GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast gymcastic@gmail.com

GET YOUR LIVE SHOW TICKETS NOW Virtual and In Person Tickets on sale now for Friday, April 19th in Ft Worth with a secret special guest. 
Fixing NCAA Judging With Dr. Hughes Mercier Dr. Mercier PhD is the creator of JEP (Judges Evaluation Program) for the FIG. The project took 10 years to create. Jessica asked him how to he would approach NCAA judging with it's 10.0 system, plentiful ^ up to deductions and a review system based on coaches feedback. Scott Bregman and Jessica talked about the need for enforcement of the Code of Points and professionalizing judging on Behind The Scenes this week. Listen or watch the full episode here.
NIL Lowdown with Attorneys, Tasha Schwikert & Josie Leinert Olympic medalist, World and NCAA champion, Tasha Schwikert Esq. joined Jessica with her co-worker Josie Leinert Esq. (née Loren, yes, as in Kaylie Cruz of Make it Or Break It fame) to talk about the realities of recruiting in the unregulated wild west of 2024 NIL.
Handlers charging for access to athletes Payoffs to join a team disguised as NIL "deals" NCAA Championship Preview Official Championship Schedule 
SEMIFINAL 1 Thursday, 3:30pm CT - LSU, Cal, Arkansas, Stanford
LSU - They have been runner-up to Oklahoma 4 times in the past decade.  Cal - Cal is the one team that holds up best with the naked eye.  Arkansas - If Cal or LSU has to count a fall, Arkansas has the scores to continue their gymnastics on ABC.  Stanford - The only unseeded team to advance to Championships.  SEMIFINAL 2 Thursday, 8pm CT - Oklahoma, Florida, Utah, Alabama
Oklahoma - This is about legacy. The dynasty has already been established, but Oklahoma has never three-peated. Florida - Last year, the Gators finished just 0.15 behind Oklahoma and the year prior 0.1125. Can they find those extra tenths this Championship?  Utah - For the 48th consecutive season the Utes are back at Nationals and so is Maile O’Keefe, the reigning all-around national champion and beam champion. Alabama - Ranked in the top 10 on every event except floor, which ironically they set a program record on this season with a 49.750.  More With Club Gym Nerd
Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind The Scenes episodes, dedications, mini-commissions , group commissions, exclusive extended interviews, and College & Cocktails episodes. Merch: clothing and gifts for the gymnast or gymnastics fan in your life and even "tapestries" (banners perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast Exclusive of the the message board Forum More goodies: Live Show Virtual Season Pass 2024 College & Cocktails menu (including cocktails of course) GymCastic newsletters  GymCastic Nationals Fantasy Game  
RELATED EPISODES Behind The Scenes: Gabby, USAG, WTF 199 Watch: Conference Championships Hana Ricna Beam Cap-gate Returns Choose Your Champion Winter Cup 2024 College & Cocktails Mean Girls Week 1 Big Girl ABC Meet Week 2 Aly's Debut Week 3 Denver vs. Oklahoma Week 4 Battle Releve´ Week 5 Arkansas vs. Florida Week 6  LSU vs. Auburn Week 7 Winter Cup Podium Training Week 8 Michigan vs Oklahoma Week 9 Alabama quad Week 10 Denver v Michigan Week 11 Conference Championships College & Cocktails: Regional Chaos Impossible Scores with Scott Bregman  RESOURCES & CITATIONS NCAA Power Ranking – March 07, 2024 GymCastic Fantasy YouTube Show  Spencer's The Balance Beam Situation  Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim Follow the effects of the Russian invasion to Ukraine at Gymnovosti The Highest scores, D scores and World Cup rankings at The Gymternet Men's Gymnastics coverage from Kensley Neutral Deductions MORE WAYS TO LISTEN HERE    

GET YOUR LIVE SHOW TICKETS NOW Virtual and In Person Tickets on sale now for Friday, April 19th in Ft Worth with a secret special guest. 
