club?  College & Cocktails: The Friday Night NCAA Gymnastics Post-Meet Show is available to sample (even if you aren't a Club Gym Nerd member yet). Watch or listen here.
    • 2025 College & (M)Cocktails menu (including mocktails of course)

MERCH

• GymCastic Store: clothing and gifts to let your gym nerd flag fly and even “tapestries” (banners, the perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast!
  • Baseball hats available now in the GymCastic store

NEWSLETTERS

• Sign up for all three GymCastic newsletters 

FANTASY GAME:

• • GymCastic 2025 College Fantasy Game now open. Never too late to join!

RESOURCES

• Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation 
• Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim

RESISTANCE  Submitted by our listeners.

• ACTION
  • Indivisible
    • Practical ideas about what you can actually do in this moment, check it out: indivisi.org/muskorus
  • 5Calls App will call your Congresspeople by issue with a script to guide you
    • • Make 2 to your Congressional rep (local and DC office). 2 each to your US Senators (local and state offices)
        • State your name and zip code or district
        • Be concise with your question or demand (i.e. What specific steps is Senator X taking to stop XYZ)
        • Wait for answer
        • Ask for action items -  tell them what you want them to do (i.e. draft articles of impeachment immediately, I want to see you holding a press conference in front of...etc.)
  • ResistBot
    • Turns your texts into faxes, postal mail, or emails to your representatives in minutes
• LAWSUITS
  • Donate to organizations suing the administration for illegal actions
    • ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Northwest Immigration Law Project
• STAY INFORMED
  • Suggested podcasts:  Amicus, Daily Beans, Pod Save America, Strict Scrutiny
• Immigrant Rights
  • Know Your Rights Red Cards, We Have Rights Video, Your Rights on trains and buses video

LIVE SHOW 2025 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Jessica and Spencer are joined by former professional musical theater boys turned super choreo-coaching duo, Daymon Jones and Patrick Kiens to discuss Celine van Gerner’s iconic Cats makeup, the Paris Olympic FX final from their perspective as Romanian team head coaches, choreographing in over 15 countries combined and the 2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships of course. They will also take your (virtual and in person) questions live!

How: Virtual and In-Person Tickets here

When: Between meet day on Friday, April 18, Doors at 6:30, Show 7:00 CT

Where: Ft. Worth, Texas or online from anywhere 

Live Show Season Pass now available (limited time only!)

Welcome to College & Cocktails! The College Gymnastics Post-Meet Show

Day Four of Regionals and we have our first NCAA Championship qualifiers: LSU, Michigan State's 198.00 (!), Utah, UCLA! This is our weekly Behind The Scenes Q&A episode. Today we watched all the regionals. We recorded live on Sat night. Here's how to ask questions live.

• • Can't make it live? Add College & Cocktails to your favorite podcast player (instructions here).

Get your complete 2025 College & Cocktails/Mocktalis menu here!

Every week we pick a college meet to watch, then go live, right here on this page to discuss our immediate thoughts about the meet. For more info on how to watch your favorite elites, Olympic and World medalists in college and all year long, check out The Balance Beam Situation's schedule with links. College & Cocktails combines our weekly Behind The Scenes Q&A live podcast with a college meet of the week. It's all part of the bonus content for our Club Members who support our work year around.

Join Our Fantasy League

BONUS CONTENT 

• • • Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind the Scenes episodes.
    • Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded, participate in watch-alongs with Spencer, access to all of our exclusive extended interviews, Behind The Scenes and College & Cocktails.
    • Not sure about joining the club?  College & Cocktails: The Friday Night NCAA Gymnastics Post-Meet Show is available to sample (even if you aren't a Club Gym Nerd member yet). Watch or listen here.
    • 2025 College & (M)Cocktails menu (including mocktails of course)

MERCH

• GymCastic Store: clothing and gifts to let your gym nerd flag fly and even “tapestries” (banners, the perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast!
  • Baseball hats available now in the GymCastic store

NEWSLETTERS

• Sign up for all three GymCastic newsletters 

FANTASY GAME:

• • GymCastic 2025 College Fantasy Game now open. Never too late to join!

RESOURCES

• Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation 
• Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim
• Kensley's all things men's gymnastics: Neutral Deductions

RESISTANCE  Submitted by you.

• Action
  • ResistBot
    • Turns your texts into faxes, postal mail, or emails to your representatives in minutes
  • 5Calls App will call your Congresspeople by issue with a script to guide you
    • • Make 2 to your Congressional rep (local and DC office). 2 each to your US Senators (local and state offices)
        1. State your name and zip code or district
        2. Be concise with your question or demand (i.e. What specific steps is Senator X taking to stop XYZ)
        3. Wait for answer
        4. Ask for action items -  tell them what you want then to do (i.e. draft articles of impeachment immediately, I want to see you holding a press conference in front of...etc.)
  • Indivisible
    • Practical ideas about what you can actually do in this moment, check it out: indivisi.org/muskorus
• Podcasts
  • Amicus
  • Daily Beans
  • Pod Save America
  • Strict Scrutiny
• Immigrant Rights
  • Know Your Rights Red Cards
  • We Have Rights Video
  • ACLU Your Rights on trains and buses video
• Donate to organizations suing the administration for illegal actions
  • ACLU
  • Southern Poverty Law Center
  • Northwest Immigration Law Project