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~IUlDnIGIJ~· TABLE OF CONTENTS

Volume XVII / Number 12 / December 1975

FROM THE EDITOR/PUBLISHER, Glenn Sundby 1975 WORLD CUP PREVIEW INTERNATIONAL REPORT, Dr. Joseph Goehler A SUPER C ON THE VAULTING HORSE, Dr. Joseph Goehler & Bori, i:l<ljin TWENTY WORLD'S BEST GYMNASTS THE.KORBUT FLIGHT, Dr. Goeh ler & KI. Wiemann RHN HMIC GYMNASTlCSj-A"drea B. Schmid 1975 'MILK MEET PREVIEW VII PAN AMERICAN GAMES MEXICO '75, Stephen Kubasek ANN CARR BIOGRAPHY, Tom Wakeling POSTER FOLD-OUT, Ann Carr, 1st AA Pan American Games VIEWPOINTS,Di ck Criley GUEST OPINION: The Russians Are Coming Again -and - Again, I rit l. Keit er GUEST OPINION: From A Beginner Coach In Gymnastics, Loui , J. SJ maha USGF TECHNICAL BULLETIN SEQUENCES BY SCHULZ, Dieter Schu lz RESEARCH: Beat Swing Action In Gymnastics, Jerry Calkin COMPOSITION FOR FLOOR EXERCISE AND BEAM, General Points To Be Aware Of, Caro l Leidtke A POSITIVE APPROACH TO GYMNASTICS, June Dussia RESEARCH: The Unified Terminology The Most Powerful Aid To Teaching Gymnastics, O .J. Kudrnovsky "HELIN" OF A GYMNASTIC COACH, Gene Stowe CO-ED CAMPUS COLUMN, Gretchen Dowsing PSYCHOLOGY AND THE GYMNAST, Autogenic Training In Gymnastics, Dr. Joe Massimo CLUB CORNER BAJlET FOR GYMNASTICS, Grace Kaywell NEWS 'N NOTES, Kenee P. Hendershott lATE SUMMER REPORTS STATE REPORTS lETTERS CALENDAR

Cover: The Golden Girls, ludmilla Tourischeva and Ann Carr (Photo, by '1 U Il Y lJufr'y)

Color photo ul Kurt riwl1las by Tom Wakeling

Editor/Publisher : Glenn Sundby Associate Editor: Di ck Cri ley Research Editor: H.J. Biesterfe ldt, Jr. International Editor: Dr. Joseph Gohler Art Director: Ri chard Kenney ProCfuctioD Assistant: Patricia L'Toile Circula,tion and Advertising Manager: Dr. R.S. Bach

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GYMNA~l m.IKrIlin(· i't publi~lwd by Su nd by Publi( dlion!>. -lIO 8rocHlwd Y. Solnl ,' Monic ", Co •. (JO .. IO 1. St·( nnd Cld S!i POSldg(' pdid At Sanld Monic d. c.l. Publi~JH'd monthly. Pri«' 5.1.00 d singl(' (OP)'. Sub ... , tipliun (orrl· ... pondc·11( C', GYMNASl - P.O. Box 110, S"ml.) Monic d. L.t 1)04Uh. Copyright I'J75 ' .III righ ts rl'!t(' rvcd by SUND8\' PUHLK.ATIONS. 410 Bro.HtWd Y. Setntd Moni("d,Cd. All Photo !!. clOd mtlnu!ooipt .. !>ubmi ltt.·d b('(onlt.' tht.· property of GYMNAS 1 unlt'!>s rt.' lurn r('qu('!io l dnd !io uffi ci(,111 posldge dr(' indudt·d.

GYMNI\ST Dec. '75

REPORT FROM THE EDITOR/ PUBLISHER

INTERNATIONAL PICTURE: Having just returned from an extended tour of Europe where we were able to cover the Sports Acrobatics "Friendship Cup" in Bulgaria, the First Sports Acrobatics " World Cup" in Switzerland and the sensational First Official " World Cup" for Gymnastics in London , England, we just want to say we are gl'ld to be back at the GYMNAST off ice and to thank our staff for doing such a fine job whi le we were away.

While in Europe we had a chance to spend some discussion time with our Internaitonal Editor, Dr. Joseph Gohler in Wurzburg, Germany about expanding his International report to inc lude more technical data and drawings of the type used in hi s "Olympi sch Turnkunst" magazine (you will note further on in this edition it is already happening). It was nice to renew frien,dships also with Jim and Pauline Prestidge and their daughters Mary and Meg (Warren). You will be hearing more from Jim and Pauline in the next edition of GYMNAST as Jim will give us an overview of th e " World Cup" and Pauline will report on th e Women's competition. In future editions you will be seeing instructional diagrammed articles by daughter M eg, who is a gymnast ic enthusiast in her own right and an artist of note. Also in i:lul ga ria , Switze rland and Lond on we developed more than a passin g aquaintance with Jon Atk inson, National Coach of the B.A .G.A. (British Amateur Gymnastic Associat ion). Jon is a compu ter when it comes to Gymnastics. N!lmes, place,. rout ines, scores or personal data Jon remembers and quoies like pushing a button. You w ill be hearing more from Jon in future edit ions of GYMNAST as he wi ll be doing a techn ical report on the " World Cup" in our next edition, along with an interesting article on an unusual coach and his successful program in a ,ma ll town in the middle of Bulgaria .

Although ,tay ing on in London to cover the "World Cup" prevented me from attending the Pan America n Games in Mexico (as I had originally planned), you will see by the fin e r£port in this issue by reporter Stephen Kubasek and, our young photographer TOlll Wakeling, I was not missed. By extending my stay in England I was ab le to get a first hand view of the competit ion , take a few still photos along with almost 50 ro lls of Super-B co lor film of.the top Gymnasts in tbe world, for technique study. I w as also able to pick up first hand co lor and black & white photos from Gymnastic photographers Tony Duffy and Alan Burrows. Congratulations are in o rder fo r Tony Murdock, BAGA Development Officer, for the fantastic job of organization he and his working staff did for the promotion and running of the " World Cup" and the "Russian Display Program" that followed th e competition during the next three days. (An unending supply and variety of po, ter s, buttons, programs, T-Shirts, Gymbags, etc. were made u'p to . promote these events'.) I also wish to thank Frank Edmonds, president of the BAGA, for hi , friendship and personal concern for my needs in cove ring the ~J "'. '

competition . A very special thanks should also go to, Peter Aykroyd, Press Officer ' \ for the competitiun and Editor of " The GYMNAST" official publication of the B.A . G. A. Ait hough, Peter, as the editor of a competitive magazine, might have had the r ight to feel we we re imposing on his big competition in his territory, he did everything within hi s power as Press Officer to see I had full press privileges, . , credentials and accomodat ions. (Peter, we hope you enjoy our-coverage of your excellent " World Cup" and we will be looking forward to reading your report in " The GYMNAST"*).

Great Britain may not now be a world threat in competitive gymnastics, however, in the la st coup le of years they have had many international displays and competitions, including the " European Championships" for wom en, their annual " Champi ons All " and in this first "World Cup", they are undeniably a world power when it com es to promoting the sport. .. with this interest and dedication by the BAGA, can a top compet itive team from Great Britain be far behind?

* * * All in All , it wa s a good trip and all the better to know that our staff kept things going at home and TOTALL Y produced and mailed GYMNAST magazine for the month of November without a sentence, thought; photo or decision from yours truly. We could say a IDlmore about the " World Cup" and the " Pan Am Games" but it would be a bi~ 'red undant as our staff, under the guidance of our Art Director, Ri ch Kenney, have put together what we think is one of the BEST EVER editions of GYMNAST magaz ine.

*1/ any 0/ our readers would like to subscribe to "The Gymnast magazine, the Officiol Publication 0/ the British Amature Gymnastics Federation, published quarterly ... Send $2.00 to: The Gymnast Circulation Manager, BAGA, 230 High Street. Slough , Berks. 511 IDY. ENGLAND.

Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation: GYMNAST Magazine is published by Sundby Sports Publications, 410 Broad_y, Santa Monica, California 90401. Owned by: Glenn M. & Barbara B.: Sundby. Printed monthly in Los Angeles, California. Total distribution aa of September, 1975: 19,526.

LUDMILLA TOURISCHEVA

Undisputably regains her Crown

with Five · Gold Medals.

1975 World Cup

London ' Color photos by Tony Duffy, Film strip photos by Alan Burrows,

ELANPIC INTERNATIONAL

GYMNAST Dec. '75

8

Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, presenting the World Cup All-Around Awards to the reigning King and Queen of Gymnastics Ludmilla Tourischeva and Nikolai Andrianov.

GYMNAST Dec. ' 75

WOMEN'S OVERALL COMPETITION RESULTS v UPB BB FX Tolal

1. Touris~heva (URS) 9.75 9.80 9.80 9.80 39.15 2. korbul (URS) 9.60 9.80 9.40 9.75 38.55 3. Saadi (URS) 9.55 9.60 9.50 9.65 38.30 3. Egervari (HUN) 9.40 9.70 9.50 9.70 38.30 5. Gorbik (URS) 9.50 9.65 9.20 9.50 37.85 6. Ungurea nu (ROM) 9.50 9.05 9.55 9.70 37.80 7. Dronova (URS) 9.35 9.40 9.40 9.60 37.75 7. kova l (URS) 9.60 9.00 9.45 9.70 37.75 9. Grigoras (ROM) 9.20 9.50 9.35 9.45 37.50

10. Malulai (HUN) 9.25 9.40 9.20 9.55 37.40

INDIVIDUAL FINALS

Vault Compo Finals Tolal Uneven Bars Compo Finals Tolal 1. Touris~heva 9.75 9.60 19.35 1. Touri~(·h e\l,l 9.80 9.70 19.50 2. Saadi 9.55 9.60 19.15 2. Gorbik 9.65 9.65 19.30 2. koval 9.60 9.55 19.15 3. Saadi 9.60 9.60 19.20 4. Ungurl'anu 9.50 9.55 19.05 4. Egervari 9.70 9.45 19.1 5 5. Gorbik 9.50 9.50 19.00 5. Grigoras 9.50 9.60 19.10 6. Egervari 9.40 9.40 18.80 6. Dronova 9.40 9.45 18.85

Balann ' 8e,1I1' Floor Exerci se 1. Touris<heva 9.80 9.65 19.45 1. Touris"heva 9.80 9.80 19.60 2. Egervari 9.50 9.55 19.1 5 2. Ungurl'anu 9.70 9.70 19.40 3. Saadi 9.50 9.55 19.U5 2. Saadi 9.65 9.75 19.40 4. Dronova 9.40 9.55 18.95 4. koval 9.70 9.65 19.35 5. koval 9.45 9.40 18.85 4. Egervari 9.70 9.65 19.35 6. Ungurl'a nu 9.55 9. 15 18.70 6. Dronova 9.60 9.60 19.20

MEN'S OVERALL COMPETITION RESULTS FX PH SR V PB HB Tolal

1. Andrianov (URS) 9.30 9.45 9.40 9.15 9.45 9.60 56.35 2. kajiyama (JAP) 9.30 9.30 9.10 9.55 9.35 9.60 56.20 3. Delia lin (URS) 9.15 9.30 9.30 9.30 9.30 9.55 55.90 4. Gienger (FDR) 9.05 9.30 9.30 9.40 8.95 9.65 55.65 5. Tsukahara (JAP) 8 .65 9.05 9.45 9.45 9.35 9.65 55.60 6. Honma (JAP) 8.90 9.25 9.40 9.10 9.05 9.55 55.25 7. Magyar (HUN) . 8.75 9.65 8.80 9.15 9.10 9.20 54.65 8. Shamugia (URS) 8.40 8.80 9.30 9.50 9.25 9.30 54.55 9. Salronov (URS) 9.30 7.90 9.30 9.50 9.15 9.io 54.35

10. Szajna (POL) 9.15 8.70 9.25 9.05 8.45 9.35 53.95 11. Grecu (ROM) 8.65 8.55 9.35 8.00 9.15 9.30 53.90 12. Molnar (HUN) 8.65 9.00 8.85 9.25 9.00 9.10 53.85

INDIVIDUA~ FINALS Floor (xeri('Se Compo Finals Tolal Pomm"1 Horse Compo Finals Total

1. kajiyama 9.30 9.60 18.90 1. Magya r 9.65 9.75 19.40 2. Andrianov 9.30 9.45 18.75 2. Andrianov 9.45 9.55 19.00 3. Salronov 9.30 9.40 18.70 3. kajiyama 9.30 9.55 18.85 4. Gieng"r 9.05 9.25 18.30 4. Delialin 9.30 9.35 18.65 5. Delialin 9.15 8.75 17.90 5. Gieng"r 9.30 9.30 18.60 6. Magya r 8.75 9.10 17.85 6. Honma 9.25 9.20 18.45

Ring' Vault 1. Tsukahara 9.45 9.60 19.05 1. Shamugia 9.50 9.55 19.15 2. Honma 9.40 9.45 18.85 2. kajiyama 9.55 9.475 19.025 3. GrE'lu 9.35 9.40 18.75 3. Salronov 9.50 9.50 19.00 4. Delialin 9.30 9.40 18.70 4. Tsukah ara 9.45 9.275 18.725 4. Gie ng"r 9.30 9.40 18.70 5. Gieng"r 9.40 9.30 18.70 6. Andri ano\' 9.40 9.20 18.&0 6. Delialin 9.30 9.325 18.625

Para ll"1 8",s High Bar 1. Andrianov 9.45 9.65 19.1 0 1. Tsukaha", 9.65 9.80 19.45 2. k ajiya ma 9.35 9.65 19.00 2. Gie ngl'r 9.65 9.70 19.35 2. T,ukaha", 9.35 9.65 19.00 3. kajiyama 9.60 9.60 19.20 4. De lialin 9.30 9.40 18.70 4. Honma 9.55 9.55 19.10 5. Safronov 9.15 9.30 18.45 5. De lialin 9.55 9.50 19.05 5. Shamugi" 9.25 9.20 18.45 6. Andrianov 9.60 9.05 18.&5

WORLD CUP PREVIEW

This is a preview of the first "World Cup"* held in Wimbley, London England. Next month the Gymnast will publish full coverage of this event including reports from Jon Atkinson, "Nat­ional Coach B.A.G.A." on the men's competition and Pauline and Jim Prestidge on the women's competition, plus more color pictures.

The competitors for this competition were the top 12 men and women gymnasts from the World Championships held in Varna last year. One invited exception who did not show, was the teen­age wonder from the European Championships Nadia Comaneci. For a lot more unusual and exciting details on this first World Cup don't miss our next ac tion packed edition of the Gymnast.

GYMNAST Dec. '75

One of the most sensational moments of the World Cup is illustrated above as caught by the camera of Tony Duffy. As Ludmilla Tourischeva hit .the bars for her hecht full-twist dismount , a support cable snapped. A yell from a judge warned her and Ludmilla did not do her full twist, but still landed with complete composure and came to attention as the bars collapsed behind her. Her poise under the circumstances is a reflection of a true champion.

*Afthough it was presented as the "First World Cup" there were two preuious "unofficial" World Cups ... The first "unofficial" World Cup was held in Long Beach. Ca/i/ornia in 1969, Th e countries represented were Japan , Finland, yugoslavia , Canada; and the United States. Akinori Naka yama from Japan and Cathy Rigby from the United States UJOn the Men 's and Women's competition respect/ul/y ... The second 'unofficial" World Cup, held in Mia mi, Rorida in 1971, sa w the countries of Switzerland, West Germany. Poland, Yugosla via , Japan, Norway, Canada, Spain and the U.S. represented. Peter Rohner from Switzer/and was the winner for the men and Cathy Rigby won it again for the women .. . The two "unofficial" World Cups were sponsored by the United States Gymnast ics Federation under the sanction of the F. I.G. This firs t current World Cup is now on o//icial F. I.G. event along with the Olympics and the World Championships.

9

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1975 WORLD CUP . Men's All Around Champions Seemingly noUn top form, Olga made an acceptable, but not

necessarily exceptional, performance as she had a few misses on beam. She still performed well enoug'h to win second and a silver medal in the All Around . Because of an ankle injury she did not enter the finals.

1st Place

2nd Place

3rd Place

GYMNAST Dec. '75

Nicolai Andrianov

Hiroshi Kajiyama

Alexandre Detiatin Film strip of Elvira. Saadi, 3rd place All Around.

Color photos. by Tony Duffy· Film strip by Alan Burrows. ELANPIC INTERNATIONAL

"

12

International Report

Dr. Joseph Goehler GYMNAST International Editor

Wurtzburg, Germany

Ludmilla Tourischeva, USSR

At The Beginning Of A Very Exciting Fall Season In Europe

In LUlopl'. Ihe second meet season of the year begins at Ihe end o f Sepl E'ml)('r .rnd goes unt il just before the Christmas hol idays. During thi ; pl'1 iod n.rli olhl l championships and internation al mee ls tak e p lace. W . G(' I m.rn y orgdn izes add iti ona l provincia l inter-state competitions, w ilh Ih(' ('xcept iu n of 1975, to avoid overwo rking of th e top gymnasts. Th e p l u nounced goa l in German y is Montrea l '76.

In (,," ly OCloiJer th e Swiss team trave led to China and competed in Peki ng. I .1111 sure, o nce aga in, before a crowd of 16,000 spectato rs.

GYMNAST Dec. '75

GYMNAST Dec. '75 13

While I am writing these lines, the students of lack Gunthards and the apostle Maos are meeting in competition. It should be very interesting how the Swiss wi ll do against the followers of the great chairman, and especially which new talents the Chinese might put into the battle.

At the same time there was a contest between Hungary and the Federa l Republic of Germany, fourth and fifth of the 1974 World Cup. The Germans went to Miskolc w ithout Walter Mobinger and without Edgar lorek, which meant a handicap of well over five points. So 'this should be taken into account when interpreting the result with the apparent superiority of the Hungarian national team. With their complete team the Hungarians won 554.60 to 551.00. As for the scores we have to say that the judges were very indul gent in their ratings, say one tenth per routine, which means a total of 5 to 6 points. rhis shou ld be pointed out expressly for comparing these figures with the Peki ng scores.

There were two outstanding top performers in this fair contest: Eberhard Gienger of Germany and Zo ltan Magyar of Hungary.ln the optionab Magyar won by a whisker (57.35 to 57.25), but Gienger carr ied offf the optional exercises (56.50 to 56.25) and so the guest from Germany totalled 113.75 against Magyar's 113.60. On the horizontal bar world champion Gienger was awarded 9.75 and 9.85 and Magyar, the horse wor ld champion, scored 9.60 and 9.85 on his favorite apparatus. The taciturn Hungarian for the first time in a big contest succeeded in doing his new brilliant element, the rhythmically fascinating " spindle" on tlie horse-end. This masterpiece of horse gymnastics w ill be presented to the readers of Gymnast quite soon in a series of photographs.

A SUPER C ON THE VAULTING HORSE

By Dr. Josef Gohler & Boris Bajin

Paata Schamugja (USSR), participant in the 1974 World Championships in Varna, surprised his spectators during the " International" of Riga in 1975 with a variation of the "Tsukahara vault " . It pays to have a good look at it. .Boris Bajin o('Yugos lavia, at present coac-h of the Canadian team for the Olympic Games, sent us this sequence as a sample of the material which he has collected in this year in several international meets. Schamugja was awarded 9.50 points for this vau lt, which was the maximum rating in this event in Riga, as scoring was quite rigorous there. We can see from this picture why 9.70 points could not be granted: the landing was faulty from a technical point of view. The ath lete could not bring about full stand, as the second turn around the horizontal axis was not yet terminated. So a heavy forward lean was the resu lt, and the ath lete had to do one step forward to avoid the support by the hands which would have led to still increased deduction of points.

But what a brilliant body control in the straightening phase for the saito turn. In phase 43 we _al most feel. the powerfu I push-off of the hands, the right hand doing by far the harder work (see phase 27!). It should be noted that the gymnast does not bring his arms into play at ,the moment when it matters to increase

14

There was quite a margin between these cracks and Imre Molnar (111.50), the continually improving Ferenc Donath (110.55) and at his heels Volker Rohrwick, student of the former champion P,hilipp Furst (110.35 points). Werner Steinmetz of Germany had a black day and bungled his two horse exerc ises (8.55 and 8.15), hwereas Reinhard Ritter had a foot injury and had to drop the two floor exerc ises and horse-vaults as well as the optiona ls on the high bar. - The Germany observers were amazed at the efficiency of the junior gymnasts from Hungary and Poland who had a national meet at the same time. As Jack Gunthard came to similar conclusions <lbout the young talents of the Peking area, it wi ll be necessary to think training methods over in all count ri es where the young athletes are sti ll coaches the traditional way.

Poland DDR 1. Hellmann 75.35 1. Sch mei,ser 75 .275 2. Schmeisser 74.70 2. Escher 74.825 3. Gerisch 74.35 3. Kische 74.750 4. Escher 73.85 4. Geris(h 73.500 5. Trantow 73.40 5. Gerschau 73.000 6. Kische 73.30 6. Trantow 72.350

If we consider that the scoring in the DDR is somewhat stricter than in the USA the fact still remains that the USA at present seems to have a higher average level. In both of the rankings we miss the world champion on the UPB Annelore Zinke. As far as we have been told, Annelore has injured herself severe ly on both elbows when she fell off the the Uneven bars, that she most likely will never be able to do gymnastics again. The fact that Angelika Hellmann, the friendliest and most charming among the rather serious appeari ng gym nasts of the DDR, did not participate in the national championships may have to do with her intent

rotating speed: he has his hands close to the body at attention like a well-trained recruit. Here the arms have quite a different function than in the case of the backward somersault when the body is catapulted off by the feet. Another surprise: there is nothingto be seen of the 'jack-knife' movement which usually is effected from heavy overstretching of the body in the Tsukahara vau lt. At most we can presume that it is carried out between phase 19 and

to relax her competitive schedu le. As the senior among these masters, sh~ can easi ly afford to. Since the retirement of Zuchold and Karin Janz she certainly must be recognized as the best in the "other Germany" as we like to refer to the DDR. Women gymnasts and coaches in the USA might especia lly be interested how the Romanian Turnkunst has developed since the sensational appearance of Nadia Comaneci in Skien and Montreal; or how Teodora Ungureanu did in Montreal and Japan (where as we will report later Donna Turnbow, USA, has done extremely well with her 37.55 and a 5th place in the optiona l aga inst Teodora Ungureanu of Romania and Larissa Komarowa - USSR who both scored 38.40 points). We have however more information of Romania"'s gymnastics centers, in Gheorghiu Dej and Bukarest ! Marilina Neascu, with a 37.65, placed 2nd behind Olga Roval - USSR, 37.80, in an international youth compet ition between Romania and the USSR in Sibiu, Romania. Carmen Leucean scored a very good 36.85 behind Maria Filatowa - USSR (37.55) and Irina Tarik - USSR (37.50). In this compet ition which was won by USSR 186.8 to 184.1 the well known Olympic ca ndidate Irina Primak (36 .50) and Antonina Glebowa (36.10) had severe mistakes, Irina in FX (8 .3) and Anton ina on the beam (8.3).

In a tri-nation gymnastics competition between Romania , Hungary and the largest of the Soviet Republics RSFSR which was held in Constanza , and with 184.45 pts., won by Romani a. Anca Grigoras excell ed when she defeated Galina Kalopkowa - USSR (w ith 36.95) with a 37.45. The same Grigoras placed 2nd with 37.25 in the international meet of Antiles, Frame. where Kathy Howard bravoured and won with 37.30. A lina Goreac Romania's best 1974 World Games gymnast, accomplished 28.2 pts. in 3 events (without vau lting) and might

phase 27. The athlete obviously just relies on the momentum of his push-off and on the speed wh ich he still has from his approach-run and hi s take-off. rhat 's why his first flight is as low as possible, so as not to lose speed!

In the second flight phase, however, due to the enormous height of his flight, the gymnast can keep his body in full concentration completel y straightened and by no means overstretched, up to phase 72, i.e. for 90

GYMNAST Dec. '75

Zoltan Magyar , Hung ary Photo by Hansjorg Wieland

have been able to win w ithout her foot injury. Summarum : with Comaneci, Ungunearu, Goreac, Grigoras, Neascu, Gabor and Constantine, Romania at this tim e must be considered the 2nd strongest nati on, and a strong contender for the silver medal in Montreal. Onl y the DDR w ith her extremely young group of girls, o r the USA, seem capable of putting it into jeopa rd y. Or Hungary? Who with Toth and O va ri has 2 grea t talents.

The Mediteranian Ga mes took place in Algiers. Th e program also included gymnastics. The Frenchman Henri Borerio won with 109.15 ah~.ad of hi s younge r teamma te Boutard (109)

degrees . ~or the landing, i.e. fo r the last 180 degrees of th e turn around the horizontal axis, he would have had to emphasize his stoop position (phase 84 is still very open). In this way he would have avo ided problems with his landing.

We are under the impression that the repub ion and the speed of th e turn, and of th e

.whole va ult from the approach-run, would have been perfectly suffi c ient to insure a safe

CYMNAST Dec. '75

and Italian Montes i (106.55), 4) Zucca - Italy 105.35, 5) Morj - France (junior) 104.35, 6) Delacasa - Spain 103.55 . The French won the team competition w ith 268.25 (optional only) over the Italians (264.25) and the Spaniards (255.85) . The great times of th e Yugoslavians, who were liv ing fo r a decade from the genius Miroslav Cera rs , are ove r and have fallen back considerably, they placed 3 with 253.85! Algeria 235.95 and Egypt 224.50 -- the scores-speak for themselves and are indicat ive of the poor strength of th e Arabian teams. Rita Peri, Italy convinced with a 72 pt. performance in the womens competit ion as well as Cabello - Spain 71 .30, Spongia - Italy 71.20 and Bucci - Italy

'stand after this vault. But we can be sure that Schamugja himself - he is but 23 years old - has remedi ed this relatively minor fault. In spite of heavy co mpetiti o n in th e Montreal qualifying coritests Paata Schamugja succeeds in being on the team for the 1976 Olympics, he could be among the meda llists w ith this "straightened " Tsukahara. Of co urse, our man from Russian Georgi a will still have to polish up his first flight as well , as the position of th e legs is not yet

70.65. The women did not have a team competition .

In a qualificat io n meet in Poland, Matraszek towered all other participants in all 5 events. She won the AA w ith 74.05 and all 4 other events. The progress of the Polish gymnasts is apparent : 2nd Krawieczek 73.1, 3rd Jankowicz 73.05; 4. Hamulewiez 72.55.

By the man Andreznej Szajna was out of luck in the compul sori es 52.15 but had a very fine optional meei (56.35) . He received the only low score on the PB (9.15). Szajna's weakness is the side horse, therefo re his 9.15 is normal. Scoring was rather strict, conseq uently the 107.55 of 'Marion Pi eczka is still considereable. The 106.15 of M. Kubi ca or even more so the 104.09 of Swietek and th e 104.1 o f Uhma.are no great Olympic recomendat ions for these athletes.

I would like to co nclude my European report with a viewpoint o n the trampolinests. The European trampoline championships were held in Bazil, Switzerland. The Russian domination was so ove rwhelming that they won all gold medals and had to share only one with the W . German women Synchro­trampolinests. Lu xon -Rother tied with Starikowa-Lebina (39.7). Lebina-Starikowa had a difficulty deg ree of 9.0! In the womens individual the champio n Lebina (71 .60!) had a difficulty degree o f even 9.30!! I n this event the W. German, Schelie, with a 3rd place, was able to deny the total victo ry to the Russians. In the mens competition the best W . German Schwebel (71.40) was no t able to do the same: 4 Russian trampolin ests were in front 1) Jak 74.30 (difficulty degree 10.80 twice !) 2) Lobonaw 74.20 (10.80 and 10.90) 3) Schmelew 73.60 (10.4 twice) 4) Janis 72.50 (with a reco rd difficulty degree of 11.3 twi ce). There was only a representation of 7 nations.

pe rfect and could ca ll the atten tion of the judges, in spit e of the very swift movement. It was probably also the fUFlction of the heavily fle xed knees in phase 10 to accelerate the angular momentum after repulsion. Due to this the deduction o f at leas t one tenth would be all the more justi fi ed. .

Neverth eless : a fantastic performance, a new acme of gymnasti c perfection on the vaulting horse !

15

The 20 World's Best Gymnasts of the Year Up Until October 25, 1975

MEN

1. Gienger-W. Germany 2. Magyar- Hun gary 3. Tsuk ahara-Japa n 4. Fujimoto-Japan 5. Kajiyama-Japan 6. Kasamat su-Japan

.7. Kra ssin - USSR 8. Szajna-Poland 9. Molnar-Hunga ry

10. Yang Ming-ming-VR China 11. Ditjatin- USSR 12. Kenmotsu-Ja pa n 12. Grec u-Roma ni a 14. Tsa i Huan-t su ng- VR China 15. Thune-DDR (now W. Germany) 15. Youn g-USA

. 17. Hug-USA 17. Donath-Hun ga ry 19. Shimizu- Japan 20. Rohrwic k-W. Germany

113.75 113.65 112.95 112.50 112.45 112.30 111.75 111.65 111.50 111.25 111.15 111.10 111.10 110.90

110.65) 110.65 110.55 110.55 110.40 110.35

The point s of Gienger, Magyar, Molnar and Krassin are too high compaired w ith the points of the Russian Ditjatin or th e Japa nese gymnasts or the two Chinese Pan Am Qualifi ca tions are not without regard because of the easier imposed exe rci ses.

WOMEN 1. Comane ci -Roma nia 2. Korbut -USSR 3. Kim-USSR 4. Ungureanu-Romania 5. Bitsc hukin a-USSR 6. Turi sc heva-USSR 7. Schmeisser-DDR (E. Germany) 8. Gorbik -USSR 9. Dronowa-USSR

10. Gl ebowa-USSR 11. Saadi-USSR 12. Hellmann -DDR IE . Germany) 12. Howard-USA 14. Carr-USA 15. Consta ntin-Romania 16. Dunba r-U SA 17. Egervar i-Hun gary 17. Kowal -USS R 19. Bogda nowa-USSR 20. Anderson-USA

" The points of Coma neci , Constantin are a littl e too high."

77.550 76.950 76.825 76.800 76.500 76.400 75.900 75.875 75 .875 75.600 75.400 75 .350 75.350 75.300 75.150 75.100 75 .050 75.050 74.875 74.850

Ungureanu and

The higher level of the women gymnasts is reflected once again in these figures, considered wh ere th e best optional scores or the Olympic AA. One point difference equa ls ,6 score points.

I I

l I

I l l I

L -16

KORBUT FLIGHT By Dr. J . Goehler & KI. Wiemann

West Germany

Some months ago a Russian special magazine published photographs o f a new element Olga Korbut and her coach Knysch are working on right now. We have submitted that series of photographs to ou r es teemed co-worker Klaus Wiemann, who amo ng th e experts in this country is considered as th e best specia list for biomechanics in arti sti c gymnast ics, and we have asked him to let us have his opinion of this bold experiment , as certainly this is an experiment and not yet the realit y of a hard contest. For th e time being Olga is practising this high swing under the bar from the high bar to the low bar with a mat put on the low bar to cushion the enormous impact (if th e landing is not exact). Thi s sw ing can be done without the help of a mat only if the gym nast arrives exactly at the required point, w hich is not at all an easy thing as we w ill see from Wiemann 's explanation.

As for the drawings, the outlines of the uneven bars were not included in the phases 6 and 7.

Here are Klaus.Wiemann's annotations: "A straddle sale circ le swing under the bar

from the high bar leads to free flight with forward turn of th e overstretched body leads to horizontal position of the hips on the low bar. The gymnast cushio ns th e kinetic force of the downswing by a resili en t fle xion of the hips. After this, strai ghtening her body, she jerks off upward, for instance to support on the low bar or into suspension on the high bar.

In this case the amplitude of the flight must be adjusted in such a way that the velocity offall of the body center of grav ity aims exactly at th e low bar. If this is not brought about, i.e. if the velocity of fall of the center of gravity is directed either before o r behind the bar, a torque effect wi ll give th e bod y either a forward twi st or a rea rward twist. The angu lar velOCity of the twi sting motion is additionally increased in thi s case, as by a sp ringy flexion of the hips th e gymnast very much reduces her moment of inerti a w ith rega rd to the low bar.

In practi ca l work th e girl 's body must touch the low bar either approx imatel y in the region of the groin flexor or sli ghtl y above it.ln theory it is imposs ible to specify this exact point and the required clea rance, as the individual physical fa ctors playa part.

..

/

~

But there is also th e possibtlity of using for other gym work th e to rqu e effect which is produced by an eccentric impact on the low bar. In th e present case o nl y a forwa rd turn in the way of a frontwdYs body circ le for"Yard is possible. Thi s would requ ire that the vector of the velocity of fall of th e body center of gravity would have to aim before th e low bar, so as to enable a torqu e ef fec t for a forward turn . Accordingl y, at the moment of bea ting the bar, the girl 's hip or groin must advance a litt le bit beyond th e bar. Once more we have to point out that the exact point and the allowab le variation will have to be found out by practical work in keeping w ith individual factors. If the center of gravity is too far ahead, the rotating speed will increase th e barby centrifuga l force. In the opposite case, if th e tw isting moment is too small , it will not be possible to obtain the angular momentum which is necessary for the circle. "

That 's what prof. Klaus Wiemann from the University of Bochum says!

