British WAG (and MAG!) talk

[Gymfan93]

Could be nothing to do with sport, maybe academically it’s a better fit for whatever reason?
I hope she hangs around for another year and gets to go to worlds or something, if she choses to. I feel like we’ve not really seen her at her elite senior best yet.

 

[rue_des_plantes]

NCAA rules are byzantine af and all sports are different, but with WAG’s big programs, we are almost always talking full athletic scholarships. Everything’s covered at a school that makes you an offer. Tuition, room & board, fees, books/online modules, one-on-one tutors. I’m not clear on where gymnastics lands with NCAA stipends, but I don’t think those figures are decisive or that a good program would skimp on them or not fight for them.

College Gym News has Morgan entering for the 2022-2023 season, so it wouldn’t be this fall and Skinner’s final year of eligibility wouldn’t affect her. However, Utah appears to be overcommitted even without Skinner, so somebody is gonna have to get sacked.

 

[irichluck21]

Maybe they are anticipating that McCallum will end up going pro following the Olympics?

I anticipate that Jordan will end up going professional.

 

[makam]

But now that they can make money from doing Nike commercials and whatnot, they don’t actually have to full on go pro, right? Just can’t be paid to do gymnastics. And for a gymnast, since there isn’t a pro league to play for, is there any point in it? (I was confused by skinner going pro because she can now monetize her social media and not lose eligibility, but maybe she did it to put the nail in the ncaa coffin)

 

[Doug1233]

I still don’t understand these new image and likeness rules.

Like, is being sponsored by a foam rolling company an “image and likeness” if ur using it in the gymnastics gym in all the copy.

 

[Caligym]

I don’t think Skinner needed to quit college gym to go pro, I think she just doesn’t want to do college gym anymore.

 

[Caligym]

It’s all still shaking out and needs to be clarified but I think college athletes will be able to make money from their “fame” - do commercials, monetize their social media, endorse products - just not play their sport professionally.

 

[rue_des_plantes]

That’s possible, but McCallum strikes me more as a Ross/Kocian type where unless you’re winning medals and have the star power like Simone and Laurie, it’s better to keep your NCAA eligibility. Chiles is an interesting one, because she was adamant about UCLA last month, but her life is likely going to change a lot in the coming weeks.

Skinner made this point on social media, and I agreed with her. She’d keep her eligibility if it were her entire NCAA career or most of it yet to come, but now she’s in a new phase of her life. Her body will have had enough after Tokyo, and NCAA would require her to train through April of 2022. “All” she is giving up is 1 year, after 3 great seasons and 2+ years since even training there. Why not see what opportunities come, and now she can collect from the tour and whatever else?

One draw for Utah is they pack the shit outta the Huntsman Center and their fans are way devoted and loyal. They averaged over 15,000 tickets sold per meet in 2019 or 2020 and their online fanbase is quite the thing, for better or worse. Hopefully Amelie likes a crowd!

I love that more and more GBR and European gymnasts are coming to NCAA. What a wild and unique opportunity for everybody, including the US athletes.

 

[Doug1233]

I mean, other than a gymnastics tour, you can do anything?

 

[Jack]

their online fanbase is quite insufferable

FTFY!

(can we get rid of the 10 character rule?)

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

I would’ve thought product endorsement is the way to go for a lot of them?

 

[Doug1233]

Becky serving some steaming hot tea this evening

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Shocked faces everyone.

 

[Kittentoes]

It’s very Diane Durham.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

BG always had a yen for Imogen. Becky would’ve been a much better use of that spot. She might I suppose have tanked on beam, but that was a risk you took with every single gymnast in contention that year.

 

[Doug1233]

And didn’t becky have a DTY?

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

I think she was training it yeah.

 

[irichluck21]

Interesting thoughts from Downie.

I didn’t see her as being in contention for London to be honest and thought that Imogen Cairns getting named to the team was more so at the expense of Danusia Francis than Becky Downie.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

If she wasn’t in contention, it wasn’t because of gymnastics. She had a potential DTY and if not her 1.5 was as good as anyone’s, she was top on 3 bars and identical to the rest of them on beam. Think of her as a version of Imogen Cairns who could get more than an 11 on bars.

 

[Doug1233]

But for BG fucking up, she could have been a 4 time Olympian.