MAG expert Kensley Behel was able to talk to some of the members of the Men's Performance Committee to bring you a comprehensive understanding of how MAG gymnasts can qualify to the U.S. Championships this year.
In April of this year, the Men's Performance Committee (MPC) agreed to increase the number of gymnasts competing at nationals from 30 seniors to 36 seniors with the additional number of gymnasts coming from the national qualifier held from July 12 – July 15 at the Olympic Training Center. However, while earning a spot to compete at nationals will be slightly easier, earning a spot on the national team is now more competitive as the MPC has limited the number of spots to only 12.
Current national team members have already qualified directly to nationals, but may choose to compete at the qualifier if they would like to use it as a warm-up meet.
*Will compete at the qualifier.
Additionally, event winners and the top six all-arounders at NCAA Championships not already pre-qualified have all earned spots at nationals. For Example, Yul Moldauer won the all-around at NCAA Championships, but he is already pre-qualified as a member of the national team, so the gymnast ranked seventh will get his NCAA qualification spot.
According to the men's qualification documents, there was a discrepancy in who was allowed to directly qualify to nationals from the NCAA Championships from the all-around competition. Was it the top six of the top eight gymnasts that one document specified, or was it the top five out of the top 12 gymnasts from the NCAA Championships as a second document specified?
I reached out to Steve Legendre, the athlete rep, to let him know about the discrepancy in the documentation. He immediately took the issue to the MPC, as well as to the V.P. of Communications at USA Gymnastics, who will honor the documentation that would allow for the most gymnasts to directly qualify to the U.S. Championships. This is the type of leadership that will transform USA Gymnastics. We need honest men and women who will accept responsibility for mistakes given and do everything in their power to make it right.
Based on those qualifications procedures and an updated vote by the MPC, the following gymnasts have qualified to U.S. Championships.
Note: Those who qualified to nationals from event finals are able to compete as many events as they wish in Boston.
19 gymnasts have already pre-qualified to nationals as team members (11) or through NCAA Championships (8), leaving room for 17 more gymnasts to qualify via the qualifier or by petition to compete at nationals.
The rules to compete at this week's qualifier are simple — you must be at least 18 years old in 2018, you must be a United States citizen, and you must be able to pay the $125 entry fee.
It is important to note that current junior national team members that age out of the junior division will need to attend the qualifier as they do not automatically earn a spot at nationals.
How are junior and senior gymnasts determined?
To compete at the U.S. Championships in the junior division, the MPC utilizes the Junior Olympic Program age specification of May 31. Mr. McIntire, the Vice President of the Men's Program, has clarified that this means anyone who turns 19 after May 31 will still be eligible to compete in the junior division. To compete in the senior division, the MPC utilizes the FIG guidelines meaning a gymnast must be 18 years of age or older by December 31, 2018.
Due to the differences in the systems, some gymnasts are able to compete in both divisions and the athlete himself is given the choice in which division he wishes to compete should he qualify to the senior division.
Here's where it gets a little bit tricky. If the gymnast is age-eligible for the junior division, but opts to compete in the senior division, he is not eligible to be automatically selected for the junior national team based on all-around placement. They are, however, eligible to be selected for one of three nominative positions on the junior national team.
Unlike previous years, once the junior gymnast opts to compete in the junior division, he must stay in that division for the duration of the championships. The purpose of this change is to now focus on the Junior World Championships in 2019.
The national championships serves a wider purpose than just selecting the national team. Gymnasts for the Youth Olympic Games and the World Championships will be selected from this competition. The selection process for the YOG can be found here.
Good luck to all the gymnasts competing! We wish you all a safe competition.
July 9, 2018 in 2018 U.S. Championships, MAG, United States.


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Why Good Morning Britain presenter's Welsh language vowel comments are so tedious
18 Nov 2020 5 minute read
Ben Shepherd on ITV's Good Morning Britain on Friday.
Gareth Ceidiog Hughes
It's just tedious more than anything.
Is not having to hear banal tropes about the Welsh language really too much to ask? Would it really be an imposition on those who engage in such inanity to desist?
