End of the Season....Mostly....

After being so incredibly consistent all year long, my favorite gymnastics team sort of melted down tonight. Not in general, but on balance beam, and that was enough to knock them out of the competition. We had to finish in one of the top three spots to advance to the Super Six competition tomorrow night, and we finished fifth. Out of six teams. Ouch. Even one of the "thanks for coming" teams finished ahead of us.

We hadn't had to count a fall all year. Not once. Tonight we had three falls on beam, which meant we had to count two of them. You just can't compete with the best in the country if you do that. We came back and absolutely ROCKED on vault, putting up the highest score we've had all year. But it was too little too late, and we had to sit and watch in the last rotation. Well, some of them sat and watched. Katydid, Frogger Blogger, and I left when we knew our team couldn't advance. We couldn't stand the thought of watching that Gator chomp (just typing the words makes me slightly nauseated) in the Florida floor routines.

On a positive note, it looks like we'll have three girls competing for individual event titles on Sunday. One of them will compete in three different events: vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise.

I'm disappointed, and I'm trying not to be bitter about how the season ended. It's one thing to get beat by better teams (and that may have happened also, but we'll never know), but it's a different animal altogether when you beat yourselves.

But I'm also proud of the team and all they accomplished this year. No one gave them much of a chance to come as far as they did, but they quietly went about their business and flew mostly under the radar. I'll get over my hurt feelings and pull for them just as hard next year.

To end on another positive note, now I don't have to worry about dashing over to watch the finals after the bicycle ride. I can ride as far as I want to.

Or as far as it takes to take the sting out of tonight. I hope we have that many roads in Georgia.

Gymnastics Weekend Update.....

First of all, I am officially too old to stay out until 1:30 AM. That's what time Katydid and I got back from Auburn after watching the Gym Dogs KICK SOME BUTT at the Regional Championships (more on that in a moment). And my dog can't tell time, so he got in my face at his usual 6:30 AM, apparently unconcerned that five hours is not nearly enough sleep for a 51-YEAR-OLD!!

Second of all, a big shout out to one of my favorite Dawgs, Bubba Watson, for winning the Masters. I'm so glad I picked you on my Masters sheet. If I hadn't picked some other really sucky people, I might have won some money. As it is, however, Hubby picked you too, and it appears at this point that he is tied for first place. There were over 1000 people in the pool, and they (we) each put in $20. Now we just have to wait and see how many people he tied WITH.

Third of all, another big shout out to the folks at Auburn Arena for putting on a fantastic gymnastics competition. I was a little wary of the whole "general admission" seating idea, but when I realized it meant we were free to move around the arena to see the event our gymnasts were on, I fell in love with it. (I think someone should invent a rotating arena just for gymnastics, so you can stay in your seat but the arena will move you to whatever event your team is competing on.) I understand from reading the message board that the live (and free) video streaming was among the best in the country. It can't be easy to cover six teams on four different events, everything going on at one time. It's impossible to make everyone happy, but I have heard only positive comments about Auburn's coverage. Way to go!

The Gym Dogs did a marvelous job at regionals and are headed back to the national championships, to be held in two weeks here in Georgia. The newspaper said this morning that they had won their first post-season meet since 2009, and I thought, "That's a little harsh. And wrong." But then I realized technically it was right. In 2010, our coach's first year as head coach, we VERY unexpectedly got knocked out of national championship contention at the regionals. It was the first time since Moses was a little boy that we didn't advance to nationals, and it was very hard to take. Last year we hosted our regionals, and while we did manage to advance to nationals (the top two teams in each regional advance), we came in second, so technically we didn't "win" that post-season contest.

Bars - Gym Dogs started on the uneven bars, and Katydid and I were sitting so close we could lean over and talk to them. They were relaxed and loose and having fun, and while we didn't get the 10 on bars we felt we were entitled to this season, we did a good job at regionals. Our lowest score was a 9.775, which we were able to drop, and we had a pair of 9.9's, a pair of 9.85's, and a 9.8 from a phenomenal freshman who competed only her second bars routine of the year. In the post-season, no less!

This is how close we were to the uneven bars. In the words of Katydid, "We might be able to see a little TOO much."

Sarah getting reading for bars. This is how close Katydid and I were. See that number on her leg? Officials went with leg tattoos this year instead of the paper numbers pinned to their backs. I'm not sure how I feel about them. But at least the tattoos don't cover up the oh-so-cuteness of the backs of those leotards!

I'd love to tell you I shot this picture and the one below specifically to show you the back of the leotard. In the interest of full disclosure, however, I must admit that I have entire folders of digital photos of gymnasts' butts. It's just the way it is.

Beam - The balance beam was situated all the way across the arena from where we were sitting, and Katydid and I debated about whether to move closer. It's nerve-wracking to watch the balance beam, but ultimately we moved because the host team, Auburn, was on the bars, which were between us and the beam. Plus we were surrounded by a lot of Auburn fans, so we knew it would be hard to see and hear what was going on. Things were a little shakier on beam, as they typically are, but we still did okay. Our high score was a 9.85 from a senior who has trouble with the required full turn on the beam. She can flip and twist and leap, but that full turn gets her every time. We had a trio of 9.825's and a 9.775 from a gymnast who is a tiny sophomore but has been a ROCK the second half of the season. We had to count that one because our resident ... head case ... did a flawless routine and went to her knees on a dismount that I could do. Okay, that's stretching things, but it's a simple dismount and she is a world-class gymnast and she shouldn't be losing five tenths of a point on that dismount. Rant over.

Noel on beam. I loved, loved, loved those leotards with the script "G" on the front. The back is just as cute. 

Kat calms herself before her beam routine. I know what she's saying: "Please, please, please let me get the full turn right this time."

Floor - This is most gymnasts' (and most fans') favorite event, because the nature of the event allows the gymnasts to perform, to show their personalities, to showcase some unique skills. (It's Hubby's LEAST favorite of the events, because in his words, "they're just wallowing around.") I love floor for the most part, but some of our routines this year have been ... uninspiring. Part of that is because our coach's philosophy is that if a girl is struggling with a skill, he takes it out of the routine. If I were the coach, I'd be on her like stink on poop, saying, "Get in that gym and don't come out until you can get it right." But I'm clearly NOT the coach, and it's his program to do what he wants. And how much do I really know anyway? Because our floor scores were three 9.85's (one of which was dropped), a 9.875, a 9.9 (career high from a freshman who has only done floor a few times this season), and a 9.925 from our rock-solid junior who has a captivating shark-themed routine. (The 9.925 may have been generous given the low position of her chest on at least two landings, but I figure that balances out with the 10 we have earned on bars all season but haven't been awarded.)

