‘Oddly Similar’: Gymnastics Community Suspicious Over USAG’s Latest Update on Texas Facility

The USA Gymnastics team turned the Bercy Arena in Paris into their personal stage with jaw-dropping performances, snagging a grand total of ten medals! The women’s team began their redemption tour by putting in the grind at the Stars Facility Center in Katy, Texas. The Stars facility has been the home of the US women’s gymnastics team since 2022, after the move from the tainted Karolyi Ranch. 

The Stars Katy facility is owned by Dan and Ashly Baker, who expanded their Stars Gymnastics venture from Houston. The 30,000-square-foot facility was opened in 2019 and three years later it became the hub for the women’s gymnastics team. But a new update suggests that change may already be in order.

The latest buzz on US gymnastics comes from a tweet by GymCastic, revealing: “USAG no longer has a senior national team training center in Texas. The Stars, Katy facility will no longer be used. Juniors will have camps at the second Stars location. USAG did not give a comment when we reached out.”

In 2018, USA Gymnastics announced that it would not hold the women’s team’s training camp at the Karolyi Ranch in Texas after it came under fire for the Larry Nassar scandal. Many athletes including Simone Biles and Aly Raisman spoke out against the mistreatment at the facility, forcing USAG to make a decision.

This brought an end to the association that lasted since 2001, with coach Bela and Marta Karolyi. The women’s gymnastics team spent the next few years, training at different facilities before the move to the Stars Facility Center in Katy was finalized in 2022.

With the USAG already gearing up for the LA Olympics in 2028, there has been talk of centralizing its national training programs. Currently, the national camps for the programs are scattered across the country. In 2023, USAG President Li Li Leung announced that over a dozen cities have expressed interest in hosting a new training and wellness headquarters. Previously, training was spread out with the women’s team in Texas, the men’s team in Colorado, rhythmic gymnastics in New York, and trampoline and tumbling programs in Utah and New Jersey.

This new facility would serve as the central hub for all gymnastics disciplines, offering training, camps, and educational programs. There is no timetable for when a site for this project would be chosen and it’s unclear if the national headquarters will relocate from Indianapolis. The move aims to unify the scattered training camps and align with the organization’s values, reflecting a broader cultural shift since cutting ties with the Karolyi Ranch in 2018.

But the recent news about the senior national team no longer using their Texas training center, raised concern among the fans and they discussed what this could mean for the future of USAG’s training landscape. After cutting ties with the Karoyli Ranch, the women’s gymnastics team moved from one training center to another until they settled in Katy. Will we see this happening again?

The US women’s gymnastics team could find itself in a similar situation as fans raise questions after the reported move

Before moving into the Stars Facility in 2022, to train for the world championships, the women’s gymnastics teams utilized various locations for its training. These included the EVO Athletics in Sarasota, Florida, the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and other gymnastics facilities in Salt Lake City, Utah among others.

But now after two years in Katy, it looks like they will be on the move again. On Reddit, this became a point of discussion with many questioning their alliance with Stars Facility in the first place and others wondering about the future.

Amidst the buzz on r/Gymnastics, a user questioned, “Who owns the Stars facility?” The answer came swiftly: “Dan Baker. He’s been in charge of the developmental program for several years.” This led to a perceptive user drawing a comparison to the Karolyi Ranch era, suggesting that Dan Baker’s dual role could resemble the conflict of interest seen with the Karolyis. They remarked, “He owns the facility USAG has been using for the national team? Isn’t that an oddly similar conflict of interest to the Karolyi ranch?”

However, some users have offered a different perspective, suggesting that any potential conflict might be managed through disclosure and board approval. One user commented, “Don’t quote me on this because I haven’t really dug into this policy recently, but I think this is a situation where the conflict is disclosed and the board can waive it.”

In 2022, Dan Baker, along with 2008 Olympic silver medallists Chellsie Memmel and Alicia Sacramone Quinn, took on high-performance leadership roles within USA Gymnastics’ Women’s Program. So concerns about conflicts of interest persisted as one user noted, “Isn’t he one of the WAG team heads along with Sacramone and Memmel?” pointing out the potential for overlapping interests.

Despite the plans for a centralized training center, no announcements have been made regarding the bidding process and which cities are in the hunt. Back in April, it was reported that a Northland developer was planning to bring a major USA Gymnastics campus to Kansas City. But again, no updates have been shared.

The lack of a centralized training facility has also sparked frustration among fans. One user lamented, “How tf doesn’t the USA have an official training center 😭 no shade to Stars but like the U.S. women are among the best of the best out here.”

The US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center uses the facility in Colorado Springs, the USAG could move to the center, but it will require a major upgrade to be at the level of the facilities other nations have.

Another highlighted the contrast with other nations, saying, “Crazy GB having a training centre (multi-discipline) and US not. Grateful for national lottery funding.”

These comments reflect concern over the U.S.’s training infrastructure, especially given its status in the sport. As the reasons behind this significant shift remain unclear, speculation continues. What do you think about this surprising shift? Share your thoughts in the comments below!