Our new 74-75 Catal09 il on it~ way to you •••

Pretty soon, you should be receiving your copy of our new catalog. We're happy to announce more than 90 new items(lncluding our "EARLY ACTION" Products for Movement Education), new easy·to-read code numbers, metric measurements on every item and a host of other innovations. Whatever you need for your Gymnastics or P.E. Program, you'll find it in the 25th Anniversary issue of the GSC Athletic Equipment Catalog!

P.S. If you don't receive a copy, write us, we'll be more than happy

to send you one.

600 N. Pacific Avenue, San Pedro, Ca 90733 (213) 831 -0131

Each year the Gym Master Company presents its coveted diamond mounted

14-carat gold insignias to a select group of champions for achievements

in gymnastics.

This Diamond Award is also presented to outstanding

coaches for their exceptional contributions

to gymnastics.

NCAA CHAMPIONS USGF CHAMPIONS - WOMEN All Around . Steve Hug All Around ..... . . Joan Rice Floor Exe rci se .. . .. Doug Fitzjarrell Vault . . . . Dianne Dunbar Pommel Horse ... . . . . .. Ted Marcy Uneven Bars . . .... Dianne Dunbar Still Rings . . . . .. ..... Keith Heaver Beam .. . ... Joan Rice Long Horse . . .. Greg Goodrum Floor Exerc ise .... .. Joan Rice Parallel Bars . . . . . . . . Steve Hug Horizontal Bar. . .. Rick Danley @

~ -=================== ~ Slil

USGF CHAMPIONS - MEN COACHES OF YEAR All Around . . . ... . . . . John Crosby National Coach Floor Exercise ... John Crosby Pommel Horse .. . . Marshal Avener Still Rings . . ... Tom Weeden

of the Year . .. .. .. , . Ed Gagnier Eastern Regional Coach

of the Year . ...... Abe Grossfeld Mideast Regional Coach

Long Horse ......... . John Crosby of the Yea r . ... . .. Roger Counci I Parallel Bars . . . .. .. Jim Ivicek Midwest Regional Coach

of the Year . . . .... Don Robinson Western Regional Coach Horizontal Bar . Brent Simmons

of the Year . ..... . ... AI Marino Division II Coach

of the Year . . . ...... Dick Wolfe

Special Diamond Award Gym Master proudly presents this special honor to those who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of gymnastics.

THE GYMNASTIC EQUIPMENT S PE C IALIST S

I Chuck Keeney James Rozanas

• (;~""a4~(Ju:,",., r 3200 South Zuni Street • Englewood, Colorado 80110

GREAT STYLES

FOR ACTION

ONE OF ' THE NEW •

GREAT STYLES

, "IN THE SPIN," ALL REO

WITH WHITE TRIM. ZIPlESS

FOR ACTION. C~. S,M,l.1195 AO. S,M,l. 13.95 ADO lOa.

POSTAGE.

ASK FOR ' TAFFY'S NEW CATALOG OF GREAT STYLES FOR ACTION

TO ORDER. WRITE TO: TAFFY'S GREAT STYLES FOR ACTION 1571 Golden Gate Plaza

Cleveland, Ohio 44124

ATLANTA • BOSTON • CLEVELAND , . DALLAS • SALT LAKE --"._ ............

I I I I I I I I I

... we(Jr (J NOW IN STOCK!

WALKOVER

Tell the wDrld wh(Jt y()U thin/( ()f y()ufself. ..

~llmnOBb~ \T' sh,rt.' $5.00 ea. ppd.

JUNGLE FROG HAPPY HANDSTAND

Finest quality 100% combed cotton featu ring high crew neck , spo rt shirt length sleeves, breast pocket and choice of si lk sc reened patterns. Colors : w hite, ye llow, tan , b lue. Sizes S (32-34), M (36-38 ), L (40-42) $5 .00 each (ppd. ) Not all sizes ava il ab le ill all co lo rs. ?Iease ind icate f irst, second, and third color preference. First cho ice wi ll be sent w henever possib le; however, we rese rve t he ri ght to subst itute co lo r w hen necessary.

---------------Order Blank--------------

$5.00 ea. ppd. Order NOW!

WALKOVER JUNGLE FROG HAPPY HANDSTAND Qualltity Quantity Quantity Quantity Size(s) Size(s) Size(s) Size(s) Color Co lor Color Color 1. 1. 1. 1. 2. 2. 2. 2. 3. 3. 3. 3.

Please send me the Gymnast ' T ' shirts I have checked aboveat $5.00 ea . ppd. I am enclosi ng a check for the total amount: $ __ . (Ca li fo rni a residents add 6 'x, sa les tax .)

Name ________________________________________________________ __

Address __________ _ _______________________ __

Ci~----------------------- State __________ Zip __ _

I I I I I I I I I I I I L __________________________________ J

Ilb~ TABLE OF CONTENTS

Volume XVI/Number 10 / October 1974

5. FROM THE PUBLISHER, Glenn Sundby 7. VIEWPOINTS, Dick Criley 9. WHAT'S HAPPENING!

10. ON THE BEAM, Barbara Thatcher 11. HAWAII BEACH MEET 16. SANTA MONICA GYMFEST,

Tom Wa keling 16. SUMMER GYMNASTIC CAMPS:

17. Catalina Island 19. New England Area 20. Across New England 20. Lake Bistineau 21. SIU 22. Tumble Town 22. Olympic Camp 23. Camp Sears 23. Woodward 24. Stony Brook

25. THE MIND OF A GYMNASTIC ROUTINE 26. THE GOLDEN DOZEN AMERICAN

WOMEN GYMNASTS, b y Minot Simons II

40. HELEN'S CORNER, He le n Sjursen 41. HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR

COACHING, Gary And e rson 41. COMMITMENT AND THE GYMNAST,

John W. Hin gs Jr. 42. INSTRUCTION:

Pirouettes and Stutzes (Twisting Mechanics III). H.J. Bies terfe ldt . Jr.

44. RESEARCH: Comparison of the Body Dimensions of Japanese, Hungarian, and American Gymnasts, Ri c hard C. Ne lso n

47. THIRTY SECONDS, David Je ndrzejek 48. SWING: The Essence of Gymnastics

(Part III), A.B. Frederic k 50. SEQUENCES BY SCHULZ, Dieter Sch u lz 52. A COMPARISON TWOTECHNIQUESOF

TEACHING THE BACK HANDSPRING, Marvin Joh nso n

53. THE WORLDS BEST, Dr. Josef Gohler 54. GYMNAST MEMORABILIA: The World

Gymnastic Championships 1930-1970, Tom Wakeling

58. LETTERS 59. FILM REVIEW, Dick Cr iley 60. BOOK REVIEW, Dr. J. Borrns 61. MEET RESULTS

Publisher: G len n Sundby Associate Editors: Dic k Criley

Renee He nd e rshOl1 Research Editor: H.J. Bies le rfeldl , Jr. Education Editor: A.B. Frederick Junior Gymnast Editor: Joe Sweeney Modern Rhythmic Gvmnastics Editor:

Annelis Sirange Hoy man Instructional Editors : AA : Bill Ball es le r. FX: Paul l ie n . PH: James Hesso n . R: Ed Isabel le, LH: Jim Turpin. PO: Bill Roel zh e imm HO: Bill Holmes. Layout and Design : Teri Johnso n G YMNAST ,n1cl Kdli nt· i) pubh ~ hl·d by Sundby f'ublil oll ium. 41U Kro ddwd Y. S.a nld Monl t.!, c.1. '10 401. St'lunc! Ciol)) Pm ld!; l' !-)did.ll ~dn l d Monild. c.t. Y~bli ~ h l'd nlU~llh l )' t'\( ('p i bi -Ill unth ly Junt', Jul y, AUKml dnd ~)t'pl('mlll'r . YUH' S I.OO d ~tn 8h' (Opy. Su bH ripliu n (o rr l·~ pund l' n Ct· . (,YMNA~T _ .... 0. 80\ 110, S.Ul ld .... t oni( .I, Cd. ''')..jOf.,. Copy rig ht IlJi .. dlr righh U'W U'('O by SUNUY PUBLI CA II UN~. 410 8rodd\\''' )'. Sd nld .\.-tun i( .I, <'.1. AII.Pholm Jnd RldnU'lriph ~uhn1 i lll' rI Ill'(O l11 l' Ihl' propl'rl y ul C.YMNA~ l unll'~~ H'hun H'qUl'~ 1 <lnd ~ ull i( il' nl ptl ~ I.I ~ t' ,\ft' jn( Iuu('d.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

From The PUBLISHER

SUMMER CATCH-UP: Summer is supposed to be a time of relaxation, vacation and family outings." But not if your in Gymnastics." In Gymnastics it is a time of Camps, Clinics and Workshops, and in the case of Gymnast magazine it is the time to take advantage of our bi-monthly summer publishing schedul e and work to get the Gymnast caught up and out on time. With the aid of our new Art Director, Teri Johnson we were able to do just that as this O cto ber edition is ready for press and should be in themail to you by the first of the month (at that point we hope the Post Office will out do themselves and really rush it on to you). We want to thank all the Camp, Clinic and Competition directors who rushed th eir " Summer Gymnastic Happenings" report on to us in time for this edition . We reali ze we have only scratched the surface in this report of summer camps and that many directors are still gathering photos and data on their program to forward on to us. Therefore we will make a special effort to use as many of these belated su mm er cam p reports as space permits in the next edition of Gymnast.

* * * NEXT EDITION: We will feature reports and photos on the WORLD GAMES final trials for Women at Anaheim, California and the Men at Austin, Texas ... A report on my visit to Japan to cover the " Ikeda GymnasticClub of Tokyo" World 's Jr. Championship. " Plus a visit with Gymnast Associate Editor, Di ck Criley in Hawaii and an " On Balance" session with the Handbalancers on the Beach at Waikiki ". Also Gymnast wandering staff writer Barbara Thatcher (her " On The Beam '" co lumn reappears this edition) spent the summer at seve ral Gymnastic ca mps across the USA decided to accept a position with Bill and Ginny Coco's Gymnastic School in Philad elphia. We expect as Barbara continues her " On The Beam" column we will also be receiving more complete reports of on the scene Gymnastic Happenings from the Eastern section of the USA for coming editions of Gymnqst.

* * * Thats it for now, Hope you all had an enjoyab le Summer Gymnastic Camp Experience and ... HAVE A HAPPY HANDSTAND.

SUBSCRIBE NOW! 10 BIG issues ... ... And STILL only

••• More pages of exciting photos, results, instruction, international reports, etc.

$7.50 per year (A $2.50 saving over cover price)

••• than ever before. Order now, BEFORE you miss an issue. , •.•......•••........••••...••....•••••••••••.....••••..... ~ .. ~ •••••••............•• ~IIDlnllb~ SUBSCRIPTION FORM

o 1-Year $7.50 o 2-Yea rs $14.00

o FOREIGN $9.00 pe r yea r (in cl. Canada and Mexico) Name __________________________________________ _

Address ________________________________________ __

Cit y ___________________ Sta te ____ Zip ________ _

o 3- Years $20.00

Mail 10: GYMNAST Subscripl ion

Sund b y Publi ca lions P.O. Box 110 San la M on ica, Ca. 90406

= , .........•..•......................••••••••••••.•••••.................•••...•.....•

You've Got To Have Good Hands!

Why? Because it takes skilled, strong hands to be a successful gymnast, and the same is true about the hands that make American gymnastic equipment.

Like a top gymnast, American is always striving to get better, so send today for our free catalog and let us bring out the best in you.

American Athletic Equipment P.o. Box 111 , Jefferson , Iowa 50129

Amid the great publi city affo rded the Watergate and Ni xo n cover-up acti viti es thi s summer, Congress plodded ahead w ith its own business of instit uting laws and sett ing up actions to affect many as pects of o ur lives. Last yea r the Senate considered th e Amateur Athletic Act of 1973, but returned it to committee. This yea r, minus a few sponsors and amendments, th e Amateur Athletic Act of 1974 (AAA '74) re-emerged to be passed on July 9 by th e Senate. Also known as th e Pearson Bill or S 3500, it has been sent o n to the House fo r approva l.

Passed ea rli er this yea r by th e Senate (and sent on to the Ho use) wa s a bill proposed by Sen. John V. Tunney (D-Calif.) w hi ch created a 9-man commission to recommend reforms in U .S. participation in the Ol ympic Games. The commission would eva luate the stru cture and policies of the U.S.O.c.; review how athl etes, coac hes, and off icials are chosen; recommend special trainin g programs; and stud y areas over which the U.S. has no direct cont ro l.

Assuming passage by th e Ho use, thi s Commission will probably uncove r a curious situation. If th e U.S. government steps into the sphere of naming its official sports gove rnin g bodi es as specified by AAA '74, it will ri sk contradicting regulation by which many international fede rations recognize their members, as well as the Internati ona'i Olympic Committee policy of keeping nationa l Olympic com mittees free from political pressures.

AAA '74 was strongl y supported by the NCAA, which praised its passage as a blow to AAU control of the U.S.O.c. and a number of national sports governin g bodies. Ju st as vigorously, th e AAU opposed AAA '74 and advoca ted amendments (sponsored by Sens. Cook and Humphrey) which would have deleted the secti o n by which a commission representing the u.s. government would have responsibility for choosing the national governing body for a sport and a secti on w hich restricted to a maximu m of 3 (closely related sports) th e number of sports an organi zat ion co uld control. Sen. Humphrey 's amendment to set up a sports arbit ration board passed w hile Sen. Cook's prov isions failed.

Major provis ions of AAA '74 have no affect on non-Olympic sports such as footbal l, golf, ten nis, etc., but do affect all o f the Ol ympic sports, including gymnast ics. The affected sports will be bro ught under a federal Amateur Sports Board charged with iss uing charters to governing bodi es. A $50 milli o n fund would be set up (to be matched with private fund s) and administerd by a 16-member Sports Foundation for the ptlrpose of deve loping athletes and improving sports facilities.

One provision of AAA '74 gives athletes a vo ice in the management of the Amateur Sports Board (how, it is diffi cult to see as th e appointees are Presidential and there are only 5 seats) and in th e to-be-chartered Sports Associations w hich are supposed to have at least 20% representation by active athletes.

In their May 13, 1974, issue, Sports Illustrated ca me out aga inst AAA '74 while supporting the Tunney Bill. SI's opposition centers on government control of amateur athlet ics,

GYMNAST Oct. '74

BY DICK CRllEY

how wdl \t affect ~~ the 3FI1 t)]st 7

especiall y in the areas of naming the persons and o rganizat ions w hich would lead the nation 's programs and because it regards the cos t of $50 milli o n of tax paye r's money (p lus ano th er $50 million from more w illing taxpayer-contributors) as a mere drop in th e bucke t for the real needs in deve loping athl et ics.

At present, th e AAA '74 bill is in the Ho use Education and Labor Committee and th e Tunn ey Bill in the Ho use Judi ciaryComm ittee. There is no telling just when hear in gs w ill be concluded and th e bil ls presented fo r a vo te. With mood of Congress to adjourn for ca mpigning for elec tions, th ese bi lls cou ld move quick ly o r n'ot at all.

In my view, the Tunney Bill does merit support because of the rev iew of the U.S.O.c. Even the U.S.O.c. claims to favor it as a vehic le to clear its name.

AAA '74, on the other hand, seems to me to ca rry more dangerous prov isions than needed ones. Granted the need fo r an arbitrati on mechanism to resol ve athl ete- sports assoc iat ion and association-associati on conf li cts, but I am not convi nced that we are in need of another leve l of federal bureaucracy. The idea of money to aid amateur spor ts is not all that bad, but wil l the ta xpayer sta nd for it ? And more to the poi nt, do we rea ll y need a federal board to dispense ' the money? Even the co ncept of o ne sport-one governin g body, w hich is an attempt to strip the AAU of 9 sports which it st ill contro ls (make th at 8 as the international basketba ll federation just recogn ized the rival ABAUSA), doesn' t rea ll y get to th e root of things. It is the intern ation al body' s prerogative to recog nize the organization it chooses an d on w hatever basis it chooses, rather than to have to accept a government-produced sports organ iza tion. It ca n be argued that the international federations are recognizing the governmen t­sponso red organi za tions of the comm uni st countri es where spo rts pa rt icipa ti o n is.a form

of political policy, but w hy should the U .S .A. have to adopt the same route?

The national spo rts federatio ns which have been recogn ized internatio nall y in place of some AAU body have worked hard to justify the ir positions. In many areas o f international trade, the free market system has wo rked tolerably we ll , w hil e government meddling (as in the case of ai r fares) has usually led to an unstable situat ion requiring much tinkering to , keep it go ing. If the AAU ca n justify its international representat ion in diverse sports whi le facing chall enges at home from up-and­coming nati ona l federa tion s, w hy no t let the situation work itse lf out? If animosit ies had n o t built up over th e yea rs by fo ll ow ing thi s method and if the athl etes had not been hurt, and if the AAU did not exert unreasonable control over th e U.S.O.c. as a result of controlling so many spo rts, this approach would be justif iable and the AAA '74 bill would probably never have reached Congress. Still , something does need to be done, but AAA '74 may be a bit too strong a mea ns for doing it.

One other reservat io n I have about AAA 7 4 is a charge made by OliverC. Cassell of the AAU th at an exemptio n for colleges was agreed to fo ll owing a meeting between Walter Byers (of the NCAA) and Sen. Pearson, the bill 's sponsor.

Our U.S.G.F. has not taken a stand on AAA '74 in the U.s.G.F. N ews. Desp ite U.S.G.F. Director, Frank Bare, hav ing served on the U .S. Co ll egiate Sports Counci l, I dou bt if he necessa ril y adopts the NCAA sta nd . Howeve r, it wi ll be interesting to hea r hi s repo rt at the 1974 U.S.G. F. Congress as he had opposed the 1973 ve rsion of this bill.

In th e mea ntime, concerned parents, athletes, coac hes, off icial s, and organization o ffi cers would do we ll to become info rmed. If thi s issue of GYMNAST reaches yo u before Congress adjourns (and i f th e bill has n' t passed by then), wr ite your rep resentati ve for a copy of S 3500 and its amendments, then ask him to co nsider your position on it (especiall y if he is up for re-elect io n).

7

FRANK ENOD 12200 South 8erendo Avenue Los Angeles, Calif. 90044

L-4 LJUBLJANA-W This women 's gymnastic slipper won fame at Munich on the balance beam and uneven parallel bars. Styled with two­layer, stretch nylon uppers that pro'/ ide glove fit. Crossed ank le st raps and an aesthetic touch and keep slippers snug.

Sizes 1-9.

Uppers-Specia l double sock nylon. Sole-Supple buff leather.

Color-Al l white.

$3.50 per pr. ppd.

L-1 GYM II For practice and trampoline. Fully foxed sole provides excellent wear. Equally

su itable for men or women.

rs; , !

Sizes 1-13.

Upper-Canvas. Sole-Diamond tread for

excellent ' traction . Color-All white.

$4.95 per pr. ppd.

L-6 DORTMUND A form-fitti ng leather gymnastic sl ipper at a reasonable price. Nylon stitched for st rength. For side-ho rse, free exercise and

vau lting. Sizes 1-13.

riM Upper-Leather. Sole-Thin hard rubber .

Color-All white .

$8.50 per pr. ppd.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GYMNASTICS JUDGES ASSOCIATION

1974-1975

Th e Southern Ca lifornia Gymnast ics Judges Assoc iati on invites all coaches, men and women, judges and gymnasts to a two-d ay gymnasti c sympos ium featuring Masay uki Watanabe, gy mna sti cs coach at th e University of Ca li forn ia, Berkeley, also member o f th e 1964-1968 O lympic Team, Japan.

Th e sympos ium w ill cover the analys is o f problem skill s in basic an d adva nced gymnast ics. Spec ial empha sis will be given to movements that are essential to good gymnast ic techn ique.

Th e clinic w ill be held on October 12 and October 13 at Golden West Community College, Huntington Beach. Clinic times are sched uled from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm on Saturday and from 9: 00 am - 4:00 pm on Sunday. Free parking is avai labl e along Golden W est Ave. Th e co llege is located off the Garden Grove and San Di ego freeways on Golden West Ave. Fee - $15.00 .

Th e clini c officially opens reg istratio n fo r judging and renewing membership in the associat ion for 1975.

ASsist.ing Mis~ Alamitos in the!ib~on-cutting ceremony are Dan Speraw (left), Wendy Cluff, Mayor Cox of Los AlamItos (wh,te pants), DebbIe Flke from the SCATS, and mayors of neighboring communities. .

There w ill be an open meet for all aro und gymnasts using th e new olympic compul so ri es on january 3 and january 4,1975. The meet will be titled th e Southern Californ ia Open. All gymnasts who wo rk the all around are invited. M ore in format ion w il l follow giving the competition site and times.

This yea rs board of directors se rving th e Southern Californ ia area are George Beckstea d, Pres ident; Jack Beckner, Secretary; AI M arino, Treasurer; Fred Bellmar, judges assignment chairman ; Les Sasvary, judges instructional chairman ; Fred M arqu ez and Jerry Todd , and Ed Taylor.

GYMNASTICS USA

Dan Speraw's new club, Gymnastics USA, had its gra nd opening on Saturday, September 7th. A large and enthusi asti c crowd witnessed an ex hibiti on o f gymnastics put o n by 40 former members of the Somies Gymnasti c Club w ho have been incorporated into Gymnastics USA.

Th e new club is located at 10701 Bloomfield, Los Alamitos, California. It is a no n-prof it organization whose goa l is to promo te youth throu gh gym nast ics. The spacio us gym is fully equ ipped.

Coach and director Dan Speraw has sixteen years in gymnastics, including nine yea rs with th e SCATS. He wil l be assisted by Mrs. Peggy Stoll, who co mes from fi ve years coaching at Lon g Beach City College . Dance instructo r wi ll be M iss Kristin Olse n, who has fifteen yea rs dance training in ballet, modern, and jazz.

Dan is al ready off to a good start w ith his yo ung group. Stars of hi s club are Karen Brak ke, Paula Kim, Jennifer Barnes, and Rayma Bynum.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Woodwa rd Gymna st ics Camp and National Gymnastics Centers, Inc. are in no wa y assoc iated or acquainted w ith th e o rga nization " M en United to Coach Fema leGymnasts" . Thi s organization in no way ref lec ts the op in ions or thinking of the princi pals of Woodward Gymnastics Camp or National Gymnastics Centers, Inc. Miss Pietruszewski formed thi s organization and took the li berty to use th e add ress of Woodward Gymnastics Camp for the duration of her sta y as a summer employee. Any further inquiri es sho uld be addressed to : Cirg l Pietru szewski 841 South Fairfield ' Lombard , III. 60140

iflltiwif

JUNIOR TEAM COMPETES IN JAPAN

Th e United States se nt its Junior Nationa l Tea m to Japan to compete in the A ll-Japan Juni or National Championships in Tokyo on August 16th through 20th . Th e photo below shows members of the group se lected by the U.S.G.F. about to leave Los Angeles.

Left to right: Mrs. Margit Treiber, chief of the Mission; Mrs. Erna Wachtel, Reed (Denver); Carrie Englert (Oregon); Debby Wilcox (Denver); Kelly Muncie (Kips); and coach.

9

rJ!{ ClThe GJ3EAM

by Barbara Thatcher

Another summer and what wo uld it be without gy mn astics? Spe nt the summe r traveling, teaching, ga th ering information and meeting new peopl e in ord e r to keep better informe d a nd more up to d a te on c urre nt trands and happe nings in gym nastics.

Started off by going back to New Mexico, for another summe r with Caravan of Camps. Some of the faces from last year were missing but Larry a nd Jan Bilharlz neve r-th e -Iess fe lt thi s year 's staff was one of th e bes t ever. New additions includ e d Chic a nd Gloria Johnson (Chick amazed everyone wi th his exce ll e nt presentation of th e inve rt e d acce le ra tion phenom e non used for back uprises o n bars) from Springfield, Missouri, Carole Liedtke, nationally rated judge from Louisville, Kentucky, Tom Jones coach from Dayton, Ohio, Charlie Morse, ass ista nt coach a t Michigan State University, Bill Kern from Oklahoma, and Erling Hesgaard, a tal e nte d coach a nd gymnast fro,m Copenhagen, Denmark, who opened many minds and eyes with his ideas on technique , body contro l, a nd breath control , a nd by th e e nd of the seco nd week at Santa Fe almost everyo ne was stress in g the " monkey positi on," a positi o n Erling fee ls is the most natural for gym nast ics ....

Ret urn ees to C of C in cl uded ... Steve Whitlock from Michigan, whose top gymnast Beth Sheppard will be at te nding Southern Illinois University thi s yea r .. . Steve came wit h his assistant coach Jerry Tobias (O ffi cial camp streak er) ... Bob Childers from Tulsa, Oklahoma a nd hi s partn e r Richard, Betty Axelson of Chicago and of course Rusty Mitchell w ho w ill be th e USA World Games coach .. . A g reat bun ch of peopl e. In Canyon Texas more peop le joined th e staff and helped to ma ke th e week there successfu l. Approx imat e ly 50 gymnasts from Mexico City a tt e nd e d th e Canyon ca mp. Very few spoke En gli sh but some how th e staff seemed to comm uni cate and words li ke " lea po" a nd " jumpo" we re frequentl y used and understood . On e highlight of this c lini c was Johnny Hamilton 's co medy trampo lin e routin e .. . very funn y. Johnny is a former sta r trampolini st from th e University of Michigan .... Following Canyon I trave ll e Ll with Annie (Moose) Weaver, a lso a me mber of th e C of C staff and a top gymnast fr o m MSU, up North with a brie f stop at th e University of Oklahoma (fantasti c gym .. . used to be a th ea te r ... th e rings are on the stage) where we me t Randy Balhorn and Michael Henry as well as other U of 0 gymnasts. Bob Rikli of the University of Oregon was a lso working out th e re for part of th e su mme r. Coach Paul liert was away at a c lin c i

10

be ing held at Southern Illinois University. Nice gro up of gy mnasts a nd ve ry nice ca mpu s.

