YAY! Somebody extremely awesomely awesome on Youtube likes me. :D

Yayyy. Cccam likes me and calls me Dithy. :D

Butttt, Athlete065 even requested a montage from me! *Gasp* Which i just finished and I'm uploading while we speak..yay. I love her so much, I was afraid to talk to her, lol, she's amazing at montages, haha.

So. Just wanted to state that.

Let the subtitles begin.

Aaaaannnd MileyCyrus990 (AKA Agatha, courtesy of Why I Don't Like Elfi Schlegel) has now moved on to me and my montages.

She threatened to steal mine, so now I'm putting the tacky "Watermark" subtitle thingy with my user name, Nightflare514, at the bottom of my montages. I was hoping I didn't have to do that. *Sigh*

So that's my explanation for all that hoopla.

The Greatest USA Gymnastics Moments of 2008.

Since 2008 is coming to an end, and y'all are all throwing out your nasty-ass fruitcake (I tried one-They're soooo gross. No offense to anyone who likes them. but yeah. they're abnormal tasting.), and eating all your crimbo cookies (Word copyrighted to Tessaarooni and Cheese), read this...It's The Best USA Gymnastics Moments of 2008.

Nastia Liukin Wins The 2008 Tyson American Cup.

Nastia came back with a vengeance, after a dissapointing 2007 season, except for clinching the world title on beam, to triumph Shawn Johnson and Samantha Peszek, who rounded out the Top Three. Nastia had a step on her Vault, a one and a half twisting Yurchenko, A large, majorly deductible step on her high-difficulty bars dismount, A Blind change to Double Front with a half twist. Beam had very few errors, with only a hop on the dismount, Roundoff, 2.5 twist. Moving on to floor, Nastia stepped out of bounds on her first pass, but recovered quickly, to secure her spot as 2008 Tyson American Cup champion.

Shawn Johnson Defends Her National Title.

Shawn Johnson, the heavily favored sweetheart from West Dies Monies, IA., won the title of 2008 USA Champion for the second year in a row. In a leotard that looked like somebody had puked all over, she began on vault, looking nervous to perform her Amanar, the hardest vault in the world, which is a 2.5 twisting Yurchenko. Shawn landed the difficult vault, with a large step on the landing. Rotating to bars, with a solid performance, Johnson was ready to go to beam. With an almost no error on her beam performance, Shawn was in the position to win..all she needed to do was to stay on her feet on floor. There was a mishap with her music, which was the *BEEP* that usually comes on before a gymnast's floor music did not play for Shawn, leading her to walk off the floor. Starting the floor routine again, Everybody thought after the mishap, Shawn would not perform well. But, Johnson showed the world the true champion she is, and gave an all-out routine, with only a medium-sized error on her whip, Triple Twist. The deal was sealed. Shawn Johnson won her second consecutive National Championship and was ready to bring it on at Trials.

Chellsie Memmel Places Second All-Around at the 2008 US Olympic Trials.

Chellsie may have gotten silver, but to her, it felt like Gold. Coming back from a shoulder injury which required surgery, Chellsie gave her all at the Trials, with a rewarding second. A stuck vault, stuck bars dismount, and a stuck beam dismount, combined with a hit floor routine basically gave Chellsie a right to call herself a "Lock" for the 2008 US Olympic Team.

The USA Women's Gymnastics Team Obtains Silver.

It wasn't what the reigning team world champions were hoping for, but after injuries and mishaps, they came back to earn their right on the podium. Everyone basically knows that everyone did what they could do, but just lost focus at times. But a silver medal is something to be proud of.

Shawn Johnson Smiles Her Golden Grin, At Last.

After making a habit of winning silvers, and swallowing her disappointment, Shawn Johnson only had one more chance for a Olympic Gold medal until The Gymnastics Olympic Flame cartwheeled away. Johnson was under the weather, with stomach craps and a headache, but persevered anyways, forgetting about her ailments. Her prize: Her dream wrapped in a tiny gold circle. Extra special because it was this one shot, hit or miss. With a barely visible error on her flight series, and standing tuck full, and a small step on her dismount, Shawn Johnson gave the performance of a lifetime. Maybe she needs to get headaches more often?

And the Number One moment issssss.....

Nastia Liukin Is Crowned Queen Of Gymnastics.

To come back from multiple injuries, and win the Olympic All-Around gold exactly 20 years after her Father, Valeri Liukin had received two golds in his Olympic moments, made the Medal more oh-so-sweet than it already was. A disastrous 2007 national championship made people start to count her out, but she fought, and came back to become the Belle of the Beijing ball. The win overcame her so much, that she started to cry out of happiness, and created a tear-jerker for all Nastia fans who had been with her the whole time.

Congratz, Nast!

Look forward to another trimuphant year for USA Gymnastics in 2009 with new seniors, Rebecca Bross and Samantha Shapiro, not to mention nearly all of the Olympians back in action!

-Mere ♥

Merrrrrrry Crimbo

Yolah, peoples.

Anyone get anything even in the slighest bit gymnastics related? THEN TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS SECTIONS!

I got that gymnastics game for the Nintendo DS. Gym rockets? Or something equally as cringe-worthy. And I got Gymdog season tickets. Whoop, Whoop. And a necklace with a "M" charm on it..for "Meredith", duh, and it can also stand for..um...yeah..uhh...Mastia Miukin. She's Nastia Liukin's doppleganger. ;-)

Well, from my crazy, nutty, gymn cyber family, (This is for you, Tessa, girly! And Tori.), MERRY GYMNASTICSMAS! (Or Christmas. Whatever.)

The greatest floor music of all time. IMO.

I'm going through a 'I Want to download and listen to floor music on repeat' phaze, so this explains my randomness.

This is a list of my personal favorite floor music.
Feel free to agree/disagree and/or comment in the comment sections with your favorites.

(All from 2008)

Ksenia Semenova- It's just so cutesy..and cute. Fits her perfectly! She Puts on The Ritz, fo sho.
Jiang Yuyan- It's Chinese Hip-Hop..Sort of. It's just likeable.
Shawn Johnson- I love the classical feel to it, and the sirens in the middle.
Alicia Sacramone- It's plain awesome. I'm drawn to it.
Shayla Worley-It oozes personality, and has a great beat.
Lizzy Leduc- Cute. Adorable. 'Nuff Said.

