So, this is new.
First of all, note the time change to 9:30am CT instead of 10:00am CT. It’s like a trick.
How is this going to go? No idea. Regardless, we will all need to work through it as a family.
I’ll let you know what we’ve seen.
Kayla DiCello – VT – fine full with a hop back
Frazier – VT – hits DTY, pretty solid control on landing, chest forward-ish, small hop.
Audrey Davis – VT – DTY attempt to her knees
Partial bars from Jordan Bowers – nice Shap 1/2, only a little legs – some good pieces there. Chest up on FTDT dismount. Didn’t do full routine together and not verifying for assignment.
So apparently some coaches have said that their gymnasts can’t be on the live stream (you guys, I can’t even begin…) so we won’t see all of them. We hear a lot of “come on Konnor” and “come on Kara” in case you were curious.
I feel like “YOU CAN’T BE UNVEILED UNTIL YOU ARE PERFECT” is a very old-fashioned attitude. Like, we know some people are going to fall at this meet or not be at competition level. Where’s the shame in that?
Carey – VT – Amanar with step forward. Very good. I know she’s new, but we’re coming to expect Jade Carey to be one of those who’s basically always at competition level every moment of her life. I don’t know why exactly, probably because she fits that power-gymnast, sturdy-German mold.
Kenlin – VT – gets around a DTY – will get deducted for coming in short in current incarnation, but she’s not going for assignment here and still hit a DTY comfortably enough.
Steve Rybacki going, “OK GUYS READY GOT TO GET MOVING.” Thank you Steve.
So getting the impression here that verrrrrry few athletes have permission to be shown on the stream. Still quite cool that we’re getting to see verification, but I’m fascinated by this decision-making.
In fairness, that decision could come from the coaches/(parents?) attempting to protect their athletes in a “not opening them up to criticism” kind of way, but to me it invites this idea that there’s something to be ashamed of for being in the process of training? Which of course there’s not.
We see a Toe Shap to Ricna attempt from Davis on bars.
Bowers – VT – solid full with a hop kinda back-kinda in place. Normal.
Frazier – UB – Stadler full – Toe Shap 1/2 – clear hip 1/2 – some pieces.
Davis – UB – she’s working her Shap to Ricna combination a lot but doesn’t quite have it yet. Catches her piked jaeger, an important skill in elite now because it’s an E. Double front dismount.
Bowers – VT – gets around a DTY on her next vault attempt with a pace backward
Frazier – UB – clear hip 1/2 to piked jaeger – Church to Pak, hit – Toe Shap to Tkatchev, hit – DLO with hop back.
Davis gets her Shap to Ricna on next attempt and works comfortably into Pak.
Of the people we’ve seen Frazier and Carey are the ones who are “I’m ready to compete SEND ME AWAY” right now.
Frazier – UB – this is her ATTEMPT now – Stalder full – Toe Shap 1/2 – clear hip 1/2 to piked Jaeger – Church to Pak = Toe Shap to Tkatchev – 1/2 turn on high – DLO. Hit complete set.
5.9 D by my rough count as she’s going?
Davis – UB – this is her ATTEMPT now as well – stalder to toe full – Toe Shap to Ricna, hit! – Pak – 1/2 turn on low to shoot – 1/2 turn to piked Jaeger, fall – 1/2 turn – double front, hit.
Bowers – VT – best vault yet from her, good chest up on DTY –
The virtue of showing gymnasts on this stream – we see someone like Davis miss that Shap to Ricna a couple times in warmup and then hit it on her verification attempt and it’s like we’ve gotten to see a little victory for her. We’ve been taken inside the process and have started to root for her and become fans.
DiCello starting to warm up bars now – toe full and toe on – nice leg form – I remember noticing that in the lead up to the summer season last year. Lots of potential in her basics.
Toe full to toe Shap to Pak – Toe Shap 1/2 – 1/2 turn to piked jaeger – Shap 1/2 to FTDT. VERY nice bars work.
DiCello – UB – continuing to show a couple interior pieces. The NCAA coaches are at this meet and will obviously be vulturing this one (from afar, cough cough).