In short: it is still in the stars whether this element will be performed. Or should we rather say: it is up to the gym star Olga Korbut and her coach Mr. Knysch of Grodno who is always keen on new and original elements:

~ 9

I

GYMNAST Dec. '75

Interesting Modern Rhythmic Photo sent to us by Or. Gohler

GYMNAST Dec. '75 17

This mee t was the last opportunity for th e gymnasts to qua lify for the World Champion ship f ea ln . After having observed severa l MRG m eets one can say thatthe quality of this meet was by far the best seen in the U.S. The girls did d wonderful job and performed well. The judges did an excellent job also.

A total of six gymnasts competed who had previously qualifi ed for this Final Trial Meet. (Janelle Llennett w ho also qualified couldn't compete because of an injury.) This final trial was a tn" h st.lrt for al l six gymnasts. No scores were carried from any previous compet itions. The gymnasts we re under a lot of pressure since onl y the four highest scoring all-around indiv idual s (t hree team members plus one alternat e) w ill represe nt the USA in Madrid , Spain ;,t th e World Champ ionships in November 1975 .

The ~"n Fr.rncisco audience was " turn ed o n" filling th e room wi th an atmosphere of total emotiona l involve ment. The crowd became easily I"mil idl w ith th e gymnasts after the first event and followed each of the six qualifiers' progress ill the four events - hoop, ribbon, clubs, b,,11 - during th e two hour meet.

Mrs. ClndJce Feinberg, Modern Rhythmic Gymnasti cs A ll Around Champion placed first in three events and in all-around with her original routines and smooth performances.

Mi ss Helen Martinez defended her second place and Miss Katheri ne Brym her third AII­Around titl e.

Mi ss Nallcy Koetke, fourth in All-Around competition , performed difficult and exciting routines. She showed a tremendous improvement since th e last trial meet.

1 he competition was ve ry close and young Sue Soffl' dlld Patt y Murphy showed great promi se for the future.

It was definitely an excitin g meet and Mrs. Shirl ey LlrY,ln , Cha irman of USGF Women 's Committ ee, was very proud and pleased with the con tin ued development of this relatively new women 's sport.

Trial Meet Results Hoop: K.rtherin e Bry m (North Riverside, 111. )

9.00; Helen Mdltinez (San Francisco, CAl 8.90; Candace Feinberg (Reno, Nev.) 8.75; Sue Soffe (Woo&lnd Hill s, CAl 8.60; Nancy Koetke (Los AngE'les, CA) 8.35; Patty Murphy (Reno, Nev.) 8.25. Ribbon: Candace Feinberg 9.10; Helen

. Martinez 8.')5; Na ncy Keotke 8.75; Sue Soffe & KathE'rilw LlrYIll8.65; Patty Murphy 8.05.Clubs: Candace l einberg 9.15; Nancy Koetke 8.90; Helen MditineL & Katherine Brym 8.50; Sue Sofie 8.45; Pall y Murphy 7.55. Ball: Candace Feinberg and Hel en Martinez 9.0; Katherine Brym & N.rncy Koetk e 8.9; Sue Soffe 8.7; Patty Murphy 6.65. All-Around: Candace Feinberg 36.00; Helcn Mdrtinez 35.35; Katherine Brym 35.05; N.rncy Koetke 34.90; Sue Soffe 34.40; Pall y Murphy 30.50.

18

USGF MODERN RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS

FINAL TRIAL MEET FOR THE VII WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

By Andrea B. Schmid Meet Director

Candace Feinberg· All Around winner

Helen Martinez· 2nd place All Around

GYMNAST Dec. '75

-Nancy Koetke . 4th place All Around

Katherine Brym . 3rd place All Around

Andrea Schmid and S hirley Bryant

GYMNAST Dec. '75

Kelly Muncie, Canada· All Around winner

1975 MILK MEET PREVIEW

This years annual " Milk Meet" was held Nov. 4, in Toronto, Canada. This is just a brief preview of that meet. The results are incomplete, as we did not have them all at press time. Next month we will have a full report , with photos and complete results .

Women : 1. Kel l} MUllci" 2. Malia I il.1l0 llVd 3. An( ~l Grigof.JS 4. Ann (.;" r

MILK MEET RESULTS

37.30 37.20 36.70

Men : 1. Geb(' lhdn Gienger 2. Shinlo ~ hirhi ,hi 3. Fiodol Kul"ksesov 4. Pelf'1 Korm.1I111

56.05 55.05 54.60 54.10

Eberhard Gienger , Wes t Germany· All Around winner, Milk Meet

19

20

VII PAN AMERICAN GAMES ', MEXICO '75

By Stephen Kubasek Pan-Am Photos by Tom Wakeling

GYMNAST Dec, '75

Dividing the two great oceans of the wor ld , about 2,000 miles south of the United States and a lesser distance north of EI Dorado, 6,000 feet above sea level , a cfty; vi brant, vo latile, polluted; Mexico, cap ital of the Mexican Republic. It has more than 10,000,000 people; somebody knows a man who knows how many, but both of these persons are hard to find. It is as old as time. It has seen a visitation by the blessed virgin. Ghosts of th e ancient Aztec civi li zation st ill shroud the city in mystery. Everywhere is th e fee ling of something from another world. Flying saucers cou ld have been there and may be there again . There is a legend that , long ago a brave warrior was away from home so long that his wife died of lonel iness. When he finally returned and found her dead, he too died of a broken heart. The perpetually snow capped mountain peaks of Cit laltepet l and Popocatepetl, south of the city, are the eternal tears of sorrowful gods.

To move its millions from one place to another, Mexico has, for public transportation , the finest metro system in the world and for private transportation , the worst traffic problem. The city is incredibl y dirty; disease could be eve rywhere, yet they would never worry about doctors closing a hospital because of malpractice insurance rates. It is a politically aware city, but at election time the people don ' t hear anything about opposition candidates. The PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) gets 99'70 of the vote every time. Mexico may be the center of the world or one of the distant corne rs. It is a city of contrasts, and like the city, so were the VII Pan American Games.

GYMNAST Dec. '75

In Voltaire 's Candide, professor Pangloss said , "Everyth ing is necessari ly for the best in this best of all possible worlds" . Wh en Sau Paulo, Brazil , was forced, for various reasons, to decline the honor of hosting the V II Pan American Games, the invitation was passed on to Chile. Then, with the demise of Allende, the Chileans also couldn ' t handle the games. So, ten months before the opening ceremonies, President Luis Escheverr ia Alvarez of Mexico, offered his city as host for the games. "Everyth ing is for the best", and the Mexican Organizing Committee went to work. In ten months they built a complete Pan American Village to house 5,000 ath letes, coaches and trainers from 33 countries of the Americas. Faciliti es from the '68 Olympics were re­furbished to handl e th e Pan Am Games. Brochures printed, street signs placed, cere mon ies arranged. It seemed like the whole country was mobilized.

One secretary to a committee president had been working six days a week, eighteen hours a day, for months, and when she would start home from work at 1 :00 AM her boss wou ld scream at her for wanting to leave when th ere was st ill work to be done.

Forty thousa nd mea ls a day had to be served. Transportation for athletes and press had to be arranged . Coca Cola came to the rescue, sponsoring bu sses and free Cokes. Tickets were printed, credentia ls arranged for delegations of participating nations.

Things were behind schedu le as opening day approached, but sti ll the organizing committee worked day and night.

21

Pan American Games Judges from USA, L to R: Ted Muzyczko, Don Nelson, Les Sasvary and Jerry Wright . U .S . Women's Team

Candide listened attentively and believed innocentl y as the o ld philosopher continually told him about " the best of all possibl e worlds ... and everything is therefore necessarily for the best". While the Mexican Organizing Committee was still working on last minute preparatiom for the Ga mes, 450 athletes ·from the United States of America gathered in Dallas, Texas, to be formed as the U.S. delegatio n to the 1975 edi tio n o f the Pan American Games. Like Candide, th ey listened attenti ve ly and believed innocently as th eir many coaches and trainers told them how their receptio n in Mexico might not be as warm as back home. Although M exico is right next door, it is indeed a foreign country and very d ifferent . Th eir way had been paved before th em by such heroes as Theodore Roosevelt, whose green coa ted soilders in Mexico added a new word to the Spanish language, " Gringo" (green go home), and by ho rdes of tourists who made th e name a trademark. The main thing, th e coaches told them, was to go down there and do a good job. It"s o nly a gam e, and the Olympics aren' t ' til next year. But don 't take th e Pan Amer ica n Games lightly.

For the rest of Ameri ca, w ith the exception of Canada, th e Pan Am Games are th e Ol ympics. There has never been Olympic games in

I South America proper, so to Latin America, this second largest sporting event in th e world is the athl et ic show of shows.

Cuba was send ing a very st rong team. They were prepared to show off more than just athletic strength in Mexico City. It was also thei r chance to disp lay an ideology to "the impreSSionable Western Hemisphere. They sent a team every bit as large as the United States delegation. Cuba had made a stro ng challenge to the US domination of the Pan Am Games in 1971 and 1975 could be their year.

22

The M exicans too we re fl ex ing th eir natiorialisti c muscles, fielding the largest team of the ga mes.

The Latin Am erica n co untries had all heard that the United States . might not be sending their strongest possible team to M ex ico City and they hoped for an opportunit y .. .

108,000 peop le jammed into Mexico's ultra modern Aztec· Stadium on the morning of O ct. 12, for th e o pen ing ce remonies of the VII Pan Ameri can Ga mes. They were treated to spectacular pagentry by thousands of school children, military units, and civi lian o rgani za tio ns. 3,000 fourth grade girl s d id umbrella dances, 1,500 soldiers put o n a gymnasti cs exhib iti o n, 5,000 workers from the Department of Socia l Security, in Azt ec ceremonial cos tumes, performed a ritu al sun dance. 5,000 sc hoolgirls from th e neighbo rin g city of Puebla performed intricate ca rd stunts li ke noth ing ever seen in th e " States". Whil e all this show was going o n, the th ousa nds in the stands were spinning mat racas (New Years Eve noisemakers) and chanting " Mexico, Mexico, Rah, Rah, Rah " . 108,000 people spoke as one voice fo r four ho urs.

Having on ly ten mon th s to prepare the Games, i t was hard to believe that the M ex ica n people could put together a show as impressive as th e opening ceremoni es. But yo u lea rn quickly that many things are possible in M exico. They have a lot of problems and there is much confusion, but when somebody gives an order, things get done, fast. And th e order of the day was natio nal pride.

The parade of ath letes begins. First, Argentina, and the crowd applauds po lit ely. Then Barbados, Brazil and Ca nada, until, at the no rth end of the stadium, th e tunn el is being fill ed by a delega tion dressed in white suits and red berets. They march up the ramp into the sunlight

GYMNAST Dec. '75

and 108,000 begin th e chant, "Cooba, Cooba, Cooba". Four hundred _ and fifty Cuban de legates parade onto the field waving Mexica n flags and the M ex ica n peop le love th em; "Cooba, Cooba".

Cuba is ido li zed ill Mexico. It is the showcase of Latin Ameri ca . A small island , once poor and suppressed, has thrown off the yok e and become successf ul. A nd here th ey corne, marching triumphant into Mexico, marketing th eir unique western life style. The Cubans are th e Mexicans ' vicar ious hope to defeat th e " Gringos".

More nati o ns parad e into th e stad ium; Dutch Antilles, Ecuador, EI Salvador, and then ... a deafeni ng roar of boos, hoots, whistles and all kinds of abu se spit s o ut fo rm the mo uth of 108,000 persons. Th e next delegation is from Estados Unidos de Norteamerica, the United States of Ameri ca , but it 's almost impossible to hear th e English translatio n. The " Gringos" are here.

It's a somber march arou nd th e stadium for th e athletes f ro m th e United State;. Waving to the crowd , their gestures of friendship are ignored. M o re boos, whis tl es and "Mex ico, Mexico, Rah, Rah, Rah " and nobody seems to notice that th e young men and women from th e United Stat es do n't wea r green coa ts these days. The U.S. athletes march quietl y to th eir place in th e line of nations in their sharp blue blazers.

The parade continues w ith Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Surinam, Trinidad-Tobago and finally , the host country, Mexico and th e home crowd goes w ild .

The M ex ica n and Cuban ath letes are waving flags, the crowd is waving f lags, 108,000 are screa ming " Mexico, M ex ico , Rah, Rah, Rah", the matracas are spinning, "Cooba, Cooba" and right from th e

GYMNAST Dec. '75

beginning, the Pan Ameri ca n Ga rnes are a po litica l fiesta. Wh i le all this is happen ing, th e United States delegation looks li ke a swamped ocean liner.

But then the anno unce r signals the entrance of the honor guard with the Olymp ic and Pan American flags. The band plays a stirring Olympic march, and whi le th e Cubans arrogantly watch the show in their blood red berets and nati o nali smo, th e men from the U.S. team ; ilentl y remove their beige hats and stand by respectfully as the international banners pass in review. Jesse Owens would have been prowd.

The United Sta tes tea m arri ved at Pan American Village O ctober 2, to begin th eir final training fo r tfie games. They had to adjust quickly.

The first problem to overcome was altitude, more than 6,000 feet. Athletes were ass igned to ba rracks styled quarters with st ran ge

names like Huapa ngo, Guarcha, Saxafon and Banjo. The quarters didn ' t have centra l heat ing, so the athletes had to adjust to th e co ld by sleeping in their warmups and ask ing for more blankets and eventuall y getting them. The village, co nstructed in less than ten months time, would be turned into low c.os t housing after the games are completed.

Many athl etes w ere sick for th e first few days after their arrival whi le they adjusted to th e M ex ica n food.

There was ;ome th eft in th e dormitories, so athletes had to pack and unpack th eir suitcases eve ry day. But, soon things got down to eve ryday living.

The fri endl y competiti o n sta rted even before th e ,games. Cuban athletes began intimidating the U.S. team immediately, by cutting into food lines o r accidentl y throwing a hip into a " Gringo" . A couple of

23

Roxanne Pierce

nights before th e opening ce remonies, members of the U.S. rowing team retaliat ed. somehow they got hold of two strips of surgical tubing, a funnel , and some ba ll oons; instant slingshot. Three men operating the contrapti on from a dormitory roof had extaordinary accuracy up to 150 yards. Wh en the Cubans crossed the courtyard, on their way home from dinner, the water ball oon barrange started flying. TheCubans got clobbered and hadn' t th e sli ghtest idea where it was com ing from. Within minutes, most of th e Cuban team was in the courtyard screaming for revenage aga inst the unseen assai lant, Russian missiles in Cuba, U.S. wat erball oons in Mexico.

. The next day, at rowing practice, the Puerto Rican crew team was bombarded by Cuban waterballoons. That same night, the Cuban s were again surpri sed, when waterba ll oo ns came flying through their bedroom windows. .

Another evening, by co ntrast, the US gymnasts were roused to their windows by a serenade from the Mexican gymnasts.

And there was music, ni ghtly, in the outdoor theatre. The politica l co ntests started before the games also. Th e U .S.

gymnastic coaches we nt to a meeting they thought was going to be simply for th e ar rangement o f training schedu les. When they arrived, they discovered that, not o nly were they the only non-Spanish speaking people in the room, but the meeting was to choose competition sc hedul es, not training schedules.

The Cuban coach p roposed that whomever won the compulsori es as a team would then get the benefit of the second day in optionals to start on floor exe rcise and wo rk straight through. Everybody knew that the Cubans had been pract icing th e Pan American compulsories for yea rs

24

Kathy Howard being spotted by Bill Coco

and it took a few minutes fo r hi s proposal to be translated into Engli sh. It was comp letely unacceptab le to the U.S. coaches.

The United States coac hes made a proposal o f their own, that they all draw lots independenty for both days.

When th e vo te was counted, it was al l against one in ' favor of th e United Stat es w ith , of course, the Cuban voting for his own proposa l.

It was tim e for th e drawing of lots. Manager Bill Roetzheim drew for the U.S. men "; tea m. Fo r both the compulsory and optionals night he drew #7. Position seven mea nt that the Un ited States wou ld be off th e floor on th e first round and then enter on the second round to work floor exerci se and wo rk straight through, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, and high bar without a break . It was considered a very good position and th e Latin coaches were quite happy for the U.S. since it was their proposa l.

Goodwill and fr iendly competition were the endeavor of th e participants of th e gJ llles in spit e of hardships and political manuevers.

A lot o f peop le beli eve that th e United States thinks so litt le of the Pan America n Games that th ey -send less than their strongest team. To add to th e alrea dy Jnti-A merican feel ing, this thought fans the fire.

The first ni ght of compet iti on, a group of U.S. swimmers attend th e volleyball game between th e U.S. and Cuban men. Entering th e arena in the blonde hair and blue raincoats , they are spotted immediatl y by the Mexica n crowd . Th ere is a mixup in sea ting arrangements, th e usher explains, and th ey have to wa lk around th e arena to find sea ts on the other side. Th e packed house goes wi ld , booing, spitting, flying objects; it 's wo rse than open ing day, more intimate. Th e young

GYMNAST Dec. '75

swimmers sm ile all the time and wave to the crowd as they make th ei r way to thei r se;ils, but it hurts and they learn about international competition , fa st!

The first few days, it looks like the United States might pay the pri ce for not sending its' bes t. In the 100 meter dash, the pride of Cuba, leonardo Si lvio , is loosening up for the finals. A Cuban film crew is strategically positi o ned at the end of the track to film just this one race.

"Where's Ho uston McTeir? " asks a South American sportswriter . " Uh, well , I guess Houston couldn ' t mak'e it. " Houston McTeir may be the on ly man in the wo rld w ho can bes t

Silvio in the 100 meters, and w ithout him for competit ion, l eonardo wins the race easil y. Th e Cuban film crew goes back to Havana with a nice little propogandd film .

In fact , th e propoganda film is so short that they miss the most exciting part of th e rdee. Si lvio ca n ' t slow down enough at the end of the race to make hi s turn and, as th e film crew is packing its' bags, Si lvio goes over th e end of the track.. into. a twelve foot trench. The offic ial word is that leonard o has a pul led muscle, but he returns to Havana a few days later with .In unofficial foot fracture.

A defeated U.S. sprinter jokingly tells the Cubans that they can beat him everyday i f they wa nt to break their legs to do it.

The South Americd n Spo rt swriter sti ll wants to know why the United States didn't send it s best sp rinter.

Tra ining conditi ons we re grim, to say the least. The first eleven days after their arri va l , th e gymnas ts could not workout in the national Auditorium as or iginall y planned, but had to make do with workouts

GYMNAST Dec. '75

Diane Dunbar

wherever and whenever they cou ld find th em. Fortunate ly CDOM (Center of Olympic Sports, Mex ico), the training center for Mexica n National teams, was made ava ilab le to them for most workouts.

After the opening ceremonies, the Auditorium became available for morning and even ing workouts. By bus, the ride from the Village to th e Auditorium took anywhere from half an hour to an hour and workouts lasted just over three ho urs. So, it was five to six hours, door to door.

If you worked out in th e evening, that meant you would finish about 8:00 PM, ride th e bus back to the Vill age for an hour, grab a quick snack and try to get a good nights sleep in the drafty rooms so you cou ld get up fresh -the next morning, ride the bus back to the Auditorium for an hour and be ready to go on the floor by 10:00 AM. When work o u ts were finished at 1 :00 PM, it was another ride back to the vi llage to wa it for your nex t workout the next evening at 5:00 PM.

Some gymnasts found the morning workouts difficult, others did not.

For athletes accusto med to longer practice sessions, th e offi cial three hour workout presented a prob lem at first, but it was the only game in town and they had to adapt.

In June, th e girl s being considered for the United St ates Pan American Gymnast ics tea m were taught the compu lsory exercises. Until the Pan Am tri al s, the girl s practiced the exe rci ses in their own gyms. At th e final trials in Aug ust, the girls selected for th e tea m were measured for uniforms and aga in sent home to practice on th eir own and to beg in school.

They met again in Reno, Nevada, September 22, to begin final training for the Pan A merica ri Games. " We had a li ttle different

25

ph'ilosophy at our trdinin g ca mp", said coach Dale Flansaas. " We allowed every girls' cOdch to 'come if they wanted to. Then we had an assistant coach, Vannie Edwards, assigned to training camp to handle any girl whose coach didn 't co rne. We did have that situatio n with fo ur of the girls out o f the nine in training ca mp. So, the first w eek of training came , this time, eve ry girl trained pretty much the way she's already trained. Our emphasis was on making every girl look the same do ing the compu bori es, and help o ut in the optionals if we thought something compositionally needed help . Myself, as head coach, worked with th e girl 's individual coach."

In Reno, th ey put pressure o n th e girls to work on routin es . Wh en they went to Dallas, Texas, on September 29, for USOC process ing, th ey still worked on routines, but emphasized more the parts th ey w ere having troubl e w itlL

The team moved o n to Mexico, O ctober 2, and began worko uts o n the 3rd, at CDOM. Th e girl s started workouts in Mexico so well that coach Flansaas was ,1fraid they might peak too earl y if they kept go ing. After three days th ey too k a full day o ff. Th en they began bUildin g parts of their routines aga in .

The normal pallern of workouts was to disperse the girls to different places and th en rot ate them around. O ccasionally the sessions w ere broken up by having eva luati o n judging sessions where th ey would all work on the sa me apparatus ·togeth er.

When the teams moved to th e 12,000 seat Auditorio Nacional, sit e o f the actual competition , to b egin wo rking on the platform, th e girl s were nervous all over aga in. It was a complete change from wo rkin g

Kolleen Casey out in the gymnas ium o f CDOM and coach Flansaas spent her who le

26 GYMNAST Dec. '75

first day in th e Auditorium just wa lking around saying, " Rel ax, we 're just practi cing".

The move to the Aud itorium made the shift into high gear. With th e competition gel\i ng close, the gi r1 s responded by improving every day.

The compubory compe,titi on began Saturday, October 18, at 5:00 PM, so the girls had no workou ts that day. During the days between their compeLition s, the girls wen t through light, two hour workouts at the University of Mexico where th ey could work on any part of their routines th ey fe lt needed help.

Ms. Flansaas was happy with the way things went, but said that if she had it to do over <rgd in, she wou ld possibly do more incentive things like, " on the compulso ry bar d ismount for example, the kids were having trouble mdk ing th e full v.. twist high enough before th ey dropped to the bar. Maybe I would have contests to see who could get the highest. I think dllother time I would do that. "

After losing the tCJ m victo ry to the Cubans in Cali, Columbia, in 1971, the U.S. themc fo r men 's gymnastics in Mexico was team victory. Al l individual and All Around victor ies were to be sacrificed, if necessary, for team victo ry. Coach Karl Schwenzfier organized a number of exercises to estab li sh d tea m feeling, such a warmup routine that had no great benefit gymndstica lly or physically, but out of it ca me an interplay among th e athl etes. The moves were rather simp le rhythmic moves, but in the learni ng of th em th e athl etes had to have some discourse and team communi cdtioll began on that bas is. The drill was deve loped th e very first day after th e selec ti on of the team and they added to it dai ly, The team feeling developed quite rapidly even though they were not formed as a unit until September 27,

GYMNAST Dec. '75

Debbie Wilcox

" Practices are no t geared to 'a specific kind of framework ", said coach Schwenzfier. " Obviou~ly th€ differences between Conner and Avener, the young est and the ol dest, the least experienced to the most experienced , in terms o f worko ut\~ are quite different. One has to take that into comidera ti on " . .

Basicall y th ey used three kincl sofi workouts in Mexico. The first was a C&O day (Compul sory and Opt iOllal), where the gymnasts were required to produce a certain number of routines in both Compul sories and Optionals. Second was a C&O skill improvement day, where th e gymllast didn 't h ave a set number of routines to put in, but worked on his problelTll areas. The third day was a C&O maintainance day, where the id €awas to keep a touch on the different events.

Personally, Schweillfier and Il;lall ager Roetzheim stayed very close to the athlet es, w.orki n g with thern (»n an individual basis. In a situat ion like thi , . you stay cl oser to the athlete " Much more than if it were you r own team", solid coach Schwen zfi€r.

Indeed , with suc h J short pelicod of time to develop a team, the closeness of ath elt es Jnd coaches worked in molding both the men 's and women ', teams into funct i on ~ ng units .

* '*

Th ere comes a time when the C~ ristians must be thrown to the lions and the sa me is true with ath letes J the time of, competition.

Th e bu sses lumber slowly out of 'the quiet Pan American ViJlage, past the heavi ly guarded perimeter, car rying the nervous gymn as ts to their meeting with the mob.

27

O ctober 18, 5:00 PM; Auditorio Nacional. The women 's gymnastic compulsories.

The Un ited States is heav ily favored, but there have been rumors about the strengt h of the Cubans, especially in the compulsories.

About 10,000 people are in the Auditorium as the teams march onto the floor for the first round of competition. The United States has dra w n f loor exe rcise, Cuba, uneven parallel bars and the hometown M exican tea m has drawn a bye. Boos, hoo ts, ca tca lls and whistles meet th e Ameri ca n girls as they mount the platform for the floor exercise.

A whilstl e blows. " Five minutes warmup", says the announcer in both Spa ni sh and Eng lish . It 's a quick five minutes. " Judges ready. Athl etes rea dy. Begin the competition."

Kolleen Casey is th e first girl on the floor for the United States. Her compulso rie gets a 9.35. Then Debbie Wilcox, Diane Dunbar, Roxanne Pi erce, Kath y Howa rd, and Ann Carr. The total Floor Ex. score for the United States, 46.95 to Cuba's 43.60 in the uneven parallel bars.

The Cuban women have fallen behind on the first event.and will not recover for th e remainder of the compet ition. The American girls are rewarded fo r the efforts by more boos from the crowd . As th ey leave ' the f loor for their rest period , th e boos switch to chanting " M exico, Mexico, Rah, Rah, Rah", as the Mexica n team comes onto the floor.

In the second ro und, th e Mexicans are on vault and sco re 44.00. The Cubans, on the balance beam score 44.00. The Mexica n girls are beg inning to think silve r.

Third round. The United States comes back on th e floor for Vaulting, Cuba o n Floor Ex. and Mexico on Uneven Bars . The U.S. girl s are con sistent: the lowest sco re is a 9.05 and the highest a 9.35 and a team

28

tot al o f 46.05. Cuba 's stayi ng in there with 46.00 and Mexico in third place w ith 42.55.

Cuba took the fo urth period resting position while Mexico went to the balanc e be,lIll ,lIl d th e U nited States on the uneven parall el bars. The U.S.A. hib 44.b5 ,lilt! Mex ico, 43.40. The three top teams ha ve had their rest pel iod, ,lIld th e U.). girl s are leading the field by 4.15 points with one round of cOlllfJulso ri es to go.

In the last rou nd o f the even ing, the U.S. girls score 45.95 on Beam, Cuba 43.50 on va ult and Mexico 45 .05 on Floor Ex. By the end of the Compul sories the Dale Flansaas' girls have a lead of more than six point s.

Th e U.S. performance has so stunned the Mexican audience that they gave the girls a tremendous ovation as they left the floo r.

Roxa nne Pierce is th e Al l Around leader after theCompulso ri es with a total of 37.20 points. In fact, th e only gir ls to average more than 9.00 are from the United States, the lowest be ing 36.05, .10 above the highest girl from any other country.

Two nights later, they're all back again for the Optionals. With such a big lead ove r the rest of th e teams, it 's difficult for the Ameri ca n girls to remai n " up " for the team competition . They are torn between thei r team ~ pirit and their desire for indi vidual medals. The let down may account fo r the two fa lls from the Beam and the bad land in gs on the Vault.

Hopefull y, the Latin girls will show someth ing distinctl y th ei r own in the optio nals. However, o nly two Braz ilian girls, Ivana Soares and Si lvia Pinent , make any moves o f a distinctly Latin flavor. In their Floor Ex. routines th ey do some dips and turns that resemble to readores, and

GYMNAST Dec. '75

some pa sses that have the fee l o f Flamenco dancers. The rest of th e l at in rout ines .Ire hopelessly imitative.

Th e u.s. girl s keep their sco re high enough to ward off any attempt by the Cuud ns to catc h up. Th eCuban and M exican girls just ca n ' t keep up w ith them in th e opti ona ls. Th e Americans are more creat ive th an any othe rs, dllli on Floor Ex. performing to Music that is all nati ve to the U .S.A. like A lexander 's Ragtime Band and music from " Wests ide Story".

It \ all the U .S.A. to night, winning by a total of 12.95 points over second p l,lCe, Cuba, and 14.60 over third place, Mexico.

A fanfa re from th e ba nd and the w inning teams march o ut to receive thei r mcd,Ji s; Go ld to th e United States, Si lve r to Cuba and Bronze to M exico. The fldgs of the three nati ons are raised and th e band plays th e nati o nal ant hem of th e United States of Amer ica . Th en, proud ly, the team, make their ex its.

Another fanfdl'e. Th e winners of the All Around compet ition appea r on the pl,llform . Ann Carr, Go ld medal (73.80), Roxa nne Pi erce, Si lver (73.60) and Ko ll een Casey, Bro nze (73.15). They march up to th e victo ry stands ;lIld receive th eir medals, bow ing their heads as M ada me Nagy present> their Jwa rds. Then th e three Amer icans turn to th e f lagpoles for th e res t of the ce rernony and, what? Only one fl ag is raised. The second and third p lace poles are empty! At least th e band p lays th e right national dnthern.

Th e Mexicdn girl s are quite bitter about the judging. Captai n of the M exican tedm, Patricia Garcia, felt that the U.S. judges were sco ring th e Cuban, high so that the Cuban judges wouldn ' t sco re the Americans low, and the M ex ican gi rl s lost their sil ve r meda l because of it.

GYMNAST Dec. '75

But , the tea m and the A ll Around event is over and the Am eri ca n g irls scored so hi gh that th ey' re looking forward to an alm a's t completely Ameri can fina l. Th e top six girls from each event are headed fo r the final s, but w hat? l as t minute changes eve rybody, don 't throwaway your programs. The top six girls from each All Around event w ill b e in the finals, but no mo re th an three from each country . Ho ly Ro llerball, Batman. Inst edd of having four or five gir ls in each fina l, th e United States i, onl y going to have a maximum of three. That 's th e way it wi ll be. 1 he gred t one has spo ken, so what do you do, pack up your bags and go ho me? It 's the price yo u pay for being on top.

So, on O ctober 22, th e girl s, at least some of them, are bac k in Auditor io Nacional for th eir last appearance as competitors . Aga in their are 12,000 fans screaming "Mex ico, M ex ico". Th e red, wh ite and green is w,l v ing in the balcony and the cheerleaders are having a fi eld da y. Nobody in Mexico seems to know or ca re that th e rul es have been changed.

Th e first event is th e Va ult. Kol leen Casey is first up and wins it with her proven handspri ng full for a 9.45. The Silver medal goes to Debbie Wilcox w ith a best va ult of 9.30 and Bronze goes to Roxa nne Pi erce with a 9.35. (Wilcox won ove r Pi erce with a lower score because her sco res from the compulsor ies and opti onals were higher). They only let three girl s Irom the U.S.A. compete and they stil l sweep ali the meda ls. That is how much the U.S. girl s are dominating the competition . Oh, yes, in thi s victory ceremony there are three U.S. f lags rai sed. Noth ing in M exico is ever done th e sa me way twice in a row.

Th e second eve nt on th e indi vidual program is th e Uneven Parallel Ba rs. hrst up is A nn Ca rr, scor ing a 9.45. It looks good eno ugh as the

29

USA Men's Coach Karl Schwenzfier

30

second girl , Foncesca, of Cuba gets a 9.20 imd Hotte, of Canada , a 9.25. Then , Srta. Cruza ta, Cuban, does a good so lid routine and sco res only 9.20. 1 he 12,000 peop le begin screaming at the judges, " Ratero , Rate ro, Ratero" (En glish trans lati o n, thief ). It is so lo ud and lasts so long, that competit ion is halted . The next gi rl up, Diane Dunbar, doesn't quite know w hether to go o r not go. Th e screaming crowd has her confused. She ; tall s, hoping fo r th e screaming to stop. It doesn 't.

Lik e a ,acrifice on th e pyramid of th e moon, the immorta l speaks, pat; th e girl o n th e leg and tell s her to get on wi th her rou tin e.

Diane beg ins her ro utine with 12,000 people screaming so loud that no si ngle voice ca n be hea rd. Incredibl y under the conditi ons, Diane doe; a 9.40.

Th e crowd stops their screaming long enough to app laud her performance, th en goes back to their o riginal argument with the judge;, " Katero, Katero!, Ratero !, Mexico, Mexico," - Roxa nne Pi erce is nex t.

Wh en the crowd sees that she too is go ing on w ith her ro utine, they scream even lo uder.

Roxa nne does a 9.45! Aga in there is a tremendous applause for her performdnce, dnd aga in for the judges, " Ratero! ... "

But the Uneven Parall el Ba rs are fini shed and th e six finalists, much reli eved, ledve the f loo r.

