My fascination with the sport of gymnastics didn’t start at the age of 3 or 4 like most gymnasts. I did start the sport then, but I wasn’t in love with it or felt I was a natural – I quit for a few years and took up ballet and dance, but found myself back in the local park district gymnastics gym in 1st grade, becoming more and more addicted to the feeling of improvement and success.
I guess I was sort of a natural, and I began competing shortly after. And I didn’t stop competing until high school graduation, when, after a lackluster senior season, I found myself an ex-gymnast fantasizing about ‘what could have been.’
My gymnastics days are long gone now, as with my toned gymnastics abs, sadly, but I still am in love with the sport that made me the person I am today. I have a lot of questions about the sport after studying journalism for four years in college: how has media coverage of it evolved in recent years? How do NCAA gymnasts deal with their (in my opinion) lack of media coverage? Why even is there a lack of media coverage? These questions have lead me to explore women’s gymnastics, the NCAA in particular, as my senior honors project here at the University of Iowa.
This blog is meant to comment and critique on all things involving NCAA women’s gymnastics and the media, from coverage in campus newspapers, to athlete’s decisions to compete for a “not-as-popular” sport. My journey into exploring NCAA women’s gymnastics starts here, and I hope to answer all my questions and share them with you along the way.
Big Ten individual qualifiers include Alinia Weinstein from Illinois, Sharaya Musser of Penn State, Katie Zurales and Joanna Sampson (vault) from Michigan, and Dusti Russell and Kaya Slechta from Minnesota.
Florida seems to be the favorite to win, but an upset is very possible. If you aren’t lucky enough to be in Georgia to catch the action, watch it LIVE here:
Team Finals: http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/id/434972/ncaa-women-gymnastics-championships-presented-enterprise-rent-car-super-six-team-finals
In this article on TeamUSA.org, Iowa’s own Shawn Johnson addresses the much anticipated question: will she make the 2012 Olympic team?
It’s isn’t easy for her to admit, but Johnson, the 2008 all-around silver medalist and beam champion, knows that a spot on the team isn’t guaranteed, and it isn’t going to be easy.
For one, there are only five spots on the team, instead of the six there were in 2008. After Johnson’s ACL tear, her comeback has been slower than thought, and she is a more mature, older gymnast that has mentally and physically grown since her 16-year-old olympics days.
There are also her USA national team teammates, who are essentially her competition. Jordyn Weiber, the 16-year-old from Michigan (the Midwest sure does know how to produce great gymnasts!) is the 2011 World Champion. Johnson’s 2008 teammates Nastia Liukin, Alicia Sacramone, Chellsie Memmel, and Bridget Sloan are all trying for an Olympic spot as well. Then there is Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney, both who helped lead the team to a World Championship in 2011.
16-year-old Gabby Douglas, originally from Virgina, moved to Iowa to train with Chow at Shawn’s gym, and Shawn discusses how weird this was for her at first. Douglas has fared quite well in competition so far, and is definitely a force to be reckoned with if she is consistent.
The nice thing about the article is that Shawn accepts the toughness in making the team, and wants everyone to see the big picture. This is a breath of fresh air to know that she is so team-oriented and wants to do what is best for Team USA.
What are your thoughts, will the West Des Moines native have a shot for this year’s team?
It’s that time of year again, when the college gymnastics season comes to an end at the most exciting meet of year the year: the NCAA Championships. This year, the meet is divided into two sessions in the first round: No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 6 Nebraska, No. 7 Utah, No. 10 Stanford and No. 11 LSU in the first session, and No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia, No. 8 Arkansas, No. 9 Oregon State and No. 12 Ohio State in the evening session.
The top three teams from each session will advance to the “Super Six” team finals, which will decide the national champion. Alabama is the reigning champion, but faces tough competition from UCLA and Florida. All three teams boast former elite athletes, and UCLA’s Samantha Peszek was a member of the 2008 silver medal US Olympic Team.
Check out Sam’s beam routine from 2008. She has amazingly difficult skills, and waters them down for collegiate competition.
Individually, the top 5 all arounders going into the meet include no. 1 Jaime Pisani from Arkansas, no. 2 Sharaya Musser from Penn State, no. 3 Jessie DeZiel from Nebraska, no. 4 Katherine Grable from Arkansas, and no. 5 Alaina Johnson from Florida. The big ten boasts two top all-arounders, which is great for big ten gymnastics.
