We’ve still over a month away from the start of the season, but like, SIGH. So, here’s what has been happening in training over the last couple days.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma’s latest update reminds us that Jade Degouveia on bars is in the running to be Oklahoma’s “LOL I DO THIS EVENT NOW SUCKAAAAS” routine of the season.
We also see Allie Stern working her 1.5 on vault that didn’t make the final lineup last season but will be more important in 2020 without Dowell and Lehrmann. Also there’s someone else doing something interesting on vault, but the camera work is too…artistic?…for me to tell what it was. Blond one, Yurchenko tucked 1.5? Something?
The National Letter of Intent is a document signed by future college athletes confirming their intent to attend and compete for a particular school. Signing the NLI signals the end of the recruiting process—i.e., all other schools must immediately cease recruiting that gymnast. The NLI is accompanied by the athletic aid (scholarship) agreement. Gymnasts can’t sign NLIs if they are not receiving athletic aid.
Wednesday marks the beginning of this year’s signing period, during which schools will finally reveal to us which gymnasts have signed on to join their programs for the 2021 competitive season. The large majority will be unsurprising since most of these gymnasts have been verbally committed to these schools since the womb, but there are always a few little pieces of interest (usually regarding who doesn’t sign rather than who does).