And my top three aaaareee:

Sandra Izbasa
Nastia Liukin
Anna Pavlova.

They all are just so beautiful to hear.

Pictures From The Sneak Peek.

[Grace's Flexibility move on beam.]

[Gina Nuccio, a freshmen on Beam.]

[Paige Burns on beam.]

[Amber Trani, a freshmen on Beam.]

[Paige Burns, one of the 4 seniors on bars.]


[Grace Taylor warms-up beam while Courtney Kupets executes a perfect handstand on bars in the background.]

[Tiffany Tolnay on Beam.]

[Abby as 'The Creature'.]

[Courtney "MC" McCool supports the Red Team.]

[Lauren Sessler helps Freshman Kathryn Ding perfect her hair.]

Nastia Liukin looks forward to training again, the international cup is underway, and a new website from me.

An article about Nastia Liukin surfaced on International Gymnast read below:

"Winding up a year that included an all-around victory at the Olympic Games, several television appearances and a cross-country tour, American Nastia Liukin told IG this week that she is looking forward to training for 2009 competitions as she reflects on 2008.

"I'm not even sure where to start!" the 19-year-old Liukin said of her most memorable moments of 2008. "I have had the most amazing experience of my life these past few months, but that can't even compare to the actual Olympic Games!"

Following her all-around victory at the Olympics in August in Beijing, Liukin appeared on talk shows "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "The View," and "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and most recently acted on the hit drama "Gossip Girl." She traveled across the U.S. as a performer in the 37-city Tour of Gymnastics Superstars, after which she visited France and Russia.

"I went to Marseille, France, to do a gymnastics exhibition and then straight to Moscow for (2000 Olympic all-around champion) Alexei Nemov's annual Gala," said Liukin, a Moscow native who resides in Parker, Texas. "I got to stay in Moscow for a few days and visit friends and family as well. After Moscow, we decided to stop in Paris for a few days. I loved it! I have always wanted to go there, so I am so happy I finally got the opportunity."

This month, Liukin launched Nastia Gold, her own line of clothing with Vanilla Star Jeans. The five-time Olympic medalist is now traveling around the U.S. to promote her line. Earlier this week she was honored at a Dallas Mavericks basketball game, "which was a blast, as my dad and I are huge fans of the Mavs," she said.

Liukin's coach and father, Valeri Liukin, won the all-around silver medal, plus team and high bar gold medals, at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Her mother, Anna Kochneva Liukin, tied for the gold medal with clubs at the 1987 World Championships of rhythmic gymnastics.

This weekend, Liukin will attend the 13th annual Valeri Liukin Invitational that her club (WOGA in Plano) is hosting, followed by the Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants football game. "So, life has definitely been crazy, but so much fun," Liukin said.

Liukin will perform in the fourth annual Skating and Gymnastics Spectacular, Dec. 23 in South Dakota before heading home to Parker. "I will be home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day," Liukin said. "Then for New Year's (Eve), it is a family tradition to spend it with our closest family and friends. I haven't missed a single New Year's with my family."

Although Liukin has not competed since Beijing, she plans to resume regular training in January and attend a U.S. team training camp at the end of January.

"As far as my competition plans go, I'm not quite sure," she said. "We are taking it one step at a time. I haven't been home too much, which is the one thing that I wish I could change. I never thought I would say it before, but I miss being in the gym seven hours a day. I am so ready to be back training and getting ready for next year. The Visa (U.S.) Championships are going to be in Dallas in 2009, so I am looking forward to competing in front of a home crowd!"

Liukin said her successes in 2008 will motivate her for the challenges she will face in 2009.

"2008 was an incredible year for me," she told IG. "I couldn't have done it without so many people, especially my parents. My dad was more than half of the reason I achieved my ultimate goal. My mom wasn't my coach, but she was my other side. She was the support side of 'Team Liukin.' Also, (U.S. team coordinator) Marta Karolyi — I have so much respect for her and what she does. Without her, I wouldn't have had a chance to try to accomplish my dreams. She always made me believe in myself, especially when times were tough. As 2009 is coming close, I am creating new goals and dreams, and getting really excited about it. Gymnastics is what a have big passion for, and I know I always will!"

Yay, her. Can't wait to see her at '09 worlds.



The 2008 Challenge International, held in Belguim, is hosting girls vaulting, swinging, beaming and tumbling as we speak, while the Americans, dare I say it, are kicking some bootay. A random person posted Youtube videos, which of course I can only watch about 30 seconds of because of my freakin' dial-up, but it looks like Corrie Lothrop almost crashed on her first pass. The USA-ers swept the competetition the first day, with Corrie Lothrop placing first, Olivia Courtney coming in second, and Amanda Jetter with a third place finish. Wohoo!

For all you people who can't make avatars to save your life, there is a new website out there, from your very own Meredith! Just visit olympicavatars.webs.com and you'll enter a world of gymn themed artsy-fartsy stuff! Yay! What more could you ask for?

Gymdog's Sneak Peek.

PICTURES TO BE POSTED.

Overview with my opinions:

Abby- When Suzanne introduced the Gymdogs, she came out in a little green suit thing and Suzanne called her the "Gymdog Creature". Bars looked good, although I thought she did a Thatchev, not a Jaeger? Floor = Awesome. She closed the night with a FULL floor routine. Triple Twist, Double Full, front tuck, to her knee, end with a double pike. Audrey Bowers, a former Gymdog, was handing out checkered flags to wave. She looks great. They(The Gymdogs) asked each other questions, and her most embarassing gymn moment was when she was 6, at her first meet, and had to reallllly pee, and didn't know you could take a potty break, and she peed while running down the vault runway.

Courtney K- Vault looked good, stuck landing. Bars was good, I looove her shaposhnikovas. Beam was okay, she fell on her front tuck, landing her a 9.4. Floor, I didn't care for much, choreography wise.

