Back in September, GymnastTV reported the news that Olympian Blaine Wilson had married former RSG athlete Aliane Baquerot (Wedding Bells for Blaine Wilson!) during the Reno stop on the Tour of Gymnastics Superstars.  Blaine expressed their desire to start a family in a phone call shortly after the surprise wedding.  Today 1996 Olympic teammate Mihai Bagiu spoke with Blaine and shared the exciting news he and Aliane are expecting their first baby in August!  Wilson has a six year-old daughter, Wakaya, from a previous marriage.  The growing family resides in Columbus, Ohio.

Congratulations Blaine and Aliane!

Photo copyright Mam Smith.

Inside the Gold Cup gym where the men’s team trains you won’t see a lot of trophies covered with a thin layer of chalk dust or banners decorating the walls trumpeting their accomplishments.  Instead you will encounter larger than life murals depicting four of the program’s Olympians performing one of their signature gymnastics tricks.

When Ed Burch (or Burch as he is known to his gymnasts) began his Albuquerque, New Mexico program in 1978 he set out to produce a successful club program and to supply the national team members with quality elite gymnasts.  Because the NCAA teams of the day dominated the scene, his peers and US Gymnastics Federation (the forerunner to today’s USA Gymnastics) officials told him it would be impossible for a club team to reach the elite level.  That declaration was all the motivation Burch needed to forge ahead.

Indeed, club athletes were rarely in the national gymnastics spotlight with NCAA stars leading the US in both national and international competition.  Over time Gold Cup athletes gradually made their appearance on the junior and senior elite level.  As each gymnast earned his place on the national team, he also earned a picture on the Gold Cup wall.  Burch soon scrapped that idea as he ran out of wall space with the success of his athletes.

When Lance Ringnald earned his spot on the 1988 Olympic team bound for Seoul, Korea a new plan for commemorating the athletes was launched.  Ringnald was immortalized on the wall housing the gym observation deck performing his signature move, a Delchev on the Still Rings apparatus along with his autograph and the official Olympic Games logo.  Burch chose this move to capture because of the reaction the appreciative crowd always gave when he came to rest.

Lance Ringnald: 1988 and 1992 Olympian

Four years later Ringnald returned to the Olympics as the alternate for the 1992 team.  Joining him in Barcelona was his Gold Cup teammate Trent Dimas.  Three US athletes qualified for event finals competition:  Chris Waller (PH), Jair Lynch (PB), and Dimas (HB).  Trent threw a routine of a lifetime and did what no American  high bar finalist had done since Dallas Bixler in 1932:  He won gold!  Trent’s mural is featured on the wall near the high bar where he perfected his signature Kovacs skill.

Trent Dimas: 1992 Olympic gold medalist

Although he trained with Ringnald and Dimas for much of the 1992-1996 quadrennium, Mihai Bagiu was the only Gold Cup athlete to qualify for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta (alum and UCLA gymnast Chainey Umphrey was also part of the team).  As a team the US finished in 5th place, 0.792 points from a bronze team medal, marking a significant return to international competition in a fully attended Olympics.  Burch chose to capture Bagiu mid-vault catch because he believed it was the best one he’d ever seen.

Mihai Bagiu: 1996 Olympian

All along as Ringnald, Dimas, and Bagiu trained at Gold Cup there was another athlete studying their every move, gaining inspiration, and watching the murals get painted.  Young Joe Hagerty had seen Ringnald and Dimas compete in the Olympics on television and supported Bagiu from the stands in the Georgia Dome as a 14-year old.  While there he and fellow Gold Cup athlete Walter Jaramillo and Bagiu’s father-in-law Bob McNamara had narrowly escaped serious injury by the bomb set off in Centennial Olympic Park when they left the immediate area of the blast to grab a burger before the nightly concert started!

When training partners dwindled off and retirement from elite coaching beckoned Burch, Hagerty moved to Colorado Springs to train at the US Olympic Training Center.  In 2008 with Burch in the audience at the Olympic Trials, he watched as 26-year old Joe Hagerty took his place on the team headed for Beijing and a team bronze medal.  Burch recalls the first thing Joey asked as they met for congratulations following Trials was, “Do I get my picture on the wall now?”  He not only got a mural but was given pick of where it would go.  Hagerty chose the wall he’d knocked a hole in while learning (and missing a few) Kovacs!