Regionals Recap Eight teams have advanced: Oklahoma, Alabama, Utah, Florida, Arkansas, LSU, Cal and Stanford. The following individuals have also punched their ticket to Fort Worth: AA: Gabby Wilson, Jade Carey, Lily Smith, Skylar Killough-Wilhelm VT: Sierra Brooks, Mya Hooten, Emma Silberman, Anaya Smith UB: Carly Bauman, Courtney Blackson, Mara Titarsolej, Jada Mangahas BB: Amani Herring, Isabella Magnelli, Nikki Smith, Selena Harris FX: Sierra Brooks, Raena Worley, Skyla Schulte, Chae Campbell We discuss all of the injustices and justices of each Regional and of course Corrupt or Correct : Gainesville edition Plus, all the individuals who qualified and who should have advanced. More With Club Gym Nerd
Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind The Scenes episodes, dedications, mini-commissions , group commissions, exclusive extended interviews, and College & Cocktails episodes. Merch: clothing and gifts for the gymnast or gymnastics fan in your life and even "tapestries" (banners perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast Exclusive of the the message board Forum More goodies: Live Show Virtual Season Pass 2024 College & Cocktails menu (including cocktails of course) GymCastic newsletters  GymCastic Nationals Fantasy Game (coming soon) RELATED EPISODES Behind The Scenes: Gabby, USAG, WTF 199 Watch: Conference Championships Hana Ricna Beam Cap-gate Returns Choose Your Champion Winter Cup 2024 College & Cocktails Mean Girls Week 1 Big Girl ABC Meet Week 2 Aly's Debut Week 3 Denver vs. Oklahoma Week 4 Battle Releve´ Week 5 Arkansas vs. Florida Week 6  LSU vs. Auburn Week 7 Winter Cup Podium Training Week 8 Michigan vs Oklahoma Week 9 Alabama quad Week 10 Denver v Michigan Week 11 Conference Championships Regional Chaos RESOURCES & CITATIONS NCAA Power Ranking – March 07, 2024 GymCastic Fantasy YouTube Show  Spencer's The Balance Beam Situation  Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim Follow the effects of the Russian invasion to Ukraine at Gymnovosti The Highest scores, D scores and World Cup rankings at The Gymternet Men's Gymnastics coverage from Kensley Neutral Deductions MORE WAYS TO LISTEN HERE    

Welcome to Behind The Scenes! We are 75% done with Regionals, the first round of NCAA Championships. We will discuss the ups, downs and utter, could crushing pain of defeat so far. Recorded live Saturday April 6th at 5:00 pm Pacific before Sundays Regional Finals. Here's how to ask questions live. Can't make it live? Add College & Cocktails to your favorite podcast player? Instructions here.
GET YOUR LIVE SHOW TICKETS NOW On sale now for Friday, April 19th in Ft Worth with a gymnastics royalty secret special guest.
Listen to the full show  Join here. Not sure if you are ready to join? Watch College & Cocktails week one from last year for free here. Get your complete 2024 College & Cocktails/Mocktalis menu here! We discuss:
Jay Clark's yellow card Scoring better or an illusion? UCLA and Michigan greif When it's a deduction to substitute and when it is not Clemson vs. Iowa State Head coach fashion Which of the unseeded teams impressed us the most Claire Pease domination, FlipNow and indoctrinating gym nerds Oklahoma's rough 198 first day and the day two LSU bars saga Every week we pick a college meet to watch, then go live, to discuss our immediate thoughts about the meet.
For more info on how to watch your favorite elites, Olympic and World medalists in college and all year long, check out The Balance Beam Situation's schedule with links. College & Cocktails combines our weekly Behind The Scenes Q&A live podcast with a college meet of the week. It's all part of the bonus content for our Club Members who supporting our work year around.
Join Our Fantasy League
Merch: clothing and gifts for the gymnast or gymnastics fan in your life and even "tapestries" (banners perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast More goodies: Join our Fantasy League (we'll have goodies for the weekly winner) Live Show Virtual Season Pass 2024 College & Cocktails menu (including cocktails of course) GymCastic newsletters  Merch: clothing and gifts for the gymnast or gymnastics fan in your life and even "tapestries" (banners perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast RELATED EPISODES & RESOURCES Spencer's essential website The Balance Beam Situation  Antwerp World Championships Headquarters: podcasts, video, interviews How to contact FIG about hosting 2025 World Championships Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim To follow the effects of the Russian invasion to Ukraine at Gymnovosti The highest scores and D score rankings from The Gymternet MORE WAYS TO LISTEN HERE  

GymCastic LIVE at NCAA Championships with special guest. Tickets on sale now.