It appears that it is in the Good Morning Britain studio, because Ben Shephard, one of the show's presenters, made derogatory comments about the language whilst discussing I'm a Celebrity, which is being filmed at Gwrych Castle in North Wales.
He used an old trope that the Welsh language does not have any vowels after he and follow presenter Kate Garraway struggled to pronounce the word gwrych.
He said: "I've suddenly realised, they've put the name of the castle where they're filming the new I'm a Celebrity – it's got no vowels in. It's Welsh. It's spelt g w r y c h. We need some help." Well at least he's right about one thing. He does need help.
It was like watching the Welsh language being explained by David Brent. Shephard decided to blame the language for his inability to say the word, despite the fact that children are perfectly capable of doing so in Wales. As the Americans like to say – go figure.
I'm not even angry about it – just incredibly weary. This type of thing is just incessant. To be a Welsh speaker is to have to deal with a constant barrage of noxious untruths.
We really should not have to explain that the claims are incorrect. We should not have to explain that the Welsh language has more vowels than English. We should not have to explain Shephard embarrassed himself in front of Welsh speakers because the word gwrych in fact has a vowel in it. We shouldn't have to explain that the unjustifiable confidence with which he made the claim does not change that. The fact this needs to be said is exasperating.
It reminds me of the ridiculous myth that Welsh speakers only switch the to language when someone English walks into the pub. It has absolutely no basis in reality. It is a tin foil hat conspiracy theory that has been weaponised against a minority community.
We should be clear about what the purpose of comments like this is. The purpose is to put us down. It is punching down at a minority community. It isn't big and it isn't clever.
The purpose is to create the impression that the Welsh language is of lesser value than the English language. It adds to the attempted delegitimization of the language.
You might think, well so what. It's only a joke. Yes, a crap and unspeakably stupid joke. But a joke, nonetheless. Well I disagree for the aforementioned reasons and many more besides.
This matters because Good Morning Britain has a huge audience. Shephard was shaping people's perception of us with falsehoods. How the Welsh language is perceived has implications for the rights its speakers have, or in many cases don't. It has implications for how many people might want to take up the language.
If a language is seen of having little value, why bother sending your child to a school where it is the medium of education? Why allow that school to exist in the first place? Why fund a TV channel for a bunch of vowel-less hicks babbling away in weird and impenetrable tongue? Why put that gobbledygook on road signs? Why give them access to public services through the language? Why treat them as equal when they are so obviously inferior? This kind of attitude is intolerable, and it cannot be allowed to stand.
Thankfully, more and more people in Wales are rejecting the kind of attitude that leads to such prejudice. But this did not happen by accident. It happened because campaigners fought against it. We will not allow the progress towards the Welsh language attaining its rightful status in our society to be rolled back and that means fighting the perceptions and the attitudes that would enable it.
When you imply that a language has little worth you aren't merely traducing something abstract. You are traducing the people, the community that speaks is, and for whom the language is an integral part of their identity. You are seeking create the impression of elevating yourself, not by climbing, but by putting others down.
Part of the problem arises from being part of a pervasive monoglot anglophone culture. The global nature of the English language has ironically led to a peculiar kind of parochialism. It is a world where you don't have to make the effort to understand others because they've made the effort to understand you. Having your language being a lingua Franca has many benefits. However, it can be a breeding ground for ignorance, and ignorance can lead to prejudice.
I find it baffling that many people think Welsh should conform to English language patterns.
But then again, the prism of only a singular language with which to view the world is a narrow one. It can lead to distortions if one does not have a certain self-awareness. Bilingualism is the norm throughout most of the world. It is the UK that is different. I really haven't got the patience right now to humour those who look down their noses at me and my fellow Welsh speakers on the basis of delusions of grandeur.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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2013 Genomes Environments Traits Conference
Thursday, April 25, 2013 to Friday, April 26, 2013
Amid all the talk about DNA, double helixes and genetic variations at the Genomes Environments Traits Conference in Boston was a bit of entertainment industry sizzle, as Hollywood, Health & Society Director Sandra de Castro Buffington delivered a featured presentation on inspiring writers and producers to craft storylines that improve health worldwide. The event's main topic was the frontiers of human biology, specifically personal genome sequencing—the mapping of an individual's complete set of DNA—which is increasingly being seen as a promising new medical front in the treatment of disease, as well as for preventive health care.