Joey Hagerty: 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist

Bagiu states having his picture on the wall is equivalent to having his star on the Walk of Fame.  Hagerty agrees:

“The picture on the wall means the world.  Growing up at Gold Cup one of my goals was to be on the wall.  I would go into the gym every day and look at them thinking what it would be like if I was up there, and now I am!  Having my picture on the wall is like I just got the Olympic medal put around my neck again it means that much. Some of the greatest gymnasts of all times are on the wall.”

Hagerty went a step further to tease his former teammate Bagiu by noting his mural is bigger.  That’s why they call him the Roach.

Each mural was painstakingly traced using an overhead projector and painted by Burch perched atop a extension ladder.  It takes between 20 and 30 hours to complete each one.  Hagerty’s was hardest because it is over the pit.  When asked about missing Gold Cup alum Chainey Umphrey, Burch says at the time he approached him, Umphrey declined to have his image included.

At the end of his career Burch says his only goal unfulfilled was being named Olympic coach, but he feels good knowing he’s aided many young men in achieving their Olympic dreams.  You can visit Gold Cup Gymnastics online at:  http://goldcupgymnastics.com/.

GymnastTV was at UCLA’s Meet the Team event and had a chance to talk with Head Coach Val Kondos Field about the upcoming 2009 season. Click here for more UCLA Gymnastics info.

USA Gymnastics Press Release:

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Dec. 8, 2008 –1984 Olympic gold-medalist Peter Vidmar of Coto De Caza, Calif., was elected chairman of USA Gymnastics Board of Directors during the inaugural meeting of the newly restructured group in Indianapolis, Ind. In November 2007, the USA Gymnastics Board of Directors adopted a new governance structure that includes a 20-person Board. The Board also approved three new public sector members – 1984 Olympic champ Mary Lou Retton of Houston; Bitsy Kelley of Portland, Ore., Outrigger Activities/Bitsy Kelley Outdoors; and Jim Morris of Indianapolis, Pacers Sports & Entertainment – and reaffirmed Frank Marshall of Santa Monica, Calif., as the fourth public sector representative. Outgoing Chair Ron Froehlich of Birmingham, Ala., was named chairman emeritus after serving for two, four-year terms.

“Peter’s experience as a gymnast at every level and as a successful business person provides a strong combination for the chairman for USA Gymnastics,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “He understands every facet of the sport, and is a recognized leader within the gymnastics community. Combined with the other members of the Board, USA Gymnastics is in a strong position for moving forward in the increasingly demanding sports world.”

“Ron Froehlich has been an outstanding chairman for USA Gymnastics,” said Penny. “He has contributed in many different ways to the success of the federation and its athletes.”

“It is a real honor for me to serve USA Gymnastics as its chairman,” said Vidmar. “This is a great time to assist USA Gymnastics in continuing to move in a positive direction. Our athletes and coaches have done a remarkable job of succeeding on a consistent basis and I look forward to this opportunity. USA Gymnastics has been an important part of my life and this is yet another chance I have to give back.”

The 20-person Board consists of two representatives from both the men’s and women’s programs; one each from rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics and trampoline/tumbling; three representatives from the newly created Advisory Council; five athletes (one per discipline); four public sector members; and the chairman of the board. The other officers of the Board are: Paul Parilla of Lake Forest, Calif., vice chairman (non-voting position); Gary Anderson of Hillsboro Beach, Fla., secretary (non-voting position); and Morris, treasurer.

Chaired by Casey Koenig of the YMCA, the Advisory Council represents constituent membership groups from the gymnastics community and has three representatives on the Board. The Advisory Council’s members are listed below.

A Transition Committee has spent the past 12 months working to facilitate a smooth changeover to the newly approved format. The members of the seven-person Transition Committee were: Paul Parilla, chairman; Jessica Howard; Casey Koenig; Tom Koll; Mike Lorenzen; Frank Marshall; and Steve Rybacki.

USA Gymnastics Board of Directors

Chairman: Peter Vidmar, Coto De Caza, Calif.
Vice chairman: Paul Parilla, Lake Forest, Calif. (non voting position)
Secretary: Gary Anderson, Hillsboro Beach, Fla. (non-voting position)
Treasurer: Jim Morris, Indianapolis, Ind.

