Pan Am and Asian Championships

All the news from Hang's domination at the Pan American Championships, Sugihara podiuming all over the place at Asian Championships. 

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Friday, July 18th at the world famous iO Theater. Attend virtually or in-person for games, prizes and a secret guest Q&A. 

HEADLINES

• Can we please prioritize athlete safety? There were A LOT of issues with the mens' equipment at the Pan American Championships, but luckily everyone survived
• Jayla Hang (USA) and Felix Dolci (Canada) won the all-around titles
• The USA's mens and women teams won the Pan American team titles
• Chuso got injured in the vault final at Asian Championships, but the Olympic Channel is reporting she will still compete in Tashkent on her 50th birthday

GYMTERNET NEWS

• MyKayla Skinner supports Riley Gaines and says Simone Biles "belittled, dismissed, and ostracized" her behind the scenes
  • Are we taking the bait by discussing this at all?
• Mailie O'Keefe receives the Operations Specialist Award and will be staying at Utah for another year
• NCAA Coaching updates
  • Geralen Stack-Eaton, former Alabama gymnast and Minnesota associate coach, is the new head coach at Cal
  • Simone Brown switched her commitment from Clemson to Arkansas
  • Former Utah gymnast, Jessie (Duke) McDonough, is the new Clemson assistant coach
  • Former Oklahoma gymnast, Olivia Trautman, is now the assistant coach at Utah State
  • Ragan Smith is the new associate coach at Iowa State
  • Corinne Tarver, former Fisk head coach, was named the head coach at Southern Connecticut State University
• Mary Lou Retton pled "no contest" and said her actions were "completely unacceptable"

2025 Pan American Championships

• The US women won the team gold comfortably. Watch on PanAm Sports
• Why bronze was an extremely promising finish for this Brazilian team
• Helzly Rivera gave us all the drama during the team and all-around competitions
• Are the beam judges OK? What was up with all the raised scores?
• Something was definitely off about scoring because our favorite Argentinian beam worker, Isabella Ajalla, didn't even make the beam final??!
• The Panamanian women had an AMAZING competition
  •  Karla Navas won vault gold with her legit round-off, half-on, full-off
  • Panama qualified for team finals in fourth, AHEAD OF BRAZIL!
• Jayla Hang Simone'd this meet by winning a medal in every round of competition including team and all-around gold
• Why Lia Monica Fontaine is Canada's new "it-girl"

2025 Asian Championships

• China won the team final by about 0.4 over Japan
• We don't have any pity for Japan's leadership because they only competed with four gymnasts!!!
• China and Japan finish Asian Championships tied with seven medals each
• Can someone get Chuso to take a nap?? Chusovitina was injured after her first vault in event finals
• Nakamura Haruka (Japan) won the "Pussilanimouses Will Never be Heroes" award with her huuuge Def
• Should Qin Xinyi (China) have won bars gold over Nakamura? Let's discuss
• Hwang Seohyun (South Korea) upset Zhou Yaqin (China) for beam gold with her stellar BHS to back-full series
• Sugihara Aiko won four medals here, including all-around gold which she finally is getting 10 years after her Asian Championships debut
• Tonya Paulsson made her international debut for Taiwan, why her fourth-place all-around finish is huge for the program

Feedback

• Did Chuso make a mistake with her Paris qualifiying strategy 
• LA2028 Mixed Team Final - can alternates be used
• How can an Xcel parent learn from GymCastic
• Has an emergency team ever been called in to replace another
• Eligabilty Calculus DiCello 7th year
• This episode is dedicated to the memory of coach, judge and mentor to many, Dean Ratliff. Listen to his judging myth buster episode here.

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• • • Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind the Scenes episodes.
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    • 2025 College & (M)Cocktails menu (including mocktails of course)

MERCH

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FANTASY GAME:

• • GymCastic 2025 College Fantasy Game now open. Never too late to join!

 RESOURCES

• Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation 
• Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim

RESISTANCE  Submitted by our listeners.

• ACTION
  • Indivisible
    • Practical ideas about what you can actually do in this moment, check it out: indivisi.org/muskorus
  • 5Calls App will call your Congresspeople by issue with a script to guide you
    • • Make 2 to your Congressional rep (local and DC office). 2 each to your US Senators (local and state offices)
        • State your name and zip code or district
        • Be concise with your question or demand (i.e. What specific steps is Senator X taking to stop XYZ)
        • Wait for answer
        • Ask for action items -  tell them what you want them to do (i.e. draft articles of impeachment immediately, I want to see you holding a press conference in front of...etc.)
  • ResistBot
    • Turns your texts into faxes, postal mail, or emails to your representatives in minutes
  • ACLU Mobile Justice App
    • Allows you to record encounters with public officials while streaming to your closest contacts and your local ACLU; REPORT any abuse by authorities to the ACLU and its networks.
• LAWSUITS
  • Donate to organizations suing the administration for illegal actions
    • ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Northwest Immigration Law Project
• STAY INFORMED
  • Suggested podcasts:  Amicus, Daily Beans, Pod Save America, Strict Scrutiny
• Immigrant Rights
  • Know Your Rights Red Cards, We Have Rights Video, Your Rights on trains and buses video