Vault - Again, our vault scores were not over-the-moon wonderful, but anytime you can drop a 9.825 as the lowest score, you're doing something right. We had another couple 9.825's (one from a sophomore who was a phenom her freshman year but has struggled with back issues this year and competed last night for the very first time this season), a 9.85 from someone the team refers to as "Catapult" and who usually sticks, and a pair of 9.9's.

Our team finished in the fifth rotation and had to sit out on a bye while the competition wrapped up, but it was pretty much a given that we would win. The team that ultimately finished in 2nd place, Oregon State, could have tied us with a 49.6 on the balance beam, but judging by how tight scores had been all night, we knew that was unlikely. One team could have tied us if they had scored five perfect 10's, but the others would have needed some 11's and 12's. Our total score for the night was 197.1, which is pretty good for post-season.

So now we go on to nationals. There will be two sessions of 6 teams, with the top three from each session advancing to the Super Six, where the national champions will be crowned. We know which teams we will have to face - Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Oregon State, and Ohio State - but won't know until tomorrow which session we will be assigned to or which event we will start competition on. Katydid and I are hoping we draw the evening session, because Katydid has to work and I want to do a bike ride that morning. I would go to both sessions, but by the time you go to two sessions on Friday, the team finals on Saturday, and individual event finals on Sunday (they also crown an individual winner on each apparatus), it's sort of a gymnastics overdose. Even for someone as obsessed devoted as I. If we are assigned to the earlier session I will probably attend both, because I'll either know we are in the Super Six and I want to find out which teams we will face, or I'll know we are NOT in the Super Six and I want to see if I can cast a hex on all the other teams. My loyalty runs deep.

Upcoming Weekend Activities......

The weekend is finally (thankfully, mercifully) upon us, and it's going to be a busy one for activities completely unrelated to Easter.

The Masters started today, and the four golfers I chose in the pool teed off and immediately started to SUCK BADLY. I have a sure-fire, guaranteed way to bring a golfer down. Just pick him on my Masters sheet. Three of the four have to make the cut in order for me to stay in the contest; I'll be lucky if ONE of them makes it. Goodbye, little $20.

Baseball started today, and I was dismayed to see that the Braves' game was in the middle of the day. I followed the little cartoon characters online, and they lost. Then tomorrow they have a day off. What?? You have the entire last six months off, come back and play one day, then have a day OFF? I think I would like to have that kind of schedule. Never mind...

The NCAA Gymnastics Regional Championships will be held this Saturday (which is also my birthday, so can I ask for a WIN for my birthday gift?) at six different locations around the country. The top two teams from each regional move on to the national championships, which are being held this year just about 20 minutes from where I live. Katydid and I will be traveling about two and a half hours to attend the Auburn Regional this Saturday, getting back home sometime between midnight and 1:00 AM. Zzzzzzzzzz..... I'm too old to stay up that late. The UGA Gym Dogs are the #1 seed for our regional, and they SHOULD advance easily, but strange things have been known to happen in the post-season.

BUT FIRST, before we make that journey, we are riding in a bicycle ride that we've done a number of times in a town not far from my home either. Instead of doing the 60-mile route, we are planning to ride the shorter one, 37 miles, dash back to my house to shower and change clothes, then make the trek to Alabama. Whew - I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

Happy (early) weekend!

Flashback Friday.....

I can change the rules if I want to, right?

I decided to have Flashback Friday today instead of Favorite Things Friday.

I was trying (mostly in vain) to tuck my tank top into my jeans today, and I flashed back to the 70's when we wore something I called bodysuits but may have had another name.

I wanted to put an image of one here, but most of the graphics I found were ... graphic. Definitely R-rated.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, these garments were like t-shirts (or blouses, in some cases), only they were SORT OF like leotards, but they had snaps at the crotch.

I had one that resembled a white blouse, and I wore it under some kind of uniform, either cheerleading or drill team. I think it was actually one of those things I "borrowed" from my friend Carol and never returned. It was perfect for whichever activity I was participating in, since it couldn't come untucked and stayed put. It was a glossy sort of fabric and buttoned up, with a collar and everything. It looked exactly like one of those shiny blouses we wore in the 70's (come on, admit it, you did too), but it had a crotch. Picture a grown-up onesie.

Granted, they were sort of a pain when it was time to go to the bathroom, but that was a relatively minor inconvenience. It couldn't be worse than trying to tuck a recalcitrant tank top into jeans, or worse, tucking a shirt into one's panties so it didn't come untucked when the pants were pulled up. (Sorry for those mental images.)

Not to be defeated, I searched again for an appropriate image. The ones I'm thinking of were kind of like this:

Not at all like this:

Or this:

Happy weekend!

P.S. Warm thoughts for our beloved Gym Dogs tomorrow starting at 4:00 EDT, if you have time. We can use all the mojo we can get. And if your mojo trends toward causing two certain OTHER TEAMS to fall off any random apparatus... well, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Favorite Things Friday....A WIN!!!!!......

I apologize for the second consecutive short post, but it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past my bedtime. I had planned to write something with a little more substance and not resort to posting yet another gymnastics-related bit of drivel, but you know how plans go...

We had a huge win tonight in our next-to-last home meet of the season. (WHERE has this season gone?) We had several career highs, a couple of season highs (I think), and we knocked off the #3 team in the nation. (We are currently ranked #4, so it's not like it was a HUGE upset, and we were the home team. That means a lot in college gymnastics. But still, it was a win. And a win is a win. I just like typing "win.") We beat the same team that put up a ginormous score of 198 last weekend, though, so psychologically it feels good.

(Forgive me for saying "we." It's a terrible habit. Just to be clear, I didn't perform a single vault, I couldn't reach the uneven bars if my life depended upon it, I could probably get ON the balance beam but would only stay for a very brief moment, and floor....well, I just can't tumble. But I can't break the habit of saying "we.")

And I lost my voice. At a gymnastics meet.

I really need to get a life.

Gymnastics Update....