National Membership Directors
Tom Koll, Omaha, Neb., women
Steve Rybacki, Covina, Calif., women
Yoichi Tomita, Tucson, Ariz., men
Russ Fystrom, Minneapolis, Minn., men
Dr. George Drew, Three Rivers, Mich., trampoline and tumbling
Tonya Case, Yucaipa, Calif., acrobatic gymnastics
Brooke Bushnell Toohey, Lake Placid, N.Y., rhythmic gymnastics

Advisory Council Directors
Mike Burns, Minneapolis, Minn.
Ron Ferris, Austintown, Ohio
Mike Lorenzen, Mountain View, Calif.

Athlete Directors
Karl Heger, Rockford, Ill., trampoline and tumbling
Jessica Howard, New York, N.Y., rhythmic gymnastics
Michael Rodrigues, Livermore, Calif., acrobatic gymnastics
John Roethlisberger, Knoxville, Tenn., men
Kim Zmeskal, Lewisville, Texas, women

Public Sector Directors
Bitsy Kelley, Outrigger Activities/Bitsy Kelley Outdoors, Portland, Ore.
Frank Marshall, entertainment producer, Santa Monica, Calif.
Jim Morris, Pacers Sports & Entertainment, Indianapolis, Ind.
Mary Lou Retton, former Olympic champion and motivational speaker, Houston

Brief bios on the chairman and public sector members of the Board

Peter Vidmar, chairman
Peter Vidmar, who has previously served on USA Gymnastics’ board, helped the U.S. men in 1984 claim their only Olympic team gold medal in history. Also at the 1984 Olympics, he won the pommel horse gold medal and the all-around silver medal, for a total of two gold and one silver medal. He is a professional speaker who has given more than 1,000 presentations on risk-taking, innovation and quality to the USA’s top corporations and associations, as well as sales, marketing and management audiences. He has worked as a journalist at the Olympic Games and as a television gymnastics commentator. A two-time U.S. all-around champion, Vidmar won five NCAA titles and was a 19-time All-American during his time at the University of California – Los Angeles, where he graduated with a BA in economics. For USA Gymnastics, he was a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee (1985-92 and 1996-2000), as well as chairman of the Athletes Advisory Council. He also was a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Board for the U.S. Olympic Committee (1985-87). Vidmar currently serves as the vice chairman of the California Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and vice president of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games. Vidmar is a member of both the U.S. Olympic and USA Gymnastics Halls of Fame. He resides in Orange County, Calif., with his wife and five children.

Public sector members

Elizabeth “Bitsy” Kelley
Bitsy Kelley is currently the president of both Outrigger Activities and Bitsy Kelley Outdoors, a multi media company. Her previous positions include CEO of Icky Products, children’s apparel; director of business development, Outrigger and OHANA Hotels; president, Hawaii Sportsmen’s Adventures; and assistant to the CEO and director of Strategic Planning, Outrigger Enterprises. A natural entrepreneur, she founded Icky Products, Hawaii Sportsmen’s Adventures and Bitsy Kelley Outdoors. For Bitsy Kelley Outdoors, she writes articles, gives speeches, co-hosts national outdoor TV shows and hosts a weekly radio show focused on outdoor-related topics. Born and raised in Hawaii, Kelley earned her BA in business and MBA at Chaminade University. She is a member of several other boards, including Outrigger Enterprises, ABDOE, Weatherby Foundation, Northwest Outdoor Writers Association and Youth Outdoor Adventures. She currently lives in Portland, Ore., with her two daughters.

Frank Marshall
Frank Marshall, a four-time Academy Award-nominated American movie producer and director, is a partner with his wife Kathleen Kennedy in The Kennedy/Marshall Company, a film production company formed in 1991. With Kennedy and Steven Spielberg, he was one of the founders of Amblin Entertainment. A native of Los Angeles, he produced many of Hollywood’s biggest films since 1973, including Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the Back to the Future series, The Color Purple, The Goonies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Seabiscuit and the Bourne trilogy. Marshall ran cross country and track while a student at the University of California – Los Angeles, where he was a three-year varsity letterman in soccer. He was a board member of the U.S. Olympic Committee for more than 10 years and received the Olympic Shield in 2005. He also serves on the Board for the Los Angeles Sports Council, Athletes for Hope, the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and the UCLA Foundation Board of Governors. He is the co-chair of Mentor LA. Marshall has received the American Academy of Achievement Award, the UCLA Alumni Professional Achievement Award and, along with Kennedy, the 2008 Producers Guild of America’s David O’Selznick Award for Career Achievement. He currently resides in Santa Monica, Calif.