Two minutes later, led by Madame Nagy, all six gymn as ts retu rn to the floor for the victo ry ceremo nies. Again the crowd screams fo r blood . A nd, o f course it is o nl y a coincidence that, for no exp lained reason thi s is the o nl y tim e during the entire competiti o n that all

'competitors are brought o ut to th e victory stand w hen medals are o nl y

GYMNAST Dec. '75

being aWdrueu t.o three. Ah, the wander .of athlet ic gaadwil l and pali t i c~ .

Ann L.m w ins her third Ga ld meda l, and with th e same sca re, Raxa nne Pierce her secand Ga ld. Diane Dunbar rece ives th e Bra nze medJI far her cau rageaus perfarmance.

On the BJIJnce Beam, An n Carr wins her fau rth Gald meda l .of the campetition w ith a pasitive and canfident rautine tha t scares 9.50. Kalleen Casey tak es anather Sil ve r medal, scar ing 9.40 and Raxanne Pier( e al ~o scores 9.40 ta win the Bronze.

CainciuentJll y, Srta. Cruzata wan the .on ly individual .or A ll Araund medJI not ,lwJ ru ed ta a gi rl fram the United States. In the last event, Flaar Ex. ~ h e ti ed Raxan ne Pierce far the Branze medal.

Ann ellT wins the Gald meda l w ith her Flaa r ro utine .of a raund-aff flip flap, two w hip backs, flip flap ta a layau t step aut an her fi rst pass. Her ~e("onu is J front handspring, pike frant, frant handspring straddle seat. She fin ished w ith a rau nd-aff flip f lap sammersau lt ta back handspring. A rthur Maddax's piana accampani ment w ith " A lexanuer 's Ragtim e Band " enhances her perfarmance ni cely as she scare~ a 9.55. Kath y Haward w ins the Silver meda l scor ing a 9.50.

Sa enued the wame n's gymnast ics .of the VII Pan Am erica n Garnes. In spite .of pol iti cs , th e United States swept the meet. Ann Ca r r was the aut ~ tJndin g ind ividua l perfarmer, w in ni ng f ive Ga ld medals. The rest .of the team .of, Kal leen Casey, Raxanne Pierce, Debbie Wilcax , Kathy Haward, Didne Dunbar and Trish Reed alsa deserve m uch cred it fa r ­th ei l contr ibu ti o ns tawa rd the team v ictary in Mexica City.

If the pa liti cal bat tl es .of the wamen's campetitian were bad, .one

GYMNAST Dec. '75

thing yau C,Hl say far them. They we re mild campared 'to thase .o f th e men '~ campetiti an .

By t he time the men 's gymnast ic campetitian began , the pal itical and nati a nali stic ba ttl es .o f the VII Pan America n Garnes w ere camman knawledge . Jenny Cha ndler had been sa harrassed by the crawd at the Olympic 1'0.01 that she d id a belly flap an her springbaard dive, and when give n J fa ir secand chance, wa lked .off wit h th e Gald meda l. The Canadian soccer tea m was ready ta ga ha me because .of petty ruli ngs by .officia ls. 1 he " gaadwi ll " was n' t at an all time high . But, as always was the (J ~e in M exico, w hen yau think ya u've seen it all , th ere's more.

Entering A uuita ri a Nacia nal the evening .of Octaber 19, far th e men '~ compulsories, the f irst thing yau natice is that,.a lthaugh there are ~even teams campeting, there are .on ly six scarebaa rd s. The M ex ic<lm, JS hdl'u as th ey tri ed, apparently didn ' t have th e time ta put up the seventh scarebaard. There are baards far Cuba, Canada, Venezuel,l, Brdzi l and Ecuadar. Since Ecuadar has .on ly a caup le .of gymnJst; compet ing in a few events, they alsa share th ei r baard w ith Ca lum bi;I, w ha alsa ca n' t pu t a ut a fu ll team. The Uni ted States? Of caur~e they are the tea m w itha ut th e scarebaard.

Far round .one, the United States has drawn a bye and aren't a n the flaar (or the parade .of athletes. Cuba perfa rm s impress ively an the Hi gh Bar, 46.U5 . The a th er nat ians are sca ring 40.25, 43.60, 34.90, terribly autclJ~sed by the Cubans, and w ith the entra nce .of the U.S. men 's tea m , the competiti a n w ill quickl y became a dual mee t.

Raunu two b rin gs an th e hawls from th e crawd as the " Gr ingas" ca me aut o n the fl aa r ta begin the evening with Free Ex. Cuba is .o ff the

31

32

flool lor the second round, so at the end of one event each , Cuba leads the U.S.A. by 1.15 points.

Round three ha s Cuba on Floor Ex. and the United States on Pommel Hor,e. (o<lch Schwenz fi er had mentioned earlier in the week that he thought this pJrticular U.S. Nationa l team was stronger on Side Horse than an y U.S. tea m he had seen in thirty years. But suddenly the scores start coming up; Conner, 8.65, Korman, 8.50, Tidwell, 8.60. Schwenzfier can , tand it 110 longer. His guys are doing well but not sco ring anything. , He protests to th e judges. Of course the crowd loves it , hooting it up and whi , tling Jt the Americans for being such poor sports about it all. finally the di sc uss ion co mes to an end and it 's back to competition.

Ama zing! The sco res immediately start going up. Wh elan, 8.95, Avener, 1l.1l5, Thomas, 9.20. In the meantime Cuba hits on Floor Ex. for 46.00 and ,Ifter two event s, the U.S.A. is down by 3.20.

A , the Amer ica n 's head for the Rings, it looks like seven guys and two coaches Me in for a long battle. Things are definitely looking grim for th e Amerit-'lIlS. fhey ' re down by 3.20 points, the crowd is aga inst them, their '>cores Me too low, and here comes Cuba, right behind them, scoring 44.40 on the Pommel Horse.

All deli cdcy Jnd sesnitivity is gone. If they want to blow the Yanq uis ' mind,>, the y' re Joing a good job of it. But Schwenzfier uses a few tricks. H e '>ta rt '> redctin g like a football coach in a Rosebowl game, hustling his gu ys up on the Kings like Duffey Dougherty sending in plays from the bench. llwy we ren' t ready for it in Mexico. The U.S. gymnasts are on the Ring, <l nd through their routines before anybody knows what

Bart Conner happens. Th e momen tum shifts to the United States and when the

GYMNAST Dec. '75

.. I

I

smoke cledrs elt the end of round four, they have scored 46.70 and trail Cuba by o nl y .90 point.

On th e Vdu lt, th e United States scores well again, 47.25, but at th e sa me time, Cuba hits 47.55 on Rings.

Going into round six, th e U.S. is still trailing Cuba in team totals by 1.20 poi n IS .

Round six hds U.S.A. on Parallel Bars and Cuba on Vault. TheCubans are no ted for th eir va ulting and a victory is beginning to look distant for the United ~ta t es .

1 idwell is first up on Parallel Bars with a beautiful 9.40 routine, then it 's not 9.40. Two Latin Amer ica n judges say he took too many steps approaching the bar, and this and that, and the score is changed to 9.10!

. So, the b,lse score for th e United States on Bars is low to begin w ith. In fact , it 's right down wi th the Cuban Vaulting scores; 9.10 and 9.15.

It \ h<trd to believe that the Vaults of the Cubans are in the low nines. Every performance bri ngs screams and cheers of "Cooba, Cooba" from a certain sect ion of Auditorio Nactional. Even the Mexican crowd looks in wonderment. It is the cheering section of the Cuban women 's team. Immedi<tte ly things shift. The crowd starts booing and hissing the Cubans! 1 hen, even worse, the next U.S. gymnast on Parallel Bars has troubl e with hi s routine and scores a 9.35 .. 25 higher th an Tidwell. Thomas goes up and does a 9.30. This much va riation in the Compul sories, amaz ing. Maybe the Yanquis are just suddenl y insp ired by a hostile crowd turned friend ly. However, the sixth round tota ls still come out wit h Cuba gaining another .15 point on the Americans.

At last , th e final ro und of the evening. Cuba on Rings and the United States on High Har. The High Bar is a strong event for the U.S. and they

GYMNAST Dec. '75

Peter Kormann

score we ll ; Korm an, 9.25, Tidwell and Whelan, 9.40, Avener, 9.10, Conner and Thomas, 9.45, for a team score of 47.00 to Cuba o n the Para llel Hdrs, 46.55.

The te.lm totals at the end of the Compulsory evening, Cuba, 277.95 and the Un ited States 277.05. Mexico is a distant third with 261.75.

The United Stat es team was sacrificing all chance at All Around and Individua l titles for a team victo ry over Cuba. And after the first night they arc trdiling by .90 in the team, and in All Around, Tromas was the highest U.S. gymnast, third behind Cuba's Leon Cu ervo. All in all , it was a rough night for the Amer ica ns.

In the Optionals, two days later, the U.S.A. finall y had a scoreboard. It 's th e same sto ry at the beginning of the evening in Auditorio

Nac tional. Robert o Leon and Jorge Cuerv.o score hi g ~ for the Cubans on Par<tll el HdrS during the first round, while the United States is in the bye positi o n.

I n the seco nd round, the United States scores 45.80 on Floor Ex., while Cuba scores 46.05 o n High Bar. Leon fal ls from th e Bar and the Cuban judge still sco res him 9.20!

In the third rou nd, on Pommel Horse, Thomas scores a 9.40, and suddenl y th e United States is picking up the pace. Th ey bring the sco re to with in .30 of th e Cubans.

I n the fou rth round the U.S. scores 47.00 on Rings w hil e the Cubans are wading throug h dull and uncrea tive Floor Exe rcises, sco ring only 45.70. At the end of rou nd four, the United States has taken the lead for the first time; 415 .50 - 414.50.

In rou nd five, Cuba is o n Pommel Horse and the U.S. o n Vault. Things are starting to cook for the Amer ica ns. But never! Another protest.

33

Cuba protests the U.S. Vaulting. And while-that discussion goes on, the Cubans draw a protest because they are using the time for practice. There 's more judges and officials running around than gymnasts. It becomes demoralizing for athletes and spectators alike. Eons of discussions later, round five gets going again .

The boys from north of the border aren 't about to let anyt hing stop them once they get ahead. They extend their lead another 1.70 points to hold a 2.70 lead goi ng into round six. Things are looking good forthe U.S. men.

But in round six, the Cubans show their strength in the rings, turning in a team total of47.20 with Cuervo and Lea l) piling up points in the All Around . The United Staies only scores 45.65 on Para ll el Bars.

The last event was, for the United States High Bar, and for Cuba, Vault. Both teams do well, but the consistent depth of the U.S. team shows itself under pressure. Always a strong event for this particular Nationa l team, they are even stronger tonight. The lowest score is a 9.20. - Cuba is dissapointing on Vault. Arego scores only 8.80, Rodriguez 9.05 and Leon 9.20.

The United States ath letes have accomplished their goal, a team victory over the Cubans, 554.95 - 553.30.

It was a high price to pay. The U.S. athletes had to sacrifice their chances at Gold and Silver medals in the All Around, as well as make their chances in the I ndivdual finals more difficult.

The team (fold goes to the Untied States, the Silver to Cuba and the Bronze to Mexico, a distant third, more than 30 points behind Cuba. The E:anadian team, fourth, would have been higher had they not sent their junior teams; but they ' ll be rough in 1980.

The All Around w inne rs are Jorge Cuervo, Gold; Roberto Leon, Silver; and Kurt Thomas, Bronze.

34

The indivdua l scores show the finals to be a dual meet between the United Sta tes and Cuba, broken only by Owen Whalstrom, Canadia n, in the Vault.

On O ctobe r 23rd, a new force in the world of gymnastics is discovered in Mexico City, Cuba. The Cuban men 's team captures five out of six Gold medals in the Individual finals of the VII Pan American Games.

Cuervo does his littl e flip into a quick split routine on the floor, combines it with a few flip flops and his coach thinks he should take the Gold meda l. The coach of the Cuban team also thinks that Cuba shou ld have taken the team score too.

Perhaps he 's right. After all, the United States women swept the meet the night before, and this is the " best of all possible worlds", no? Where fair is fa ir , the medals shou ld be divided the next night. That makes it good, because now there is the basis for detente and dual meets and world te nsions w ill be relieved. Oh, yes, gymnastics.

There is a short gymnastics exhibition between the politica( compromises and deal making. Jorge Cuervo of Cuba does a full in full out dismount from the High Bar, and Gene Whelan of the United ~tates does a doubl e front with a full to make things even, although Cuervo is awarded 9.65 a nd Whelan 9.40. .

The Padronne of La tin Gymnastics in the Western Hemisphere is better tha n He nryKissinger. Although the United States, was it Peter Korman , has take n the Go ld medal in Floor Ex. and Roberto Leon the gold me dal for Side Horse, it is the Cuban serve on the Rings, and Leon puts the boys from Havanna in the lead with a 9.40, wavering in his hand stand , shaki ng in his cross, and practically fal ling after his dismount.

A bald hea de d leade r from the FIG runs around with glee, hoping to get a ping pong game in Peking. Three events are gone and the Cuba ns are le,ading two gold to one, and all semblance of respec tability is

GYMNAST Dec. '75

WOMEN'S RESULTS Vault C&O C&O

C 0 Total Avg. 1. C. Casey (USA) 9.25 9.30 18.55 9.275

MEXICO 2. D. Wilcox (USA) 9.30 9.45 18.75 9.365 3. R. Pierce (USA) 9.35 9.15 18.50 9.250 4. A. Sanchez (CUB) 9.00 9.10 18.10 9.050

1975 5. Sanchez (ME X) . 9.05 9.15 18.20 9.100 6. I. Fonseca (CUB) 8.65 8.70 17.55 8.775 7. A. Carr (USA) ' 9.05 9.10 18.15

Team 8. D. Howard ' (USA) 9.05 8.95 18.00 C 0 Total 8. D. Dunbar (USA) 9.10 8.75 17.85

1. United States 183.60 183.70 367.30 9. P. Garcia (MEX) 8.85 8.65 17.50 2. Cuba 177.00 177.35 354.35 11 . T. Diaz (MEX) 8.75 8.70 17.45 3. Mexico 175.00 177.70 352.70 12. E. Aguilar (ME X) 8.75 8.65 17.40 4. Canada 174.80 174 .00 348.80 Uneven Parallel Bars 5. Braz il 170.95 166.70 337.65 1. A. Carr (USA) 9.00 9.20 18.20 9.100

2. R. Pierce (USA) 9.10 9.10 18.20 9.100

C · 0 Total 3. D. Dunbar (USA) · 8.75 9.15 17.90 8.950

All Around 4. W . Halle (CAN) 8.85 8.90 17.75 8.875 1. A. Carr (USA) 36.70 37.10 73.80 5. I. Fonseca (CU B) 8.90 8.90 17.80 8.900 2. R. Pierce (USA) 37.20 36.40 73.60 6. V. Cruza ta (CUB) 8.95 8.85 17.80 8.900 3. C. Casey (USA) 36.90 36.25 73.15 7. D. Wilcox ' (USA) 8.80 9.00 17.80 4. D. Wilcox (USA) 36.05 37.00 73.05 8. A. Sa c hez (CUB) 8.85 8.75 17.60 5. D. Dunbar (USA) 36.05 36.40 72.45 9. C. Case~ (USA) 9.00 8.50 17.50 6. D. Howard (USA) 36.40 35.25 71.65 10. H. Sanc ez (MEX) 8.70 8.75 17.45 7. A. Sa nc h ez (CU B) 35.90 35.65 71.55 11. E. Aguilar (ME X) 8.65 8.70 17.35 8. I. Fon;ecd (CU B) 35.50 35.95 71 .45 12. M . Gani e r (CAN) 8.60 8.70 16.30 8. H. Sa nc hez (ME X) 35.60 35.85 71 .45

Balance Beam 10. V. Cruza ta (CU ll) 35.70 35.35 TI.05 11 . T. Di az (ME X) 34.90 35.65 70.55 1. A. Carr (USA) 9.30 9.30 18.60 9.300 12. P. Garcia (MEX ) 35.30 35.20 70.50 2. C. Casey (USA) 9.30 9.30 18.60 9.300 13. K. Keb,, 11 (CAN) 34.95 35.10 70.05 3. R. Pierce (USA) 9.30 8.80 18.10 9.050 14. E. Agui lar (MEX) 34.70 35.20 69.90 4. O . M a rtin ez (CUB) 8.75 9.00 17.75 8.875 15. M . H~rndlHJ e z (CU B) 34.95 34.85 69.80 5. V. Cruza ta (CUB) 8.80 9.05 17.85 8.925 16. W . Ha ll e (CAN) 35.25 34.45 69.70 6. P. Ga rc ia (ME X) 8.80 9.10 17.90 8.950 16. M . Ganier (CA ) 35.05 34.65 69.70 7. D. Howard' (USA) 9.20 8.85 18.05 18. M . Chow (CAN) 34.50 34.80 69.30 8. D. Dunbar' (USA) 8.85 9.05 17.90 19. E. Va ldez (CUB) 34.40 34.85 69.25 8. D. Wilcox ' (USA) 8.75 9.15 17.90 20. C. Go mez (MEX) 33.75 35.25 69.00 10. I. Fon;eca (CUB) 8.70 8.95 17.65 21 . O . M an inez (CU B) 34.95 33.60 68.55 11 . A. Sanchez (CUB) 8.90 8.70 17.60 22. D. Grimberg (M EX) 34.15 34.30 68.45 12. C. Gomez (ME X) 8.65 8.80 17.45 23 . S. Pinen t IBRA ) 34.55 33.70 68.25

Floor Exercise 24 . M . ParOle le e (CAN) 34.65 33.55 68.20 25 . G . Rad o msky (BRA) 34.60 33.25 67.85 1. A. Carr (USA) 9.35 9.50 18.85 9.425 26 . S. Anjo, (BR A) 34.1 5 33 .60 67.75 2. D. Howard (USA) 9.45 9.45 18.90 9.450 27. T. Ma yne (CAN) 33.95 33 .65 67.60 3. V. Cruzata (CUB) 9.35 9.25 18.60 9.300 28. E. Fl echa (BR A) 34.05 33.00 67.05 3. R. Pierce (USA) 9.45 9.35 18.80 9.400 29. G . l o ni a l (BRA) 33.80 33 .05 66.85 5. K. Kel sa ll (CAN) 9.40 9.20 18.60 9.300 30. I. Soares (BRA) 33.05 31.25 64.30 6. P. Garc ia (ME X) 9.20 9.40 18.60 9.300 31. M . Reyes (DOM) 28.75 27.70 56.45 7. D. Dunbar' (USA) 9.35 9.45 18.80 32. M . Ha, b un (SA L) 25.97 23 .00 48.97 8. D. Wilcox ' (USA) 9.20 9.40 18.60 33. I. Pa zmin o (ECU) 28.65 19.70 48.35 9. C. Casey (USA) 9.35 9.15 18.50 34. M . Rodr ig uez (SA L) 25.70 11 .60 37.30 10. H. Sa nc hez (ME X) 9.05 9.40 18.45 35. G . h ill as (PRO ) 29.00 00.00 29.00 11. I. Fonseca (CUB) 9.25 9.20 18.45 36. G . Vidill e s (SA L) 17.35 00.00 17.35 12. T. Dia z (ME X) 9.00 9.35 18.35

• Did not compe te in fin als d ue to three competi tor per coun t ry limit in finals.

sac rifi ced beca use of some very comp licated scoring decisions that must be discussed for five or ten minutes after a thirty second routine. Let's see; if thi s o ne is too high , and this too low, we might offend the Ameri ca ns, but they had their night last night. The boys up there aren't quite co ld ye t, so more etc. etc. etc. ... and that is how the gymnastics meeting of the VII Pan America n games drew to a close. A lot o f back room , pol iti ca l, deal making.

Unfortun ately, the Cubans honestly believe they are as good as their scores. They w ill take their propaganda films back to Havana, and get bell er and better and better in the eyes of the Cubans, in this " best of all poss ible worlds whe re everything is necessarily for the best" .

* Th e clos ing ceremonies of th e VII Pan American Games were 'a mong

th e most beautiful and spectacu lar in the history of modern sports. 100,000 persons again gathered in Aztec Stadium, this time by cand le light & fireworks, and this time to say goodbye, adios amigos. The Puerto Ri ca n flag was raised and everyone hailed the next games, San Juan, 1979.

The fl ag o f th e Un ited States made its final appearance and was booed and hissed for the last time. It really didn 't matter any loliger; most o f the kids had already gO,l1e back home. You were glad th at it was over, and a littl e sad that it was end ing. Those few remaining said goodbye ' to fri ends th ey might never see again.

Perh aps the people w ho chose to represent the United States in International sport learned th e meaning of " ath letic goodwill " . Before' the goodwill , there has to be understanding. If not goodwill, th e Pan American Ga mes showed at least, how far apart the understanding is of the nati ons o f the Americas. And so it was, the VII Pan American games were ended .

GYMNAST -Dec. '75

Final Finals Total 9.45 18.725 9.30 18.675 9.35 18.600 9.20 18.250 9.10 18.200 9.00 17.775

9.45 18.550 9.30 18.550 9.40 18.350 9.25 18.125 9.20 18.100 9.20 18.100

9.50 18.800 9.40 i8.700 9.40 18.450 9.30 18.175 8.65 17.575 8.35 17.300

9.55 18.975 9.50 18.950 9.40 18.700 9.30 18.700 9.20 18.500 9.10 18.400

Closing Ceremonies

Dunbar, Carr and Pierce, Uneven Bar Medalists

35

Peter Korma nn , Gold Medal , FX Pan Am Champion - USA Men's Team receiving gold medals , from L to R: Marshall Avener, Glenn Tidwell, Peter Kormann, Bart Conners, Kurt Thomas, Gene Whelan.

MEN'S Team C 0 Total 1. United States 277.05 277.90 554.95 2. Cuba 277.95 275.35 553.30

COMPETITION 3. Mexi, 0 261.75 259.35 521 .10 4. Ca nada 254.60 262.45 517.05

RESULTS 5. Brazi l 249.35 247.80 497.15 6. Ye nezu(·la 242.80 237.25 480.05 7. Ecuador 233.20 214.85 448.05

Free Exercise C&OC&O Final Vault C&OC&O Final All Around C 0 Total C 0 Total Avg. Finals Total C 0 Total Avg. Finals Total

1. J. Cuervo (CU B) 56.40 56.45 112.85 1. P. Kormann (USA) 9.1 5 8.75 1 7~90 8.950 9.75 18.700 1. J. Cuervo (CUB) 9.50 9.50 19.00 9.500 9.35 18.850 2. R. Leon (CUB) 56.55 55.95 112.50 2. J. Cue rvo (CUB) 9.45 9.25 18.70 9.350 9.30 18.650 2. K. Thomas (USA) 9.65 9.50 19.15 9.575 9.20 18.775 3. K. Thomas (USA) 55.70 55.80 111.50 3. B. Conner (USA) 9.40 9.15 18.55 9.275 9.30 18.575 3. M . Avene r (USA) 9.50 9.45 18.95 9.475 9.25 18.725 4. G. Whe lan (USA) 55.50 55.90 111 .40 4. R. Leon (CUB) 9.40 9.15 18.55 9.275 9.05 18.325 4. G. Whelan (USA) 9.45 9.30 18.75 9.375 9.075 18.450 5. B. Conne r (USA) 55.60 55.40 111 .00 5. J. Roche (CUB) 9.20 9.30 18.50 9.250 9.00 18.250 5. J. Roche (CUB) 9.30 9.35 18.65 9.325 8.925 18.250 5. M. Avener (USA) 54.95 56.05 111.00 6. K. Thomas (USA) 9.05 9.00 18.05 9.025 9.10 18.125 6. O . Wa l, trom (CAN) 9. 10 9.50 18.60 9.300 8.85 18.150 7. J. Rodrigu ez (C UB) 55.35 54.25 109.60 7. M. Av ene r (USA) 8.80 9.45 18.25 7. B. Conner (USA) 9.30 9.40 18.70 • 8. T. Kormann (USA) 54.40 54.50 108.90 7. G. Whe lan (USA) 9.00 9.25 18.25 8. R. Leon (CUB) 9.35 9.20 18.55 9. J. Tejeda (CUB) 54.05 64.30 108.35 9. J. Rodrigu ez (CU B) 9. 10 9.00 18.10 9. J. Tejeda (CUB) 9.15 9.25 18.40

10. J. Roche (CUB) 54.90 52.85 107.75 10. J. 50S. (MEX) 8.70 9.20 17.90 10. P. Kormann (USA) 9.00 9.30 18.30 11. G. Tidwell (USA) 54.40 53.30 107.70 11 . R. Are~o (CUB) 8.85 9.00 17.85 11 . J. Rodrigu ez (CU B) 9.10 9.05 18.15 12. R. Arego (CUB) 54.45 53.10 107.55 11 . J. Te je " (C UB) 8.85 9.00 17.85 12. R. Areg o (C UB) 9.30 8.80 18.10 13. F. Dece na (MEX) 52.65 52.20 104.85 14. G. Araujo (MEX) 51.95 51.80 103.75 Pomme l Horse Paralle l Ba rs 15. R. M e ndoza (MEX) 51.95 51.65 103.60 16. J. Choqu ette (CAN) 50.65 52.85 103.50 1. R. Leon (CUB) 9.25 9.60 18.85 9.425 9.30 18.725 1. R. Leon (C UB) 9.50 9A5 18.95 9.475 9.40 18.875 17. W. Hoeger (Y EN) 51.70 51.40 103.10 2. K. Thomas (USA) 9.20 9.40 18.60 9.300 9.30 18.600 2. G. Whelan (USA) 9.30 9.30 18.60 9.300 9.40 18.700 18. J. Vilchi s (MEX) 52.80 50.15 102.95 3. G. Whelan (USA) 8.95 9.20 18.15 9.075 9.25 18.325 3. J. Cuervo (CUB) 9.35 9.30 18.65 9.325 9.20 18.525 19. O . Wal , trom (CAN) 50.60 52.05 102.65 4. J. Cue rvo (CUB) 8.90 9.35 18.25 9.125 9.15 18.275 4. B. Conner (USA) 9.30 9.10 18.40 9.200 9.20 18.400 20. L. Garci" (ME X) 51.45 51.05 102.50 5. M . Ave ne r (USA) 8.85 9.35 18.20 9.100 9.10 18.200 5. M Ave ne r (USA) 9.35 9.20 18.55 9.275 8.95 18.225 21. J. Sosa (MEX) 50.75 51.50 102.25 6. J. Rodriguez (CUBI 8.95 9.30 18.25 9.125 8.40 17.525 6. J. Te~eda (CUB) 9.20 8.90 18.10 9.050 8.70 17.750 22 . J. Pannitti (CAN) 50.40 51.40 101.80 7. B. Conner (USA) 8.65 9.00 17.65 7. K. Tomas (USA) 9.30 9.05 18.35 • 23. L. Schick (BRA) 50.70 50.45 101.15 8. J. Te jeda (CUB) 8.50 9.00 18.50 8. P. Kormann (USA) 9.20 9.00 18.20 • 24 . P. Carri e r (C AN) 50.45 50.65 101.10 9. L. Shi ck (BRA) 8.80 8.55 17.35 9. R. Arego (CUB) 8.95 8.90 17.85 25. N. Rothwe ll (CAN) 50.50 50.15 100.65 10. P. Korman n (USA) 8.50 8.70 17.20 10. G. Tidwell (USA) 9.10 8.70 17.80 26. H. Abramides (BRA) 50.05 50.10 100.15 11 . G. Tidwe ll (USA) 8.60 8.50 17. 10 11 . J. Rodrigu ez (CU B) 9.40 8.25 17.65 27. B. Cari ,se (CAN) 49 .90 50.05 99.95 12. J. Yil chi s (MEX) 8.40 8.55 t6 .95 11 . L. Garcia (MEX) 9.05 8.60 17.65 28. J. Brandao (B RA) 49.40 48.90 98.30 29. H. Orozco (COL) 49.70 48.40 98.10 30. C. Agudelo (COL) 49.70 48.20 97.90 Rings Ho rizonta l Bar 31 . C. Po rt uga l (BRA) 49.20 47.65 %.85 32. S. Ja toba (BRA) 48.50 47.70 %.20 1. J. Cue rvo (CUB) 9.70 9.55 19.25 9.625 9.15 18.975 1. J. Cuervo (CU B) 9.50 9.50 19.00 9.500 9.65 19.150 33. E. Na jer" (ECU) 49.45 45.55 95.00 1. R. Leon (CUB) 9.60 9.55 19.15 9.525 9.45 18.975 2. G. Whe lan (USA) 9.40 9.45 18.85 9.425 9.50 18.925 34. A. Pernia (YEN) 46.60 47.65 94.25 3. B. Conner (USA) 9.50 9.45 18.95 9.475 9.30 18.775 3. K. Thomas (USA) 9.50 9.45 18.95 9.475 9.40 18.875 35. B. Fernandez (PRO) 45 .55 48.30 93.85 4. G. Whe lan (USA) 9.40 9.40 18.80 9.400 9.25 18.650 4. B. Conne r (USA) 9.45 9.30 18.75 9.375 9.20 18.575 36. N. Ol" on (BRA) 48.60 44.25 92.85 5. R. Arego (C UB ) 9.45 9.40 18.95 9.425 9.20 18.625 5. J. Rodrigu ez (CU B) 9.35 9.35 18.70 9.350 9.20 18.550 37. 01 Sabino (YEN) 48.25 44.60 92.85 6. M . Ave ne r (USA) 9.35 9.40 18.75 9.375 9.15 18.525 6. R. Leon (CUB) 9.45 9.00 18.45 9.225 8.90 18.125 38. H. Hoeger (Y EN) 48.00 44.55 92.55 7. J. Rodrigu ez (CUB) 9.45 9.30 18.75 • 7. G. Tidwe ll (USA) 9.40 9.25 18.65 ' 39. J. Campos (EC U) 47.40 44.80 92.20 7. J. Roche (CUB) 9.35 9.40 18.75' 7. P. Kormann (USA) 9.25 9.40 18.65 • 40. R. Penal oza (YE ) 47.60 44.50 92.10 9. B. Ferna ndez (PRO)9.20 9.45 18.65 9. R. Arego (CU B) 9.25 9. 10 18.35 41 . B. H eo~er (Y EN ) 46.05 45.50 91.55 9. P. Kormann (USA) 9.30 9.35 18.65 10. M. Avener (USA) 9.10 9.20 18.30 42. B. Da vi a (ECU) 48.40 42.45 90.85 11 . K. Thomas (USA) 9.00 9.40 18.40 11 . J. Tejeda (CU B) 9.10 9.10 18.20 43 . J. Dominguez (DOM) 46.35 43.65 90.00 11. G. Tidwe ll (USA) 9.15 9.25 18.40 12. J. Roch e (CU B) 9.30 8.70 18.00 44 . G. Rogrigu ez (EDU) 44.25 41.75 86.00 44. J. Orbe (ECU) 45.70 40.30 86.00 46. W. Montoy" (C O L) 43.45 41.00 84.45 'D id not (ompete in final s due to three compe titors per count ry limit in fin als.

36 GYMNAST Dec. '75

Ann Carr 1st Place Floor Exercise GYMNAST Dec. '75

ANN CARR 1st Place Balance Beam

IS gymnil sti cs lost its warm glow of lusiasm for you! Do you, as a competitor,

ad the up-coming season and even consider - ,pping out or taking up a " fun" sport like

, lIeyba ll or bowling! As a coach do you find ;ourself imposi ng harsher discipline and demanding more ilnd more of your gymnasts? Do yo u leave th e gym edch day wishing you did not have to come back?

Would you mi ss competit ion - the tenseness, the pressures, ' the judges, the defeats and the victories? As a parent do you glory in the performances of lit tl e Mary and envision her about to chall enge the likes of Ann Carr, Tammy Manvill e o r Roxanne Pierce? And'do you forsee national o r international honors ahead when littl e Timmy brings home his first awards ribbon? If you answer yes and if you have caught th e gymnastics version of the Littl e Leagu e Syndrome, rea d no further.

Can you envision a situation of happy workouts with gymnasts working together? Or, how about top performances with a minimum of pressure . or <l chd nce for more than 6 gymnasts to rep resent your club?

I am not painting an impossible picture. . Good gymnastics still means hard work and

dedicated gymnasts, coaches and parents (but forget the judges in this picture). Believe it or

ONCE AGAIN, in December, and for the second time in 1975 a Russian Gymnastics Team is coming to Los Ange les to be presented in an EXHIBITION. Th e Russians were here before, at least three or fuur times, but have never met an Ameri ca n Gymnast ics Team in competition other th<ln in their controll ab le world manifes tdtions, such as the World Games, Olympic G,lmes, etc. But the Russians like to come to Americil . Why? The answer is very simple. They come to make money, and lots of it. It 's easy. They don't have to train , and they can 't lose.