Word is that the LSU coaches are allowed to be here (in a watching capacity), but so are all the other NCAA coaches, and many of the top-school ones have representatives here. Though I imagined they’ll still be pissed at all the gymnasts seeing LSU’s massive and pristine training palace. But NCAA coaches gonna NCAA coach.
Dicello for real on UB – pretty much identical to what we saw in warmups. Good routine. She’s trying to get her qualifying score here. That will help.
Carey has moved to beam to start warming up. Working through an Onodi.
Do we need to start talking about the inconsistent parts of speech used in the banners on the wall? Not again? OK.
“Is someone timing the routines?” “I don’t know.” LOL.
Carey – BB – wolf turn single – side aerial – split jump 1/2 from side position – bhs bhs layout to two feet – switch to switch 1/2 to back tuck – Onodi, saves it with a grab on the beam, had been hit-and-miss in the warmup – aerial to straddle – bhs bhs double pike. Only major issue was on the Onodi.
Kenlin – BB – side aerial through to switch to switch 1/2 to back tuck (looks like intending to connect that whole sequence) – split jump 1/2 from side position – L turn to possible split jump 1/1 attempt with grab of the beam – bhs bhs layout 2 feet – aerial to split leap to split jump – bhs bhs double pike
Really going for the CV permutations there.
Davis and Frazier warming up beam now.
Kayla Dicello working ALL THE WOLF TURNS
Davis warming up aerial to split ring jump and bhs loso loso
Bowers – FX – looked like a possible double double tuck/layout attempt, not on hard surface – open full in – switch ring and split leap 1.5 – double front (sits) – a couple wolf double/triple – variations – front 2/1 –
DiCello – BB – wolf turn – side aeiral to split to sissone – switch ring – bhs loso loso series – aerial to split ring – split jump 1/2 from side position (aka “The America”) – double full dismount.
Another hit. She should get her score with those bars and beam hits I’d think. We’ll see how floor goes.
We’ve lost the feed now.
Frazier – BB – wolf turn double, a little wobble – side aerial to split jump 1/2 – bhs loso, check and stays on – The America – side somi – aerial to straddle jump – switch to switch 1/2 to wolf – round off double pike. She’s medium-bummed about that one but she kept it on the beam.
Davis – BB – wolf double – aerial to split ring jump – bhs loso series and falls – side aerial to straddle jump – Onodi to split jump because WOGGGAAAAAAAA – switch to switch 1/2 to split jump 1/2 fro REGULAR position like a rebel – split ring – double pike
Scott, we can hear you.
So that was a fun little interlude.
DiCello – FX – full in – 1.5 through to 2.5, stays in – switch ring to split leap 1/1 – wolf turn triple to immediate wolf turn 2.25 – whip 1/2 to front 2/1 – double tuck. Hit day.
Frazier – FX – split leap 1.5. – DLO with a little Hambrick – double Arabian – switch to switch 1/2 to split 1/2 jump – double pike – wolf 2.25 – double tuck, very good final pass. She seems ready. Is her floor music Gloria Estefan or did I just wish that?
Davis – FX – pike full in – double pike – switch ring to split leap 1/1 – wolf turn 2.25 (this is a real trend also, indistinctly finishing these turns) – front 2/1 – L turn double – switch 1/1 – back 2.5.
Bowers – BB – fhs front tuck to split jump! aerial to switch to straddle – switch ring (potential in that, she kind of actually hit the position) – steps off because she’s just doing partials – bhs bhs double pike, pulls it around.
McClain – BB – full turn – side aerial (she’s so tiny she can do that on the end of the beam with like an inch of room) – switch to switch 1/2 to back tuck, good form on those switches – aerial – split ring jump – back full, stays on – split and wolf – bhs bhs double pike
Carey – FX – (move to the side, Jade! I want to see what LSU has written on that whiteboard!) DLO 2/1, ridiculously chest up as usual even when doing a Moors, not on hard surface but basically could have been – double double tuck – L hop 1/1 – switch 1/1 – front 2/1 – full-in, her only uncontrolled landing.
So that’s it on the routines we’re going to see. It wasn’t a lot, but we got a little look inside. It felt very much like the first step in a process, the result of seeing a few gymnasts being that everyone just became a much stronger supporter of those gymnasts, which may encourage more to allow being shown at the April verification.
