GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

"They're guessing."
A judge reveals what's really happening behind NCAA gymnastics scoring — plus a brutal Regionals draw (UCLA, Utah & Alabama in the same bracket).
LIVE SHOW – NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS (APRIL 17)
Limited tickets: Get tickets
THIS EPISODE:
Conference Champions crowned
Regionals draw winners and losers
Judging controversy explained
Perfect 10 watch and Gym Slam race
Favorite Moments from College & Cocktails 
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Judges Are Guessing? Cold Open
00:00:12 – Intro: Conference Champs, Regionals & Judge Interview
01:40 – Voinea Family Back in the News
03:47 – British Championships: Becky Downie, Ruby Evans & Joe Fraser
09:48 – Conference Championships Recap: Florida on Top, Clemson Makes History
12:17 – Regionals Selection Show Reactions
15:27 – Why This Year's Regionals Draw Actually Makes Sense
18:18 – LSU Regional Drama: Clemson vs Auburn
19:39 – BTS, Club Gym Nerd & Live Show Updates
22:26 – Fantasy Update: KJ Kindler's Horse Farm Wins
23:44 – Rage-O-Meter: Backless Leos and Breast Health
25:07 – Full Regionals Draw Breakdown
28:39 – Stanford vs Michigan, CMU vs Rutgers & Regional Reactions
31:38 – Emergency Therapy Session: Who Got Screwed by the Draw
38:24 – New Rule: Teams Pick Their Starting Event
41:15 – Gymternet News: Amanda Yap, Lily Smith, Doha Cancelled, D'Amato Surgery
45:17 – Judge Jason Buttons Interview Begins
46:00 – "They Don't Know What They're Doing"
47:03 – Skill Recognition Problems at the Judges' Table
48:46 – Why Club Judges Can Talk and College Judges Can't
50:17 – Why Judges Need Replay and Slow Motion
51:11 – Why So Many Top Judges Avoid College Meets
53:09 – Accountability, Testing & Why Bad Judges Shouldn't Stay
56:18 – How Often Judging Errors Happen
57:52 – Deductions Judges Are Getting Wrong
01:00:06 – Why Routine Summaries Don't Really Explain Enough
01:05:34 – How Judges Are Evaluated and Why It's Not Working
01:07:15 – Why NCAA Judging Pay and Conditions Are a Problem
01:08:35 – Are Judges Actually Biased?
01:10:03 – Is There Any Real Data on Who the Best Judges Are?
01:11:16 – How Jason Would Fix the Entire Judging System
01:14:42 – Why Most Judges Still Love the Sport
01:16:24 – Judging Pay, Travel Time & Dry Cleaning Reality
01:20:24 – Interview Wrap-Up
01:20:47 – Perfect 10s Update: Selena, Faith Torrez & Jordan Chiles
01:22:14 – Feedback and Letters Begin
01:23:14 – Muriel Grossfeld Stories
01:24:33 – Why Stanford Looked Off at ACCs
01:26:30 – Equipment Horror Stories
01:29:13 – Iowa State's Unsafe Gym Conditions
01:33:22 – Courtney McGregor, Stuttgart & Germany's Scoring Mess
01:36:15 – Score Mystery Solved: Tonya Paulsson's Beam Fall
01:38:03 – Margarita Theater & Outro
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Your fantasy gymnastics update as you enter week 12 of the 2026 NCAA season: who's a steal, who's on a bye, who's competing twice, who's a bargain and much more.

Season Pass on sale now: https://gymcastic.com/2026-gymcastic-live-shows-season-pass/ 

Week 12 Lineups lock on Friday, March 20 at 10:45am PT

00:00 Intro
00:58:22 Roster Bargains
01:16 Roster Bargains - All-Around
03:26 Roster Bargains - Vault
05:50 Roster Bargains - Bars
07:40 Roster Bargains - Beam
09:53 GymCastic Updates
11:33 Roster Bargains - Floor
14:51 League Leaders
15:16 10.0 Deals
16:05 League Stats

This Week's College & Cocktails: March 21 after Conference Championships. Join us at 7:00pm PT