Th e n o n to Ames, Iowa w he re we sto pped sho rtl y to see th e Iowa State gymnasium a nd o f course noti ced the pictures of a ll the All American gymnasts coverin g th e wa ll s. Quite a n impress ive place. In cide ntl y coach Ed Gagnier recent ly had hi s book e ntitl e d "Inside Gymnastics" publishe d , a book about women 's as well as m e n 's gy mna sti cs.

The n way up North to Cable, Wisconsin and one of the most bea utiful camps visi ted a ll summer ... Camp Tsukara .... on th e ba nks of Lake Owen, wonderfu l scene ry a nd ve ry good fac ili ties. Camp Tsukara is directed by Jerry Fontana and Mike Jacki. Amon g th e nation a l a nd inte rn ati o na l co mpe titors present were Dave Butzman (form e r ISU gymn as t), Sandy Philips (1973 World University Games), Mark Davis (w ho is co nSid er in g turnin g into a profess ional acroba t) Jon Aitken, (1973 NCAA High Bar Champ), Jim Stephenson (fo rme r ISU gymnast) , Ed Hembd (ISU gymnast), Kim Cosner (Florida gymnast) , Karen Smith (fo rmer SIU gy mn as t), and ma ny, man y more .. .. ..

* * * Ah Michigan State University .... Cozy, o ld

gy mnasium a nd many gy mn as ts ga th e red for the summe r-lo ng se ri es of c lini cs w ith one of th e sess ions being th e Annual National Clinic run by MSU coach George Szypula. Among th e in structors a t thi s yea r's National Clinic were Charlie Dubois, Charlie Morse, Jan and Tom Heineike of Wichita, Kansas, Barb Mackenzie, MSU women's coach a nd m a ny o th e rs. Met so m e fantas ti c peopl e from Michigan thi s summ e r. Good sta te .

And th e last leg of th is summer 's jou rney .. . on to Pennsylvania. First stop a t Woodward Camp ... run by Ed Isabelle, form e r Penn State star, a nd the pres ident of National Gymnastic Centers. Nice a tmosp he re a nd la rge workout areas . Among the gymnasts around w hen I stopped b y we re Gene Whelan (EIGL champ, Univ. of Mass.), Mike Ke lly (Cal State Fullerton), Terry Spencer (me mbe r 1970, 73 University Games teams), and Heidi Armstrong (University of Massachusetts gymnast) .. . Woodward is loca ted nea r Penn State University, one of th e gy mnas ti c capi tal s of th e Eas t.

Approx imate ly 3 ho urs from Woodward I reache d my d es tinati o n ... Stroudsburg Sports Camp d irected by Bill Coco, coach of th e Mannettes and Fred Turoff, assistant coach a t Temple University. A fantastic four weeks I spe nt there with such outsta ndin g teachers as Yoshi (BN) Hayasaki, NCAA All Around Champion and this year 's AAU Senior National All Around Champion (My sin cere apo logies to Yoshi for givin g the honor to John Crosby in by last co lumn ), Rick and Grace Ann Tucker (Rick was form e rl y a to p gy mnas t for Southern Illinois University), Fred Dennis (a noth e r former SIU gym na st), Stu Smith (yet another SIU gym nast), Janet Cantwell (a m e mbe r of th e 1970 World Games team, a former Mannett~_ and a definit e in spira ti o n to the e ntire staff), Gail Davis, coach a t Southern Connecticut State College and National judge, Val L(!wis from sesc, Dave Berg, a lso from sesc, Rich Onysko an d Peter Kormann of SCSC, Jimmy Leo, from New York, Richy Martin a n exce pti o na l dan ce teacher from New York, Don Covington, coach at Montgomery Community College, Jeff Rosenberg, Tom Ahn, a nd Blane Nasveschuk,

from Temple University, Dennis Seidel (also from Temple) and his wife Ronie w ho were the program directors, Vince Faust (a fo rm er Penn State gymnast), Betty Bernz from Ithaca College, Eileen Hubbard of Trenton State U., Arlene Weiner; a former Mannette, Ricky Lund (former E.I .G.L. FX Champ), Richy and Debbie Tobin a nd Don Furrer just io na me a few. It was definite ly hard to say goodbye w hen camp ended .

Right nex t door (practicall y) to sse was International Gym Camp run b y Bruno Klaus. Each week Bruno seemed to gather togeth e r a new group of supe r sta r gymnasts. Notable gymnasts suc h as Ol ympians Jo hn Cros.by a nd Jim Culhane were th e re as well as Tom Lmdner, Jay Whelan, Olympic coach Abie Grossfi~ld, Dr. Gerry George, and Joan and Bob Rice. Bruno's camp was just co mpleted this summer but already he has pl ans for expa nsion nex t yea r including a te nni s court, swi mming poo l a nd of course even better workout faciliti es.

And now for th e kill; ... for what woulJ a camp be without th e gym nasts? At each and every camp there we re ded ica teJ, hard work in g gym nasts who a re showing grea t potential for the future and who mad e th e hours pass quickly a nd the work wo rthwhd.e ... And just to name a fe w of th e gIrls .... KrISta Canary, a c ute gym nas t from Illinois who successfully did her fir st back handsprin g o n the beam by herse lf this summe r .. .. Joni Wachtal a nine yea r old gym nast from Springfi~ld, Missouri, w ho al so did her fir st . back hand spring on th e high beam b y .h e ~se lf this summe r ... Leslie Beavers from illinOis .... Vicki and Christy Nell p lu s Karen Kilkenny from Michigan .. ... Kathy Hartzell, a n exceptional 12 yea r o ld gy mnast fro m Andrews, Texas .... Kristy Mattheson from Phillips 66 of Oklahoma .... . Wendy Hanafee and Karen Martino als? from Michigan .... Kim and Tammy Custodl from Buffalo, New York, coached by Kathy Gleason Tibbetts (fo rmer Olympian) .... of course the re were man y others a nd GYMNAST readers are sure to hea r about th e m.

Credit should have been given to Barb Knothe for the fine drawing tha t was presented in the last " On The Beam " column. Unfortunate ly her na me was no t added to ·the drawing a nd shou ld have bee n. Exce lle nt work.. . Tnank you .

Hope yo ur summ e r was as good as mine . I think th e best thing abo ut th e summer was a ll the fantast ic peopl e I met and th e ones I go t to see and work with aga in. Saw a " T" sh irt that sa id "Gymnasts are better than People ... " 011

that I' ll have to agree.

.~ •••••••...••.•.•..••..•.......•...•• ~ .. HIGHLIGHTS 1974 USGF ELITE

WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIPS 16 MM COLOR

610 Ft. (16 r" inutes)

Price $100.M

'Rental: $20.00 (for 5 days)

Highlights include Top 6 Va ult Top 'S Uneven Parallel Bars Top 3 Beam Top 3 Floor Exercise

For further information contact : Don Clegg 501 So. Highland Champaign, III. 61820 .....................................•..

GYMNAST Oct. '74

t

I I

•• HAWAII BEACt.. MEET

It was the Fourth of July and the theme was Bicentennia l Minus Two. The scene was Kapio lani Park in Wa ikik i, Hono lulu , Hawaii. The Act ion : the first beach meet held by the Hawa ii Gymnastics Association in coopera tion with the Honolu lu Recreation Department.

Act uall y, there was more than just gymnastics as the w ho le afternoon was one big fitness ce leb rat ion with everyth ing from hu la-hoop and frisbee demonst rations to weight-lifting and beauty contests.

Rick and Robin Mashler o rga in ized the HGA competiti on w hil e var ious schoo ls, priva te c lubs, and V's p rov ided equipment. The Recreation Department provided the awards. Competition was held in junior and sen ior catego ri es for boys and girls w ith nearly 50 youngsters taking part. Outstanding performa nces were few, but Kim Sanders from Fresno, California , was a clear w inner in all events in the 14 & under age div isions, as she turned in most of the outstand ing routines. While compet iti on was proceed ing, a hand-ba la ncing ex hibitio n (Wa ikik i Adag io and Acrobatic Troup) and trampo line demonstration (Larry Anderson Trampol in e School)" were appea ring at the Kapio lan i Bandshell. Coord inat ing between th e City and the HGA were Tommy Kono and D ick Cril ey .

looking for

Gymnastics & Academics?

GYMNAST O ct. '74

Walnut Hill School of Natick, Mass.

is introducing a gymnastics program

taught by the staff of Woodland Gym­

nastics. Opportunities unmatched in

other school s; soli d college prepuro­

tory program, a strong arts program

including expert ballet and modern

dance training, combined with g ym ­

nastics. Students w ho want quality

instruction, academically o r gymnas­

tically, wri te for brochure .

Headmaster: Earle C. Batchelder, B.A. McGill, M.Ed. Harva rd

Instructors: W il l St. Cyr, Co-Director, Woodland Gymnastics Former N .E.A.A.U. Tumbl ing Champion Former Coach, Wellesl ey H.S. · Gymnastics Team

George Wheeler, Co-Director, Woodland Gymnastics High School Coach of four college All-Americans

Ken Henderson, Floor Exercise and Vaulting Champion Former Nationally Ranked Gymnast. Experienced, Successful Instructor .

WALNUT HILL SCHOOL 66H ighland St., Natick, Mass. 01760 11

SANTA MONicA GYMfEST A dOZEN VEARS of TRAdiTioN

To anyo ne w ho has th e leas t amo unt of interes t fo r gymnasti cs, th e o nl y pl ace to have been on thi s las t Labo r Day weekend would ha ve been o n th e San ta Moni ca Beach, att ending th e 12th A nnual Sa n ta Monica Gymfest.

Under th e di rec ti o n of A I Luber o f th e Santa M o ni ca Gymn asti c Center, and th e sponsorship o f Glenn Sundby, thi s th ree day affair ca n since rely be term ed as a success. Th e meet co nsisted o f an open competi t io n fea turin g top high schoo l, co ll ege, club and former (working unattached) gym nasts. Present were representati ves from th e wes tern portion of th e United States th eir ages ranging from 7 to 33. So me beli eved it wo rth th eir w hil e to com e from as far away as New York!

M any we re pl eased to see th e vas t number o f competitors th at ca m e to .parti cipate. Th e women's sign-up sheet li sted up to 63 names to an event out o f w hich 29 were all-around . Th e men came up w ith but 30 co ntes tan ts to an event , six o f th ese all -a ro und (whi ch is " four up on la st yea rs' w here th ere we re onl y two all­around co ntenders).

Th e men 's competiti o n op ened th e occas io n in fin e style o n Sa turday th e 31st, th e women's on th e foll owi ng day . M on day was rese rved fo r th e finals (th e top six competito rs from th e individual event and th e first three finishers all ­around, all o f w hich we re determin ed on th e previous days) .

ORe se nsed th e atm osphere encompass ing th e co nt es t as being I ight and ca refree, w ith th e competito rs primaril y intent on having a good

12

tim e. But it was o bvio us that this intent was supplemented by a se ri ous w ill to w in.

Some excell ent gy mn asts and perfo rmance.s were seen w ith such stando us as James Tay lo r, Ri chard Pasca le and Jacob Paredes, w hil e lea din g th e women's all -a round we re Lo ri Schneider Do nna Turnbow and Laurie Dona ldson. Th ere we re o n hand some fin e ind ividual ef fo rt s th at are due cred it as we ll , no tin g Ross Ol so n 's o n Hi gh Bar and th e powe rful rin g routine of To m Morga n. Patt y M urd ich 's va ult (a yamas hita) was pos iti ve and fi rm, and Kell y M uncey's smooth bar rputine clea rl y ind ica ted her as o ne o f the top co mpet it o rs of the meet.

The finals ended at around 3: 00, after w hi ch th e lighter events we re staged - fl ying rin gs and mini tra mp. Ma rk Dav is and Tim Shaw seemed to be th e ce nter of attenti on (as far as Tim is co nce rn ed, ce nter m ay no t be the ri ght wo rd ... ask him abo ut hi s ring ro ut ine w ith hi s new movement: a doub le w ith a full bare bo ttom ???) as th eir mi schievio us antics prov ided enjoyab le moments characteri zed by large amo unts of unrest rained laughter. Demonstrati ng some o f their pa rti cular talents, M ark executed hi s t r iple off the hi gh bar and Tim his layo ut back to reg rasp (a la Korbu t) .

Th e Gymfes t se rved we ll as it provided a grea t oppo rtuni ty fo r many spectato rs to see li ve gy mn as ti cs, pe rhaps by some, fo r th e first tim e. Toge th er came peop le bo nded by a commo n interes t - gymnast ics. It was a good time. It was a fun time, and I ce rtain ly hope th e co mpetit o rs had as m uch of a tim e as th e spectators. I am sure th ey d id .

By Tom Wakeling

Gymfest Results

MEN'S

Rings: Tom Morgan 9.3; Dave Raznick 9.25; Steve M cCormi c 9.0; AI Garcia 8.85; Dan Ega n 8.75; Jon Ha rri son 8.2 . Vault: Jim Turpin 9.55; G reg Casian 9.35; Steve Ke tezawa 9.2; Jacob 'Pa re des 9.15; Ri chard Pasca le 9.05; M att Hol z inge r 8.65. Floor Ex: Ri chard Pascal e 9.25; Greg Cas ia n 9.05; Jhoe Abe jon & Chri s Cha mbers 8.55; Fra n k Ca rde lla 8.35; Joe l Hale 8.1. Side Horse: Ke ith M ill e r 9.05; Shawn M iyake 8.65; Ke n Bail ey 8.1; Rob Robinson 7.7; Joh n Green 7.4. P-Bars: Ri cha rd Pascal e 9.45; Do n Leavenwo rth 8.95; James Ta ylor 8.45; Dan Ko lb 7.55; Steve Spea kma n 7.3; Robin Ha stin gs 7.2. High Bar: Ross Olso n 9.5; Ri ch ard Pasca le 9.15; John Hart 8.75; Ma rk Dav is 8.55; Ma rk Plumley & Ja mes Tay lor 8.45. All-Around: Ja mes Tay lor 50.05; Ri cha rd Pasca le 49.55; Jaco b Pa red es 46.8.

WOMEN'S

Balance Beam: Les li e Wo lfsbe rge r 8.75; Lori Sc hn e id e r 8.7; Do nna Turnbow 8.6; Lauri e Dona ldson & Ann e Ma lu e r 8.3; Cha rlen e Hayashid a 8.15. Uneven Parallel Bars: Ke ll y M uncey 9.25; Sh ari Smith 9.15; Lo ri Sc hn e ide r 9.1; Do nn a Turnbow 8.95; Les lie Wolfsbe rger 8.8; Jill Ornste in 7.45. Free Ex: Do nn a Turnbow 8.9; Lo ri Schn e id e r 8.85; Charle ne Ha yas hida 8.75; Patti Re id 8.4; Jill Ornste in 8.3; Sa ndra Skil es 8.25. Vault: Patty M urdi c h 9.1; Lo ri Schn e ide r 8.75; Jill Ornste in 8.55; La uri e Do na ldso n 8.15; Li sa Ha mad a 6.2. All-Around : Lo ri Schn e ide r 35.4; Do nna Turn bow 34.95; La uri e Do n aldso n 32.75.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

1

f

\ I

, l \ I

! ~

........... ..,.

Above: One of the younger competitors. Be low:Womens AA winners (L to R): Laurie Donaldson (3rd.); Lori Schneider (1s\.); Donna Turnbow (2nd.). Men's AA winners (L to R): Jacob Paredes (3rd.); James Taylor (1st.); Richard Pascale (2nd). Upper right: James Taylor, 1st AA. Middle right: Ross Olson. Lowe r right: AI Luber, Meet Director.

GYMNAST Oct. '74 13

SCENES FROM GYMFEST

I 14 GYMNAST Oct. '74

.;. « '1:1 c

N

:= 0

J:). C :; ~ .. C C 0 c

GYMNAST Oct. '74 15

-c \. ::r

0 i3 0 ~

~

g.

'"' "2 cr-

'" ~ 0-:> " ::r :-'

~ g-P. !? iD

Catalina Island

GYMNAST Oct. '74

ADVENTURES IN GYMNASTICS at

CATALINA ISLAND GYMNASTICS CAMP

Surrounded by rolling hills and the beautiful Pacific ocean, the Catalina Island Gym Camp had an extreme ly successfu l first year. The island setting provided a unique location for a gymnastics camp, and also served as an exciting environment for additiona l activities. Staffed with gymnasts and coaches from all parts of the nation, the camp offered expert instruction in correct technique and skill learning in all Ol ympic events and trampoline.

All workouts were held in a spacious outdoor complex equipped with complete lines of gymnastic apparatus. Other facilities included an indoor dance studio, numerous trampolines, crash pads, and spotting belts. A large scenic beach, canteen, and camp store stocked with gymnastic clothing, posters, and personal grooming accessories complimented the gym program . In add iti on to the gymnastic program campers e lected instruction in skin diving, spotting techniques, swimm ing and Red Cross certif ied life saving programs. Basketball, tenn is, and volleyball were also offered.

The camp's teaching philosophy involved an equa l balance between basics and more advanced sk ills. The structured morning classes were devoted to basic movements and progressions, whi le the afternoon sessions included problem solving emphasis and advancement of skill level. Regularly scheduled clinics, conducted by the master teaching staff and visiting instructors, covered such important topics as: care and prevention of athletic injuries, integration of dance and tumbling in floor exercise, routine construction, ana lysis of gymnastic movement , and competitive gymnastics from a judge's perspective. The open evening workout provided the campers and staff an additiona l opportunity for exposure and learning.

The camp director was Michael Kasavana, and Margie Combs and Bob Koenig served as program directors . Some staff members were: Ira Stolzer, Steve Lerner, Susan and Diane Cantwe ll , Ruth Dohner, Roy Johnson, Henry Stanley, Toby Kasavana , Terry Spencer, Ron Reznick, Kim Whitelaw, Jim and Barb Hartman, and Paul , Steve, and Greg Marks. Several additional guest staff members rotated in for various periods of time.

The camp enjoyed well planned dining room service and several entertaining socia l activities. The camp anticipates the Summer of '75 wi ll be an even more pleasureable experience.

17

18

Catalina photo

essay

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Dance se ssion at Stroudsburg Gym Camp, with Jud y Alperim, Joanne Gestieman, and Nor~en E. Connell.

"ew- England Area By Richard M. Aronson and

Noreen E. Connell out reg istrati on three of the six weeks . Woodlan d bega n in 1972 w ith an effort to provide qual ity instruct io n to asp iring yo ung gymnasts in the greater Fram ingham, Mass. area. Di rectors, W il l 51. Cyr and George Wheeler, bot h lo ng time coaches in th e area , have prov ided a un ique wo rko ut atm osph ere completely o utdoo rs w it h six se ts of uneven

paral lel bars, ten balance bea ms, a fl oo r exe rcise mat, seve ral tumblin g areas, m any "cras h" pads and two trampo lines. Both men also operate a sc hool year program at th e W alnut Hi ll Schoo l in Na tick, M ass.

Ed W ill ia ms, fo rmer West Chester gymnast, owns th e Academ y of Gymnastics in Newton , Mass. and operates a year ro und prog ram as we ll as a summer clinic. Thi s summer he featured several co ll egians on hi s staff as well as Noreen Connell w ho presented a program in compulso ry fl oo r exe rc ises. Fu tu re plans ca ll for opening a new building in g reater Boston in 1975-76.

Camp W ijomo Gymnasti cs Day Camp loca ted o n Lak e A ldri ch, Grandby, M ass. and sponsored by the Holyoke, M ass. YMCA is under th e di rec ti o n o f Bill Jo nes and Vern Mongea u both successful coaches in W estern Mass. An n Vex ler, fo rm er U M ass. gymnast, was women's progra m di rec tor. A nn and husband Norm are opening th e Hampshire Gymnasti cs School in Amherst, Ma ss. this fal l.

Cape Cod, M ass. is an area th at is beg inning to " boom" . Fro m a gymnasti c vacuum only two years ago, interes t in th e spo rt has led to th e co nstructi on of the Ruth E. Free ley Schoo l w here both gymn astics and dance instru c tion are fea tured. Th e building has th e newest equi pment ava il ab le and is completel y mirrored. A special clinic was directed by Noreen Conne ll and ass isted by Steph anie Foss, Lynn LaCarscia and Karen Whitelaw .. . The Cape Cod Gymnast ics Corp ow ned by M arcia Kingman and Dorothy Vrit ze in South Ya rm outh was pri v il eged to have Kitt y Kj eldsen as clini c instru cto r in compul so ri es ... Durin g the las t three wee ks in A ugust, th e United Sta tes Gym nasti cs Traini ng Center held a clini c at the US Ma ritim e Aca demy in Buzza rds Bay under th e d irecti o n of M ike Jacobson and Bo b Pataky. The program annuall y trave ls in th e Eas tern and New En gland area s, this year hostin g clini cs in New Jersey, Connecti cut and Massachusetts ... It would appea r th at interest in gymnasti cs has made dramati c inroads on th e Cape in o nl y a few short yea rs. The results sho uld be continual improve ment at all level s and greater popularti y from a sp ectator point of view.

W ith no end in sigh t, gymnastics has ta ken oft to be one of the most popular summer act ivit ies in th e area. Ful l registra ti o r.l s have been re ported in ma ny ca mps and clini cs w hile seve ral schools continued to co nduct yea r ro und p rogram s. Jane Tuoney, coach at Needham High School, Mass., spots a young gymnast.

Al th ough not loca ted in the New England area, the Internationa l Gymnastics Camp in St roud sburg, Pa. under the d irection of Bruno Klaus was one of th e most popular camps. Brun o had a rotating staff of some of th e outstand ing coac hes in the co unt ry. The li st included such no tab les as : Joa n Moore Rice (US O lympian); Sonia Klein (1968 & 1972 West Germa n O lymp ic Team) ; Barba ra Gallagher Tonry; Noreen E. Conne ll ; Judy A lperin ; Li nda Castner; Joanne Gent lemen; Conn ie Ma loney; Ab ie Grossfe ld; Bob Ri ce ; Don Tonry; Di ck A ronson ; Fred O rl o fsky; Fred Roeth leisbe rger; Jo hn Crosby; Jim Cul ha ne; Jay Whe lan; Tom Li ndner; Bob Ca rgi ll ; Jerry George; Tom Gibbs; Len DePue; Box D ixon and Steve W hitlock . One of the high li gh ts was Noreen Conne ll of W inchester, Mass., w ho presented seve ral seminars in da nce facto rs relating to f loor exercise. (Thi s camp is su re to remain popular-- the food was excell ent !) Bruno has p lans to start an ov erni ght camp in Be lgrade Lakes, Maine in 1975 . Contact him for in forma t ion.

Retu rning to New En gland, the Wood land Gymnasti cs Day Ca mp loca ted in Ho pkinton, Mass. at th e YMCA Outdoor Center had a se ll

GYMNAST Oct. '74 19

At Cape Cod Clinic, gy mnasVcampers le arned new moves for their routines.

Across Hew- England Tom Dunkley of th e Uni versit y o f Ve rmont,

opened a ca m p w ith da ughte rs, Ruth and Debbie, both o uts tand ing gym nasts at Sp ri ngfi eld Co ll ege, o n Lake Champ lain, NY ...

Lou Datili o, (Temple Grad) , has a new beaut iful fac ili ty complete w ith swimming pool loca ted in Nort h Hampton, NH. Lou 's school (New Hamps hi re Academy of Art ist ic Gym nastics) also competes d uring the schoo l year. H e ran a grea t in ternatio nal meet in Apr i l at the Un ivers ity of NH w ith ove r 2,000 in attendance ...

Th e North Shore Schoo l of Gym nasti cs in Sa lem, Mass., o perated by Bob Hanscom fea tures th e success ful M o ran sisters w ho continuall y sweep ho nors in USGF and AAU co mpet iti o n ...

Gail Mason of Sa lem State Co l lege hosted a weeks cli ni c w ith Abi e G rossfeld and jo hn Crosby alo ng w ith jay W helan all on th e staf f. ..

Ka th y Corrigan Ekas runs th e Ka th y Corr igan Schoo l of Gymn as ti cs in Weymouth and Newton, M ass ...

The Br immer & May schoo l w ill open in September fea turing Dr. j oseph Massimo as tea m coach. Th e schoo l is o pera ted by j ean ne and Mike Bu zz i ...

Frank Wo lco tt continues to run Stony Brook Acres in Wilbraham, M ass. This ca m p ju st co mpl eted it 's 15th successful yea r ...

Darrell Ga ll ant, fo rm er Lowe ll Tech capta in , opened th e New Hampshire Gymnastics Ca mp in Conco rd , NH .. .

Ed Datt i, Andy Wa htera and Pa ul Br iggs, all fo rmer Sp ring f ield Co ll ege gym nas ts, ru n t he Montva le Sc hoo l of Gymn asti cs in Wobu rn , Mass ...