CONTRARY to what is known, there is not so much money available to the Russian Gymnastics Program as one might think. So it helps to h<lve <l side income, and the American public provides it. The Russians, in turn, go back and trJin their athletes, give them

\

scho larships, dpartments, ca rs, TV's, etc. In case you hil ve n 't no ticed, their athletes stay longer

, with the spurt. (Sounds more like the American orofess ion<ll dthletes, doesn't it ?) Theircoaches lave small er groups of gymnasts to coach -;omething we can't afford in the U.S. Here the best sta y away because it means to work in one of the most demanding areas one can think of; ' t means to work ve ry long hours because you ISO have to generate income'to afford the gym.

I ,. I

I' ath letes ca nnot go to special schoo ls, ~ re their scholas tic schedu le is organized

,und th eir workouts; and our athletes are • )t tilken CMe o f by the best trainers, and

"ysicians. Our coac hes have little time to do

GYMNAST Dec. '75

not, such progrdm s do exis t without the ' spectres of competition , ri va lri es, judges, tears after meets, etc. No t on ly, th at but there are not national organ iz<ltions telling you what yo u may and ma y not do! With th e present trend towards more co-educa tion al activities, EXHIBITION GYMNASTICS is part icu larly appropriate.

Exhibition gymnasti cs meets physica l needs, aids in person,i1 development and social interactions, and is a satisfying means of recreation , too. Among previous GYMNAST articles on the topi c WilS " The Joy of Effort," the story of gymnastics <It Springfield Co ll ege (Apri l 1971). In addition to Springfield there ex ist noted " Gymkhana" troups at Florida State and the Universit y of Mdryland, in YMCA's such as Brooklyn Central, <lnd in some private clubs. Many private dubs use ex hibitions as fund­raising activities or <l S <l chance to involve eve ry gymnast at leas t once during the year, but I know of only one, Leonard Clemmer' s School of Gymnastics and Bal let which is entirely devoted to exhibition gymnastics.

Recent tours by Russ ian gymnasts have given us a ne'w appreciation of ex hibition gymnastics. Their top gymnasts took part, as much for their crowd-drawing names as their performances, but the addition of th eir fine rhythmic (Modern

OLD CONCEPT NEW RELEVANCE

Rhythmi C Gymndsti cs) gymnasts and the amazing fea ts of their ac robats turned on the crowds to an unexpected degree. The December 1975 Lour promises to be no . exception for those fortunate enough to catch a live performance (r<lther than the edited and commerical-lilled ve rsions we 've come to expect from television).

We have nuted th e great success of the Gymnaestradil this PdSt summer in drawing together gymnasts from allover Europe. There is room for more of this type of non­competitive gymn<lsti cs in this country. It can draw together our o lympic gymnasts, rhythmic gymnasts, iluubdts, trampolinists, and tumblers.

We, at the GYMNAST, wou ld like to hear of exhibition gymn<lsti cs programs - the themes, organization uf pr<lct ices and presentation, special event s. and requirements for team members.

In the meiln tim e, if you are considering trying o ut an exhibition team format, let me recommel'ld iI book, " Exh ibition Gymnastics" by l.J . Judd, 'I .J. OeCa ri o and R.J. Kern (published by Assuciation Press, 291 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10007).

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING . AGAIN - AND - AGAIN

rese<lrch or wri te about gymnastics, or promote it.

THE AMER ICAN COACH has a great disadvil ntage, ye t his American women gymnasts are fdntastic thanks to the incred ible dedication of many coaches around the country and th e wi llingness of the girls to put up with very demanding schedu les and

disc iplines. The Amer ica n gymnasts are as good , if not better, than the best of the Ru ss ians, but nobody knows it, because nobody writ es about them, nobody shows them ofr. The Russians are " the best" because the Communist block controlled judges system sa id so at th e world manifestations, and becil use the American public doesn ' t know how good our own gymnasts are . Therefore, promoters look for th e Russians because they fill a house. Th e American public believes that the Ru ss ians dnd o th er eas tern block countries

By Fritz Reiter

have th e best gymnasts because every time they read ilbout them they are the winners. But think il gJin , our ve ry own judges think the Ru ss ians arc <l lot better than au r own gymnasts (obviousl y, beca use they win!!). The top Ameri ca n judges are good, we ll trained and understJnd th eir business of judging pretty well - except for one thing - they are

. Ameri cans, honest, brainwashed by our inabilit y to defea t the Russians or other eastern block cuuntri es. How can they think that our own gymnasts are better than the Checks or Hungarians! Th e sa me thing takes place with most judges from other free countr ies. There is no bl ock to go aga in st the eastern block front, but their judges are under control, if by no other mea ns than intimidation and reporting to Politbu ros: th ey can impose travel restrictions and cut other privileges given to them. But most important they think their gymnasts are better , and they find their thoughts to be correct. since their gymnasts. w in.

The Editor-Publisher of the Olga Korbut Fan Club. wrote in one of his articles for Women's Sports about the World Games in Varna, Bulgaria when the American Team was thrown back from fourth to seventh place, mostly by the Communi st co untries controlled judging system . "Why should the iron curtain judges beli eve th,i1 o ur gymnasts are among the world 's best if we, the American public, don ' t believe it o urse lves?" However, how can we? We don't eve n know them! We haven ' t seen them! Most girl s in our schoo ls know about Olga Kurbut , but they don ' t know of Tammy

Continued on next page

45

M anvil le , the Nati onal U.S. Champion, o r D eni se Cheshi re; w hose un even para ll el bar routine is eve ry bit as exciting ,as Ko rb ut' s, and w ho represented her coun try at th e Pre­Olym pic test mee t in Montrea l. Th ere are 15 girl s that mdke up the U.S. Team. Not only do they seem to be a d ifferent g ro up eve ry yea r (beca use o f o ur incred ibly hi gh ra te of teen age retiree s w ho return to th e good America n life style), bu t they are tremendo usly good gymnasts dS well. Exc i tin g, da rin g, graceful, well !rai ned and bea ut i fu l. Have yo u seen or heard of Ko ll een Casey, o ne o f the worl d 's greatest va u lters o r Debbi W ilcox do ing a fro nt f li p on th e Balance Heam ? A fea t, by far, more diff icu lt and daring than Ko rbut 's back flip (which by th e wa y W.1 S also done by seve ral gym nasts in the u.s. befo re O lga). And w hat abo ut Kath y Howard 's gra ce in mo ti o n, o r the bubbling excit ement of a Ba rb ie Mys lak, o r the p light of 14 yea r o ld American Sharo n Shapiro getti ng ou t o f schoo l to go to th e many gym nasti cs compet iti o ns around th e country .

IS THE PUHLlC aware of the incredib le effo rt t his coun try's parents have to ma ke to come up wi th th e necessa ry tim e and money to make it possible to se nd th eir children over hundreds q f miles severd ltimes a year just to parti cipate in th e meets that might give th ei r girl a cha(1 ce to make the U.S. Team? For w hat ? To be left alone by the America n pu b lic? W hy do we give the Russ i.l n gym nas tics federation suppo rt to trai n th pir ,il hl etes and do n' t do th e sa me fo r OUI kid .,!

O UR GYMNASTS wa nt to meet the pub lic, and th ey wan t to beat t he Ru ss ians, bu t very few w i l l ever get to be in a meet aga inst th e Russians beca use they are not interes ted in meetin g us in our co un try and being com pared by the U.S. public. W e m ight not ask th em back as o ften an ymo re; where' wou ld they get th e money and they would have to pay th eir own way. You see it pays do ub le to do EXHIBITIONS ON LY. , It therefo re beco mes in fact Unamerican to go to see th e Russ ians because not o nly do we pay th ei r expenses fo r beller coaching, but we also do no t help o u r own yo ung ath letes. W e stab o ur own co ull try in th e back.

I nste,](J le t 's give the Russ ians a lesso n. Let 's not inv it e them back any more un less they come o ve r d few times to meet head on, to let America n girl s be put next to them in an Ex hibiti o n to let yo u and me, th e pub lic, dec ide who are the bes t. Thi s is the Am eri ca n way! We have .gym ndsts w ho are as good, if not better than them. Let's be proud of them . Let's give them th e recogni t io n th ey dese rve; let's support o ur own gymnasts; let's be Ame rica n!

46

FROM A BEGINNER COACH IN GYMNASTICS By Louis J. Samaha

Coach Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Great coaches have given speeches on what ma kes on elit e g}'mnas t o r wha t qua lit ies are needed to become a great coach. Frankly, as a beg inn ing coach I m igh t have learned more if the topics instedd dea lt with p rocedu res of develop ing a beginni ng gymnastics team from the standpoint of worko uts. condit ioning exercises o r possib ly what my gymnasts might expect of me.

Perhaps I shou ld ex plain what is meant w hen I ca ll myself a beginner in the field. I have had better than average pract ical experiences in gym nastics courses . no competit ive experience yet my interest has always been high. The more I lea rned . the more I fo und out that I have to learn . Slowly I wo l-.e up to th e vast amount of knowledge that was needed if I was to rea ll y pursue thi s sport . Certain questi on; ha unted me-

l. Would I be wil ling to keep abreast of the new and co nstdntl y cha nging rules?

2. Wou ld I lA orl-. th e hours expected of me in my job, or wou ld I be wil li ng to go beyond my allo ted time to develop a tea m? (Quickly was I to fi nd that gymna~t i cs was a nine month school job, and more i f I wanted it.)

3. Finally, I asked mysel f a most importan t question. Co ul t.! I dL!udll y o ffer the gymnasts something withoL!t feeling I had shortchanged them?

With the above questi o ns resolved I sta rted out. Immediat ely ci rcumstances arose that I knew had to be dea lt wit h. D ecisions had to be made for th e benefit o f the team. Situations arose such as :

-Sho uld I le t my gymnasts practice when I know theil ski ll and desire might be beyond my capabiliti es as a coach or spotter? To some coa ches thi s may appear to be a simple decision, yet to a beginner coach who fears the chance 01 ho lding a team back it is a momentous decisio n.

-How shou ld I dea l with confl icting perso nalities on J team?

-How can I I-.eep interest high before, during or afte r the sea son? -Shou ld the I out ines be developed on the basis o f qua lity or quantity o f di ffi culty?

From th e above situati ons and requ ired decisions I fo und myself es tablishing certain pr inci p les upon which I could start the building of my team - ph ys icd l ly and emotionally. I read . I listened to other coaches with thei r p roblems and solutions. I bega n to fo rmulate ideas - ideas I was wi ll ing to .:Ic,ept i f I foun d reasonable success with my team. I kept reminding myself that what has bef' n <;uccess ful fo r some coaches may not be lor me. Therefo re, I kept try ing new suggestions, new ideas, kept listen ing and read ing and askin g W HY. I found everyone had something to offe r.

As time passed I lo und myself asking what did my gymnasts e~ pect of me as a begi nner coach and/ o r what did they actually need f rom me Iw('r(' these two o f the same). To learn more abou t my gymnasts - their personal i ties and where their pri or i ti es lay - I o ffe red them a questionnaire. I fc lt this wa s a chance fo r them

to help bu il d th ei r own team. From the questio nnaire I found the gymnasts wanted me to work in the c.lpacity o f a (a n):

1. Authoritarian - I was the one to get workouts going. Gymnasts have good intentions yet m any have that need to be pushed.

2. Decision-make r - Realistically p rob lems wi ll arise any t ime. I had to be prepared to listen to t he situation Jnd decide according to t he best interests 01 the ent i re team.

3. Organizer - Many of my gymnasts and possibly yours too have that ' I' ll do it tomorrow atti tude. This is no t d healthy o r w ise attitude to keep festering - repercussions can resu lt. I had to help them to think systema tica ll y. Al though I was the o ne 10 make the f inal d ue da tes for completed routines the gymnasts had to be w illing and wanting to accomplish the ir own tasks.

4. Listener - A listener was needed occasio nally. b ch gymnast w i ll undoubtedly develop a unique p ro blem d uring the competi tive season. Perhaps the'problem w ill be a p hYSical , 01 a men tal att i tude but e ither way it must be ded it with . I had to be will ing to l iste n and o lle r sol utions.

5. Educator - Gymnasts generally want to know the 'w ho, what and whys' of gymnastics. I he lped to make them aware of the new ru les, spotti ng progressions plu s the social even ts happening in the fi eld . This appea red to be more work lor me in the beginning, yet making them more aware o f w hat is happening seemed to help build them inlO better gymnasts.

W hen coac.hin g there are a few things I constantly try to keep in m ind - ' li ttle th ings that mean a lot. ' 1 he fol lowi ng ' little things' helped keep the relationship I fe lt was best between my gymnasts ,md m yself as a coach of gymnastics.

(1) Do not talk too much during practice. O ffer suggestions .Ind criti cisms when needed.

(2) M ain tain J good sense of humor. A hea lthy attitudc i, impera t ive to a promising and growing tedm

(3) Let them know the team IS for thei l benefit.

(4) Remember. yo u are a coach and fr iend, not a pal.

I h,lv(' , 'nj()yed rny l i rst competitive season. (I admit 1 hdt hdVl l1g a Winning record keeps me WOI king h,1I'(1 .Inti looking fo rward to our nex season .) Vvhv l1 I th ink about all the time and (On, I.l111 "'.lI ning that is involved , due to the naIUI! ' (lIth" ,>por!.1 as k rnyself i f it isworth th elf 01 1. -11" ' 11 I Idugh dnd remember .. .

-w hen we lin.ll ly had three gymnas competing on cdch pi ece o f apparatus

-w hen Annie hit her first balance bea ~ routine .. . w it hout ,I fall

-when Pauld landed her fi rs t som ie .. . on h feet

-and when we ended ou r first full-schedule season with a 9-2 record!

The rewards in th is sport are self-sat isfy ing. It is fun - and th.l t IS what it is all about!

GYMNAST Dec. ' 75

II.S •• ~.I~.

T~(!~~i(!~1 ~ULLETIN

USGF TECHNICAL BULLETIN Courtesy of Renee Hendershott

For immediate release Official Technica l Bu ll etin

From: Shirl ey Brya n, Women 's Gymnastics Certification Committee (USGF-NGWS) Jackie Fie, USGF Women 's TECHNICAL COMMITTEE

The following rul e changes from the FIG Code of Point s wil l apply to the 1975-79 Certification Examinat ion for Judges o f WOMEN 'S Gymn asti cs.

Landing penalties: Landing penalti es fo r all events both National Compulsory and Optional Routines Falling onto or from the apparatus Support with o ne or both hands on f loor

0.5 0.5 0.5 Fall on pelv is

Touching floor with one or both hands Falling against Jpparatu s after land ing Falling to th e knee Steps or jumps

0.3 0.5 0.5

0.1-0.2

'Distribution of Optional Exercises 10.00 Composition A. Value of elements (Diff iculties)

Superio r elements - 3 required each worth 0.6 1.80

M edium e lements - 4 required each value . 0.3 1.20

Tot al 3.00 B. Originalit y and va lue of connections 1.5 C. Value of General Composition 0.5

Compositi on Tota l 5.00 Execution A . Executio n and amplitude of movement 4.0 B. General Impress io n 1.0

5.0 Height of Vaulting Horse applies tq USGF Age Gro up, Program Jr. Divisi o n 1.20m

1.20m Sr. Division Children 's Di visio n 1.10m opt. to 1.20m

Value of following vaults Layout stradd le and stoop Layout squat Cartwheel

GYMNAST Dec. '75

8.5 8.0 9.0

Handspr ing 9.2 Yamashita 9.4 Car twh(,(,1 with I, turn 9.4 WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE HECHTVAULT, ALL OTHER VAU LTS MUST HAVE M IN IMUM OF V2 TWIST TO BE CLASS IFIED AS A 10.00 pt. VAULT. Horse Vault All vaults must be performed w ith p lacement of the hands on the ho rse (wh ich is) placed sideways. For compulso ry VJ ults as we ll as opti ona l vaults, the gymnast is all owed to execute 2 va ults. Th e best one count s. Fo r optional VJ ult s, the two va ults must be different. In the final s, the gymnast m ust perform 2 different va ult s, one wit h at least Vl turn (180) around the lo ngitudinal ax is or the w idth (transverse axi s). Both va u lts must have th e value of 10.00 pts. An extra run (app roach) is all owed fo r both vaults, in th e co nditi o n that th e gymnast has not · touched the horse. If th e hor;e is touched, th e attempt is considered a VJu lt. The difficult y of the va ult is fi xed accord ing to the annexed sca le. The compulsory va ult is always worth 10.00 pts. If the vau lt executed is not shown in the tab le, the terminology must be se nt to the Pres ident of the Techni ca l Comm ittee o ne month prior to the competition . w ith a co py to the Secretary.

Place of the Coach Th e pla ce of the COJch is bes ide the land ing. It is forbidden for the coach to be between th e board and the ho rse, to put a hand o n the horse or to make signs/ signa ls to th e gym nast up until she begins. General faults (valid for all 5 groups) 1. Of the 12 va ult s executed by th e team, 6 may be identi ca l. If thi s to ta l is exceeded the deductions for th e team w ill be each t ime 0.3 2.1 he executed vau lt not corresponding to the indicated member (Ed . believe this to be typo ... sho uld redd, " number" ) 0.5 3. If the gymnds t execu tes onl y one vau l in th e final; 1.00 4. 1 he gymnasts fails to execute a vau lt w ith a turn in th e fin ,ll s o r executes one of the vau lts under the vdlue o f 10.00. Deduction 1.00 5. If the gynllldst executes th e sa me va ult twice during th e find ls. Ded uction 1.00 6. Coach between th e board and th e horse

0.50 7. 1 hE' cOdch to uches t he horse 0.30 8. Aid of the coach du ring the vault

Vo id Vau lt

First Flight Phase 1. Trajectory insufficien t acco rdin g to the technique of the va ult up to 0.5 2. Body piked up to 0.5 3. Leg; bent o r apart transve rse ly o r late rall y

Support 1. Too long a support 2. Support w ith arched body 3. Arms slightl y ben t 4. Arms complet ely bent

Second flight phase

up to 0.5

0.2 0.3 0.2 1.0

1. Insuffi cient height up to 1.50 2. I nsu fficie nt ex tensio n of body before landing

3. Bad directi on 4. Bad form (Legs bent , apart sidewa ys)

Specific Faults

up to 0.50 up to 0.50

lengthwise or up to 0.50

Group I Vaults at the horizontal, # 1 and 2

1. Body under horizontal in first fli ghtphase up to 1.00

2. Body complete ly bent up to 0.50 3. A lternate ; uppor t 0.30 4. Lack 0 1 repu lsion 0.50 5. Tou ching horse wit h the feet up to 0.50

Group II Vaults by handstand support Yamashita #2 and #3 1. Body piked 0.30 2. Altern at e ; upport o r repul sio n 0.30 3. Body arched or ang led at th e level of th e hips in second fligh t up to 0.50 4. Insuff icient bend ing (pi king) of the body

0.50 Group III Vaults necessitating turns around longitudinal ax is (;;5-18) 1. Body arched in first flig h t 2. Turn beginning too soo n 3. Turn not fi ni shed 4. Bad form duri ng th e turn Group IV: Vaults n ecessitating the horizontal axis (#19-21 )

up to 0.30 up to 0.30

0.50 up to 0.50

turns around

1. Bod y insuffi cient tucked o r piked 0.30 2. Techni ca l fau lt s of th e tur ns 0.30 3. Legs apart during the turn 0.20 Group V Vaults necessitating combinations of turns around one or more axes of the body ;#22-29) 1. Support incorrec t 0.30 2. Turn beginning too ea rl y 0.30 3. Turn fini shing too late 0.50 4. Body insuffi cient ly tucked or piked 0.30 5. Legs apar t during the turn 0.20 General Faults and Faults specif ic to the apparatus that have changed Aid by the coach during th e exe rcise 1.0 Aid by t he coach upon landing 0.5 Presence by th e coac h o n th e pod ium during the exe rcise (bot h bea m and f loo r) 0.5 Coach tou ching appa ratus dur ing th e exe rci se

0.3 Coach between th e board and the horse 0.5 Coach stand ing betwee n the bars or passing under the low bar 0.5 Coach blocks view of the judges 0.3 Using supp lementary support to rega in position o n bar 0.5 Regainin g support wi th out su pplementary support on bJr 0.3 Competitor leJving competition area w itho ut permi ss ion o f the head judge n.S Floor Exercise Hands touch floor for balance 0.3 Hands supported on the floor for ba lance 0.5 Not end ing w ith music 0.3 Piani st aids gymnast 0.2 each time Beginn ing 01 exerci se mi ssed by persona l er ro r

0.5 Fault in rhythm 0. 2 each tim e On Floor Exercise aer ial ca rtw hee ls and walkovers must be done in a continuous se ri es of 2 or more w ithout ex tra steps to be consid ered ; uper io r difficulty. Balance Beam Hand support to maintain ba lance Hand tou ch to mJintain ba lalice Foot against side of beam CERTIFICATION EXAM AT THE CONGRESS

0.5 0.3 0.2

USGF

A Certifi ca ti on Examinati on wi ll be given at the Congress on Sunday afte rn oon. This is a " golden opportuni ty" fQr those w ho wa nt to test ea rl y in th e sea~o n. Pre-reg istra tion , indicating the level of tes t (C lass I, II , o r III ), must be se nt to Delene Darst, 7678 Cathedral Hill Road, CincinnJt i, Oh io 45244. It is necessary that yo u include yo ur current ra tin g and to indi ca te th e level of th e exa mination you plan to take.

47

World "Games - Varna '75 -

Full In Full "Out

Veronin Vault - Wolfgang Thune, West Germany

48 GYMNAST Dec. '75

GYMNAST Dec. '75 49

BE~EI1B~H •

I'~)~-:.~ It r =

i. II!.! ..................••..... . BEAT SWING ACTION IN GYMNASTICS:

: By Jerry Calkin , Ph .D. : : Men's gymnastics coach : Eastern Kentucky Univ. • ••.....................................•• Comments on BEAT SWING ACTION

IN GYMNASTICS Dr. Calkin's article is exposition of the

results of study of mechanical principals, and includes the very important generalization of the results of particular studies to inferen­ces about additional moves_ This is the sort of consideration that should give readers a lot to think about.

We are not, and Dr. Calkin does not, advocating that performers adopt beat swings for everything. Rather the advantages in execution must be balanced against the possible disadvantages in appearance.

Over the weekend of 12 September, this was one of the topics presented to the First International Symposium on Biomechanics, Gymnastics and Judging, and there I had a chance to watch others thrash out these ideas. So it might be well to mention a few things that were mentioned at the Sympos· ium.

First, it is not necessary that the beat be executed with pike at the hips. It is entirely possible and often preferred to use a smooth curve of the lIpper body rather than an angular curve. :.

Secand, the beat swing can be considered from an energy point of view, as follows. A hollow downswing shows very little difference compared with a straight downswing if shoulder position is unchanged. In fact the kinetic energy just before bottom is almost identical. But if for some ' reason the hollow downswing allows the performer to more naturally sink and thrust on the bars, then there will be a great increase in the energy stored in the apparatus, and returned to the

'performer in rise on the upswing. Evidence suggests that the hollow drop does increase the effectiveness of the sink/ thrust action.

HJB

This article is a write-up of a paper presented at the USGF Convention in Chicago in November 1974. I wish to apo logize for being so late with this write-·Jp. The press of "other things" has kept this on my work due file all too long. I mu st say that this write up w ill 'also be somewhat " up-d ilted" 50 it w ill go a little beyond the original presentation.

Before we launch off into thi s rather esoteric topic, I want to see i f we can locate this topic on the broad map o f gymnastics. Looking at gymnasti cs as a who le, I think I can identify four vital entities. Three aptitudes, and one driving force.

This driving force is discipline. If I had to identify a single most important element it would be discipline. I don't know if the most

50

I

j

successful gymnasts bring discipline to the activity or whether gymnastics develops discipline. At any rate, d iscipline, important as it is, is not the topi c of this paper. We leave this topic in the capab le hands, of Millman, Massimo, Hinds and o th ers who have a better understanding of basic behavior than I do.

The three aptitudes are: st rength, flexability, and something we shall ca ll spacia l or ientation for want of il better term. These are all aptitudes we would like asp iring gym nasts to walk in with, their first day in th e gym. We would like them to be as strong as bulls, as flexable as uncooked pretzels and to have a complete awareness of th eir spa cial orientation at all times. Unfortunately, thi s is not th e case and coal h('~ dml gymnasts spend a great deal of time deve loping these aptitudes. We leave the di sl u;, ion of these apt itudes to those who have a grea t dedi more ex pertise than I.

The third apt itude leads to four entities that fall in the scope of biomechanics. These are balance, blocking, twisting and beat swing acting. I mainta in that almost everything we evaluate i I] gymnastics is o ne of th ese actions or a combination of two or more of them. It is in this general area that ou r top ic falls.

We are not going to talk about balance and blocking. We leave the area of twisting to Jack Biesterfeldt and George Henry. The area we want to talk about is beat sw ing act ion.

We have done a ci nemegraphic analysis that was made over a tin y part of this area. We wish, however, to use this as a spring board to explore th e who le area of beat swings throughout men's gymnastics.

There will be no attempt to apply this beat action concept to women 's gym nast ics. This is because th e author is ba sica lly unfamiliar with the women 's events. I believe, however, that it

/

will be easy fo r those fam iliar with these events to see th e appli cat ion.

I should say at this point that this is not a " how to do it " type paper. A grea t deal more research must be done to determine more precisely th e detail ed nature of optimum beat action. Therefore, we w ill concern ourselves with the " overall " view of beat action in order to understand its importa nce and the unity of gymnasti c movement.

For thi s study we had a gymnast swing to a handstand in two different ways. (See Figure 1 & 2) In the half beat swing the gymnast swings downward with a slight pike. He drives his heels to the bottom of th e swing. This puts his body in an arch position wh ich is then carr ied to the top of the swing.

In the fu ll beat swing the gymnast starts in the same Wily but on t he upward swing he breaks from the arch positi o n to a very slight pike.

Film ~ we re tJken of both of these and by aid of computered mechanical ana lys is was made to detl'rm ine mechanical properties of each (forces, torques, angu lar velocities, etc.). As ' might be expected, numerical values were almost ident ica l for the fu ll beat and the half beat lor th e first hJlf of th e swing. In the second half of th e sw ing there were only two' ,significant differences. First, in the full beat there was less latera l displacement of the center of gravity. Second ly, and much more importantly , there was a greater Y component of the force with full beat.

The reaction of gym nas'ts who try this both with a full and a half beat is always the same. " Hey, coach , it 's a lot easier to hit the handstand with th e fu ll beat." This is because with the full beat there is a greater lifting action and not so much force tending to swing the feet

GYMNAST Dec. '75

ovenoo far. THI S IS A KEY ACTIO N OF THE BEAT ACTION - LIFT, o r, more precise ly, translating rotati onal " swing" motion (around the shoulders) to linea r " li ft " motion.

Now let us con sider a forwa rd giant sw ing on the horizontal bar. If this move is done w ith a full beat there is a sli gh t pik ing of the body (tail lead) on the down swi ng. Th e gymn as t th en drives the heels through th e botto m f irst go ing to a sli ght arch. On th e upwa rd part of the swing th e body is p iked aga in (t hi s tim e more sharply). Finall y, th e heels are driven over the bar first , bringing the body to a straight to slightl y arched positi on just before the top -how much before depends on the movement to follow. (See Figure 3)

This move can be done w ith a half beat in o ne of two ways. First, th ere is the ha lf beat where the body is only piked on the upwa rd swing and is arch ed on th e down swin g. (See Figure 4) This action is often seen at hi gh schoo l meets. A lso, we occasionally see the other ha lf beat. Here, the pike action is done on the down swing and the arch is carr ied from th e bottom right over the top . (See Fi gure 5)

These three styles illustrate something of fundamen ta l importance. While we sometimes see a full beat and somet imes see o ne of the other of th e half beats we never see the move done with no bea t. This is because it is impossible to do it w ith no beat. (Yes, I know you could coa st through a giant swing w ith no beat once yo u have the mo mentum and you could get ove r by spreadi ng your legs, but from a practica l se nse yo u need a bea t. )

Now let us con sider th e rearward giant swing on the horizontal bar. Aga in , thi s move ca n be done with a full (Sec Figure 6) or a half beat (See Figure 7). We very commonly see th e hall bea t with beginners. At th is po int one ca n easi ly see

GYMNAST Dec. '75

\

\

that this same bea t act io n ca n be app li ed to th e swing movem ents on th e rings.

Now con sider a fu ll beat back toss on the parallel bars. (See Figure 8) This sty le was effectively used by Klimenko in his back toss. Perhaps he even over emphas ized the beat action .

It is fairly obvio us that beat sw ing action pervades para ll el bar, hi gh bar and ring wo rk but beat swin g act ion in floo r exe rcise is not quite so ev ident. Let us look at two moves which at f irst glance wou ld appea r to be very dissimilar. Ba ck handspr ing on th e floo r and rearward giant swing o n the ho ri zontal bar.

By looking at figure 9, we ca n see that in both of these moves th e gymnast starts wit h a stra ight body (relati vely so) and goes to a pike, an arch, back to the pike, and final ly back to th e straight body positi on. W hil e th e amount o f p ike and arch are different , and th e spac ial positioning is different the gross body action is the same.

Let us look at th e back somersa ult done w ith a pike and tu ck. Look ing at figure 10, we ca n see th e piked back sommie is an exacuated beat action . We Cdn ca rry this execution to its log ica l extreme by bend ing th e knees and get a tucked back sommie. (See Figure 11 ). Of cou rse whe n vaulting is considered, we see that even in·'al is event there is th e pike, arch, p ike action .

" Okay" you say, " Wh at about the pommel horse?" Yes, the re is bea t sw ing act ion o n the pommel horse too. If we look stra ight down at the horse from th e top w hil e a gymnast is doing double leg circl es, we see there is a piking and extend ing act ion as th e gymnast passes over th e end of th e horse. Th is, however, is combined with a very stro ng lea nin g and blocki ng actio n from , ide tu side and forwa rd to backward and is abo (oilluined w ith two V2 twists during each

10

11

swing so th,lt o ne co rnp lete circle o n the horse corre,pond5 with doing V2 forwa rd and V2 rearward giant swing on the hori zontal bar during the sa me swing. When we understand the extreme complexity of the basic swing on the pommel horse as compared to the other events, it is easy to understand why it is the downfall of so many all-around men. A lso, while some bea t act ion is mechanical obligatory on the other eve nts, on the pommel horse it wou ld be possible to swing double leg circles perfectl y straigh t w ith no beat act io n . This, of course, wou ld require great physical strength on th e part o f the gymnast.

Finally, we must remember that it is possible, perhaps even desireable to do many · movements with a Vl beat or ve ry little beat at all. There is no questi o n in my mind that a full beat is the mechani ca ll y most efficient way to do most moves. But , we do not necessa rily always want to do th e move in the most mechan ically eff icie nt way. For exa mple, giant swings on th e H-Bar wou ld be more efficient if the gymnast bent hi s knees o n the upward part of the swing, but this would ruin the esthetic qualit ies of the move.

I feel that th e bes t swing action is efficient and estheti c. That is, th e gymnast by way of his flexibilit y, strength and precise timing has a very subtle beat act io n so that his movements are efficient and sti ll es theti c.

We have now seen how beat swing action pervad es all of gymnast ics . If we add balance, blocking, and twi st ing acti viti es, that's all there is - from a m echanica l point of v iew. The three aptitud es, strengt h, f lex ibility, and spacial awareness mere ly provide th e gymnast with the tools to do these mechanica l things. And discipline provid es th e gym nast with the driving force to use his equipment.

51

COMPOSITION FOR FLOOR EXERCISE AND BEAM General Points To Be Aware Of

o

By Carole Leidtke FIG Rated Judge

USGF Region V Chairman

,4 "~"ttfd( ~ ~r 1. The coac h shou ld find the gymnast's weak

and st ro ng points so that poorl y executed skills ca n be deleted o r cove red up and strong points empha sized. For exampl e: a. gymnast has upper back st iffness on the left side, therefore walkovers Jnd handsprings are twisted, she should use tinsica and one arm elements instead. b. lacks leg extension and knees bend, so use stJg leaps and bent leg dance. c. a tendency to work fiat-footed , so use abstract fle xed feet ddnce. d . a very good split ca n be emphasized during wa lkovers by starting or ending with leg raised high and with high kicks. e. very fl ex ible shou lders cou ld be shown off by doing a wa lkover to sit on floor, leaving hands on bea m or floor , or front walkover to both knees. f. powerful punch wou ld look good in mount er type elemen ts and high suspended jumps and leaps. But weak points must always be work ed on and not just compensated for and no ne of the types of skills shou ld be ove rdone wit h monotony being avoided.

2. Choose sty les and moods to be expressed whit h lit the gymnast's personality (a more seriou s girl should do classical ballet and slower, strong tumbling; a gigg ly tiny girl could do cute melodramatic dance and quick tumbling; .I mo re ex trove rt girl would show off expre ss ive ja ZL and " sell" her routine with dramatic ex pression and unique tumbling combinations) . However, va ri at ion of many styles could be use'd if it can be performed effective ly.

