2026 Winter Cup (Feb 21-22)

[Passion]

I love that they’re doing this. If NCAA athletes are skipping elite for half the year, then they don’t need to be on the National team for the full year. There are gymnasts going to camps and competing elite all winter/spring who could use those spots.

That goes for non-NCAA athletes who skip the entire year and just make an appearance for Nationals and Worlds as well. If they’re not going to show up or compete for the National Team outside of a four month period, then they can be on the team for just that period. That frees up funding for developing the gymnasts who are slugging it out all year.

 

[MaryClare]

Sounds like USAG is “growing a pair” and not just saying yes to whatever the gymnasts want to do anymore

 

[rlayt]

I think it’s good that they tighten up the requirements. When it’s laid out in unmistakeable terms it’s fair.

 

[BB12]

I completely agree as well. There should be requirements to turn up to things when you are on national team and those that do turn up deserving the funding for doing so.

 

[irichluck21]

The MAG program has done this for decades. Hence why the Winter Cup used to be informally called "Winter Nationals".

I do think there should be an exception for World Team members and alternates though to petition, since they competed late into the year and might want time to recover and recuperate. Someone like Caylor deserves to be on the National Team regardless if competing at Winter Cup. She made 3 finals at Worlds. Wong won an AA silver at Worlds. These two should be allowed access to the NT. IMO of course.

 

[MaryClare]

The MAG program has done this for decades. Hence why the Winter Cup used to be informally called "Winter Nationals".

I do think there should be an exception for World Team members and alternates though to petition, since they competed late into the year and might want time to recover and recuperate. Someone like Caylor deserves to be on the National Team regardless if competing at Winter Cup. She made 3 finals at Worlds. Wong won an AA silver at Worlds. These two should be allowed access to the NT. IMO of course.

But if Caylor is taking the spring off from competition there is no need for her to be on the national team. She’s already qualified to nationals, after which she’ll rejoin the national team.

 

[RichardL]

To be completely real and honest about things, there is not much financial hardship at the level of the current national team, and none of them are unable to pay for training. The stipend is very nice and helpful but does not create an obstacle for anyone currently not getting it, as far as I know.

 

[Aizheng]

I love that they’re doing this. If NCAA athletes are skipping elite for half the year, then they don’t need to be on the National team for the full year. There are gymnasts going to camps and competing elite all winter/spring who could use those spots.

That goes for non-NCAA athletes who skip the entire year and just make an appearance for Nationals and Worlds as well. If they’re not going to show up or compete for the National Team outside of a four month period, then they can be on the team for just that period. That frees up funding for developing the gymnasts who are slugging it out all year.

To me, the insurance situation is the largest downside. Losing your health insurance sucks, and I do think that USAG should cover health insurance for everyone who competed for them within the last year at least.

The MAG program has done this for decades. Hence why the Winter Cup used to be informally called "Winter Nationals".

I do think there should be an exception for World Team members and alternates though to petition, since they competed late into the year and might want time to recover and recuperate. Someone like Caylor deserves to be on the National Team regardless if competing at Winter Cup. She made 3 finals at Worlds. Wong won an AA silver at Worlds. These two should be allowed access to the NT. IMO of course.

I mean, MAG has done this for years and it backfired badly, with gymnasts not willing to try upgrades because of needing to show readiness twice a year so they instituted the very high bonus system. I do worry, especially if gymnasts are pursuing more difficult updates. If your funding etc. depends on making a specific AA score at Winter Cup, it might be beneficial not to pursue upgrades.

 

[Aizheng]

They're actually re-doing national teams at Winter Cup. Top 8 AA for juniors (min. 48.50) and seniors (min. 51.50) each make the team. Retaining that national team training stipend is important.

They will not accept any petitions from juniors, and seniors can only petition for medical reasons. I have no idea how they're going to handle the NCAA athletes. Here's the senior petition criteria:

D. Senior National Team Status Retention for Injured Athletes (Winter Cup Re-Rank). This applies to Senior Athletes seeking to retain National Team Status from the Winter Cup.

Rationale

• Junior athletes require consistent competition experience to support appropriate development; petitioning in lieu of competition does not meet this developmental need.
• This policy applies to Senior athletes only and may be considered exclusively at the Winter Cup. Petition consideration at U.S. Championships is not permitted, as the event functions as the final performance-based qualifier for World and Olympic Team selection, requiring demonstrated competitive readiness to ensure transparency, consistency, and fairness in the selection process.

1. It is recommended that a Senior athlete who earned Senior National Team status at the U.S. Championships in the previous calendar year and is unable to compete in any portion at Winter Cup due to injury may petition the Athlete Selection Committee to retain funded Senior National Team status, provided she meets the following criteria:

a. Medical Verification​

• The athlete must submit appropriate medical documentation verifying the injury and inability to compete at the Winter Cup, in accordance with USA Gymnastics medical verification procedures.

b. Competitive Benchmark in the previous calendar year:
The athlete must have earned an individual gold, silver, or bronze medal at one of the following Senior competitions:​

• Pacific Rim Championships
• Pan American Championships
• FIG World Cup
• Pan American Games
• World Championships
• Olympic Games
• U.S. Championships

c. The athlete must have fully participated in the Senior World Selection Camp or Olympic Trials in the previous calendar year.​

2. All petitions must be submitted to the Vice President of the Women’s Program for consideration by the Athlete Selection Committee.

Full IEC minutes here: https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Women/minutes/iec/020326.pdf

I think this is way too prescriptive. I think everyone who has been on the national team last year should be able to injury petition. It looks like this was specifically designed for one athlete, and it would for instance exclude Hezly Rivera, the national champion, because she did not go to world selection. I expect they’ll change it next year when a new person has a need, which is terrible.