• Konnor McClain's former coaches respond to her accusations of racism
• Fisk University will launch the first HBCU college gymnastics team
• Fart sabotage. That's right: fart sabotage.
• That whole figure skating thing gets us talking about changing the age limit in gymnastics. Some context:
  • "Because she is younger than 16, Kamila Valieva is considered a "protected person" by the World Anti-Doping Agency and therefore could receive a lesser punishment than an adult who could receive a maximum two-year suspension."
  • "The panel said Monday that it would be unfair and cause "irreparable harm" to Valieva if she were barred from the Olympic competition."

• The National Collegiate Achilles Apocalypse claimed more victims this week. What will it take to stop the madness?
• Thoughts on the midseason blues, NQS, and the college gymnastics schedule
• Do DIII teams really get higher scores when they go away at DI schools? SURE DO.
  • Not an urban myth, it's a study from Spencer.
    • Using data from every meet for the DIII WIAC teams (the 8 teams in Wisconsin/Minnesota) for the last 10 years—679 team scores—the average score when they compete away at a DI or DII school is 186.104.
    • Compared to when they compete at home or at other DIII schools or neutral venues, when the average score is 183.776.
    • That's a difference of 2.328 in the team score—or greater than four falls—maintained across an entire decade of meets for an entire division of teams. Far from being an urban myth, DIII teams scoring far higher at DI and DII schools is a long-standing and verifiable reality.
• Plus, Ana Padurariu's magic foot, the sideline choreography award, the most college salute of all time, the cringiest college gymnastics broadcast moment ever, and the comedy stylings of one Jordan Chiles
• Feedback on 10.0s from a real-life gymnast who got one, the irrationality of which gymnasts got to take a COVID year, gymnastics in the classroom, and what if college gymnastics added lyrics to floor music

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• • Masterful, Exceptional, Perfection
  • You Can't Sit on Two Chairs
  • College & Cocktails: Week Four
  • Blame It on the Ectoplasm
  • College & Cocktails: Week Three
  • Equality and...Not Equality
  • College & Cocktails: Week Two
  • College & Cocktails: The Friday Night NCAA Gymnastics Meet Post-Show
  • Behind The Scenes: Hello 2022
  • The Greatest Freshman Class of All Time
  • Goodbye 2021 and a Happy New Code to All
  • Spitfire: The Movie (Commissioned)
  • Nadia: The Movie (Commissioned)

• We discuss the Peggy Liddick suspension (read the full tribunal decision here), Konnor McClain's allegations against her former coach and the Game Over Commission's final recommendations.

• A midterm report card: Thoughts, reflections and lessons learned so far in the college gymnastics season, 10s, and these broken live scoring pages
• Without a real choreographer, are pose-a-thon teams denying gymnasts a chance to go viral and therefore maximize their NIL profit potential?
• 10.000S FOR EVERYBODY. We discuss the weekend of 11 perfect scores in college gymnastics and to devise a plan to differentiate between ideal and simply not-a-deduction
• Anyone who's anyone got a 39.825 in the all-around, and we take on a new routine that we need to fix to make it a 10.
• Michigan's historic score, and what other teams would need to do to reach that level
• We desperately try to make SABOTAGE happen
• Plus, history made in men's college gymnastics while Reyna Guggino (VT, Michigan) got the second, ever leadoff 10 in a college gymnastics meet. The first was Grace Glenn (UCLA, beam in 2020)

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• • You Can't Sit on Two Chairs
  • College & Cocktails: Week Four
  • Blame It on the Ectoplasm
  • College & Cocktails: Week Three
  • Equality and...Not Equality
  • College & Cocktails: Week Two
  • College & Cocktails: The Friday Night NCAA Gymnastics Meet Post-Show
  • Behind The Scenes: Hello 2022
  • The Greatest Freshman Class of All Time
  • Goodbye 2021 and a Happy New Code to All
  • Spitfire: The Movie (Commissioned)
  • Nadia: The Movie (Commissioned)

• USAG compliance investigator job
• Welcome to Beijing: The Song!
• Calling for an NCAA-funded study on Achilles tears in college gymnastics and weeping for the Achilles we lost this week.
• UCLA: Marz Frazier and Sekai Wright gave an interview about what's happening at UCLA. We discuss what they said, the broad leadership failures that led to this point, and what should be done now.