3. Choose the difficu lty elements to be used that can be execu ted we ll or th at the gymnast can fea sibly learn and can build to better combinations. The ro utine should include mdn y of th e fo ll owing: Sportive rhythmics (su pple movement, body waves and rotation s, wdlks, runs, hops, jumps, leaps (minimum o ne large on beam or.2 deduction), turns (mimi mum one full turn on beam or .2 deductio n); Acrobatics (rolls, wheels, slow turnovers, spr ings); Dance (ballet, modern, jazz, et hni c, folk, melodramatic); Tumbling. Try to choose as much difficulty as possible, avoiding all of th e "easiest" elements.

4. Ma ke up some original movements. These could be In acrobatic element, dance step, variation of a basic move, different tumbling combination or unique connection' of dance and tumb ling. It shou ld be unique, surprising

52

and interesting ,1Ild done w ithout too much prepJr'lIion. Ri sk wi ll also add to the va lue of the routine, but the gymnast must be able to perform the skill safely and smoothly.

5. Check th,1I there is no repetition of the sa me c lement , hand, head or body position ; unless, it is specifically for an eyecatching purpose or to refl ec t a type of move. But, don 't overdo it. The Sd me trick o r element should not be repeated more than three times in a row (-.1) with the except io n of the flic flac. Th e element is considered different if it is va ried , started or fini shed differentl y.

6. Use v.ni,llions of : a. 1 empo - th e speed and rhythm should va ry

from slow, medium and fast. Check that the movements .Ire not heavy, but light and show continuit y w ith ve ry few stops. Beam requires no more thdn three stops with .2 deduction for each extrd one or stops before or after acrob,lIic tri cks. Change from sharp to soft with smooth con nect ions, not always being abrupt. The skill technique should have the proper rh ythm , such JS a ca rt wheel being hand, hand, foot , foot (1-2-3-4) . For floor the music is very impo rtant. It IllUSt be o ne instrument or 1.0 deduction (e lectric piano, accordian, and organ not dll owed) and be suitable to the girl and her type of movements. The music may begin before th e gym na st moves, but they must end together. The movements should follow the rhythm dnd mood of the music.

b. Body level dnd change of center of gravity The movements shou ld vary between low,

med ium ,!rH.1 high positions and elements. One should have .I low section (roll around the floor kind of thing) or two short low parts. In general good 'Implitude must show a ri se in the center of gra vit y dnd foot moveme nts should be on th e toe. :,kill s illUSt be done in good technical alignment wi th th e center of gravity (walkover shou ld hdve ships square; shoulders square; hands pldced parallel ; hips, shoulders, and head in line; legs in straight perpendicular line).

(. Direction - Check for many changes from up, down , forward, backward, side and use th es€' to form Jll interesting pattern that covers a II 01 the are,1. ru m co rn ers or change direction with smooth co nnection s so they don't look abrupt. Chdnge th e head focus frequently and be sure the tumbling is aligned .

d. Di stributi on and Combination of Elements The gymndst must ha ve a minimum of 3

superior,> (.6 eJch) and 4 mediums (.3 each), and a minimulll of 7 elements (superiors may repla( e mediums). There may be more elemen ts but if JII are superior there wi ll be an added deduct ion of up to .3 for lack of structur,1I groups. A se ries of repeated skills without .I stop is o ne superior , unless it contains elemenl'> of different structures (such as a roundoff drdb idn front flip, ca rtwheel, flic flac, bat k flip ) which w ill count as 2superiors but no more. I ret' ex mu st contain two acrobatic series (.2 deduction for each o ne missing). The mount and di smount dnd part s should not be identica l to any compulsory and the mount and dismount should be up to the level of the rest of th e routine(.2). Elements must reach the ideal of technique dnd form for no deduction and should be p i .Iced progressively throughout and increa'>e in difficult y at th e end. Elements should '> tem frolll a different base (not all back type , etc.) ,md combin e dance to dance, dance to tumbling , tumblin g to tumbli ng . The routine should stdrt dyndmicall y but end even stronger with b,l sic,lll y three tumbling combinations or ser ies. I:lements should be connected purpose ly so that the re are no pla in steps to prepare for th e nex t movement nor abrupt stop,> or chdnges of direction. For examp le on beam, run on mount to immediate cat leap V2 turn, lull tum o n back leg, swing free leg to one arm cartwheel, land side ward to latera l body wave.

e. 1 ype of movement and body position -Check lor vJ riatio ns of soft an d floating (dream like), ndtu ral and sharp movements and look for vdriety in body positions, not just diflerences in drm and leg positions.

f. 1 ime - I·or floor ex 1 :00 - 1 :30 and for beam 1 :15 - 1 :35.

7. M,lke sure th e gymnast lik es every move and have her inovate arm and body movements and help mdke up elements and comb inations as much .IS possible so that she feels it is her routine dnd w ill appreciate it more.

8. Di ,>c uss genera l impressio n with the gymna" t ~ in ce it can be wo rth 1.0. Th is category invo lves th e eJse and beauty of the movement, man ner , coo rdin ation , poise, rhythm, radi ance, security, good posture, suitabi lity of the exercise to th e girl , neatness and appeJrance . performance with expression , gra( e, dyndmic movement, use of hands a'nd head. presentdtion, and th e overall feeling expre,,,ed by the gymnast.

GYMNAST Dec. '75

A POSITIVE APPROACH TO GYMNASTICS

By June Dussia

If you have been teaching gymn as ti cs, o r anything else, yo u pro bablY have already used many o f th e principl es termed behavio r modifica ti on techniques.

Through experi ence, we as teachers lea rn w hat moti va tes a stu dent bes t continuing and expan d ing th ese techniques to p roduce th e best result s.

Before going into the spec ifi cs, let's def ine some bas ic terms and co ncepts.

Behavior modification is simpl y a se ri es o f techniques to influ ence behav io r. Behavior is a result of its consequences. Idea ll y we want to substitute positi ve behavio r fo r nega tive behavio r. How? By using mo ti va to rs such as : words, touch, no n-ve rbal cues, acti viti es an d lastl y, ta ngib le rewards.

Studi es have been conducted to determin e what perce ntage o f ed uca tors wish to pro mo te a positive environment and how ma ny actu all y do so. Ninety eight pe rcent sa id th ey wished to do so, but o nl y five to ten percent we re obse rved as actu all y do ing it.

Our soc iety is gea red to a nega tive app roach . For exa mple, a po lice man won 't stop to tell yo u how good or courteous a d ri ve r yo u are, but you w ill enco unt er hi m qui ck ly w hen yo u are engaged in " inapp ro priate behavio r " .

M ore speci fi ca ll y in a class room situati o n, it is the pupil w ho is di sturbing th e cl ass no t do ing hi s wo rk o r parti c ipatin g in o th er "o ff tas k" bahav ior th at gets th e teacher's attentio n. In a trampo line cl ass, th e student w ho does th e skill co rrectl y on the first att empt is to ld " th at's co rrect - good," but his turn is termin ated after his first attempt. The slower o r inattenti ve student executes i t inco rrectl y, so he is given a correc ti o n and asked to try aga in and perh aps a third time and maY be even a fourth o r fif th t ime. Since the students wan t long turn s, we are ac tually rewa rd ing an inappropri ate respo nse and pu nishing an app ropri ate one.

If the teacher ca n lea rn to correctl y pa i r approva l and disa pprova l w ith appropriate and inappropriate responses th ey would increase their teaching effecti ve ness co nsiderabl y. Thi s is no t always as obv io us as i t may seem surface ly.

Illustra tin g thi s cl ear ly is th e case of a child w ho grea tl y res pects and admires hi s fat her. The fath er is very bu sy and doesn't have much tim e to spend w ith his child . When the child misbehaves the fa th er, being th e di sc ip lina ri an in th e house ho ld is ca ll ed upon to administe r the spanking. Thi s might comp ri se eigh ty per cent of t he interacti o n the fa ther has w ith th e child . 1 he chil d soon lea rn s th at misbehav ing equals att enti on and since he des ires attentio n it is a reward w hil e the fat her mistakenl y think s it is a pUlli shment. 1 he onl y person w ho ca n determine if an interac ti on is a rewa rd o r puni shm ent , is th e pe rson who is receiving it , i.e., th e chil d in thi s case.

Th ose coac hes w ho have com peti t ive teams are fa mili ar w ith the tempermental yo un g fe male gymnast w ho cr ies at meets. She is promptl Y give n th e attenti on o f her coac h w ith perhaps an arm arou nd the shoulder and wo rd s of comfort. H ere we are rein fo rcing

GYMNAST D ec. ' 75

inappropriate be havio r w ith three fo rms of reinforcemen t: wo rds, to uch and no nverba l cues. This behav io r, it may be no ti ced, is more p reva lellt amo ll g teenage girl s w ith ma le coac hes. They vie lo r his att en tio n and th ey get it. You ca n also eas il y d raw pa rall e ls to coach and stud en t attitu des o n injuri es.

The first th illg d teacher o r coac h mu st do is decide w hat is app ropriate and inappropri ate behavior and then w hat consti tutes approva l and di sa pprova l. A teacher is usuall y highl y

respected and a very busy person w hose tim e is always at a prem ium. Therefore, they mu st rea li ze that any all e llti on th ey give a stud ent is rewa rd ing. W hat must we do th en to res tructure th e negative co ncept th at has been p romo ted in schoo ls gyms and society in general? The contro l is in our hands sin ce we are the ad mi nistrato r of th e rewa rds. We must intently search fo r good behavio r and rewa rd it w it h attent ion. Fo r exa mple, ten stud ents are lined up across the ma t doing headstands. Instead of saying, "Ca ro l, po int your toes", say, " Jan, your fo rm is bea utiful - you have such nice po inted toes" and yo u w ill immed iately see nine ot her se ts o f toes po in tin g.

Thi s is such a simple concept but it 's not being used. Check yo urself. Have someone reco rd how many approva ls and d isapprova ls you give du rin g a sess io ll. The rati o should be fo ur approva ls for eve ry di sa pprova l to be co nsidered a pos iti ve atm osphere.

We are ac tu all y lazy. Take the co rrecti o n th at is give n perhaps most o ft en in a lesson and th at is the co rrec ti o n of form. Do yo u say, " your knees are bent ", and request th e stu dent to decode th e comment and have to send th e message to the b rain as "s traighten your legs" in order to ma ke an approva l response o r do yo u do the decoding and say to yourse lf, " I obse rve tha t her legs are bent, so I w ill tell her to straighten her legs so she ca n execute th e skill prope rl y."

Returnin g to our f ive basic rein fo rcers, le t us li st some spec if ic ways we ca n utili ze them in the gym :

1. Words - A since re and en thusias ti c " th at 's grea t", "su per ", "exactl y, " "go t it " , o r any word o r phrase yo u fee l co mfo rtable usi ng ca n do mo re to mo ti va te the stu den t th an p rodd ing co mplaining, bera ting, ri d iculing o r sa rcasm. A teacher may ge t resul ts w ith th e latt er techniques occasionall y, bu t instea d o f pro mo ting good behav io r fo r pos it ive reinfo rce ment we are rewa rd ing th e student by esca ping ri d icul e etc. w hi ch is a nega ti ve practi ce.

2. Closeness or touch - Ou r society generall y shys away fro m to uching except in fa mily o r intimate relati o nships. Perh aps this magnifi es even greate r th e signifi ca nce of a pat o n th e head, a to uch on the shoulder, a clas p o f th e arm to show approva l. Touch o f course sho uld be used d iscriminately, but it sho uld be used.

3. Non-verbal - A nod o f the hea d, a wi nk of the eye, an okay sign - a smile, ca n all be used to signify approva l. Lik ewise, a frown, furrowing of the eyebrows, shaking th e head - po inting th e finger, etc. ca n be used to signify disa pprova l.

4. Activities - A n ext ra tu rn at th e apparatu s, th e opport unit y to pe rform at a show, a chance to co mpete in an away meet are all ac ti v iti es th at are at yo ur disposa l to give or w ithho ld as contingencies fo r app ropriate o r inappropri ate ' behavio r.

5. Tangible Rewards - Th ese are perh aps th e most obv ious and wi dely used - - a check-o ff on a prog ress chart , start s on a wa ll chart , ri bbo lls. trophies , etc.

1 he teJc her sho uld rccog niLc th at Ilo t Jll int eracti o n could o r sho uld be positi ve. There mu st be some nega ti ve to make th e pos iti ve signi fican t. also no di scr imi na ti on is lea rn ed if onl y approva l is give n.

W hen dea ling w ith a specifi c beha vio r prob lem, th e fo ll ow ing procedure should be used:

1. Pinpoint - specify the behavio r th at is to be changed or eli m inated. Dea l onl y in obse rvab le and meas urabl e behav io rs - no t intangibl es.

2. Record - kee p an accurate reco rd in time interva ls of respo nses.

3. Consequate - Li st yo ur con tin gen cies (a tt enti o n, touch, stars, ribbo ns, ac ti viti es, e tc.)

4. Evaluate - compare befo re and alter behavio rs to de termine effecti ve ness.

Fo ll ow ing is an exa mpl e o f a gen era l o b se rva ti on fo rm t aken fr o m Parents / Children / Discipline / A Positive Approach, by Ma dse n and M adsen. (A ll yn and Bacon, Pu bli shers) ham pili 9

Pinpoint : Complai fling . (8-yea r-old girl)

Record : Complaints ;werOlgo:d <)U'; of the time fol!\w. ing par~'nla l a~:'lgn­me nl of any lask. (Do I have 10 now? I'm too tired. Can"' I do something I want? 1 hale thai job anyway. e lc.)

Consequ:lte : Each complain t resulted in addition of on~ more assigned [ask Ch ild assigned ci!!ht ~'X l r;1 jobs lir~1 da y (normal asslgnm.:nl two) . Mother ma n er-of-factly stated. " 1 am ~vrry thai )ou ha\'c to do another job. but when you complain you get one more ."

E\'a luale : Afte.r three days average number of eura jobs dectined to one pe r day. Six monlhs fo llow-up indicalcd ii\'e rage of 2.3 jobs per day ( mother's records) .

Not.: : Mother reported a sli£hl relapse Ol ft er three months when the girl wasn't feeli ng well (one day chi ld assigned five cxlra jobs) . Mother also r.:poned that the girl cont inue~ to recei\e mone~ for her jobs and no eAlra al lowance. T he authors concur ill t his philosophy as Ihey think th at money pa id for gelling seve n d ays olde r is a very weak contingency, indeed .