British Gymnastics has suspended its trampoline high performance program amid athlete safety concerns—Jessica sat down with new USA Gymnastics President Kyle Albrecht to talk about athlete safety, the future of the sport, and the GAGE suspension.
HEADLINES
British Gymnastics Suspends Trampoline High Performance Program
GYMTERNET NEWS
Iowa State gymnastics alumni start raising money to try to reinstate gymnastics
Do you want tickets to LA28? Wednesday, March 18 is the last day to register for the LA28 Olympic Ticket draw.
Aimee Boorman is no longer working with the Germans
Tickets for the 2026 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Phoenix are on sale now!
Rhys McClenaghan is back and won his first World Cup gold medal since his injury
Livvy Dunne joins Fox's 'Baywatch' in a recurring role
GymCastic Exclusive: New USA Gymnastics CEO Kyle Albrecht's First Interview
Kyle Albrecht is taking the helm of USA Gymnastics after Li Li Leung stepped down
Kyle comes from Major League Soccer's youth participation and development programs
We discuss  athlete safety, the future of the sport, expanding the American view of gymnastics and the GAGE suspension
NCAA
It's conference championships weekend! What even is the big deal about conference championships? We'll give you our honest summary
What meets to watch out for (Oklahoma vs. LSU vs. Florida? UH YEAH)

Liv and Cory didn't know who Muriel Grossfeld was and more shenanigans from College & Cocktails this week.
What teams do we need to put on Regionals watch?
Utah officially can't make it into the top 8. Why this is a BIG deal.
The Kentucky situation.
This week's 10 updates featuring all the senior night 10s and Kailin Chio,
CHAPTERS
00:00 – Cold Open: GAGE Decision & Athlete Safety
00:00:29 – British Gymnastics Suspends Trampoline Program
00:05:21 – Iowa State Gymnastics Fight to Reinstate Program
00:06:25 – LA28 Ticket Lottery Deadline + Jessica's Event Picks
00:07:45 – Aimee Boorman Leaves German Program
00:09:26 – US Championships Tickets + McClenaghan Wins Gold
00:10:22 – Livvy Dunne Joins Baywatch
00:10:39 – Interview: New USAG President Kyle Albrecht
00:12:45 – Vision for Growing Gymnastics Beyond the Olympics
00:15:12 – Athlete Safety, SafeSport & Learning from Nassar Era
00:17:44 – Adult Gymnastics Expansion & Retention
00:20:02 – GAGE Ban Explained + Accountability in USAG
00:23:04 – NCAA Update: Conference Championships Preview
00:26:17 – Why Conference Championships Are Chaos (and Fun)
00:28:08 – Oklahoma vs LSU vs Florida Showdown Preview
00:30:00 – Regionals Bubble Teams: Washington, Rutgers, Pitt, Penn
00:33:00 – Utah Can't Make Top 8: Chaos Incoming
00:36:06 – Kentucky as the Ultimate Regional Spoiler
00:38:24 – Selection Show Details + Regional Drama Incoming
00:40:18 – 10.0 Explosion: Senior Night Scoring Madness
00:41:29 – Chio's 3 Tens + Gym Slam Watch
00:43:48 – LSU NIL Strategy & Athlete Marketing Shift
00:49:05 – Best Gymnast Debate: Chio vs Chiles vs Roberts
00:53:46 – More Perfect 10s: Harris, Ostrom, Smith
00:55:23 – Rankings Battle: Oklahoma vs LSU for #1
00:56:45 – Fan Story: "GymCastic Creating World Peace"
00:58:51 – Konnor McClain Beam Controversy (9.925 Breakdown)
01:02:07 – Mixed Team Format Debate: Missing Events?
01:05:00 – American Cup Equipment Scare (Bar Collapse!)
01:06:06 – Code Questions: Up-To-Level (UTL) Deductions Explained
01:12:40 – Athletes Turned Coaches: Eligibility & NCAA Rules
01:14:58 – Head Injury Protocol Rant (Hockey Example)
01:17:23 – College & Cocktails + Weekend Watch Guide
01:18:59 – Outro: Live Show, Merch & Final Thoughts
UP NEXT
Fantasy Gymnastics podcast every Wednesday
College & Cocktails: after SEC Championship session 2 on Sat at 7:00 Pacific 2026 Cocktail and Cocktail menu here

SUPPORT OUR WORK
Club Gym Nerd: Join Here
Merch: Shop Now
Fantasy: 2026 College Fantasy Game now open with weekly winners
Games 
Podcast Tour Tickets Replay tickets on sale for our fundraiser show with all the tea from Cecile Landi
2026 Live Show Season Pass is now available, 4 shows for the price of 3

Newsletters
The Balance Beam Situation: Spencer's GIF Code of Points
Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim
Resistance Resources

Your fantasy gymnastics update as you enter week 11 of the 2026 NCAA season: who's a steal, who's on a bye, who's competing twice, who's a bargain and much more.