• Leanne Wong won the freshman 10.000 sweepstakes
• How Florida's 198.250 was all Spencer's doing and not the gymnasts
• Suni Lee made her all-around debut, and we talk about the power of pickles
• Jade Carey hasn't scored under 9.9 all season
• Jordan Chiles made her beam and floor debut and isn't shirking the difficulty
• Spencer blows a gasket about Brooklyn Moors' floor score
• Plus, the saga of Georgia's beam, Auburn defeating Alabama, the best team vaulting performance in gymnastics history, and the most college gymnastics ailment of all time

• Why Artur Dalaloyan's fake social media retirement has everyone talking, college and cocktails, gymnast authors, and more.

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• • College & Cocktails: Week Four
  • Blame It on the Ectoplasm
  • College & Cocktails: Week Three
  • Equality and...Not Equality
  • College & Cocktails: Week Two
  • College & Cocktails: The Friday Night NCAA Gymnastics Meet Post-Show
  • Behind The Scenes: Hello 2022
  • The Greatest Freshman Class of All Time
  • Goodbye 2021 and a Happy New Code to All
  • Spitfire: The Movie (Commissioned)
  • Nadia: The Movie (Commissioned)

• The unitard revolution comes to college gymnastics from Naimah Muhammad.
• Jade Carey sets an Oregon State all-around record while Jordan Chiles cheers her on.
• Checking in on the Baumann Family Olympics
• Georgia has five straight falls on beam
• What we actually know—and don't know—about the UCLA situation
• Crooked or Correct: Leanne Wong gets 9.825 for this Podkopayeva
• Plus, we fix all the routine composition (you're welcome) and discuss Jordan Chiles' vault change and Brooklyn Moors' beam debut
• Rage-o-Meter triple-header: This week, we're not having ANY of these BS "program records," free-range children on the loose, and crooked floor lines
• Must-watch routines from Lex Ortega and Sam Phillips
• An update on the greatest freshman college gymnastics class of all time from Suni Lee to Grace Mcusker and Ana Padurariu.

• Injury updates, gymnasts making the $$$$$$$, new US men's funding, and more

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• • College & Cocktails: Week Three
  • Equality and...Not Equality
  • College & Cocktails: Week Two
  • College & Cocktails: The Friday Night NCAA Gymnastics Meet Post-Show
  • Behind The Scenes: Hello 2022
  • The Greatest Freshman Class of All Time
  • Goodbye 2021 and a Happy New Code to All
  • Spitfire: The Movie (Commissioned)
  • Nadia: The Movie (Commissioned)
  • The History of Romanian Gymnastics (Commissioned)
  • Carly Patterson's Album Interpreted & Dave Tilley PT Gymnastics Myth Busters
  • Tenths Don't Matter

• In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a "Must Do Better" update on racism in gymnastics
• Thoughts on Florida's Equality Meet on ABC, what the broadcast did right and did wrong, and some interesting 10s that may or may not have been given out
• What happens when 4-year-olds have questions about gymnast butt cheeks and when Jessica gets VERY confused about miniature backpacks
• Most Decorated Class of All Time Report: Debuts from Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Brooklyn Moors and Ana Padurariu, routine changes from Suni Lee, and the Morgan Hurd injury situation
• Plus, UCLA had an icky-no-good first meet, Superman failed us, Utah destroyed Oklahoma, and a 10.000/9.800 judges split for the ages

• Kohei officially announced his retirement. We debate what he will most be remembered for.