James T. Morris
Jim Morris, currently president of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, has both non-profit and corporate experience. Prior to joining the Pacers, Morris was the executive director of the United Nations World Food Program. His other positions include: chairman and CEO of IWC Resources Corp. and Indianapolis Water Co.; president of the Lilly Endowment; and administrative assistant and chief of staff for the Office of the Mayor for the City of Indianapolis. The Indiana Sports Corporation, under Morris’ leadership, is largely credited for developing the strategy to position Indianapolis as a home for amateur sports national governing bodies, as well as to host major sporting events like the 1987 Pan American Games, NCAA Final Four, etc. His involvement in working with non-profit organizations and in community service is extensive and includes: numerous positions with the U.S. Olympic Committee, including treasurer; chairman of the NCAA Foundation Board of Directors; member and chairman of the Indiana University Board of Trustees; chairman of the Board of Directors for the United Way of Central Indiana; and founder and lifetime director of the Indiana Sports Corporation. Morris also has received many accolades, including the Medal of Freedom, Ellis Island; President’s Medal for Excellence, Indiana University; Whitney Young Award; and a host of honorary doctorates. Morris earned his BA with a major in political science from Indiana University and his MBA at Butler University. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife.

Mary Lou Retton
Mary Lou Retton vaulted into the hearts of Americans when she won the women’s all-around at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, becoming the first American woman ever to win a gold medal in gymnastics. She has continued to be one of the country’s most recognizable women and is in great demand as a motivational speaker. She also travels the world as a “fitness ambassador” promoting the benefits of proper nutrition and regular exercise. Retton serves as national chairperson and sits on the Board of Governors of the Children’s Miracle Network. She also has done TV commentary work and worked as a journalist for both print and TV outlets, as well as made guest appearances on a number of TV shows. At the 1984 Olympics, she won a total of five medals (one gold, two silver and two bronze), the most won by any athlete at the Games. Retton also won three American Cups and the all-around title at both the 1984 U.S. Nationals and Olympic Trials. She retired from competitive gymnastics in 1986. In 1984, she was named Sports Illustrated Sportswoman of the Year, AP Female Amateur Athlete of the Year and Women’s Sports Foundation Athlete of the Year. She is a member of the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, the Italian American Hall of Fame, Humanitarian Hall of Fame and Texas Hall of Fame. Retton currently lives in Houston with her husband and four daughters.

USA Gymnastics Advisory Council

Justin joins teammates Jonathan Horton and Sasha Artemev in planning a wedding!

The World Tour of Gymnastics Superstars brought more than just athletic entertainment to the crowd at Assembly Hall on Wednesday night.

Former Illini and Olympic gymnast Justin Spring proposed to his girlfriend [Tori Tanney] onstage during the event’s intermission. After speaking to the crowd about his return to Champaign, Spring announced he had one more order of business to take care of.

Spring then proposed to his girlfriend, who agreed to marry him.

See the DailyIllini.com site for a picture of the happy couple.  Congratulations Justin and Tori!

2007 World Championship gold medalist Shayla Worley has made her commitment to the University of Georgia following what she calls a tough decision between the choice to be a Bruin or a Gym Dog.  In the end, it came down to the school closest to home in Orlando, Florida.  “I look forward to contributing further to Georgia success!  Go Dawgs!”, Worley tells GymnastTV.com.

UGA is the 2008 NCAA Team Champion.  According to GeorgiaDogs.com, “Georgia’s 2008 NCAA title was its fourth in a row and ninth in program history, now tied for the most with Utah. Georgia is also the only team to win four straight since Utah won five from 1982-86. Georgia remains the only program to advance to the Super Six every year since the current format began in 1993.”

We wish Shayla a successful academic and sports career at UGA!

