GK Classic Brings the Drama

I can't make any promises about regular blogging because I'm heading into grad school and life is about to get crazy! But I would like to at least blog about the big competitions coming up.

So, I dragged my mom and two sisters to the GK Classic on Saturday. I think this is a closest a major competition has been to my hometown since 2003 so I was going to show up. The stands were surprisingly crowded despite the jacked up ticket prices and USAG's current status. The Schottenstein Arena was really easy to find and parking was a breeze. Bottom line, the let's not return to the Sears Centre in Chicago next year, ok?

After getting cut in line at the t-shirt stand (where the selection was lackluster) we found our seats. the only way you can get a bad seat at a gymnastics competition is if a big mom with ornately braided hair sits in front of you. Such was my fate. As long as I craned my neck I was able to see the vaulting mats and uneven bars. My view of floor and beam was blessedly clear.

First thing I noticed, ugly leotards. To start, they all looked really similar with mesh sleeves, the occasional turtleneck and sparse crystals. I don't think I liked a single one except maybe Sloane Blakely and a girl in blue who I can't remember.

I just can't with the mesh.

As far as actual gymnastics goes, this was definitely Simone's meet. It seemed like the people behind the scenes had even arranged it so that Simone was often the only one competing rather than being one of four going up on an event. She had a great first showing despite her bar routine (I think she was off from the get-go) and a lot of girls had very similar belly-flopping type falls. I would say she has to clean up her form a big on bars but everywhere else it was just the usual Simone. Her new floor music is ugly as sin but the routine is basically a rearranged version of what she's competed before.

Second place was Riley McCusker. I was never her biggest fan (and who isn't low-key scared of Maggie Haney?) but props to her for a great comeback. She seemed/looked a lot stronger than in the past and though over scored, her bars were lovely in person. Her floor music is fun too, my youngers sister got a kick out of recognizing it as being from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Third was Morgan Hurd. Regardless of the llama llama unending drama, I am a big fan of this girl's gymnastics. Her first to landings on floor were picture perfect and I loved the whole vibe of her routine. You gotta love a girl with lovely form.

Ragan Smith seems like she's still getting over that injury from last year but other than falling, I think she's on her way. It looked like she's been working extra hard on bars and has cleaned up her routine.

Alyona Shchennikova screwed herself out of a medal with her "fall" (hand down on first pass) on floor. Her beam routine was disappointing, she didn't come close to hitting any of her leaps. Jade Carey was one of the other few who actually did the AA (for the first time in her elite career), she had a fall on bars (if I remember correctly) I'm not sure that it will really help her to do the AA, we shall see.

Not present was Maile O'Keefe (injured) and my girl Trinity Thompson who has peaced out to college, much to my chagrin. Oh and my other girl, Emma Malabuyo only did two events. Adding her as an AAer plus O'Keefe into the mix for Nationals will be interesting to say the least.

If you haven't gotten clued in on the controversy surrounding GOAT Simone Biles and current world champion Morgan Hurd, get your popcorn ready. This post from Gym Truth Teller will sum everything up. It is quite true that Simone did not hug/acknowledge Morgan at all during the medal ceremony. This is all that I saw/noticed in person and obviously there is a lot more going on being the scenes.

Moral of the story: Social media sucks but not as much as some of the people who use it.

Back in Time for Classics!

Hey all! Long time no see :)

Turns out it's really hard to maintain two blogs while being in school full time, working two jobs and writing a book. Who knew? At any rate, I am going to get back to gym blogging so that I can keep up with the happenings this quad.

I'm actually pretty excited to see what goes down at Classics this weekend. For one thing, it will be interesting to see who the major players will be this year/quad (if they can last) and having some actual close competition where we actually don't know the outcome ahead of time.

I wish I could do live coverage but I'm going to a concert on Saturday night so I'll have to recap it the next day.

It's so early to say but I'll do it anyway! My favorites right now are Morgan Hurd, Victoria Nguyen and Emma Malabuyo. I'm also excited to see if Ragan Smith will have any upgrades and Ashton Locklear's return as well. Seeing Laney Madsen in elite competition at last will be cool too.

Stay tuned for a post this Sunday!

Nationals Imperssions

Here we go:

Aly Raisman punched her ticket and I couldn't be happier. This is the sort of competition she's been waiting for since her comeback.Steady, solid and hitting all events. Her new floor routine is inferior to the old one but her tumbling is still world class and awesome to watch. I can't wait to see her in Rio.

Simone Biles, give this girl a rest. She doesn't need two more competition days, we all know how awesome she is. But I highly doubt they'll let her sit out trials. Great meet for her though, minus the last beam set.