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• • College & Cocktails: Week Two
  • The 5th Rotation: January 10th, 2022
  • College & Cocktails: The Friday Night NCAA Gymnastics Meet Post-Show
  • Behind The Scenes: Hello 2022
  • The Greatest Freshman Class of All Time
  • Goodbye 2021 and a Happy New Code to All
  • Spitfire: The Movie (Commissioned)
  • Nadia: The Movie (Commissioned)
  • The History of Romanian Gymnastics (Commissioned)
  • Carly Patterson's Album Interpreted & Dave Tilley PT Gymnastics Myth Busters
  • Tenths Don't Matter

• Why Jessica has already declared Michigan the repeat national champion, and why all the cool kids are talking about San Jose State
• How Oklahoma and Florida committed to chaos in their opening meets
• The latest news in COVID cancellations and injuries
• Most Decorated Class of All Time Report: How Suni Lee, Leanne Wong, Riley McCusker, Grace McCallum, and Kara Eaker fared in their college gymnastics debuts
• The non-basic floor routines we love right now
• From tripping, to tripping, to more tripping, the best comedy of the week

• It's all bad! We discuss the gymnastics dads we lost at the end of 2021, meet cancellations and gym closures, and the latest arrests and dumpster fire news out of Michigan
• But also, athletes getting PAID (including a team-wide NIL deal at Alabama), Nellie Kim judging in NCAA, and new jobs for Syque Caesar and Wendy Bruce-Martin.

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• • Goodbye 2021 and a Happy New Code to All
  • Spitfire: The Movie (Commissioned)
  • Nadia: The Movie (Commissioned)
  • The History of Romanian Gymnastics (Commissioned)
  • Carly Patterson's Album Interpreted & Dave Tilley PT Gymnastics Myth Busters
  • Tenths Don't Matter

Normally, Friday podcasts are just for Club Gym Nerd members, who can watch the podcast being recorded and see video clips of the gymnastics while we discuss. In celebration of the greatest freshman class in the history of college gymnastics, today's episode was live for everyone.

The greatest freshman class of all time start their college gymnastics careers tonight! The freshman competing this season have 25 World/Olympic medals combined. Join GymCastic for the first Friday night post-meet podcast of the season. We will discuss Olympic AA Champion Sunisa Lee's debut for Auburn; Olympic medalist Grace McCallum with World medalist Kara Eaker at Utah; the stacked university of Florida freshman AA World Champion Morgan Hurd with fellow team World Champion Riley McCusker. and world medalist Leanne Wong.

Dr. Uncle Tim PhD, Spencer, Jessica and very special guest, 1992 U.S. Olympic medalist, Wendy Bruce Martin chat about the 1992 Olympics Games in Barcelona:

• The pre-Olympic Climate:
  • How the end of the Cold War shaped the Games
  • The media pressure on Kim Zmeskal and the heartbreaking life of Svetlana Boginkaya after the 1988 Olympics.
  • Kim Kelly and the shadiest U.S. Olympic Team selection of all time. (6:00)
  • Wedgie-gate, was it fair to punish three athletes for ill-fitting leotards? (16:00)
  • Uncle Tim's 1992 Code of Points and Competition Rules Quiz-Mageddon! (23:00)
  • The magic of the 1992 broadcast that included interviews with every controversial figure.
• The Competition (42:00):
  • Compulsories that took our breath away and should we still have them? Exhibit A: Vanda Hădărean (ROM) or Gruneneva (Unified Team). Eastern Bloc beauty.
  • The judging crack epidemic of 1992. Exhibit B: Christina Bontas's 9.9 beam routine.
  • Kim Zmeskal fell on beam and the world didn't actually end.
  • The glory of North Korea, Kim Gwang Suk on bars. All praise the dear leader.
• Team Finals (1:02:00)
  • Kerri Strug's family fashion.
  • The Karolyi double back set on beam, AKA freeze in mid-air before flip.
  • U.S. and Australian leotards.
  • Why Wendy felt embarrassed of her bronze medal for too long.
• The All-Around Final (1:16:00)
  • Galieva-Gate
  • The most common skills of the quad and the routines that were way ahead of their time, like Tatiana Lysenko (Unified).
  • Luisa Portocarrera (CAN/GTM), beam goddess. Watch it here.
  • Shannon Miller vs. Tatiana Gutsu showdown. Was the judging fair? We decide. (1:26:00)
• Event Finals (1:29:19)
  • Tatiana Lysenko's double twisting yurchenko vs. the world; the 1992 vault final.
  • The Beam Final: Li Lu - press handstand to HEALY to arch pose! Pour out some Yang Bo. Lysenko's backspin, Shannon Miller. One of the greatest beam finals of all time.
  • The Bars Final: The bars medalists got air on the bars that were super close together. Lu Li got mega air and Kim Gwang Suk - TKATCHEV TO COUNTER KIM! WHAT?!
  • The Floor Final: Lavinia Milosovici's Romanian tumbling greatness, Henrietta Onodi's triple full, Gutsu's split leg double layout, so much genius!
• Shenanigans and the Legacy of the 1992 Olympics (1:43:05)
  • Steve Nunno's motivational poster quotes.
  • Bela Karolyi or Donald Trump quotes quiz.
  • The training schedule for the U.S. Team. Yes, two-a-day practices.
  • The new breed of positive coaches. (1:51:53)

