WAG Changing the Olympic team from 5 to 4....

[Deleted member D3987]

NO we are not getting the best if the girls who could score the very best are sitting at home. We get a skim off the top of "the best" and a whole lot of "pretty good", a slice of "good", a pinch of "okay" and a whole handful of "not so good" compared to the rest.

It will give a relatively reasonable representation of the gym map of the world, but you will not see "the best gymnasts in the world". Many L10's in the US are better than many elites from some parts of the world, which is why some girls who cannot possibly compete for the US, compete for other countries.

Cutting down the numbers even further means we see less of the very best and many more of the good. But I guess that is the olympic spirit. When people say to your very good L10, "Can't wait to see you at the Olympics"". It is pretty hard to explain that your kid doesn't have a chance in H.ELL, because they see girls competing at the O's who are not anywhere near as good as your dd.

The Olympic dream is no longer a real thing for US gymnasts, there are just way too many awesome girls in the talent pool. Even Qualifying elite means nothing, rare that those girls compete internationally, let alone at worlds or the O's.

Grandi killed the dream and took the beauty out of gymnastics.

actually, i wish i could hit 50 "likes" on this one.

 

[Bess]

So...what if there was an event specialist from The US or Great Britain and they couldn't qualify to the team… Could they possibly go as an event specialist? Or are those spots strictly for those countries that do not have teams

 

[bogwoppit]

So...what if there was an event specialist from The US or Great Britain and they couldn't qualify to the team… Could they possibly go as an event specialist? Or are those spots strictly for those countries that do not have teams

No they could not go as a specialist if their country has a team at the O's.

 

[Paint A Melody]

So there will be more specialists from Antarctica, but fewer from Russia, the US, ect?

 

[bogwoppit]

I do not remember hearing of any gyms in Antarctica.

 

[raenndrops]

I do not remember hearing of any gyms in Antarctica.

It was my example so as to not offend anyone from a country that may have a really good gymnast on an event, but not any GREAT gymnasts... or not enough to field a team.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

I see more developing nations chucking suicidal vaults... woohoo - A neck/spinal injury on the big stage is going to do wonders for our sport.

 

[bogwoppit]

I see more developing nations chucking suicidal vaults... woohoo - A neck/spinal injury on the big stage is going to do wonders for our sport.

I agree 100%, more difficulty, less artistry and much higher chance of seeing death live on tv.

 

[sce]

So there will be more specialists from Antarctica, but fewer from Russia, the US, ect?

That is exactly my point.

 

[GlobalNomad]

What's somewhat interesting as well is that the Olympic committee decides what a country is. They choose a different definition than anyone else, defining places as independent countries that clearly are not, and these areas can field teams. Puerto Rico, for example, is a US territory that gets its own team. I think the Olympic committee recognizes 10 more countries than the UN does. I guess their goal is not to get the best athletes from all over the world, but just to get athletes from all over the world.

On the plus side, if you have a young athlete that has Olympic dreams, it really is possible, as long as they have the potential to become a decent level 10 and the mobility to go to another country. :/

 

[profmom]

OK, so who is in to start organizing the secret CB team from Antarctica? We've got the coaches and I know we've got some L10s and parents of L10s on the boards. Surely someone around here has the pull to score us some passports!

 

[GlobalNomad]

I wouldn't mind hanging out in the US Virgin Islands, if someone would open a gym there. That's another US territory that can have an Olympic team.

I'm not exactly sure what stops a U.S. athlete from competing for a U.S. territory. Maybe someone knows? From what I understand, an athlete doesn't have to live in the country for which he competes, as long as a parent or grandparent is a citizen of that country. But, these territories are part of the US, so it's not even a different country, and US Virgin Islanders are US citizens.

There's 4 US territories on the Olympic list, so maybe the USA and its territories should send 5 teams .

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter02/bobsled/story?id=1336193

 

[strawberries]

Oh good! Now I can go back to saying my child is going to the Olympics...and I bet Richard Branson will sponsor our Virgin Islands team...though he may want to compete...

 

[RangerDad]

I wouldn't mind hanging out in the US Virgin Islands, if someone would open a gym there. That's another US territory that can have an Olympic team.

I'm not exactly sure what stops a U.S. athlete from competing for a U.S. territory. Maybe someone knows? From what I understand, an athlete doesn't have to live in the country for which he competes, as long as a parent or grandparent is a citizen of that country. But, these territories are part of the US, so it's not even a different country, and US Virgin Islanders are US citizens.

There's 4 US territories on the Olympic list, so maybe the USA and its territories should send 5 teams .

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter02/bobsled/story?id=1336193

As I understood the Puerto Rico Gymnastics Federation have a rule that an athlete must be training in the Island for at least a year before been allow to train and or compete with the team.

I agree that 4 spots is just a "dream crusher! My wife and I were born outside the US (we are a American citizens). Our daughter was born in Florida. She just started in the sport, but if we are going to spend the amount of effort, time, and money dedicating our "life" to the gymnastics journey I'm pretty sure we will take advantage of any Olympic rule to hopefully let her compete internationally. So three different options for us. We'll see when the times arrives.


"Strive for perfection, Achieve excellence"

 

[Gymmomto2]

Maybe we should push for more colleges offering gymnastics programs!!

 

[Moxiegrl83]

https://www.change.org/p/internatio...the-olympic-format-from-five-gymnasts-to-four

Anyone see this??

 

[Acrogymnastmegan]

https://www.change.org/p/internatio...the-olympic-format-from-five-gymnasts-to-four

Anyone see this??

I have signed this

 

[Becauseisaid]

I do not remember hearing of any gyms in Antarctica.

Business opportunity, right there!

 

[flippin out]

https://www.change.org/p/internatio...the-olympic-format-from-five-gymnasts-to-four

Anyone see this??

I signed

 

[Paint A Melody]

Earlier when I looked, it had 400 followers. Now it has 1,100 ish. Guess it shows how popular the decision was...