FICCI/Frames 2013 Convention: The Business of Media & Entertainment
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 - 12:00pm to Thursday, March 14, 2013 - 12:00pm
Hollywood, Health & Society Director Sandra de Castro Buffington will talk about "Mainstreaming Socially Provocative Cinema and Television" at the FICCI Frames 2013 conference being held March 12-14 in Mumbai, India. The three-day global convention covers film, broadcast television and radio, digital entertainment, animation, gaming and visual effects. Nearly 2,000 Indian and 800 foreign delegates are expected to attend the event.
Creative Change: Art, Culture and Immigrant Justice
Hollywood, Health & Society Director Sandra de Castro Buffington will speak about the depiction of immigrants in the media at the Creative Change conference March 5 at Self Help Graphics & Art in East Los Angeles. Buffington's presentation, titled "Entertaining Health and Well Being: Inspiring Hollywood to Create Socially Relevant Stories," will include clips from TV shows whose storylines dealt with immigration. The Creative Change conference will include a strategy session to "identify key opportunities for alliances" centering on efforts to change immigration policy at federal and state levels. Self Help Graphics & Art is a non-profit visual arts center serving the predominantly Latino community of Los Angeles.
People First: Real Disabilities, Reel Stories
Monday, February 11, 2013 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Hollywood, Health & Society held a panel discussion on the portrayals of people with disabilities in television and film on Feb. 11 at the Writers Guild of America, West. "People First: Real Disabilities, Reel Stories" featured guest speakers Ben Lewin, writer and director of The Sessions (pictured); Margaret Nagle, writer and producer of Warm Springs; Eric Guggenheim, writer and co-producer for Parenthood; David Radcliff, writer and producer; Auti Angel, actress in the docu-series Push Girls; and keynote presenter Ann Neville Jan, an associate professor of occupational science and therapy at USC. Hollywood, Health & Science Director Sandra de Castro Buffington was the moderator.
Storybus Tours: Hunger Games—Fighting the Injustice of 'Food Swamps'
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 - 9:00am to 5:00pm
Residents in East and South Los Angeles are shaking up the food landscape in their neighborhoods, using innovative solutions to change their eating habits and tackle the challenge of getting more fresh, affordable and healthy food into communities. "Food swamps" are caused by an ever-increasing concentration of fast-food restaurants that overwhelm the more limited options for healthier alternatives, and the impact has been stark: an epidemic of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and other related chronic illnesses. On a recent Storybus Tour organized by Hollywood, Health & Society called "Hunger Games," writers and producers were given a first-hand look at the activists, community groups, public health professionals and students who are fighting back.
Residents in East and South Los Angeles are shaking up the neighborhood food landscape, using innovative solutions to change eating habits and tackle the challenge of getting fresh, affordable and healthy food into communities. "Food swamps" are caused by an ever-increasing concentration of fast-food restaurants that overwhelm the more limited options for healthier alternatives, and the impact has been stark: an epidemic of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and other related chronic illnesses—costing billions in health care costs and reducing the life expectancy of residents.
Uplift 2012 Festival in Australia
Thursday, December 20, 2012 to Sunday, December 23, 2012
Hollywood, Health & Society Director Sandra de Castro Buffington was a featured presenter at the Uplift 2012 festival held Dec. 20-23 in Byron Bay, Australia. Buffington held a workshop on "The New Mythology of Television, Film and New Media," on Friday, Dec. 21, in which she offered techniques of Hollywood's master storytellers in crafting the most compelling stories. Uplift (Universal Peace & Love in a Festival of Transformation) was described as a "participatory event bringing together some of the world's most inspirational artists and innovative thinkers to explore, inquire, share and discover."


Salt Food Festival Finale! HIGH ON PERSONA Salt Food Festival Finale!