Paige Burns- Vault was good. Bars was very good, she has a piked Jaeger. Beam was great. Saved herself fro ma fall on her flight series. (BHS, Layout step-out.) She threw a 2.5 twisting dismount, and had only a slight step.

Tiffany Tolnay- Vault was okay. She only did timers. Bars was very good, solid, but the only things were she pulled in on her straddle Jaeger, and missed a handstand towards the dismount.

Grace Taylor- PHENOMENAL BEAM. 9.950!!!!!!!! 'Nuff Said. I videotaped bars, I'll have that up on Youtube later. Floor was pretty, she didn't do her first pass, but did her second (Double Back.) and third(2.5 twist.) Also, after the bar rotatio nwas over, she attempted to do 5 comaneci releases in a row, and caught all of them.

Lauren Johnson- Vault was okay, I talked to her and she said her knee was acting up, so she couldn't really get a good pop.

Marcia Newby- Great vaults, she really propels herself off of the table. Bars looked good, her double layout was solid, for the first time showing it in front of a crowd. Floor was good, she did a double pike. I didn't care much for the choreo.

Lauren Sessler- Vault was good, timers, also, like the other Lauren. Bars was nice, Suzanne said she was getting back into the swing of things with bars..literally.

Courtney McCool- Out with a stress fracture in her foot..boo.

Cassidy McComb- Threw a Yurchenko full. Almost stuck it. Casted over a handstand on bars, and had to bend her knees and do a couple extra swings to glide kip up, so she didn't have enough power to get into her full-twisting double back dismount. She did her moonwalk on beam, almost falling on it, but saving it. Floor was cool, was spotted on a double-pike opening pass, but hopes to upgrade to a full in for the first meet.

Hilary Mauro- Yurchenko full. Stuck. Niiiiice. Geinger looks good on bars. She looks ready to dominate on bars. Beam was good, stuck her dismount (I think.) Floor is extremely cute. You scream "UGA DAWGS" towards the end.

Amber Trani- Vault was nice, only timers, to protect her back, I assume. Didn't see her on bars..hmm. Beam, fell on her flight series. No floor.

Gina Nuccio- Vault timers. Bars was good. Beam was good. She seems very consistent. Floor was great, dance wise. You play the drums for her routine. hahaha.

Kathryn Ding- Good vaults, can't recall if she did timers or comp. vaults or not. Good bars, pulled in slightly on her double layout dismount. Fell twice on beam, stuck her double twisting dismount. Floor was entertaining.

Mariel Box- Out with a knee injury. Booo.

Alright, that's all for tonight..I'm at my grandparent's house, so I can't write much/post pics/video.

Thanks!

omg, what a freak.

Somebody totally hacked into He Kexin = 14 an wrote that post about Shawn Johnson. I'm sooo sorry, and I changed my password, immedieately. Again, I apologize, majorly.

Oh, and EDIT: someone hacked into my youtube account an uploaded a video of how nastia liukin is a russian b***h. I deleted that, too.

Find the person and please, knock the crap out of them.

The Gymdog Sneak-Peek is upon us.

I'm in Athens, happily awaiting the Sneak Peek tomorrow at Stegman Coulisuem(sp?), and loving my G-parent's highspeed.

Bleh.

Sorry for the delays in posting, no news really.

Is December 7th here yet?

(That's the date of the Gymdog's sneak peek.)

Old news alert.

Sam Peszek and Bridget Sloan are now teammates. Woot. I'm off to make a montage about it.

New montage and "Workout Wedensdays" with The Gymdogs.

Gymnastike has posted a wonderful new video of the Gymdog's workout, training tumbling and beam.

Visit Gymnastike For More Videos

I made a new montage, and it took forever to upload!!



To comment/rate click HERE.

(:
Laytah.

More 'I Just wanted a brownie!' Stories.

As LBL Gymnastics has reported, lots of people affiliated with the Karoyli's have started talking about the abuse the gymnasts had to endure, and if they were gymnasts themselves, what they had to go through. Coaxed out of the darkness by Dominique "I just wanted a Brownie!" Moceanu, lots of new abuse stories have been coming out. Emelia Eberle said quote ""Nobody's perfect, so obviously we did mistakes. And we, you know, just got smacked everywhere from Bela -- on all our body parts. You know, he has huge hands and it hurts," Kollar said. "I had blood coming out of my body. I had my ears -- my skin ripped behind my ears. I had pus behind my ears, but, you know, nobody seemed to care." Rodica Duncam, a romanian gymnast has also come out of the Training Center, to tell her side of the abuse story. In an article in ProSport magazine, she said: "On certain days, we were hit until blood was pouring out of our nose. You can say it was a concentration camp. Or even a prison."

Let me interrupt there. **I have removed the statement written here, sorry.**

Geza Pozar, the choreographer for the Karoyli's gymnasts, also has claimed he's seen abuse in the gym from the Karoylis. (Maybe he baked delicious brownies and had no gymnasts to give them to?) "I saw all the activities that went on. Of course I saw the beating and the abuse, you know, as Trudi told you," Pozar said. (Hmm. He sounds like a smarty. Maybe he ate those brownies, and they "Accidentally" fell in to the green grass?)

I can see Marta Karoyli abusing, but not Bela. He seems too encouraging and whatnot to do that.
But defintely Marta. That lady scares the crap out of me.

Thanks for reading!!

Gymdog's Floor Intrasquad.

GymnastIke has posted the Gymdog's new floor routines! Ha! I told you Abby had a racer-themed floor! :p

Visit Gymnastike For More Videos

Hahaha!!

Is this not the cutest thing EVER?! (See below.)


She has a big head..and little arms.

International Assignments Announced.