Th e World of Gymnasti cs prog ram had severa l weeks at Westfi eld State Co ll ege ...

Gymnast ics was introduced at th e 51st Annual Convention of th e Dance Teacher's Club of Bosto n held at th e 57 Park Pl aza,

20

Howa rd jo hnso n Motor Inn in A ugust. Dance . pe rsonaliti es f rom all ove r the country

co mpri sed th e m as te r teac hi ng staff in every major form of "da nce arts " . Da nce as appli ca bl e to floo r exercise was p resented by Noreen Conne ll, a graduate of Boston Conse rva tory of M usic and Da nce and a well known New England judge in gymnasti cs. Her program was designed around va ri o us elemen ts that co nstitute a good, sound and interes ting exerc ise. Focus, leve ls, d ynamics, and rh ythm were d iscussed. A id in g in th e two demonstrati o ns we re seve ral exce ll ent gymnasts and coaches: Ma ura McCue and Lynn Masafero of th e Fitchburg-Leomini ster YMCA w ith coaches Lynn Schlitztin g and A nn Talbot; Lin da Davey of the Ru th E. Fee ley Schoo l and Ma rcia Ravich and Lee Pi sto ne coac hed by D r. j oe Mass imo.

Ma rcie just returned from Nebraska w here she p laced f if th in the ju n ior Olympi c Nationals, Intermed iate Di visio n ...

A new com pany, AIC Gym nasti cs Etc. , Inc. was opened thi s summer compl ete w ith a show room and off ice for gymn as ti cs. A very success ful openi ng was held on jul y 28 at th e off ice w ith a soc ial ho ur held nex t door at th e new Howa rd j o hnson's resor t mo tel. AIC is owned and o perated by Di ck A ro nson and Noreen Connell ...

Ki tty Kj eldsen, we ll known gymnast ic personal ity, has been very bu sy thi s summer ... Ar izona State Un iversity... Un ive rsity of Nebraska... Bri dgewa ter State, Mass .... Co lorado Springs, Cape Cod, Mass .. .. FIG j udges course in Washi ngton DC, Empire Gymnasti cs Ca mp in NY .... co nt inuing her studi es in the docto ral program at U Mass .. .. and w ritin g. Her future pl ans w ill take her to Ho uston, Texas, Kansas and Denver and in january 1975, Atl anta ...

LakL 'istineau

Sponsored by st. John's Southern Jills Reported by John Rogers

The f irs t summer Gymnasti c Camp in North Loui siana was held at Le Bi stin eau State Park, june 30t h - j u ly 6t h. The ca mp was designed fo r girl s in beg in ner and in te rm ed iate leve ls. The sta ted purpose of deve lo ping fo rm , sty le, and en hanc ing motivat io n of the gymnasts was wel l matched to the p rogram wh ich was headed by Camp Directo r Marie Rogers of th e Sou th ern ji lls and devised by Master Cli ni cian Pat A lexa nder of the Dads Cl ub Y of Houston, Texa s.

Th e ca mp inco rpora ted many ideas observed by Pat in pas t years at o th er ca mps, such as M~S I f' r Sf'ss io ns, workin g o ut-of -doors, e tc., and gave him free rein to develop o ri ginal co ncepts in new sk ill develo pment and spo tting meth ods.

The staff , composed of Clinicians Dave Taggart and Randy Snow (Gymcats, Mon roe, Lou isiana), Coaches j oa n jo hnson, Phy ll is Hawthorne, Kay Taggart, Lydia McLamore, Susan Ma rch, Gay Farmer and Dance Instructo r Pa m Conaway, put the 107 gi rl s att end ing from a th ree State area , th roug h an arduou s 6 da y wo rk load . Though th e g irl s submit ted to 3V1 to 4 hours a day o f wo rking o n equi pment - and an additi onal 2 ho urs plu s a day o f ve rbal and chalkboa rd sess ions, th ere were well p lanned open p racti ces, res t pe ri ods and sw imming ho urs each day to li ghten the load.

Th ere we re two special events staged -Wed nesday, ju ly 3 was designated Parents' N ight wh ich wa s well at tended by over 125 pa rents and guests w ho we re t reated to a 2 hou r ex hi bi ti on fea tu ri ng nat ional ly ranked Karen Schenkel of Pa t A lexander 's Dads Clu b Y and team mates Kim Hoppe and Ke ll y Craft. A lso show ing to adva ntage we re Beth johnson and Th eresa j o hnso n o f th e Shreveport Y, Ta m my Bo ne, Georga nne W hite and Laura Symoniak o f th e St. j o hn 's Southern jill s and Penny Ma rtin of Linwood Schoo l, Shreveport.

Th e fo ll owi ng night, jul y 4th was turn ed ove r to the stu den ts and Stu n t N ight became a good natured, laug h-happy . "spoof " of the Clini cians' and camp li fe in genera l. .. plus a new 4th of jul y in nova ti on, " The Shavi ng Cream Wa r."

Camp li v ing p resented many new exper iences fo r the gi rl s, includ ing sharing li ving space wi th po ision ivy and sO ITie li ttl e "beas ties " that craw l, bu t at week 'send,a 100'Yo req uest fo r "count me in fo r 1975 " from both stu dents and instructo rs, gave Pat Alexander, M rs. Roge rs and th e spo nso rs th e in ce ntive to a bi gger and bett er cam p next season.

Lake Bi~ tineau gymnasts at workout session.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Pat Alexander spots gymnast at Lake Bistineau.

llO June 22-July 13, 1974

Mike Nee dleman, SIU Student

Sunny wea th er, fine fa cil iti es, and outstanding instruction att racted nea rl y 200 campers from 10 states to SIU fo r its fir st SUMMER GYMNASTICS CAMP. Th e states of Illino is, Indiana, Wi scon sin, M issouri , Kentucky, Texas, Ok laho ma, Co lorado, Pennsy lvania and New Yo rk we re all represented. Campers could attend fo r one or all three on e week sess ions, and cou ld train as either all -around men or as speciali sts.

Th e camp was directed by SIU hea d coach Bill M eade. Th e camp program was o rga nized and coordinated by Dr. Jack Bi es terfe ldt (GYMNAST resea rch editor, and instruct ional coordinato r) and by Paul Ziert (GYM NAST instru ctional sec tion), ass isted by Brent Simmons (Iowa State), Cha rl es Ropiequet (S I U) and Pete Hemmerling (SIU) .

Among th ? o utstanding university faciliti es ava ilab le to the ca mpers was the as troturf football fi eld , w hich served as a padd ed outdoor f loo r exercise area. Inside, th e fin est un iversit y training room in th e cou ntry was superv ised by Robe rt Spackman, physical th erapi st and auth o r of numerous books on athl et ic training, cond itioning, inju ry prevention and trea tment. For some campers, hi s supervised co rrecti ve exercise program was the most valuabl e part of the camp. Of course, the Universit y Health Service was avai lab le as it is for any ot her Unive rs ity stud ent. The full air­condit ioned SI U Arena all owed workouts in comfort no matter how warm th e o utside w eather.

During free tim e, campers enjoyed the ca mpus lak e, equipped w ith a filt ered outdoor lake sw imming area, and w ith 30 acres of water for fi shing, boating, and canoeing. Un iversit y

GYMNAST Oct. '74

tenni s court s (lighted fo r n ight use) and handball co urt s we re ava il ab le, alo ng w ith baseball fi elds and o th er usual ca mpu s recreational lacil iti es.

W il son Hall , a pri va te of f ca ll1pus dormit o ry, is perhaps th e Ill OS t o utstand ing facilit y assoc iated w ith th e ca mp. It prov ided indi vidually air-co nd iti o ned rOOIllS, two Ill en to a rOOIll , in a wi ng sp eciall y reserved fo r ca mpers. Outside, ava ilable at almost any time, was th e largest outdoor poo l in th e area, home o f ho urs o f w at er vo ll eyball and o th er no n gy mn as ti c ac ti v iti es . Mea ls we re outstanding, and seco nds we re ava il abl e o n main courses at eve ry mea l, so no o ne went away hungry.

On a typ ica l day, an ea rl y break fas t was fo ll owed by a wa rm up and rhythm exe rcises. Thi s was fo ll owed w ith further stretching, o n alternate days w ith o utdoor va u lting into a Po le Vault PORTAPIT. This four foo t thi ck pad allowed men to try all so rt s o f interes tin g va ults w ith sa fety. Th e rh ythlll exe rcises were those brought to America from Japan by Mr. Watanabe. Th e obj ec ti ve: to deve lufJ a se nse o f rh ythm and positi o n that is of ten lack ing in o ur gymnasts.

Th en, each gymnast attended two ho urs of class instructi on in Ill o rnin g. A ll classes we re parti c ipati on classes, and th e instru ct ion was tail o red to indi vidual needs. Th e mo rnin g ended with fl ex ibi li ty class fo r all those w ho needed it. Th e f lex ibility program has alread y been desc ribed in this Ill agaz ine (March 1974), and was taped to coordin ate the wo rk and to allow the instru cto r to supervise and co rrect positions during th e session. It is-expected th at thi s tape, or an improved versio n o f this tape, wi ll be made ava il ab le throu gh th e GYM NAST MAGAZINE in th e n ea r future.

Lun ch, rest pe ri od , sun, and swimming preceeded th e afte rn oon sessio ns. In afternoon , two more h ours of class, fo ll owed by a free supervised instru cti on session, ended w ith running o r sw imllling fo r ca rd iovascu lar condition ing. Fo r Illany, late aftern oon also included a strength bui lding prog ram fo r those special strengths useful in modern gYlllnasti cs .

About an ho ur aft er dinner, some isntructo rs and co un se lo rs return ed to th e gymn as ium to supervise two hours of free worko ut. Ca ll1pers could use th is ti lll e at th eir p leasure, resti ng, training, o r using recreat ional faciliti es . Fi lllls or other specia l prog rams as occasio n demanded, began about 9:00 at th e residence hall.

Unique in A meri ca n ca ll1ps, each camper was ass igned to a co unsel o r/ lea der fo r an enti re week. The leader was given th e resul ts of

Coach Ziert leads warm-ups at SIU Gym Camp.

the eva luat ion and cond i ti o n tes ts, as we ll as the ca mpers responses to a questio nairre abo ut hi s skill s and obj ec ti ve. Before th e first cl ass mee tin g, th e leade rs fallli l iari zed th emse lves w ith each ca m per 's ab iliti es, objecti ves, and p rob lems. Thu s th ey co uld help coac hes to see that each man wo rked o n w hat he needed . These leade rs we re no t instru cto rs, but rath e r we re o th er ath letes, also training under th e supe rv isio n o f the coaches . But in their spare t illl e, leaders helped to spot and to make su re that each ca m per was trea ted as an indi vidu al. In thi s way, ca mpe rs received th e benef it of instru cti on f rom all of th e coaches, w hile still receiving th e individ ual att en tio n th at would be hi s w ith just o ne instructo r.

Th e unity of approach to th e spo rt amo ng the coaches was mos t v isib le, so few if any techni cal co nfli cts deve loped. But furth er unity was show n : a unifi ed p rog ram using each event to complement the o th ers in a to tal lea rn in g p rog ram. Coaches Zie rt and Bi es terfeldt wi ll be repor tin g on these thin gs in th e Instru ctional Secti o n of thi s magaz ine in future iss ues .

W ith beller fac iliti es, better mea ls, beller medica l se rvice, and beller staff and program than o ther ca mps, th e cos t o f $75 .00 a week st ill was amo ng the lowest in th e co untry. Thi s yea r 's ca lllp was m o re success fu l, and SIU intends to continue in future yea rs. Anyon e w ishing to be put 0 11 th e Illail ing li st for anno unce lllent of nex t yea r 's prog ram (boys o nl y) should d rop a ca rd to Dr. Jack Bi es terfeldt , SIU Arena, Ca rbo ndale, Illinoi s 62901 .

(5 SO;

~ '" z r r

Z o

: V; :> z

"0 ;;r o

SIU Camp vaulter gets hal ping hand.

o ~ "0 ;;r

(5 SO;

~ '" z r r

Z o

: V­

21

> Z '0 ;;r o o ~ -0 ;;r

Tumble ........ Town

Clinicr Two hundred and twenty aspiring yo ung

woman gymnasts made Carbondale, Illino is their home fo r th e two weeks of the Tumbl e Tow n summer clinics.

Herb Vogel , hea d coach of the SI U woma ns team that has won mo re tea m titles than any other team in th e co untry, se rved as head coac h for th e clini c. In add iti on to coachin g at the c lini c, he gave ma sters clin ics for th e instructors during free tim e in th e aftern oon. Clinic d irec to r A lyce Vogel, and her outstandin g staff bro ught girls from as far away as Florida , New York, and Was hin gton, D.C.

Donna (Sc haenze r) Krammer, Do n Carney, Caro l Donnell y, Ph ylli s and Dale Hardt we re ass isted by members o f th e SIU Woman s Gymnastics Team in th e teaching and operation of th e clini c.

Housing was at th e Unive rsity Park housing area of SIU. Instru ct ional sessions we re held at the Newman Center of SIU and at a nea rb y schoo l gym. Th ere we re two fou r hou r train ing sess ions dail y, so that each girl worked on all four olympic events each day.

On a typical da y, breakfast was fo llowed by . warmup and stre t chi ng exercises, supplemented say by tumb ling and bar instructi on. After lunch a free per iod all owed ca mpers to use th e SI U Ca mpus Lake, go horseback r iding, o r just relax an d become fri ends w ith o th er ca mpers. Th en after dinner a second workout sess ion would cover th e remaining two eve nts. A t the en d of the instructional session, time was all owed for free supervised training.

Each campe r had a co unselo r ass igned fo r the week , who lived with th e ca mpers, land

22

supervised and led the recreationa l activ iti es . This was the seco nd yea r for the Tumbl e

Town summer clinic and things we nt so we ll that nex t year the cl inic w ill ope rate fo r at least three weeks. A lso, since University Housing has not proven as sa ti sfactory as W il son Hall was fo r the boys program , plans are in the works to make some improvements. Next year, the Tumble Town Clini cs are expected to be held at the Duquoin State Fair Grounds no t far from Carbondale. Th e country se ttin g th ere, as well as the exce ll ent facilities should make next yea r 's clinic th e best ye t.

Anyo ne interested i n next yea rsclinicshould w rite to Tumbl e Town Director Alyce Vogel and as k to be placed o n the mailing list;

Alyce Vogel 611 Skyline Dr. Carbondale, III. 62901

Ol'lmpir~~

Camp Th e United States Gymnasti cs Federation has

just co mpleted it 's first pre-O lympic summ er ca mp at the Un ive rsit y of Nebraska in Lin clon , Nebraska . The ca mp was held from A ugust 12th to August 21st.

Seven of th e nati on's outs tanding high school gymnasts and seven of the best col lege sophomores in th e United States attended. M r. Bill Meade, gymnast ics coach at Southern

Bill Meadeassists Bar Conner at USCF Olympic Camp.

Illinois Univers it y, was the camp directo r and Mr. Masiuk i Wata nabe, co ach at th e Univers it y of Cal i for ni a, was th e head coach. Th e camp provided a relaxed training atmosphere for some of the most promising gymnasts in th e United States, who have th e opportunit y to be a member o f the Olympic Team in 1976 and future Ol ympic Tea ms and Wo rl d Game Tea ms.

Th e goa ls of th e ca mp were to teach proper training meth ods, teach th e new 1976 Ol ympi c co mpulsori es, and to provide the proper stimulu s of 14 good gymnas ts and good coaches wo rking together. Th e camp was an outstanding success.

Shown above are the coaches involved at the U.S.C.F. camp. From left to right Francis Allen, host and head gymnastics coach at the University of Nebraska; Mr. Masiuki Watanabe, coach at the University of California; Mr. Bill Meade, gymnastics coach at Southern Illinois University; Mr. Paul liert, head gymnastics coach at the University of Oklahoma; and Mr. Frank J. Cumiskey, Technical Director for the U.S.C.F.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Illinois' contribution to the U.S.G.F. camp are shown above: From left to right Steve Roskam, 1972 High School All-Around Champion and current All-Around record holder at the University of Oregon; Bart Connor, 1974 State High School All-Around Champion; Kevin Menz, one of the nation's outstanding high school All-Around gymnasts from Hersey High; Iverson Eiken, State High School finalist .in 1972 and one of the University of California's outstanding All-Around gymnasts. Eiken is a two year letter winner at the University of California. Bill M eade, gymnastics coach at Southern Illinois University.

Camp ,Sears-Gentlemen First

Gymnasts Second Cham pions Always

The motto of Camp Sea rs has been an integra l part in the overall phi losoph y of train ing yo ung gym nasts since 1960.

Many years ago, under Bud Byer, a gymnastics program was held at Camp Channing in Pullman, Michigan. Bud ran that program as a pa rt of a tota l ca mping expe ri ence for a number of yea rs. In 1960, th e YMCA of Ch icago asked Sid Dra in, head coach at Maine W est High School in DesPla ines, l llino is, to take over Bud's program. So, in the summer of 1960, 17 boys attended Camp Channing w ith very limited equipment. In 1961, 35 boys were on hand. In 1962, Sid asked the YMCA if it would be possibl e to co nvert th e entire ca mp to a gymnasti cs program for two weeks out of the summer. The " Y" gave its approval , so in 1962, 85 boys, 5 coaches, and 9 counselors b raved bad weather, 24-hour f lu , and broken legs - a totally di sas trou s summer. The program was dropped by Camp Channi ng in 1963, and p icked up by Camp Sears.

So, in th e summer of 1964, w ith the comp lete cooperation of Nissen Corporation who supplied us wit h eq uipment , th e hi story of Camp Sea rs began. That yea r, 120 boys attended and the ca mp has grown ever since. The histo ry lies not in the number of boys, but th e qua lity that has suffered through those two­mi le run s at 7 a.m ., six sess ions of exercise, five sessions of gymnastics, and the fun and game night time act iv iti es that turned gym nas ts to footba ll players. Up until last yea r eve ry NCAA Side HorseChamp ion since 1967 except for one had been in attendance at Camp Sears. Camp Sea rs d idn't make them champions, but we feel th at those summers helped make the

GYMNAST Oct. '74

difference. Side Horse Champ ions Keith McCan less, Russ Hoffman, and Ed Sleza k are not the on ly ones that went through the program: Glen Gail is, Still Rings '65; Bob Manna, Hi gh Bar '69; Ch uck Ropiqui et, Still Rings '71; Tom Dunn, Parall el Bars '71; Gary Morava, Long Horse '72; Brent Simmons, H igh Bar '72; are on ly a few.

The leade rship that these boys p rov ided in return ing not only as cam pers, but as counse lors and coaches year afte r year, he lped pe rpetu ate the idea ls of Camp Sears.

The coaches who have helped mold the Sears tradition are numerous: Tom Walthouse, John Burke l, Bob Kies, Bill Ba ll ester, Jo hn Schafer, Roger Gedney, Frank Wa lsh, Dick Foerch, Ken A ll en, Jack Biesterfeldt, Skip Ray, Wayne Se lvig, John Bolton , Tom Nev ille, just to name a few. Each man gave to Sears his talent and took from Sears a pocketfu ll of memories . Their contributions can neve r be measured.

This yea r a spec ial award was presented in memory of Gary Morava w ho spent many sum mers at Camp Sea rs . Gary was a young man who left his mark on everyone he met. Thi s year 's Gary Morava Memoria l Award recipient was Mike Mills of Add ison Trail High School in Add ison, Illinois. M ike 's coach, Fred Dennis, was also a cam per at Ca mp Channing and an A ll -American in hi s own r ight.

The young men who have gone through Sears have all had o ne goal : to be the best gymnast poss ib le. But in order to accomp li sh this, we believe that the total person comes f irst ; thus: Gentlemen First - - know yourself, your goa ls, dreams, abil ity; Gymnasts Second­- proper tra ining, diet, exe rci se, sacr ifi ce;

Champions A lways - - for he who tr ies, and tries even though he may eventuall y fall short of his d ream, wi ll always remain a champion among men.

Woodward GYMNASTICS DOWN ON THE FARM

Woodward Gymnasti cs Camp located in the hea rt of Penn sy lvan ia's farm lands has ju st completed i ts fourth season . It was a very successfu l yea r of planting fundamental gymnastics technique as well as teaching n ew tri cks to those enthusiastic lea rners who participated in this year's program.

Camp director, Ed Isa be ll e, was very pleased w ith his carefu lly se lected teaching staff of collegiate coaches and gym nas ts from va riou s parts of the coun try. A large portion of the credit fo r th e summers success must be given to Program Director Jo n Culbertson, a former top competitor (on two U. S. teams in 1960, 1962) and prese ntly chairman of the Techn ica l Comm ittee of th e Nat io nal Gymnasti cs Judges Association. Mrs. Cul bert son (Boots) former National Trampo line Champion contributed great ly to the overall program thru gymnas ti cs as well as thru her special ta lents in the arts.

Other se nior staff included such people as: Gene an d Jay W helan, both contenders for the current World Games Team ; Terry Spencer, Univers ity Games competitor, Brent Simmons, member of 1971 Pan Am Games team and also contender for the upcoming World Garnes Team; Karen Schuckmann A . 1. A. W. A II­Around champion; Bob Cargill coach at Springfi eld Coll ege; Dubi Luf i, Israeli gymnast training for th e World World Games; and Heid i Armstrong, member of EA IAW Championship team. The highl y qua li fied inst ru ctors w ith extensive teaching experi ence also incl uded Anne Weaver, Mike Kelly, Ear l Metzler, Tom Gardner, and Caro l Pietruszewski. Dance was ab ly taught by Sue Carpen ter, Anne Montgomery and Toby Towson, former gymnast turned professional dancer and choreographer.

Classes and wo rk outs continued rain or shin e . due to the large main gym located in the barn , as we ll as th e newly constructed covered outside ~orko ut area. Other areas of interest inclu ded dance studio, o lympic size swimm ing poo l and a photo lab full y equ ipped w ith cam eras and all photo equipment for use by any and all.

Numerous trips were scheduled to nearby points of interest: Woodward Cave, Walnut Acres (natura l foods) and local carnivals and fairs. In addition to planned act iv it ies and social

Workout session at Woodward Gymnastics camp.

23

events, horse back riding and overnight outside camping provided diversity from workouts.

The camp' s teaching phi losophy was reflected by th e morning classes being devoted to fundamental s and progress ion wh il e afternoon cl asses dealt w ith learn ing advanced ski ll s. Clinic lectures covered such subjects as routine composition, spotting, sensible dieting and judges viewpoints. This past summer featured week ly judging seminars for men during which th e new olympic compulsori es were analyzed for the advanced gymnasts. Practice competitions were held and judged the final two weeks for those tra ining for the World Games. Woodward Camp also offered courses in Red Cross li fesaving and gymnastic spott ing techniqu es for which certifi ca tion was given.

All those at Woodward Camp look forward to next year when th e primary emphas is o f th e program w ill be on the mental and physica l d iscipline demanded by this exacting but beautiful sport of gymnastics. Through th e combined assets of its staff, facilit ies, and activ iti es th e ca mp w ill cont inue to stri ve to provide those with a hunger fo r gymnastics with a stimulating lea rnin g situation plu s a motivation for personal growth.

,Stony Brook By Ed Isabelle

They say all good things come in threes and for Stony Brook Gymnastics Camp th e third year was not on ly good, but it was the best. An outstand ing staff coupled w ith exceptionally fine groups of hard working gymnasts made all ten weeks at Stony Brook enjoya bl e and educationally pro fitable for all those in

24

attendance. I am sure everyone will remember the egg throw ing contests, tlie waterme lon races, the talent n ights, wate r skii ng, and movies, as well as all the many hours spent in th e gyms wo rking on those so-desi red trick s. Thanks to the professional touch of John Calabria, the ass istan t director, Dail e Van Patton, Dave and Kathy Feigley, Bill and Margie Patton, Ja ck and Ruth Brunner, Ca rl Davis, Linda Zook , Susan Seibert, Linda Ausikaitis, Frank Cassara , Jerry Watskin s, Terry Spencer, and the other hard wo rking staff members th e wo rld of gymnasti cs is opening up more and mo re for those that want it.

Stony Brook Gymnastics Camp campers.

Woodwards 130 acres of rolling hills.

Working hard at Stony Brook workout.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

If you were ever a gymnast at o ne time yo u are probably quite fami liar w ith that very thing that co nst itutes the mak ing of gymnast ics - the routine . The ro utine is qu ite an easy thing to describe. It is also very econom ic. It lasts for on ly a minute o r so and it co nsists of more or less twelve tr icks. Now, wasn ' t th at easy to describe? A hah! A closer look into what a routin e is shows us that it isn ' t all that easy to crea te a routine better yet perform one.

What I 'm in te rested in here is not w hat goes into the routine but th e actual performance itse lf and what happens dur ing it. To the speciali st this means that he w ill be given one chance to show the judges what hours and hours of repeating and learn ing and fall ing and scrap ing and wor ry ing has brought him. It really scares the gym nast to think that he has to condense wha t he has put all his heart and love in for years into a minute o r so of the best tricks he knows and the best order he knows how to show them.