Good chefs can look at a recipe and alter the ingredients accordingly. One needs to play around with ingredients and not be afraid to make mistakes. This is how one can learn what works best in the kitchen. This was stated by celebrity chef, Ms. Pooja Dhingra. She was addressing a recipe workshop on 'Nutella Squares and Milk Chocolate and Sea Salt Truffles'. The workshop was being held on the concluding day of the 2-day 'Salt Food Festival' at Hotel Clarks Amer. The festival was organized by Ms. Divolka Jain in association with Gyanjee caterers.
The 2-day mega food festival witnessed over 3000 visitors who came to attend a variety of workshops by celebrity chefs as well as sample a variety of delicacies from India and abroad.
The day began with a 'Food Styling Workshop' by well-known food stylist, Ms. Deeba Rajpal. Emphasizing on the need to study photographs, Ms. Rajpal said that social bookmarking websites like Pinterest can be used as a source of inspiration to style better photographs. However, these images should be used as reference to find elements one likes and not copied. Other elements like light, colour palette, composition, orientation, angles, shots, accents, layers, among others should be kept in mind when styling photographs for pleasure or business.
Professional baker, Ms. Ketki Barfiwala taught how to make 'Cakesicles'. Under her expert guidance, the audience learned how to make cake sponges as well as fondant accents like flowers, emojis, and cherry blossoms. Defining 'Cakesicles' Ms. Barfiwala said that these are cake balls in the shape of popsicles that are creations especially for kids. The cakesicles were prepared on the 'Beach Theme' at the workshop. This was followed by a workshop on 'Laal Maas' by the chef, Mita Kapur. Following the age-old recipe of the Rajput Royal Thikana of Devgarh, she taught the audience how to make the well-known Rajasthani dish. During the class, she also discussed various other variations of the recipe.
Later in the evening, there was live entertainment by renowned band, Indian Ocean which performed contemporary fusion music with jazz-laced rhythms. Silent Disco witnessed the second night on popular demand where visitors danced to popular English and Hindi songs wearing headphones.
Also Read: Zee Jaipur Lit Fest Dates and Speakers Announced!
Why Ansh Bagri agreed to be a part of Dil to Happy Hai Ji?


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Türkiye rises as destination for South African travelers
ISTANBUL (AA): Attracting millions of tourists from around the world, Türkiye is now seeing a rising interest among travelers from South Africa. About 50,000 South African tourists visited Türkiye between January and September 2022, making it one of the favorite holiday destinations, Ayşegül Kandaş, the Turkish ambassador to Pretoria, told Anadolu Agency (AA) Friday.
Kandaş said there is also a growing interest among Turks visiting South Africa for tourism. "We are currently working to increase the number of tourists going back and forth through our various cultural activities," she said. Kandaş elaborated that some cultural activities at the embassy and the Yunus Emre Institute are involved in organizing photo and art exhibitions, and the promotion of Turkish cuisine and films, which draw huge interest among South Africans. She also noted that Türkiye is becoming more popular among South Africans because of Turkish TV series being aired on local television. "These TV series are playing a big role in bringing South Africa and Türkiye closer despite the physical distance," she said, adding that people who watch the series often want to find out more about the country, its people, culture and food, and hence the growing numbers of tourists.
Kandaş said her country has also increased the number of scholarships for students applying to study in Türkiye. "This year we gave out 13 scholarships for both undergraduate and postgraduate studies, the highest until now," she said. The ambassador also said that foreign students who study in Türkiye eventually become brand ambassadors when they complete their studies and return home. "They tell people about life in Türkiye, attractions, opportunities and eventually people get interested to visit," she said.
Kandaş said economic relations between the two countries are at their best with the trade volume growing every year. "By the end of 2021, the trade volume reached $2 billion, and in August 2022 it climbed to $2.4 billion. We now expect the total trade volume to reach $3 billion by the beginning of next year," she added. She said there are 70 Turkish companies operating in South Africa, and 66 South African companies in Türkiye.
A South African travel blogger who has visited Türkiye 33 times is promoting the country globally, praising the hospitality and urging others to visit. "I'm an avid traveler in Türkiye and I love the country. I'm asked over and over again, why do I keep returning? After 33 trips, I can tell you it's the hospitality, kindness and delicious food of the country," Marion Smith said.