USA Gymnastics names international assignments

Corrie Lothrop and Glen Ishino © John Cheng, Steve Lange INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Nov. 15, 2008 – USA Gymnastics announced athlete assignments for three international events in November and December. The assignments are listed below. Top Gym, Charleroi, Belgium, Nov. 28-30 Kamerin Moore, Bloomfield, Mich./Gedderts’ Twistars USA Jordyn Wieber, Dewitt, Mich./Gedderts’ Twistars USA Pan American Gymnastics Union Individual Event Championships, Rosario, Argentina, Nov. 19-23 Women Corrie Lothrop, Danvers, Mass./Hill’s Gymnastics Rebecca Bross of Plano, Texas/WOGA Olivia Courtney, Orlando, Fla./Orlando Metro Samantha Shapiro, Los Angeles/ All Olympian Gymnastics Center Men Glen Ishino, Santa Ana, Calif./SCATS-HB Danell Leyva, Miami, Fla./Universal Gymnastics International Artistic Gymnastics Challenge, Woluwe Saint-Lambert, Belgium, Dec. 13 Amanda Jetter, Milford, Ohio/Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy Corrie Lothrop, Danvers, Mass./Hill’s Gymnastics Olivia Courtney, Orlando, Fla./Orlando Metro

Head Count!

Just to get an approximate number of how many people read He Kexin = 14, I would love if everyone who reads would comment by clicking the comments button below this post. Thanks so much!

Ew, What's that smell?

Why, It's the stench of Anna Pavlova's knee injury! Joy. Another Post-'Lympic injury.
*Curses*
My two favorite Russian Gymnasts out. Boo!

In montage news, I'm working on a tearjerker, a Nastia and Valeri montage to Butterfly Kisses.

:)

EDIT:

Poor Pavs. I tear up when I see this picture:

New Montage.

To comment/rate the montage click HERE.

Hey, Hey, HEY!! Look at this!!!!

http://gymnasticscoaching.com/?p=6639&akst_action=share-this

Woot. He Kexin = 14 is getting popular! I googled Nightflare514, just to see if I'm up there, and Dun duh dah duh..There it was.

Semenova, McCool, Chusovitina injured.

Ksenia Semenova has suffered a post-Olympic wrist injury, not being able to train to her full potential. This will have her out of Madrid World Cup Final, later on in December. Ksenia and her coach are trying to let it heal as fast as it can, while still training, trying to keep her skills. Rumors say this may be because of a growth spurt. No, Ksenia, please don't grow! You're so cute!!


(I mean, seriously, how could you NOT like this girl?! I like her and she beat out Nast on bars!)

Over in NCAA, Courtney McCool, a member of the 2004 Olympic Team, has a stress fracture in her foot, as Online Athens reports. McCool will be out a minumum of eight weeks. She will not be able to perform in the Gymdog's annual Sneak-A-Peek, December 7th. (Boo!)



(Courtney McCool, executing a beam routine with grace, style and flexibility.)


Also, Oskana Chusovitina has, in fact, torn her ACL. How come this is the first I've heard of it?!




(She really needs to grow her hair out.)

2009 Tyson American Cup To Be Hosted in Chicago.

Boo, it's far away from me. :(

Found this article on usa-gymnastics..org.

CHICAGO (November 13, 2008) –USA Gymnastics and World Sport Chicago (WSC) today jointly announced that the 2009 Tyson American Cup will be held at the Sears Centre Arena in metropolitan Chicago on Feb. 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets went on sale today for the Tyson American Cup, one of the most prestigious international, invitational gymnastics events. Legendary gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi was on hand for the announcement.

"The Tyson American Cup has a long tradition of showcasing and previewing the world’s top gymnasts, and it is a great way to show the gymnastics community that Chicago is the perfect city to host the 2016 Games," said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. "We are excited about starting our 2012 road to London in the Chicago area."

“We are honored that Chicago will welcome the gymnastics community to this prestigious international competition,” said Bill Scherr, chairman of World Sports Chicago. “We are thrilled that Chicagoans will have the opportunity to come out and see these top athletes from around the world compete.”

The 2009 Tyson American Cup features an all-around format, and the field for the event will be announced at a later date. The list of former champions includes some of the sport’s best-known names, including Bart Conner, Paul Hamm, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Shannon Miller, Carly Patterson, Mary Lou Retton and Peter Vidmar.

“The Tyson American Cup features gymnastics at its highest level and will be a great experience for the fans,” said Dave Hogberg, senior vice president of Tyson Foods. “We are proud to sponsor this prestigious event and to communicate the importance of protein and nutrition to those who attend, as well as the millions of Americans who tune in.”

Ticket prices range from $19.50-$125 and are subject to applicable fees. Tickets may be purchased charge by phone at 312-559-1212 or 1-888-SEARSTIX; online at www.ticketmaster.com; at all Ticketmaster outlets; at the Sears Centre Arena Box Office; or through participating area gymnastics clubs. Visa is the preferred method of payment.

“We are excited to be part of this prestigious event, especially with the success of the U.S. teams in Beijing,” said Jeff Bowen, president of the Sears Centre Arena. “The Tyson American Cup once again will prove to be an exciting competition for both the athletes and fans.”

Karolyi spoke about the Tyson American Cup, as well as expressed his thoughts on Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Games.

“The Tyson American Cup has always been an indicator of great Olympians,” said Karolyi, who has coached 28 Olympians and nine Olympic champions, including Nadia Comaneci, Kerri Strug and Retton. “Mary Lou won the American Cup in 1984 and Kerri won it in 1996, and both went on to win gold medals at the Olympics that same year. Two of the greatest moments of my career are when Mary Lou won at the Olympics in Los Angeles, and when Kerri helped the U.S. women win the title in 1996.

“I’d love for the USA to host the Games on the 20th anniversary of our victory in 1996, and Chicago would be an excellent site for the Games,” said Karolyi, who is currently the director of the U.S. Women’s National Training Center and an ambassador for the sport.

Bela Karolyi speaks to the crowd at the kickoff event.

Tanella, Breazeal, Couch, Worley Sign With Gymdogs.

It's official. Shayla's a Gymdog. I'm also excited about Tanella signing with them too, because she could bring a lot to NCAA competition.

(ATHENS, Ga. – Christa Tanella, Kati Breazeal, Noel Couch and Shayla Worley have signed national letters of intent to compete for the Georgia gymnastics team, according to an announcement Wednesday by Gym Dogs head coach Suzanne Yoculan and associate head coach Jay Clark.

