Saving Cal men's gymnastics: The Cal Gymnastics Forever committee, including team member Daniel Geri, went before a Cal administrative committee Wednesday in a meeting that will probably help determine the fate of the Cal men's gymnastics team. Cal men's gymnastics has been calling for letters of support from fans of the sport, and has even created a handy letter-creator, which is available here. According to a Facebook message sent out by the group after the meeting, things went fairly well -- so far, the group has raised $90,000 in pledges and received more than 400 letters of support.
But the Bears have barely begun to fight, and they need you to keep writing and pledging. "Please keep reaching out to everyone you know to go to the website and to contribute," the group said in a Facebook message July 14. (Cal Gymnastics Forever)
Georgia Bonora, Angela Donald win Australian Championships: Olympic veteran Georgia Bonora and 15-year-old newcomer Angela Donald triumphed at the Australian women's championships, held last weekend in Perth. Bonora and Donald won the senior and junior all-around titles, respectively, and Bonora also won uneven bars and floor exercise in event finals, with Emma Dennis winning beam and Sophie Budack taking first on vault. Donald won uneven bars and balance beam, Tierra Exum won vault and Natalia Joura was the champion on floor in the junior division. (Examiner.com and International Gymnast Magazine)
Olivia Vivian wins Australian Level 10 titles: 2008 Olympian and Oregon State junior Olivia Vivian is keeping in shape this summer by competing in (and winning) Australia's level 10 national championship. Vivian won the all-around and balance beam last week. Fellow Olympian Georgia Bonora won the senior elite crown. Vivian, who hasn't vaulted in her time at OSU, posted two scores in the 13s on that event, leading me to wonder if the Beavers have gained a vaulter. (Cliff Kirkpatrick's Blog)
CoverGirl Classic field unveiled: Do not expect everyone on this list to compete in Chicago, or to do all four events if they do choose to compete. But the list, released by USA Gymnastics earlier this week, is below. Commentary on said list is here. (USA Gymnastics)
Shawn Johnson's stalker sentenced to five years in a mental hospital: Robert O'Ryan, whose obsession with the Olympic beam champion fueled a cross-country road trip that ended at the "Dancing with the Stars" studios in L.A., was sentenced to five years in a state mental hospital this week. (Los Angeles Times)
Gymnast nominated for an ESPY: Michigan's Linnea Dohring, who competes despite being born with a right arm not fully formed, has been nominated for ESPY's "Best Female Athlete with a Disability." The ESPY awards are taking place Wednesday in L.A. (Detroit News)
More on CoverGirl: Inside Gymnastics has the scoop about what the top competitors and their coaches are thinking and hoping going into this meet. Also, a small ankle injury has hampered Rebecca Bross, though she is planning to compete beam in Chicago. (Inside Gymnastics Magazine)
A Raj return?: In New Jersey to coach and motivate young gymnasts, U.S. Olympic bronze medalist Raj Bhavsar, 29, says he still hasn't ruled out another Olympic run. (APP.com)
The new Spanish champion: Ana María Izurieta, who was an up-and-comer for Spain in 2009 before disappearing from the international scene with an injury before the World Championships, has come back to win the Spanish Championships, ahead of Mélodie Pulgarín and Claudia Vila. (The All Around Gymnastics News on Facebook)
Mayra Kroonen getting ready for Worlds: The 22-year-old veteran and new Dutch national champion is gearing up for the World Championships in her home country this fall. (International Gymnast Magazine)
Claudia Voicu retires: Is this perhaps the first influence of Octavian Belu and Mariana Bitang's return? Voicu was one of Romania's better juniors, although she has been hampered by a knee injury. Shame all the same, especially as Nicolae Forminte spent a good deal of time at the European Championships complaining about the lack of depth in Deva. (The Couch Gymnast)
Jesse Silverstein wins men's Elite Qualifier: New Yorker Jesse Silverstein, pegged as one to watch this season, won the last qualifying meet to the U.S. Championships, held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center this past weekend. Silverstein, who was second overall in the 16-18-year-old junior division at the 2009 U.S. Championships, beat 2009 World team member Danell Leyva and former Michigan gymnast Andrew Elkind. His score -- 88.1 -- sets him up very well as a sleeper at this year's Visa Nationals. Texan Daniel Potemski was the top junior qualifier, followed by Kevin Baker and Wyatt Aycock. (USA Gymnastics)
32 backhandsprings a World record?: Apparently so. (Bnd.com)
Sam in the spotlight: Junior European champion Sam Oldham of Great Britain is heading to the Youth Olympics in Singapore next month. (More Than the Games)
Quote of the week: An excerpt from an essay that ran in the Toronto Globe and Mail: "A few years ago, I was at my gymnastics club in the west end of Toronto, contemplating this quote while staring down a 15-metre runway. At the end of the runway was a vaulting horse that I was about to hurtle over, something that would not be considered remarkable except for the fact I was 47 years old..." (Globe and Mail)
Submit your personal gymnastics story to IG: Editor Dwight Normile chronicles his first attempts at doing a flip, and invites readers to share their own stories. (International Gymnast Magazine)
Kent State coach joins NCAA Women's Gymnastics Committee: Bruce Biggin is the newest member of the group, which is made up of six members representing NCAA division I regions and one person representing divisions II and III. Kent State will host the 2011 NCAA Championships in Cleveland. (KentStateSports.com)
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