RESULTS:
Birmingham World Cup – Marz Frazier
Stuttgart World Cup – Jordan Chiles
Tokyo World Cup – Trinity Thomas
I actually think the coaches are a HUGE problem for the change going forward..
What does it mean if says they are verifying for routine feedback? Does it mean Jade isn’t trying for any World Cup assignments or has she already made it?
Jade’s not currently an all-arounder at the elite level, unless she’s been able to design an elite bar routine with her coaches in the last 6 months. She might end up trying for Pac Rims in April, but unless she has a bar routine she won’t be getting a world cup assignment.
No trying.
Just tuning in now – of COURSE it started 30 min earlier than stated. And all I see now is a bunch of coaches standing around and people yelling “come on” but no actual gymnastics.
Thanks for all the transparency. Glad I’m getting a live stream of the LSU training palace. I am this close to being done with elite.
You can rewind the livestream of the youtube and watch all the gymnasts that have been shown. But it seems like a lot of gymnasts haven’t given permission to be shown. However, you’re not stuck in the current “live” in a youtube stream so you can go back to the beginning and watch anything you’ve missed.
Thanks for the tip. I guess I’m feeling a little salty this morning. Need to remember this is a step forward, regardless, and that we’ve never seen ANY verifications before.
Deep breaths.
Should fans have access to the process??? Most sports don’t hold open practices or, if they do, it’s one and highly limited.
The gymternet can be savage. I fully understand parents and coaches wanting to do what they can to protect gymnasts who don’t want their training videos out in the open. It should definitely be up to the athletes and not required.
Go read past comments on this site about Aly or Gabby. Heck go through the comments of an NCAA live blog. It would be hard for college students to see comments made about them, I can’t imagine what it could do to a teen or kid.
Anon- In normal circumstances, I don’t think the public necessarily should have access to the process (though I do think the results from selection competitions should be made public, if only for situations like when Morgan made the team last year based on winning camp and it just makes decisions like that clearer), but these are not normal circumstances for USAG, so I’d say they do need to for the transparency and rebuilding trust. We’ll see what happens going forward as this becomes normal.
USAG tweeted yesterday that it would start closer to 10:30 than 11.
Actually, according to what I read parents and athletes have a say in whether the girls are filmed, not just coaches — isn’t part of the bigger issue CONSENT, after all? Thinking about the parent perspective, I understand and respect their decision if they don’t want their minor child to be singled out on the live stream. I guess I’m also considering this as less of a “competition” and more of a national team “training camp”.
Mm, I personally am thinking that the verification bit ought to be considered a competition and shown like one, with all routines. Seems it should be separated from the progress-showing routines (which I thought they were normally, but of course there’s no normal anymore).
The other girls here I agree with letting them decide a bit, especially now. Maybe not every tiny junior is excited about being on a worldwide web stream falling on half routines after the most stressful and confusing two months in USAG’s history. It’s not ideal, but consent and listening to parents is crucial, and the presence of chaperones is the most important first step.
The video issue should be discussed and added to the athlete contract.
As a member of the media who has to deal with issues of CONSENT when it comes to filming children, especially in schools, it’s usually assumed once the child hits 12 and chooses to participate in sports – whether it’s high-level elite competition or school sports then they gave their consent to be photographed when they made the team.
It’s never been an issue taking photos of kids playing sports at the club level in competition or in competitive high school sports with whether they can be photographed or not.
If they compete at a elite level the parents should have already signed a wavier saying their daughter (or son) it’s OK to photograph their athlete because on occasion they will have video, cameras set up.
Protecting an athlete from having others see their mistakes ≠ not a good reason.
Protecting an athlete from having an abusive parent find them = a good reason.
Most club sports require consent forms as part of registration. Journalism ethics, however, would lead most journalists to either (1) confirm written consent has been given or (2) obtain necessary written consent.
The athletes and parents should have decision making authority here. Protecting the athlete from overexposure and/or Internet trolling is a good enough reason for me. Let’s be real — a verification meet isn’t something that needs to be seen by the public. It should be open to parents and families of athletes, however.