Tanella, Breazeal, Couch and Worley will make up the first freshman class for Clark, who will succeed Yoculan as Georgia’s head coach for the 2010 season.

“We all are thrilled with this class,” Yoculan said. “These young women will be a great addition to the program. I can’t imagine a better class of freshmen coming in for Jay’s first year. This class has a little bit of everything in terms of gymnastics, but the young women also have great character. They understand the tradition of Georgia gymnastics, and they will be great stewards of it. We are excited that they are going to be a part of that tradition and that they will be starting their own.”

Tanella, a native of Plano, Texas, trains at World Olympic Gymnastics Academy under Valeri Liukin and Natalya Marakova. Tanella qualified for the United States Championships the last three years. Known for her exquisite lines and perfect form, Tanella took first on bars at the United States Classic. At this year’s Metroplex Challenge, Tanella won the all-around title as she swept the four events.

“Christa’s gymnastics is very strong,” Clark said. “She’s unlike anyone in collegiate gymnastics right now. She’s an outstanding addition in the all-around and will help us right away. She has great character and is a natural leader.”

Breazeal, who hails from Frisco, Texas, is a teammate of Tanella’s at WOGA where she is coached by Laurie Dix and Yevgeny Marchenko. Breazeal has reached the Junior Olympic Nationals four times, including 2007 when she took first in the all-around and floor. At the 2008 Texas state championship, she won on beam.

“Kati is another one of the WOGA gymnasts with clean lines and strong performances,” Clark said. “She’s a brilliant student, and she will provide a real boost to our program. She’s also best friends with Christa, so their chemistry and camaraderie will be evident right away.”

Couch will arrive in Athens from Boonton, N.J., where she trains at North Stars Academy. She was the Level 10 Nationals beam champion and has appeared as an exhibition performer in the 2008 Tour of Superstars.

“Noel is a powerful athlete,” Clark said. “The first thing you notice about Noel is her power and her explosiveness. There’s not a skill she can’t do, and she’s especially strong in vaulting and tumbling.”

Worley, who is a native of St. Cloud, Fla., trains at Orlando Metro Gymnastics and is coached by Jeff Wood and Christi Barineau. Worley participated this past summer at the Olympic Trials and Selection Camp. Her accomplishments include finishing third at the 2008 American Cup on bars and claiming silver in the all-around and on bars at the United States Nationals. Worley also was a member of the 2007 U.S. team that won the World Championship in Germany.

“Shayla has a lot of experience internationally, and that experience is going to mean an awful lot to us,” Clark said. “She’s got that star quality you look for. She’s got that ‘it’ factor. She’s very good in what she does and the way she goes about her business.”)

I'm so excited to see everyone compete in NCAA! Go Dogs!

USA Gymnastics announces athlete assignments for November, December 2008 .

Sorry for posting twice in a day!

Anyways, I was searching usa-gymnastics.org for any news about ANYTHING, and I came across this piece:

USA Gymnastics announces athlete assignments for November, December 2008.

Women

[Pan American Gymnastics Union Individual Event Championships, Rosario, Argentina, Nov. 19-23]
(This is the training squad for the event. The four team members will be selected from the training squad and named at the national team camp, Nov. 12-16.

Jana Bieger of Coconut Creek, Fla./Bieger International Gymnastics
Rebecca Bross of Plano, Texas/WOGA
Mackenzie Caquatto of Naperville, Ill./Naperville Gymnastics Academy
Olivia Courtney of Orlando, Fla./Orlando Metro
Corrie Lothrop of Danvers, Mass./Hill’s Gymnastics
Bridget Sloan of Pittsboro, Ind./Sharp’s Gymnastics Academy
Cassie Whitcomb of Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy

[Top Gym, Charleroi, Belgium, Nov. 28-30]


Kamerin Moore of Bloomfield, Mich./Gedderts’ Twistars USA
Jordyn Wieber of Dewitt, Mich./Gedderts’ Twistars USA

[International Artistic Gymnastics Challenge, Woluwe Saint-Lambert, Belgium, Dec. 13]
(Two additional athletes will be named to the team at the national team camp, Nov. 12-16.)


Amanda Jetter of Milford, Ohio/Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy
Cassie Whitcomb of Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy




I hope Bross, Bieger, Sloan and Wieber kick some butt.

Claire Hom, and Confirmation.

Let me just say this now:

Claire freakin' Hom reads He Kexin = 14. I was like. "Wooow." If you haven't already heard from CcCam's blog, Claire is an up and coming gymnastics superstar, with a unique style of gymnastics. Just google her. You'll find out. (To Claire: Heyy, how are youu? :D)

Anyways, Wikipedia has posted confirmation that Shayla Worley HAS been kicked off the tour for underage drinking.

(Copied from Wiki below:)

Cast

[edit] Female athletes

(in alphabetical order by last name)

• Shawn Johnson
• Nastia Liukin
• Chellsie Memmel
• Shannon Miller
• Ashley Postell
• Samantha Peszek
• Bridget Sloan
• Shayla Worley (removed from cast list after refusing to comply with underage drinking rules)
• Alicia Sacramone (placed for Shayla Worley)

Hmm.
This is something to think about. Will it screw up her NCAA?

An Interview with an amazing gymnast.

Brianna is a Level 10 gymnast, hoping to receive a scholarship for her amazing gymnastics. She trains 25 hours a week, with a long 1 hour commute to the gym. One thing you don't know about this talented athlete is that she is deaf, but never fails to give an amazing performance, while inspiring other gymnasts to do the same. Brianna's role model(s) for gymnastics are Aimee Walker Pond, a BYU gymnast who was also deaf and blind in one eye. Brianna also attends her school's cheerleading practices after school, and afterward, heading straight to the gym. Read her interview she so kindly agreed to give to He Kexin = 14.



(HK14 is me, B is Brianna.)

HK14: What is your favorite event?
♥
B: Fave event is definitely floor! I'm not a very graceful gymnast, but I'm a powerful tumbler. Also learning my routine is so hard, but once I start to see the visual rhythm its very rewarding. And I'm super outgoing and love performing.