We are over halfway through the college gymnastics season ... how did THAT happen? We have competed in 7 meets with only 4 remaining in the regular season. Then come the SEC Championships (every team in the SEC competes, so that's an automatic berth), then the NCAA Regional Championships (top 36 teams in the nation compete and we are currently ranked #3 in the nation, so that's ALMOST automatic), and after that it gets dicey. There are six regional competitions, and the top two teams from each of those advance to the NCAA National Championships, which this year are being held in Georgia, right up the road from where the Gym Dogs compete regularly. It gets dicey because you don't know which regional you will be assigned to until two weeks prior, and that's when you also learn against whom you will be competing. The seeding could mean that we wind up in a regional assignment with two teams to whom we've already lost this year, and I'm afraid that will get into our girls' heads. The 12 teams who survive the Regional Championships compete in two sessions on Friday, April 20th. The top three teams from each of THOSE sessions go on to the Finals (also called the Super Six) on Saturday, and the national champion is crowned from that session. On Sunday the individual event finals are held, with the top eight scores from each event in Friday's competition (vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise) and all ties competing for individual awards. It's a weekend jam-packed with gymnastics competition, and it feels like a gymnastics overdose to even the most devoted (obsessed?) fan like me.

Yesterday's meet was against an SEC opponent, but one from which we didn't expect too much competition. Oddly enough, sometimes when our opponent isn't expected to put up very big scores, we don't either. It's almost as if we think it would be vulgar to outscore them by too much. Or something. This was not the case yesterday, however. We scored our second-highest team score of the season, just .025 off our season high. We had several gymnasts put up career-high scores, and I'm not JUST talking about freshmen. We had three girls compete for the first time this year, one of them a junior who had NEVER competed before yesterday. She turned in decent scores on vault and beam yesterday, and I was happy for her. I will officially stop referring to her as a wasted scholarship and become one of her biggest fans. That sentiment may be based on her balance beam dismount alone, which I loved.

Our senior who has been dying to get into the all-around this year (competing on all four events in a meet) did so for the second consecutive week and matched last week's score, which was good enough to tie her for the top spot in the country. We keep waiting and waiting for her to get a perfect 10 on uneven bars, and I am afraid she may be trying too hard for it. Yesterday she took a couple of steps back on her dismount, which is almost unheard of for her. She is the reigning national champion on uneven bars, and I fully expect her to be right in the mix when the end of this season rolls around.

One of our gymnasts who was billed from the beginning of her freshman year as a future "superstar" has instead become more of a head case. She has a tendency to either dazzle or fizzle, with not much in between. In Alabama she scored a 9.95 on beam, with one judge giving her a 10. Yesterday she scored an 8.7 with two falls. It's the same routine, for crying out loud. See what I mean? On a positive note, she finally landed her bars dismount without crumpling to the ground. They have changed her floor routine drastically, giving her only two tumbling passes because she has a chronic left ankle injury, but she still has issues with it. And I fully believe they are mental. For those of you who are asking, no I DON'T think I could do better myself. I'm just sayin'...

I did experience a pang of guilt during yesterday's competition. The senior doing all-around, the bars champion I referred to earlier, absolutely NAILED her floor routine. She is a joy to watch, and she finally put a complete floor routine together. By the time they flashed her score, a gymnast from the other team was on balance beam (visitors always end up on beam). One judge gave her a 9.95 (may be a little high), and the other a 9.85 for a total score of 9.9. The fans didn't much appreciate the 9.85, so we booed vehemently. And the balance beam girl fell off. Now she's supposed to have better concentration than that, and at the SEC Championships there will be music blaring, fans cheering, and a lot of general chaos, so she'd better get used to it. Still, I felt kind of bad that we may have contributed to her fall. Then two MORE of their girls fell off, and we weren't in any way responsible for those, so it wouldn't have made any difference anyway.

If you're interested enough to watch the highlights from yesterday's meet, you can find them here. And I apologize for the commercial you may be forced to watch beforehand. In case you're wondering about the colors of our team's leotards when everyone KNOWS our team colors are red and black, do not adjust your set. This meet was the annual Pink Out Meet to raise awareness (and money) for breast cancer research. The leos were designed last year by the same girl who is our national bars champion. Is there NOTHING the girl can't do?

Next week's meet is against the team that will reclaim the #1 spot in the nation this week, a team that has put up some obscenely high scores, a team that we LOVE. TO. HATE. And it's only an hour from where Sweet Girl lives, so she and I will be in attendance. I hope I have lots of similarly happy things to report next weekend.

Weekend Gymnastics Report.....

I've mentioned before that college gymnastics has some strange characteristics. Wins and losses don't really matter, you can win and go down in the rankings or lose and move up, and a gymnast who is #1 in the nation on an event can drop to #66 with one bad routine this early in the season.

A couple of weeks ago the UGA Gym Dogs had a win that felt like a loss. We defeated a team by a pretty good margin (.375) who has only beaten us twice in the modern era (but that team is also on the way up under a dynamic new coach), but we only had one score of 9.9 all night long. Our reigning national champ on bars had what was for her a disastrous routine, and one sophomore who had fallen in an earlier floor routine and said that WOULD NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.... fell again on the very same element. So while we walked out with a win, the score was nothing to write home about, and we actually dropped in the rankings, while the team we beat moved UP. Weird.

This weekend the Gym Dogs suffered a loss to the #1 team in the country, but it felt like a win. We had five scores of 9.9 or higher (including a 9.925 on bars that probably should have been a 10, not that I'm biased or anything, and a 9.95 on floor that should have been ... something less), and we posted a HUGE road score of 196.95. Scores posted away from the home arena become important in three weeks, when the national rankings go to a Regional Qualifying Score (RQS) instead of a pure average of all scores earned.

If you don't care how an RQS is determined, you can skip this paragraph. They take a team's top six total team scores, three of which must have been scored away from home, drop the lowest one, and average the remaining five. That's why strong away scores become important. By the time RQS starts, we will have just barely had four away meets, and we already have one score we would like to drop. That's why posting a big score last night was a big step in remaining in the top 10 nationally.

In addition, my FANTASY gymnastics team finally managed to break the 197 mark. I am participating in a game called SimGym with several other women all over the country. We had a "draft" back in December, in which we went through 16 rounds, drafting actual NCAA gymnasts from teams all over the country to make up our fantasy teams. (It was tempting to choose only UGA gymnasts, since I'm most familiar with them, but other folks beat me to some of them.) If you would like to pause here and tell me "get a life," I don't blame you one bit.

I have 16 members of my fantasy team, and each week I have to decide which gymnasts I'm going to put in on each event, along with 3 alternates. Scores are taken from the actual scores those gymnasts receive, and scoring is done just as in actual meets, taking the top five scores from each event. It's frustrating because I don't have the luxury of knowing exactly who is actually going to compete in any given event in any given meet. It's almost a certainty that if I choose not to put a girl in on my beam line-up, for example, she will go 9.9 or higher, and I can't count her score because she wasn't in my line-up.

Yes, I realize my problems are great. For some of them I am considering professional help.

College gymnastics is just one more reason I'm thankful for the internet. Meets are almost NEVER televised live, but more and more schools are offering live video streaming of meets, and live scoring updates are available from every meet going on across the country at any given time.