Maggie Nichols is about to give her a heart attack. If she is healthy, and ready on all four events at trials she will be the one giving Gabby a run for her money. I so badly want her to make this team, she deserves it and has comeback from two major injuries now, still managing to regain her difficulty. She didn't perform well, that was clear, but it was her first time out and I'm betting nerves had something to do with it. I want her to KILL IT at trials.

Laurie Hernandez. Ok, I'm not her biggest fan but she definitely hit so I'm cool with it. I mean she is better than others so she deserved her spot. I guess my issue with her is that I just find her gymnastics clunky and her floor is way overrated. But, she's a chipper girl with a nice attitude so I can't complain.

Madison Kocian didn't really help her cause on night one but her day two routine was great for her. I think her being able to compete AA will absolutely give her the edge over Locklear.

Alyssa Bauman. Girl makes me sad. I don't think there is a need for her on the team at all. Her beam is lovely, but inconsistent and Aly, Simone, Laurie and Maggie are all solid beam workers. Maybe she'll get an alternate spot.

Ragan Smith killed me. She's like Sarah Finnegan. Super hyped up beam and floor worker that just needs more time. Well, maybe time in a different sense. With Sarah, she hadn't had a whole lot of international competition experience. But Ragan has. I think her issue is nerves and maybe also polishing up here and there. Ultimately, I don't see her being named as anything other than alternate. Even if she hits at Trials, I don't think it will be enough.

Gabby Douglas had a bad meet. There is no other way to say it and I'm sick of commentators trying to excuse it. She had several big errors and didn't even make top three anywhere. The thing is, without Maggie being her usual self, there isn't anyone who can take the Rio spot from Gabby. I don't think she deserves to go at all but if Swaggie isn't ready, who else would they take? Ragan is headcasing and her bars wouldn't fill that gap. Hundly doesn't have the difficulty, Bauman doesn't have the consistency. Douglas will go no matter what really, even if Maggie does rock it. The odds have been skewed in her favor for a long time now. Sigh.

The team will be (and I know this is the popular opinion): Biles, Raisman, Hernandez, Kocian and Douglas. Smith, Skinner and possibly Bauman (or Gowey?) as alternates. Not at all who I wanted but this is what we're going to get.

Ah well. 

Pac Rims Podium Training Impressions

Alrighty...

Can I just preface by saying that no one looked that great? It seems like they took some downers beforehand. I think it's the constant training but they all seemed pretty blah. I know from Maroney that the girls trained something like 30+ days straight without a break but they still brought it at the Olympics. This boils down to adrenaline and drive. I guess there just isn't that much going into Pacific Rims, or podium training at least. And that' s ok, I mean they shouldn't be at their best yet but I'd say the energy still needs to be bumped up. I mean, we're just 3 months away from trials for gosh sakes.

But I digress.....

Ok so Simone. Hmm, not a fan of that new floor routine. The music is so dull and standard! Why does everyone have these cookie cutter mashup messes of music? It reminds me of the big band stuff that people were doing in the early 2000's, it was just so uninteresting and never stood out. But Simone had a good day, she is Simone after all. I'm really excited about her Cheng! It looks great and so did her beam.

Ragan Smith, the alternate turned turned participant, did a nice job. I'll say that I don't find her super memorable. Her floor is cute but I hate the music, it is a fun routine nonetheless and she tumbles well. I feel like she should have an Amanar based on the height she gets off the table.

Brenna, my girl Brenna. As surprised as I was to see her on this team, I am glad she's getting yet another chance. I just root for this one no matter what. I wish her floor was a bit more interesting but her front tumbling is unique and she does it well. Her bars are fixed! I have confidence that she'll be able to complete it cleanly, much easier than her old one. And her DTY looked pretty clean.

Aly had a good day. I have a feeling that if I didn't know her from London and her history and seniority, I would not be a fan of hers. It's just her form, you know? I can hardly watch her Amanar it just hurts me. Sort of like Ashton Locklear's legs but more on that later. Anyhow, her floor was nice but boring and her beam was nice but I've always found her boring there too. I hope she really brings it in July.

Laurie. I'm so undecided about this girl. Her floor is the only one that has some charm to to it and she can actually dance, so that's a plus. Everywhere else though, I remain unconvinced. I mean her bars are fine, they're improved and her beam is fine but darn-it! She's another messy vaulter and it's only a DTY. I feel like anyone competing that vault should be able to get it down cleanly. Said the girl whose never touched a vaulting table in her life.

That leaves me with Ashton Locklear and I've said it before, girls legs/feet make me nuts. They're very Rebecca Bross. As in, the toes point inward at each other to give the allusion of the legs being together but they're not. Now I can forgive a pair of bowed legs because I have them, but you should still be able to put your pointed toes side by side. NOT TURNING INWARD AT EACH OTHER. Rant over. Other than that, she looks good on bars which is all I will say about that.

I'll be back in a few days for my thoughts on the actual competition!