No point in streaming.. it’s like 2 seconds routine, 10 min nothing.. stunned by the coache’s decisions.. no change in usag..
I’ve been watching for 10 minutes and seen half of a bar routine… what’s the point?
To anonymous– this has nothing to do with us, the fans!! The point is that for the first time people (including parents not present) get a sense for what happens at a verification. Might be boring, but isn’t any training/practice??
I completely and wholeheartedly disagree with the idea that everyone not being shown on the live stream is a problem. I think the key to change here is giving the athletes and coaches more choices and being open about the choices that were given. It’s not about what’s best for the fans right now and WE need to be part of the culture change we want to see. Let’s be objective and honest yet positive and supportive in our feedback about the event, and I think that support might motivate people to be more comfortable being shown in the future. I agree that routines don’t need to be perfect to be shown, but we the fans play a role in how comfortable people feel about being streamed.
Well said! It IS kinda boring (I’m mostly just clicking through the live stream), but isn’t that what we want? The reason the stream exists is for USAG to prove it’s not just a big black hole of abuse and intimidation (although this is obvi just one tiny step in that direction). I don’t need to see every single gymnast to get a decent idea of what’s going on. Maybe these live streams are temporary while the organization rebuilds; maybe they’ll become a normal part of the process and the coaches/gymnasts will realize falling on a February live stream isn’t the end of the world. But it makes sense to give the athletes/coaches/parents some agency in whether or not they’re shown right now.
Well said! Honestly, one of the biggest things people were saying needed to change in USAG was that athletes needed to have more say in everything, and now we a have situation where they have some agency, and we’re complaining that they’re making choices we don’t like? If this stream was catered to me, absolutely it wouldn’t be a thing like this– we’d have split screens for every event and see all the gymnastics. But guess what: THIS ISN’T ABOUT US!! It’s about transparency and working to rebuild trust. We don’t need to see every routine for that. And if we, as fans, really want a gymnastics culture where the athletes have agency, then maybe we, as fans, need to contribute to that culture we want by not whining the second that agency isn’t catered to us.
-rant over-
I’m the original anon. That’s exactly my point. We need to contribute to change rather than passively observe everything. For example, there was a gymnast that really impressed me at verification and I wanted to say she had future “star quality. ” I didn’t because even comments like that are why a coach might not want their athlete on the live stream- raises expectations and creates pressure.
Yes, I totally agree with you! Thanks for pushing us all to be more thoughtful about how our actions contribute to gymnastics culture.
Are they going to show something besides the vault runway or?
I actually don’t think that this is anything USAG needs to do to show us how much more transparent they are. Because it’s not. Only about 5 athletes are shown (and 3 of them don’t verify for upcoming worlds). The stream is not neccessary, not for fans, not for the gymnasts, not for transparency issues because you can’t actually see anything. I do not get why there is even a stream. Let the girls verify without it, it’s fine.
Of course I mean world cups 🙂
I don’t agree. It’s not as much about every individual routine, but about getting a sense of what kind of atmosphere USAG is creating at these events. The transparency still matters. I also find the issue of whether the girls/coaches feel comfortable being shown an interesting discussion for the gymnastics community to have.
So when is Kayla DiCello committing to LSU?
NCAA-wise this is SUCH a joke tho.
By the way, I’m impressed with this girl, her form is exquisit.
if one of these young women choses not to be shown or her parents decide not to allow it, this is what it is. these are actual people with rights.
I am not watching live, so thanks for the liveblog, Spencer! I love that once selections are made, I can go back and watch routines and pieces and get to know the gymnastics that led to that selection. I love that they are not trying to push verification to be in a ‘competition like’ or ‘audience friendly’ format – that’s not the point. And I love that, for now, with such little notice, they are allowing the gymnasts a say in their exposure. Thanks, all!
I agree that the athletes and their parents have the right to decide whether they should be on the stream (I don’t think it should be up to their coaches, personally), but the ones that are verifying for the actual world cups and not just for feedback, I don’t really understand why they are against being on the stream? If you feel like you’re ready to compete in an international world cup, then I would think you would feel ready to be on video?
Why not the coaches? They may have a lot of insight about which athletes will be better able to handle being thrust into the public eye.