HK14: What is the hardest skill you've ever competed?
♥
B: Hardest skill, technically, is a full in full out, its an E skill. But since I have no cochlea and my inner ears are messed up anything on beam is hardest to me. My fave skill to compete is a Double Arabian Front because I love twisting, LOL.

HK14: Have you ever had any mental blocks? If so, how did you overcome them?
♥
B: Hmm, yeah. I had a hard time doing on flight series on beam. I just kept doing them over and over on the floor until I got it. I've had people say I can't do gymnastics because I'm deaf. Like, I had a high school coach who thought I belonged in the Special Olympics.

HK14: How do you overcome obstacles in Gymnastics that you face because of being deaf?
(Example: Hearing floor music, communicating with coaches.)
♥
B:
Well, I started gymnastics when I was 3, back when your parents are still around. My mom was allowed on the floor to help interpret what the coaches said for me, but really at that age it's more like 'Follow The Other Kids'. As I got older, my mom was still allowed on the floor. By the time I turned 7 and was invited to compete for the team at level 5, my coach had picked up on basic sign so my mom didn't need to be around. I've had the same coach since I moved when I was 5 and he's great. He promised to learn more sign as I learned more skills and he has. He went with me to TOPs National Camp when I was 9 and pretty much interpreted for me. I'm really lucky to still compete for him. As far as gym stuff, on floor my coach chooses my music and choreographs my routine. Then I start to learn it by practicing over and over and watching him. I'm pretty good at following visual cues and seeing visual rhythm. If I want to change a part of my routine because I think it looks better, my team helps me decide if it goes with the music. My teammates are a lot like my coach. We've been together since we were pretty young, since we're at a small town gym, and a lot of them picked up sign. When I compete in floor I get a visual cue from the judges when my music starts. On beam instead of a buzzer I get a flag from the judges for a time mark. Other than that I follow the rest of the gymnastics rules, when you're competing you don't really need to hear.

HK14: Are you training any new skills?
♥
B: Not right now, I'm just retraining my old skills. My one new goal is to get my full-in full-out consistent so I can put it in a tumbling pass for my floor exercise.

HK14: What is your gymnastics schedule usually like?
♥
B: I'm training extra right now. If I'm not sick, the weather isn't too bad, and I can borrow my mom's car or get a ride from my godfather, I'm in the gym about 25 hours a week. 4 every day after school and 5 on Saturday. At our gym you only have to practice 20 hours a week for level 10, I just want to be ready to go when season starts in January, and hopefully boost my chances of being allowed to compete in college someday.

HK14: What is some of the basic conditioning you do?
♥
B: All sorts of stuff. We run about once a week, do a lot of jump roping too, for cardio. I do so many handstand presses, and chin ups, and crunches, and v-sits, and l-sits I can't even count that high! Then a lot of stuff like squat jumps and rope climbing.

HK14: What are your Expectations/Goals for the upcoming JO season?
♥
B: I'm mostly just really excited to compete again. I don't know if I'll be able to qualify for nationals like I did 5 years ago, but it'd be cool if I did. By the end of the season I'd like to be competitive enough to place at state in the all-around and top three in floor.

HK14: What Colleges are you applying to and hoping to attend on a Gymnastics Scholarship?
♥
B: Well, I don't think I'll start off school with a gym scholarship. It's a long story but the Utah State coach got a hold of me and said that if I went back in the gym this year and really competed well, they'd love to have me come out and train with them and maybe as a sophomore compete. I'm also applying to Mesa State and Ft. Lewis which are both in-state schools for me and I can pay for through VR (Vocational Rehabilitation, it's this government program for people with disabilities). I also applied to CSU-Northridge (California) and Gallaudet. CSU-N has a notorious great program for Deaf students and Gally, in DC, is the county's only Deaf liberal arts school. Unfortunately only USU has gymnastics. If I don't get in there, I'll probably cheer at Mesa State, but the other schools don't have good programs. I've been mainstreamed in regular schools my whole life and for a while wanted to go to a Deaf school, but recently have changed my mind. So yeah, *crosses fingers for Utah State* It's my dream school!! Close to home but still far, a Deaf Ed program so a lot of ASL on campus, an awesome gym team... I'm pretty excited.


HK14: Okay, last question. Why do you love Gymnastics and why do you do it?
♥
B: Well, other than the usual, I had way too much energy as a kid, my mom put me in gymnastics because she thought it'd be a good way for me to be involved with a team but still do an individual sport where communication isn't an issue. That's still really true. I love my team more than anything else in the world, but when it comes to compete it's just me and whatever event I'm doing. I'm not the Deaf girl, I'm just another gymnast. I can really push myself as hard as anyone else. It's made me work harder in life and school and not think about my Deafness. Gymnastics is also an incredibly difficult sport that's even harder because you're supposed to make it look easy. I'm the kind of girl who will train her butt off and be all sweaty and tired, but still want to have glitter and cute ribbon in her hair. So yeah, pretty much I love everything gymnastics offers.

Thanks so much, Brianna, we hope to see you in College!


(Brianna in Cheerleading, executing a Back Tuck.)

Shayla Worley: Born To Be Bad?

Well, rumors are going around around that A) Shayla's been kicked off the Superstar Tour, and B) It's because of underage drinking.

W.T.F!?
WTF, WTF, WTF, W.T.F?!

I can never see her drinking.
I guess that explains why she wasn't there Oct. 18th when I went to go see the tour.

In other Shayla news, SHE'S GOING TO SIGN WITH GEORGIA!!! AHHHHHHH! *Does happy dance*

Anyways. I'm sooooooo excited about that, because we're getting season tickets for this season and next season..I get to frigging SEE HER COMPETE in frigging PERSON. *Does happy dance again*.

*coughs*

Aight, well in news about me (I can hear y'all booing now.)...I might be going back to gymnastics. My coach wants to discuss it with me at 3:15 today, and frankly, I'm terrified. She says that If I want to I can just do Vault and Floor because I'm no good at bars, and I'm terrified of beam. Seriously. I get butterflies whenever we go to beam. Every. Single. Time.