Gene,ol Obletvol io n FO/m

~~~:.~;;~:£::~~; 4:;;, T un,' III ,>t>s. --..J.:ff_ ~..Il-:--7ft.:. __ _

1 1 "'· I\\ il l..:"nduCI ~M,·t>~'·f\·Jli ' 1I1~ p<-'r,~:fJ:'~L~ ( \" ry (~l (,'r '1~~ "'-(" T,' c,'n, <!.qu:lI inf IJI;:,,~ pIa..:.:.

Repr oduced from pare nts/Childre nlPiscipl i ne, Madsen a nd Ma dsen. Albyn and Bacon.

Thi s book is st ro ngly recommended fo r a very reada ble ex pl anat io n of behav io r modifica ti on in i ts practi ca l appli cati on. Al so Teaching / Discipline, by Madse n and M adse n, A ll yn and Bacoil , Publi shers.

It is tru e that reco rd keeping may be time co nsumi ng and ce nso rin g o ur auto matic, nega ti ve comments and reconve rtin g th em to pos itive o nes takes effo rt , but o nce you m ake th e decisio n to embark upon a behav ior modifica ti on plan and fo llow thro ugh you will meet success almost eve ry tim e.

53

----------------------• •

THE UNIFIED TERMINOLOGY THE MOST POWERFUL AID

TO TEACHING GYMNASTICS

-• •• • •• -By. O .J. Kudrnovsky ----------------------For th e bes t success in learning or coaching

gymnasti cs, on c must lea rn and master all the categori es of th e unifi ed term inology'.

To substanti ate this assumpt io n let us exemplif y the intera ction of terminology and teal hing methods: A t present, th ere are three method s used m os tl y for teaching the appalatu , , kill s. 1. lhl' lorm,d , Il1d SS teaching m ethod . 2. 1 hl' hercise ropic, horizontal plane progl {' ,>ion meth od. 3. 1 hl' Irdnsfer-training, vertical plane progll',s ioll method.

Using till' forll1a l m eth od , one instructor usua lly ,done, conducts th e entire c lass. Three or mof'{ ' IHIJ.lil s follow in g his commands or signal. p('rlorll1 Oil three o r more pieces of appal<liu , .It the sa me tim e.

Exampl(' of d lesson o n HB sho-hi. 1. Flom hg-std: un-sw.dism. 2. Jump to kip pos: fOI + ba( k-sw: di sill. 2 X. 3. From spt: back-dr. to kip po,. lor + Ihl ck-sw: dism. 2 X. 4. Kip Uprs. 5. From 'J.l t : b"ck -dr k ip uprs. 6. From hg-std: for­run via , q-hg-s td to fn-Ig-pos. 2/ 1 foot take off + kip upr,. X 1 - 6. in Terminotation:

5.

p~f

1 h€' LXl'rci se ropic m eth od refers to the prol ('duf'{' by w hi ch all appa ratu s exercises nom€'n( Idted in the terminology, are divided into tOJ.lic, o n " progressive sca le, and in relati on to th e sk ill developmen t of the indiviciudl, lor whom they are se t.

bampl(' of d lesson for one sq uad; three appal<liU': u<; ing squad ro tati on plan.

54

1. ".

"tGt 2. t$

H-B. Jump hi. 1. Hip (II -uprs

3.a·~A

0-

I.

b . A--A

2. Ba( k -hip-c ir. 3. a. 11,lI lk -v"u lt

b . IOI -v"ult

...&.-J..1.a~ 2.a. A: ..

b . -f!) c.~

II. SoH 1. a. R-I('g \i-cir.

b . R-Il'f~ lor-cir.

b .

c .

e. R-I('g , i -c ir.b-w.

* 4a'-ili :: A

2. a. R+'I -I('g lor-sq-thru -cut b . R+l - I('g bd ck-sq-thru-cut

3. ~q -\'dldt

ITJJ 1.

III. Tumbl 1. Hnci -'pl . 2. Hd-' pl . 3. Nl'( k -'PI'.

1 hl' '1Idll , lcr - tr"inin g method is based on the assumptio ll th " t J previous ly lea rned COOI ­cillldti(J1l pJt tern dnd knowledge of the way bod) produces "nd contro ls force to produce th €' d{', il I,d success o n the low level of the ski l l deH ,lopnll'll t, C,1I1 be th en transfered to the high{ '1 I( 'wl (JI th e skill d eve lopment. In other WOld ,: II" , IlIJstery of easier and simpler eX€'1 { ,,{' h, 'lps to Il1Jstery of more difficult and co mpl( ', ,'x,'rcise .

~ampl,' pr(Jcedure : All {' ''' I (' i ,, ~s in th e terminology stemmed

from th(' "mil"r bd sic skill patterns, are placed o n th(· ,lSI "llIling difficulty sca le in numerica l sequl,l"

fOI imt.lll ce : liip-cir-uprs progression palll'lfl Oil I' -Il: I. P-bMS end, outgr: Hip-cir­up". L. 1' - 1>,11" end, ingr: Hip-cir-uprs. 3, Mid­bals . ou tgr: Ilip-cir-uprs to un-a.spt. 4. Mid­baIS . Ill gl: Ilip -cir-uprs to un-a.spt. 5. Mid-bars, outgl : fllp -' ir -uprs to Spl. 6. Mid-bars, ingr.: Hip-(" -upr, to spt ; th e conclusion of this palll ' l n ' <II. 7 to Hl o r higher, cons ists sqls of inlll'a, lIlg dilli culty such as , hip-cir-uprs into va l iou, h,d ,lIl ces, <lI1d in comb ination with tUI ns. ~ <lI. Hl i, probably a top exercise in the pIOgl{ ''' 'OIl p"tl ern. Sq l. 19 is hip-cir-uprs pIOgl{ ''' ''''' I'''tlern o n th e H-B and R-R.

bl'" '" '' I. -b. ,lIld ltl.-19. in T'not:

1 • f.::\ l' ·TTC .l~ l'

2. ", Gt Tile or l'

1 hl' ,(,I ", tioll 1)1 th e beginning sql: V\ hl'1l t h ( ~ Il1Jstc ry of gymnast in this

assig nnl('llt (hip -cir-uprs progression pattern) end, up w I! h ' <11.110 .2. th en, his beginn ing sq. to be m,"t, 'r,'" is IW.]; th e mastery of sql.3. leads to ' qI.4. : tllI'l1l" stery of sql.4. leads to sqi.5., and so on. ulltil the desired sqi. is reached and ma,I{'I('d .

In ddditi(JIl, th e hip-cir-uprs progress ion palll' lll Oil P- Il led ds to hip-cir -uprs pl Ogll'"io ll 1)'llIern on H-I:! and R-R .

1 hu, 11(J lll th e hip-cir-uprs progression palll'lfl (Jil th e P-I:! , one single exe rcise pYl amlll , t(J Itl or Ino re exercises; to 3 or better on tlw H - Il. ,111( 1 II) 11 or better on the R-R. And in tot ,d.thi , "li e exe rci se leads to an incredible numb{ '1 (JI 32 '~xerc i ses , (g ive o r take a few) on Ihl €'l' pi", '" (JI JppdI'alu s.

Up-A /(B

Elb ¢ For-A ;> Hnd t:>~ Wr

7> F' In

Toe

!' = J ump to

~ = Into

+ = And

9~6 eo.. Hd

I Neck $ ~ S ho W C hest CJ Abd VI1 Hip ry Thi _0 Kn

1'f L-Leg e_· Ank I7JW Foot n;.. Heel

~ = S ho-hi

t 6.-= Jump-hi

X = Times

1 hl' "" Y t(J I efillil1otdtion and Term-short-5(1 ipt : A: 'I'd lnl. Il: bd ck + b-w.=backward, C : cil ={ "' I" . I) : di sll1 =di slllount , dr=drop, F: 101 = IOl w",,1. I 1'1 =1 I'U 11 I. I~ : H-B=horizontal bar, hd= h(',I(1. " g ="""g, hi=high, I : ingr.=inside gl ip . I. . 1,1('11 , Ig=lyi l1g. P: pos=position, 0 :' outgl ,' Olll, ' r gr ip . I{ : r=right. 5: sho=shoulder, si= sldl', ' I H='IHill g, sjJt=su pport, s=squat, sql=,(·q lll'l . , td =Sldlld, sw=swing, U: un=under,

uP"= "I" ''''. A blll'l "'v iew 01 such rer lllino logy has been

publ " llI'd ill the :'eptel nber issue of Gymnast.

G YMNAST Dec. '75

"FEELIN" OF A GYMNASTIC COACH By Gene Stowe

Chris stood on th e beam in that semi-relaxed, but erec t, elega nt way that is typi ca l of the reall y talented gymnast and as ked me, " Shal l I throw it by myse lf Mr. Stowe? " Well , I sa id to myse lf, there i t is. The big question, and boy, are you on th e hot ~eat... if you can ' t make these kind of deci sions I .guess you had just better drop out of coaching right no~ .

Chris has thrown a back handspring on the that 4 inch w ide beam over and over with minimum spotting, ac tuall y, no spotting at all reall y. Ju st being the re ready to catch in case of a bad throw. She wants the tri ck , you want her to have it , she knows that she ca n do it and yo u know she can do it. A gy mnast of Chris' ability can throw almost perfect back handspr in gs evert ime, the catch is, is she ready menta lly to throw th e trick? I think she is ready, yea h, I'm really quite sure o f her, but what about me? Am I ready to take th e responsibility of say ing to her, " Go ahead Chr is, throw it. ", then stepping ba ck, completel y back away from the beam and watch ing her throw a trick, a dangerous tr ick, a trick that if not do ne properly, if panick str ikes in th e middle, if sweaty palms slip, cou ld res ult in a ve ry se riou s injury?

I am a retired Air Force off icer, marri ed w ith three children , 42 years o ld. I have been in combat. I ha ve held responsible positions for Years. I am used to making decisions th at may have far reaching effects upon other peop le. I have worked as a Safety Enginee r in our space program. I work wit h high explosives, high press ure gas sYs tems, ex tremel y toxic poi sionous liquids, liquid mater ials so co ld that they co uld freeze a human bod y almost instantaneously. I have been respon sible for establishing safe ty rul es and criteria for personnel working in th ese sys tems. I'm used to mak ing decisions, it 's my job.

I know that Chris has been thinkin g about thi s move for a long time. She has developed a reall y elega nt bea m routin e, but needs one more hi gh diffi cult y move in the routin e for her to brea k out of th e 8's and into th e magic 9's. Several judges have spoken wi th me abou t it and Chri s and I have discu ssed it at length. Even though Chri s wa s really up tight about a beam ba ck handspring we d ec ided togeth er that it was the tri ck that she reall y had to ha ve. From

CYMNAST Dec. '75

the first time she threw thr·trick i t was apparent to me that she cou'ld do the trick easil y, she never reall y had a problem w ith it except th at she was rea ll y afra id of that backward, blind throw. Chris and I talked it over agai n and I fin all y suggested, as gently as poss ible, that we should stop work on it and try and come up with something else. Chris rej ected the suggestion hot ly and declared that she wan ted the move bad ly and by golly she was going to get it , she would just have to overcome her fea r. We con tinued the work. Now, judging from her just asked quest io n, " Shall I 'throw it by mysel f Mr. Stowe? " , it would appear that she has succeeded. I feel quite sure that if I give the go ahead Chr is wi ll attempt th e tri ck.

Everyone on the team has been encouraging Chris, they rea ll y want her to have this tri ck. They all kno w how hard she has worked and how afraid of the move she was wh en she first start ed to learn it. I know also that Ch ri s feel s a great responsibility to the less experienced girls on the team. She is aware that they all look to her for leade rship. If she gets the back handspring it will be an inspiration totheother members of the team . Right now, it 's quiet in the gym for a change, all of th e girls are stand ing aroun d watch ing and waiting to see what I wiil say and Chris w ill do.

I have neve r . ha d a girl throw a ba ck handspring or an aerial on the beam. I have onl y been coaching for two years and Chris is my very fir st, really fin e gymnast. I wonder, does the pressure that I am feeling right now eve r go away? Does a coach ever fee l co mpl etel y comfortable making th ese kind of decisions? Does that]ut wrench ing, heart pounding. knee knocking, dry mouthed fee ling every get any better? I's'so quiet in th e gym that I ca n hear th e clock ti ck. Inside my hea d there are a million questions screeching' around.

I look up at Chri s and say, " Honey, yo u ha ve the trick solid , go on and throw it :'" I step ba ck with my pounding hea rt and dry mouth and watch Chris throw th e most beautiful handspring I have ever seen. She jumps off th e bea m laugh ing happi ly and says, " I knew I cou ld do it '"

And that 's the secret. ..

Two 16" x 20" original prints by John P. Dickson of this photograph were given to the Romanian Olympic gymnastic team by the Oregon coach whi­le they were visiting in Eugene.

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II SENIOR

GYMNASTICS

By John Magginetti

SENIOR PSYCHOLOGY Why, in an international magazine, directed

toward readers involved with competing gymnasts, is there space for a non competitor article? Why are there non-competing gymnasts? The sport is one of the most demanding both physically and mantally the adult can take up. And yet, each gym, each city, has senior gymnasts. What drives the gymnast that has used his coll ege eligibility! Why does a man or woman with children and jobs with . other forms of gratification, find themselves in the gym severa l nights a month?

After rece iving several letters from readers around the country, I have come to realize that the senior gymnasts are out there. They have always been in the Southern California area. I grew up wondering, why after three Olympic Games, several national championships, a broken ba ck, a wife and family, University education, a good job and head coach at U.S.e., did Jack Beckner work out at my high school. I have spent the last few months corresponding with other sen ior gymnasts trying to piece together the answers to these questions.

Richard Pascale, who is to free exercise what Chuck Berry is to Rock and Roll, is still going at the age of twenty-nine. Why? Rich ard says simply that he likes winning. Winning in floor exercise is not enough. He is now a national force on parallel bars and approaching greatness on hori zon tal bar. He does win his share of meets, but why is he in the gym every day for hou rs , when as a senior he can only enter a few meets a yea r?

Garrath Burke, a twenty-five year old married graduate fro m U.S.e. and former J.e. National Horizontal Bar Champion says gymnastics is fun now. While in high \chool and college, Garrath felt pressured . Gymnastics was mostly frustrating. Now he has found the parts of gymnasti cs that are fun for him and concentrates on these areas. Good for you Garrath. But why then are yo u working the compulsori es?

Fred Robl es, All Around champ of the Senior Olympics, is a twenty-eight year old high school coach and health teacher in the Los Angeles area . He has two children, a good job, wife, but spends several hours a week working out. Fred points to the physical area . he says that it is his

56

way of staying in shape. As a health teacher he knows the dangers of obes ity. Fred also points out that gymnastics either made him somewhat different from the normal person, or that he was somewhat different and was attracted to gymnastics. I had to agree w ith him when he pointed out that once yo u we re an all around competitor, it is hard to just quit.

Robert Diamond, a thirty o ne year old attorney, readily admits that he jugg les his entire schedule to be ab le to work out three nights a week. Bob says that he just enjoys the entire scene. Working out, learning new tricks, staying in shape, watch ing other people change and mature. " You gotta do something, it might as well be gymnastics." He also compared it to any other endeavor that you must put so much time towa rd.

Bob got me looking into a memory trip that I had forgotten . He reminded me how hard it was when our coll ege years were over. What to do with your time. Where did the friends go? etc. I ques ti oned some recent graduates and Charlie Ri chards, pommel horse man extraordinar from Cal State Northridge, put his thoughts most succinct ly. His reflecti ons dealt with what to do now that NCAA finals were gone for the las t time. Charlie felt that surely better times were ahead. That the past was great, but to dwell there would leave him there. Space stops me from publishing hi s highly emotional yet perfectly rational beliefs about what to dowith the ex tra time and energy. How to fi ll the voids left by graduation.

Preparing for this art icle naturally made me ask myself the same questions. For the most part I came up with the same answers: stay fit, have fun, see friends, do as good as I can, etc. But I thought further. I really do spend as much time abUSing my body as I do working out. So, it really couldn 't be just for the fitness. Fun? Who enjoys compulsories? Two broken fingers and a hurt thumb and I still ca n't do a back stutz, swinging pirouette. Having fun with fri ends is something done better other places than the gym . So, why do I cont inue?

Since earl y adu lthood I have felt that I was living in a rear view mirror. It seems that nothing is forever. College came and went, as did marriage, friends, Viet Nam, John, Martin and Bob. Each time I thought I had a clear picture of what was happening, something happened to let me know that my decisions on the present were based on what had already passed. Like driving forward whi le looking in a rear view mirror. After taking my masters, I went back into a gym. After two years layoff, it was just the sa me. Sure, I was fat and tricks were harder. No way I could do a complete set. But, still , it was the same. A kip was still a kip. Nothing replaced sw ing. Th e same physical laws that had worked before worked once again . Once again li fe was the way it was supposed to be. I made decisions on what I knew, and they worked . If something went wrong it was because I had viola ted a known rule . Sure, the D.N.A. trave led a little slower. Tricks did not have the extension they once had, but still it was the sa me.

To me gymnastics is reality . I ad mit it. I really do not perceive li fe the way it actually is. Friendships, jobs, sty les, spouses, all seem to change. Onl y after the changes, are the realities visible. But gymnast ics does not work that way. There is cau,e and effect. One physical maneuver leads to the same consequ ences no matter who is president of the United States. So until I find a world where th e rul es of the game do not change without my knowledge, I will continue to push this tired body gymnastically.

Coed Campus Column Cornell University Ithaca, New York

Gretchen Sunderland Dowsing

GRADUATE STUDENTS COMPETING: YES OR NO?

In order to answer this question, I think it is importa nt to look at some of the goals of the college coach.

Obviously, we do not expect to coach our women forever; they are usually enro ll ed in school for two, four, or five yea rs. They work­out hard un ti l graduation, and then what? Suddenly they are eli gible for graduate school but not for their former team. They have maintained a high level o f fitn ess for yea rs and now must lay-off - the rules say that they are too old to compete. Some, but not many coaches will let th e grad studen t work-out with the team, but most coaches fee l that they do not want to spend tim e with a non-competing student. The grad studen t is then asked to spot or help teach, neither of which maintains the high level of fitness and begins to agree with the rules that perhaps she is too old.

Does this image fit in wi th an educato r's goal - to get a person to a certa in level of competence , then ret ire her, make her feel " over the hill "? Most of o ur gymnasts have not even peaked by th e age of 21 or 22. I have former gymnasts, now 23-27, who are still active and enjoy learni ng new skills (i.e. ae rials on the beam) . They would have loved to compete their fifth year, but were not all owed.

What are we <Jfraid of in letting graduate students compete? They can only add maturity and experience to the team.

One argument might be that you need space for talented , incoming freshmen. But tryouts for the team shou ld consider all students - not according to age. New students need time for adjusting to the total co llege experience; grad students obviously have th ei r time well­organized already and ca n be a helpful example to younger students.

The trend to quit ea rl y in this country disturbs me and a lot of othe r coaches. Why do many of our top gymnasts ret ire at 16, 18, or 19? That's very young compared to European standards not to mention co llege competition . Are we gu ilty of putting too much pressure on th em? How can it be that some of them vow to never to step foot in a gym aga in? What have we done as coaches to make them turn against thi s beautifu l sport ?

If one of our goa ls is to enab le our students to love activity, to enjoy stayi ng in shape, then we must do somet hing for our o lder students. Letting graduate students compete could be part of the answer. The o th er solution is a club type of gymnastics, much li ke the Turn ers and Sokol>, w here peop le of all ages ca n work-out together . How many p laces li ke this are there? Where ca n 'you go to ledl'n gymnastics after the age of 22?

Perhaps our co ll eges should be providing this service to the community - o r we should put pressure on V's and other groups to help out.

But let 's not <Jba ndon our older students. They 've helped us get our team where it is -why can 't they still be an active part of it? Perhaps it is our ru les that are " ove r the hill " .

GYMNAST Dec. '75

PSYCHOLOGY and th~ GYMtifiST

AUTOGENIC TRAINING IN GYMNASTICS A PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONING FOR PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING

Dr. Joe Massimo

From tim e to time some notions about psychology appear in print which, if taken at face va lue, would turn the gym into a psychiatr ic clinic and the gymnast into a bundle of nerves looking for salvat ion. Such panaceas are to be passionately avoided. Methods for training the mind as related to sports performance must be carefu lly eva luated and very few have survived the test of time.

There are a number of se lf-discip line type of mental activities which have, however, proven quite valuabl e for some athletes. It should always be remembered that a basic premise of applied psychology is that all individuals are unique although there are specific developmental and environmental aspects of the human equat ion that appear universa l. For some people hypnosis is very effective, while for other.s it is a total bust. It all depends on attitude, motiva tion, readiness and other personal conditions as wel l as the ability of related professionals and a co nsiderable amount of faith in the procedure under considerati on .

One of the more successfu l techniques is referred to as autogen ic or psychotonic training. Quit e simp ly this is a method of self­conditionin g whi ch has had some remarkab le effects in improving performance. One ca n utilize the method by oneself (auto) or it can be accomplished individually or in a smal l group utilizing a traine r who verba lly facilitates the program. The sma ll group or indiv idual sessions which employ a faci litator (trainer) seem to be most effect ive. It is crit ica l that the trainer be famili ar wit h the sport at more than a passing level since such experience w ill maximize his/ her effectiveness.

In gymnastics this procedure can be useful in several ways: 1) improve specific performance, 2) overcome mental blocks on specif ic skills, 3) reduce "breaks " in specific routines and, in some cases, 4) totally re-orient the athletes to an event.

Perhaps the most eff icient way to explain how autogeni c training functions is to describe it in direct terms. The process can be accomplished non-verbally or verbally depending on th e indi vidua l(s) involved and the preference of th e trainer. It is usually wise to try both to see wh ich appears the most effect ive. In the non-verbal method the trainer (if one is being used) gives limited cues during the process whi le in the more verbal ly oriented procedure the trainer is quite act ive with spoken gUidance and suggest ion.

For exampl e let 's take an individual session between o ne or two gymnasts and a trainer.

. The procedure goes something li ke the following:

1. The gymnasl(s) li e on the mat or some other comfortable area on their backs.

2. They are enco uraged to take deep breaths in an attempt to get them somewhat physically and mentally re laxed but not enough to encourage sleep. The trainer assists in this process by helping them monitor the rhythm of the breathing through verbal suggest io n.

3. The train er instructs the gymnasts to maintain thi s relaxed condition throughout the exercise as appropriate. (There wil l be times

GYMNAST Dec. '75

when the opposite is necessary and such tension is aga in suggested by the trainer depending on th e situation.)

4. The gyni'nasts are told to begin to mentally , prepare for the event. e.g. Still Rings - the trainer says, " We are now ready to perform on the Rings. Picture yourself chalking up. You are now standing below the ring s. Your lifter now has his hands on your wa ist. You are lifted and grasp the rings. Try to feel them in your hands. Adjust your grip. You are ready to begin."

5. At this point (depending on purpose of the session) the trainer indicates that they should piCture the mount and contin ue into the routine. Each element should be seen and felt without tensing the muscle groups. This flow is important. The trainer 's know ledge of terminology etc. is invaluable. (This may be done several times.)

6. An add iti ona l run- throug h is " performed" but this time the gymnast(s) are encouraged to tense appropriate muscle groups as they " pi cture" their routines in their minds. They shou ld attempt to "v isualize" each element executed to its max imum. The focus is on perfection with coordinated muscular emphasis.

7. The process co ntinues with va riations : A . Focus on difficu lt segments: providing

the gymnast has executed a particular segment correctly in the past and " knows" what it "fee ls" like. The effort here is to reproduce that " feeling " through a psychological recreation of the kinestheti c experience at the same time the correct execut io n is "seen" in the mind.

B. Focus on co nsistent areas for breaks (minor and/ or major): This is most successful on one to one basis a nd when the trainer knows the routine being worked on. In this case the gymnast continu es the mental run through but pictures the break as it is usually encountered. This should be followed immed iate ly by a run through with th e break eliminated. The trainer's role in thi s si tuation is more act ive. It is often helpfu l that the ind ividua l verball y express the error (d idn ' t direct the force at the right moment , dropped the head etc.). In the "co rrected" run the gymnast sta tes the negotiation of the section in positive terms as he pictures the successful passage through the area where the break had (has) occurred.

C. Focus on flow of ent ire exercise: This variation has prove n quite successful in totally non-static performance events such as Side horse or Uneve n Bars. The technique is the same as previous ly described except emphasis is placed on th e gestalt of th e routine with particular focu s on the fluid ity of sw ing. (I have seen athletes actua ll y begin to rhythmically move their bodi es during this drill although they are lying f lat o n their backs!)

D. Focus on mounts and dismounts: Again the same ba sic technique is utilized but the emphasis is on stabilit y and confidence. Time is spent on the insta ntaneous " preparation" for the landing and contro ll ed discharge of energy employed at the mount. Talking through this, phase is most helpful as an adjunct to the mental " movie " acti vity.

E. Focus on proper breathing: The run­through process is ca rried out as before but

with major concentration being placed on specilic breJthing patterns as they relate to the execution of each sk ill or cluster of skills. Verbal expression an.d actua l over-emphasized breathing is encouraged as the routine is seen in the m ind 's eye .

There are obviously addit ional variat ions of this process which I wi ll discuss in upcoming articles. It would be easy to dismiss such procedures as " rubbish " or too mystical for our liking. Surely not worth the time and effort. This would be most unfortunate indeed sinc.e. there is growing resea rch evidence that such mental and psychological efforts under disciplined, contro ll ed condit ions can and have improved overt performance. As a matter of fact one only has to think about the eastern cultures and philosophies (for example, the Japanese) for an illustration of how the marriage of mind-matter (in this case at a built­in religious level) can, along w ith other factors, promote the development of excell ence.

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SIMPLIFIED METHOD OF JUDGING COMPULSORY EXERCISES

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57

Parkette Gymnastic Club

•

Top center - Jodi Yocum. Clockwise from Jodi - Kathy Gackenbach, Stacy Werner, Doreen Marcks, Deanna Hertzog (bottom center), Sandy Wirth , Joanne Belte, Mary Heidenwolf.

Allentown is a sma ll city located in the great Lehigh Valley of Eastern Penna., whi'ch is famous for it s rolling hills, rich farmland, heavy industry, (Bethlehem Steel and Mack Trucks) and the hard working, dedicated Pennsylvania Dutch People.

Among the hard es t working _ and most dedicated people in Allentown is a group of young girls, togeth er with th eir coaches, their parents and their friends, col lectively called the Parkette Gymnasti c Club.

About ten years ago, Bill and Donna Strauss started working with a few girls in a tumb ling club after school, where Donna was a physical education tea cher . This was the humble

58

beginning of th e Parkette Gymnastic Club which now has over 250 girls involved in classes six days a week and over 30 girls on three different levels of compet itive tea ms.

During those formative yea rs, th e Parkettes practiced in many places including a barn w ith no heat, a dimly lit basement of a church and in the summer, the Strauss's back yard . Finally, last year, the Parkett es obtain ed a place of their very own, the second and third f loor of Allentown's Symphon y Hall in the downtown area.

The roomy, cheerful and we ll-lighted facilities give th e Parkettes a pleasant atmosphere for their long hours of practice.

For the f irst time th ey have th eir own free exercise mat and three se ts of bars which they don' t have to take down every night after pract ice ... somet hing new for th e Parkettes. In addition to th e free ex . mat and bars, they have a trampoline, va ulting area, and office on the third floor. On th e second floor are ten beams, one set of bar>, parent 's wa iting room, Parkette Store, and storage fac iliti es.

Bill and Donna Strauss are del ighted with their new gym compl ex, and have anxiously' been devoting their tIme to th e developing of girls into good gymnasts and fine young women.

Their " elit e" group of three girls is led by Jodi

GYMNAST Dec. '75

Jodi Yocum Yocum, a 15 year o ld junior at Exe ter High School in St. Laurence, Pa. Jodi was with the U,S, team in a three week tour of South Africa last Nov. and Dec. , and competed with the U,S. team that defea ted th e West Germans at Penn State last january. As th e yo ungest performer on the U.S. team, jodi showed her ski ll on the balance bea m , uneven parallel bars and free exercise to fini sh fourth al l-around for the women's di vision of the internat ional meet.

Last April jodi represented th e U.S. along with Ann Carr and Barbie Myslak in the Moscow News Games and the Riga Invitational Meet in Ru ss ia.

Along with jodi, th e Parkettes also have Mary Heidenwolf and joan ne Beltz compet ing on the elite leve l. Th is past August Miss Heidenwolf , 14 , was in vit ed to attend a clin ic in Miami , Fla ., a, a guest of th e U.S.G.F. as one of a group of 20 young gymnasts showing much promise for th e future.

The Parkett es pla ced three gi rl s on the Penna. Stat e Team this yea r with Mary Heidenwolf and joanne Beltz coming in 1st and 2nd respecti ve ly all .!round in the 12-14 age group, and Deanna Hertzog f irst all-around in the 10-11 age group. Dea nna also p laced first in the Eastern Championships held this yea r in Farmingdale, Long IslJnd, New York.

Roundin g out th e Parkette Na ti ona l Team are Sandy Wirth and Doreen Marcks who placed 3rd and 4th respecti ve ly, all-around in the Penn a. Championsh ips, 10-11 age group, and Stacy W ern er who qualifi ed for Regionals in her first year of competition .

GLENDALE FAMILY YMCA GYMNASTICS MARATHON

The bottoms of th eir feet are sore - and their hands and some muscles they may not have even known they had befo re.

But the sense of accompli shment of the 19-member Glendale Fam il y YMCA's Women 's Gymnastic Tea m far outwe ighs any physical discomfort.

The girls se t a gymnastics maratho[1 record by performing 3,092 ro utines in a 51-hour period.

The marat hon launched th e team 's season and was success ful not on ly as a reco rd-setter, but as a fund raising eve nt as wel l. The girls raised about $1,000 to be used to defray expenses of new warm-up su its and piano music to accompany them in performing routines.

The team was divided into four groups of four to f ive girl s per hour. They performed about 16 routines, apiece, each hour.

All routin es were USGF-FI G Class II and III compulsory and opti o nal routines. They included floor exercises and routines on the beam and bars.

Tid Bits

On Sept ember 21, 1975 th e luxurious Richmond Olympiad o pened in RiChmond, Virginia. 1he 12,000 squJre foot area is brand new and bea utilull y deco rdted w ith quantities of equipment , p.l ced in such a manner that hundreds 01 p.nti cip.ttns ca n be act ively involved and ye t rcnl.lin rdth er remo te from one another. 1 he direc to rs are judy and Gordon Shaw, who hd ve been involved on the local , statE'. 1l.ltiOlldl and international gymnastic s , c('ne lor th e past ten yea rs and were th e Il'a I pi oncers of gymnastics in Virginia. Best of luck to judy and Gordon!

The Freeland Gymnastic Team o f Freeland, Michigan ju,t purchdsed th eir most ex pensi ve piece of equipmen t ye t. rh ey purchased a brand new 40 loot by 40 foot floor exercise mat. Head coal h Alice Buchalter, feels th e unobtainabl e me.llls only practicing a littl e patience, as d ('monstr.ll ed by the huge strides of this all- vo luntl'er , li o n-p rof it o rga nization. She is the lirst to point out that all these accompli shm('n i'> cou ld never have taken place without the gem'rou'> ,upport of the parents of the gymn as ts gi ving th ei r tilll e and tal ents as well as somp lindl lCi.d ,]ss istdnce from va ri ous

The Gl endal e Fami ly YMCA, 140 N. Louise St., has offered cla sses in beginn ing through intermediate leve l gymnast ics for seve ral yea rs . The competitive team is a recent addition to the "Y" program.

Linda Scott , assistant physical director at the Y and coord inato r of the marathon, was pleased at the event 's success.

" The positive att itudes that were displayed desp ite so re hands an d muscles made all the coaches and th e parents ve ry proud to be part of such an effor t. ·' she sa id.

Girls who part icipa ted included: Christi Norton, Daniell e Norton, Cindi Sunnarbourg, Lis Chambers, Sharon Sine, Debbie Hendy, Lynn Stevens, Doree W il so n, juli e jensen, Sari Garnes, Kathy Owens, Kathy Rya n, Cami · Rosenb lum, Carol Weeshoff, Stacey Sheperd, Sandi Sheperd , Sheri Sheperd and Nancee Slayback.

clubs and org.llliLd tion s interested in th e program . 1 hi s , how, thdt w ith work a volunteer program su( h." tl H~ Freeland Gymnastic Team; can accompli , h when you have people who care . ConglJtuldtioll5 dnd keep up the good work.

* * * From th e' " Texas Gymnastic Reporter" we heard .ilJou t d new club open ing up. The Metroplex Gymnastics Center has b een formed, director of the club is Sandy Streeter, who wa s the head coac of the Tumbling ! <!xans for eleve n yea rs. The team name is the Mets, th EY have approximately 25 girls making up .. th eir competiti ve team, and the program ~ con sists of classes for girls and boys, ages 4 and • up, plu s specia l chee rl ead ing classes. A iding in .. the management of the .new school will be .. Virginia Tusa. Two male instructors w ill also be C on the staff , jerry White and Charlie Drake.

From the " Florida Newsletter" we heard that former Big Ten, NCAA, and AAU Trampoline Champion, larry Snyder has opened a Trampo li ne and Tumbli ng School in Miami, Florida.

The Parkelt es arc on th e move and if they continue to grow in the nex t ten years as they have in the pas t ten, then th e dream of Bill and Donna Strau ss sho uld come tru e. The dream the Allentown , a sma ll city located in th e Great Lehigh Vall ey of Eastern Penna., is famous for the Parkett e Gymnast ic Club and oh! yes ... they also have rolling hill s, rich farml and, Mack Trucks and Bethl ehem Stee l, etc., etc.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• tl .... t .. rllcr •••• GYMNAST Dec. '75 59

Ballet.. ::~:: Ci mn1.~(icr l!!; JOHNSTOWN

Kaywell PITTSTOP.

GRACE NOTES FROM THE PITT AT JOHNSTOWN

When I returned from the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 I reso lved to "se ll " gymnastics to the ballet world in the USA, and ballet to the gymnasts. I think you ca n see that I have done just that. But I wasn 't the first to do this. Nata lia Roslavleva from th e Soviet Union told us this had been done in Ru ss ia befo re 1960.

Soph ia Golovkin a, director of the Bo lshoi School and one of its pr incipa l teachers, noticed the outstanding equilibrium of the Soviet girl gymnas ts wh il e she was still a ballerin a of the Bo lshoi theate r. Like myself, Golovki na was always seek ing to learn something new from any fi eld, so she went to watch th e gymnastic training sess ions and wound up tak ing lessons. She discovered some of our "secrets" - fo r exam pl e, how we attain balance on one leg on the toes in any direction and at any ang le by t ightening th e muscl es of the thigh , and that all important PLACEMENT wherein we balance the center of gravity so that we ca n reach this equilibrium in ANY position of the body, in any direction . Until ballet dancers find this p lacement, they have much diffi culty when th ey work in th e center away from the ball et bar re. So yo u can see how ' the sport and ball et overl ap. The ballet dancers gained greater breadth of movement, stronger masters of their bod ies, espec ially in va rious turns and strong take-off jumps. That is one part of the story - and it has happened here in the USA also: balle t learned something from gymnastics.

Attitude Devant (Front) note relations hip of head and arms.

But we have lea rned much from ballet, probably mo re. According to Roslavleva the champion Russian gym nasts all include some ballet exercises in thei r daily t raining. They resort to ba ll et and to " plastique" from subt le and grace ful move ments of hands and arms, learning principl es of musica lity and inspired performance from the Russian school. When .Miss Ros lavleva att ended the Palace of Sports she was impressed by th e instructo r say ing: " Besides performin g th is exe rcise on the beam with perfect poi se and ease , you should have a pleasant express ion o n your face. Don' t forget that the spectato rs have come to see a spectacle, not a m ere d isp lay of st rength ."

Sport never sta nds still. Those who are good will be replaced by those who are better. W e now see 13 yea r o lds performing things unheard of in th e 60 's. The ball et influence is still there, but we are using all forms of dance ­jazz, modern, character, musi ca l co medy ... but the STYLE and FORM and MUS ICALITY must be there. Have a Happy Plie! Ciao

3

2

Attitude De rriere (behind) side view. Look over shoulder through open space of arms.

4 A front view of attitude Derrier . It must look good Figures 4-7 Transitional moves showing line, slyle from all 4 sides of the gym. and (orm.

60 GYMNAST Dec. '75

5

6

GYMNAST Dec. '75

NEWS 'N NOTES By Renee P. Hendershott

17605 Fries Ave .

Lakewood. Ohio 44107

Standards for Officials rating in Gymnastics ••• Effective September 1, 1975

USGF NEWS August, 1975 Minimum ,)(, score for both theoretical and

pract ica l examinat ions must be met as stated . In the event the pra cti ca l exam inat ion is not required; theo reti ca l minimum sco re app li es. Procedures for Rating Judges: •• Applies to those exam inees who received certification prior to September 1, 1975 NATIONAL - CLASS I 1. Minimum Grade: •• Theoretical and practical 85 ')(, 2. Eligibility: 20 years of age . •• Must have previously atta ined a Sta te, Regional, or National ratin g. 3. Duration : Until Decelllber, 1980 (throughout the Olympiad). Must judge three meets per year and fi le report s to Illaintain status. 4. Recommend ed Illinilllulll fees: $20.00 per session, tramportdtion, and $20.00 per diem (food and lodging) or Illeal all owance in the event lodging is not required. 5. Examination Content:

a. Practical - optional exe rcises in all four events.

b. TheoretiGd - 50 questions Class (Advanced) Compu lsories; and 50 questions general knowl edge. 6. Qualifi ed to j udge any Class I competition in any geographiGd .Ire,]. REGIONAL - CLASS I 1. Minimum Grdde: •• Th eoret ica l and practi cal 80')(, 2. Eligibilit y: 1B yedf'S of age . •• M ust have previously at tained .I minimum of State rating. 3. Duration: Until Decelllber, 1980 (throughout the Olympiad). Must judge three meets per year and file report s to maintain status. 4. Recommended Illinimum fees: $15.00 per session , t ransportat io n, and $20.00 per diem (food and lodg in g) o r mea l all owance in the event lodging is not required. 5. Examination Content:

a. Practical - op ti ona l exercises in all fou r events.

b . Theoreti ca l - 50 quest ions Class I (Advanced) COlllpu lsories; and 50 questions general knowledge. 6. Qualifi ed to judge dnyC lassl compet iti on up to and including the Regional leve l in any geographi ca l 'Hea. STATE - CLASS II 1. Minimum Grdde: •• Theoretical and practical 75 '1.. 2. Eligibilit y : 1B yedf'S of age .•• Must have prev iously attained J Illinimum of Assoc iate rating. . 3. Duration : Until Dece lllber, 19BO (throughout the Olympiad ). Must judge three meets per year and f ile rc'port s to maintain status. 4. Recommended fees: $10.00 per session, transportati on . .Inti $20.00 per diem (food and lodging) or medl ,dlowance in the even t lodging is not reljuireti. 5. Exa minat ion Content :