It 's hi s turn now, because the announcer has called him up and has misprono unced his name, as usual. H e takes that giant step up to th e mat and faces the head judge who is still calculating the las t performance. Right now he is a picture o f read iness. He is sure he looks perfect because o ne of th e team members fi xed hi s suspenders and this time he remem bered to hook hi s toe st raps. He kn ows that hi s stomach could be a good free -ex man because right now it 's doin g flip flops. It 's bad enough that he is in gym nasti cs but he also has to be an acto r in the sense that even though that cucumber coo l appea rance is on the outside his nerves are frayed to the ve ry last th read . The head judge is look ing him over now and sil ently the gymnast is saying, "You better give me a good score, yo u sk un k. " Th e head judge has give n him the OK and there is no backing out now. Th e gymnast looks at his apparatus, completely dul ls hi s senses of eve ryt hing and puts all the jui ces of hi s body that are working for him into tha t all important mount. Just as he exp lodes into hi s mount he ca n hear, "SCORES FOR SO-AND-SO. " A good gymnast cou ld hea r thi s and immed iate ly block it o ut but st ill an inter rupti on breaks all concentration an d immediate ly the gym nast tri es to b ring himse lf back up to the super acute sta te and con tinu es.

Now he is fl ying through hi s tricks and nothing ca n ho ld him back. A ho ld move is coming up and he ca n use those two seconds to breathe. During rh is short t ime 11 8 things go through th e gymnast 's mind. Some of these thoughts might include, "We ll , I'm doing alri ght so far," o r " I hope I don't blow that C move that's com ing up, " or even ext remes li ke " I wonder w hat Sa ll y is thinking of me right now," or " Just think , right now everyone is look ing at me, I hope my hair isn 't too messed. " If yo u think the latter ideas could never occur don ' t be too su re. Many a gym nas t ha ve passed

GYMNAST Oct. '74

• A GYMNASTIC

• ROUTINE

ideas like th ose th ro ugh their heads. I' ve always sy mpathized w ith the sid e horse and high bar men because they ca n 't eve r exper ience w hat their m in d goes th ro ugh during a ho ld move.

Instinctively th e gymnast, if capab le, knows exact ly when to come out of th e ho ld move even though no counting at al l is experi enced. In every routine there is a problem spot. A ce rtain trick that isn ' t too certa in , and now it 's coming up. The gymnast is thinking extra hard about thi s trick and maybe a littl e ahead of tim e. In any case the gymnast blows the trick sli gh t l y and mir acu lous ly reco ve rs. Immed iately after any blown trick the gymnast (as I have experienced) w ill hope to himself, " Maybe th e judge d idn ' t see it. " At any rate the gymnast contin ues through his B's and A 's and soon th e most important a nd relieving pa rt of his routine, th e d ismoun t, comes up. A lthough hi s tired body after twisting and. turn ing and circli ng can ba rely get the ext ra strength th e gymnast needs to perform the dismount, he does it. Ton igh t he is happy, he stuck it straig ht as an arrow. A sli ght sm il e diffuses through hi s body and co ll aborates at hi s lips but it quickl y disappears. His hands are up in the air and slow ly he ca n aga in hea r sou nd s. Th e app lause is of co urse the soun d that brings him back to the normal body functi ons. The gymnast now steps back and aga in honors th e judge. Sometim es the gymnast w ill find the judges nose is buried in hi s cl ipboa rd sea rch ing for a just sco re. W hen this happens th e gymnast has an urge to stick his tongue out at him b ut instead wa lks polit ely back to his team .

After a few congratu lations the gymnast tu rn s his att enti on to the sco res. No matter

w hat the scores happen to be, they are never high eno ugh in his eyes bu t he' ll never le t anyo ne know.

A nd so the speciali sts job is done for the night. He ca n sit back and chee r for hi s team . Ugh! Th ose poor all around men have to go th ro ugh it six times eve ry meet. But all around o r specia li st th ey all h ave to throw routines. Those. painful body manipulations, nerve rackin gs, and mind pounu in gs that we gymnasts wouldn 't trad e for the wo rl d.

PRICES TOO HIGH? HAVE TO WAIT TOO LONG

FOR DELIVERY?

DO YOU NEED BALANCE BEAMS?

HERE'S THE ANSWER # 1000 Mahogany beam,

official dimensions with simple instruc­tions to have your own legs made -$98 plus shipping

# 1010 Carpeted practice beam, 12 ft. floor model

-$45 plus shipping

IMMEDIATE DELIVERY Guaranteed Satisfaction Other Equipment Also

Write: Marcus Rankin P.O. Box 344

Garden City, Kansas 67846

197'1 SfJntfJ MonicfJ Gymfest super 8 c%r f/~m

See the finest Gymfest ever held. Includes winning routines of all men and women events plus many mini-tramp and swinging rings dismounts. 275 ft. $25.00 Ppd.

ORDER FROM: FRANK EN DO

12200 So. Berendo Ave. Los Angeles, Calif. 90044

25

Jodi Yocum Diane Dunbar

fYlw rJokkn 9JJopt Jtt me1icofft 6JfonuYn

rJ~aM4.

Jtt~ 0/ ~a~ and~.

by Minot Simons II

( r

~ ~

...J

Diane Dunbar Age: 15 Height: 5'2" Weight: 105 Ibs. Sophomore at Foothill High School, Pleasanton, Cal ifornia.

Diane belongs to the Diablo Gymnasti cs Club, Walnut Creek, California , where she is coached by Jim Gault and Hal Shaw.

She has been a gymnast for seven years, having begun w hen she was eight and a half. However, w hen she was just five, she began tumb ling and also began to tak e ba ll et and tap dancing lessons. She still tak es a ba ll et lesson each week for one hour at th e San Ramon Academy of Ba ll et. Her teacher th ere is Joan Winton.

D iane li kes all gymnast ics events, but her favo rite is the floor ex erc ise. At th e moment

GYMNAST Oct. '74

she perfo rms a rout ine crea ted for her by the coach of the U.S. Nat ional Team, M uriel Grossfeld . It is se t to the music of " Su pe rca I ifragi I i sti cex pia I idoc ius. "

Diane f irst came into prominence in 1973, whe n she placed seventh all aro und in the USGF Elite Championships in Seattle, Wa sh ington. In thi s meet, she pl aced fourth in va ult, fifth on the beam, and sixt h in floor exercise. Previously, fourteen yea r-old Dian e had participated in the Romania vs. U.S.A. competit ion at U.c. Berkeley, her first internat ional event.

Internationall y in 1974, she p laced fourth all aro und in the French Inv itat ional Meet held at Antibes. She rece ived a special awa rd for her f loor exe rcise routin e (mentioned above) for being most or iginal. She co nsiders that Antib es was a good expe ri ence fo r her.

'" :r C a ~

Nationa ll y in 1974, she placed second all around in the USGF Elite Nat ional s at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, although she placed f irst in bars and va ult. In the USGF Elite Qualifi ca tion meets held earlier at the Unive rsity of Delaware,. Newa rk, and at Ca li fornia State University, Fullerton , she placed f irst and th ird . Diane is now ranked number one in the Golden Dozen Ame ri can Women Gymnasts. She participated in the USA-USSR Gymnasti cs Exhibitions at the EXPO '74 World 's Fair in Spokane, Washington, where her floo r exe rci se routine was aga in ent husiasti ca ll y rece ived.

Diane lik es th e o utd oors - camp ing, hiking, and bike-riding.

(See also interview in June-July 1974 " Gymnast") .

27

Joan Moore Rice Age: 20 Height: 5'4" Weight: 106 Ibs.

Joan began gymnastics in Philade lphia in 1961 at the age of seven. She graduated from Philadelphia High School for girls and attended Temple University for a year.

She has been a m ember of the U.S. Nat ional Team since 1970. At the World Championships that year in Ljublj ana, Yugos lavia, she tied w ith Ade le Gleaves for thirty-third p lace. Joan p laced twenty-eighth on beam and thirty­second in floor exericse. In 1971, she was a member of a team sent by the State Department on a European Tour and th en took first place all around, in floor exercise, and on balance beam in the French Inv itational Meet at Antibes.1 n the USGF Elite Nationals . she too k first place all around, including first in floor

28

exercise, uneven bars, and va ult; and second on ba lance beam.

In 1972, she was again first in the USGF Elite Nat iona ls, this time tied for first with Cathy Rigby, and was, of course, a member of the U.S. Ol ympic Team. At Mun ich , she placed twenty­first all around. H er best event was floor exercise, in w hich she placed twelfth. In 1972, Joan won the South Africa Cup, placing first in floor , beam, and va ult; and she placed-fourth all around in the Chunichi Cup, behind Liudmila Tourishcheva, Karin Janz, and Nina Dronova. And in 1972, she married Bob Rice. . 1973 saw Joan tak e her third consecutive win in the USGF Elite Nationals. She took first in floor exercise, secon d in vault, and third in bars and beam. She took second place in the meet with Hungary at Penn State.

In 1974, Joan took fifth p lacei n the USGF Elite Qualifi ca tion Meet at the University of

Delaware, Newark, but took first place (for the fourth stra ight time) in the USGF Elite Nationals at Southern Illino is University, Carbonda le. At the Nationals, Joan won balance beam and floor exercise. She is current ly ranked number two in the Golden Dozen American Women Gymnasts.

Joan 's other interests include dance, tennis, and swimming. In high school she competed for the swimming and diving team, and at co ll ege she majored in dance.

She has three brothers and three sisters. One of her sisters started her in gymnastics but later retired from the sport.

She and Bob plan to buy a school in Minneapolis. After the World Championships, she plans to retire and to devote her time to coaching the " Kegs" Gym Club in Minnesota along with her husband Bob.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Debbie Fike Age: 17 Height: 5'3" Weight: 105 Ibs. Senior at Kennedy High School, Cypress, California

Debbi e belongs to the SCATS Gymnastic Clu b (Southern Ca lifornia Acro Team Inc.). Her coach there is Scott Crouse.

Debbie actua ll y began stud ying ballet at the age of nine. However, th ere was an acroba ti c class in th e ba ck of her building and this soon interes ted her more than ball et. Thi s cla ss was coached by Fred Seabum and was known as the KiPS Gym nasti c Club. just three or four months aft er she began gymnasti cs, Fred Seabum was killed in an automobil e accid ent. His p lace was taken by jim Fountaine; jim remained Debbie 's (')ach for six yea rs. However, Debbie has been a SCAT for a yea r now.

She has lo ng been recogni ze d as a girl of promise . When she was eleven years old , a

GYMNAST Oct. '74

coac h from japan spoke of her in such terms. When she was twelve, she won a major reg iona l meet in the twelve to fourteen yea r old age gro up, Class One, and also pl aced third all around in the AAU State Cha mpio nships held at Diablo Co ll ege in Pl easa nt Hill s, Ca lifornia. (Story and photo in th e May-june 1970 issue of " Mademoiselle Gymnast " ).

Debbie already has a long list of accompli shments. internation all y, in june 1973 she placed second al l arou nd in th e N HK Cup, japan. in March 1974, she pl aced sixth all aro und in the " Moscow News" competition , w inning fourth place in va ult and fifth in bars; and seventh all arou nd in the Riga invitational M ee t, where she pl aced fourth on beam and fifth in va ult. in Apr il 1974, she won the South Afri ca Cup, placing f irst in va ult , first in beam, first on bars, and third in f loor exercise.

Nationally, she pla ced fifth all around in th e 1973 USGF Elite Nat io nals in Seattl e, Washington. in 1974, she wo n th e first USGF

Elite Qualification Meet at Ca lifornia State University, Full erton , and pla ced third in the USGF Elite Nati o nals at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale . She participated in the USA- USSR Gymnastic Exhibiti o ns at the EXPO '74 World's Fa ir in Spokane, Washington . A bu sy schedule for a high school se nio r !

Debbie is now ranked third in th e Golden Dozen Amer ica n Women (:;ymnasts.

Sh e has a sister and two brothers, all younger. Th ey are not gymnasts, although one brother is a dive r. Debbie does not like di ving, even though she ca n use her tumbling skill s in diving, but she does like sw imming.

Her da il y rout ine naturall y revol ves about gymnastics. Out of school at noon, she reaches the SCATS gym about one. During th e schoo l year she pract ices from one to four and from six to nine- thirty, a tota l o f six and a half hours. Her favor ite events are bea m and bars. (See also intervi ew in th e th e December 1973 " Gymnast " .)

29

Ann Carr Age: 16 Height: 5'0" Weight: 95 Ibs. Senior at Northeast High School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Ann belongs to the Mannettes Gym Club, Philadelphia, w here her coaches are Bill and Ginny Coco and Don Peters. Her gymnastics ca reer goes back to the age of n ine when she began to take ballet lessons. She started tumbling and acrobatic work when she was eleven in a class at a nea rby recreat ion center. Her nat iona l competiti ve career in gym nast ics began in 1972, when she participated in the USGF elite meets. She made eli te both in 1972 and 1973.

30

1974 has been a busy year for Ann. Internationally, she part icipated in the Go lden Sands Internationa l Compet it ion held in June at Varna, Bulgaria. She placed third all around. Her teammate in this compet ition was Kathy Howa rd.

Nat ionall y, she placed fourth in the USGF Elite Qualification Meet at the University of Delaware, Newark . Then she placed th ird in th e USG F Elite Nationals at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Ann is currently tied wit h Roxanne Pierce for fourth p lace in the Go lden Dozen Ameri ca n Women Gymnasts. She participated in the USA-USSR gymnastics ex hibitions at the EXPO '74 World 's Fair, Spokane, Washington.

Once in a w hil e Ann w ill compete for h er schoo l team, but predominantly her gymnastic activ i ties are w ith the Mannettes. She is very keen on her club and spends about four hours per day there. It is about a th i rty-five minute drive from her home. She also helps to teach in the Gymschool program.

She likes to swim and to dive, an activity in which she ca n use sk ills acquired in h er gymnastics. She li kes to read nove ls and to listen to rock music. Most of all , however, Ann loves her gymnastics . We can look forward to seeing a lot of her in th e y~a rs to come.

Ann 's parents came to the U.S. from Ireland about twenty years ago. She has a married siste r plus and o lder and a younger brother.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Roxanne Pierce Age: 19 Height: 5'7" Weight: 125 Ibs.

Since mid-July 1974, Roxan ne has been a member of the Mannettes Gym Club, Philadelphia , where her coaches are Bill and Ginny Coco and Don Peters. Prior to th at, she had been since March 1973 a member of the Southern Conn ecti cut Gym Club, where her coach was Muriel Grossfeld , coach o f th e U.S. Nat iona l Tea m.

Sh e bega n gymnastics durin g her seventh grade in Jun io r High Schoo l at Kensington, Mary land . During the ninth grade she jo ined

GYMNAST O ct. '74

the Marvateens Gym Clu b whe re her coach was Ruth Ann McBr ide.

Roxanne 's international competitions date from 1971, when she part icipated in the USA­USSR competition in February at Penn State. In this meet she placed n iflth. Later she partic ipated in the PanAm Games and then , w ith Cathy Rigby, Joan Moore Rice, and Wend y Clu ff, she competed in the Riga Invitat ional Meet. At Riga , she p laced fifth in va ult and sixth in bars. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team w hich placed fourth in Munich in 1972. In 1973, she won both th e South Africa Cup and th e French Invitational Meet at Antibes; she aga in part icipat ed In th e Klga II llernationa l Meet and placed sixth . She participated in the Braz ili an Internationa l Festi va l of Olympi c

Gymnasts w hich put o n ten ex hibiti ons in fi ve citi es.

Nationa ll y in 1974, she placed second in the USGF Eli te Qua lifi ca tion Meet at Ca lifo rni a State Unive rsit y, Full erton and fi ft h in th e USGF Elite Na ti o nals at Sou th ern Illinois Un ive rsity, Ca rbondal e. She is ti ed with Ann Carr for fo urth pl ace in th e Golden Dozen American Women Gymnasts. She parti cipa ted in th e USA-USSR Gymnasti cs Exhi biti ons at EXPO '74 World 's Fair, Spokane, Was hil~g toll.

Roxa nne likes bars and the free exe rcise but is not so keen on bea m. Outside o f the gymnasium, she likes di ving and loves the beach. She enjoys bodys urfing. However, gymnasti cs takes most of her tim e; she spends eight o r nine hours at th e gym every day.

31

Kathy Howard Age: 16 Height: 5'3" Weight: 105 Ibs. Junior at Northwest Classen High School, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Kathy belongs to the Hi-Lo Twisters Gymnastics Club, w here she is coached by Mary Welin in bars and va ult and by Jessie Arnold in floor exerc ise and beam. She has been a gymnast for three and a half years, all of them with the Hi-Lo's.

Because of her late start in gymnast ics (age

32

13) and abso lutely zero prev ious training in related activ iti es, Kath y was learning cartwheels wh ile the ot hers we re breaking into the Junior Nationals. Her's has been a catch-up type of development and an amazing one. In 1973, her third yea r of gymnastics, she placed tenth all arou nd in the USGF Elite Nationals in Seattle, Washington.

Internationa ll y in 1974, Kath y participated in th e Golden Sands International Competit ion at Varna, Bulgaria. She placed fifth al l arou nd but took second place on bal ance beam. Nationa ll y, she parti cipated in th e USGF Elit e Qualification Meets at Ca lifornia State

Unive rsity, Fullerton, w here she placed fifth; and at the Univers ity of D elaware, Newark, whe re she placed third. In the USGF Elite Nationals held at Southern Ill inois University, Carbondale, she placed ninth. She participated in the USA-USSR Gymnastics Exhibitions at the EXPO '74 World's Fair, Spoka ne, Washington. Kathy is cu rrent ly ranked sixth in the Golden Dozen Amer ican Women Gymnasts.

Kathy does not have a favorite event. Her coach says she's coo l under pressure. Outside of gymnastics, Kath y lik es track - particularly high jumping and the 100 and 220 yard sprints. She likes dancing.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Kyle Gayner Age: 16 Height: 5'4" Weight: 108 Ibs. Junior at Estancia High School, Costa Mesa, California

Kyle belongs to the SCATS Gymnastic C lub (Southern Ca lifornia Acro Team Inc.). She has been a SCAT fo r fou r yea rs. Her coach is Scott Crouse.

She has bee n a gymnast fo r fi ve and a half to six years, having started in a ba ll et class. Her

GYMNAST Oct. '74

class, however, inc luded some acroba ti cs at the end of the class and th is interested her more than th e ba ll et.

1974 has been a busy year for Kyle. In te rnat iona ll y, she partic ipated in th e " Moscow News" and Riga Invitational Cup meets, pla cing eighth in Moscow and fourth in Riga. At Moscow, Kyle placed fo urth in bea m and sixt h in floor exe rcise; in Riga she placed second in balance bea m and fifth in floo r exe rcise.

Na tionally in 1974, she parti cipated in th e meet against Czechos lovak ia. She pla ced

fo urth in the USGF Elite Qualifi ca tion meet at Ca li for nia State Uni ve rsity, Full erton, and tied wi th Na ncy Thies for sixt h place in the USGF Elite Na ti onals at Southern Illi nois Un ive rsit y, Carbonda le. She pa rti cipated in th e USA-USSR Gym nastics Ex hibiti ons at EXPO '74 World 's Fair in Spokane, Washington .

Kyle is now ranked seventh in th e Golden Dozen American Women Gymnasts .

Kyle li kes all gymnasti cs events, but likes beam th e best. She says it comes most naturally to her. Outside of gymn as tics, she likes to cook and parti cularl y enjoys watersk ii ng.

33

Nancy Thies Age: 17 Height: 5'2" Weight: 110 Ibs. Senior at South Eugene High School, Oregon.

Nancy is a member of the Nationa l Academy of Artistic Gymnastics, Eugene, OR. Her coaches there are Dick Mulvi-hill, Head Coach, and Linda Metheny Mulvihill, Ass istant Coach. Nancy comes from Urbana, Illinois but moved to the Academy w hen it opened in September 1973. She li ves at a dormitory there and divides her time between c lasses at her high school and gymnastics at the Academy.

Nancy started her gym nast ics at eight, although she had begun ballet at six. Before going to Eugene, she was a member of the McKinley, Illinois YMCA w here her coaches were again Dick and Linda Mulvihill.

She has been in the forefront of the country's gymnastic activi ty si nce 1972 w hen she became th e you ngest person eve r to qualify for the United States Olympic Women 's Gymnastic Team, having done so at age 14. She competed

in Munich and placed thirty-fifth all around, an.

34

outstanding performance for a girl that age. Nancy has bee n a member of the U.S. nati onal tea ms competing against Japan, Hungary, Romania, France and the hi stor ica l meetings against Red China in Madison Square Garden and Philadelphia in1973 . Millions who wa tched Wide World of Sports ' presentation of th e Madison Square Garden Meet wil l recall th e emotional scene when Nancy 's tape of her free exercise music failed to play and th e Chinese piano player improvised for her routine, after w hich 15,000 spectators gave a standi ng ovation for the performance. Also in 1973, she placed fifth all around in the Golden Sa nds International Meet in Varna, Bulgaria. In thi s meet she placed third in bea m and fifth in vault. In 1974, she participated in the " Moscow News" and Riga meets but was seve rely handicapped by a case of flu. However, wit h teammate Debbie Fike, after Riga she f lew directly down to Johannesburg w here she placed third in the South Afr ica Cup.

Nationally, she placed third all around in the 1973 USGF Elite Nationals in Seattle, taking first place in beam and second in floor exercise. In

1974, she placed fifth in th e USGF Elite Qualification Meet at Ca lifornia State University, Full erton , and sixt h in the USG F Elite Nat iona ls at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. At the Natio nals, she placed third in floor exercise . She is cu rrentl y ranked eighth in th e Golden Dozen American Women Gymnasts. She participated in the USA-U~:, R Gymnastics Exhibitions at th e EXPO '74 World 's Fair in Spokane.

In her spa re tim e she enjoys reading, arts and crafts, and spend ing time with her friends. She is act ive in her church youth group and likes doing community projects. She also likes to ski and swim. Of course, her favorite pastime is spend ing tim e with her family. As they are in Illinois, her time w ith them is limited. She has two brothers and two sisters.

Nancy likes all courses at school but she is particularly interested in foreign languages. She likes being ab le to ca rryon a conversation w ith someone from a foreign country.

In the future she would like to get into coach ing gymnast ics, perhaps even start ing an academy in Illinoi s, sim ilar to Dick and Linda's.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Jodi Yocum Age: 14 Height: 5'2" Weight: 97 Ibs. Sophomore at Exeter High School, Reading, Pennsylvania.

Jodi is a member of th e Parkette Gymnastic Club o f A ll entown, PA. Her coac hes are Donna and Bill Strauss. She has been w ith th e Park ettes for three yea rs, although h er gy mnast ics ca ree r began at another club w hen she was seven.

In 1974, Jodi partic ipated in the USGF Elite Quali fication Meet at Ca lifornia State

GYMNAST Oct. '74

University, Fullerton, but did not qualify for eli te; in th e qualification meet at the University of Delaware, Newark, Jodi not only qualified but placed ninth. She took eighth place all around and fourth on balance beam in th e USGF Elite Nationa ls at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Jodi parti cipated in the USA-USSR Gymnastics Exhibitions at the EXPO '74 World 's Fair, Spokane, Washington. She is current ly ranked ninth in the Golden Dozen American Women Gymnasts.

Jodi co nsiders beam her strongest event, although she lik es floor. She is least keen on va ulting. She tak es a ballet lesson once a week

for an hour, w hi ch she says helps her very much. She p lays tenni s and sw im s. Other than gymnastics, her main inte rest is horseback riding. At school, she lik es mathematics. Most of her homework is completed in t he famil y car in her two-hour dri ve to and from practice.

Jodi has three sisters and one brother, among whom is a pair of six yea r-old tw ins. O ne of her older sisters teaches at gym classes co nduc ted by the Parkettes at the club and at A ll entown College, SI. Francis de Sa lles, summer camp. Jodi pla ys th e drums in a fami ly c;ombo known as " Father 's Pride" . Her older sisters pl ay th e organ and guitar w hil e the tw ins sing.

35

Debbie Hill Age: 22 Height: 5'2" Weight: 105 Ibs.

Debbie belongs to the Denver Schoo l of Gymnasti cs (Hill 's A ngels), w here h er coach (a nd husband) is Rod H ill.

She has bee n a gy mnast fo r eight yea rs, hav ing begun w hen she was fo urteen at th e Sparks (Nevada) Gym Club. Her coach th en, as now, was Rod Hill.

Debbie's ca reer in majo r competiti o n goes back to 1970, w hen she beca me an alt ern ate member of the U.S. Na ti ona l Tea m tha t we nt to th e World Champio nshi ps at Ljublj ana, Yugos lav ia. In 1972, she placed sixth in t r ials for th e U.S. Ol ym pic Team . However, as at Ljubljana, she we nt to M un ich as altern ate in seventh pos iti o n. Ca th y Rig by had been injured befo re the t ria ls fo r th e O lymp ic tea m and so

36

did not compete. Neverthe less, th e judges vo ted to appo int her to th e tea m and this se lecti o n moved Debbi e fro m sixth to seventh pos iti on. In 1973, she too k fi rs t p lace in the fir st U.S.G.F. Eli te Quali f icat ion Meet and th en we nt on the Europea n Tour of the Denver Schoo l. Wi th Nancy Thies she parti cipated in th e Go lden Sa nds In ternati onal Competiti on, Va rna, Bul ga ria. She placed te nth all around but placed fourth in ba rs and fi fth in floo r exe rcise. In 1974, she p laced eleventh in th e Elite Quali f ica tio n Meet at Ca li fo rnia State Uni ve rsity, Full erton, anu seventh in th e Eli te Quali fi cat ion Meet at the Uni ve rsit y of Delawa re, Newa rk. She p laced twe lfth in the Eli te Na ti o nals, Southern Illino is Unive rsity, Ca rbondale, and is current ly ranked tenth in the Go lden Dozen Amer ica n Women Gymnasts.