That means one could have ten or twelve computer windows open, following four or five video streams and four or five more scoring streams.

Speaking in a purely theoretical manner, of course.

College Gymnastics 101......

**DISCLAIMER**: I am not a professional. I have never competed in, had a daughter in, judged, or coached college gymnastics. The information contained in this blog post is not meant to suggest that I know even a tenth as much as the next person. It's just information I've gleaned from watching and studying the sport, mostly over the last 7-8 years.

UGA had its second home gymnastics meet yesterday, and it was all around a good meet. It was a win, we scored over 197 (good for this time of the season), several girls hit season highs, several freshmen hit career highs, and yet there is still room for improvement.

Last season we were riddled with so many injuries that sometimes we didn't even put a sixth floor routine up if we had five hit routines in the bag. For those of you who don't know about college gymnastics, six girls compete on each of four events (vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise), with the highest five scores on each apparatus counting for the team score.

If you've watched gymnastics in the Olympics or any of the other televised events leading up to the Olympics (the Visa Championships, the World Championships, Cover Girl Classic, etc.), don't let their scoring confuse you. I still can't understand it, and if college gymnastics ever adopts that scoring system, I'll have to abandon the sport in favor of ... I don't know ... wrestling. Or curling. In those OTHER gymnastics events, higher difficulty is rewarded, and you can get away with errors as long as you pack a ridiculous number of skills into the routine. No wonder girls who come to college gymnastics from the elite system often arrive broken in body AND spirit.

In the college world, the scoring is simpler. A perfect routine with all the required elements earns a 9.5. A gymnast can add enough bonus to any routine to earn up to a 10.0. She can put MORE than that, but she doesn't get extra credit. Bonus can be earned by connecting skills (two leaps without a pause in between, for example) or by inserting more difficult skills (I believe a double front somersault earns a higher bonus than a double back).

Yesterday our total team score was 197.25, which divided by four events and five scores on each gives an average for each routine of 9.86. That is excellent, but still gives room for growth. Last year I would go back over our scores, trying to determine where we might have gained an extra tenth or two. (Because I like torturing myself, apparently.) Often I couldn't find a single routine where we could have expected a higher score. We just didn't have the depth, and it was almost a miracle that we even made it to the national championships. (More on that format in another post.)

In college gymnastics, two judges assess every routine, and their scores are averaged together for the final score. Their scores must be within a certain range of each other, or they must conference and work out the difference. For example, one of the LSU girls yesterday dragged her feet on her uneven bar routine. One judge gave her a 9.6, the other a 9.15. They had to conference and compare notes; you can't just average two scores that far apart. Perhaps one didn't see the girl drag her feet; maybe one considered it a "fall" and the other didn't. They worked it out, though, and her final score was a 9.3. 

I won't get too technical here, mainly because I don't KNOW ENOUGH to be technical. But here are some of the basics required to get a good score on each apparatus.

VAULT: Judges are looking for a gymnast to have good height and distance from the table (it used to be called a horse, but the vault table was changed sometime around 2003), and perfect form in the air. Legs should be glued together, toes pointed, body straight but hollowed out. The gymnast should land directly in front of the table, and the ultimate goal is the "stick," landing on the mat and not moving the feet. Often gymnasts take a step or a hop backward or forward, depending on the vault, but hopping to the side is a bigger deduction. Landing in a piked position with the chest down is also a deduction. After the landing the gymnast is required to salute the judges, but there must be control demonstrated before the salute. Some gymnasts try to get away with a little shuffle of the feet WHILE they are saluting, but they rarely get away with it. If you are interested enough to search on YouTube for some good vaults from the college world this year, look for Geralen Stack-Eaton (Alabama vs Georgia), Vanessa Zamarippa (UCLA vs California), or Kat Ding (Georgia vs Denver OR Georgia vs LSU).

UNEVEN BARS: The emphasis on uneven bars is on body lines, particularly in the handstand position. Gymnasts should achieve a perfect vertical line on EVERY handstand, with up to a tenth of a point deducted each time vertical isn't achieved. Release moves are required, as is transitioning between the high bar and the low bar. Often the coach will stand near the bars and even hold out his hand (it drives me CRAZY, and I can't imagine it doesn't drive the gymnasts crazy too, but I guess they're used to it) in case of a fall. I don't know why they do that, since if they inadvertently touch a gymnast, it's an automatic one-tenth deduction. It's not like holding his hand out there is going to save her from falling. But whatever. As mentioned above, athletes can earn bonus by connecting or combining skills. The most common dismount is a double back somersault in the layout position, and as always the judges are looking for a stuck landing. Kat Ding of Georgia is the reigning national champion on uneven bars, and you don't need to look any further than Kat for a perfect routine. She hasn't yet earned the perfect 10, but it's coming. Her first routine this season she earned a 9.975. That means one judge gave her a 9.95, the other a 10. And as sad as it is true, it could have simply been that the judge who gave her a 9.95 gave it because it was the first meet of the season. You can't really blame them, I guess. If you give a 10 right out of the gate, where do you go from there for the rest of the season?


BALANCE BEAM: Obviously the most crucial part of a balance beam routine is simply staying on it. It's four inches wide, and gymnasts are required to perform both backward and forward tumbling in addition to leaps and a full turn on one foot. (You'd be amazed at how many girls complete a tumbling series without a wobble but then nearly fall off just doing a full turn.) The tumbling series (or acro series, as some call it) must be at least two elements connected, but some gymnasts choose to do three. Gymnasts are also required to get down on the beam at some point, lying down or sitting down (which I have never understood, and I'm guessing everyone has forgotten why THAT rule is in place). Georgia has had several gymnasts from the past turn in perfect balance beam routines: Grace Taylor, Courtney McCool, and Courtney Kupets. Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs of UCLA has also earned a 10 on balance beam in the past. Bonus comes not only from connecting elements on the balance beam, but also with added difficulty on the dismount. And of course only a stuck landing will earn a perfect 10.

FLOOR EXERCISE: This is Hubby's least favorite of all the women's events. He says "all they're doing out there is wallering (wallowing) around on the floor." Routines are choreographed to music, often a compilation of two or more songs, but the music cannot have words. Only recently have the rules been amended to allow "human sounds" (I don't want to think about what mental images THAT creates), as long as there are no words. Routines are about a minute and a half in length, and most girls have three tumbling passes in their floor exercises. We have one gymnast this year who only has two passes, because she has battled chronic back issues. She puts enough into her two passes to earn her a 10.0 start value, though, and that's all that matters. Dance moves are judged in addition to the tumbling and leaps, and just like beam, gymnasts are required to "waller" on the floor. Oddly enough, it's much harder to get a 10 on floor exercise, because the routines vary so widely and judging the dance part is so subjective. Georgia's Courtney Kupets earned a 10 on floor exercise in 2009. Courtney McCool and Shayla Worley of Georgia have also come very close.