a. Pra ctical - opt iondl exe rci ses in all four events.

b. Theoretic,d - 50 qu estions Class II (Intermediat e) COlllpu lsor ies; and 50 questions general know ledge. 6. Upon at tain ing ~ tdt e Rating-Class II , a judge

must maint ain act ive StdtuS at that level for one Certification Year before being eligible to take the class I rating eXdl1l inJt io n. 7. Qualifi ed to judgeCi,lss ll co mpetitions up to and includ ing State level in any geographical area. ASSOCIA TE - CLASS II 1. Minimum GrJd e: •• Theo ret ica l and practical 70 ')(, 2. Eligibilit y: 16 yedrS of age . •• M ust have previousl y attain ed a Illinimum of Apprenti ce rating. 3. Duration: Until December, 1980 (throughout the Ol ympiad). Must judge three meets p er year and fil e report s to maintain status. 4. Recommended Fees : $7.50 per person, transportati on , and $20.00 per diem (food and lodging) or mea l all owance in th e event lodging is not reljuired. 5. Exam ination Content:

a. Pract ica l - opt iona l exe rcises in all four events. .

b. Theoreti ca l - 50 questions Class II (Intermediate) COl1lpul sor ies; and 50 questions general knowled ge. 6. Upon attain ing an Assoc iate Rating, a judge must maintain act ive status at that leve l for one Certification Ye,lr before being el igib le to take the Class I rating exalll inati on. 7. Qualifi ed to judge any Class II sect io nal , local , or stat e competiti o n in any geograph ical area. APPRENTICE - CLASS III 1. Minimum Grade: Theoretica l o nl y 70'Yo 2. Eligibilit y: 16 yeJ rs of age. 3. D'uration : Unti l Decelllber, 1980 (throughout the Ol ympiad ). M ust judge three meets per year and fi le report s to maintain status. 4. Recommended " ees: $5 .00 per sess ion, tran sportatio n. ,1l1d $20.00 per diem (food and lodging) or fil ea l ,dlowance in the event lodging is not reljuired. 5. Examin ation Content: Th eoret ical examination consisting of 50 questions on Class III (Beginning Level ) COlllpul so ries. 6. Upon attaining .In Apprentice Rating, a judge must maint ain acti ve status at that level for one Certification Year before being eli gible to take th e Cld S, II eXd lllination. 7. QU'lliiied to jud ge any Class III meet in any geogr<'1Jhicdl drea . SPECIAL NOH: 1. Any ind ividudl w ho Jttained a rat ing prior to September 1 .1<J7S dnd fail ed the tes t and re-test in the 1975-76 Certifi ca tion Year w ill be permitted to take th e eXd mination at Class II o r I, provided th ey l11eet eli gibi lity req uiremen ts, in the 1976-77 Certif icdtion Year. This " grace period " w ill ex pire A ugust 31 , 1977. 2. Any indiv idu,d who has hever attained a rating pri or to ~1'p t el11be r 1,1975 must enter the Certification progrdl1l at Class III. 3. In order to judge .II I three levels, th e judge must attain a ratin g for all leve ls. Cla ss I o r " rated judges ma y judge at C lass II and III , but are required to take the theoretical (Compul sory) eXdl11illJtion and attai n sco re requirement s for lower leve ls. 4. An examinee must illdicate to th e TA the Classlevel(s) of eX dmillJt iOIl she intends to take prior to th e admilli strJti o ll of th e exarn inat ion. 5. A session is 10 be def ill ed as a rna ximurn of 3.5 hours.

61

LA TE SUMMER REPORTS

SOKOL WOODLAND GYMNASTIC SCHOOL

By Ellen Kovac

One of th e o ldest and most successfu l gymnasti c cJmps in the Un ited States is Sokol Woodlanu s GYlllnastic Schoq l, located near the Delaware River in Barryville, New York . This schoo l has just comp leted its twelfth season under th e direction of West Chester (Pa.) College COdch Milan Trnka. A fu ll , eight-week season is run each summer, wit h its solid, progression-oriented program further refined each ye,lr viJ J combination of experience and input from staff drawn from different gymnastic circles.

Th e physic.d facil iti es at Sokol Woodlands are exce ll ent. fe,lturing a huge (14,000 sq. ft.) field house full of modern equipment, allowing plenty of workout space regardless of the weather outsiue. A modern pool, above par dorms. me,Jis geared to the requirements of a demilnuing gymnastic program, and a wide variety of recreationa l and "free time" activities are ali lactors in the appeal of Sokol Woodlands th rough the years.

Although we are not able to advert ise extensive ly (uue to a tight budget) we know we offer an excellent " product" at Sokol Woodlanus. We uo invest to keep ou r facilities up to uate, we select staff who are primarily concerneu about the development of each student . we drrange our program for maximum work -out time as well as opportunities for other i1ctiv iti es, and we are proud that our repu tiltion is such that word-of-mo uth from former , tud ents is out best form of advertis ing.

THE 4th ANNUAL TEXAS NATIONAL SUMMER GYMNASTIC CLINIC

Th e 4th Annua l Texas National Summer Gymnastic Clini c was held july 30-August 1 in the Birdville Co liseum located in the Haltom­Richard area of Fort Worth, Texas.

The spa cious co liseum which seats 5,000 provided the gymnasts with ample room and the latest gymnast ic equipment. Also ava ilable was overhead spotting apparatus and a video tape syst em to eva luate performance of skills. The 3 day event was co-sponsored by the Birdville Schools and the Gyros Parents Club.

Attending the clinic were 135 dedicated gymnilsts who came from Colorado, Louisiana, Illinois, Mississ ippi as well as the metroplex area.

The 12 class sessions and a special two hour tumbling sess ion the first night furnished an abundance of knowledge--all the young gymnasts could absorb. In addition, coaches were given specia l time each day to lea rn and exchange coaching and spotti ng techniques. O ver 20 instructors provided the know-how that helped the boyd and girls perfect their skills and develop new ones. Special instruction was given daily on the new compul so ries.

The clinic staff included such outstand ing clinicians as former three time Olympian, Armando Vega, many National Champions including Tom and Jan Hienka,janisand Hutch Dvorak. Richard Loyd (1968 Olympic team), Steve Snow; Other lead instructors were Barry Keeley, Arnold Didomenica, Allen Walker,

62

Woodland Gymnastic School

Woodland Gymnastic School Campers

The 4th Annual National Summer Gymnastic Clinic Staff

Herb Kirkpatrick, Tom Steele, Randy Snow, jani s Brehm and many others. Dance instruct ion was provided by Ca rolyn Riehl.

A staff show was held on the 2nd night. Arnold Diuomenica in his colorfu l caj un dialogue annou nced the events of the show. The performances ranged from Olympic ca liber uemonstrations to slap st ick comedy. The clinic d irector and Gyros coach, Robert

Cowan perfo rmed his hilarious " Brigette Bardot " routin e o n the uneven bars with assistiln ce from his helpful " German instrucktor", To m Steele. Hutch Dvorak and partner entert il ined th e crowd with their daring but com ical high bar act. Other staff stars ex hibit ed skills in vau lting, rings, floor X, and uneven bars.

It WilS for ce rtain a SUPER summer clinic!

CYMNAST Dec. '75

THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GIRLS GYMNASTIC CAMP By J . Darrell Gallant

Special bar session, Virginia Tsoukalas . Instructor

The 1975 sessio n o f The New Hampshire Girls Gymnasti cs Camp saw an enro ll ment of between 75 and B5 girl s pe r week fo r f ive weeks. We had a staff of 18 coaches and gymna sts from th e New England area. Th e Camp was in it s' second yea r and both ca mpers and staff had a trem endous lea rning experience throughout th e short five weeks.

The camp incl uded six 45 minute classes w ith a ma ximum of 12 girls to a cl ass and two instructors. Each day special sess ions were held which included prob lem so lving, new moves, trampoline lessons etc. The nighttime sessions were reall y great w ith th e staff taking a ve ry active part in the sk it shows, sp las h parties, recreati o n acti viti es etc.

Surpri sing to me were the number of gi rls from outside th e New England area w ho attended th e ca m p and also th e number of weeks th at the girl s at tended. Th e ca mp is a rea l down to ea rth c;) mp w here we tri ed to teach moves and combinat io ns to girl s so th at th ey can go ba ck home and work o n them w ith their own coach es,

We ha ve six weeks pl anned for next yea r and through a survey questionnaire sen t o ut to all campers we have new ideas fo r class wo rk and special sessio ns so th at we can improve the level of th e girls that attend and hopefull y th e overall level of gymnasti cs in the G rea ter New Hampshire Area, w hich is o ur primary goa l.

PROGRESSIVE GYMNASTICS CAMP

Summer of 1975 marked a debut year for " PROGRESSIVE GYMNASTICS CAM P", held at an exclusive 110 acre priva te ca mp in the Lake George area of New Yo rk . Th e ca mp ran a 10 day session from August 20 through Aug , 30, Using the equipment and faci liti es of Camp Echo Lak e, PGC we lco med ca mpers from all over the New York and Ca nada area. Among those present were representat ives from Long Island, Westchester, A I ba ny, Plattsbu rgh , Montreal , New Ham pshire and Glens Falls,

The camp program was d es igned to fit the needs of th e beg in ner leve l gymna st up to the advanced by providing th e developing gymnast with an at mosphere conducive to learning and relaxed recrea ti o n, The si x (6) gymnasti c sessio ns throughout the day str ived toward perfect ion of present skills, and exposure to new skill s w ith an eye toward analysis and unders tanding o f those co ncepts through master classes, clini cs, and films, Each day ended with an additi onal session of strength and endurance conditioning supervised by "sa rgea nt Sullivan " ,

The setting betwee n th e mo untains and lakes of the beau tiful Ad iro ndacks len t itse lf to working out of doo rs as indoors! Directors Linda Quitoni (coach at Nassau Community College) , and Jason Qu ito ni guided an excellent staf f w hi ch spec iali zed in new and innovative coaching and teaching techniques. Speciali sts included Ca th y Fogerty, previousl y from Towson State Co ll ege and Marvateen Gym School , M arge Hodas from Towso n State, Carol Sulliva n, prev io usly from East Stroudsburg State Co ll ege and coach of division champs from Mamaroneck, New York, and Andre Prok05, assistant coach of Brookside Long Island tea m, Coaches and ca mpers were sorry that Di ck Zuber of Marva teen Gymnastics School in Maryland, was detained ' due to illness, Many of Di ck's techniques and ideas were utilized , and we thank him.

GYMNAST Dec. '75

Everyo ne built up qu ite an appetite during the day and the food at PGC was exceptional! Seconds and Third s in the mai n course were common, and no one eve r passed up dessert!

Though th e gym nas ts wo rk ed at least four (4) hours a day o n eq ui pment and dance, there were also swim sessio ns, test periods, and open workout hours for rela xa ti on, Evening hours were filled w ith many different activiti es including f lashli ght sin gs around th e campfire, skits and songs from ca mpers and staff, roller skating, Dut ch Aucti ons, Movies, and Tennis and Arts and Crafts, Th e arts and cra fts craze was " plaque mak ing" , made by cuttin g p ictures of fa vorit e gymnasts out of old and new Gymnast Ma gazi nes, and laminating them onto wood, Our thanks to Gymnast Magazine, for sending us ex tra cop ies! Many of our campers asked for Gymnast subscriptions for themsel ves after making plaques,

Two spec ial performances we re planned during th e ten day prog ram, In one exciting exhibition we shared the billing w ith anothel' camp who performed a dance conce rt fo r us. Our show included giant pyramid s, fire torch drills, sy nchro ni zed tumblin g, and rapid fire vaulting, w hil e we enjoyed wa tching other campers perform " scenes from th e W iz".

The second ex hibiti on preceded a tea rful departure o n Sat urday mornin g, bringing to a close 10 da ys of hard work, ac hes and pains, and lots of new fri ends and fun. Ca mpers parents and friend s enjoyed the performances of their children and th en obse rved each child perform in mini-sessions o n each appa ratu s.

PGC experienced a ve ry success ful fir st summer and is bo und to an even bigger and better program fo r 7 6, I nterested gymnasts should writ e to Box 233, Deer Park, New York, 11729.

701 Beta Drive Cleveland, Ohio 44143

GREAT STYLES

FOR ACTION

For the tops in style and quality

for dancers, gymnasts,

skate rs and sports "persons" . . . even

records and instructio n

manuals for

teachers, write for

Taffy's great list of catalogs and brochures and

join Taffy's great mail ing

list .

ATLANTA BOSTON

CLEVELAND DALLAS

63

STATE REPORTS

If you have important material that should be included in your State report please send it directly to your State representative for coming editions of GYMNAST. .. If you do not see a named representative for your State it may be that the assignment has not been formalized or that we have not received a request from anyone in your state applying for the position ... This is just a start of what we feel will build into a most important feature and service of GYMNAST magazine. Support your State reporter with materials and ideas that will help stimulate Gymnastics in your area.

AZ Arizona

Lois Bernhardl 3414 N. 63rd SI. Scottsdale . AZ 85251

AR Arkansas

Ldrry G. Welch 177 Pike Ave . Jacksonville. AR 72076

ARKANSAS STATE REPORT After returning from Philadelphia where

gymnastics is a way of life (one need only to watch Ann Carr to be advised of this), Arkansas would indeed be like going into the deepest wilds of Africa. Well , "I'm here to tell ya'" that happily "i t ain't so!" Gymnastics in Arkansas is "alive and flipping!" Gymnastics is in the primary stages but its growth, and potential for growth in the next few years , is great indeed.

Where then is all this interest conce n· trated, so you say? I wish I could say in every high school and college in the state but alas this is not the case. It is the hope of many teachers that as Gymnastics becomes a greater and greater focal point in the public's eye these schools will take a more active part in participation , as well as training. There is a great concentration of gymnastic instruction in the central part of the state; namely in the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock. As one goes throughout the state gymnastiCs is sure to be seen in the larger cities (Fort Smith, Hot Springs etc.), but for those th'at live in the smaller towns .. well, don't worry we'll get to them soon. The promising aspect is that in all clubs and teams one will find girls and boys starting at a very young age.

It is the writer's wish to take some space to elaborate on a few of these teams and club;. North Little Rock Community Center

Here one will find one of the largest (650+), and best , programs of instruction in the. state. The Comm. cente r is headed up by Kerry Williams, a native of Ark. Kerry has 2 able helpers who are students. at The Unversity of Ark . at Little Rock: Larry Taylor and Larry Ward. Upon first observing Kerry's "Elite" team this reporter was amazed indeed. The "Super· stars", as they are called, consist of nearly 20 girls ranging from age 10·13, the youngest member being Sharon Dees. Sharon's sister got her started in "the beautiful sport" at age 3 and Sharon's

64

been turning cart-wheels ever since , not to mention front flips , flip flops , back hand · springs .. well, let it sufice that as the season continues the "Superstars " will be a team to reckon wi th .

Thimbles Gymnastics "Thimbles" is located in Little Rock

and is run by a New Mexico native, Bob Smith. His aids in teaching are: Debra Dyx and from India, Annand Kadam. The program stresses the steady work on tech nique and the need to really explore the basics. Dance instruction (Debra's Dept.) in Ballet is a large part of the program and required by all team memo bers. Bob's "Elite" team consists of 10 girls who , in their coaches words , "will be trouble for the 'Superstars' as the year progresses." The team members range from age 7·16andare spending a lot of time working on compuisories at present. "Thimbles" consists of 300+ "Gymnastic­ally Crazed" people and is growing every day.

Tumble Jungle & Y.M.C.A. Two relatively new programs in the state

are T .J. and the West·Side Y.M.C.A. in Little Rock. T.J. is owned and operated by Lavon Pryor and his wife Karen. They are presently instructing 150+ gymnasts.

The Y.M .C.A. program is under the guidance of Ms. Jan Jacoway and she has 100+ young gymnasts under her wing.

Colleges In her first year at The University of

Arkansas at Little Rock, Ms. Sherry Medley is working hard with her 10 young ladies in hopes of shaking up the sports program a bit and grab some of the football crowd. Her girls are young but definately eager to learn and with the likes of SaJ.li Starnes and Jean Block they may attract the "pigskin rooters". Both of these girls are instructing other young gymnasts as well as participating on the team.

The men 's team at U.A.L.R. is not large

but one fellow by the name of Pat Wisen· hunt may change that very soon , Pat is a former 1973 nationally ranked gymnast (3rd on the Bar and 4th on the Floor) who has recently transferred to U.A.L.R. from Louisiana. It is Pat's sincere hope to help Sherry turn a few heads this year.

Space will not permit the mentioning of all clubs and teams but don't worry I'll get to you.

The big event for October was a Clinic sponsored by the N.L.R. Community Center on the 25th featuring Vannie Edwards.

That 's all for now , so remember "Gym· nastic Nuts": When in doubt Flip Itl

CA California

Mark Davis clo GYMNAST P.O . Box 1 IO Santa Monica.CA

90406

CALIFORNIA STATE REPORT California State Unviersity, North­

ridge should field the finest gymnastics team in its history thi s year. Returning Division II National Ring champion , Larry Bilow will lead the Matadors as they take on all the fine Div ision I teams in the Southern California area.

Losses from last year's squad include: two time Pommel Horse All American Charlie 'Richards and also, two time All American All Around man , Noboru Miyagi.

Larry Bilow, now an excellent all around man wi ll be complimented by a whole field of other all arounders: Charlie Fujikawa, Neil Resnick , Mike Wash­lake , Gordon Clarke , Jack Torrey und Steve Luce. Also , helping round out the team will be specialists: Tony Buras, a Jr. on rings , freshman Ron Bell, pommel horse and rings, soon to work all around and Frank Perrino, a sophomore pomm· el horse man.

Larry Bilow John Draghli sent in some belated , but

appreciated scores from last seasons California State Junior College Champion· ships.

Long Beach won its 7th consecutive championship with Golden West upsetting Pasadena for 2nd. This was the first time in Golden West's history that they beat Pasadena.

CALIFORNIA STATE GYMNASTIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

Long Beach City College May 3 , 1975

Team Champions: Long Beach 168.60; Golden West 158.99; Pasadena 155.72; Deablo Valley 142.70.

AA: Martin (LBCC) 50.29; Cruz (LBCC) 49.27; Parades (Har) 46.19. FX: Searles (GWC) 9.35; Parades (Har) 9.30; J. Johnson (GWC) 9.05. V: Searles (GWC) 9.35 ; Abrams (Val) 9.15; Parades (Har) 9.15. PH: Maghe (LBCC) 9.25; Seymour (GWC) 9.20; J ames (LBCC) 9.00. PB: Martin (LBCC) 9.10; Cruz (LBCC) 8.90; LaRue (LBCC) 8.80. HB: Hart (LBCC) 9.50; Martin (LBCC) 9.05; Strickley (LBCC) 9.50; Martin (LBCC) 9.05; Stricley 8.80. R: Schnee (LBCC) 9.55; Egan (lBCC) 9.30; Camarillo (GWC) 9.30.

co Colorado

Doug DeWit! No . 2 Tamaral Lane Englewood. CO 80110

CT Connecticut

Ron Brown Koinonia Sc hool of Sports. Inc. Rt. 21. P.O . Box 321 Thompson. CT 06277

DE Delaware

Palsy I. Knepper 2030 PinehurSI Rd . Wilmlnglon. DE 19803

FL Florida

Jack Miles 2030 Sunset Strip Ft. Lauderdale. FL

33313

FLORIDA STATE REPORT The first boys compulsory and skills

clinic was great. Held in Ft. Lauderdale , 45 boys from all·over Florida were instruct · ed by Mike Jacki , Nick Alise , Don Gutzler and Dan Gatsinos. Six invita· tional meets within the state have been set up. SE USA gymnasts are welcome to enter. Boys from Ft. Myers , Tallahassee Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Stuart , and Clearwater. Jacki, the expert from AMF American Co. really impressed the boys with his knowledge of techniques. Great Clinic.

The girls clinic we held was great. There were 175 people there· gymnasts and coaches. Girls came from as far NW as Tallahassee , NE as Jacksonville , all over the place. The reason it was so great was the coac hing staff · all persons who had been to the masters clinics to learn the compulsories. Our USGF Direct ress , T. Bailie; our judging lady, Betty Davis, Bruce Davis , Ray Octavia no , Bev Martin , L.c. Chace and R. Marshall.

Bill Chace is compiling a state club directory. contact Bill if you know he does not have your club name , address, etc. P.O. Box 9584 Riviera Bch. 33404.

Larry Snyder will be representing the state in all Trampoline matters. The FGA is establishing meets in trampoline, mini tramp and tumbling (More on that in the future FGN news) However , let Larry know if yo u have any of this type stumbler in your gym. 620 Majorca Ave. , Coral Gables 33134.

Ann Quirk has started a program of Community School Recreation Gymnast· ics meets in the Broward county area. It 's a clever idea. They use comp ulsories only.

Short cuts from Central Florida · Repor· ter Dan Thro - A few new schools have sprung up in the middle of Florida this summer; The Appolo Gym of Clear­water coached by Tim Carr , The Bran­don School of Gymnastics coached by Laddie Vanac , The South Brevard Academy of Gymnastics dire c ted by Fred Martinez , and GYMANIA - John Robinson's school of Gymnastics (whose Gymaniacs rece ntly placed 4th, wit h a 1st Honorable Mention , out of 900 contes· tants at the Ted Mack Talent Search in Tampa.)

GYMNAST Dec. '75

GA Georgia

Karen Kolman 511 Lee Boulevard Savannah. GA 31405

HI Hawaii

David Dale 1634 Makike ~905 Honolulu , HI 96813

HAWAII STATE REPORT Hawaii was fortunate to have Abie

Grossfeld , former 1972 Olympic coach and coach of Ihe 1975 NCAA college division c hampions, to teach at a gymnast· ic clinic held August 4·5. Clinic directors were Paula Tarikas of Punahou school and Brad Cooper of Kamehameha school. The program was divided into sessions concerning: 1) lect ure-demon­strat ion, theory of mechanics and spotting and 2) problem·solving, general workout for boys and girls.

H awaii is moving up in gymnastics. Coach Paula Tarikas took two girls to represe nt Region V to the AAU Junior Olympics held at Cornell University , August 6·11. Keri Baird , age 16 , took third place all·a round scoring a 66.20.

Hawaii Gymnastic Association (HGA) held the ir e lections of new officers for the 19 75·76 year. They are as follows: President - Paula Tarikas; VP - Dave Marold ; Sec. - Pam Hiquera; Tres. -Stephen Ching; Men's Judging Chair.­Don Heafner; Men 's Division Chair. -Brad Cooper; Women's Div. Chair. -Linda Hoogs;. Women 's Judg. Chair.­Lala Strandtman.

Hawaii gymnastic teams are interested in setting up meets with mainland teams. Coaches if you are inte rested in a trip to Hawaii, Contact: Paula Tarikas HG A 27 Wylli e Street , Hono lulu , HA 96817.

/

10 Idaho

Ms. Diane J . Ostrander 325 Montvue Drive Meridian. 10. 83642

IN Indiana

Mrs. Lorie Walke r 220 South Guyer Hobart. IN 46342

IA Iowa

Leah Eberle 399 Myra Place Clinton. IA 52732

IOWA STATE REPORT I have a full report from Iowa this month

wit h the excepiion of a report o n Boys Hig', School Gymnastics. I have not received any letters from 'the coaches , which disappointed me. Hopefu lly, I wi ll be hearing from them soon. I have reports from some colleges and I would like to first comme nt on Iowa State Universit y, Ames, Iowa. Coach Ed Gagnier wrote and sent me some information. In his years of gymnastics, Ed has been three times honored as National Coach of the Year, serves on the Olympic Gymnastics Com· mittee, and in 1970, he coac hed the U.S. World University Games team. He also turned out ten years of be ing number one in the Big 8 team championship. This year Ed a nd his Cyclone team wi ll have a n all around strong team with Keith Heavor being the rings champion for two yea rs.

GYMNAST Dec. '75

Heavor received a 9.90 out of 10 points in 1975. This mark stands as the highest single score ever to be awarded an Iowa State Gymnast on any event. Good Luck to Coach Gagnier!

Iowa State has a new coach for their womens team this year. Karmen Booth comes from Indiana State Universit y. Her season 'begins December 6 with an invitational hosted by ISU. Under the coaching of Char Christisen last year , the women won the Big 8 championship and qualified for the Nationals in Calif­ornia. Karmen mentions Margie Hudel­son as one of her outstanding gymnasts for the 75·76 season. Hudelson won all around champion in the Big 8 in the 74·75 season. Vickie Kirk and Elaine Bech­with are seniors, and Gwen Whisler, a freshmen , shou ld be outstanding this yea r, especially since I have seen Gwen perform when our Clinton team competed against Bettendorf during the 74·75 season.

I have received a note of acknowledge· ment from the University of Iowa public relations d irector. I should be receiving in fo soon. .

My two assistants Shelly Carpenter a nd Karen Locke are doing a great job for me. They sent me the newspaper article about Judy Pauley from Grand View College, which I mentioned in my last article. According to Grace Smith, coach of Bettendorf H.S. girls gymnas· tics, Pauley's back was broken in three places and she is paralized. We hope she is doing as well as possible .

Well , only three weeks and 4 days until November 4t h and girls High School Gym· nastics will begin. My girls are getting very anxious and I am even getting pre· pared for a super season. I will report on Girls and hopefully Boys H.S. gymnastics next month.

KS Kansas

R. Dean Stamm 2553 S.E. Alexander Dr Topeka, KS 66605

KANSAS STATE REPORT The girls gymnastics - college season

begins in mid November and runs through the State Meet which is held in March. Five colleges were represented at the 73· 74 State Meet hosted by the University of Kansas. Wichita State University (86.65) took the team championship followed by Kansas University (79.90) in 2nd and Washburn University (76 .50) of Topeka in 3rd place. Following are indo ividual winners: AA: Pam Goodman (WSU) 33.25 , Widge Swartz (WU) 25.00; Carol Kroening (WSU) 24.55. UPB: Pam Goodman (WSU) 7.8; Trudy Tucker (WSU) 5.75, (Tie) Jana Parker (WU) 5.45 and Candy Carttar (WSU) 5.45. V: Jody Manzon (KU) 8.6; Pam Goodman (WSU) 8 .3; Laurie Propet (KU) 7.85. BB: Pam Goodman (WSU) 8.5; Karen Smith (KU) 8.25; Karen Fleeger (KU) 7.9. FX: Pam Goodman (WSU) 8.5; Laurie Propst (KU) 8.35; Karen Smith (KU) 8.25.

The girls gymnastic s high school season will be moved to Fall next year. This year the practice date is November 15th wit h competition to begin January 12th. Reg· ionals are scheduled for March 12 and the State Meets will be Ma rc h 20. Th e 5A sc hools will meet at Shawnee Mission North while the 4A an d smaller schools wi ll be competing at Wichita-Kapaun­Mt . Carmel. The 73·74 State Meet was held at Washburn Rural in Topeka. Wichita South High , 92.0, sucessfully defended their Kansas State Team Title with 2nd going to Shawnee Mission South, 90.0, followed by Wichita-Kap­aun-Mt . Carmel, 85.85; Newton , 85.5; Topeka West, 82.65; Shawnee Mission Northwest , 80.0; Wichita Southeast ,

80.0; and Lawrence , 76.45. Indi vidual winners were: AA: Jill Carter (Derby) 8.45; Kari Nett (Wic hita South) 8.33; Donna Armstrong (Wichita South) 8 .16. UPB: Donna Armstrong 8.8; Jill Carter 8.7; Kari Nett 8.65. V: (Tie) Kari Nett and Debbi e Theno (Shawnee Mission North) 9 .0 5; Jill Carter 9.0. FX: Jill Carter 8.5; (Tie) Donna Armstrong and Debbie Theno 8.3 . BB: Debbie Theno 7.65 ; Jill Carter 7.6 ; Sandi Balot (Shawnee Mission South) 7.45.

The 74·75 boys gymnastic high sc hool practice date is December 1st. Competi· tion will begin January 26th. Regionals are to be held March 22 and the State Meets April 3 . T he 5A schools will meet at Wichita South with the 4A and sma ller sc hools sched uled for Topeka West. The Boys State Meet scores were published in the August GYMNAST.

Several Kansas YMCA's have joined together to form a girls gymnastics league. Dave Halverson , a former University of Wisconsin gymnast , and Barbara Miles , a former KSU gymnast , both from the Topeka Y have been busy setting up the league competition brackets and rules. The league plans to begin competi· tion in November winding the season up wit h a League Meet next February or March. a meeting to fi nalize plans has been sc hedu led for October 27 at the Salina YMCA.

The Kansas State Unviersity gym· nastics team lost their schools' financial suppo rt. We are happy to re port that the girls team has made plans to compete as a club. We hope they can keep the activity going a nd regain . their official standing with the University. The Topeka YWCA gi r ls gym nastics classes presented a demonstration at the Highland Village shopping center on October 18th. Their performance was

Pam Goodman

made in conjunc tion with the October­fest , a month·long celebration of the Arts in the Topeka area .

Here and There· We regreat the loss of Tom and Jan Heineike from the Kansas gymnastics sce ne. Th ey will be missed greatly. We wish them the very best in their new home in th e great state of Texas. Congratulations to Gerald Car­ley on the open ing of hi s ne w "Elite Gymnastics Club" in Lawrence. A big Kansas welcome is exte nded to Ginger Temple and Dave Black, both former SIU gymnasts, who have taken over the reins of the Wichita Gymnastics Club. We understand t he very talented and personable Pam Goodman has tra n s· ferred to Southwest Missouri State. We

65

Kansas State Report cont inued from p .. 65

wish her the best of luck and contin ued success . Many coaches, judges and gym· nasts made the USGF Kansas Comp­ulsory Workshop a big success. Rumor has it the Region III USGF Championships may be headed for Topeka.

This reporter would like to invite those of you interested in gymnastics in our State to participate in this report. If you ha ve gymnastics news which you would like to see pub li s hed in this co lumn , please call me at (913) 235-5075 or send it to me at the above address. You mayalso contact Robin Lynn T e rre ll, 513 Col­umbus, Newton , Kansas, 67114 , who has consented to be my assistant.

We are compiling a list of gymnastic activities in Kansas. If you manage , coach or participate in a gymnastic club , class or activity , please let us know the who , when and where of your acti vity.

KY Ke nt uc ky

Gail Maloney 703 Waterford Road Louisville. KY 40207

ME Maine

Lu( !e Ta rdi f 39 Whipple Stree t Winslow. ME 04902

MAINE STATE REPORT Waterville 's gi rls gym nastics team is

probably the most phenomenal item ever to be recorded in Maine sports history .

The phenome non is that they are the only a thlet ic team in the state to ever win si x consecutive state championships. They won them in Waterville, Bangor ,

Waterville again , Gardiner twice, and Brunswick , respectively from 1969 to 1974. Their streak ended in Farmington in 1975 when the previous year's hosts set revenge for being beaten in their own gym; Waterville placed second.

Anyone who was on Waterville 's team during those six years earned praises for her efforts. But nine specia l persons were partic u larly ef fec tive in the growth of Waterville 's championships.

Dorie Hawkes , could probably be the "queen" of Maine schoolgirl gymnastics. She coached three undefeated champion­ship teams at Waterville from 1969 to 1971, skipped a year , then stuck another winning season in for good measure . Prior to her involvement in gymnastics she was a ph ysica l education teacher in Oakland . Although no longer coaching, she is currently president of the Maine Gymnastics Association and one of the most prominent judges in the state .

Ginger Stone was there in 1969 when Waterville took its first championship. She tied for third in the state in vaulti ng a nd took sixth in bars . She attended Dean e Junior College in Mass . and returned in 1972 to rep lace her former coach , kept the winning ways of Water­ville , and once again they were state champs. Now Mrs. Ginger Lord , she has done some' coaching at the Bangor "Y" and the Waterville " y n gym nastics camp and clinic . Ginger will be head ing the gymnastics program at the Waterville "Y" this year.

Margot Kempers , the other tie for third in '69, graduated in 1970 and did not go empty handed . She took the champion· ship in beam and bars and 6th in vaulting. She continued her education at Brandeis U . in Waltham, Ma ss . , and is n ow coaching at MIT in Cambridge, Mass. She also headed the " Y" gym camp in Waterville this past year.

By 1971 , Waterville's freshmen a nd sophomores we re making their debut in Maine gymnastics. One of them, Laurie

Hawkes, da ughter of Dorie , was prob· ably the most daz zling of the new girls. At the '71 state meet , she took fifth in vaulting and beam and 6th in fl oor, but how she did it was the c lincher. A week ear li er she had injured her leg in a car mishap ; but her spirits remained undaunted. The fo ll o wing year she won beam, placed second in floor . She left Waterville in '73 with a fift h in floor and went on to major in biochemistry at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. She was offered the coaching position at Brunswick High whil e a sophomore in college, took it and found herself the mentor of the team that dethroned her alma mater , all in her first and only season as a coach. Laurie is curre ntly doing a semester at the Univer­sity of Nigeria and will return in time to participate in Bowdoin gym nas tics ; but Brunswick wi ll go witho ut her this year.

The r~mai ning gymnasts include Peggy Jabar , former c hampion in beam , bars and floor (in one year) and '74 graduate , is now o n the Springfield Exhibition team and has coached at Olympic training ca mps ; Patty Winters , '73 grad and former vaulting c hampion , is competing on the UM at Augusta team , assis tant coach at Winslow High (Waterville's arch rival) and now coaching junior high and high sc hool at the "Y"; Paula Conn­atser, '74 grad a nd three time floor champ , has been involved in dancing for several years, assi~tant taught at a local dance sc hool and is now work ing in Boston ; Nancy Nason , '73 grad, vaulting champ in her senior yea r; 2-time champ in college, one for UM Presque Isle and one for UM Farmington , is now considered the most prominent vaulter in Maine colleges; a n d Debbie Boardman, '69 grad of Skowhegan High and '73 grad UM Presque Isle , coached- Waterville for the past 2 years.

MD

MARYLAND STATE REPORT El ite compe tit ors fr o m Maryland will

trave l to Pennsylvania fo r the first pre-elite qua lif ying me e t to be h eld in Monessen on November 1 and 2. The Metropolitan League , a group of several teams from the Washington a nd surr· ounding area, wi ll start competitions n"xi month, with an open meet scheduled for the Baltimore a rea. An open meet spon­sored by the MG Gymnastic Team will take place in December, on the 14th. Both of these meets a re compulsory·oriented.

The Ma ryland Association of Health a nd Physical Education and Recreation held it s an nual 'con ven tion in Baltimore at Lockraven High School late in October. The new school provided excellent facili­ties for all sports, including gymnastics. Representatives fr om the various appar­atus companie s we re p resen t , and the gymnastic instruct ion was offered by Greg & Margie Weiss. Says arepresen­tative of the Baltimore cou nty sc hool rec­reation department ih gymnastics , "Gym­nastics has grown so muc h in the Balti­more area that the rec department and the local private teams cannot keep up with the demand, especially in girls' gymnastics." Elementary sc hool gymnast­ics was covered by ~r. Gary Smith.

MI Michigan

Paul S. Shedlik II 048 Morley Taylor. MI 48 180

Michigan State Reporter Paul S. Shedlik is 37 years old the hus­

band oj Georgene, and Jahter oj Sandra 13, and Gregory 9. He is liuing in Taylor, Mich igan and is employed by General Motors Techn ical Center, Warre n, Mich­igan, as an experimental technician. His hobbies are photography, and golf. lnuo/· ued in gymnastics the past three years, photographing euents thot his daughter competed in.

MICHIGAN STATE REPORT

Photo at left is of Waterville's 1973 State Championship Team (photo by George Baines ) Photo at right is of Waterville's first State Championship Team in 1969 (photo by Dic k Maxwell).

Maryland

Margie & G reg Weiss 180!> Gamewell Road Silver Spring, MD

20904

One of the most needed and interesting gymnastic sessions held this past su mmer in Michigan was hosted by Steve Whit­lock School of Gymnastics (Bloom-

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GYMNAST Dec. ' 75

field Hills). It was held the last week of Augus't , at the National Summer Palaes­trum Camp, near Traverse City.

Attending the sessions were the Ply­mouth Gymnastic Team , and coach John Cunningham , Flint Olympians and coach Judy Fryhite . Assisting Steve Whitlock were his instructors AI David , and Charles Morris.

Steve's effort and purpose of his ses­sion was to:

• Standardize age group compulsory routines throughout Michigan, (In the past compulsories have been taught different ly, causing disputes during competition.)

• Have state-wide uni ty between teams . (The chance for teams to get acquainted a nd have a socia l relationship.)

• Benefit from the technique of other coaches.

AI David stated: Although time did not a ll ow for advanced publicit y and more team part icipation, t he purpose of the session was accomplished with those teams that attended.

The U.S.S.R. National Gymnastic Team featuring Olga Korbut will be at Olympia Stadium (Detroit) , Dec. 14 , 2:00 P.M.

Don't forget I Send me yo ur news­worthy items on gymnastic events in your area.

MN Minnesota

Mrs. Marlys Binger 3921 Avondale 51 reet Minnefonka, MN 55343

Minnesota State Reporter Marlys Tennyson Binger began her

interest in gymnastics at an early age, when she became a student orthe dance (acrobatic· ballet!. This led to the position of teacher of dance.

She became actively involued in gym~ nastics about three years ago, when her youngest daughter became a gymnast. To learn more about gymnastics, she enrolled in a class to become a judge. She also accepted the position of handling publicity for her daughters club the Mini-Hops . It was then that she became an ardent admirer of the sport.

She is married, the mother of three teenage daughters and a professional poet. In addition to gymnastics her inter­ests include: reading, writing poetry, needlepoint and knitting. She is also a novice sailor and cross-country skier.

MO Missouri

Randy R. Nelson 3931 Taravue tiC . St. Louis. MO 63125

NH New Hampshire

Jack Jablonski 489 Pine Street Manchester. NH 03104

NJ New Jersey

Albert Kowalski 88 Iroquois Ave. Lake Hiawath , NJ 07034

NM New Mexico

Graham E. Bartlett 5505 Acoma Rd. SE Albuquerque, NM

87108

New Mexico State Reporte r Graham Bartlett has a BS in math

and physics from U of New Mexico and an MA in Counseling from the same insti· tution . He owns Gymnastics Unlimited, which has been in existence for 5 years. He started age group gymnastics in New Mexico. It is a fact that % of the age group coaches in the state were trained either as gymnasts or as coaches by him. He has pushed the USGF program in the state and has run most of the AAU meets. He is a founder of the USA IG C, which is now a member of the USGF. He is in the sport because he enjoys it so much. It is obuious from his educational back'­ground, that he could get a job in a rnore lucratiue profession , but frankly he is hauing fun.

He has been married 7 years and has a daughter, Mandy, who is 4 and two sons, Brandon and Ryan, both 6 months.

NEW MEXICO STATE REPORT New Mexico , the ·Iand of enchantment ;

the land of high forested mountains, clear lakes , clean mountain streams , prarie grasslands that stretch for miles and that ever present , golde n sunshi ne. And in the middle sits Albuquerque , like an island in the expanse of open space. To the east ,

t.owering a vertical mile above the city , are the Sandia Mountains; to the west, tlie volcano cliffs and then miles of ro lling grass land ; to the south the Rio Grande and its series of small towns; to the north , the Indian Pueblos .