In June 1974 she part icipated in th e f ive wee k Europea n tour of the Denver Schoo l. This tour was nota ble in that it was th e first ti me an

Am eri ca n club had competed in communist co un tri es. Debbie placed second all aro und in the competiti on aga inst the Juni o r Sq uad in Ro man ia and fi rs t all around in Hungary, where Madame Nagy was o ne of th e judges. Th e Denve r School has bee n invited to return to Ro mania to t rain w ith the junio rs th ere. In August and September, she went w ith her cl ub to Japan to compete in th e World Club competiti o n.

Debbie's day is di v ided betwee n her own trainin g and her coachin g. She ass ists Rod in all coaching and is coach of th e Cherub Tea m (Baby A ngels). She loves coac hing. In her own gymnasti cs, she usually sco res abo ut th e sa me in bars, va ul t, and floo r - som et imes a littl e more in bars. Her fl oo r exe rcise music is th e theme from " Dr. Zhivago". Debbi e loves all kind s of m usic. (See also interview in February 1973 "Gymnast" and biog raphy in September-October 1970 " Mademoisell e gy mnas t " ).

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Barbie Myslak Age: 15 Height: 4'11" Weight: 90 Ibs. Junior at Lee High School, New Haven, Connecticut

Barbie is a member o f the Southern Connect icut Gym Club, w here her coach is Muriel Gross feld , coac h of th e u .S. Na ti o nal Tea m. She has been a gymnast for four yea rs, all of them at her present club.

GYMNAST Oct. ' 74

In 1974, Barbi e competed in th e USGF Elite Qualifi cation Meet held in Jan uary at California State University, Fu ll ert on. She d id not qualify at Fu ll erton but we nt o n to qualify and pl ace sixth in the Elit e Quali fica ti o n Meet held in March at the Uni ve rsity o f Dela wa re, Newa rk. A lthough she placed seventeenth in th e USGF Elite Nationals conducted at Southern Illinoi s Unive rsity, Carbonda le, w ith her combined sco res she is now ranked eleventh in th e Golden Dozen A meri ca n Women Gymnasts.

She participated in th e USA-USSR Gymnasti cs Exh ibi t ions at th e EXPO '74 Worl d 's Fair, Spokane.

Barbie has two bro th ers and a sister , but she is th e on ly gymnast in the famil y. She I ik es to swim and to di ve. She does not take ballet lessons at a se parate schoo l but does rece ive dance instru cti o n fro m one of th e teachers at th e gym. She was handicapped in 1973 by a hand fracture and a case of mono, but has been in good heal th w ithout injuri es this year.

37

Lynn Govin Age: 17 Height: 5'2'/2" Weight: 106 Ibs.

Lynn is a freshman at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, where her coach is Herb Vogel. Before going to S.I.U ., she was a member of the SCATS for two and a-half yea rs. She is a graduate of Tustin High School.

38

In 1974, she participated in the USGF Elite Qualification Meet at California State University, Full erton , but d id not qualify . She qualif ied and placed eighth in the USGF Elite Qualification Meet at the Uni versity of Delaware, Newark, and went on to place sixteenth in the USGF Elite Na ti onals at

Southern Illinois University, Carbonda le. Although Lynn 's favorite event is floor

exercise, her coach finds that she is a balanced gymnast w ith no weak events.

Lynn, ranked twelfth in the Gold en Dozen Amer ica n Women Gym nasts, is one of the new faces on the national scene.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Janette Anderson Age: 21 Height: 5' Weight: 102 Ibs.

Janet te belongs to the Southern Con necticut Gym Club, where her coach is Muriel Grossfeld.

Janet te got into gymnastics by way of ballet. Her doctor recommended ballet dancing as a cure for her being knock-kneed and pigeon­toed. Consequently, she started taking lessons when she was seven. After eight yea rs, she had a scholarship to go into a professional company. Howeve r, in th e meanwhile she had become interested in gymnast ics and had begun to work out on her own in her back ya rd in EI Paso, Texas. There was no gymnastic instruction offered in EI Paso at th at tim e.

When she was fift een, she saw the Junior

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Nat ionals in Hurst, Texas and watched the team from Seatt le win. Thereupon , she resol ved to go to Seattle. Setting an exa mple of parental support, her whole fami ly moved there and Janette joined the YMCA. Her coach was George Lewis. Janette remained with the Seatt le YMCA club for fi ve yea rs, until in 1973 she moved to Southern Connecticut. At about the same time, her former club became Gymnastics Incorporated, a non-profit school.

Janette now spends her full time on gymnastics. Thi s graceful gymnast is proof that ballet and gymnastics ca n be good therapy and a sp lendid mea ns of phys ical deve lopment.

She has twice been on the U.S. team. In February 1973, she participated in the Romania vs. U.S.A. competit ion at the University of Ca liforn ia, Berke ley, and in March 1974, she parti cipated in the Czechoslovakia vs. U.S.A. competition at th e University of Ca li fornia .

Nationa ll y in 1974, Janette placed seventh in the USGF Elit e Qualifi cation meet conducted in January at Cal ifornia State Un iversity, Fullerton and went on to place second in the USGF Elite Qualification Meet held in March at the University of Delaware, Newark. Since then, Janette has been unable to compete because of injuri es. These prevented her from competing in the USGF Senior Nationals at Southern Illinois University, Carbonda le. However, on her petition beca use of her injuries, the USGF has granted her permission to compete along with th e Golden Doz'en for a place on the World Champ ionships team.

Janette 's famil y still resides in Seattle. Her mother is Japanese; her father is an American I ndian who has retired after twenty years in the Army. She has a younger sister who is also a gymnast. Her brother, also very much a spo rtsman, is in col lege.

39

40

•

o o

Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3

helen's Helen Sjursen

Box l88-A, Lake Crystal, Mn, 56055 Phone (507) 726-2534

Write for Complete Accessory Catalog_

o o o o

~

F;g.~ ~o ~ ~ ~'~a"F·ig·'·8'-""·d~ lAY-OUT CATCh

If a beginner ca n perform a glide single leg shoot through to a strid e support, there is no reason w hy she should not be able to master the lay-out ca tch.

Th e first step for anyo ne trying th e lay-out ca tch is to just turn backwa rds over th e high bar and deliberately drop to th e feet. Thi s gives th e gymna st th e fee l of turning backward s from a hi gh position.

LAY -OUT CATCH

Fi g. 1 - Stand o n the low bar, back towa rd s high bar. Grip hi gh bar w ith a regula r grip . Fig. 2 - Jump backwards to a rear support st retched (stretched body) Be sure arms are straight and remain straight during Fi g. 3 & 4. Fi g. 3 & 4 - Lea n ba ckwa rds to start a turn backwards. Increase th e arch a littl e so th e legs w ill " trail " . Keep ail g le between arms and body ri gid so that th e body stays close to th e bar wh il e tu~ning backwa rd s. Fig. 5 - Release th e hi gh bar and immedia tel y grip the low bar, regular grip. At th e mo ment the regrasp is made, should th e arms be sli ghtly

bent, be sure to immediately straighten th em out. Th e moment th e reg rasp is made, the hips sho uld bend at th e sa me time, no more th an 90 0

.

Fig. 6 - Ho ld thi s b ent posi tion until th e bod y sw ings under the low bar, then ex tend as usual , fo r th e g lide. (Figures 7 and 8.) (Superior - FIG Cod e 1970 pa ge 37 #2)

From Fi g. 5, th e most natural thing to do is to ju st jump to the fl oo r af ter regras ping th e low bar. Once yo u have successfull y regrasped the low bar " th e trick is made " so there is no rea l reason to bend the legs and le t the fee t drop to th e floor. Instea d, o nce the regrasp is m ad e, loo k at yo ur legs co ncentrating o n keeping them straight , knees li ght , toes po inted hard , and keeping your stomach muscles rea l tight to fight that split second of forceful gravity.

SPOTTING ... If th e gymnast is just to turn backward s and land to her Jeet, th e spo tt er just grasps the upper arm. On th e lay-out catch as soon as th e gym nast re leases th e high bar, th e spotter circ les the hips with both arms until th e ca tch is made, the n th e spott er re leases so th e gymnast ca n continue w ith th e gli de.

MENS' & WOMENS' GYMNASTIC APPAREL & ACCESSORIES GYMNAST Oct. '74

....

COACItING··· HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR

COACHING

By Gary Anderson Assistant Gym Coach, U.S. Naval Academy

One of th e most common rationali za tion s that is heard from U.S. Gymnasts (on all leve ls) is that th ey do not have a good coach. It is m y feeling ·that thi s is often an excuse or "cop-out··, and probablY indicates simply that the parti cular gymnast does not know how to get th e most out of th e coach he does have. Not eve ryo ne is fortunate enough to have a Watanabe, M itchell , or Grossfield in the gym to help with the technical execut ion of va riou s ski ll s. Even if they d id (and these fine coaches would probab ly be th e first to adm it) th ey wou ld not ha ve th e proper critic ism or key word to teach or correct every skill eve ry time.

A good coach is often one who simply opens up the gym six days a week , ten or twelve months a yea r. A top performer with pa st ex peri ence in our sport does not necessa ril y guarantee successful coaching credential s. Part of the problem seems to be that gymnasts usuall y look for the bad things in their coaches rather than th e good, and the re-i n lies th e secre t of getti ng th e most out of yo u r coachi ng.

The following th en is a li st of factors th at I fee l wi ll be helpful to yo u in getting th e most out of yo ur coach or coac hes.

1. Li sten carefully it a coach is crit icizin g or exp laining a trick. Do not pretend to be li stening and dayd ream. You are wa sting hi s time and yo urs.

2. Do not back your coach into a co m er b y saying he is w rong, o r that another coach to ld you to do just the oppos ite. There are man y hints or clues to performing each and every sk ill.

3. Try a skill th e way your coach tells you several times, not just o nce. II yo u are still no t hav ing success, pursu e anot her means of lea rnin g the tri ck. Asking other coaches o r stud yin g film s of th e parti cular move are some alternati ves. Remember th at seve ral methods or terms ca rl be used to accompl ish the sa me end. An examp le would be th e coach w ho tell s hi s boys to ki ck hi s legs towards the ceiling o n hi s way to a shoot handstand on ri ngs. Another coac h ma y use th e term ·' acce lerate' · and still anoth er may say " lift ' ·. All are telling yo u to do the sa me thing, do no t ge t in volved w ith semantics and p layi ng one coach against th e other.

4. Watch , listen, and experiment with severa l methods or techniques. Because of differences in body bui lds, strengths, and flexibilities among gymnasts all ma y not be able to use the techniques with the sa me success.

ANd COMMiTMENT ••• COMMITMENT AND THE GYMNAST

by John W. Hinds Jr.

As in any endeavor in li fe, a total commitment to the task at hand is needed for success to occu r. Therefore, a gymnast must be a committed individual if he is to expe ri ence the thr ill of standing on top o f the victory pl atform and claim the blue ribbon or the go ld medal.

For the successful gymnast commitment is needed in a variety of ways. His every action must come w ith the total commitment of a professional. Realizing this fact the gymnast wi ll find hi s workouts more meaningful and more enjoyable.

Commitment begins when the gymnast first starts training. He must realize th e need to follow training ru les. He must realize that his energies shou ld be directed toward building his body and not toward tearing it down by drink, drugs, lack of rest , poor nutrition, and/ or smoking. Gymnastics w ill provide an adequate amount of activity to help build the body if the gymnast attends to his other bodily needs. With present day pressures it takes a strong individual to resist the temptat ions ever present - it takes comm itment.

Few activities w ill or should stand in the way of pra ctice for the dedicated gymnast. Gymnastics is a spo rt of perfection and perfection comes from practice. Gymnasts who place a higher va lue on socia l and romantic interests, optiona l appointments and othe r purely personal invo lvemen ts than on practice

at the estab li shed time will seldom reach the top.

Although there is usually a va riet y of athlet ic teams avai lab le for a young man to join , th e true gymnast wi ll ce nter his every in terest and action in hi s chosen sport, the spo rt of gymnastics. He need not be narrow in view but must be so lidl y committed in his spo rt as the only spor t - he must be " so ld " on it 's supreme importance for him.

To obtain the strength and the flexibility required of a champion gym na st much homework is needed. The gymnast must faithfully perform movements w hich will develop strength and flexibil ity at home. Workout time is too va luable to use for exercises. The committed gymnast can and wi ll obtain strength and flexibility at home.

For effective learning and performing, the gymnast must be committed to perfecting each skill he performs. A back flip can only be executed if the gymnast is committed to doing the w hole sk ill. A gymnast th at goes half way through a back flip and stops is headed for trouble. Likewise a gymnast that does not go al l out for a giant sw ing on the high bar is likely to experience difficulty.

By the same token a neophyte learning a new sk ill will find success co mes more readi ly if he commits himself to the sk ill and does not hold back . A gymnast with th e proper fundamentals will have little d ifficulty in going all out si nce he w ill have th e confidence necessa ry to commit his all. Without confidence, fea r often develops and this creates a v icious cycle . The gymnast will usuall y hold back and thus the new ski ll is

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Al so remember when studying films of top perfo rmers th at they ha ve perform ed th eir tri cks thou sa nds and th ousands of tim es; the refore, th ey ma y sometimes perform a sk ill that is not technica ll y co rrec t and still accompli sh th e skil l, for th ey have compensa ted som ewhere else -- thru ex tra strength , ext reme fl ex ibilit y, etc.

5. H elp coach each other o n obvious things such as arched handstand s, majo r o r m ino r form brea ks, and estimatin g the height or fli ght of tri cks. do no t cla ss ify your coach as a '· bad coac h " simply beca use he has not seen you perfo rm eve ry tri ck o r even half th e tricks or rou li nes you try each and every practi ce.

To get th e most out of your coaching yo u must be likea good resea rcher. Co ll ect all your data; your coaches hints and clu es, other coac hes op ini ons, stud y films, experim ent , and most importanltho usa nds of repetitions. From all thi s, you pi ck Ihe clue or technique that wo rk s bes t for yo u. Above all don ' t be so quick to co ndemn your coach as a bad one simply beca use hi s method of teaching yo u a ski ll differs from ano th er coaches method. Many gymnasts become quite good wi thout any coac h and simply work ing out every day. D o n' t take th e easy wa y out and blame your lack of enthusias m or lack of hard work on having a " Bad Coach".

not completed satisfactorily. In fact a frightening situation or even an injury may result ca using more fear and loss of confidence . It therefo re behooves th e beginning gymnast to learn the bas ics thoroughl y and advance from skill to ski ll i ~ a logical order of progression, ga ining confidence as he goes. Only when such confidence is deve loped will the gymnast become committed wit h hi s whol e body to each new skill. He must remember -se ldom ca n a move be performed by go ing about it half-heartedly.

Just as it is difficult to learn new skills without total com mitment it is just as diffi cult to perform a routine w ithout tota l commitment. Routines that win are dynamic and fl aw less -they move with a sureness and ease that comes from long hours of practice, confidence and commitment.

To compliment the routin e and skill s perform ed, the gymnast must have " form. " He must rea li ze that once good form becom es a habit it w ill remain with him and con tribute to

his success. The gymnast must rea li ze that gymnasti cs is an art of body expression and that good form promotes beauty in th e skill s performed. Therefore for success to occur, the gymnast m ust be committed to excepti onal form at all times when learning sk ills and performin g ro utines .

For the gy mnast to be committed he mu st ha ve a coach who is also committed - a coach who is committed 110'70 to gymnastics and to gu iding hi s gymnasts toward championship ca liber. With the combination of a committed gymnast and a committed coach th e rewa rds of success should result for all conce rn ed .

41

Instruction:

PIROUETTES AND STUTZES (Twisting Mechanics III)

By H. J. Biesterfeldt, Jr.

Note: Parts I and II appea red in the Research Section, April '74 and Ju ne-Jul y '74. This art ic le however is co ncerned w ith in st ructi o nal asp ects o f th e mate ri al f rom parts I and II.

Introduction. It is th e pu rpose o f this arti cle to ill ustrate

how, inca unifi ed way, th e m aterial f ro m TM I and II ca.n be used in teaching elementary part s in g ymn~sti cs . Our exa mples are ve ry basic: pirouettes o f var io us so rts o n floo r, parall e l bars, and ho ri zo nta l bar, togeth er w ith th e fro nt stutz. We have restricted attention to these very si mpl e skill s because a large part of fa ulty m echanics in adva nced sk ill s stems f ro m a fault y approach to more basic m oves. Th e stutz is included to show the simil arit y of app roach, and hence ad d unity to the meth ods.

Thro ugho ut, we shall emph asize tha t the most visible fea ture o f th e " m odern " tw ist is the econo my of m ovem ent. In each tw ist, i t appea rs to th e viewer as th ough almost nothin g was done to p roduce th e tw ist.

In all cases we show how simple m ovements on o ne event ca n be used to teach mu ch o r all of the mechani cs fo r anoth er event. Back Pirouettes

Most experi enced perfo rm ers find that, save fo r the co urage required to go for it, sw inging back piro uettes are both easier th an st ill back pirouett es, and easier than fro nt p irouettes . The ce ntral reason fo r thi s is th at in sw ing back pirouettes, the tw ist is almost entire ly separate from the sw ing fo r it , and th at th e twist ing mechani cs is an almost perfect exa mp le o f the "modern" tw ist. Figu re 1 shows thi s. Th e pe rformer has, in th e swing, pl aced his body almost exactl y in th e place w here it w ill fini sh the tw ist, befo re any tw ist starts. Note that the ce ntre of gravi ty is behind th e hands, ove r the place w here th e m ove fini shes. Th e up per body is sli ghtl y ho llow , and th e shoulders are displ aced backwa rd , towa rd th e p lace whe re they will be at th e end of th e tw ist. Th en, w ith no visibl e tw ist, the le ft han.d is re leased and reaches fo r th e ri ght ba r. As thi s arm reaches and stretches to support th e bo dy, a V, tw ist is executed in o ne smooth mo tio n. A nd during the entire tw ist, t he mea n body line remain s t he same as it w as at t he start of th e move. Of co urse, a sli ght arch is thus present at the end . Digression : The fa mili ar st rai t / arch argument dese rves co nsidera ti o n. We re th e bod y perfectl y strai t at th e sta rt , th en o ur p r incip les would di cta te a strait body at the fini sh. However, w ith a perfec tl y st rait body, the tw ist must be initi ta ted befo re moving th e hand. An unnecessa ry effo rt is required, int roduc ing a lack o f rh ythm. IT IS TH E OPIN ION O F TH E WRITER THAT AS A RULE, ST ICK-LI KE STRAITNESS RESULTS IN A W OO D EN SOLDIER A PPEA RANCE THAT GREATL Y DETRACTS FROM TH E TOTA L A PPEARANCE .

42

Equall y we ll , uncont ro ll ed arches, and bends that in no wa y co nt r ibu te to the econo my o f movement, are to be avo ided . Th e perfo rm er shou ld of co urse be to ld the usual th ings abo u t st rait body, to get h im off to a sound start. Bu t the coach shou ld be aware that the famili ar ru les o f thum b st ill are inaccurate rul es .

We find that th e hard pa rt is to get the perform er in to t he sli gh t ly ho llow body positi o n at the star t, and tha t most performers w ill either 1) arch o n upsw in g, o r 2) pik e excessive ly, frequently at t he start of th e turn .

So, ce rta in ly work f irst o n a sw ing " from the shoulders" so th at th e body moves as a sin gle un it. Nei th er " hee ls, then hips" no r " h ips, th en hee ls" is acceptabl e. Each of these error patte rn s represents an att empt to sho rtcu t th e swing, and both stem from faulty weight shift at t he bott om of t he swing.

Now th at yo u have yo ur man do ing mo re o r less sa ti sfactory sw ing, o r even before, yo u should try to teac h hi m the basic m echani cs of the pi ro uette in at least two o r th ree o th er ways.

Simplest way: Stand ing o n toes, bod y ho ll owed, m ove left hand across and let instru ctor hold ha nd in pl ace w hil e studen t ex tends arm, sligh t ly raises head look ing along arm , turns body to a sli ght side arch, o n in to a sli ght back arch, m eanwhil e turni ng V, turn . After a few tim es through, th e perfo rmer w ill f ind t he m o ti o n qu ite natural. Th en he sho uld be allowed to go thro ugh it ve ry rap id ly, so th at he d iscove rs that he tw ists beca use of th e use of hi s arm , and the way t hat he m oves hi s bod y. He should not be all owed to leave thin ki ng th at he does th e tw ist by p ushing off w ith his feet.

Alternative : Have th e pe rfo rm er l ie o n t he f loo r as in fi gure 2. The actio ns are li ke prev ious ones, but here, by keep ing th e head, hands, and toes well o f f th e f loo r, the perfo rm er automa tica ll y m oves h is body thro ugh th e required sli ght side arch and backward arch. Of course, the sequence exagge rates th e arch, fo r pu rpose of vis ibil ity.

Leadup 1. Learn a fo rwa rd ro ll & ro ll w ith st ra it legs to handsta nd. This is no t a press, and is done with some sm all , contro ll ed momentum. Here, we wa nt a ho llow ches t, so th at th e ro unded back is th e fo remost pa rt of th e body. Most perform ers fim'! thi s ro ll quite d ifficu lt. However, i t does not wea r hands, and is very sa fe. In open ing out, the bod y shou ld reach an extended b ut still ho ll ow line, as shown in f igure 3.

Leadup 2. Simi lar ho llow positio n fro m back ex tension ro ll.

Teaching step: Fo rwa rd ro ll , ro ll to handstand, underba lanced and ho ll ow, th en

execute % & V4 tu rns as shown, w it h a spot to ensure good pos iti on. (f ig. 4) Fi gure 3 shows a front p iro uett e done by the sa m e tech niq ue.

Teaching Step: Sa me tu rn from back ex tensio n ro ll , do ing t he ro ll to a sli ghtl y underba lanced pos it io n so th at th e turn is not start ed f rom a ba lanced handsta nd.

Final Leadup: Sw ing & wa lk backward to handsta nd. Fi gure 5 shows thi s. Thi s is to lea rn th e rhythm of the move, as we ll as th e swing to · ba lance w here th e hands w ill be at the end of th e m ove.

Last Teaching Step: Have perfo rmer go for th e entire move, w it h a spo t, the first attempt. Do not allow him th e chance to t ryout a wa lked p iro uette f irs t. If he does no t swing to prop er pos iti o n do not let hi m go for th e move . In thi s way, you ca n avoid most of the pe rfo rmer's prob lems w ith th e move.

We f ind th at, even a considerable sho rtcutting o f the above·. program, a

Fig. 2

~ ----

GYMNAST Oct. '74

performer easi ly learns the move, perhaps the easiest pirouette to learn. List of Common Faults and Probable Causes Pike at finish: Failure to sw ing as a unit, usually, arch-pike or arch swi ng technique, perhaps also poor weight shift. . Falling off to side. Fai lure to believe in own abil ity to tw ist w ithout pu shing for the twist, i.e., pu shing off w ith lef t hand . Swing more underbalanced, and w ith a con tro ll ed ho llow. Wron g grip w ith left hand: Head too high o r excess arch, in swing. Arch throughout turn : Failure to ex tend in shoulder as weight transfe rs to left arm, also swing too balanced, so that twist is done with pushoff.

Variations on a Movement The familiar " blind change " is essentiall y a

back piro uett e, done w ith '11 rather than !I.. & \I.i twi st. But since in both, the bod y motio n is continuou s, th ere is rea lly ve ry littl e difference between them. If yo u do not beli eve th is, wa lk through both , on your fee t, and no te the similarity of motio ns.

There is littl e argument as to how to do th is move, since the body automati ca ll y start s in the proper ho llow posi ti on due to th e motion for giants .

We find that the back extension ro l l, done not like a kip, but like a streuli , followed by V1 pirouett e, is very effective both as a leadup and as a co rrection al technique. In fact, performers w ith yea rs of experience on bar have made major correction s merely by wo rkin g th e move ment on floor.

Th e weight shift of course is needed for the 1;1 turn.

Early Front Pirouettes To continue w ith o ur instructional theme, let

us use th e fo rward roll , but now ro lling up w ith an undergrip o n the edge of a mat, as in figure 6. Again we insist o n the ho llow body line, well stretched, but we give enough momentum to pass beyond th e handstand. We try to compl ete the extensio n just befo re reaching th e

GYMNAST Oct. '74

• I

• . .;. --~-ffi"

handstand, and execute the turn so to finish by th e time we reach the handstand . Head remains close to arm in twist, and is slightl y rai sed at th e end of the twist. This also means one is ve ry lightly arched at the end.

This move does not require mu ch effort to keep stretched, since there are only a few pound s of weight on the hands during the turn.

It is best to wo rk for some time on floor before moving lei bar, and I feel that one shou ld avoid teaching old style late pirouette at all. When moving to bar, first, a 10 bar and tab le, dupli ca ting th e action on the floor, helps . A minitramp ma y replace the table, and does a lo t for th e performer 's cc ,lfidence. But SPOT. A cras h into the minitramp hurts.