I was so proud of our team yesterday, but probably the best news of all is that there is still room to grow. I think our girls could easily earn an additional .5-.75 (although scores of 198 are almost unheard of) before the season is finished with a few more stuck landings on vault and some cleaned-up floor routines. Yesterday's score was our highest in two years, and it should move us into fourth place in the country when rankings come out tomorrow. If we keep improving little by little, we will definitely be in the conversation when the post-season arrives. And I hope we speak very, very loudly.

Go Gym Dogs!

Georgia versus Bama.....

I haven't been to a lot of gymnastics meets away from the home arena, but Katydid and I made the decision (actually, I made it and she was gracious enough to go along with me) to go to the Alabama meet. We are also going to the Auburn meet next weekend, and Sweet Girl and I are going to the one in Florida.

When Hubby and I went to the Meet the Team Dinner a couple of weeks ago, Georgia's head coach came over to us and thanked us for being there. Hubby felt compelled to tell the coach, "She'll be there with y'all in Tuscaloosa."

I kind of expected some coachy reply like:

"Thanks for supporting us."

"You must be a true fan to drive 4 hours to a meet."

"Why don't you come down on the floor and help with the team?"

Not really on that last one.

What he ACTUALLY said to me, though, was: "Boy, you're brave."

Hmm.

It's not that gymnastics fan are especially hostile. We don't boo the other team when they march into the arena. We don't cheer when an opponent falls on an apparatus. We wait for the girl to remount the apparatus, and then we applaud her for continuing. (Even if inside we are SILENTLY saying, "Yes!")

Alabama's gymnastics team is the reigning national champion. And they're just darn good. And this was their home opener. And they have a tremendous fan following. That was what prompted Jay to tell me I was brave for venturing into that arena.

When I called to get tickets, I did request that they be with the (small number of) other Georgia fans. About halfway through the meet, Katydid and I finally spotted them - all the way across the Coliseum, in the OTHER dark corner. What part of WITH the other fans did the guy think I meant? He was very nice, but I guess he snickered when he hung up the phone. So not only were we in enemy territory, we were right there behind enemy lines. We didn't even cheer very loudly for OUR girls.

College gymnastics is a weird sport. (I'm considering writing a "College Gymnastics 101" blog post, if it won't send most of you screaming and tearing your hair out.) It's weird in that there is no defense. And while a winner is announced, wins and losses are irrelevant. Average scores are all that matter (and Regional Qualifying Scores when they start mid-season, but I won't get into THAT) when it comes time to rank teams. Teams don't compete against the same number of other teams. Heck, the other team doesn't even really have to BE there. You could compete in two different places and email the scores in. But I guess judges would be much more expensive that way.

The other thing I think is weird about college gymnastics, at least for the women, is that it's the only sport I can think of in which the athletes compete in full make-up and elaborate (for some) hair-dos.....and bare feet.

We didn't win Friday night, but we only lost by .15. And in the gymnastics world that is not noted as "fifteen hundredths of a point"; it's "a tenth and a half." The weirdities are adding up here.

I don't think anyone voiced it outright, but Georgia wasn't expected to compete that closely with the defending national champions. Our coach is in his third year (although he served as assistant for a legend for seventeen years, so he must know a thing or two), and we haven't replaced the superstars we graduated a few years ago. We still have some awesome talent, but expectations for the program aren't great. Personally, I LIKE it when popular opinion ignores us. I prefer flying under the radar. The pre-season coaches' poll had us listed at #9 (exactly where we finished last season), and following this weekend's competition we should move up to #6. Last weekend we posted the highest score in the country, but not everyone (including Alabama) had competed yet, so rankings don't start until this week. That's fine with me. If you're #1, there's only one way to go. And folks are gunning for you. I prefer they overlook us.

Not only did we keep it close Friday night (and we had a pretty darn good lead after two rotations, but floor exercise proved to be our nemesis again), but we posted a good road score. That's another thing about team calculations - three of your scores MUST be from away meets, so you want some of those to be high scores. I know, it's confusing.

Anyway, I'm glad we went to the meet in Tuscaloosa, but I'm not sure we will go back. It was uncomfortable sitting there in the middle of the other team's fans, and we could have watched it online. It will be two years before we compete there again, though, due to the every-other-year nature of the schedule, and I'm sure by then I will have forgotten how awkward it was. Because I'm a butthead that way.

Here are some Georgia highlights from Friday night:

We had a 9.9 on vault from Cat Hires, a sophomore who has been a powerful vaulter for two years but never could stick the landing. She's now had two sticks in a row. Good for her!

We had a 9.875 on vault from Kat  Ding. She also had a 9.875 on bars, which is low for her. She's the reigning national champion on bars and had a 9.975 last week. She's had a 10 coming for two years, and this is her last year to get it.

We had a 9.95 on beam from Shayla Worley, who has found it impossible to live up to the enormous expectations laid out for her. One judge gave her a 10, and the other a 9.9. Still, we will take a 9.95 on the apparatus that is hardest (in my opinion) to get a 10 on.

We didn't have any stellar performances on floor exercise.

Alabama had a 10 and a 9.975 on vault. I told you they were good. If those two vaults hadn't been up there in the stratosphere, we might have held on for the win.

Now before you go accusing me of being the "fanatic" kind of fan who stalks the team travels to ALL the away meets, let me assure you that isn't the case. I'm NOT going to the meet in Salt Lake City. Or the one in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Yet.

Dear Gym Dogs - The 2012 Version.....

Dear Gym Dogs:

This time last year I took you to task for everything from your choice of beam music to your introductory video. Having attended the Sneak Peek this year, I'm taking a different approach and accentuating the positive. I won't even pretend to be impartial or objective. I'm trying not to get my hopes up to unrealistic levels, but that's just the fan I am. Please know, however, that I am a true fan. Should you NOT live up to my expectations.... I will still support you, pull for you, and send you enough money that my season tickets, hospitality room passes, and VIP parking pass are secure.

KE - I hate it that you got hurt last year before the first competition. From what I've seen so far, it was truly our loss. Your beam routine is awesome, and I can't wait to see your WHOLE floor routine. With the double layout that I've heard you're capable of but haven't unveiled yet. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?