The Knoxnews.com site reports…

Steve Butcher of Knoxville has been named one of six judges for men’s gymnastics at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Judges were elected last Saturday at the International Gymnastics Federation Congress in Helsinki, Finland. The six judges and their committee president will comprise the men’s technical committee and act as apparatus supervisors for the both the London Olympics and the World Championships (2009-11).

Butcher, who was a judge at the Beijing Olympics in August, will be assigned an apparatus, such as the rings or parallel bars, in December and act as the chief judge in world competition on that apparatus.

Congratulations to Steve!

The AP reports today:

HELSINKI, Finland – Bruno Grandi was re-elected as the International Gymnastics Federation president Saturday for the next four years through the 2012 London Olympics.

The 74-year-old Italian will serve a fourth term, having led the world governing body since 1996. He also has been a member of the International Olympic Committee for eight years.

Adrian Stoica of Romania and Nellie Kim of Belarus were re-elected as presidents of the men’s and women’s technical committees, the bodies that make the rules for the sport.

Vassily Titov of Russia; Brian Stocks of Britain; Gao Jian of China and Walter Nyffeler of Switzerland were elected to the executive committee, while Bob Colarossi, former president of USA Gymnastics; Germany’s Wolfgang William and Atilla Orsel of Turkey were re-elected.

Grandi’s biggest impact in his first three terms was the overhaul of artistic gymnastics‘ scoring system after a series of judging errors at the Athens Olympics. The iconic 10.0 scale was dropped, replaced with an open-ended system in which gymnasts are awarded separate marks for difficulty and execution.

Some have complained that the new system is taking artistry out of gymnastics, and Grandi has vowed to address that in the current quadrennium.

Grandi has also pushed hard to increase the representation of smaller countries. Teams at the London Olympics will be reduced to five gymnasts, down from seven in 1996 and six in Beijing, with the additional spots allowing more individual athletes to qualify.

The FIG is also expected to move forward with a licensing system, another of Grandi’s projects. Beginning next year, any gymnast competing in an international competition would have to have a license, and that documentation would follow the athlete throughout his or her career.

There were suspicions that as many as five members of China’s gold-medal women’s gymnastics team were not old enough to compete at the Beijing Olympics. But after reviewing documents for all of the girls — passports, ID cards and family registers — the FIG ruled they were, indeed, old enough. The FIG is still looking into the ages of two members of the 2000 squad.

The Athens Banner-Herald reports:

Georgia gymnastics coach Suzanne Yoculan was released from the hospital Thursday after being treated for burns to her esophagus.

Yoculan was admitted to Athens Regional Hospital for three days after ingesting a spoonful of grits just out of the microwave.

The grits burned eight inches of her esophagus.

“I couldn’t breathe or swallow or drink,” Yoculan said. “It was really painful. I was on morphine for three days.”

Reuters reports on the Women’s Sports Foundation award:

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Olympic all-round gymnastics champion Nastia Liukin was named Sportswoman of the Year by the Women’s Sports Foundation on Tuesday.

Liukin, who won five in Beijing with her elegant routines, joined a list of former winners including golfer Annika Sorenstam, figure skater Michelle Kwan, track athlete Gail Devers and speed skater Bonnie Blair.

“Honestly, I can’t believe I’m one of those on that list,” the American gymnast told reporters.

“They are just phenomenal athletes. I would’ve never dreamed of anything like that. It’s just amazing to be here.”

Liukin said she has been on a whirlwind schedule since Beijing, performing in a U.S. gymnastics tour, designing a fashion line and getting ready to act in an episode of the hit U.S. television show, Gossip Girl.”

Liukin, who turns 19 this month, will resume training in January with a view toward competing in front of her home fans in Dallas in August and at the world championships in London in October.

“That’s what my next big goal is,” said Liukin.

“2012 is four years away, so it’s hard to say as far as what I’m doing,” she said about the possibility of defending her Olympic title in London.

(Editing by Ed Osmond)

Other award winners included Jessica Mendoza (Team Award; Softball), Patience Knight (Wilma Rudolph Courage Award; Thrower), and the Women’s Tennis Association (Billie Jean Contrabution Award).  For more information on the Women’s Sports Foundation, which counts former USA Gymnastics stars Wendy Hilliard and Dominique Dawes among past presidents, visit their website:  http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/.