Stutzes A stutz can be taught in essentia ll y the same

manner as we ha ve done with pirouettes, and th e rout ine can often be used to co rrect badly taught stutzes, as well. Begin with the procedure o f figure 7, ~nd have the performer go through it o ften, for a week or so before try ing a stutz on bars. We here are o nl y cons iderin g high stut zes, 45 degrees above horizonta l, at least. For otherwise the mechani cs we descri be do not work. Also, th e perform er must ha ve the shou lder flexibilit y shown in th e pictures, o r quite near to it.

Th e leadup, toes off th e floor throughout, se rves to make th e performer move th rough the co rrec t body position s, so that he shou ld fini sh hi s stut z in a handsta nd quite soon. We always spo t on the bars for a start, and we try to make sure that the performer never learns to try and land on his feet. The effort to land on the feet leads to fau lty tw isting mechani cs for the stut z. Noti ce that there is no " throw" w hatever to initiate the tw ist. (fig. 8)

Summary: Very simple floor movements ca n be made to

embody much of the mechanics o f var ious simple tw isting movements. All of these moves depe nd, in addition to the twisting mechanics, an adequate sw ing - - a topic for an o th er lesson.

43

· · · · •

RESEi1R~H

(L~"v-=; /. ) . .

i-...................•..... : DR. H.J. BIESTERFELDT, JR. : "GYMNAST" RESEARCH EDITOR : Athletics Department- SIU Arena i Carbondale, Illinois 62901 ~ USA .: •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• *

NOTE: CORRECTIO to DIET & GYMNASTICS, GYMNAST, Aug/ Sept '74, p. 47, Column 2 parag rap h 3 from th e bottom. Sent e nce read in g: " A little hydrogenated fat. . .' · sho uld instead read: " As littl e hydroge nated fa t sho uld be add e d to th e di e t as co nven ie nt " ... th at is, " avoi d h ydroge nated fat w hen co nvenie ntly possible" .

EDITORIAL NOTES: It is my OpIniOn, based on experience and on my own work with body measurements, that the biomechanical advantage of the Japanese is very real. However we must warn readers that the numbers in this study represent the athletes at roughly the peak of their development. No study has been made of the measurements during the developmental stages. And moreover, it is often possible to train to make up for any given disadvantage. Therefore, it would be very wrong to merely make the significant measurements on a high school student, and try to use the values to predict success. We hope to have a second article in the near future, indicating how to take suitable measurements, and indicating something of the proper interpretation of the data obtained.

/! seems to me that it would be a very worthwhile thing to conduct a longitudinal study of this sort - -measurements taken over say ages 12 through 20, for an entire large high school team, repeated annually and correlated with progress in scores. Unfortunately, not many graduate students will wait 8 or 10 years for data for a thesis. Moreover a tremendous amount of data must be processed for such a study, due to Ihe many uncontrolled factors in development.

HJ8

COMPARISON OF THIBODY DIMENSIONS OF

JAPANESE, HUNGARIAN AND AMERICAN GYMNASTS

by

Richard C. Nelson Penn State University University Park, Pa.

Penn State Unive rsity, undN the direction of Gymnastics Coach Gene Wettstone, has hosted 12 international gymnastics meets since 1954. M any of the b es t men and women gymnasts in the world have performed in these events. The most recent teams to compete were from Russia, Japan and Hungary, all of whom have di sti nguished records in internat ional competition and performed well during the Munich Olympic Games of 1972. These meets provided members of the Biomechanics Laboratory a unique opportunity to study these highly skilled athletes as part of an on-going resea rch program in gymnastics. The research activities have included high speed filming of selected eve nts during practice and compet iti on and measurement of the body dimensions and proportions of the gymnast.

44

The results of thi s latter phase are highlighted in this paper.

Int e res t in th e bod y dimensions (a nthropometric measurements) of champion athletes has led to many studi es in wh ich performers from va rious sports have been compared. Invariab ly th e male and female gym nasts are found to be among the smalles t athl etes in term s of height and weight. It is genera ll y know n that successful gymnasts must be relatively sho rt of stature. Exceptions occur, of course, among spec iali sts but these are less prevalent in all-around performers. The domination of m en 's gymnastics by the Japanese in rece nt years raises an interes ting question concerning their body dimensions relati ve to the biomechanical requirements of the six events. Is it poss ible that th ey possess w hat mi ght be termed a " biomechanical advan tage" as a result of th ei r stature?

With this ques tio n in mind, the first phase of the project was conducted during th e visit of th e Japanese Na tion al team in 1972. At thi s time anthro pometric measurements were taken of th e Japa nese and Amer ica n male competitors. Result s of thi s study w hich are included here were previously pub li shed by LeVeau, Ward and Ne lson (1974). Additiona l measurements w hen th ey competed in 1973 were taken of both the Hungarian m en and women 's teams. All o f these results ha ve been comp iled and are presented here.

Eleven of th e 21 male and 5 of the 7 female gymnasts included in this study competed in th e 1972 Munich Ol ympics. Th e 11 men and th eir positions in th e A ll Around were: Nakayama (3), Kasa matsu (5), Tsukahara (8) of Japan ; Molnar (19), Magyar (29), Ki ss and Berzi of Hungary and Hug (31), Avener, Crosby and Greenfield of th e U.S. The two lOp finishers were also Japanese w hich means th at of the top eight gymnasts in the world, five were from Japan. Ol ympians amo ng the Hungarian girls were: Bekesi (9) , M edvecz ky (13), Csaszar (14), Kelemen (34) and Nagy. The fact that 16 of the 28 gymnasts were O lympians indi ca tes that a representati ve sa mple of high level performers were included in this study.

Procedures and Results

A total of 35 anthropometric measurements were taken of each gymnast using standardized procedures recomm ended by Hanavan (1964) and Tanner (1964). Th e mean va lues for each tea m and for the combined group of males are presented in Tabl e 1. The three men's teams were compared statistica ll y to identify any significa nt differences among them w hile the male and female gymnasts from Hungary were also co mpared. A letter following a mea n va lue indi ca tes the tea m with wh ich it differs significantly. An asterisk after a mean va lue for the Hungarian wom en identifies th at va riable as being significant ly different from the Hungarian men.

A variety of indices have been developed which utilize certain anthropometri c data in their calculation . These 'indices provide additiona l information about bod y proportions and are useful in contrasti ng groups such asthe gymnasts in this study . The nine indices which were calcu lated in this study are described in Table 2 while the resu lts of the comparison among the teams are presented in Table 3.

Examination of Table 1 reveals that the three male groups were similar in body weight while the Japanese were slightl Y shorter. The groups were 'qu ite simi lar in nearly all c ircumference,

brea dth, height and depth measurements. This perhaps could be ex pected si nce th e groups were similar in body we ight. Howeve r, the length measurements ref lect a number of mea ningful differences with the Japanese havi ng the lowest va lu es for each measurement. Significant differences between two, and in some cases all three, groups were obse rved for foot length, forearm length , total arm length and tibia length , bot not for upper arm and femur length.

Th e differences among these three groups are amp lified furth er in the comparison of anthropometric indices (Table 3). The most important differences are in Brugsch's Chest Stature (No. 37) where the Japanese have the highest va lue; the Brachial Ind ex (no . 40) and the Po nderal Index (no. 45) where th ey have the smallest va lues .

As a result of the data anal ys is, a pattern emerges w hich indi ca tes the Japanese differ from the other two groups in measurements w hich have parti cular relevance to the biomechanical req uirements of gymnast ics skill s. Although the ir body weight is similar they are somew hat sho rt er which is primari ly due to shorter lower legs (tibia ). O f special sign ifica nce are shorter ex tremiti es including the fOOl, forearm and tOlal arm as well as the tibi a. They ha ve large chests relati ve to their height and are relati ve ly short with respect to their body weight.

Further comparisons were made between the male and fema le competitors from Hungary. The purpose was to observe the similarities and differences in stru cture with respect to the biomec hanical requirements of th e events performed by each group. The result s appearing in Tab le 1 and 3 indicate that these groups are obviously different in their propo rtions. Even though the men and·women are different in .h eight and we ight their ponderal indices were identical.' Of the measurements that were similar, most were from the legs and hips. Leg lengths, leg circumferences, except the knee, bi-iliac brea dth, and buttock depth we re similar between the men and women . Above th e hips most circumference measuremen ts were small er for the wom en, wh il e the cormix index (No . 44), bi-acromial (shou lder) bread th and arm length were simil ar. These data indicate that the Hungarian women as compared to the Hunga rian men gym nasts have a greater proportion of body mass distributed in the lower region of the body, primarily in th e hips and thighs, at th e ex pense of mu sculature in the trunk, chest and arms. Arm supported skills except those on th e uneven parallel bars, are of less importance in the women 's events.

Comparison With Other Athletes

The results of thi s stud y have been compared with those of selected studies in which a variety of athletes had been investigated. Tanner (1964) stud ied the body dimensions of 1960 Olympic track and field, weight lifting and wrestling athletes. The ponderal indices of the male gymnasts reported here were greater than the discus throwers, shot putters, weight lifters and wrestlers but less than the other track and field athletes. The Cormic index (No. 44) is a measure of trunk length relative to height. The gymnasts had higher average cormic indices than any other group of athletes in Tanner's study except the ca ucas ian we ight lifters.

GYMNAST Oct. '74 ,

Table 1 Ant hropometric Measurements of

American, japanese, H u ngarian Male Gymnasts a nd Hunga rian Fe male Gymnasts

Bru g

Table 2 Anthropome tric Ind ices

sch 's Chest Sta ture = Ches t Circ u mfe re nce x 100'10

He ig ht

Mean of All M ale U.S. japan Hu nga ry Hunga ry Acro m ia l- lii ac Bi-Il iac Bread th

Bi-Acro mi a l Breadt h

x 100'~,

Gymnasts Me n Men Me n Women (N =8) (N =6) (N=7) (N=7)

1. Age (yrs.) 22.4 21.5 24.3 21.8 20.5 2. He ight (in .) 66.0 66.9 64.7 66.0 64.0* 3. We igh t (in.) 136.2 135.1 135.9 137.7 122.4*

Ci rcumfere nces (in .) 4. Ankl e 8.1 8.2 8. 1 8. 1 8.0 5. Ca li 13.5 13.4 13.7 13.3 13.1 6. Knee 13.3 13.3 13.2 13.5 12.7* 7. Thi gh 19.2 19.0 19.3 19.3 20.0 8. Waist 27.4 27. 1 27.3 27.8 24.7* 9. Chest 36.1 35.4 j 36.7US 36.5 34.0'

10. Fist 10.6 10.4 10.5 10.7 9.6' 11 . Wr ist 6.6 6.5 6.8 6.6 5.S· 12. Elbow 9.5 9.8 9.4 9.2 8.6 13. M idarm 11 .2 10.9 '1'1.3 11 .3 9.2' 14. Axil Arm 11 .2 10.9 11 .3 11.3 lU.O· 15. Head 21.7 21.7 21.7 21.7 20.9' BREADTHS (in.) 16. Bi-iliac 10.5 10.4 10.5 10.5 10.5 17. Wa ist 9.7 9.8 9.7 9.8 8.7' 18. Ches t 12.5 12.5 12.9 12.4 10.8* 19. Biac ro mial 15.5 15.6 16.0H 15.1 J 14.7 20. Hu me ra l Bicondy lar 2.7 2.7J 2.5US/ H 2.7 J 2.4' 21. Femora l Bicondylar 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.4* HEIG HTS (i n.) 22. Sitting Heig ht 35.0 35.4 34.5 34.9 34.2* 23. Sph yrio n 2.6 2.7 H 2.6 2.4US 2.3 24. Tib ial 17.5 18.1 16.7US 17.6 16.8 25. Trocha nte ric 34.4 35.2 33.1 34.5 33.4 26. Shou ld e r 53.5 53.9 52.5 53.8 52.0' 27. Su bste rn a l 45.9 46.3 45.2 46.1 45 .1 DEPTHS (i n.) 28. Chest 8.5 8.5 8.3 8.8 9.7 29. Wa ist 6.9 6.8 7.0 7.0 5.9' 30. Buttock 7.9 7.9 8.2 H 7.6J 7.8 LENGTHS (in.) 31. Foot 9.9 10.2J 9.5US 10.0 9.3* 32. Upper Arm 12.5 12.7 12,4 12.5 11 .6' 33. Forea rm 10.3 10.2H 9.8H 10.7US/ J 10.1' 34. To ta l Arm 29.6 29.8 28 .6 H 3U.2 j 28.2 35. Tib ia 15.0 15.4J 14.2USIH 15.2J 14.5 36. Fe m ur 16.8 17.1 16.4 16.8 16.6

* - Des igna tes sig ni fica nt d iffe re nce be tween Hungar ia n me n and wom en . ) - De no tes signif ican t d ifference fro m the Japa nese. H - Denotes sign ificant di ffe re nce tra m th e Hu ngar ia ns. US - [Je notes Signi fica nt d iffe re nce fro m the Ame ri ca ns.

Table 3 Anthropome tric Indices fo r

American, Japanese, Hungarian Male Gymnasts and Hun!!arian Female Gymnasts

Mean of All Male U.S. japa n Hu ngary IND ICES Gym nasts Men Men M e n

37. Brugsc h 's Ches t Sta tu re 54.80 53 .00H / ) 56.7US 55.40US 38. Ac ro m ia l- Il iac 67.50 66.90 65.4 70.00J 39. Re la tive Arm Le ngth 44.80 44.50 44 .2 H, 45.80 40. Brachi a l 82.00 80.40H 79.3H 86.30US/ J 41 . Crura l 89.40 90.20 86.8 90.80 42. Uppe r to Lower Limb 86.10 84.60 86.4 87.60 43 . Fo rearm to Tibia 68 .60 66 .30H 69.3 70.70·US 44. Cormi c 53.00 53.00 53.4 52.90 45 . Ponde ra l 12.82 13.05J 12.5US 12.90

. - Des ig nat es sig n if ica nt di ffe re nce be tween Hunga ri a n me n an d women .

J - Deno tes sign ifica nt d iffe re nce fro m th e Ja pa nese. H - De no tes sig ni fica nt d iff ere nce fro m th e Hungarians US - Denotes sign if icant d iffe re nce fro m the Ame ri ca ns

GYMNAST O ct. ' 74

Re la t ive Arm Le ngth = To ta l Arm Le ngth x 100'70

He ig ht

Brac hia l

Cru r a l

Fo rea rm Le ngth x 100'Xo

Up pe r Arm Le ngth

Tib ia Leng th· x 100'Yo

Fe mur Le ngt'h

Upp er-Lower Li mb Tota l Arm Le ngt h x 100'Yo

Trodia nt e ri c He ight

Fore a rm -Tibia = Forea rm Le ngt h x 100'70

Tibia Le ngth

Co r mic = Sitti ng He ight x 100'Yo

He ig ht

Po nd era l Heig ht

.jWeig ht

Acco rdin g to Hirata (1966) w ho measured' the 1964 O lympic athl etes in To kyo the m ale gymnasts weig hted the least and we re th e shortest group among all ath letes w ith the excepti o n of th e long d istance runners. Th e O lympic gymnasts ex hibited a high degree o f stoutness as did those in th is study. Similar i ti es we re also noted in height and bod y weight.

Hu ngary

Eiben (1972) in hi s book, The Physique of Women Athletes, repo rted th e anthropome tri c measurements of Hunga rian w omen track and fi eld perform ers as compared to two groups, women ph ys ical educa ti on majo rs and women coll ege stud ents. In almost every vai ab le th e gymn asts in th e present stud y we re simi lar to the ph ys ica l educa tio n majors and women co ll ege students w ho we re as a group smaller than the track and fi eld ath letes. The gymn asts had greater ches t circumferen ces th an th e contro l g ro up subj ects and we re simi lar to th e mea n of al l the track and fie ld athl etes. Th ei r leg circumferences we re less than the con t ro ls and less th an all the track an d f ield ath letes. It appears that the w omen gymnasts tend to be short e r w i th re lati ve ly lar ge ch es t c ircumferences and small I ~ g circumfe ren ces. They w ere not th e stoutest as compared to the track and f ield athletes, but compared almost identi call y to the physical educat ion major and were the sa me as th e Hungar ian men gymnasts in stoutness.

Women

53.15' 71.30 44.00' 87.00 87. 10 •. 84.30 69 .50 53.40 12.90

Pract ical Implicat ions

Th e resu lts of thi s investi gat ion and previous studi es o f other ath letes cl ea r ly show that m ale gymn asts are smal l of stature and relati ve ly low in body we ight. Stud ies o f O lympic ath letes

45

beginning in 1928 have show n a continuous increase in height and we igh t for athletes in most events for each successive Ol ymp ics. It now appears, however, that the champion gymnasts, namely th e japanese, are becoming small er rat her than larger w hen compared to champions of the pa st. If this is indeed true, it offers an unusual trend w hich is contrary to almost all other sport s. What is it about men 's gymnastics that mi ght ex plain the phenomenon?

It is generall y accepted that gymnasts must be relati ve ly sma ll of stature. This is partl y due to the fact t hat among highl y trained athletes sma ll er men ha ve g reater strength relati ve to the ir body weight, that it , strength per pound of body we ight. Fo r exa mple, jokl (1973) exam ined the reco rds of wo rld cla ss we ight lifters and noted a sli ght increase in we ight li fted per pound of body we ight from the fl ywe ight (1 14 Ibs. ) up to the lightweight (132 Ibs.) and then a rapid decline through the largest compet itors. Thi s means that sma ller men are better ab le to handle their own bod y weight w hen perform ing gymnastics skill s espec ially th e arm-supported acti viti es.

This co ncept can be expl ained on more scien t ifi c g round s since strength (ability to produce force) is directly related to th e cross­sect ional area not th e volume of th e muscle(s). Consequentl y, an increase in muscle vo lume leads to an increase in w€ight by cubic units (in. 3) w hil e strength as represtented by cro ss sect ional area only increases by squared unites (in. ') . When comparing smaller men w ith larger men it should be apparent that the larger person possesses greater bod y weight but rel ati ve ly less st rength.

The co ncept of st rength per pound of bod y we ight provid es o nl y a parti al exp lanat ion for th e sma lln ess of gymnasts. Equall y important is th e fact that sma lI er persons provide less resistance (inertia) to move ment. When examining linea r motion th e inertia of th e object is direct ly proportional to its weight. However, in angu lar (rotary) motion not on ly is the we igh t important but also its distribution in relation to the axis of rotation. The resistance of a bod y to angular motion is defined as the moment of inertia and is of direct relevance to most gymnastics move ments.

A smaller person has a smaller moment of inertia when rotati on occurs about his center of grav ity in free flight or w hen he rotates about his hands which occurs in man y gymnast ics sk ill s. For exa mple, a tall , thin gymnast would encounter grea ter resistance to angu lar movement in a giant swing th an a short gymnast of equal body weight.

Th ese two facto rs, strength / bod y weight and moment of inertia of the body exp lain why male gymnas ts in general are. small of stature. The obvious superiority or the japanese male gymnasts , howeve r, has led the authors to speculat ion co nce rning the difference noted in body proportions in comparison w ith th e Ame ri ca n and Hunga rian competitors. Un like other spo rts studied, it appea rs that w ithin th e population of wo rld class male gymnasts th e best in terms of performance (Japanese ) are also se t apart in terms of th eir bod y proportions. Cou ld thi s be merely a coi ncidence o r is it poss ibl e' that t he " japanese Ph ys ique" affo rds these we ll trained ath letes a " biomechani ca l adva ntage" in most events? The authors suggest th e latter is th e case.

A ca psule descript ion o f the japanese gymnasts revea ls a structure w hich is short o f stat ure with sma ll fee t, sho rt shanks (lower legs), short arms, broa d shou lders and a large

46

chest. Such a compact st ructure is ideall y suited fo r movements of the body about the hands as observed in the side horse, horizontal bar, parall el bars and rings. Because the arms are short the center of gravity of the bod y is nearer the ax is of rotation. This fact coupled w ith the shorter shanks and sma ller feet tends to reduce the moment of inert ia of the bod y w hen rotation occurs about the hands. This would be of special importance in performance on the horizontal bar since almost all movements are performed while the hands are in contact with the bar. The shorter arms would be advantageous also on the rings especially in a position like the iron cross. . Although an accurate assessment of th e magnitude of these structura l differences wi ll require additiona l research it is the opinion of the authors that th e japanese possess a biomechanical advantage which is augmented by their dedication and training techniques . Emperi cal support for this opinion can be found in the resu lts o f the Munich Ol ympic Games. Of the top six fini shers in each eve nt , the Japanese placed three men in the side horse, four each in the free exercise, rings and parall el bars, and fi ve in the horizontal bars. In these fi ve events they amassed three Gold, four Silve r and fi ve Bronze medal s. These acti vities consist mainl y of swing ing and other arm supported activities. I n contrast they were far less success ful in the long horse vault placing onl y two men in th e top six with the highest finisher in fourth place. It is suggested that they are at a di sa dvantage at least until they contact the horse since they are shorter (center of gravity furth er below the horse) and less suited to running (shorter lower legs). In the competition between the U.S. and Japanese teams at Penn State the America ns won the long horse vault but we re well be low th e Japanese perfo rmances in the other fi ve events.

Summary

In summary, the male gymnast is a relati ve ly stout (sho rt and thick ) athlete as compared to other athletes. Among gymnasts, the j apanese, the stoutest group, were superior in ability to all other groups of gymnasts. They had shorter tibias (lower legs), the lowest ponderal index, the lowest brachial index, the shortest arms, largest chests, circumferentiall y, and the highest Brughsch 's chest stature index than either the Americans or the Hungarians. With rega rd to the inertial characteri st ics of th e japanese phys ique, it appears that they have a distinct advanta ge over the Ame ri cans and Hungarians, however, other factors, i.e. type of traini ng and coach ing, etc., are also respon sible for their success .

The female gymnast is also stout as compared to other female ath letes. Th ey are simi lar to the male gymnasts in their leg dimensions. but have small er circumference dimensions above the hips. Among other women ath letes the gymnasts ha ve greate r shoulder deve lopment, w hich aids them in arm supported act iviti es . They seem to differ from the female track and fie ld athletes in about the same ways as the male gymnasts differ from the male track and f ield ath letes.

The resu lts of this investigation suggest that th e bod y dimensions of gymnasts ha ve a much greater influence on performance than has previously been recog nized. It is hoped that thi s stud y w ill focu s attention upon thi s important aspect of performance and stimulate interest in future sc ientific inves tigation s in this area.

Th e authors w ish to express th e ir th ank s to the fo llowing persons who provided in va lu able assista nce in the cond uc t of th is stu d y : Barney LeVea u and Terry Ward , Biomechanics Labo rat o ry, Gene Wettstone, PS U Gymnasti cs Coach , Coaches Tsu rumi (Japan ), A. Grossfield (USA), Bordan and Bekesi (Hungary) a nd M iklos Tottossy, (Queens College).

REFERENCES

Eibe n, O.G .: The Physique of the Woman Athlete, The Hungarian Scientific Council for Ph ys ical Educatio n, Budapest, 1972 Ha na va n, E.P.: "A Ma thmati ca l Model of the Human Body." AMRL-TR-l02, W ri ght- Patte rson Air Force Base, Ohio 1964. Hirata, K. : " Ph ysique and Age of Tok yo Ol ympiC Champions," The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 6(4): 207·222 , 1966. 'loki; E.: " Phys ique an d Performance," American Corrective Therapy Journal, Jul y· Aug ust, pp. 99-114 , 1973. Le Veau , B.F. ; Ward, T. and Ne lso n, R.C.: " Body Dim e nsions of Japa nese and American Gymnasts ." Accepted for publi cat ion in Medicine and Science of Sport. Tanner, J. M.: The Physique of the Olympic Athlete, George Allen a nd Unwin , Ltd ., 1964.