• For a deep dive into how Shannon Miller won Olympic Trials while Kim Zmeskal had the higher scores: The History of Olympic Trials Controversies podcast.
• Wendy Bruce-Martin is the new head coach of Swiss women's artistic gymnastics national team
• Claudia Miller (Shannon Miller's mom), wrote a book called, "My Child My Hero." A gym nerd must-read.
• Here is that Australian team 1992 compulsories leotard [caption id="attachment_36688" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Australia aboriginal (?) inspired 1992 compulsory leotard[/caption]

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• 185: 2008 Olympic All-Around Finals (Commissioned)
• Episode 38: Svetlana Boginskaya
• 148: Shannon Miller
• Episode 15: Joan Ryan Author of Little Girls in Pretty Boxes
• Episode 17: Growing Up In The Soviet Gymnastics System And Training At Round Lake
• 187: McKayla Maroney
• 186: Amanda Borden
• 177: Stella Umeh
• 77: Aly Raisman
• Episode 48: Kyla Ross
• Episode 31: Elise Ray
• Episode 28: Kristen Maloney
• Episode 19: Andreea Raducan
• 223: Tasha Schwikert

• in 2022, USAG will hold women's camps at Stars in Katy TX, the gym owned by current developmental program coordinator Dan Baker. Is that a conflict of interest? And is that OK? We discuss, with a response from USAG.
• The survivors and USAG reached a $380 million settlement, which also contains critical nonmonetary reform commitments.
• Plus, all the awards Simone and Suni are racking up, a whole bunch of hirings and firings, gymnastics being totally big-time business now, and vital musical and gymnast-boyfriend news.

• Next time we speak, the new women's elite code of points will be in effect. We run through the hottest topics like:
  • They're finally coming for your wolf turns!
  • They're finally coming for your candle mounts!
  • Side jumps on beam are getting a full renovation
  • Artistry "now becomes important"
  • The vault value massacre
  • The dawn of the age of rolls
  • And a whole lot more

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• • Spitfire: The Movie (Commissioned)
  • Nadia: The Movie (Commissioned)
  • The History of Romanian Gymnastics (Commissioned)
  • Carly Patterson's Album Interpreted & Dave Tilley PT Gymnastics Myth Busters
  • Tenths Don't Matter
  • GymCastic Interview with survivor attorney John Manly
  • Preventing Abuse in Gymnastics

This episode has been commissioned by Cathleen, who told us we could do whatever we wanted, so obviously...it's Spitfire time. We recap the 1995 straight-to-VHS spy-nastics classic, complete with commentary from special guest, movie star Kristie Phillips!

• Why Spencer thought we actually got sent porn for a second
• Dying of a suitcase?
• How this movie definitely doesn't know the difference between Russia and Romania
• "Some girls hit back, asshole"
• Expert chalk bucket cocaine sabotage!
• "Five giants into a BRANDY." Kristie discusses the epic accidental double Kovacs.
• THE LAUNCH CODES ARE ON THE AMERICAN GYMNASTICS TEAM
• A lengthy discussion of time travel and this bonkers competition schedule. It's so stressful. You're going to miss Worlds!
• Spying is loudly telling people exactly what you plan to do in public
• Things that appear by magic when needed: Grips and full repelling equipment
• Flying a plane directly to a gymnastics meet
• EVIL COMMUNIST HAND TOXINS
• And much more...