My opinion? Its going to be one close meet between UCLA and Florida, if both teams are on their game. UCLA went 197.225 at their regional, and Florida went 197.325. ONE TENTH difference, folks! I’d love to see Georgia or Nebraska make an underdog win, because both have talented tea also ms. I’d love to see Jessie DeZiel or Sharaya Musser win the all around, as both deserve it.
What do you think will happen at the NCAA Championships April 20? Leave your comments below!
In my third and final part in a three part project about the Big Ten Gymnastics Championships held March 24 in Iowa City, below is an audio slideshow showcasing the atmosphere of the big event. Go through the pictures from the beginning of the competition, the halfway point scores, and the final minutes where Michigan is announced as winners of session one. You can get an idea of the crowd noise, the interaction between the crowd and teams, and each individual’s floor music. Enjoy!
It’s no surprise that gymnastics can be a dangerous sport. But for 13-year-old Avery Downing of Memphis, that danger became a reality last month when she fell doing her bar routine, one she had been doing day in and day out.
She landed and immediately knew something was wrong.
“I fell and hit the ground I couldn’t feel my legs,” she told News Channel 3 in Memphis.
Avery had broken her back, and was paralyzed from the waist down. She now is confined to a wheelchair, but family and friends believe she will walk again. Her gymnastics training and dedication surely gives her a leg up when it comes to strength and rehabilitation.
Avery isn’t fighting to recover alone. Since the accident, her coach, teammates and even strangers have raised about $60,000 to help with expenses that won’t be covered by the family’s insurance.
To watch a video about Avery’s accident and recovery, click here.
Injuries are happening more and more frequently to younger and younger athletes. Young, competitive gymnasts train at least five days a week, for three or four hours at a time. Is this too much pressure to put on young kids, or is it all part of the “sport atmosphere?” Do you think anything needs to be done to protect these kids from injuries of such magnitude? Leave your input in the comments below!
NCAA Regional meets are coming this Saturday, April 7. There isn’t much buzz around the internet about the meets, but I gathered a few tweets and videos to give you an idea of what this weekend’s meets will be like. Watch out for the top 4 teams, Florida, UCLA, Oklahoma, and Alabama, to really shine this weekend.
The Big Ten Women’s Gymnastics Championships were held Saturday, March 24th, 2012 in Iowa City Iowa. But do you ever think about how far some of the teams have to travel to compete? With sports programs such as football or basketball, the athletes many times can fly, but not always for smaller sports. Just how far was the commute for the other Big 10 schools? Check out the map showing just where in the US these teams came from. Note: Four Big Ten schools (Northwestern, Purdue, Indiana, Wisconsin) do not have women’s gymnastics teams. They are marked with photos of their Universities.
[NOTE: This is part two of a three part series featuring the 2012 Big Ten Gymnastics Championships. Read my article below, and be on the lookout for a natural sound picture slideshow coming soon!]
Nebraska, in it’s first big ten gymnastics championship meet, pulled away for the win with a 197.1 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena last Saturday evening.
The Huskers’ score of 197.100 is tied for the sixth-highest away meet score in their school’s history, according to Husker Sports.
Ohio State followed in second place with a score of 196.225 and Minnesota finished in third at 195.950. Michigan took fourth place with a score of 195.875, followed by Illinois with a 195.850, Penn State’s 195.700, Iowa’s 195.425 and Michigan State’s 194.675.
Nebraska’s Emily Wong posted the day’s top all around score with a 39.6, meaning she averaged only a tenth in deductions on each event. Freshman Jessie DeZiel finished close behind with a 39.525. Wong tied with Illinois’ Kelsey Joannides for the beam title with a 9.9. Wong also won the floor title with teammates Jessie DeZiel and Lora Evanstad, each with 9.9’s. Evanstad won bars with a 9.925, and Michigan’s Sachi Sugiyama won the vault title with a nearly perfect vault, earning a score of 9.950.
Watch Jessie DeZiel’s vault below (Uploaded by ItsNastiaFan101):
Big Ten Gymnast of the Year award winner Sharaya Musser of Penn State finished third in the all-around with her 39.4. She posted a 9.9 on vault, 9.85 on bars, a 9.85 on beam, and a 9.8 on floor.