1IIIIIIIIIIUIHlllllllllllllllfttllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllltUIIIIIIIIIHII'H'II;IIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIII

GYMNASTIC AlDIS V=­rnl1[UJ~~~rn ill~rn~ 1\

ORDER ~OIlM

BASIC GYMNASTIC TEACHING SYSTEM Girl s' (6 ch m w it h tea c he r 's manual) 10.00 Boys' (8 chorts w ith tedche r' s m anu a l) 12.00 Teacher's Ma nu al onl y 2.00

(s pec ify boys' or gi rl s') GYMNASTIC CHARTS'

Men's Inl. Para llel 13M (5) 7.00 Inl. Rin gs (3) 5.00 Basic to Inl. Sid e Horse (2) 4.00 Basic to Ad v. I umbling (4) 6.00 Adva nced Parallel l3a r (4) 6.00 Advanced Rin gs (3) 5.00 Basic to Adv. Ho ri zo nt al Ba r (6) 8.00

Girl's Inl. to Adv. Ba la nce l3eam (6) 8.00 Basic to Adv. Tumblin g (4) 6.00

(sa m e as Me n 's above) Compe ti tive Va ult ing (3) 5.00 In l. Une ve n Para ll e l l3ar s (5) 7.00 BOOKS Gymnas ti cs Illu s tr~ted 9.50 The Side Ho rse 3.50 FILMS 1972 Ol ympi c Gymnastics Ind. Fina ls Super 8 Ko d acolor

400 fl. Me ns' 40.00 400 fl. Women 's 40.00

FLOOR EXERCISE MUSIC Music Ada pt e d from th e Munich Ol ympics

12" stereo reco rd 8.00 cassell e tape 5.00

AIDS Meet Ad ve rti sing Pos te rs (each) 1.00

g irl s b oys Sco rin g Kit s 1.50

gi rl s boys Ha ndgua rc.l s 2.25

sm med Ige Gymn asti c Embl e ms .75

Add postage and ha nd lin g 50~ for o rders und e r $10.00 $1.00 fo r orde rs o ver $10.00

TOTAL $ __ _ ------------

Order from Gymnastic Aides, Box 475, Northbridge, M ass 01534

Nome ___________________ __

Street

City ____________ State __

School Zip _ _

GYMNAST Oct. '74

TltiRTY SECONds

by David Jendrzejek

Th e time has come. It is an icy Tu esday night in Janu ary and

o utside vag rant fl akes o f fa ll en snow flitter ac ross dese rted stre ets. Ins ide th e gymnasium it is wa rm and bright; the cluttered gym floor immersed in bea ms of ye ll ow li ght f rom o ld low-hanging lamps. Assembled in th e gymnasium are va ri ous p ieces of gymnastic apparatus, two ri va l gymnast ic tea ms d ressed in fa ul t less w hite, and a sma ll , but fanatic crowd of spectators prese ntly in sil ent and intent concentration on th e movement across t he f loor . Criti ca ll y followi ng every move, th eir gaze is fi xed o n the contes tant perform ing on the paralle l ba rs as hef ini shed hi s ro utine. He is t ired and breat hes heav il y, but ends hi s routin e we ll w ith a lofty f ront somersa ult maneuve r which leaves him landing strongl y o n th e thick mats to the enthusia sti c applause of the home spectato rs. As he wa lks off the f loor, th e girl anno uncing scores jo ins w ith the crowd to b reak the sil ence by reading the scores fo r t he contesta nt now being held up by th e judges. I do not hea r the sco res nor do I notice the fact that she mispronounces my name because it is my turn next and I am nervous. I have wa ited impatientl y all evening for th is moment to do a routin e on the parall el ba rs w hich lasts no more than thirty seconds. Th e worth of lo ng hou rs of practice w ill be quick ly proven in th e next half­minute. Aga in recheck ing th e condit ion of m y handstraps, I draw in one last deep breath and then strid e o ut on the gym floor. Now, for th e first tim e, I no tice th e audi ence, wa tching and wa it ing, expectin g an d demanding of me a good showing. I also not ice my own rapidl y increasing heartbeat , but I am confident beca use I have done th e rout ine successfull y many tim es befo re. I try to remind myse lf of thi s fact as I hu rried ly fi nish chalk ing up and turn to face the para ll el ba rs and the judges, one o n either side of th e bars. I stand as straight and as tall as I can, arms outstretched , show ing no emotion or anxiety, and glance from one j udge to the other in assu rance that I have their attention. They both g ive a fat herly nod of approva l, and in the tota l silence my mind shouts for me to leap on the ba rs and do a st ron g, flow ing routi ne. A fter star ing at my task for a seco nd and reviewi ng my mount, I start moving. At f irst slow ly, I quicken th e las t few steps and jump into the center o f the bars o n my upper arms, allowing th e momentum to car ry my body up hi gh likea pend ulum . I know I mu st get up high for my mou nt to be successf ul. Then I swing down and as I co me into a normal rea r r ise, I cut my legs across the outside of th e bars and ho ld an immediate L­seat. I did not cut fast enough; my legs we re probabl y bent and that mea ns points off. I try to forget the last move and concentrate on holding a good L-sea t and completing th e rest of my rou tine. I mu st be stro ng, but I also mu st be quick and smooth, deliberate in every

GYMNAST Oct. '74

I I \S '

move. In th e L-sea t I begin to go into my next move, a st raigh t-arm strai ght-l eg handstand press, I rem ind myse lf th at I m ust lean over very fa r in order to make thi s trick poss ible. I mu st lea n! I mu st lea n! Good! Now hold it. If I fa ll now, it w ill ruin th e rest of th e routine. Now I have to br ing my h ips up at the sa me time. That ' s it , slow ly b ut steadil y. Come on , keep pushing, yo u're almost there. That is it! I'm at the top; now I mustn 't overba lance. I ho ld the handstand as st rongl y as I ca n for the required two seconds, w hich is not diffi cul t but is rega rded instead by most gymnasts as a time to res t up from previous move to attack the next ones. Th en I beg in th e next and hard est part of my routin e w hich in vo lves about eight moves in about as many seconds. I sw ing down slow ly from my handstand and fall back to move under the bars and th en shoot o ut w ith t he Finni sh kip to end up in an upper arm hang. As usual the Finni sh kip is not as high as I would li ke it to be, bu t it was smooth and thu s passable. Continuing w ith that same momentum, I drop under the bars on the ba ckswing and gli de w ith my fee t w it hin an inch of the ground, making sure that th ey remain the same distance off the ground at all times . Then I must shoot my legs straight up and around to co me to a st raight-arm support above the bars. This support I never ho ld but cont inue on in the backswing to lower myself to the bars and from there to do a front ri se immed iate swingin g pirouette in w hi ch I swing up as i f go ing into a handstand, but turn on the bars to make a 180 deg ree switch. Flowing in one con tinuous moti on, I swing from th e near­handstand posit ion to do a move ca ll ed a stutz in w hich o n the fo rward swing I release the bars and do another 180 degree turn. From here I sw ing to a handstand. It is difficult to think at all during thi s. se ri es of moves. Th ey all go so fast that it is diffi cult eno ugh simp ly remembering such bas ic things as form an d smoothness. I am ve ry t ired after these moves and this add iti ona l handstand gives me at least a short tim e to rest before attempting my newly lea rned d ismount. Afte r cou nting off the three second s, I lowe r myse lf dow n to an upper-arm hang to a front r ise . Th e front ri se is d iffi cu lt from that position and requires much more effo rt to make it look good, especiall y so far towards the en d of th e rout ine. Immed iately from the front r ise, I do a front off dismount in w hich I do a forwa rd somersa ult off the bars to a standin g positi on, hopefull y on the mat. Th e front off is th e most exc iting moye in my routin e because, as you do it, you leave the bars completely and fl y through th e ai r in a somersa ult and f inall y open up at the end. Landing on th e mat w ith my arms in the air, I am qu ite ex hausted for th e moment and quite happy that I ma naged to get through my ro uti ne w ith on ly a few minor errors. A ll th e excitement is gone; all the tension is gone; and I sit back to watc h the res t of the meet.

ZWICKEL A Distinctive Line

of Men's and Women's Uniforms

• Why Settle for less?

FREE CATALOG •

ZWICKEL Gymnastic

Tailors

P.O. Box J09 Jenkintown, Pa. 19046

Arra nged and pla yed by

internationa ll y known Hugo Sartorello res id e nt p ia ni st Camelback Inn

Fo r mo re information w rit e:

Hugo Sartorello S.G.e. ARIZONA TWISTERS

5028 N. Granite Reef Rd. Scottsdale, Arizona 85253

(602) 945-9308

47

• SWING

THE ESSENCE OF GYMNASTICS

(Part III) A. B. Frederick, Ph. D.

University of Wisconsin Superior, Wisconsin

SYNOPSIS: As a qualitative activity, gymnastics has evolved in the qualitative domain demanding an interpretive or artistic evaluation. Events such as the rope climb have often been discarded probably due to their quantitative aspects while others have not fit into the grand design of the F.I.G. Gymnastics, unlike many other "sports", is much more than a competitive program. It is or represents a special view of man ("The Swinger"). I n this third article, I examine a statement by a prominent psychologist, G. Stanley Hall, who, by the turn of the century had become an American pioneer in psychology and education. A quote from Hall is followed by brief assessment of the symbolism of gymnastics.

In 1930, Dr. Leopold Zwarg, himself one of the strong forces in gymnastics in the United States and a man w ho understood the motivat ion of Jahn, quoted from G. Stanley Hall. This particular quote captu res an essentia l spirit attributab le to gymnastics in the Jahn sense which is often missed in the technical orientation of present-day competitive programs. Hall was speaking about the influence of gymnastics on life itse lf when he sa id:

" The world now demands what this country has never had, a man who, knowing the human body, gymnastic history, and the various great athletic traditions of the past, shall study anew the whole motor field , as few great leaders in the last century tried to do; who shall gather and corre late the literature and experiences of the past and present w ith a deep sense of responsibility to the future; w ho shall examine martial training with all the inspirations, warnings and new demands; and who sha ll know how to revive the inspirations of the past animated by the same sp irit as the Turners, who were al most inf lamed by referring back to the hardy life of the ear ly Teutons and try ing to reprod uce his best features; who sha ll catch the spir it of, and make due connections with, the popular sports, past and present, study both industry and education to compensate their debilitating effects, and be himse lf animated by a great ethica l and humanist ic hope and faith in a better future. Such a man, if he ever wa lks the earth, w ill be the ido l of youth, will know their physical secrets, will come almost as a savior to the bodies of men, and will, like Jahn, fee l his ca lling and work sacred, and his institution a temple in which every physical act wi ll be for the sake of the soul. The world of adolescence, especia ll y that part which sits in closed spaces conn ing books, groans and travails all the more grievously and yea rnin gly because it is unconsciously, waiting for a redeemer for its body. Till he appears, our culture must remain for the most a littl e hollow, falsetto and handi capped by schoo l-bred diseases. "

Youth (App leton, 1907 p. 64)

48

Those of us who are students of physical education w ill have di scovered the mot ivation of Luther Gulick who provided an international symbo l for the YMCA (an in verted triangle). Although he referred to " sp iri t," " mind" and "body" as compos ing the sides of his equ il ateral triangle, he emphas ized that the triangle was his way of symbo li zing man. Hi s thinking was not unlike the Greek sp irit of harmony which served ancient philosophers nor for that matter, the unify ing symbolism of the Eastern world which unites body, mind and sou l.

But before Gu li ck 's triangle appeared, there was the thinking of Jahn and his Turners. His earliest symbo l related to his purpose of reviving the Teutonic ideals he felt were blurred by Nepolianic domination. This ea rl y symbol is found in Figure 1. Above and below the word, " Turnkunst," are found the dates 9, 919, 1519 and 1811. The latter date refers to the we ll-known founding of Turnerism at the " Turn platz" (outdoor gymnas ium) by Jahn near Berlin on a field known as the Hasenheide. The first date, 9 AD, refers to the rout of the Roman legions by Hermann. In 919 AD, tournaments were introduced into Germany and 600 hundred years later in 1519 AD, the last tournaments were held. This badge, worn by all the early Turners with great pride, was nothing more than " German Power" in the modern context and was found by Jahn to be insufficient for the goa ls he expressed in his " T urn k u nst. "

Jahn 's friend, Lud w ig Uhland, provided him w ith an idea for a more appropriate symbol whose origin was a popular Sixteenth century saying attributed to students. Uhland related to Jahn the popular " Four T " phrase standing for " Fri sch", " Frei " , " Frohlich " and " Fromm " . The " 4-F " symbol is found commonly today in Germany and other parts of Europe. (See Figures 2 and 3.) A coppersm ith fashioned the " 4-F " symbol as shown in Figure 4. But Jah n p referred the design of the symbo l in Figure 5, the o ne which is most prominent even today w here it is employed, because of its having a firmer foundat ion . There were also other troubles and Jahn felt obli ged to defend " Fromm" in the public press when his symbo l and its obvious religious intent were misconstrued.

In Figure 6 one finds a sampling of many of the later applications of the "4-F" symbol. Notice that the one on the left in the shield of the Workers Gymnastic and Sport Federation eliminates the " Frohlich " and " Fromm" of the origina l substituting instead "Stark " and " Treu " which was later preferred by the North American Gymnastic Union and some American Turner C lu bs. (See Figures 7 and 8).

Once transferred to the United States, the symbol underwent some other changes. The

Latin expression , " Mens sana in corporesano," replaced the German words probably due to the pressures of two wars with Germany (See Figure 9) and later this was replaced with " Sound mind, sound body. " (See Figure 10). The symbo l of the Greek discobolus was also employed but the dualistic nature of the Roman sloga n attr ibuted to Ju st inian and later to Jo hn Locke was more typical of Western dualism than the integrated ideal of harmony espoused by the Greeks. Jahn 's spiritualism was difficu lt to trans late into American cultural li fe and the American Turners bacame simple advocates of physical ed ucation in th e schools since it seemed to provide the needed balance referred to by Hall in the opening quote. The same fate has come to the YMCA triangle of Gulick.

When one hears today of " general impression," " spi ritual expression " and other similar terms related to the eva luat ion of gymnastics, one is tempted to believe that the pendulum is turning back to a more integrated concept. But as long as judges seek a quantification of such values, the underlYing intent w ill not bring us closer to Jahn but merel y emphasize the gross materialism of the modern, competit ive program. (My own view of " spiritual expression" w ill be given late r based upon a very simplisti c view of anatomy and the humanistic view of human performance.)

The qualitative domain mu st of necessity deal w ith abstract io n and ideali sm. Although the modern program must be eva luated subject ive ly in the arena of competition, we have seen tremendous changes in the rules to quantify such subjeivity to an extent that becoming a judge in gymnastics is one of the most intricate and complicated tasks in the world of sport. No doubt, present effo rts will result in furthering the object ivi ty of such eval uations until at last they can be submitted to computerization thus eliminating any " human" error. This too, is well and good . But if gymnastics is truly " Turnkunst," much more is impli ed than the ab ility to determine who is " Number 1."

Jahn realized that the spontaneity of chi ldren 's play had much more to offer than the hyperorganization of a " Little League." He observed young men at play and utilized their instinctive nature to challenge one another to get at more serious goa ls. Invar iably such goa ls were at the same time humanistic and qualitative, moral istic and idea li stic; the ultimate expression of SWING.

Note: I n the next article (Part IV) the biomechanicst looks at " sp iritual expression."

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Fig. 7

Fig. 7

, ~l rb ~it CL :rum' 1I. t2poriClIl1tll.

'l)~ut[d)c ~UIllctld)aft.

Fig. 6

Fig. 5

'IMIIIIIIIIIIIIHllllnmIlIUIllIUlllilllllnUlilfIJHlllftttlHllflllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII"IIIII""'"U.IIIIIIIII"'"_'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII"'IIIIII1IIIIIIIIIUIIUUlIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIHi.MIIINtNIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH,IUtMII .. ItHIIHmll"IKHHlllffI .... I ... '"~I .. UIl I

GYMNASTIC HONOR RESEARCH AWARDS FOR 1974-75

Each year four (4) $100.00 awards are give n by the Nationa l Assoc iation of Co llege Gymnastics Coaches Resea rch and Professional Li as ion Committ ee. The NACGC Research Committee, in coo peration with the Nissen, Gym M aster, Am eri ca n, and Zw ickel compani es, wishes to promote scholarl y research in the area of gymnastics. Listed be low, find pertinent informat ion related to th e four Honor Resea rch Awards.

1. The Carl Patterson Honor Research Award of th e National Gymnastic C lini c and NACGC- ­Sarasota, Florida-- $100.00, (Coopera tin g Frank Cum iskey). Decided at Sarasota, Chairman - Dr. Newt Lok en (Sponsored by th e Nissen Corporation). All Candidates res iding in th e NCAA Mid-East Di strict shou ld subm it th eir prospectu s to Dr. Newt Loken, University of

GYMNAST Oct. '74

M ichigan, Ann Arbor, Mich iga n 48104 by November 30. It wi ll facilitate matters if seve ral copies are sent.

2. The Lyle Welser Honor Research Award of the NACGC--Ft. Laud erdal e, Florida- -$100.00, Chairman - Di ck Holzaepfel (Cooperat ing Bill Meade). Decided at Fort Lauderdale. All Ca ndidates residing in th e NCAA Eastern District should submit their prospectu s to Di ck Holzaepfel , Athl etic Departm ent, Un iversity of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52240 by November 30. It w ill fac ilitate matters i f severa l cop ies are se nt.

3. The Hartley Price Honor Research Award --Tu scon, Ar izona--$100.00, Chairman - Dr. Robert D. Peavy (Cooperating, Coach Jeff Bennon ). Decided at Tu cson (Spon so red by Gym MasterCompany). A ll Cand idates residing in th e NCAA Mid-West Distr ict should submit their prospectus to Dr . Robert D. Peavy, Department of Phys ica l Educat ion, Washington State Univers ity, Pullman, Wash ington 99163 by

November 30. It wi ll facilitate matters if seve ral copies are se nt.

4. The Leopold Zwarg Honor Research Award of the NACGC --Berkeley, Californ ia-­$100.00, Cha irman - Dr. Harold Frey. Decided at Berkeley, Californ ia (Cooperat in g Dr. Eri c Hughes). A ll ca ndidates residing in th e NCAA Western Di stri ct shou ld submit th e ir prospectus to Dr. Harold ·Frey, Gymnastics Coach, Un iversity of Californi a, Berk eley, California 94720 by November 30. It wil l facilitate matters if seve ral copies are sent.

Awards Chairman: Dr. Hartl ey Price , Professor Emer itus of Ph ys ical Education , Florida State Uni ve rsity, Tallaha ssee, Fl or ida.

Assistants: Art Mdritt, NACGC Vice President , Uni vers ity of California, Santa Barbara , California 93017. Dr. Gera ld George, Old Dominion Un ive rsity, Norfold, Virginia 23508. Dr. Robert D. Peavy, NACGC Secretary / Treasurer, Washington State Un ive rsity, Pullman, Washington 99163.

49·

50

SEQUENCES

by sch!JJ! Top row: Tsukahara, from Japan in a cartwheel back piked somersault vault. (Munich (72). 2nd row: Japanese gymnast in a double back somersault from P-bars. 3rd row: Kenmotsu, from Japan, in a back somersault with a triple twist. 4th row: Olympic gymnast from the '72 Games in a piked back somersault with full twist.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

GYMNAST Oct. '74 51

bACk ItANdsPR i NGS A COMPARISON OF TWO TKHN IQUES OF

TEACHING THE BACK HANDSPRING By Marvin Johnson

Eastern Michigan University

Introduction Th e procedure recommended fo r teaching

the back handspring has changed littl e ove r the years. In 1925 Bukh (1 :169) illustrated this tradition al technique. The method ca n be characteri zed by the use of a " chair " positi on accompani ed by a complete swing of the arms from down and back past th e hips, in preparation for th e spring or tak e-off, to forward upward and overhead on take-off. However, films and observa ti o ns of fl oor exe rcise perfo rmers suggest that th e back handspring ca n be performed w itho ut swing ing the arms as a preparatio n fo r th e movement. Experim entation w ith teaching th e back handspring w ithout a preparato ry arm swing indi ca tes that it is not only possib le to teach the skill this way, but th at it may be as effec ti ve an approa ch as th e tradi t ional procedure. Purpose

Th e purpose of thi s study was to compare the effecti ve ness of two techniques of teaching the back handsprin g.

A reasonabl e randomization was empl oyed in teaching ba ck handsprings by 2 meth ods. In the eva luati o n, each slUdent attempted th e ski ll tw ice, the spo tters joi ntl y rated the perfo rmer's ability to execute th e back handspring based on the amo unt o f spo t o r ass istance requi red . Th e foll ow ing sca le w as used in the eva luati o n.

Rating Description

o Sli ght ass istance g ive n, but may have been sa fe without aid .

2

3

No spo t or ass ista nce re quire d . Skill pe rforme d w itho ut a id.

Skill pe rforme d wi th so me re li ance o n spo tt e rs, but not comple te ly de pe ndent o n ass ista nce of spo tte rs.

Pe rfo rme r co mple tely d epende nt o n spo tt e rs fo r ass ista nce.

At a later date, the performances of the students were eVi!luated by three experienced judges of high school gymnastics using a four point sca le. Th e judges were permitted as m any play backs of the tape as d es ired, and jointl y recorded one score for each subject. Th e sca le used by th e judges to eval uate th e techniq ue of perfo rmin g th e back handspring was as fo ll ows.

Rating

4

3

2

52

Description

Exce ll e nt techniques co rrec tly pe rfo rmed.

Good techn iqu e bas ica lly co rrect w ith o nl y m ino r e rro rs.

Fa ir technique m a jo r e rr o rs in p e rfo rma nce.

Poor technique not abl e to d e mo nstra te an y skill deve lopme nt.

Illustration and Description of Technique A of Learning the Back Handspring From a sta ndin g posi ti o n wit h the ar ms ex te nd e d fo rwa rd , sw in g th e arms ex te nded forwa rd , sw ing the a rms

d ow n and backwa rd . Simulta neous ly be nd the knees to assu me a chai r pos iti o n w ith th e uppe r bo dy e rect. As the bo dy ove rba la nces backward spring fro m the m at, ex te nd the body comp le te ly, sw in g th e arm s fo rwa rd , upwa rd and backward overhead an d reach for the ma t. Wit h prope r tim in g th e body will pass thro ug h a ha ndbal a nce posi ti o n w he re we ight is taken on th e ha nds. Vigo ro usly pus h off th e mat w ith th e hands and snap th e legs down by bend in g a t th e hips.

#l!.1 '1lIustration and Description of Technique B of Learning the Back Handspring

Fro m a standi ng positio n w it h th e arm s ex te nd e d ove rh ead, be nd th e kn ees to approximate ly a fo rty-five d eg ree angle w ith the upper bo dy e rect. Beg in to over ba lan ce bac kwa rd by reaching o verhead bac kwa rd w ith th e a rms. As the body ove rba la nces begin th e sprin gi ng acti on' by ex te nd in g th e body complete ly a nd reach the mat. W ith prope r timin g the body will pass th ro ugh a mo me nta ry hand bala nce positi o n where weig ht is take n o n th e ha nds. Vi go ro usly p ush o ff the mat w ith th e ha nds a nd snap the legs dow n by bending at the hips.

Th e differences in th e two techniq ues we re sta tisticall y analyzed by m eans o f a chi-square tes t of signifi ca nce. Thi s analys is is presented in Tabl es I and II. Th e numbers fo r ratin gs one and two w ere combin ed in Tabl e II fo r anal ys is because of th e small number of cases w ith the rating of one.

Ta ble 1. Compariso n o f two techn iqu es of lea rning th e back handspring by ra t ings o f the d egree o f ass ista nce re quire d as judged by th e spott ers by C hi-Sq ua re Ana lys is.

Technique

Ratin g A B C hi. Sq. 0 (; 14 1 6 9 2 15 6 7. 92

3 7 5 x2 o f 7.815 = .05 leve l of signif ica nce

Ta ble II. Compa riso n o f two techniques o f lea rnin g th e back ha nd spring by ra tin gs o f th e skill as judged from pla ybacks of video ta pe by C hi-Squ a re Analys is.

Technique Ratin g A B C hi . Sq.

4 7 16 3 14 9 2 10 7 5.32 ns 1 3 2

x2 of 5.991 = .05 leve l of significa nce

Results and Discussion The results of the stu dy indi ca ted, th at fo r th e

limited time devoted to th e deve lopment of th e ski II, students achi eved significa ntl y grea ter independence in perfo rmance of th e skill w itho ut th e use o f th e preparato ry arm action.

The stu dy d id no t demo nstrate any signif ica nt di fferences in ski ll deve lopment as ind ica ted by the eva luati o n o f p erforman ces record ed o n video tape.

Th e stud y did no t warrent an y judgement as to w hich technique of learnin g th e skill was bes t; but from o bse rva tion s of stud ents du r ing the study, th e fo ll ow ing speculations we re made rega rd ing d ifferen-ces in technique o r executio n w hich deve loped as a result of using th e two p roced ures. Without the preparato ry arm ac ti o n, stu dents we re ab le to spo t each o th er' s pe rfo rma nces better . Thi s may have resulted in confidence developing fas ter and thro ugh thi s co nfiderice, independence . Studen ts w ho d id no t use the preliminary arm act ion seemed to experience more di ff icult y in securing adequate lift from their take-o ff, but did seem to achieve a better extensio n with o ut th e tendency to d eve lop a twi st in fli ght ; and thu s, w ere abl e to achieve a momentary handbalance w ith g rea ter consi stency. A stud y of th e pro bl ems o f perfo rmin g back handsprings in a se ri es o r preced ed by a round­off may wa rrant different co nclusio ns rega rdi ng the effec ti veness of th e two techniq ues o f teaching the back handspring. The relati onships of age and sex differences to the effec ti ve ness o f th e vari ous techniques may result in d iffere nt conclusions.

Reference Bukh , Nie ls. Primitive Gymnastics Lo nd o n En gla nd: M e thu en a nd Co. Ltd. , 1925.

