Four reasons to watch a Winter Cup without Gabby Douglas — Behind the scenes at national team camp
By Lela Moore
The IX: Gymnastics Saturday with Lela Moore, Feb. 23, 2024
Happy Gymnastics Saturday! It happens before most major meets, and it happens before and during NCAA season, too. A favorite gymnast suddenly withdraws, citing injury or illness, and you’re left wondering, why should I watch this at all?
Continue reading with a subscription to The IX
Get unlimited access to our exclusive coverage of a varitety of women’s sports, including our premium newsletter by subscribing today!
Already a member?
Login
That was the sentiment heard ’round the gymternet Thursday, when Gabby Douglas announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19 and would have to withdraw from this weekend’s Winter Cup.
Winter Cup is always a bit of a mixed bag. It’s the first meet of the elite season, so there’s some excitement around seeing favorites return to the podium and new seniors debut. But it’s also the first meet of the elite season, so it’s sometimes a bit messy because no one peaks for Winter Cup.
This year, though, the meet was hyped as Douglas’ return to competition for the first time since the 2016 Olympics. We’ve seen the training videos and heard Douglas talk about her reasons for returning to elite gymnastics (“I’m still a competitor at heart”), but we hadn’t seen it all come together. Now it will be another month or two before we do.
The Next, a 24/7/365 women’s basketball newsroom
The Next: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.
Readers of The IX now save 50% on their subscription to The Next.
But there are other compelling reasons to watch Winter Cup. Here are a few, in no particular order.
There’s also the Nastia Liukin Cup! This meet, for the country’s top level 10 gymnasts, streams live on Sunday. If you want to catch future NCAA stars on the come-up, watch the Nastia Liukin Cup.
Want women’s hockey content? Subscribe to The Ice Garden!
Here at The IX, we’re collaborating with The Ice Garden to bring you Hockey Friday. And if you want the women’s hockey goodness 24/7? Well, you should subscribe to The Ice Garden now!
Other gym news
The Balance Beam Situation gives you the Week 7 wrap-up and NQS standings, the Week 8 schedule and links, and, of course, the GIFs.
College Gym News delivers Week 7’s questions, comments and concerns; the Week 8 preview; the beam connections that judging columnist Rhiannon Franck would not have credited; and the leotard rankings.
The FIG released the Olympic draw for team qualifications.
Jordan Chiles did a great interview with The Athletic this week (paywall).
Kaylia Nemour posted the quad’s highest bars score at the Cottbus World Cup this week. Suni Lee’s response? “Wow, wow, wow.”
The AAI Award nominees were announced this week. This is frequently referred to as the “Heisman Trophy of gymnastics”; we prefer to call the Heisman the “AAI Award of Football.” (Either way, the award honors the nation’s best college gymnasts.)
Selena Harris did a great interview with the Los Angeles Times after her 10 on vault last week (paywall).
A third HBCU is starting a women’s gymnastics program! Wilberforce University in Ohio will debut its team next season.
24/7 women’s soccer coverage with The Equalizer
The IX is partnering with The Equalizer to bring more women’s sports stories to your inbox. Subscribers to The IX receive 50% off their subscription to The Equalizer for 24/7 coverage of women’s soccer.
Five at The IX: Behind the scenes at national team camp
In advance of Winter Cup, USAG posted this six-minute video with some behind-the-scenes footage from this month’s national team camp.
Mondays: Soccer |
By: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer |
Tuesdays: Tennis |
By: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer |
Wednesdays: Basketball |
By: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The Next |
Thursdays: Golf |
By: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX |
Fridays: Hockey |
By: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden |
Saturdays: Gymnastics |
By: Lela Moore, @runlelarun, Freelance Writer |