Before last year, outside of the schools , there were only a few scattered programs throughout the state , most of them on a recreation basis. None of them worked compulsories and only one competed in optionals outside of the state. Progress was very slow, and for years , a good solid basics program in the state was missing. Gymnastics' fantastic growth hit Albuqu­erque and last year there were three programs willing to run Cl~ss III programs for girls. We set up a state c hampionships and dug in to prepare our girls to win the tit le. With this incentive , the three clubs qualified 80 gir ls to state. The Class II prograrrriast year was small , but this year looks to be a good size program also. Also, we are bringing other clubs throughout the state into the class III program. New Mexico's basic program is on its way!

Growing even faster is the boys' pro­gram. We are trying ve ry hard to set up a USGF program with the boys. last year, we used an AAU type set up, with the age determining the level of compulsory. This year , we hope to set up a class III program at all age levels.

Next month , I wi ll cover gymnastics in the high schools and the universities .

NY New York

Vincent Savastano 3759 Wildwood 51. Yorktown Hgt s .. NY

NC North Carolina

Elissa Fine 2611 Old Kanuga Rd. Hendersonville , NC

28739

OH Ohio

Bob Sherman

10598

1217·0 Loc khursl Rd. Columbus. O H 43207

OK Oklahoma

Laurann Rogers 4324 S. Braden Place Tulsa. OK 74 135

OKLAHOMA STATE REPORT Oklahoma has had a surge of interest in

girls gymnastics in the past few years. Our boys gymnastics is not growing as rapid ly. There are beginning girls teams over a ll parts of the state and clinics to learn the new compulsories are well atte nded. Over 75 girls atte nded the Oklahoma Univer­sity Clinic conducted by OU Gymnastic coach Pa ul Ziert and Oklahoma City Twisters coach Mary Welin .

The first fall meets have been mainly compulsory meets at the beginning level in order to get girls ready for qualifying meets for the state USGF meets. Many more teams will have C lass II and 1 gym­nasts thi s year as the teams progress state wide.

The Phillips 66 Eighth ,Annual Gym­nastic Championship was our biggest fall meet with 180 girls from Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri a nd Texas compet in g optiona ls in 3 age brackets. Rated officials were brought in from 5 states to make this a smooth meet. All four events were going at the sa me time with · o ut crowding in the large arena . A separate warm-up gym was available at all times adjace nt to the arena. The boys compe ti ­tion was held separately on Friday night with about 50 gymnasts e ntered in it. This meet required the girls to have a 6.5 average to enter which made it a very fine meet. Thanks to Randy Schumacher for hosting such a large well run meet.

OR Oregon

Dean Berry 148 West 12th Ave Euge ne, OR 97401

OREGON STATE REPORT Nearing the half way poi nt of Oregon's

fall high school gymnastics season , two schools a re well on their way to establis h: ing themse lves as the top duel meet teams in the state. .

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Oregon Stale Report conlinued from p. 67

The boys team from South Eugene has won all six of their meets this year. They recen t ly defeated number two ra nked Park rose 126.01 to 111.38.

In girls competition North Eugene has a 9·0 season record as well as a 103.88· 95.00 win over defending state champion David Douglas.

The top all around effort in the state is held by North Eugene's Danna Hopper at 34.40. Vernon Albert of South Euge­ne leads the boys race with a 42.50 all a round Score .

State High School Championships will again be held at Portland State Univ. A lo t of new faces will be seen on the awards stand whe~ the boys meet Nov. 28 and the girls follow on Nov. 29.

In addition to the loss of state all around champion Jim Kelch to Japan for training it was learned that girls state a ll around c hampion Denise Hansen of North Eugene has moved to Seattle, Wash.

The newly founded Oregon Club Coaches Association has been estab· lished to promote , organi ze and regulate independent club competition . It's first president is Paul Thompson of the Jewish community Center in Portland.

Important dates for club coac hes to remember include the West Coast qualifying trials , Dec. 5 a nd 6, the week· end of December 13th will see the state heading in three differe nt directions for major co mpetiti on. The Multnomah Athletic Club of Portland wi ll host the State USGF Class III championship. The Tigard School of Gymnastics and the Nat iona l Academ y of Artistic Gym­nsties from Eug e ne will send junior teams to the Can-Am Champions hips in Bellview, Washington. The fina l camp· etition wi ll be in Phe oni" , Arizona by the National Academy and six o ther West Coast teams as part of the city's sponsor· ship of the 1975 Fiesta Bowl.

PA Pennsylvania

John R. Buo ni R.D. "3 West C hes ter , PA

19380

UT Utah

Greg Marsden cIa College of Health University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT

84112

Gynt Sticks U.S.A.

Utah State Reporter Stephen (Greg) Ma rsde n was the

1972 AAU A rkansas State Champion in Floor Exercise, 1973 runner·up State AI/· Around Champion. Greg coached both Women's and Men's Gymnastics teams at Arkansas State Uniuersity in 1973 and is Women's Gymnastics Coach at the Uni· uersity of Utah . The past year he taught gymnastics at the Uniuersity of Utah and at Utah Academy of Gym nastics and he was assistant meet director at the USGF Region I Championships . He will be has · ting the AlA W Regional Championships this March.

UT AH STATE REPORT

In Utah as in most areas of the country, due to bette r television coverage given gymnastics at the '72 Olympics and the enact'ment of Tit le IX , which forced public educational institutions to upgrade their wome n 's a thl etics pro gr ams, women 's gymnastics has mushroomed in popula r· ity. Although isolated somewhat geogra· phically, gymnastics ent h usiasts in the Salt Lake Va lley, which cont ains about 80% of Utah's tota l population, have in the last two years fought desperately to bri ng quant it y a nd more importantly quality gymnastics to this area. Results of their work became evident this past year. Over five hundred high school girls competed in their s ta te meets at Class I, II and III levels. Thirteen Class I gymnasts, represent ing four private clubs within the Sa lt Lake area , qua li fied for U.S.G.F. Nationals , in the first Class I Region I Women 's Champ· ionship meet eve r held in Utah . Shannon Coleman placed fifth and Tammy Has· ler placed sevent h in fl oor exercise and bars, respective ly, at U.S .G.F. Jr. Nat· ionals. Internat ional gymnastics took root with a visit by Japan 's Nippon Gym­nasti cs Club. The summer was high · lighted by what is always a spectacula r and excit in g exh ibition via the Soviet gym· nasts.

As encouragi ng as thi s past year has been for us here in Utah, we feel even greater excitement as we look 'forward to the year to come, "the year of the O lym· piad." Five Utah gymnasts will be attemp' ting to qualify Elite , to reach that elusive plateau in the climb towa rds gymnastics excellence. We who face the magnificence of the great "Rockies" daily rea li ze that gymnastics, like the mountain , is unfor· giving of error. We accept the c hallenge and worship our oppo rtunity to attempt the cl imb. And climb we must , a ll of us, state by state , together approac hing the summit and perhaps one day leading the climb whic h reaches ever nearer gym· nastics perfection .

VT Vermont

Holly C. Szabo 12 Dian 51. Winooski . VT 05404

VA Virginia

Carolyn L. McGhee 8917 Elm Rd. Richmond, VA 23235

Virginia State Re porter Carolyn L McGh ee became interes·

ted in gymnastics in high school in 1964. She then attended Easter Gymnastic Clinic in upstate New York ; there was no gymnastic training in the south at that time. After high school she had no access to equipment, so she dropped out of troining, but her interest didn't.

A year and a half ago she started working at one of the four branches of Richmond's YMCA , She went from teaching gymnastics at one YMCA to teaching at 01/ the YMCA 's. She is in the process of setting up a competitiue team, and also teaching gymnastics at South Richmond YMCA .

She worked with Judy Shaw and Ric hmond 's Olympiad Gymnastic Camp this past sum'mer, and hopes to be working with her this winter in the Olym­piad Club.

VIGINIA STATE REPORT In searching out a ll of Virginia's gym·

na s ti c activities , I have found that her gy mnas ti c p rog rams have been hidd en from the national public so long, that I have my work cut out for me to bring you up to date.

So much is happening at this time that I'll write about the pri vate clubs, and la ter I'll te ll you abo ut the High School League a nd college competitions .

Interest in gym nastics has grown so rapidly th ese past few years tha t our private clubs have been hard at work to keep up . T hey have d evelope d already talented gymnasts into hi g hly sk ill ed athletes by learning the newest tec hniques and perfecting the basic ones.

Judy Shaw of Richmond's Oly mpiad says that there wi ll now be compe tition for all age groups in the three AAU classes. The compulsory clinics are already in action through out the state.

The list of clubs involved in AAU camp· etition has grown so that I'm sure I wo n't be able to list the m all . In Roanoke there is Andrea's Gym Club with Andrea Moore also being the AAU state chai r· man. Virginia Beac h has two top clubs,

Gymnaestrada with Rick Joy, and the Virginia Beac h Flyers . Not too far away is Hampteens of Hampton, a nd New· port News Recreation. Coming inland a little more we come to the city of Franklin with their YMCA. Karon 's come from Northe rn Virginia, and the Southside Gym Club comes from Hopewell. Here in Richmond we have Gordon and Judy Shaw with the Ri c hmond Ol y mpia d , World o f Gymnastics. The Olympiad team also toured England and Wal.es this past summer . That's another story 'in itself.

Last year was the fi rst year for Rich­mond's YMCA invol ve ment in gym· nastics, but this yea r t he Tuckahoe branch is going a ll out to make up for lost time.

Th e private c lu bs, a long wit h a ll the other gymnasts, are hard at work learning compulsories, periecting techniques , a nd 'developing new skills. We should have a fantastic year here in Virginia and you'll be informed of a ll our happenings from private clubs, to High School and College.

WA Washington

Mr. James H. Adams 11929 198th Ave . S.E. Issaqvah, WA 98027

Washington State Reporter Jim Adams is a Nationally Rated

Gymnastic Judge (Me n's), secretary of the Washington Gymnastic Judges Asso· ciation, coach of a small gymnastic club (for boys and girls) , and the Boy's Age Leuel Coordinator for Washington .

WASHINGTON STATE REPORT The fall is a slow time for gymnastics in

Was hington. Most of the activity in the sport li es in the private club ac ti vi ty, with limited age level competition. There is limited ac tivity for Junior High School Girls, wit h a few organized league compet· iti ons held on a local basis during Sept. and Oct. The High School girls' season extends through the middle of February and the boys' season extends fro m March through Ma y. both the girl s and boys seasons are culminated by a State Level competition.

There are curren tly approximate ly 115 High Schools in the sta te wi th gi rl s' compe titive progra ms, and 20 with boys's teams (current school funding problems have eliminated 14 boys teams that camp· eted during the last season). There are more than 25 private clubs in the s tate, mostly with girl 's competitive programs. Currently , there are fewer than six clubs offering programs for boys. At the Call ·

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egia te level, th ree schools have Men's teams , a nd six o ffer in g Women's pro · grams.

Upcoming events of interest to gymnas· tic followers include: Was hington Gym­nast ic Clinic - Dec . 27·29, 1975 (will be held at Sammamish High School , Bell­evue , Wash.) and Washington Gym­nastic Open Competition for Men and Women - J anuary 3·4, 1976 · (wi ll be held at Kent Meridian High School, Kent , Washington .)

WV West Virginia

Garnet Robinson 801 Universi ty Ave. Morgantown , WV

26505

WI Wisconsin

Tom Sisulak Gymnastics Coach LaFollette High School

! 702 Pflaum Road Madison . WI 53716

WISCONSIN STATE REPORT By Tom Sisulak

History was made during the 1974·75 Wisconsin Boy's High School Gymnastics Season with the recent confirmation o f Dennis Baal as the very first National High School Gymnastics Coaches Asso· ciat io n All Ame rican from the state of Wisconsin. Prior to the 1974·75 season , there had ne ver been a N HSGCA All American from Wisconsin . Dennis Baal received the officia l notification in Sep· tember from the NHSGCA.

During the 1974·75 gymnastics season , De nnis was a senior at Madison La Fol­lette High School, Madison , Wisco n­si n . Dennis qualified as All America n on the Still Rings. In order to qualify as an All American, De nnis had to average 8.45 or higher in a total of at least five meets .. Two of the five meets had to be large meets, such as invitationals or champion­s hip meets. De nnis had a final average of 8.47.

As the head gym nastics coach at LaFol­lette , I was very happy for De nnis when he received the final confirmation of his All American rating. Dennis did not com· pete in gymnastics as a freshmen and had never participated in gymnastics at all unt il his sophomore yea r. H owever, he rea lly made up fo r missing his freshmen year by building a set of st ill rings ont o a hickory tre e in his backyard. He is an excellent example of a dedicated gym nast! He is definitely deserving o f this All American Award in its truest meaning! De nnis practices six days each week for about three hours or more, and when the gymnasium is c losed, he will practice out· side on his own ring set. He will practice whether it is 90' in the summer or 32' in the winter. He is an exce llent athlete to coach and has been a tremendous pro· mater of our sport of gymnastics . T o Dennis gymnastics is no t just a sport , it is part of his life. He is a n excellen t student in the classroom and a fine c iti zen in his home community.

Dennis is now attending the Univer­sity of Wisconsin in Madison a nd plans to continue his gymnast ics career with the varsity gymnastics team. Congratula· tions and best of success, De nnis .

No te: T o fut ure All Ameri ci\n Gym · nasts , we wi ll write articles similar to this one eac h year for those qualifying as NHSGCA All Ameritans.

[ETTERS NO INTEREST?

Gentlemen: Boys interest in gymnastics in this area

is almost non·existant . I find men coaches would rot her take the higher coaching jobs of soccer, football at $1 ,000 instead of the gymnastic team at $160 per season. Can't blame them··how would you sug · gest this situation be remidied? (lnteres· ting the women are never offered the opportunity to coach the "ba l/" games).

Sincerely, Dolores Burns Scarsdale, NY.

Ed: Perhaps the rapid growth of the private gymnastics clubs are a direct response to this evident lack of vision on the part of public school adminis­trators to the popularity of the sport.

Readers comment would be wel­comed in regards to promo ting the growing importance and popularity of our sport to the public education administrators.

PEN PAL I was reading some of your le tters and

one was talking about pen pals. My name is Mary and I am 11. I would be very inter· ested in having a gymnast for a pen pal. I go to "Heck's" gymnastic center and I like gymnastics a lot.

Sincerely, Mary Coons 222 E. Lincoln Orange, Calif. 92665

GENE WHELAN Gymnast· Teacher · Friend

Some gym nasts compete well Some gymnasts teach well Some gymnasts are just plain good guys.

Just like the Pan Am Trials , Gene Wh elan wins the all·around on gymnast · teacher & friend competition.

Gymnasts are athletes but mainly just plain people. Gene works for his abili ty. Not a "natu ral " child prodogy but a struggling adult. He nat only works out twice as hard as most guys. He also gives of himself to others. More completely and sincerely than any other male gymnast of his caliber. Watchin g him train for the past 2 summers, I must say the Glee in childrens eyes when he takes time from a busy work·out schedule to pat them on the back. Recognizing that being a teach · er is more than mumbling techniques. Gene gives time to build self confidence in 15 yr. old NO· BODIES. Gene is a friend to those children who need one and reinforc · es positive attit udes in those who have none.

Someone like Gene is a complete asset to any international squad. A joy at any camp or clinic. And a great friend to those who know him.

I wish to remain unknown

PUZZLED Gentlemen:

I give up. I tried to get this in voice into the envelope you supplied without cutting or folding.

It must be a gymnastic trick · my son is the gymnast· I'd ask him but he's away ..

Can you please show me how?

Puzzled Shelly Skolnick S. Salem, NY.

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GYMNAST Dec. '75

NOT ENOUGH JUNIOR OL YMPIC COV ERAGE

To the Editors: I have been involved in the gymnastic

world for the post three years, and I have . enjoyed reading Gymnast magazine

during this time. I realize that gymnotics has really

grown in this country within the past few years , and that there are more campet · itions now than ever before .

I also realize that most people enjoy reading about the progress of the papular

. and well known elite gymnasts in the United States .

However, I do not feel that all ot her gymnasts should be passed over, and I find your magazine doing that more now than ever before.

The advanced and inte rmediate gym­nasts are also dedicated and hard work­ing, and I do believe they deserve some publicit y for their accomplishments, especially on the National level.

I was greatly disappointed that Gym­nast magazine failed to cover the USGF Junior and Senior Nationa ls, the USGF Junior Olympics or the AAU Junior Olympics .

The girls w ho competed in these nat ­ional competitions did an outstanding job, and they should have received some recognition , even if it was only a listing of the final scores .

There are many more non e lite gym­nasts in the progrom than there are elite gymnasts , and it isfun for them to be able to read about their contempora ries climb­ing the ladder to success.

I hope you will consider this in the fu ture. and give more coverage, os you have done in the past , to the non elite gymnast.

Sincerely, A Concerned Fan

CROSSROADS: REBUTTAL

Dea r Mr. Sundby: I rea lize I am a state reporter and that it

might not be right for me to write a le tter to your "Lette rs" column. But afte r seeing the le tters sent by Laurie Carlson, Rox­anne Mathieu, M.R. Blaisdell, D.Leis and Rae Ballassi , all published in your Oc t. issue and concerning your August story, " Cro ss roads " , I just could not re s is t writing.

0. K. people, cut it outll! First of all, Olga Korbut is not a spoiled brat (and she IS cute). I'd like to see you, Rae, try to outdo the accomplishments this girl has performed. If you bomb out in a gymnast· ic s m e et, like Olga ha s a few tim es , wouldn 't you ge t upset and c ry? And, yes, I think she WAS crying in anger at herself for no t doing a s well as she should have. And when you see that brilliant smile of hers , who on eart h cares about her crying and pouting ? (By the wa y, when have yo u seen her pouto)

Nadia Comaneci. Here 's Q girl. who at 13 years of age , comes from Romania (a rather small country if you a sk me ) goes to the European meet, takes three out of 4 gold medals and det hrones the 21 (22?) year·old champ from the great c ountry of Russia . And you dare to ask where she comes off badmouthing Olga? Believe me, lady, she con afford tOI/! At 19, I can't even do a cartwheel and S HE'S winning European championships. True , she had no right to declare he rself better than Olga , but seeing th e c onfide nce with which she won the Europeans, maybe we should take heed to what sh e says con­cerning '76.

And finall y, I really and truly admire Ludmilla Tourischeva . S he is an excep­tional gymnast and athlete and has done well. I really doubt she'll be out of the ru nning in '76.

BUT. fo lks , take a look -see a t what's coming: Korbut , C omaneci, Tourisc heva, L ydia G o rbik , El vira Saadi , Annelore Zinke and Nelli Kim. Don 't waste your time try ing to figure o ut w ho's going to win what . Ju st think of how much fun YOll 'lI ha ve watching the Olympics come July 18. I myself am just going to sit back and watch my fa vorite spo rt for 10 days!

Likes 'em all, Lucie Tardif S tate Repo rter for Maine

PA TRIO TIC SUPPORT D ear M r. Sundb y, and a ll res pec tive

readers. In reading a le tter in th e Oct. '75 issue

of GYMNAST I find the fact tha t COllntr· ies like Russia have a mllc h higher level of g y mnas t ics. Th e rea so n being that th e Russian governme nt s upport s its athlet es. If o nl y o u r Un it e d Stat es g o vernm e n t wOlild look a t this facti In s tead of trying to outwit the U.S .S .R. by means of more nuclear power plants , we should out wit th e m w ith s t rong e r wille d a thletes and more be allt ifull y bu ilt gov' t s upported gyms .

Slipport ing a thle te s t o my con c e rn means supporting earnest U.S. citizens, rather than the idea of political violence. It would fee l great to know that the United States governing body has enough intelli­ge nc e to unde rs tand th e meaning and purpose be hind it s own a thletes. Then , willI be convinced that this is actually the BEST country to live in.

Athletes displa ying self·discipline , and devotion to their country and the ir sport is a most beautiful s ight to see .

Re m e mbering that we are fr om th e s ame country le t s work to geth e r and change it s fault s.

We must be united in representing ou r country w ith cOllrage rather than fear . We should act now, because time is truly

of the essence. For ho w long will it take our govern ment to realize tha t it has mode Q mistake in no t doing what o thers have do ne. lo ng ago ; Lis te n to the people.

Thank -you for the space to express my fee lings . Sincerely You rs , ShaUll Noelle Poppe gymnas t and citizen Irvine G ymnastics Park , Ir vine, CA.

P.S . If I ha ve gottell off the trac k of gym ­nastics I am truly sorry. It is hard holding back one s thoughts, es pecially if they are means to be of some importance.

T o a ll concerned w it h GYMNAST Ma gazin e, " Keep LIP th e f in e jab · it's grea t!"

VAULTING I'm nOI too good aI vaulting , A s many peale might know. It jus t seems kinda ha rd for m e. I guess I'm kinda slow. Coach tries to explain How 10 do it right. I I hink about il e ve ry day . And practice it ai night. I a lso have the problem Of nOI going lip very high. He explains how to hit the board. And tells me 10 reach fo r the ceiling or the sk y. . A nother problem I have. Is a rching my back too mllch . Then he explains fa me How to pike j llst to the slightest touch. These are jll s t a few Of the things I do wrong. I c ould s ii here fore ver A nd go on and on. I have some trouble w ith vaulting A s Y Oli can clearly see. BUI 1'1/ neuer give LIp. I'll keep on trying. You can cou nt on me!

by Sharon Nicklow Knoxville . Te nn .

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Letters cont inued from p . 73

TV COVERAGE

Dear Editor, I'm a gymnastic fan besides partic i­

pating in the sport , I love watching it. If it 's at all possible , could you include information regarding whether or not any meets on your colendar will be on Nation ­al television?

I wish gymnastics could be on TV more often and a s it is I sometimes miss the oc casional meet that is televis ed . If it is too difficult to put the information on the cale ndar, could the GYMNAST Magazine possibly announce any meets that will be televised the /allowing month? I hope you can help me, and all the other gymnastic fans who enjoy watching meets on TV.

Than k You Kim Svevo Palos Heights, IL

ED. We don't usually find out in enou­gh time which meets will be covered on National television. As for as we know, the only station to broadcast gymnastics on a National level is "A BC's Wide World of Sports" and that s hould be listed in your local TV guide.

SMALL HEARTS? To All Concerned:

Wh y are yo u so upset about Nadia Comaneci? Nothing will change the fact that she defeated Turischeva . People c ried , " But she ha s n't enough e x per­ience!" That sure made a lot of difference when she become the European Champ­ion, didn 't it ?

I won 't sa y that she is THE BEST, because I dislike makingjerky value judge­ments - eve n if I had a set of values put forth by the universal fe deration of gym­na stics headed by the all-mighty creator himself. Personally, I like T urischeva and Korbut . However, I avoid their fans like the plague, because they act like mortal enemies {unlike their idols who are just th e opposite and have great mutual respect for each other}. Now these fans who are too s mall-minded to appre­ciate o ther gymnasts are attacking Com­anec i. Are their minds {or perhaps their hearts} so small? .

I'm sorry that this is such a long letter, but brevity is not always the soul of wit.

Philip Shinkai San Francisco, Ca.

A GYMNAST!

Try to put yourself in her place, standing near the judge with a smile on your face. You hop and leap with pointed toes, roundoff, bockhandspring, backhand­spring and pose. Right now, no one in the world could tell just how you feel , oh look! Russian splits and on aerial cartwheel. To get this routine just right you've got to get into the mood, wow, a back sammie, did you see that amplitude? The crowd seems to love you, and you continue by doing flipflops , you gracefully move along the floor and at last the music stops . The aud­ience applauds loudly and some say oh isn't she cute? You walk away very pleased and then put on your warm up suit . You 're sweating and you 're nervous and in the gym it hotter than heck, and the tears roll down your cheek as they place the gold medal around your neck.

Gymnastically yours, Alice Dahlke, 12 Troy , Michigan

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HIGH SCHOOL AND PRIVATE TEAM COMPETITION

Dear Gymnast, This last summer I tried out for a better

gymnastic team. As soon as I began to train for this season , school started and the high school coach asked me if I wanted to join the team. "Gee, I'd love to ," I thought . I wont to compete for my school but ... I can't. Why is this private business and interschool clash and I'm caught in the middle. I'll probably have to get into a bunch of red tape because it 's "illegal." I want to stand up for my rights. Help!

A high school and private team Unhopeful

SUPPORT

As we all have read in the previous GYMNAST magazines about the "man­ipulated scores" {GYMNAST Jan . 1975, pg. 15} and " grossly unfair judging" {GYMNAST Dec. 1974, pg. 18} that the Communist influences exhibited, quite explicitly, we felt how alone and helpless the US. officials were in protesting these matters. The distance of the 18th World Games Championships was primarily the reason for this helplessness. We had little or not support present from the US., and thus, the voices were mere whispers that accomplished nothing, score wise. Our girls teams was obviously deprived of an actual chance to show what they could accomplish. we were predestined to fall into the 6th or 7th positions . At least this seems to be the view of the Comm· unist nations that are so well represented in the form of head judges and officials of these world championships.

Next year, however, we must see to it that this does not happen. Are we

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gymnasts supposed to devote ou r lives to practising and perfec ting o ur performan­ces to achieve 6th place at the most? Is it worth it? Not if the system isn 't overhauled and some sort of eq uilibrium is attained as to the Eastern and Western influences in these co m pet itio ns_ And nex t years Olympics is the ideal time and place to make ourselves known.

Being in Canada, the presence of US. supporters should be considerably higher than in past meets. We must have total support and involvement from everybody from the USA in the upco ming Olympic Games. When our representative gym­nasts are performing, we shoud let them and the judges know we are behind them_ When, or if, they are not given impartial judging and sufficient scoring, we will not let it pass unnoticed. Our displeasure will be heard, and depending on the duration and amplitude , should influence th e officials substanciolly. I, for one, wil be there and see to it , as long as my voice holds out , that our gymnasts are not deprived of the scores they truly deserve.

I urge any and all gymnastic supporters to be present and vocally let the Comm­unist nations know that we will not sit back and allow such injustices , and especiallv that we are a potentially first ­class gymnastic country_ That politics has entered into the sport is truly sad, but it 's a fac t that must be acknowledged and one that must be dealt with accordingly. If we are to keep this beautiful sport from becoming totally consumed by the ugly grips of economics and political influence, then we have to make sure it ends, or at least ceases to become a major factor, at the ' 76 Olympics. Idealistic? Yes , but I feel it is very possible. Let's hope it won't be necessary for such a demonstration of power, and that everything runs smooth.

Sincerely, Jim Moore

_Aspiung gymnast, ASU Tempe , Arizona

Sequence of Each Event is

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PUBLIC STREET, PROVIDENCE, R.I. 02905

GYMNAST Dec. '75

Nov. 7-10 "The Challenge of the Sexes" Linda Methe ny aga inst Mako to Saka mo to in gymnastics at Miss io n Vie jo, Califo rni a. Nov. 21-22 USC Open Uni ve rsit y o f South e rn Calif. Los Ange les, Ca. Nov. 22 Windy City Invitational, Chicago. Nov. 28-29 Midwest Championships, Chi cago. Nov. 29 CSUN Invitational, California State University at Northridge, Ca. Nov. 30 - Dec. 1 National AAU Committee Meetings (Gymnastics) Braniff Pl ace Ho te l, New Orle ans, La " for more in fo. writ e AAU Ho use, 3400 West 86th Street, Indianapo li s, Indi ana 46268.

USSR/ TOUR 1975 Dec. 7 New Yo rk , NY Dec. 8 Cleve la nd , O H Dec. 9 Champaign/ Ur bana , IL Dec. 11 Los Ange les, CA Dec. 12 San Fra nc isco, CA Dec. 14 De t ro it , M I Dec. 15 Cin cin na ti , O H Dec. 17 At lant a, GA Dec. 18 Washingto n, D.C.

Dec. 12, 13, 14 Asian Youth Games, Ma nil a, Phillipines. Dec. 12, 13 California Open, Uni ve rsity of California, Berk e ley , Ca lifo rni a. Dec. 12-13 Rocky Mountain Open, De nver, Colorado Dec. 19-20 America Team Bicentenniallnv. Class 1& Elit e - Final s, Co nt act : Pat Alexa nd e r, P.O, Box 55035 Housto n , Texas 77055 Dec. 21-22 Gulf Coast National cont act Pat Alexa nder, Box 55035 Ho uston , Texas 77055 Dec. 26-30 Titan Gymnastics Development Camp CSUF - Full e rt o n , Ca . Cont act Dic k Wolfe Dec. 26-30 National Gymnastic Clinic (AAU), Robarts Arena, Sa ra so ta , Fl o riua. Dec. 26-30 USGF Eastern Gymnastic Clinic, Fl. Lauderda le , Flo rid a.

1976 Jan. 10 Kips Invitational CSUF - Fullerto n, Ca. Jan. 16, 17 Elite Program Second Regional Qualifying Meet, Sit e und e te rmin ed. Jan 29-30 US-USSR Gymnastic Meet Penn . State Feb. 6, 7 Elit e Program Second National Qualifying Meet. Sit e u nd e te rmin ed . Mar. USGF Elite National Championships, Site und e te rmin e u . Mar. 4, 5, 6 Pacific Eight Gymnastic Championships, Univer; it y o f O rego n, Eu gene, Oregon. Mar 5, 6 NAIA National Gymnastics Tournament, Univer; it y of Wisco nsin-LaCrosse , LaCrosse, Wi sconsin. Mar. 12, 13 NCAA East Regional Gymnastic Meet, Penn State Uni ve rs it y, Uni ve rsit y Pa rk, Pe nnsylvania . Mar. 18, 19, 20 Western Athletic Conference GymnasticChampionships, Colo rad o State University, Fort Co li ins, Co lo rad o . Mar. 19, 20 Big 8 Gymnastic Championships, Univer;i ty of Co lo rad o, Bo uld e r, Colorado , Mar. 19, 20 NCAA West Regional Gymnastic Meet, San Jose St ate Uni versit y, Sa n Jose, California. Mar. 25, 26, 27 NCAA Division II National Gymnastic Championships, Uni ve rs it y o f No rth e rn Iowa, Cedar Fall s, 10w;1. Mar. 26, 27 Big 10 Gymnastic Meet, Mic higan State, East Lansing, M ic hi ga n. Mar. 27 California Youth Invitational Optionals only, eligibilit y: 14 yrs and yo un ge r, 3 supe rior ea . event, 2 vault s 10.00 pt s. e ,1. Hosted by Gymnastics Olympica, coac h Frit z Re it e r, Va n Nuys, Ca. Apr. 1,2,3 NCAA National GymnasticChampionships, Temple Uni versit y, Phil ad e lphia, Pennsy lvania. Apr. 8, 9, 10 USA Gymnastic Championships for Women, Si te und e te rmin ed. Apr. 10-11 YMCA Nationals, m e n and women , Bethesda-Ch evy C hase YMCA, Ma ryland Apr. 15-17 National AAU Junior Gym. Championships, Men and Wo me n, Century School of GymnastiCS, Pomona , New Yo rk. Apr. 23, 24, 25 National Gymnastics Conference and Workshop (Fo rm e rl y South wes tern Regional Gymnas ti cs Co nfe re nce a nd Wo rkshop), Las Vegas Convention Cent e r; Las Ve gas, Nevada, Hilton Internatio na l contact : To m Ed son, Physical Education

Testing Coo rdin ato r, Rive rside County Sc hools Office, 401 5 Le mo n Stree t, P.O . Box 868, Ri verside , CA 92502, Pho ne : (714) 787-6431.

Apr. 29, 30, May 1 National AAU Senior Elite Championships, M e n and Women, Exact site no t determin ed as yet but will be he ld in Philadelphi a, contact AAU. May 6, 7, 8 Age Group Program USGF Junior National Championships, Site und e te rmin ed . May 13, 14, 15 USA Olympic Womens Trials at Los Ange les Spor ts Are na. . May 20 and 22 Men's Olympic Trials, University of Cali forn ia. Berke ley, Ca lifornia . August 6-9 National AAU Jr. Olympic Championships, Boys a nd G irl s, M e mphis Stat e Uni ve rsity, M e mphis, Tenn. cont act : AAU.

Unofficial Schedule For the USGF Elite Program 1975-76

Oct. 31-Nov. 1 1st Regional Elite Qualifying Meet. Dec. 5-6 1st National Elite Qualifying Meet. Jan. 16-17 2nd Regional Elite Qualifying Meet. Feb. 6-7 2nd National Elite Qualifying Meet. Mar. 4, 5, 6 USGF Women's Committee National Elite Championships. Apr. 9-10 Master Elite Meet. May 13, 14, 15 Olympic Trials. July 5-14 Departure for Olympic Games.

CLASSIFIED PO~1l10N AVAILABLE M,11l o r wo man 21 years; SA in physical £'du( ,111 011 d .I IlLl' o r f eul'Jli on preferred but no l required ; m ln( ' 1 II I .. , IIIl l' ve r y helpful. Cornpeti ti ve gymn asti cs at alh.1I 1I I,d I .. vd IH rCdsu rlJble l eaching ex perience. $600-$800 P(" n l(lot h depenu in g u n b<l ckgro und o r ca pabilities; state hul,d.I Y"': \vtl rk lll ,IIl '~ cu.npensa lion ; V4 time pOSiti on fo r m'llllt'd I lI'htlll o r grJu uJte student. Duties: Ass istant co ach to IJlH'l n ll'd i, IIt , .Jlll i ,JlJvdll l:C'U girls (Cla ss I & II ); head coach bq': II!l1I'1 gir l-, : ( !)llIeSI r cs~ollS i b iliti es; so me tiny tots (4-5 year old .. , . 11 111 "n nll' .ulull d JSS leJuership experience desirable. \,\ ,11 \0\ ( 111., w illl t)W11Cr lu d evelop beginner programs and II() l lb l{, "hnlli. .\ pru iJ lelll solving job w ith challenges in bLJ ~I I II ''''. ' I ',wili ng .Inu public relations. M ust be capable of ~1I("1f..: po "il ivl! ClI lo tio llJI .1 tt achlll enl to children and 1( · ( · ' l . l ~ t 'h. L. Jrgt~ g)'I llIlJs ti l:s JCJdem y and sate llite studios ( 'qlll jlI H·d to r q l)' tnp ic ~ t y l c gymn asti cs fo r both men and \0\ u n It'll II I ')d u.lI ll c n tu. Apply to : Dick and Janelle Burril.1. ~i.J( I , .n Il ' lllo ( ; ~' IIl Il" ~ t i<.:,:> & Hall et Academ y 5108 Ard en \:t,I~._~ ell n i l! h,II '1. C. 1. lJ5GUH. Ph one: (916) 482-5377.

FIRST NATIONAL GYMNASTICS CONFERENCE & WORKSHOP (Formerly Southwestern Regional Gymnastics Conference and Workshop)

Hilton International Hotel, Las Vegas and Las Vegas Convention Center · April 22, 23, 24, 1975

THEME: Workshops in Techniques and Approaches (Skills/ Spotting/ Techniques/ Judging) in Gymnastics for Junior and Senior High School girls, Primary (Early Childhood) and Elementary Teachers, Physical Education Instructors, University Teachers, students and Private Club Programs.

Separate seminars for coaches, teachers and students in JUDGING, SPOTTING, and SKILLS DEVELOPMENT for Beginning, Intermediate and Elite Compulsory and Optional routines plus Participation sections. In addition there will be participation and demonstration sections separate from the coaching seminars for elementary, junior and senior high school students in attendance. More participation sections will be added this year in lYz hour sections, than in previous conferences .

• LECTURE·DEMONSTRA nON • PROBLEM SOLVING SESSIONS

• WORKSHOP SESSIONS • WORK·OUT SESSIONS

• "NIGHT OF STARS"

Some of the Workshop Leaders: Bud Marquette, Dale Flansaas, Marion Duncan, Jim Fountaine, Scott Crouse, George Hery, Liz Holey, Rod & Debbie Hill, Dick Gakell, Jo Ann Pasquale, George & Jo Kreutzer, Jack Medina, Fritz Reiter, Rodney Poindexter, Norbert Hill, Ed Franz, Vic & Gayle Krumdick, Elizabeth Stevenson, Cheryl Wagner & Tom Williams .

REGISTRA nON FEE: $25.00 - Coaches, teachers, college students (18 and over) $15.00 - Students: Elementary, Junior High, Senior High (18 and under) $5.00 - For late registrants after April 3, 1976

For Additional information please write to:

Mr. Tim Waldron 6655 Palm Ave., Apt. =71 Riverside, Ca. 92506

620 "THE SPRITE" Wed~e neckline, long sleeves, no zipper. Double trim collarette of 2nd and 3rd colors. Sleeve bands sewn 1" apart from bottom of sleeves. Adults: $9.50 Girls : $9.00

600 "THE MAJESTIC" Circular neck· line, long sleeves, no zipper. 2Y," diag­onal sash from left to right with y," trim around neckline and bottom of sleeves of 2nd color. Adults: $9.00 Girls : $8.50

GYM - A - TARDo CUSTOM MADE COMPETITION WEAR

615 "THE CHEVRON " Notched V-front and back , with a chevron insert in front. Zipper fronl , long sleeves. Trim, zipper and insert of a 2nd color. Adults : $11 .75 Girls: $11 .25

623 "THE MANDARIN" Zipper front stand·up collar of a 2nd color wi th 2 stripes sewn around collar of 1 st and 3rd colors , also on bottom of sleeves.

Adults: $11.25 Girls : $10.75

WRITE FOR CATALOGUE ON OFFICIAL STATIONERY TO: DEPT. C-1

MANUFACTURERS SINCE 1930

622 "THE REGIONAL" V · front, high back, long sleeves, no zipper. Athletic type armnole inserts in front and back of 2nd color. V·trim on neck and bottom of sleeves of 3rd color. Adults: $11 .75 Girls: $11.25

598 X "THE WINNER" V·neck front with zipper, high back, long sleeves. Double trim around neckline, zipper and bottom of sleeves of 2nd and 3rd colors. . Adults: $11.25 Girls: $10.75

598 Same as above only with single trim. Adults : $9.75 Girls : $9.25

Here's how to bring vour trampoline up to

A"STM safety standards! Recently the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) developed new safety standards for trampoline equipment. These standards have evolved, not only for safety of the performer, but for the protection of the instructor.

The three items below are mandatory for all new trampolines furnished to schools. Bring your trampoline up to ASTM standards now by ordering these items!

Spring Hook Covers All exposed spring hooks must be covered. Nissen has designed a flexible vinyl cover that slips on the exposed hook of the spring to help prevent skin cuts and abrasions. Covers remain on the springs permanently and do not hamper spring action. per set . . . ... . ... . ... ... . ... . . ... $5

Frame Pads The frame and part of the suspension system (spring ends connected to the frame) must be protected by frame pads No. 8890-C Goliath Standard Frame

Pads (set of 4). . ...... .. ... $179 No. 1790-C Regulation Standard

Frame Pads (set of 4) ... .... $173

Cautionary Labels Cautionary labels must appear on both sides of the trampoline frame and both sides of the bouncing bed. If your trampoline is not equipped with these labels a full set will be sent to you free upon request.

,-----------------------------------------1 I ORDER FORM: Please send us the items we have checked below as soon as possible. I I SPruNG HOOK COVERS FRAME PADS CAUTIONARY lABELS I I __ Set(s) for Goliath Trampoline at $5 set __ Set for Goliath Trampoline at $179 __ Complete set for frame. bed I I and frame pads at NO CHARGE

I I I I I I I I

__ Set(s) for Regulation Trampoline at $5 set __ Set for Regulation Trampoline at $173

Narne ________________________________ _ Position _________ _

SChool ______________________________________________ __

Address ______________________________________ ___

City __________________ State __________________ Zip Code ____ __

Purchase order no. (if necessary) _______ Signature ______________________________ __

II __ 1 _______ ----'1 THE RELIABLE ONES I 930 27th Ave. SW. Cedar Rapids. Iowa 52406 Phone 319/365-7561 L _________________________________________ ~