Iowa had it’s third highest score of the season with a 195.425. They began the meet on bars, led by Junior Emma Stevenson’s 9.850 for a team score of 48.825.
Emma Stevenson performs on bars at the Big Ten Gymnastics Championships. Photo taken from the Iowa Women's Gymnastics Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/iowagymnastics
Jessa Hansen posted a solid 9.8, and Second All Big Ten Team member Tesla Cox posted a 9.725. Beam came next for Iowa, where they couldn’t quite hit 6-for-6 to record a 48.325. Hansen’s 9.8 was the top score for Iowa. Hansen had one minor bobble on her flip flop layout series, but recovered nicely with a stuck landing at the end.
Iowa’s floor rotation was top notch, recording a 49.000. Stevenson won the first session of the meet with her stellar 9.875 routine, and won second place in the event competition overall. Hansen and freshman Emma Willis each scored a 9.825 with beautiful routines.
Iowa got to end the meet on vault, where they posted their highest team score of the day with a 49.275. Their previous highest team score this season on vault was a 49.075. Stevenson and junior Maya Wickus each scored a 9.875 and tied for 10th place overall. Senior Rachel Corcoran and freshman Sydeny Hoerr posted 9.85’s, and Willis put up a 9.825. Hansen finished with a 9.775 with her unique vault. Most gymnasts perform a yurchenko layout full, as seen in the video from Jessie DeZiel above. Hansen does a front-handsrping onto the board and comes into the vault frontwards, and does a piked flip off. Watch video of her vault from 2010 below:
As for the atmosphere inside Carver-Hawkeye last Saturday, each team’s fans were assigned their own seating section, and each section was cheering loudly. Iowa and Illinois fans most notably interacted with their gymnastics teams, with the Illinois gymnasts calling out “ILL” and the fans responding with “INI.” Carver held about 3,000 fans from both sessions.
Senior Annie Szatkowski enjoyed the home crowd in her last home-meet ever.
“It was indescribable competiting in my last Big Tens in front of a home crowd,” she said. “The energy that the fans brought to the meet was amazing and I felt like we were definitely the stars of the show, even though there were other teams on the floor. Being in that environment really helped pump me and all of my teammates up and I think it helped us perform as well as we did.”
“The atmosphere in Carver was incredible! The crowd was 100 percent behind us and they cheered louder than anyone else.”
The fans also loved the crazy loud atmosphere of Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
“I’ve watched the Big 10 meet on TV before, but nothing beats being in the atmosphere and right in front of all the action,” said UI Sophomore Caitlin Golota, who attended the first session. “Being there you get the full effect of how much passion, both fans and gymnasts alike, have for this great sport.”
Iowa has been chosen to move on the Washington regional, held April 7 in Seattle Washington. They will be the no. 5 seed, and will face Alabama, Arizona, LSU, Washington, and Central Michigan. The top two teams and the top two all-around competitors from each regional will receive an automatic berth to the national championships in Duluth, Ga., April 20-22.
To preapre for the met, being held in less than a week, Iowa is focusing on being positive and fixing the little mistakes that add up.
“We are still focusing on the details and the mistakes that been making but were also working on making the gym atmosphere more positive and energetic,” said Corcoran. “Its easier to we’ve perform when there is less presure and you’re just doing the sport that you love.”
Szatkowski also emphasizes the important of fixing the little things, but also says the team is working on becoming physically and mentally stronger.
“We feel like we can carry our momentum from Big Tens into Seattle as long as we stay focused on ourselves and all that we are capable of doing,” she said.
“Our practices have all been about making ourselves mentally and physcially stronger by working on those little things that make all the difference in the world such as hit handstands, stuck landings, and overall presentation.”
Szatkowski knows the season has been a tough one for the Hawks, but Regionals will be the Hawks chance to shine.
“This season has been full of ups and downs, but I am happy how we have been able to pull together for post-season.”
[Note: This post is part of a three part series about the Big Ten Gymnastics Championships, look for a map and photo slideshow coming soon!]
The Iowa gymnastics team has only one gymnast originally from Iowa, so where in the world do the rest of the GymHawks come from? Many are from Canada, as head coach Larissa Libby is Canadian. Many are also from Illinois, with others from Nevada, Florida, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and South Dakota.
Kips and Cartwheels: A Gymnastics Blog 