Smith has visited more than 40 cities in Türkiye in the past 10 years and she is often invited by the Turkish Embassy in South Africa to narrate her experiences to audiences during events. "There is a reason for everyone to visit Türkiye, whether it's one of the 491 Blue Flag beaches to relax at, or to see the world's only Blue Flag lake, Van Lake," said Smith, who publishes the Everything Turkish magazine. Smith has collected photographs from numerous travels to Türkiye, which she recently published into a photo book.
This year, the Turkish cultural center in Johannesburg, the Yunus Emre Institute, sponsored Smith and sketch artist Alex Maswanganyi to travel to Türkiye on a project entitled, "Türkiye Through the Eyes of Two South Africans."
Maswanganyi sketched 10 photographs taken by Smith that were exhibited in several cities, including Istanbul, Antalya and Ankara. "Turkish people were excited to see the artwork sketches drawn by Maswanganyi and wanted to learn more about the South African artist and how he got involved with Türkiye. We are very fortunate to have this project done and appreciate the kindness and hospitality of the Turkish people," Smith added. Their works were also showcased to hundreds who attended Türkiye's 99th Republic Day celebrations at the residence of the Turkish ambassador in the South African capital of Pretoria.
Smith uses her travel blog, magazine and events to promote Türkiye in South Africa. "I'm the unofficial public relations officer of Türkiye," she joked.
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Daily intake of Green tea before bed time can get rid of your acidity and gas issues which produces during the whole day in your tummy.
In a pan, add green tea, green cardamom and boiling water. Cover and allow it to steep for at least 5 minutes. Then strain and discard tea bags, pour tea in a pan, bring to a quick boil over medium heat. Then add vinegar, lemongrass and honey to taste, mix well. Let it cool down. Now fill glass with ice. Pour prepared tea and mint leaves.
Note: Diabetics patients can omit honey and use artificial sweetener, also those who don't like ice they can drink as it is.


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Shelter from the storms of life in Haiti
Among other work TouchGlobal is doing in Haiti, we have been working with a local community of Gressier to build temporary shelters to get people out of tents and tarps and in shelter that will withstand Category 2 hurricanes and keep the family dry (no need to help with staying warm here!).
This week we began documenting all the shelters in Google Earth for reporting purposes. Amazing that large organizations are using this very user friendly approach! So if you have Google Earth and would like to get our KMZ file to zoom around the territory we're in, leave a comment and I'll send it along to you.
Czech in Haiti
We had a group from the Czech Republic come to Haiti this week to assess how churches in Czech could help with the crisis recovery efforts that TouchGlobal is doing here. Daniel is the leader of the Czech missions sending agency ZMA. He and the others saw the vast range of opportunities here to show the love of Christ with works of compassion. In this photo Daniel is communicating with a Haitian who is showing him his new home that TouchGlobal built. These homes, designed and resourced from Samaritan's Purse, are being built throughout the earthquake impacted areas of Haiti. People are now able to move from tents into structures that can hold six people, survive a Category 2 hurricane, and last 1-3 years. We are excited by the interest that churches in many countries have shown in partnering with us to help Haiti. What a witness for the Gospel when people of many cultures come together under one banner to give with no strings attached.
Where else in Haiti post-earthquake can a newly minted ten year old get a cake, piñata and other kids to join her birthday party? Pink icing colored from red jello, Sweet Tarts spelling out Happy Birthday, and matches as candles just can't be matched by any other cake. Plus it tasted great!
"I said A Boom Chicka Boom!"
Today Anna was with me as Cathi was off in another area of ministry. We took a team to an orphanage that we're helping and Anna became a pied-piper for little girls….walking up and down this wood platform, trying to keep them out of the mud. It was such a pleasure to listen to her leading them in a chant (in English) as they repeated the sounds and followed her up and down grinning from ear to ear.
An ordinary workday turned celebration for Anna's 10th Birthday!
After a special pancake breakfast (Anna's had chocolate chips), while Brian headed out with the international team here to capture a glimpse of ministry opportunities here in Haiti, the rest of us headed to our respective work sites– Brian and Byron to an orphanage where they were constructing a building; Dave, Cathy, and Lori to roof shelters in a nearby neighborhood about a kilometer down the road from the base/TG operations center, the Haitian Queen. I was riding along with them as Steve and I would be accompanied by Miguel, our translator so as to obtain GPS coordinates for recently completed shelters, meet the homeowners, and pray a blessing over their new home so the moving in process could begin!