KB - If you make the line-up and are competitive on three events like your coach said you might be, I will take back every single time I ever referred to you as a wasted scholarship. I LOVE your middle pass in your floor routine, and you looked phenomenal on beam. Good for you, taking it upon yourself to get in better shape and polish your skills over the summer. One question: What were you doing the LAST two summers? I'm just sayin'...

KD - I would bet my next paycheck that this year you will finally be awarded the 10.0 you've had coming to you for the past two years. I don't know where they're taking that .025 deduction, but it may be on the half pirouette on the low bar. Get that baby nailed down, and I'm thinking there may be more than ONE perfect 10.0 in your future. I'm proud of you for persevering and making your way into the all-around your senior year. Keep that gorgeous smile, and always make that face you made in the Florida meet last year when you stick a landing.

WK - Welcome to college, baby. Try not to look like you're scared of your own shadow the first time you run out into the Coliseum, and you'll be fine. Just do what you've always done. And smile. It's supposed to be fun.

CT - I have always loved your grace and style, and I don't see where your critics get off making so many comments about desserts and buffet lines. What they call sluggish I see as precise, but who am I to judge objectively? About that side-sommi on beam - either make it pretty or take it out. There aren't many people who can do it beautifully, so if you can't perfect it, throw it out. You've got plenty of other skills. Keep showing your dance skills on floor.


MB - You will always be my favorite walk-on. Your floor routine this year looks like you've been working on your presentation. Good for you. If you don't make the line-up because we have so much depth this year, I will still admire you for sticking around and working so hard even when you have to pay your own way. You rock.

SW - Several people have said this is your year. You've been plagued by injuries, but there have also been rumors of a less-than-stellar work ethic. I hope that is all behind you and you can become a rock your last two years. I've seen you perform at near-perfect levels, so I'm confident you can turn things around. There are records to be broken, so get after them!

GN - Please, please, please take care of your back. We need you on bars and floor! I am so glad they have reduced your tumbling passes to two and still kept enough difficulty to give you a 10.0 start value. I absolutely love that Gienger-to-immediate-shootover on bars. I realize the connection is sometimes difficult to time right, and it doesn't mean a deduction when you don't do it, but it is awe-inspiring when you get it right. That smile of yours is as dazzling as your gymnastics.

SP - I was wowed by that front aerial to immediate scale on balance beam, and I was even more impressed when I learned that it's an E level move. Seriously? E level on BEAM? I hope you are able to compete in the all-around. If you can do that as a freshman, then the future for you - and the Gym Dogs - is a bright one.

CH - Manage to control that landing on vault, and you will be a force to be reckoned with. I was enthralled with your floor routine, too, and I hope you can make the line-up in more than one event this year.

LM - You bailed us out on beam twice last year, once at one of the most important championships of the year. And you calmly posted an impressive 9.875 even as a last-minute substitute. I hope you can find your way back into the line-up this year, and not just due to someone else's injury. You're cute as a button, and you clearly have ice water in your veins. Good for you.

LC - Please, please, please stay healthy. Your skills are amazing, as evidenced by the fact that in your first meet in the all-around last year, you shot to #1 in the nation. I'd love to see you do that again. I appreciate the fact that you also have a triple element flight series on beam, when you're only required to do two.

CD - Another freshman with the potential to do the all-around? Wow. When I first heard your floor music, I couldn't decide whether to be appalled or amused. But then the crowd got into it, and I realized that's what it's all about. The Coliseum will be rocking when they hear that music, so it's up to you to make the line-up.

NC - You've been our rock, especially last year. You led off several events, which means your scores will never be stellar, but your consistency makes you an excellent choice for the lead-off spot. Your facial expressions during your floor routine make it a joy to watch. Keep nailing those vault landings.

BB - You were relegated to the role of cheerleader last year due to injury, and I hope you are able to compete this year, at least on vault.

CP and DH - I don't know enough about either of you to give advice or observations, but welcome to the Gym Dog family.

Your most devoted (obsessed?) fan,

Bragger

Another Sisters' Saturday.....

After a long hiatus due to Frogger Blogger being in graduate school, the three sisters got together again today. If my exhaustion is any indication, a good time was had by all.

The main purpose of the get-together was to attend the UGA Gym Dogs' Sneak Peek, the first glimpse of what the upcoming gymnastics season will look like for the home team.

Oh.

My.

I'm trying (mostly unsuccessfully) not to get my hopes up to unrealistic levels, but holy cow the team looked great today. A girl who is a junior and has NEVER competed but hasn't had any trouble collecting her scholarship check every month finally showed up and looked fabulous. No significant injuries and tremendous depth on every apparatus. There were two brand-new freshmen, one who showed up three days ago and one whose very first practice EVER as a Gym Dog was ... TODAY. No wonder she looked petrified when she mounted that balance beam.

After the Sneak Peek we went to the UGA bookstore, had greasy chili dogs at the Varsity, did some Christmas shopping, and laughed a lot.

I can't wait to do it all again. Especially the laughing part.

A Blog Post in Two Parts......

I'm going to write this post in two parts.

In the first part, which I'm writing at about 12:30 PM on Saturday afternoon, I'm going to write as if what I WISH would happen at the gymnastics meet today really DID happen.

After the meet I will post what really happened. I apologize to those of you who do not share my passion obsession with college gymnastics. We're halfway through the regular season already, so you only have to suffer through a few more months of this.

REAL RESULTS

They were better. We lost.

FANTASY RESULTS

Vault: Cat Hires led off with a powerful vault but took a step sideways on the landing. Kat  Ding returned to the vault lineup and nailed her Yurchenko full exactly the way she did at 2009 NCAAs. Mariel Box finally landed her powerful vault without taking that enormous step back, and Lindsey Cheek continued to amaze everyone with her near-perfection on vault. Our two seniors, Cassidy McComb and Hilary Mauro, each threw a Yurchenko 1 1/2 and stuck the landings. Oh wait, I just left out Noel Couch. Let's put her in in place of Cat Hires, because Noel has stuck a couple of landings in her own right.

Bars: Christa Tanella led off with her usual precision and even stepped it up a notch to keep her very vocal critics from labeling her routine as "sluggish." She threw a half-twist into her double tuck dismount (does she even HAVE that?) and drew a fist pump from head coach Jay Clark. Lindsey Cheek returned to the bars lineup after a couple of weeks competing in only three events, and she did not disappoint. Cassidy McComb did a beautiful routine and even managed to point her toes. (Okay, that's a real fantasy, since her feet are as flat as they come, and I don't think people should blame that on her, but they do.) Noel Couch earned her season high score as she not only looked less herky-jerky, she stuck the landing. Gina Nuccio returned to the bars lineup and wowed the crowds - and the judges - with her beautiful routine. Because she was so near perfect, Kat Ding followed with the season's first perfect 10.0 from any gymnast in the country.