Gabby Douglas was not accepted to US National team camp. We discuss the reasons, implications, and insanity of this Plus, Larissa Libby is on administrative leave at Iowa, Konnor is planning to compete at Classic, and the stars were out at the world cup in Turkey Regionals Preview It's elimination season! Only 8 teams will survive the weekend! Let's get into it! Michigan Regional: Jessica discusses the one very special scream that convinced her Alabama will advance, while Spencer makes the scoring case for Michigan Arkansas Regional: Why the floor qualification race may be the highlight of this regional, and the vital importance of never underestimating Jordyn Wieber Cal Regional: This regional is being previewed under protest due to having Cal, Denver, and UCLA in a regional where only two teams can advance. We will be taking no further questions at this time Florida Regional: Can Michigan State or Missouri break through the seemingly impenetrable force of Florida and Utah, and will any of us survive the bars qualification race? Plus, all the individuals who absolutely must qualify and the key spoilers and under-the-radar stories from each regional Send Kathy Johnson a thank you message here More With Club Gym Nerd
Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind The Scenes episodes, dedications, mini-commissions , group commissions, exclusive extended interviews, and College & Cocktails episodes. More goodies: Live Show Virtual Season Pass 2024 College & Cocktails menu (including cocktails of course) GymCastic newsletters  GymCastic Fantasy Gymnastics League  Merch: clothing and gifts for the gymnast or gymnastics fan in your life and even "tapestries" (banners perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast RELATED EPISODES Behind The Scenes: Gabby, USAG, WTF 199 Watch: Conference Championships Hana Ricna Beam Cap-gate Returns Choose Your Champion Winter Cup 2024 College & Cocktails Mean Girls Week 1 Big Girl ABC Meet Week 2 Aly's Debut Week 3 Denver vs. Oklahoma Week 4 Battle Releve´ Week 5 Arkansas vs. Florida Week 6  LSU vs. Auburn Week 7 Winter Cup Podium Training Week 8 Michigan vs Oklahoma Week 9 Alabama quad Week 10 Denver v Michigan Week 11 Conference Championships RESOURCES & CITATIONS Scott Bregman - Gabby Douglas Not Going to April National Team Camp USAG February 23 & 25th Athlete Selection Committee Meeting Minutes 2024 Jesolo Pacific Rim Selection Camp invitation Criteria  NCAA Power Ranking – March 07, 2024 GymCastic Fantasy YouTube Show  Spencer's The Balance Beam Situation  Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim Follow the effects of the Russian invasion to Ukraine at Gymnovosti The Highest scores, D scores and World Cup rankings at The Gymternet Men's Gymnastics coverage from Kensley Neutral Deductions MORE WAYS TO LISTEN HERE    

Tickets for GymCastic LIVE at NCAA Championships on sale now.  
College Headlines The regionals brackets are set. We discuss who got royally and totally screwed by the draw (hi, MSU!) and who got blessed by the light of the gym gods Oklahoma set an NCAA record score of 198.950 at conference championships. Where do we go from here? Will we hit the all-time 10s record this season? (18 to go!) Jessica honestly, truly cannot stop talking about Kendall Whitman What do we make of Cal and Florida's performances? Will this carry over to regionals? Did Michigan State's win feel more significant because it was in front of an on-campus home crowd and not a neutral venue? Plus, Maile O'Keefe's bars save, how eMjae Frazier encapsulated conference championships, Michigan State's confetti, Konnor McClain thriving in a championship environment, and a Corrupt or Correct about stuck Yurchenko 1.5s. In the gymternet news, we discuss the second edition of the Friendship Games, athltes paying taxes on NIL while the NCAA doesn't, who gets to float in the opening ceremonies, and important Olympic condom news More With Club Gym Nerd
Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind The Scenes episodes, dedications, mini-commissions and group commissions Club Gym Nerd members get access to all of our exclusive extended interviews, Behind The Scenes and College & Cocktails episodes. More goodies: Live Show Virtual Season Pass 2024 College & Cocktails menu (including cocktails of course) GymCastic newsletters  GymCastic Fantasy Gymnastics League  Merch: clothing and gifts for the gymnast or gymnastics fan in your life and even "tapestries" (banners perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast  
