It’s time for the 54th edition of You Asked, The Gymternet Answered! We apologize if we haven’t gotten to your question yet, but we try to answer in the order in which they were received (unless they are super relevant and need to be answered in a timely manner). Something you want to know? Ask us anonymously by going through the contact form at the bottom of the page.

At US team camps they talk about gymnasts placing in the routine verification and physical abilities testing. What does this involve? How does this work for gymnasts who don’t compete all pieces – assume they cannot place?

Verification happens at most camps and is a way to judge an athlete’s progress with routines. You usually don’t see verification in November or January since this is the start of the post-Worlds hiatus, so camps during this time will focus on workouts and skills. But at the other camps, verification happens either to measure routine progress as I said, or to compete for a spot on a team (like the February camp is used for any available American Cup spots, March is used for Jesolo, etc).

Those who are verifying routines for a spot on a team have to compete full routines on a competition surface while those who are not looking for a team spot (or in the months where there is no team spot to contend for) do half routines, with one half competed one day and the next half happening the next day. These routines are judged like any competition and athletes are ranked again like anywhere else. For those who are specialists, it works the same way it would if they were competing just a few events at Classics or Nationals – they aren’t ranked as part of the all-around but are still noted for where they placed on each event.

Physical abilities testing doesn’t have to do with routines…it’s testing basics, like if you could win prizes for conditioning. It’s things like flexibility, leg lifts, press handstands…the things elites have all mastered, but some say they struggle with repetition or lengthy holds.

Is there a time limit on beam in NCAA? I haven’t been hearing the chimes towards the end of beam routines, like you hear at elite meets.

Yes, the time limit is 1 minute and 30 seconds (as it is with all J.O. levels 7 and up). They get a “warning bell” at 1 minute and 20 seconds, when they have 10 seconds remaining. It’s possible you don’t hear the chimes because most broadcasts aren’t as well-microphoned as elite meets are? Like there’s probably not a boom mic picking up those sounds, and usually the arena in NCAA is pretty loud!

Is there a system for walk-ons to earn scholarships? Sonya Meraz of UCLA had an amazing season, and it made me wonder if athletes who walk on and contribute significantly are eligible for scholarships for following seasons. They should be! Thank you for great NCAA coverage!

Yes, definitely happens on occasion, and UCLA is known for offering at least partial scholarships to walk-ons who have demonstrated value to a team. It usually depends on availability, but it is not uncommon that a walk-on who showed promise and consistency on the competition floor is offered a scholarship when one becomes available. One of the sweetest recent occurrences was when Hailee Hansen, a Utah walk-on who contributed as one of the team’s best bar workers over her four years, was awarded a scholarship for her senior year. She was definitely moved by the offer and it was really nice to see her get recognized for all of her hard work.

I keep hearing about the “British trio” of new seniors but only happen to see Ellie Downie and Amy Tinkler compete. What happened to Tyesha Mattis? And how do you think they will do now that they’re seniors?

Tyesha has spent most of the year dealing with and recovering from injury so she hasn’t been at her full capability. She managed to do bars and beam at British Championships (and had very nice routines!) but then went back into a boot and is still trying to come back fully. She was originally hoping to compete at the European Games but unfortunately just wasn’t ready. I’m not sure if she will factor into the Worlds picture because if she’s still dealing with injury, it might be too soon? But if she is healthy, she could definitely be a front runner! So far Ellie and Amy have done very well…Amy is the British all-around champion and competed well at European Championships (though missed the all-around final due to the two-per-country rule) while Ellie won the bronze all-around medal at Euros in addition to making the vault and bars finals. Both should definitely be a part of this year’s Worlds team.

Is it known exactly when everything just clicked and Simone Biles became the dominant gymnast we see today?

I think honestly her performance at nationals in 2012 back when she was still a junior is when it all came together. She got criticism then for only winning bronze because she had an Amanar, which is a fair critique because she had very low difficulty on the rest of her events. However, she was a rock in competition and that should have been a major indication for what was to come. She wasn’t pushing major difficulty then because she didn’t need it, and then by American Cup half a year later, her senior debut and her international debut all at once, her difficulty had improved significantly across the board. She didn’t have the best meet there, and then fell on everything at Classics later that year, but by the time nationals rolled around it was pretty clear she was something special. I think her podium finish and national team berth in 2012 maybe lit a spark? It must have been a HUGE motivator to get to the national team camps immediately after the Olympic Games, so I think 2012 was the start of it all, and then a year later at nationals and Worlds was when it was recognized that she was going to be huge.

Do we know at what point during the 2000 all-around Svetlana Khorkina knew about the vault error? Do you think she should have been able to redo her bars?

I think she found out right after bars, if I remember correctly? Maybe after beam? I don’t remember the exact timing but she found out when everyone else did, I believe…unless she sensed it earlier. I think they should’ve just started the competition over again, with everyone starting from scratch…giving people the option to redo one vault was nonsense because other events were absolutely affected by vault errors. Yeah, it’s not ideal to have to compete all over again but it’s SO unfair that legit contenders were taken out of the picture due to something beyond their control. A fall or major mistake on an event you usually nail is definitely shocking enough to ruin the rest of your day…some falls, you get used to, especially on something like beam where a tiny miscalculation can take you off, but if you normally hit 95% of your vaults in training and competitions, falling there is definitely going to rattle you more than a fall off beam or something more ‘expected.’ So yeah, I think she should’ve been able to redo her bars, and I think everyone should’ve been able to redo everything! It’s been 15 years and I still can’t think about this competition without getting a full-blown rage stroke.

Why are athletes like Amelia Hundley and Nica Hults so successful as juniors but have so little success as seniors?

Well, both were sidelined with injuries for the majority of their first years as seniors. They both pushed to come back at nationals but it was clear neither was fully ready. Amelia had downgraded pretty heavily and Nica was only back on two events…and I believe her beam was a last-minute addition, because she had been dealing with hip injuries up until nationals and only trained beam for less than a week before competing it! I think had they been healthy, their senior debuts would’ve been much stronger than they ended up being. Amelia already proved at Pan Am Games that even though she’s not one of the top in the country, she still has some very strong work, and hopefully we see Nica back next year once she’s healthy.

Also, in Amelia’s case since she had a good deal of international success as a junior, it’s just hard to transition into the senior ranks. She grew pretty early on and was always one of the juniors who looked like a senior, so it’s just possible she hit her physical peak as a junior…which made her competitive at that level, but then once she got to the senior ranks and was still earning the same scores while other seniors were still upgrading and adding, it made it more difficult for her to be one of the top contenders. The junior field for the most part is always a little weaker than the senior field, so if you’re a consistent 57-58 all-arounder, you’re easily in the top junior ranks but then you get to the senior ranks and you’re borderline top ten. I think she definitely hit her peak earlier than most because she developed early, but I still think she’s pretty excellent even if she’s not able to contend with the superstar all-arounders in the U.S.

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Article by Sarah Chrane and Lauren Hopkins