I love competing floor, and I love my floor routine, so I'll probably be headed back to the gym. *Sighs* Right when I thought I'd ditched it..

But I'm not sure if I should, given that my knee and scoliosis are a problem...

My mom's trying to push me into going back, but right now I just need time to think.

If anyone hears anything about Shayla, e-mail me at magic.taurus@gmail.com or just comment here. :)

Thank you for reading He Kexin = 14! Come back next time!

Oh, P.S. is this not the coolest avatar thingy ever? (See below)

Too bad that I can't find where to change your display picture on Youtube anymore.

I like this one, too:

Demented little Shawn. :P

Any news?

I've been trying to dip up some Gymnastics gossip but haven't found any. Hmmm.

Anyone?

Shawn Johnson..Samantha Peszek..Just a little bit alike?

I just now noticed that Shawn and Sam have similar styles in Gymnastics. Maybe Sam wants to be like Shawn..? It often seems like Samantha tries to upgrade her skills that she has in common with Shawn. I might be totally wrong, but it's an idea. Both are amazing gymnasts, and I totally respect what they do, but just have a look here:

Such as:

Vault:

Shawn-Amanar, very powerful.
Sam- DTY, Rumored to be training and Amanar, also very powerful.

Bars:

Shawn- Jaeger, Geinger, and a Dbl. Twisting Dbl. Layout (Right? Not sure about this.)
Sam: Jaeger, Geinger, Dbl. Twisting dismount.

Beam:

Shawn-3 skill flight series(BHS, BHS, Two-foot Layout), Standing Full, Switch leap to Layout step out, Layout two feet. Full twisting Double Back dismount.

Sam: 3 skill flight series(Front aerial, BHS, Layout step out), Standing full to a back pike, Jumpy-thingy to a switch leap layout step out, Double pike dismount.

No similarities in the dismounts, but it seems to me like beam is probably their closet event in comparison of the skills.

Floor:

Shawn- Tucked double-double, Whip immediate triple twist, FHS front full FHS Double? One and a half? not sure, RO Double twist, End with Full in.

Sam: I haven't really watched much of Sam's floor, but I've seen a lot of similarities not just in the tumbling, but choreography, as well.

I love both of them to death, and they're both such good gymnasts!


(Samantha Peszek executing a bar routine.)


(Shawn Johnson.)

This just in: He Kexin = 14's namesake has done it again...

'Kay so it just didn't come in. Apprentally Chinese Nationals have been done for a while now. Gosh, I'm behind. x_x

Hemhem. *Clears Throat* I still am KIND OF mad at the Chinese Team for *Cough*CHEATING*Cough* I still think Jiang Yuyan or however the heckadoo you spell her name, you know the one I'm talking about..With the cool floor routine..well, she's a cutie. I do have to admit her smile is kinda creepy.

On the other hand, He still looks a tad mentally retarded. Sorry if you don't like it, but it's true. You have to admit, it is a little true. I don't mean to offend anyone, BTW.

Cheng Fei won Vault. What in the world?! Thought she was retiring....?

I really do not want to cover Chinese Nationals. Sorry. I'll just poke fun at them with the pictures below. :D I'm soooo nice.

(The scary smile of Jiang Yuyan. Please don't ask me how to pronounce that. Her floor is a killer, though!! Oh, wait! She looks like a deformed muppet when she smiles..still. A CUTE deformed muppet.)

(He Kexin..Yes, you're so very Gangsta with your Gangsta hands. Not. Yangyi Lin is cute, though. :D The other one looks demented. o_o)


(Hiiiii. *Waves* My names He. I'm special. I'm Fourte-.)

(Ooh. Shinnnnny. Wait, what's this? I must have taken it from some deserving gymnast! Even though my bars are amazing, and extremely difficult they shouldn't have been amazing at the Olympics 'cuz I wasn't supposed to be there! Oopsies! I wasn't supposed to tell you that!)

'Aight, well, later.

Please don't get offended. This is just good, clean fun. I respect the Chinese Gymnasts for all their hard work and their great gymnastics, including their perfect artistry, and extreme difficulty.

Where art thou, Christi Fortunato?

Yes, another Gymdog post. :P
Tehehe.

So, a Gymdog called Christi Fortunato, did not compete in her freshman or sophomore year.
She won the Sam Sheehan Spirit award in 2008.
See her biography on the Georgia Dogs website HERE.
Also look at the 2006-2007 Roster HERE.
Check out the 2007-2008 Roster HERE.

Notice Christi is a Freshman and a Sophomore in those Rosters.

Take a look at to 2008-2009 season Roster HERE.
Notice she's missing?
I did.

A source in North Carolina tells me that her Grades were insufficient to compete in her 2 years as a Gymdog.
Now, I wonder if they kicked her off the team?
Or if she's taking a break to work up her grades again?

She also won the Sam Sheehan Spirit award in 2008.

Think about it...


(Fortunato, pictured in the front, celebrates the Gymdog's 2008 SEC Championship victory with Abby Stack.)

Gymdog Report.

So, while I was in Atlanta visiting my grandparents, my mom and I went to go observe a Gymdog practice.

Everyone looks GREAT!

Courtney McCool has tendinitis in her foot, and has been unable to do floor for weeks and it has not been improving, unfortunately. (Get better Court..NOW!) I got to see her new Switch-Leap Onodi, and it's beautiful! I got to see a dance-through of her floor, it is so pretty, as always. She also has got a Geinger on bars, it's pretty.

And, OMIGOSH, Cassidy Mccomb is doing the Moonwalk on the beam. Yes, THE Moonwalk. Nikki's Moonwalk! Cassidy also has a cool hip-hop/ballet kind of thing going on for her floor. Cassidy also has gotten a full-in, it's sooo high.

Grace is keeping her flexibility move in her beam routine, which, of course I already knew because I'm friends with her on Facebook and we keep in touch. (Long friendship from SC.) Grace's beam also has a back-pike and a front aerial straight into a back layout step-out. Dismount is still BHS step-out, BHS two-foot, Dbl. Twist. Her floor is beautiful, very classical-themed, she has incorporated a lot of her flexibility in to it. Also, on bars, her highbar to lowbar transition has been connected to her shoot to high-bar straight into the kip-comaneci release. Double layout still the dismount.