I also agree that the coaches should NOT be involved in choosing whether or not a gymnast is shown on the feed (or any videos), & what sucks is that as of now we don’t know who made the decision(s). I HOPE in all cases it was the athletes &/or parents that made the decision(s), but I have high doubts as to that being the case. Also, even if a gymnast or her parent(s) do come out to say it was their choice, the cynical part of me thinks that they may have known what their coaches wanted, even if not implicitly stated, & they went with that. But I’ll still try to have a little hope…
Really glad to be able to get a glimpse into this verification process and also happy that the athletes and parents have a say in whether or not they want to appear on the stream.
Still trying to under this format though: do those who compete for feedback still get scored or do they just get comments from the judging panel?
I liked Frazier’s attack on beam. Showed really good confidence that she went out and bam, bam, bam hit that. The balance checks were unfortunate, but she didn’t let that throw her or make her tentative for the rest of the routine.
“still better commentary than we get from Al Trautwig” LOL
I HEARD THAT TOO.
the SHADE!
Omg I haven’t watched the whole thing yet… when was it said & do we know by whom it was said?! I love it regardless, haha 🤣
Do we know that any of the athletes/parents/coaches made the decision based on the mistakes being shown? If I were a parent, getting to watch this for the first time, I might just want to see for myself what it’s like before I gave permission for my child to be shown, especially considering what a high-pressure situation camps have been in the past.
Do we know if Jade Carey is for sure going to OSU next year?
i think she signed her NLI (?) so i think so – but she could always continue with elite a la the Caquattos
I’d guess that she’s probably going to wait and see how the year’s going for her before deciding whether or not to enroll in the fall. If it’s looking like she has a good shot at a spot on the Worlds team, I’d think it’d be likely that she’d defer for at least a semester.
loving the bits of wonder woman music in the background of konnor on beam – anyone know who’s that is?
It sounded to me like people were saying “Go Morgan,” so my guess would be Morgan Hurd?
could i love her any more? no
Morgan Hurd did not come to the verification meet, she is already locked in for American Cup. Perhaps it was Jordan? As in Jordan Bowers or Jordan Chiles.
With no NTC at the moment, how does assignment work? I’m assuming first place goes to this World Cup, second to this one… anyone know more?
Also: “Is someone timing the routines?” “I don’t know.” LOL.
GUYS WE ALREADY WENT THROUGH THIS WITH MCKAYLA
Jade actually did a DLO 2/1!
You know it’s a good Moors when you can mistake it for a DLO 1/1! SO excited for her to kick butt with that routine.
No it was not a Moors it was a DLO 1/1.
It WAS a Moors get your eyes checked
No need to be rude, BITCH.
Laquita’s comment is probably the rudest comment I’ve ever seen on this website. If this is the direction BBS is going, I’m out. This used to be an awesome site for facts and info. It seems to be turning into a snarkfest.
What is the potential d score for Jade Carey on floor with this routine, assuming she lands the Moor?
To me, it looked like it was I, H, E, D, D, D, C, B with 0.1 in CV, so that would be 6.0, but I could be mistaken.
After rewatching a couple times, I had it at 6.1.
I,H,E,D,D,D,C,C = 4.0 + .1 CV + 2.0 CR = 6.1.
Regardless of whether you agree with what was shown on the stream, I appreciate USAG for letting everyone know why not everyone was on the stream. I did see on Twitter that the event was all recorded and should athletes/parents/coaches decide they can sign a waiver to have the videos of their routines posted online. I know several of these girls are already committed to schools as well so I’m glad they had verification somewhere safer than the ranch.
I LOVE those assignments!!!! Yay to Marz getting her first international assignment (it is her first, right?!)! And idk why I’m pointing this out, but I guess I just like it… I like that all three of those gymnasts assigned to World Cups are showcasing the beautiful, strong power of women of color!
What fullfills CR 2 (tumbling with at least a 360 degree twist) for Marz? I’m confused.
Good question…
I saw on insta (flogymnastics) she’s training a 1/1 dlo
or is it a 2/1?? It’s so hard for me to distinguish without pausing and increasing frame by frame !! haha