Monthly Archives: September 2018

Elite Things

Pan American Championships

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This weekend, it’s all about Peru. The nations of the Americas are heading to Lima to compete for the Pan American gymnastics championship.

At stake is qualification to the 2019 Pan American Games (the top 8 nations advance). But more pressingly, this competition serves as a final opportunity to make a world championships case for gymnasts from nations that haven’t yet decided their final teams and are using this competition to test out borderline candidates.

Schedule

Friday, September 14 – Men’s Qualification/AA/Event Finals

10:40am ET/7:40am PT – Subdivision 1
(Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Costa Rico, Uruguay, Trinidad & Tobago, El Salvador, Bolivia)

3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT – Subdivision 2
(Colombia, Venezuela, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Peru, Ecuador)

7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT – Subdivision 3
(USA, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chile, Guatemala)

Saturday, September 15 – Women’s Qualification/AA/Event Finals

11:10am ET/8:10am PT – Subdivision 1
(Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Jamaica, Panama, Dominican Republic, Bolivia)

1:30pm ET/10:30am PT – Subdivision 2
(Mexico, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Trinidiad & Tobago)

3:30pm ET/12:30pm PT – Subdivision 3
(USA, Brazil, Canada, Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador, Cayman Islands, Aruba)

Sunday, September 16 – Team Finals

11:50am ET/8:50am PT – Men’s Team Final

5:00pm ET/2:00pm PT – Women’s Team Final

The trampoline competition has been streaming on the Peruvian federation’s Facebook, so we’re optimistic that artistic will be as well. Continue reading Pan American Championships →

Stuff and Nonsense

Things Are Happening – September 7, 2018

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A. UIC

UIC (University of Illinois-Chicago) has announced that it will be shuttering its women’s and men’s gymnastics programs following the 2019 competition season. The UIC men’s team has been among the ever-dwindling number of varsity, non-club programs in men’s collegiate gymnastics, the elimination of which is a sad moment in reinforcing the seemingly inevitable lurch toward oblivion for men’s DI college gymnastics in the US—and the urgency of the situation for women’s gymnastics, which is not far behind. Without UIC, we’d be down to 81 women’s programs, several of which are on year-to-year life support right now. The number of “safe” programs is less than you’d think.

The loss of one is a loss for all, and if a program is lost with a whimper, it makes other athletic directors around the country think, “Well, we can get rid of gymnastics and no one will care.”

The decision is not being conceded, and there is precedent for hope. Programs have been saved before in the face of announcements that they were to be cut. So by all means scream about it to the required people. But, you know, if you happen to be a secret billionaire and haven’t told anyone until now, that would be helpful too.

B. Women’s National Camp

The women’s senior national team has gathered for its first camp at EVO, its new temporary home, for physical abilities testing, verification, and competitive pretending everything’s going to be fine.

This serves as the preparation camp for those attending Pan American Championships—the team will leave directly from the camp—and the “we’re considering you for worlds, so try not to suck” camp for the others who have been invited. The roster is Biles, Hurd, McCusker, McCallum, Jones, Carey, Eaker, Thomas, Shchennikova, Chiles, Smith, and Malabuyo. So, no surprises there—the top 11 AA finishers from nationals, plus Malabuyo. I suppose Malabuyo would be classified as the surprise inclusion, only because her back was too injured for her to compete about 30 seconds ago at nationals.

OMG IT’S A SEMICIRCLE INSTEAD OF A LINE.

It is cool that no one is standing like an arthritic Soviet zombie doll from the 70s—the way no one has stood ever. Getting the creepy out of gymnastics will be a lengthy process, with both small and large gains to be made along the way, and every little bit helps. Continue reading Things Are Happening – September 7, 2018 →

AHHHHHHHHH

The End of a Kerry

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We’ll always have all the empowerment.

Yes, the longest nine months in the history of the human timeline (it was only NINE MONTHS) are finally over. The USOC has forced Kerry Perry to resign her position as CEO of USA Gymnastics. It’s a massive relief to everyone, including Kerry Perry herself I’m sure.

Kerry Perry’s brief tenure will be remembered (barely) for Perry seeming totally unprepared for and overmatched by the task presented to her. At a time when USA Gymnastics needed forthright, confident, and rapid change—a clear, drastic plan laid out and followed by someone willing to look like the enemy to the stodgy, hidebound gymnastics oligarchy—it instead got the wishy-washy figure cut by Kerry Perry, one that quickly descended into self-parody with each unconvincing burble of nonsensical pseudo-inspirational tropes and self-help maxims. It was the Pinterest Presidency.

As was continually remarked about Kerry Perry, the worst of it wasn’t her fault. She wasn’t even associated with the organization until the very end of 2017, and yet she constantly behaved like a guilty party. Whether it was misleading Congress about NDAs or the as-yet-nonexistent Athlete Task Force, feigning “little ol’ me?” ignorance about every possible thing, or inexplicably protecting the job of Ron Galimore, Perry made the choice to associate herself with the worst that USAG had to offer. She could have fully cleaned house upon arrival and separated herself from the sulfur of her predecessor, but she did not. Instead, protecting the organization legally by never conceding even a shred of wrongdoing was the only rule of this game. It may be pragmatic, but that doesn’t mean it’s not gross.  Continue reading The End of a Kerry →

Rankings

National Team Rankings – September 2018

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How It Works
Taking into account all scores recorded at competitions in the last six months, each nation is given a team total based on how its best-scoring group of five senior gymnasts would do in a hypothetical 3-up, 3-count team final.

Each individual’s best scores may come from any official competition (they need not all be from the same meet), and whichever group of five gymnasts would produce the highest score is the one selected.

Countries that have not shown enough senior routines in the last six months to fill a 3-up, 3-count team on each event are not included.

Rankings will be updated on the first of each month, and scores will expire after six months in order to provide the most up-to-date snapshot of where nations are at the current moment. The current rankings include only scores from March 2018–August 2018.

Joining the rankings this month were North Korea, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Bulgaria, and Bangladesh. No nations dropped off.

Last month’s ranking is in parentheses. Continue reading National Team Rankings – September 2018 →