John and John became best friends through their training and travels with gymnastics. They have combined their passion for the sport and their desire to give back to younger gymnasts by joining forces for Flip Fest.
We had a crazy weekend. We left Knoxville Friday morning for Jacksonville, Florida and the American Cup. We got there just in time to catch the prelims on Friday afternoon. It was kind of an ugly meet, a lot of mistakes, but we did see Americans Alexander Artemev, Jonathan Horton, Shawn Johnson and Natasha Kelley all make the all-around finals.
Friday night we went to visit the coaches and gymnasts at North Florida Gymnastics and at TNT Gymnastics. We had a blast with you all. It was great to see all the familiar faces and watch workout for bit at North Florida Gymnastics. Thanks to coach Erin for allowing us to stop by and say hi. We can’t wait to see you all at camp this summer.
After leaving North Florida we headed to TNT Gymnastics to visit with owner Denise and her gymnasts. Again, we had a great time. Little did we know how good they were at “Spud”. Johnny Mac put up a valiant effort but, like most weeks at camp, the staff lost to the kids. After about four different games we were exhausted, but I think everyone had a good time. We look forward to coming back down and visiting both gyms again, and we want a Spud rematch.
The all-around finals of the American Cup were much more exciting than the prelims. John once again did an awesome job as the host of the event. He was in the crowd having fun with all the fans. I had the opportunity to commentate on the in-house radio broadcast that travels to all of USAG’s events. This year my co-host was 2000 Olympian Morgan White. We had a great time and it was a good meet to broadcast as we saw two of the new stars of USA Gymnastics Shawn Johnson and Jonathan Horton win the all-around. Shawn is an amazing gymnast. She does an amazing double twisting double back on floor and tumbled on beam like she was on the floor. Jonathan amazed the crowd on his final event with three Kovacs, one laid out, one with a full twist and one tucked.
As soon as the meet was over we were off to the airport and the John Macready March of Dimes Invitational. The meet is run by GEM City Gymnastics and camp entertainer Randy Parrish and helps raise funds for the March of Dimes which helps save premature babies. It’s not one of the biggest meets in the country but it is a great meet and a great cause.
John and I had the opportunity to visit three schools and be a part of a school assembly on Monday, for all the kids that brought money in for the March of Dimes. Way to go everyone in Quincy on putting on a great meet, and raising all the money. We can’t wait to see you all next year. Also, congrats to Jacob and Michelle for the birth of their new baby Railey.