RELATED EPISODES Hana Ricna Beam Cap-gate Returns Choose Your Champion Winter Cup 2024 College & Cocktails Mean Girls Week 1 Big Girl ABC Meet Week 2 Aly's Debut Week 3 Denver vs. Oklahoma Week 4 Battle Releve´ Week 5 Arkansas vs. Florida Week 6  LSU vs. Auburn Week 7 Winter Cup Podium Training Week 8 Michigan vs Oklahoma Week 9 Alabama quad Week 10 Denver v Michigan Week 11 Conference Championships RESOURCES & CITATIONS NCAA Power Ranking – March 07, 2024 GymCastic Fantasy YouTube Show  Spencer's The Balance Beam Situation  Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim Follow the effects of the Russian invasion to Ukraine at Gymnovosti The Highest scores, D scores and World Cup rankings at The Gymternet Men's Gymnastics coverage from Kensley Neutral Deductions MORE WAYS TO LISTEN HERE    

LOGIN FOR EXTENDED INTERVIEW  
Hana Ricna Interview
Ricna is a Czechoslovakian two-time World medalist, 1988 Olympian and three-time Olomouc medalist (the Soviet organized Alternative Olympics in 1984). She took second all-around at Olomouc to Soviet great, Mostepanova. The stadler tkatchev is named after her; a skill used often by the current generation of elites. Her son competed for Stanford gymnastics and Czech Republic at the Rio Olympics. Her daughter just finished her senior year on the Stanford gymnastics team, where she performed her mom's floor routine in tribute. She started gymnastics at age four and thinks she won her first pre-elite junior championship around age 8 (Czech papers reported she was 8. Ricna she said she thinks she was 9 but doesn't remember).
How The Ricna came to be and what she thinks of the way her skill is performed now All the trouble she got into and wild things she did as a young gymnast Skills she trained, including a tucked full on beam and a full twisting Hindorf Her shoulder dislocation on vault at the 1986 Ahoy Cup in Rotterdam and subsequent surgeries Her experience post-injury at the 1988 Seoul Olympics What the Czech athletes were told about the boycotted 1984 Olympic Games Competing at the legendary, famed, holy grail of gymnastics, the alternative-Olympics in her home country, the Olomouc Friendship Games The great Czech Olympic Champion, Vera Caslavska as a coach and friend Reflects on how she was trained and fueled in the 80's What she would change about her elite training now that she has coached for 30 years The divergent attitudes of her gymnast children - Stanford, World Championships and a Rio Olympian who was obsessed with Kohei. Watching her daughter, Sandra Jessen (FIG licensed as Jessenova ), compete her 1980's floor routine this year, for Stanford Transiting to post-professional athlete life and flying into the U.S. Customs without a visa RELATED PODCASTS Olympics of Difference Makers in Gymnastics A History of Political Protests in Gymnastics  1984 Fight! Olomouc vs 1984 Olympics Olomouc gymnastics video  Conference Championoships Heading into Conference Championships this weekend - what does it mean for NQS, regionals and NCAA Championships. Links to watch and scores for each conference Championship - The Balance Beam Situation 2024 NCAA LIVE SHOW
Tickets and details here  Live Show Virtual Season Pass More With Club Gym Nerd
Join Club Gym Nerd (or give it as a gift!) for access to weekly Behind The Scenes episodes, dedications, mini-commissions and group commissions Club Gym Nerd members get access to all of our exclusive extended interviews, Behind The Scenes and College & Cocktails episodes. More goodies: 2024 College & Cocktails menu (including cocktails of course) GymCastic newsletters  GymCastic Fantasy Gymnastics League  Merch: clothing and gifts for the gymnast or gymnastics fan in your life and even "tapestries" (banners perfect to display in an arena) to support your favorite gymnast College & Cocktails
Mean Girls Week 1 Big Girl ABC Meet Week 2 Aly's Debut Week 3 Denver vs. Oklahoma Week 4 Battle Releve´ Week 5 Arkansas vs. Florida Week 6  LSU vs. Auburn Week 7 Winter Cup Podium Training Week 8 Michigan vs Oklahoma Week 9 Alabama quad Week 10 Denver vs. Michigan Week 11 RESOURCES & CITATIONS Call for volunteers for a study on skin color bias in judging. Help with the online survey here NCAA Power Ranking – January 26, 2024 GymCastic Fantasy YouTube Show  Spencer's The Balance Beam Situation  Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim Follow the effects of the Russian invasion to Ukraine at Gymnovosti The Highest scores, D scores and World Cup rankings at The Gymternet Men's Gymnastics coverage from Kensley Neutral Deductions MORE WAYS TO LISTEN HERE