Beam: Christa led off on beam as well, executing her routine flawlessly, including that UGLY side somi. It's hard to make that skill look pretty. Or even decent. Noel followed with one tiny bobble that she covered up with a dance move. Lindsey got her highest score of the season because she took out that butt wiggle after her full turn that looks like a wobble. Cassidy and Hilary both nailed their punch fronts and their dismounts. It's getting harder and harder to make this crap up. Some random gymnast came in for the 6th spot and did a fabulous job as well.

Floor: Noel got things started with her usual herky-jerky self, but her piked full-in brought cheers from the crowd. Lindsey fired up the student section with her B-52's-inspired routine and fixed that twisting thing she does on one of her passes. Mariel continued to stick every landing and matched her high score of the season.  Cassidy was perfect in everything, including her beautiful triple turn. Hilary finally nailed that double front she starts off with, and Gina returned to the floor lineup and amazed everyone with her amazing double Arabian.

Final result: Georgia wins by a tenth. I'm not going to jinx us even further by predicting the score.

Tune in later for the REAL story.

Trying to Generate Some Mojo......

A good blogger would have produced pictures for this blog, but THIS blogger is tired.

Tomorrow our gymnastics team has a meet against the #1 team in the nation. I remember when WE were the #1 team in the nation. We, however, were never unbeatable, as this particular team appears to be. They came out of the gate putting up scores that usually don't show up until mid-season. There were a few little squeaks about the possibility of their peaking too soon, but I don't think they HAVE a peak. They just keep going up.

And it's Florida.

Florida, of all teams.

The college we most like to hate in all things sports-related.

And you can't take anything at all away from their team. They are just stacked with talent from top to bottom ... wait, they don't HAVE a bottom. They're just stacked with talent. Period.

Last year we lost at THEIR place, but only by a tenth. That's a stuck landing. A wobble on beam. A shuffle of the feet.

This year we have been decimated by injuries and graduation. We have had an AWESOME freshman step up, and if she's on she will score huge. We also have a walk-on who has made her way into the lineup on two events, but she's been injured too.

I did everything in my power to generate as much Friday mojo as I could. I wore my Uga VI shirt (even though he is now THREE mascots ago, may they rest in peace) to school today. I wore my new leather UGA logo tennis shoes. Socks. Bracelet. Earrings. My special Gym Dog necklace that Frogger Blogger had made for me.

I'm now unashamedly begging for help from the public. If you don't have anything else to do tomorrow at 4:00 PM EST, send some warm thoughts toward Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia. My hope is that our team will shine with some good scores, even if they don't win in the end. If your warm thoughts cause a Florida gymnast (or two or three) to fall off the beam or slip from the uneven parallel bars (without injury, OF COURSE), well that's all part of the game.

This would be a good time to break the 197 mark. For US, not them. They've already done it (twice).

If you don't give a rip about college gymnastics, send some warm thoughts that I don't suffer a stroke in the middle of the competition. It would dampen the enjoyment of the meet for Katydid and Frogger Blogger. They might have to shove my inert body out of the way for a better view of the floor exercise.

Not Sure What Kind of Fan I'm Becoming......

***Warning (or apology?) - This is the first of what I fear will be many gymnastics-related blogs between now and April 17th.***

***And I'm not sure it will even be coherent. Gymnastics doesn't lend itself well to a stream-of-consciousness approach***

***Full disclosure here***

***Not at all sure what's up with all the asterisks***

Since I began this topic, I had to go finish cooking dinner, and I think I have recognized what the problem is. It's not really what kind of fan I'm becoming, it's where I'm getting my information.

I am down in the dumps about our upcoming season in collegiate gymnastics. AND THE SEASON HASN'T EVEN STARTED YET. What's up with THAT?

I'm the one in our family who, while watching a football game, fervently believes that our team can win, even if we are down 49-0 with two minutes to go in the game. I don't get down in the dumps easily.

I have become concerned that I'm turning into a fair-weather fan. Our gymnastics team has won 10 national championships, 5 of them in a row (unprecedented in women's college gymnastics), from 2005-2009. Then last year we didn't even qualify for the national championships for the first time in 27 years. Couldn't defend our title because we couldn't even go.

We've graduated four super-superstar gymnasts in the past two years, and we've graduated some pretty good ones in addition to those. Recruiting hasn't been what it used to be, and even the top recruits we DID land haven't lived up to expectations.

This year's freshman class can't touch those at other schools, and then last week we lost the best of our freshmen, a powerhouse who was supposed to contribute on all four events. She ruptured her Achilles during practice, and she's out for the season. If there is a positive, it's that it happened before competition has begun, and she can redshirt this season, maintaining four years of eligibility. She had surgery yesterday, so she couldn't even be at the Meet the Team event.

We only have two seniors. And they're both in great shape, with awesome gymnastics. That's a relief.

Our top two juniors are both injured, both of them vital to the bars and vault line-ups. One of them got a near-perfect 9.975 on both bars AND vault last year (bars twice). The third junior has really come along this year, after only performing two vaults last year. On one of those she landed on her rear-end. She wasn't put back in the line-up again after that. Apparently she has made great strides (or we're running out of healthy folks), because last night we saw her practice on both floor and vault. We didn't get to see bars or beam practice, so I don't know where we stand on those apparatuses. Apparati. Whatever.

What we did get to see last night looked pretty good. I don't have that good an eye, especially on vaults, and I don't think I can judge objectively. I have a pretty hard time not taking a deduction when one of our gymnasts falls flat on her face. Maybe it's a good thing I gave up on becoming a gymnastics judge.

I have pinpointed the source of my negativity, though. I have been following a message board devoted to college gymnastics, along with one blog (that I'm NOT going to link to here because I don't want him to get any more hits), that are scathing in their criticism. Some of it is unbiased judgment, as far as I can tell, and some of it I can tell is of the "nah-nah-na-boo-boo" variety, the writers taking great pleasure in how far the mighty have fallen. A lot of it is based on the snippets of video that our coach has posted, and I have to admit that the snippets are a lot of "fluff" and not a whole lot of gymnastics. Other schools post entire intrasquad videos with complete routines for every gymnast.

Part of me is hoping that our coach hasn't posted videos because he doesn't want the other schools to see what their competition is. He's holding his cards close to the vest (is that a mixed metaphor, or is it correct?) and he's going to use the negativism to inspire his girls. There is a little voice in my head, though, that wonders, along with some of the most vocal nay-sayers online, if he isn't showing any good gymnastics because ....... there AREN'T any good gymnastics to show. I don't like that little voice. It's making me angry at myself for harboring those negative thoughts.

