3 Things to Look Out for at 2022 Winter Cup

Winter Cup, the kickstart to the elite gymnastics season presents the opportunity for gymnasts to get back into the swing of competition. The meet is generally a safe space to try out new skills and routines. Not only is this one of the first elite meets of the year, but it’s also one of the first under the new code of points. Besides the exciting new gymnastics, new routines, and the onset of the new code, here are a few things to look out for as you watch this weekend:

1. Moldauer-Hong All Around Showdown

Headlining the men’s field is Olympian Yul Moldauer and first-year senior Asher Hong. Hong made his highly anticipated senior debut a few weeks ago at a few smaller meets. There Hong competed head-to-head with Yul Moldauer, even outscoring Moldauer in the all-around on one occasion. Winter Cup will be an opportunity to see Hong’s debut on a larger stage and will give insight into his potential for becoming a stalwart for the American men.

Leading the NCAA men’s all around, we will also get to see Zach Nunez representing the Oklahoma men’s team.

2. Senior Debuts

With Asher Hong on the men’s side, Katelyn Jong, Levi Jung Ruivivar, Kailya Lincoln, and Joscelyn Roberson will all make their highly-anticipated senior debuts for the women.

Jong was part of the gold medal-winning junior Pan-American team in Colombia last year. Throughout her junior career she’s showed impressive difficulty across each event, and will be interesting to see if she decides to up her D-score for her senior debut.

Standout Joscelyn Roberson caught the gymternet’s eye several years ago with her impressive beam training videos, now making her senior debut. Seeing how Roberson can compete among the seniors will be something to look out for.

3. Comebacks

Due to an untimely injury, Colin Van Wicklin missed his opportunity to compete at the 2021 Tokyo Games, the 2022 Winter Cup will be his first meet back since his injury.

Olympic Trials attendees Skye Blakley, Zoe Miller, and Addison Fatta will make their 2022 debut at Winter Cup. Blakley and Miller, who were first-year seniors just last year, will take on a veteran role competing amidst a relatively young field.

Additionally, we will see Ciena Alipio make her 2022 debut after finishing third at the Artur Gander Memorial last year.

Headlining the field is Konnor McClain, a member of the 2021 World Championships team. McClain has faced a tremendous amount of adversity in and outside of gymnastics just within the past several months, so seeing her compete given her circumstances is a treat for gymnastics fans everywhere.

The full schedule for Winter Cup can be found here with streaming information.

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