Lunchtime back at the base, but raindrops turned into pelting sheets of rain as we headed to the worksite in Gressier to obtain tools left in anticipation of the afternoon's work–tomorrow would come soon enough, and work would resume. Preparations for celebrating Anna's 10th birthday could be done in a more relaxed manner–new Haitian friends and EFCA missionary applicants (and their 3 kiddos) visiting family in Christianville will be joining us for the celebration.
I wonder if Anna is still working out the details of her latest birthday request? She decided instead of a Barbie dreamhouse, she'd love a younger sister….and the others were headed to the orphanage again. Maybe tickets to a Jonas Brothers concert in Costa Rica aren't such an expensive proposition?
Anna wants a sister
Anna and Cathi spent some time at one of the orphanages we've been helping and fell in love with the kids there. Of course Anna found a little girl she could love on and immediately decided that we should adopt her. As adults we understand that there are many factors involved in the orphan situation here, and that the situation is very complex. But for our little girl, it was quite simple. "God loves me, he gave me to a wonderful family, and I think we should bring another needy child the same blessing I have."
Initial Impressions of Haiti
Much of the world's focus has drifted from the devastating images from January 12, 2010, when a 7.0 earthquake leveled buildings in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. As our airplane touched the tarmac, my husband marveled at the empty fields that had been occupied by major humanitarian agencies just weeks before. Passengers were still transported to an outlying warehouse for immigration and baggage claim, and I found myself reliving scenes from my past in other third world countries, wondering what my next week serving in Haiti with Reachglobal/Touchglobal would look like.
Throngs of people speaking a mix of French and Haitian Creole (neither of which sounded familiar now that I've lived in Costa Rica for two years), individuals offering their cell phones for a fee, taxi drivers, and vendors hawking food and drink crowded outside the chain link fence which separated the newly arriving passengers from that chaos. My stomach churned as we realized that our neon green-shirted Touchglobal driver was nowhere in sight, and that a wait would include time in the tropical sun with two large duffel bags, assorted carry-on pieces, and Anna, our soon to be ten- year-old daughter. My mind recalled a similar situation twenty years ago in Quetta, Pakistan, and I relaxed. God had brought me through situations there I wasn't ready for with our infant son in tow, and He would be with us during the week ahead in Haiti.
Crumbled buildings, mangled autos burnt beyond identification, shells of businesses long since vacated or demolished remained, as did hopeless faces. Tents, temporary shelters, and newly erected tarps and organization-branded, Tyvek -wrapped structures dotted the dusty, rutted road to Gressier. Poverty marked indelibly by a major earthquake remains, but Sunday would dawn with a different sound—the sound of praises sung at sunrise, and a worship service with over one hundred smiling Haitians, the joy of Christ evident on their faces, dressed in their Sunday best(be it well worn, torn or stained from lack of adequate shelter)worshipping in an outdoor sanctuary without walls, shaded by a canopy of green trees, cooled by a gentle breeze, partaking in communion with one another and white-faced "blancs" from a myriad of countries.
God is at work in Haiti. Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone?
Flat tire? No problem!
As we stopped along our journey today, far away from any evident assistance, we noticed our tire was dangerously low. It took all of five minutes for someone to show up with a bicycle pump and we all took turns on a very slow reinflation process. Always something new to face in Haiti!
Worship under the trees
Church gatherings can take place in many different types of locations. The service we attended this morning was under the cool shade of trees in Christianville. Over 150 people joined in singing and two sermons plus Communion. Can you imagine a two hour service like this in the States?
Tarantula fishing in Haiti
Who says girls don't like bugs? Anna had her first adventure in Haiti this evening as she holds a string with a cricket that was too tempting for this good sized tarantula.


ORES is an experimental technology. We encourage you to take advantage of it but also to be skeptical of the predictions made. It's a tool to support you – it can't replace you. Please reach out to us with your questions and concerns.