Abby Stack's floor routine is so cool. It's, like, racer-themed, so there's lots of motor stuff in there, it's great. She does her Dbl. twist, front tuck onto her knees, it's very cool. Her bars look great. Didn't see her practice vault or beam.

Ah, Courtney Kupets..Where to begin? She's back. Floor is awesome, although she's still keeping the Double Arabian. Not a good idea, IMO. Her floor is cool, it's hard to tell you about. Beam looks great, she's getting rid of the risky mount she performed last year. She's doing a gainer full as a dismount, connected with a switch leap, gainer layout step out. It's awesome. Her vaults are lookign great, she stuck most of them in training.

The freshies look great, Amber Trani's sooo muscular in person. I always thought she was sooo skinny and had an ED, I mean, ya know, 'cuz she comes from Parkettes, but a person with a ED does not have all those muscles, lol. She's got an awesome vault. Her floor music is 'Bad to The Bone', haha, it's so rocker-ish.

Paige Burns did some good vaults, then went to the training room, and came out fully dressed and looked like she was about to burst into tears, while talking to HC, Suzanne Yoculan. Poor girl.

OH! And Tito (Tito = Tiffany Tolnay) is doing great..Her Double Arabians and double pikes are sky high, she's back with a vengeance. She also died her hair a dark brown. I can't figure out whether I like it or not.

Hilary Mauro has upgraded her floor with a RO immediate Double Arabian. Also has a Double layout for her dismount on Bars. Marcia Newby also has upgraded her bars with a double layout.

Hmm, what else. I got an autographed 'All In For Ten' poster, as if that was interesting to y'all.

I'll edit this post if I have anything else to report to y'all.

Peace out, home skillet biskitsss.

2008 Tour Of Gymnastics Superstars.

Yes, it 'tis the Gymnastics Superstars..Woo!
I'm going to post my semi-good photos as I rant freely about the show.
All in all, it was fantabulous, but, yeah, let me get this off my chest:
JORDAN PRUITT SUCKS.
'Kay, I'm good.


Seriously, if you're going, bring earplugs for when Jordan Pruitt and KSM are playing.


(A view of the equipment from where we were sitting.)

I loved our seats! We could see everything perfectly! (Except for the band, but who cares about them.) We had these annoying people next to us that looked extremely inconvenienced when we cheered. We just screamed louder. :D


We got into 'Chalk Talk' a pre-show clinic where you're NOT supposed to take pictures, but of course, the rebel in me came out and I took pictures. Some people asked really stupid questions like 'Nastia, what is your favorite food?' or 'Shawn, what was the highest score you've ever gotten?' (That last one was asked by my teammate. o_o), and some people asked awesome questions like 'How do you find the time to balance public school and training for the Olympics, Shawn?' or 'How do y'all overcome a mental block?'. Also, a lady a couple rows away from me asked 'Are the men single?' and Nastia gave us the report:

Johnathan Horton: Engaged. (Boo.)
The Hamms: Single. (Yay. :D)
Sasha Artemev: Engaged! (Double boo!!!! He's still mine!)
Justin Springs: In a relationship, but about to pop the question. (Not supposed to tell you, Nastia said not to post it online, but whatever. I'm a hard-hitting reporter, I have to post it!!)
Everyone else is single. Woot.



(Nastia waves at me while Shawn looks utterly interested in the ground. Not sure what Sammy's doing, but I was excited she was there.)


(Nastia talks to the crowd, and listens to us, as well.)

(Shawn talks to the crowd.)

(Sasha talks to the crowd. Check out Horton in the BG, laughing.)

Some gymnasts were warming up during 'Chalk Talk', which was interesting to watch, it was kind of a little spoiler. :p


(Chellsie warms up beam and bars.)

(Sammers warms up bars, although she never did bars.)

(Shannon warms up beam.)

The Actual show was great!
My camera was not being nice to me so pretty much I only got pictures of Nastia's beam, one picture of her back to us on floor and Sasha on the pommel horse.

Shawn did two floors and one beam, she almost fell off on her front tuck on beam.

There was this one number where Ashley Postell, Tasha Scwihert(sp?), Nastia, and Chellsie did bars together. It was awesome, they all did great, except Nastia almost missed a Stalder. Chellsie and Ashley pulled double front dismounts, Chellsie, Ashley and Tasha did Thatchevs, and Nastia did stalders and pirouettes.

Nastia did bars to her theme song 'Supergirl' and her routine was basically kip cast handstand, stalder, stalder, kip, cast, squat on, jump to highbar kip cast handstand, little archy thingamajig, stalder, piroutte thingy (No, not an Ono), another piroutte thingy, 3 giants to a layout flyaway.
Nastia also did the same beam routine she did on Frosted Pink With a Twist.
Same goes for floor.

Chellsie did a beautiful beam routine to 'She Will Be Loved' by Maroon 5. Her backhandspring, layout off of the beam was scary, though. She came close to hitting her head.

Shannon Miller still can do a BHS, BHS on beam. I was like, 'Woah, holy crap!'. She did a cool floor routine, too.

The men were so gangsta, haha. The Hamms did their floor routine to 'Stronger' by Kanye West, as seen on FPWAT. All of the men did a number to 'Jump' as seen on FPWAT, as well.

At the end of the show, 3 men came out pretending to be The Jonas Brothers, and the women pretended to be JB fangirls. They all slow danced to 'When You Look Me in The Eyes', then the song quickly changed to 'Burnin' Up', and the men performed their high bar stuff while the women sat on the floor and giggled and pointed and stuff. Then, Justin Springs closed the show with, you guess it.....

HIS TRIPLE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wahoo. He stuck it, as well, it was deafening in there!

But it was a great show. Go see it if there are tickets left.

And remember to bring ear-plugs!

(Nastia after her floor routine.)

(Nastia warming up beam during intermission.)


(Nastia performing beam.)


(Nastia waving to the crowd after her beam. This is my all-time favorite picture from the show. I clicked the camera at just the right time!)