USOC HALL OF FAME & OLYMPIC TRIALS

Without a doubt, my life has changed for the better over the last six months!

Carmen keeps me plenty busy, and we’re really building a strong mother-daughter bond! As many of you know, she has a way with timing. She was born on Christmas Day, and most recently she slept through the entire night (for the first time) on Mother’s Day, making my first Mother’s Day a “toughy” to top.

We all know that babies change everything about daily living, but one of the biggest changes I’ve noticed recently is how we travel, especially by air. Since I refuse to leave home without her, I’ve mastered techniques of packing and unpacking Carmen’s luggage for security, folding up the stroller, and keeping her calm from take off to touch down.

Nowadays, air travel can be more stressful, thanks to frequent delays, luggage requirements, increased air traffic, etc., but people’s pleasant reactions to Carmen have made traveling by air more agreeable! It’s amazing how much happiness a baby brings to complete strangers! It’s almost struggle to remember flying without her. We’re travel buddies!

It’s hard to believe, but the Beijing Summer Games are almost here!

In the spirit of the Olympics, the 1996 Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Team I was a part of was honored with an induction into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame presented by Allstate in Chicago on June 19th, 2008. What an exciting and memorable event!

(Please take a peak at our latest slide show of photos)

HINT: This photo album was put together in PowerPoint. If you do not have PowerPoint installed on your computer, you can download the PowerPoint Viewer for Windows or the PowerPoint Viewer for Macintosh to view this presentation.

The induction ceremony will air on August 3rd, 2008 at 1:30-3:00 p.m. EST on NBC. Check it out! This is the greatest honor our team has received since Atlanta! Thanks to all of you who voted for us! You allowed us to become part of a very eclectic and prestigious group!

After the induction ceremony in Chicago, Mike, Carmen and I made the trip to Philadelphia to see the Olympic Trials in Philadelphia. We enjoyed the performances much more than the actual “trials” aspect of the competition because the gravity of results from the meet itself has appeared to shrink from this once-pivotal and “final” domestic meet of the quadrennium.

Perhaps the powers that be should consider changing the name of the meet to “The Olympic Showcase” or “The Pre-Selection Camp Championships,” because it has turned into anything but a definitive Olympic Trials – where a group of athletes perform and a team is named.

Let’s face it; five spots on the Women’s Olympic Team have by all rights been secured in Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Chellsie Memmel, Alicia Sacramone, and Samantha Peszek. These young women did everything (and more) to rightfully earn their positions on the 2008 Olympic Team, including their performances at the Trials. Unfortunately, Chellsie, Alicia, and Sam did not get the opportunity to be recognized for their efforts in front of 13,000 pumped gymnastics fans in Philadelphia. Rather they will need to prove themselves once again at a “behind-closed-doors” camp in New Waverly, Texas.

I could go on about why these young women have already more than earned their positions on the Olympic Team, and why they should have been named to the team publicly in Philadelphia at the Trials, but here are the main bullet points:

• Chellsie Memmel put on an awesome show over both days! She drilled through really tough routines, and she did it all, it should be noted, without much support from the “higher ups.” Yet she performed and carried herself with grace and style. Chellsie handled and carried herself amazingly well during the two days of competition, she looked and clearly was prepared, plus she’s got a track record for “saving the day” for Team USA! Just a few reasons why Chellsie should have been named to the team at the Trials.

• Alicia Sacramone. I get sentimental when I think about this young lady, because I remember hugging her so tightly after her bar routine debacle at the 2004 nationals. I’ll never forget how disappointed she was. She’s done EVERYTHING RIGHT since 2004 (including competing for Brown University) to earn a spot in 2008, and was terrific at Trials. She should’ve been named to the team as well.

• Sam Peszek has come through the junior ranks in our country with class and consistency, and she’s steadily improved each year. She’s tough and she’s got big meet experience. Sam played a key part in the 2007 World Championship Gold Medal effort. And I believe she’ll play an important role in 2008. She should’ve been named to the team at Trials too.

One can argue that the selection procedure belittles the recognition of becoming a U.S. Olympian. I mean, really!! Do you think these athletes would “get lazy or let up” if they were named to the team at Trials? C’mon Marta!

Not even the gobs of confetti at the conclusion of the Olympic Trials could get me pumped about this part of the selection process. For those of you not in Philadelphia, picture this: A controversial Men’s Olympic Team with three alternates alongside the ENTIRE roster of Women’s Olympic Trials competitors. It was awkward! I certainly didn’t feel a sense of Team USA.

My sense was that many in the audience were left wondering why we even have a Trials meet at all if only two of the six slots are to be named at the conclusion of the event while the remaining team members are selected behind closed doors and not in front of the public.

It should be noted that I genuinely enjoy watching the televised broadcasts of competitions I get to attend. A different set of perspectives are there for the viewing that you don’t get to see from the actual audience. I like the angles and story lines, too. But this Olympic Trials gave us all a glimpse into more realistic view of how this process is carried out. Not only was Marta Karolyi’s autonomy mentioned more than ever, but if you pay attention to Kathy Kelly during times 4:23 through 5:54 in the below clip, you’ll see firsthand the haphazard fashion in which the young ladies are chosen for the final selection camp.

For something as meaningful to our sport as the Olympic Trials, this just doesn’t sit right with me. It should be classier, and more fair to the athletes.



On both the men’s and women’s sides, the selection committees continue to defend unfairness to individuals by touting fairness to “the entire group.” They’ve been hiding behind this for years, but I think there is light at the end of the tunnel. I get the sense that 2008 is going to bring some long overdue attention to the un-American and inconsistent process employed to select our Olympic Gymnastics Teams. I hope that the attention sparks a change in the right direction. This unresolved issue comes up every Olympic Year, but in 2008, the process led by the “watchful eye of Marta Karolyi” is starting to be watched by the watchful eyes of many more.

Despite all the politics and unfairness, I absolutely love the sport of gymnastics. In fact, in some ways, I love it more now than when I was competing. But I’m unhappy with the management of our sport at the highest level. I don’t have all the answers, but more transparency in the selection process will help us retain fans and gain new ones. It’s human nature to want to know the rationale for team selection. Presently, we are all in the dark (fans, athletes, coaches, family members, officials). I’m not against selection camps, but I don’t think that camps should determine more than 1/3 of the team.

Something to think about is that the 1996 Women’s Olympic Team was selected with fewer decisions behind closed doors than in 2000 and 2004. So it’s gotten worse, but I believe it is about to get better. For the sake of our sport, it has to!

It’s come full circle to my daughter, Carmen.

People ask us all the time if Mike and I plan to start our little Carmen in gymnastics. You bet we will!! Why? Because it’s greatest sport in the world, and we want her to benefit from the life lessons it’s taught us. But we also want her to leave gymnastics happy to have participated.

All I’m saying is that we need to re-think what “the secret selection criteria” does to the perception of gymnastics.

That’s all for now!!

The website will be debuting it’s new look within the month!

I hope you are all having a good summer!!

Enjoy, as 2008 continues to unfold.
Dominique