A while back I wrote about the fact that the UC Berkley Gymnastics program had been cut from the list of supported programs next year (UC Berkley loses gymnastics program). I am happy to report that the UC Berkley program has been reinstated; however, it appears that the Rhode Island Gymnastics program is now at risk. Take a couple of minutes, read the article and then sign the petition to keep it around (Rhode Island Gymnastics Petition). On a side note, I have coached gymnastics for over 20 years. Gymnasts as a group are driven, successful individuals that push themselves to succeed academically and in the sport of their choice. In spite of long workouts, most of my gymnasts were honor roll students who were a real asset to their schools. It is a shame to cut these performers and instead keep other programs where the athletes are not nearly as exceptional but bring more revenue to the school.

Also wanted to take a minute and just provide a brief update on Bridget Sloan’s college choice. For those of you that have been following this at all, she has decided to attend (verbally at least) the University of Florida this fall. We wish her the best of luck in the pursuit of her education.

Buy This Leo Now

Now for some gymnastics leotard discussion. I have written about Motionwear Leotards before and spoken about their versatility. So, naturally I was interested in several comments I recently came across while out reading through some threads at the Chalk Bucket (which is a gymnastics discussion board). As I have stated before, Motionwear has your standard assortment of blue leotards, red leotards, green and purple leotards and the rest of the spectrum as well. They also have very nice color combinations and designs like flame leotards and flower leotards.

What I did find interesting while sifting through the discussion on their leotards is that apparently the polka dot leotards and the foil leotards are very difficult to care for, so keep that in mind if you are considering purchasing one of those. The other item of interest is that their sizing runs a little different. My understanding is that the Motionwear Leotards typically fit a little loose (depending on the shape of the gymnast). By and large, most of the readers liked the tight fit of GK leotards better, but still felt that the Motiowear leotards were a good buy. By and large, most folks were also very pleased with the durability of the products.

Next article, I am going to write a product review about a brand new line I stumbled across call Eel Skin Leotards (like the animal I believe). Should be fun…see you next time.

It has been a while since my last post. I have been swamped with my day job. I have seen several interesting things come across my Facebook USA Gymnastics page lately that I thought were worth discussing, but I really liked the article about the 1996 Gold Medal Olympic Team. I thought that would be an appropriate place to start this article out.

The USA Gymnastics Staff spent a little time with each of the 1996 Olympians asking them what they do these days, if they are married, if they are still involved with the sport and how and what opportunities they felt winning the Olympics provided them with. I am only going to provide a recap of the responses here (the ones I thought were interesting) however I would highly encourage you to hop over to the USA Gymnastics site and read the full article (http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/pages/features/110301_96team/).

I found it fascinating to see where these young ladies have landed after their time in the spotlight. It should come as no surprise that a couple of them are still into gymnastics. Amanda Borden and Jaycie Phelps both own gymnastics training centers and love being involved with the sport to this day. Amy Chow is now a physician, Dominique Moceanu works special events with her husband, Kerri Strug works as a lawyer for the Federal government in DC, and Dominique Dawes also works with the Federal government supporting special program and initiatives…in addition to working in broadcasting.

All of the 1996 Olympians have come a long way and continue to set an excellent example for young ladies.

You know I am a big fan of saving money, it’s one of the reasons I created this website. I believe it is important for folks to have alternatives when picking up leotards for their little gymnasts. This is just as true now as it was 3 years ago when I began writing here. One of the directions that I am moving towards is actually beginning to sell used gymnastics leotards here on the site. Many folks out there buy a $60 name brand leotard, use it twice and then have no reason to keep it. I am going to track some of those down and put them onto a Leotard Shop page I am going to build and add on. I will let you know as soon as it goes live.

Finally, have any of you ever used DreamLight Leotards? I just stumbled across them this week. The information I have been able to find indicates they are very similar in quality and price to the GK Leotards that are out there on the market. Some folks like the way they fit and feel; others are not so excited. I have seen a great deal of discussion regarding the fact that they provide competitive gymnastics leotards, but I haven’t really seen anything about them making toddler gymnastics leotards and such. Any experience with them?

Remember, keep your eyes open for our Girls Gymnastics Leotards Shop!

Sadly another collegiate gymnastics program is poised to bite the dust. The powers that be at Cal Berkley have decided that one of the best ways to make up for the funding shortfall in their athletic department is to cut men’s and women’s gymnastics starting next year. How sad. The elimination of Berkley will only leave Stanford University with a men’s squad in the PAC-10. It would seem that gymnastics is a collegiate sport that simply continues to disappear. A group has risen to try and raise funds for the Berkley program; you can find their site here Cal Gymnastics Forever. If you think you are interested in donating some money to the program, or would like to view the full story of how these events have unfolded stop by their site.

On a slightly more upbeat note, the Christmas season has come and gone and many gymnastics leotards makers are getting ready to release their spring and summer lines for this year. Of particular interest to you may be some of the new GK Leotards they are getting ready to push out the door. I was over at their website today and they are also still running specials on their winter/fall lines and even their holiday gymnastics leotards. They have a broad assortment of blue leotards, blue and black leotards, some nice pink and white gymnastics leotards and a whole host of other styles. So, if you are in the market for a new gymnastics leotard for your little one take a look at their site and see what you can find.

For those of you that are value shoppers, I also noticed while I was at the GK Leotards site that they now have an overstock area as well. You may be able to find some cheap gymnastics leotards in that area of the site. Good luck!

Let me begin by saying that I am fully aware that the 2010 Visa Championships took place in August of this year, so yes – this post is a little late. I did want to take the time to highlight the performances by some of the young ladies and point out their very colorful leotards (hey, that’s what I do here). We will start out with one of the favorites, Bridget Sloan. Bridget wore two distinct leos for this competition. One was an elegant pink and white and the other had a blue body with a green border around the neck for her performances on beam. She performed on beam in spite of being injured and as a result struggled on nailing her front aerial connection. Additionally, she was wobbly on her full turn and struggled on the front tuck. She kept an excellent attitude throughout her performance and persevered to the end. You can view her routine here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn69H0vdEZA&feature=channel.
Also performing at the championships was Rebecca Bross wearing a classy purple and white gymnastics leotard for her performance on the bars. Her lines were impeccable and her body was tight the entire time. This was a great performance and ended with her first stuck landing of the night. Here is a link to her routine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvofeBuyafY. Mattie Larson had an exceptional night on floor and her gray and yellow gymnastics leotard was stunning. She had incredible power on her double back layout, and excellent form while executing the triple twist in her second tumbling pass. You can judge this routine for yourself here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrlagilIOUk&feature=channel. Finally, an old favorite, Alicia Sacramone, provided solid performances on vault while styling a blue bodied leotard with purple sleeves. Her vaults for the evening were a two-and-a-half twisting front handspring with excellent form and a yurchenko with a one-and-a-half twist. Both of these vaults were solid and had a ton of power. Watch them here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmMWCkoW9EI.

I recently stumbled across a new site to get discount gymnastics leotards. The site is the Down East Outlet which apparently specializes in providing all sorts of GK leotards. Not only do they have gymnastics leotards, but they also provide leotards for other sports as well. There isn’t a whole lot of information on the site, but they do promise deep discounts and a broad selection. The main page of the site has an email address if you are looking for more information on the products they have.

To round out this month’s article, I wanted to remind you that now is the perfect time to begin to look for Christmas specials on girls gymnastics leotards. Most of your big name gym leo providers (Addidas, GK, Danskin, Alpha Factor, etc.) are beginning to roll out their special Christmas deals. Make sure you order early for the best selection.