Podcasts Sports GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast 293: EXCLUSIVE Inside Elite Verification

293: EXCLUSIVE Inside Elite Verification

Published: Feb. 28, 2018, 6:59 a.m.

ELITE VERIFICATION

Jessica was at LSU for elite verification! (5:00) Much like Santa Claus, Jessica Claus arrived in the middle of the night to bring us

  • All the inside scoop we could ever ask for
  • Trinity Thomas, Margzetta Frazier (43:30), and Jordan Chiles (50:13) reacting to the new verification experience in their own words
  • An exclusive interview with Rhonda Faehn where she discusses (59:20)
    • What her job actually is, especially now
    • The search for a new NTC: whether the position will be split into different jobs, who will be making that decision, and what USAG is looking for from its new NTC
    • Why people should trust her, a former Karolyi gymnast, to bring a change in culture
    • The search for a new national training center, and much more

Plus, Jessica answers all of our (so, Spencer\u2019s) questions about verification like

  • What was the atmosphere? And more importantly, was it weird?
  • How is Safe Sport being employed in the national team system now?
  • What was the parents\u2019 reaction to being invited in?
  • What do those involved think about the changes and the future of USAG?
  • WHY WHY WHY were so many gymnasts not shown on the live stream?
  • Is there still a selection committee? Who is on it? How involved were they in the verification? Were they giving feedback?
  • Were the international assignments based directly on the results of verification?
  • For how long will this temporary system be in place?
  • Did anyone give a big dramatic speech addressing all the elephants in the room?
  • What is the new LSU gymnastics palace like? Were other NCAA coaches there?
  • What happened that would NEVER have happened at a Martha camp?

Also, the gymnastics (1:22:24) ! Detailed news on all the various perfections (Riley McCusker! Shilese Jones! Olivia Dunne! Adeline Kenlin! Jafree Scott! Kara Eaker! Kayla DiCello!\xa0Leanne Wong! Audrey Davis! Jordan Bowers! Konnor McClain! Alyona Shchennikova!) that you didn\u2019t see on the live stream.

GYMTERNET AND MEET NEWS
  • Kensley joins in to keep everyone vigilant about what\u2019s going on with the men\u2019s program and why it\u2019s not being held to the same standards of change as the women\u2019s program. AKA, welcome to the \u201cconflicts of interest\u201d portion of the show! (1:46:59)
  • A period of mourning for Kennedy Baker\u2019s Achilles and a story about Kennedy Baker bringing old nemeses together and basically single-handedly creating world peace because Kennedy Baker (1:52:40)
  • Cal beat Utah for the second time ever and set ALL THE RECORDS in the process
  • Exciting US MAG World Cup assignments, and why they kind of don\u2019t make sense (1:59:58)
  • All the big developments from the Melbourne World Cup including Chen Yile, Georgia Godwin, Milad Karimi, Aruna Buddy Reddy, and Hidetaka Miyachi\xa0(2:03:24)
  • British Gymnastics has officially fired Eddie van Hoof, who led the MAG team from 2005-2017, for very vague reasons following an independent investigation (2:09:00)
  • More Stacey Ervin WWE news!
LIVE SHOW AT NCAAs

We\u2019re doing a live show at NCAA nationals this year, featuring Jessica, Spencer, and maybe some very secret, very special guests! Details and tickets\xa0here. WHEN: Thursday, April 19th from 7:30-9:00pm in St. Louis.

T-SHIRT DESIGN CONTEST

OVERVIEW The college gymnastics season is in full swing, and we\u2019re on the hunt for designs to put on t-shirts and swag that celebrate our love of this amazing sport. That\u2019s why we\u2019re bringing back our GymCastic design contest bigger and better than ever before (think Ebee\u2019s DTY). Submit your best college-themed designs and you could be one of 5 winners whose art will be seen on the bodies of gymnerds everywhere. THE PRIZE

  • Your design and name/website featured on our page
  • Your artwork made into merchandise to be sold in the GymCastic store
  • A free t-shirt of your choosing from our merch store.

THE MISSION Create an college gymnastics-centric design that will make us moan like Kathy Johnson-Clarke.

  • Submit your original design by posting it on Twitter, Tumblr, or Instagram with hashtag #gymcasticdesigncontest and email it to us. Bonus points for collage-style images!
  • We use a site called TeePublic to print our merchandise. They do a great job of explaining their artwork requirements on their website. The most important thing is that if you win you will need to submit your art as a PNG file with a transparent background. Check out their Design FAQ at www.teepublic.com/faq
  • WARNING: This art must be your own original design. Directly using an image of a person (or the logo of a team) without their consent is frowned upon, and also a intellectual property violation. We can\u2019t use your design if you do. Silhouettes are a gray area, and are usually acceptable.

Deadline: \xa0Saturday, March 17 (St. Patty\u2019s Day!)\xa0Questions? Email us at GymCastic@gmail.com.

SUPPORT THE SHOW
  • Join Club Gym Nerd\xa0here.
  • Buy one of our awesome clothing and gifts\xa0here.
RELATED EPISODES

\xa0