Season Pass on sale now: https://gymcastic.com/2026-gymcastic-live-shows-season-pass/ 

Week 11 Lineups lock at noon on Thursday, March 12 at 3:15pm PT
00:00 Intro
00:38:28 Roster Bargains
00:52:19 Roster Bargains - All-Around
02:43 Roster Bargains - Vault
04:38 Roster Bargains - Bars
06:50 Roster Bargains - Beam
08:28 GymCastic Updates
10:03 Roster Bargains - Floor
12:02 League Leaders
12:17 10.0 Deals
13:33 League Stats
This Week's College & Cocktails: March 14 after Utah @ UCLA. Join us at 9:30pm PT

China wins the first-ever Mixed Team American Cup using the new LA28 Olympic format—and the result might reveal a major flaw in the event design. 
We break down how the three-round elimination format worked, why some teams advanced despite falls, and what strategies teams used when choosing apparatus.
Plus, data analyst and figure skating official Dr. Elliot Schwartz joins the show to explain the strategy behind the format, whether teams should be allowed to change lineups mid-competition, and what gymnastics could learn from figure skating's scoring system and judging transparency.
CHAPTERS
00:00 – Cold Open: Why This Mixed Team Format Was Built for China
01:11 – USAG Pulls Out of Turkey and Cairo World Cups
03:23 – Iowa State Cuts Gymnastics + KJ Kindler Fires Back
08:45 – Jessica on New USAG President Kyle Albrecht
10:02 – American Cup Mixed Team Format Debuts at the Reborn American Cup
11:42 – China Wins + Why This Format Favors China
13:01 – Round 1 Chaos: Brazil and the Philippines Are Eliminated
14:15 – Round 2 Drama: Asher Hong Falls and the U.S. Barely Survives
17:45 – Final Round Recap: U.S. Gets Silver, Japan Takes Bronze
19:00 – Club Gym Nerd Updates: College & Cocktails, Live Shows and More
20:05 – American Cup Deep Dive: Did It Actually Feel Like a Team Competition?
21:35 – Could Fans Follow the Meet? Arena Confusion and Missing Scores
23:23 – Peacock vs In-Arena Experience
25:43 – Should This Have Been a Head-to-Head Bracket?
28:54 – Debate Club: Should Teams Be Allowed to Change Lineups Mid-Meet?
31:17 – Event Selection Debate: Too Much P-Bars, Not Enough Chaos
33:55 – Comedy Highlights: Claire Pease High-Five Fail + Nastia Clip
35:16 – Broadcast Problems: NBC, U.S.-Only Focus and Missed Routines
41:17 – Interview: Dr. Elliot Schwartz on Strategy, Scoring and Figure Skating Lessons
44:01 – Could Gymnastics Use a Plus/Minus Scoring System?
47:52 – Planned Routines, Improvisation and What Figure Skating Does Better
52:01 – Specialist Strategy: What's the Ideal Team Construction?
55:55 – Is Saving Your Biggest Difficulty for the Final Round the Best Strategy?
59:24 – NCAA Update: UCLA vs Stanford Bronze Medal Reunion Meet
01:00:44 – Florida vs LSU: Historic 198.450 and Scoring Chaos
01:07:00 – Perfect 10 Update
01:08:45 – NCAA Rankings Update
01:10:06 – Listener Feedback: American Cup Broadcast Frustrations
01:16:29 – Tim Daggett Back on Air
01:18:15 – American Cup Right, Wrong and How to Improve It
01:23:47 – Outro: College & Cocktails After Utah at UCLA
01:25:01 – End
UP NEXT
Fantasy Gymnastics podcast every Wednesday
College & Cocktails:  Utah at UCLA on Sat at 9:30ish 2026 Cocktail and Mocktail menu here

SUPPORT OUR WORK
Club Gym Nerd: Join Here
Fantasy: 2026 College Fantasy Game now open with weekly winners
Merch: Shop Now
Podcast Tour Tickets Replay tickets on sale for our fundraiser show with all the tea from Cecile Landi
2026 Live Show Season Pass is now available, 4 shows for the price of 3

Thank you to our sponsor Huel Limited Time Offer – Get Huel today with my exclusive offer of 15% OFF online with code GYMCASTIC15 at huel.com/GYMCASTIC15. New Customers Only.
Newsletters
The Balance Beam Situation: Spencer's GIF Code of Points
Gymnastics History and Code of Points Archive from Uncle Tim
Resistance Resources