Is it reading the negative posts and comments that's making me down in the dumps about my team? Does that mean I only like my team when they're doing well? I don't think so, but I'm wondering if I just need to stop reading those things altogether. Easier said than done.... they're like CRACK (or what I guess crack must be like, since I have no personal knowledge).

I realize dynasties fall, records are broken, streaks eventually die. Perhaps this is just the second year in what will become an extended period of rebuilding. Perhaps it's just someone else's turn to be at the top. Rest assured, though, that I'm going to continue to pull for my team even if we lose every single meet this season. But damn I hope that doesn't happen.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled, non-gymnastics obsessed life.

Back in the Saddle Again.......

Not that I really WANT to be back in the saddle again.

Today was my first day back at school; students return tomorrow. My courses aren't ready, I don't have syllabi copied, I don't have my advisement list posted outside my door, I'm not sure we have student packets for the newbies, I don't have my lunch packed, and I'm not sure what I'm going to wear tomorrow.

But if 24.... 25..... 26..... however many years I've been doing this have taught me anything, it's that the day will go on, we will get through it, no blood will be shed (I'm hoping), and it won't be the end of the world. It's just about heavenly to me that I don't have to come home and do my online job in addition to teaching all day. I may miss the extra money, but the extra free time I have will MORE than make up for it.

And because I don't have the extra obligations, Hubby and I were able to go to the Meet the Team event for the Gym Dogs tonight. We watched practice, had dinner with the team and coaches, met some new people. I'm excited for the season to get underway.

But it's past my bedtime. More tomorrow!

Dear Gym Dogs........

Dear Gym Dogs:

It’s the day of your Sneak Peek, our first (but probably unrealistic) glimpse of what the 2011 gymnastics season will look like. As a result of some poor planning, I find myself in Jamaica on this date and unable to attend the Sneak Peek. I apologize for the error, but I’m sure you understand.

As we (meaning YOU the team and ME, possibly your most devoted [obsessed?] fan) embark on the new season, I would like to offer a few pointers and suggestions. Feel free to ignore them, but they are heartfelt. And don’t worry - they are NOWHERE NEAR as scathing as the remarks offered up by Aunt Joyce on his blog. He is ruthless in his criticism. Yet as devoted (obsessed?) a fan as I am, I have never been able to argue realistically with anything he has said. I probably wouldn’t SAY them, but I can’t argue with them. He’s brutally honest. Emphasis on brutal.

#1 - Let’s reconsider the introductory video. When you unveiled this one 

at last year’s first home meet, I shuddered. I felt the eyes of Karma bearing down on all of us in Stegeman Coliseum. Her eyes were little slits, and I smelled trouble from the beginning. If you come out and proclaim yourselves “unstoppable,” one of two things is bound to happen. You’re going to A) kick some serious gymnastic arse and PROVE yourselves unstoppable; or B) you’re going to invite other teams to kick THEMSELVES into a higher gear and prove you aren’t. Unstoppable, that is. Remember which one happened last year? The five-time defending NCAA champions did not win. a. single. meet. on. the. road. And for the first time in oh about 27 years, you watched the NCAA championships from the spectator seats, just like I did. Yeah, because I ordered national championship tickets along with my season tickets. Because we’ve been just that sure for years and years that you would be there. I guess I learned my lesson about doing THAT. I guess you did too, since the option to purchase national championship tickets was not on this year’s season ticket application. Back to the introductory video. It wasn’t just the choice of song. I even downloaded it onto my iPhone, and I like to listen to it when I’m riding my bike. I would also like to think I AM unstoppable. In the video, though, your facial expressions and your body language made you look like..... I hate to say it, but I must..... You looked kinda like thugs. You even appeared to be flashing gang signs. Waving your national championship rings at the camera. Reminded me of those old commercials when Robert Conrad would dare viewers to knock the battery off his shoulder. Yes, I realize you are all too young to have any idea what I’m talking about.

#2 - Maybe it’s just me, but the floor music last year was ….. underwhelming. Some of it grew on me by the end of the season, but I remember thinking at the beginning, “Blah.” I realize you can’t have something like Tiffany Tolnay’s “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” or “Bad to the Bone” EVERY year, but come on! At least have something that gets the crowd involved. No need to go overboard, though. That shotgun blast that comes at the beginning of EVERY SINGLE floor routine of West Virginia, and the wolf howl that comes before EVERY SINGLE floor routine of N.C. State, those won’t be necessary. Not that either of those would be appropriate for UGA, but I’m just sayin’.

#3 - Let’s talk beam music. I realize it’s the only time you get to choose music that has lyrics, and you want beam music that reveals something about you. It was incredibly sweet two years ago when Paige Burns used Jimmy Buffett’s “Little Miss Magic” because that is the song she and her dad decided they would dance to when she gets married. It is cool that Hilary Mauro used “She Comes from Boston” and Noel Couch used “Jersey Girl” to represent their hometowns. And I think when Kat Ding chose “I Run to You,” she chose the song for its message about avoiding hate and prejudice and how wonderful it is to have someone else to turn to in times of conflict and uncertainty. It’s probably just a coincidence that five out of the eight times she performed on beam last year, when she got to the word “disaster” in the chorus of that song, she fell off the beam. Can we say “self-fulfilling prophecy”? Let’s not take any chances that it was NOT coincidence, shall we? Let’s find some beam music with words like “soar” and “fly” and “leap” and “punch front” and “double back in the pike position” and “gainer off the side with a full twist.” Okay, perhaps those last ones might be asking for a bit much. Maybe.

As I write this (admittedly NOT from Jamaica, but posted in advance), the videos I’ve seen of intrasquads and practice look amazing. Some of you returned this fall in much, much, much better shape than last year (**ahem, I’m looking at YOU, Cassidy, and you look AMAZING**), and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the injuries that hounded some of you last year are completely healed. (Why was Kat even warming up on beam last April at regionals in the first place? It wasn’t like she was going to compete on it.....) Except for Calamity-You-Know-Who, who will ALWAYS be injured. I know practically nothing about the freshmen except that one is a local girl who won’t even join the team until January because she’s still in high school, but I do know they are going to have to PRODUCE. You lost some superstars last year (and the year before), but there are always new superstars to be produced.

So I’ll see you all at the “Meet the Team” event in 24 days, and for the first home meet in 7 weeks. I’ll be watching online when you have your first meet of the season in Denver. Because I’m a devoted (obsessed?) fan that way.

And I’ll see you at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland in April.

Go Gym Dogs!