GYMNAST Oct- '74

1

The Worlds Best According to Dr. Josef Gohler Editor of Olympische Turnkunst

M en: Thun e - DDR Kasa ma tsu - JPN Okamura - JP N M agya r - H UN Ke nmo tsu - J PN Andri a nov - USSR Kli m e nk o - USSR Sza jna - PO L Boe ri o - FRA M o lna r - HUN Koes te - DDR Fuj imo to - JPN S. Kato - JPN Jaeger - DDR Kaji ya ma - JP N Tsuka hara - JPN E. Mi kae lja n - USS R Vra ti c - YU G Mila ne tto - ITA M . Ne tusli - CSSR M a le jev - USS R Sa fro nov - USS R Klotz - DDR Dit ja tin - USS R Ko b inge r - G FR M ac k - DDR T. Iga ras hi - JP N Ga il le - SU I Ha nschke - DDR Ro hne r - SU I

W omen: Tou·ri shc heva - USSR Ko rbut - USSR He ll ma nn - DDR Sc ha fe r - DDR Kim - USSR Csasza r - HUN G rozodova - USS R Dro nova - USSR Do rna kova - CSS R Go rbi k - USS R Saa di - USSR M e dvecz ky - HU Zinke - DDR Bogda nova - USSR Rice- M oo re - USA Pe rska - USSR G e rsc ha u - DDR Pa rsc h inzeva - USS R Egerva ri - JI N Dun bar - USA Sav ina - USSR G ilmudti nova - USS R C hrja p ina - USSR Kosche l - USSR Sc hme iber - DDR Kisc he - DDR Ko lesnik ova - USSR N. Wo ro n ina - USS R Burda - USS R M aye r - G FR

GYMNAST Oct. ' 74

114.000 113.900 113.650 11 2.900 11 2.775 112.700 11 2.700 11 2.650 112.600 112.600 112.500 112.450 112.300 112.100 11 1.900 111.700 111.650 111 .650 111.600 111.550 111.500 111.400 111.300 111.300 111.250 111.150 111 .100 111.000 110.900 110.800

77.350 76.625 76.025 75.975 75.925 75.500 75.450 75.350 75.350 75.350 75.350 75.350 75.300 75.300 75.1 50 75.100 74.975 74.950 74.900 74.850 74.775 74.600 74.600 74.575 74.550 74.500 74.500 74.500 74.450 74.450

. -

~ ~

~ ." "-

0

]-5i =? :< J> J> :::> ~

~ ::> "5

.I:: :>..

gymnast memorabilia

THE WORLD GYMNASTIC CHAMPIONSHIPS 1930 - 1970

By Tom Wakeling

A nticipating the coming XVIII WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, it wou ld seem appropriate to ref lect back to th e World Championships of the past. It probabl y should be first exp lained, at leas t briefl y, exactl y into what th e World Champion ships have presentl y evol ved. As far as gymnast ics is co nce rn ed , the World Championsh ips are just as significant to th e sport as th e Ol ympic Games. Th e Champion ships are held eve ry four yea rs on the even year betwee n Olympiads. The World Gam es are fundamenta ly th e sa me as th e Olympics; for each nation th at is to be represented, se nds a tea m of six men and six women gymnasts to compet e for all-around and indi vidual event horiors as we ll as fo r the team tit les (as opposed, let 's say, to the organ iza tional poli cy govern ing the Euro pea n Championships ie. gym nasts competing individuall y, not as a team, utilizing on ly optional rout ines).

Our Gymnast magaz ine records go only as fa r back as to th e N INTH INTERNATIONAL CONTEST (as it was then ca lled) whi ch took pla ce at Luxemburg in 1930. At that time, besides appartu s work , compet ition included the pole vau lt, broad jump, shot put, a rope climbing event and a 100 meter sprint. Czechos lovak ia won the Team Champ ionsh ips that year whi le France occupied second and Yugoslav ia third. There-after, followed Hungary, Lu xemburg and Belgium. The performance by Pimozhich of Yugoslovia won him th e Ind iv idual tit le. .

Swit ze rland wo n th e TENTH CHAMPIONSHIPS w hich were held in Budapest in 1934. Czechoslovak ia, this tim e saw second, and Germany (entering the competition for the first time) placed third. Mack of Switzerland took the Indi vidual honors. An interes tin g point is th at M ex ico is listed for taking the thirteenth position.

Prague hosted the XI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS of 1938. Switzerland, it would seem, sent th e most talented gymnastic team, but that team faced second place due to their relative weak showing in the Track and Field events. The Czechoslovak ian tea m featuring jan Gajdos won the contest.

54

The TWELFTH' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS were not held until1950 and only si x teams took part in this first post war competition in Basel , Switze rland. The team representing that country ga ve a superior performance and they took first pl ace. The second position was taken by Fin land and the third by France. The all­around titl e was awa rd ed to Lehman of Switzerland.

Rome wa s ho nored w ith the XIII WORLD CHAMPIONSHI PS of 1954. Thi s contest was th e sit e fo r a major turnin g point for thi s international gymnasti cs competition w hich was characteri zed by several firsts. It was th e first World Championsh ip in w hich : gymn as ti cs se rved as th e so le form of competiti o n, th e japanese and th e Soviet Un ion had entered and it was the first competiti on in which th e United States was rep resented (Johnn y " jack" Beckner and Charlie Simms) . The contest finished with th e Soviet team c laiming the fir st slo t takin g w ith it the first six places all-aroun d: Chukarin and Muratov, 115.45 each ; Ch agin , 114.60; Shakl in, 114.05 and Vostrikov, 113.65.

;,f- -V<>:.'<>"'''''''4'>~ ' _~"';'':'>'-'-''.'''~~''''-':_'':'_"",,>.,2:h :<.'-< .... ,<;,",·-w~ "':"'"#

Nabuyuki Aihura (Japan)

Moscow hosted the FO URTEENTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS in 1958. The Sov iet men 's tea m took the top honor (575 .45) as th ey did in 1954. Th e japanese pla ced second w ith 572 .60 and Czechoslovakia came in third 26.25 point s behind the w inner. The tea m representing th e United States is li sted as sco rin g 538.85 accumulated points for seventh. Shak lin was th e all-around winner wi th teammates Titov and Stolbov pl acing third and fifth. japa n 's Ono, Takmoto and A ihara pla ced two, four, and six.

Albert Azaryan (USSR)

Th e women 's competiti on finished in another victo ry for th e tea m from th e USSR as they sco red 381.62 po int s, almost ten po int s above th eir closes t co m petitor, Czechoslovakia (371.85). Romania earned the third spot w ith 362.02. Th e Soviet Union's Lari ssa Latyn in a ca me thro ugh to w in th e wo men 's all-around compiling a total o f 77 .464 (that's ave raging 9.683 per even t). Eva Bosokava of Czechoslova kia placed second (76.332) after which followed one of Lari ssa 's teammates, Tamara Manina (76 .1 97).

*

O ve r 250 top gymnasts representing 31 nations ga th ered together in Prague, CzechoslovJk ia to participate in th e XV WOR LD CHAM PIONSHIPS of 1962 (this wou ld be th e second time Prag ue hosted th e Games) . A determin ed and talented japanese tea m ca m e through to maintain th eir wo.rld gymnasti c leaders hip (gai ned at the XV II OLYMPI AD in Rom e) by a' narrow one and o ne half point margin w ith 574.65. Th e Soviet men had to be content wi th second, but not until after one of th e closes t and most competiti ve

GYMNAST Oct. '74

contests in th e histo ry o f th e games. The U.S. tea m fini shed 19.40 p oi nt s beh ind japan w hich was good enough fo r sixth place .

After an intensive battl e fo r th e, all -a round titl e, Titov fi na lly merged to don the go ld to taling a 11 5.65 (inspite of th e foo t injury he had been nurs ing f ro m the all-aro und opti o nals). Yukio Endo o f japan scored second w ith 11 5. 50 w hil e Shaklin to taling 11 5.20 fini shed thri d. Do n To nry, NCAA Champion of 1956, w as th e top all-around sco rer fo r the USA (111.90) tak ing 21st.

Th e Sov iet women's tea m also success fu lly held th ei r num ber one stand ing accumula tin g a score o f 384.988. Immediately fol low ing we re Czechoslova ki a (382.590) and japa n (379.523). The individual performances we re most no teworthy fo r th eir obvious precis ion denoting lo ng hard prepa ration . Lari ssa Latynina averaged 9.753 for a m uch deserved fi rst. Stand ing w ith her were Czechoslovaki a's Vera Caslavska (77.732) and the USSR 's

Pervusc hina (77 .465 ). Th e USA women's team did quite noba ly, as th ey finished 8th of th e seventeen tea ms entered.

O bse rve rs no ted th at th e America n tea ms (bo th men and wom en) needed wo rk o n the compul so ri es fo r th ey had demonstrated a relati ve wea kn ess in thi s area . Eve n tho ugh there w as a commo n fee ling at Prague th at refl ec ted th e genera l o pinio n "that th e United States is defi nately a world power in gymnasti cs" fro m w hat had been seen "of tri cks, routines and po tenti al ab il i ty" .

Th ere is o ne o ther po int that d istin gui shes thi s world cham p io nship fro m th e o th ers, and th at is th e fact that it was here a tea m fro m th e Peopl es Repu bli c o f China made its fir st internati o nal competi t ive appea rance . (Unfortunately it would be the ir las t o ne, at least unt il 1973 .) Both their men's and women's team faired rath er p roudl y fini shing 4th and 6th respecti ve ly.

Th e XVI WO RLD CHAMPIONSHIPS o f 1966 fo und its home in Dortmund, Germany. Th at yea r marked the end o f an era an d the birth o f a new decade characte ri zed by a new b reed o f performers as we ll as a new style o f pe rfo rmance; for th e past ten yea rs rang wi th such great names as Latynina, Astak hova, M anina, Ono, Tit ov and Shaklin . Once th ey rul ed th e wo rld o f gy mnasti cs, but in 1966, in

GYMNAST Oct. ' 74

Makato Sakamoto (USA)

Germa ny, th ey stepped' down, le t it be said, w ith th e d ignity o f cham pi o ns, victi ms of bo th time and prog ress. Stepping in we re th e n ew tea ms made up o f fr esh athl etes. The men from japan were apparently more impressive th an th ey had ever been befo re.. anywhere. Th e team stand ings we re ident ica l to what they had been in '62; on ly the sco res we re sligh t ly d iffere nt. The h ig hest sco rin g tea m at Do rtmund were th e j apa nese w ith a 375 .1 5 to tal (4.25 po ints hi gher th an secon d pl ace Sov iet Unio n and 14.15 from third place Eas t Germany). The United States agai n just mi ssed the top f ive as they p laced sixt h tota li ng 555.40.

Vo ronin o f the USSR d id lay cla im to the all­aro und t itl e scor ing a high 11 6.15 (t he highest all-around sco re eve r accumulated by an y competitor in th e champ ionshi p 's hi sto ry). Tsurmi (11 5.25) and Nakayama (1 14.75) bo th o f japa n fo llowed ta k ing 2nd and 3rd . Ma kato Sa kamoto of the Univers ity of Sou th ern Ca liforni a, a member of the 1964 U.S. O lympic Tea m, placed sixteenth ove rall - th e high est sco rer o f th e Ameri can tea m.

Czechos lova kia lead by Vera Caslavska, snatched away th e tea m titl e from the Sov iet Union after being awa rded 383.625 poi nts. Thi s was the fi rst and onl y time in w hich the Soviet women placed second to anyone as long as women have been competin g in th e mod ern fo rm o f the championships. Th eir fin al score was 383 .587 w hich was onl y 2.664 above third p lace japan. After th eir effo rt of 367 .620, th e A meri ca n tea m was awa rd ed the sixth positi o n. Vera totaled 78.298 to claim the all-aro und ho nors after whi ch fo llowed Ko utschinskaya of th e USSR (78 .097) and Ikeda of j apan (76.997). D o ri s Brouse p laced 27 th (74.297) , she being Ameri ca's highest sco rer.

This parti cular championship was the site fo r w hat is now known as the " Brause Case" w hich invo lved perhaps the longest and maybe th e " pro udest " ho ur in th e gymnas tic ca ree r o f

Doris Fuchs Brause (USA)

55

Dori s Fu chs Brau se . Th e German Sports Federat ion described her opt ional ro utine on th e unevens as "a bri lliant , mi stake free and fantas tic endeavor. ,. To th e Germ an spectato rs, the judges' score of 9.766 was not in any way high enough to suit th em . Th eir respon se to th at score was in th e fo rm of on e hour and three minutes of irate w hi st les, ca t-ca ll s and rhythmi c stamping o f feet. A German judge published a statement to the effect th at "Brouse's rout ine was th e bes t of th e competiti o n. " She th en added that a sco re of 9.9 would sti ll no t have been high enough.

Th e po in t of thi s is to illustrate th e fact th at th e Un ited States had been, and is, a tru e contender in inte rnati onal gymnasti cs. Thi s was prove n in 1966 by Doris Fuchs Brause ... th e " uncrown ed champion " of the uneven bars at Do rtmund.

Mitsuo Tsukahara (Japan)

1970 was th e yea r for th e XV II WORLD GYMNASTIC CHAM PIONSH IPS w hich was hosted by Ljubljana, Yugoslavia. The tota l number of competit o rs was 250 representing twen ty-two nat ions. The general impression at Ljubljana was that the japanese were in a class all their own. Th ey had prove n them se lves th e innova tors, th e leade rs, and the virtuosos of men's gymnasti cs . In fact , thi s impression had been so appealing that th e " international gymnastic comm unity" attended thi s champio nship w ith the primary intent to decide who was des tin ed to fill th e second spot. As expect ed, th e japanese ca me through in th ei r usual exciting style to' w in the top honors w ith 571.10 points. The Soviet Un io n p laced second w ith 564.35, fo ll owed by East Germ any wi th 553.15 (noti ce that the first three positi on s ha ve been dominated by th e sa me teams in

56

ea ch World Champ io nship since 1962) . The United States ca me in seventh after accumulat ing 573.60 po in ts wh ich was 33.50 tea m po ints behind j apan (about half a point per manper event).

Ei zo Kenmotsu performed beautiful ly to total 115.05 for first place all-around. A II­Arou nd Champ ion of th e World is a wel l deserved and appropriate tit le fo r thi s man ; fo r his interpretat ion , ab il ity and sty le clea rl y placed him above any and all male gymnasts of that ·time . Th e second and third places were iill ed by Kenmotsu 's teammates Tsukahara (1 13.85) and Nakaya ma (113.80) to make it one, two and three for japan (a lso 6, 7, and 8). Sakamoto (who had missed out on any international competition for th e previous four years) once aga in was th e highest sco rer forth e U.S. p lacing 12t h al l-around w ith 111 .65.

It shou ld be noted that th e judges were much more d ifficult to pl ease at the 1970 Wo rl d Champ ion ships (fo r both men and women) than eve r before, as was indica ted by the lower scores (by no mea ns had the qua lity of performance, .in ilny way, dim ini shed).

Afte r the '66 Dor,tmund World Games, it was clear East Germa ny would be o n th e ri se, and that they proved in Mex ico in 1968. But th e Russ ians... If th ere is o ne word th at characte ri zes them, it is " profess iona l". Th e competiti on beca me ve ry interest ing beca use th ere was such a w ide range of interpretation. The Ea st Germans w ere ve ry brisk, th e japanese f lowery and the Ru ss ians - dynam ic.

Due to th e se ri es of Soviet fa ilures o f th e compulsory beam, wh ich was indeed the shock of th e champio nships, it seemed as though th e Eas t Germans could :ake th e team awa rd . They lost that opportun ity at th e opti ona l floor exercise for th e Soviet women trul y dominated that event. The fin al results show the team stand ings wit h the USSR tak ing first by a 2.90 margin from second pla ce East Germany (377.75). Czechos lovakia p laced third with 'a 371.90 total. The U.S. Women 's team fini shed 7th p lace (360.20) in th e ove rall competition .

Cathy Rigby

Ca th y Ri gby cracked a meda l for the Un ited States as she was awarded th e "sil ve r" for her performance o n the beam and in do ing so made hi story for th e U .S.A. Th at was Ame ri ca 's first medal ever in women's gymnasti cs. If o ne considers the ve ry hi gh ca liber of th e beam competition (Zuchold, Schmitt, Petri k and Hell mann) , th is feat becomes th at much more fantas ti c.

Ludmilla Tourishcheva (USSR)

Ludmilla Tourishcheva who had ju st bega n her intern ational gymnast ic ca reer in 1968 at Mexico (she placed 24th) captured th e .all­arou nd titl e for the USSR as she accumulated a total of 77.05. East Germany's Erika Zuchold ca me in second w ith 76.45 and Zina ida Voronina third w ith 76 .1 5. The highest U.s . sco rer was Ca th y Rigby of Long Beach, Californ ia, compiling a sco re of 74.45.

* * After all thi s we may still ask, " What are th e

Champ ionships and wha t do th ey represe nt? " Th e champi o nships are a home for pressures and anxiety, so what are the merits or rewards? For as someone once sa id co nce rnin g the champ ionship ro le, " To be a representative of one 's country is an honor, to parti c ipate equitab ly is a distinction , but most often, the tes t of skill that brings th.e highest deg ree of ' honor an d distinction ' is not mere partici pation but th e w inning" . Unfortu nately in the World Class of Competiti o n it is simpl y not a ga me. Th e championship role is th e imperso nal ro le of w inn ing, yet the champ ion is of " fl esh and b lood" and w ith th e interna ti ona l po litica l impact o f hi s or her" achievement , thi s person becomes a knowing, li ving symbo l of prestige.

NOTE: Information from the following publications was used in the pre paration of this article.

Gymnast A. Sept .!Oct. 1962 Vol. 4 - NO.7 B. Nove mber 1966 Vo l. 8 - No. 11 C. December 1966 Vol. 8 - No. 12 D. Novembe r 1970 Vo l. 8 - No. 11 E. December 1970 Vol. 12 - No. 12

Mademoiselle Gymnast A. jan .!Fe b. 1971 Vol. 5 - No.3 B. Mar.! Apr. 1971 Vo l. 5 - NO.4

Souvenir Program for the USSR-USA

Exhibition at Expo '74

GYMNAST Oct. '74

ACT s~;~Cf~;~;R,;'Ey~M~~BS~h~NCE! ENRich YOUR GYMNAST LibRARY!

These special GYMNAST sets and individual editions are Going Fast Thro ug h th e ye ars beca use o f diffe re nt size pre ss

ru ns, comp li m e n ta ry p romo tio na l m a ilin gs, C lini c and Con ventio n sal es, p lus a fluc tu a ting subsc rip t io n list, we fin d o u rse lve s a m o ng sh e lves of asso rt ed amo u n ts of ba c k e diti o ns of Th e M o d e rn Gymnast, MG, Gymn ast, and M a d e moi sell e G ymnast. A ll of these iss ue s a re fi lle d w it h Photo s, News, Report s, Instr uc tio n and G ymnastic Aid s. Each e d iti o n is a n exce ll e nt refe re nc e so u rce .

Act a nd o rd e r O W and take ad vanl age of Ihi s special offe r fo r th e re is a wea lt h o f in forma live a nd hi slo rica l m ale ri a l ava il ab le in e ac h a nd eve ry back e dit ion.

We have accumul a le d ce rt a in e d ilio ns of Th e Mode rn Gymn ast, M G, a nd G ymn ast in lO two combined se lS; o n e co m p rise d of 50 a nd Ihe olh e r 15. Also ava il abl e a re two se pa ra le 5 e d ition se ls of M ad e moisell e Gymn as t.

Gym nast : Set A (50 ed il ions )

Se t B (15 ed iti ons ) Set C (comb in JIIOll of ,e l, A & Il )

Mademoise ll e G ymn ast : Set D (5 c dil io lls)

Set E (5 ra re edi lio",)

Se t F (co m bin Jl ioll of SCi, D&[ )

~25.0U

~8.50

~ 30. 00

~ 8 .50

$9.00

~ 15. 00

Mode rn Gymnas t Vol. I 1957-1958

Ma y ;;1. $ .50 lu ly #2 ' $ .50 Sept. & Oct. .3. $ .50 N ov. & Dec. i:; 4a $ .75 Ian. & Fe b. #5 u' M ar. & Ap r. ; 6 luly & Aug. #7 Sept. & Oel . #8 u

Vol. II 1959 Ian . Feb. Ma r. Apr. Ma y & Jun e luly & Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. & Dec.

' 1 u ; 2 . $ .50 ;3" $ .75 #4 ' $ .50 #5 u #6 u #7 u ;8 b $1,00

Vol. III 1960-1 961

June .. 1 No v. #2 u Ian . #3 b 52.00 M a r. ..4 Apr. #5 Ma y & lune #6 u lull' & Aug. #7 52.00 No v. #.8 u Dec. #9 52.00

Vol. IV 1%2

Ian. #1 b

Feb. .2' Mar. .3 Apr. ;4 Ma y & Ju ne #5 d

lu ly & Aug .• 6 ' Se pt. & Oct. . 7 Nov. ; 8 .1 Dec. ;9

$1.00 5 .75 $1.00 $2.00 5 .75 51.00 u 5 .75

Vol. V 1963

lan ./Fe b. Mar. Apr. '''tay & June lull' & Aug. · Sept. & Oct.

ov.lDec.

Vol. VI 1964

#112 , $ .75 n #4 .5 . 6 ;7 u ;8/ 9 52.00

Jan. #1 Feb. #2 Mar. ;;3 Apr. #4 May & lun e #5 luly & Au g. ; 6 Sept. & Oel. #7 u Nov. #8 u Dec. ;9

Vol. V II 1965

Jan. ;;1 Feb . #2 Mar. ; 3 Apr. #4 Ma y & June;5 u luly & Aug. #6 b 51.00 Se pt. & Oct. #7 u Nov./Dec. ;8/ % 51 .00

Vol. Viii 1966

Jan. Feb. Mar . Apr. May ; 5 b

lune/ luly #6/ 7 , Aug.lsept. #8/ 9 ' O ct. ; 10<1 No v. #.11 a Dec. ; 12

Vol. IX 1967

Ja n. ::1 u

51.00 5 .75 $ ,50 5."75 52.00 $ .75 5 .75 ' 5 .75 $ .50

Feb. #2 , $ .50 Ma r. ; 3 .1 $ .50 Apr ./May ;4/ 5. $ .50 lune/ lul y 0617 . $ .50 Aug. #8 a $ .50 Sept. . 9 ' $ .75 Oct. #10 b $1.00 No v. #11oJ $ .50 Dec. #12, $ .50

Vol. X 1968

Jan . Feb. Mar. Apr. May lune/ lul )' Aug.lsept. OCI.

No v.lDec.

Vo l. XI 1969

51.00 $1.00 5 .50 5 .75 5 .50 51.Oe

;5 d

;617 h

. 8/ 9

' 10 u . 11/ 12., 52.0(

Jan . #1 u Fe b. #2, 5 .50 Ma r. ;3 u Apr. ;;4., S .75 Ma y #5 b S2.00 lun e/ lul y . 617 b 51.00 Aug.lsept. #8/ 9 52.00 O el. ; 10 it $ .75 Nov. ; 11 •• S .75 Dec. .1 2 , $ .75

Vo l. XII 1970

Ja n. ;:: 1 .\ Feb. :=2 d

M a r. ;::3.1 Apr . ; 4 d

l'0ay #5 d lun e/ lu ly ;;617 , Aug.lSepl "8/ 9 O c l. ;: 10.1 Nov. ;::1 1 Dec. .1 2

\, .7 5 $ .75 $ .75 5 .75 $ .75 5 .75 >1.00 S .75 51.00 S .75

Gymnas( Vo l. X II I 1971

Jan. Feb. Mar. Ap r. Ma~' Ju ne/ Ju ly Aug.lsepl. O c t. Nov. Dec.

$2.00 52.00

"4 ., 51 .00 ;5 =6/7 u ; 8/ 9 u "1 0 b S1. 00 " 11 51.00 ;1 2 5 .75

Vol. XIV 1972

Jan. Feb. Ma r. Apr. Ma}' lun / lul )' A u g ./SCPL O el. Nov. Dec.

" 1 " 2 "3 ; 4

=5 u ; 617 52 .00

" 8 / 9 h S1.00 ; 10 ; 11 ; 12

Vo l. XV 1973

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr .lMay lune/ lu ly Aug.lsepl. Oct. Nov. Dec.

;1., 5 .75 =2 u ; 3 " S .75 ; 4/ 5 u ;:6/ 7 ,1 $ .75 ; 8/ 9' 5 .75

" 11" 5 .75 =1 2 " 5 .75

Ma d em o ise ll e G ymnas t Vo l. I 196&

Winlcr Spring Summer Fall

:: 1 d $ .75 " l d S.75 "3 d 5 .75 ; 4

Vo l. II 1967- 1968

MdY &- June' ~epL & O( I. Jan. & I-eb Mar. &. ApI. ,Vld )' & JUIle'

"1 ,. 52.00 ; 2 d $1 .00 =3 u

"4 " 51.00 ; 5 " 51.00

Vol. 11 11 968-1 969

sepl. & 0(1 . " 1 Nov. & Dcc =2 Ian. & f eb. "3 ("'<lr . & Apr. ;; 4 l ' S2. 00 May & JUIl t-' ::5 d $ 1.GO

Vol. IV 1969 -1 9i O

Sepl. & 0(1. ; 1 Nov. & Dec =2 l , S2. 00 ).1 n. & I-eb. =3 1\11.1 1. & ApI. =4

Mel)' & Jun. =5

Vo l. V 1970- 1971

Sepl . & O( I. =1 u Nov. & DCL =2 $2.00 Jan. & Feb. =3 u ,\ 'ar l\. ApI. ;:;4 u

Pri ces on indi vidu al e diti o ns a re nOI based o n co nt e nl bUI on ava il a b ili ty. NOl e : We have co mpil ed a co mpi e le in uex (s ubj eci & aU lho r for G ym nast (1957 -1 973 ) dnd Ma d e m oise ll e Gy mn ast (1966-1 971) w hi ch will ,erve '" an aid 10 se leclion o f an y pa rt icular a rt icl e IhJ I m ighl be d es ired . If you wo uld lik e Ihe ind ex 10 hel p fill Ihe ga ps in yo ur Gy mn ast library . p lease ,end $1.00 10 help co ve r cost o f thi s serv ice .

, e d iti o ns Ihal are include d in Mode rn G ymn ast b ed ilions tha t a re incl ud ed in M o d e rn G ymn as t d e dil ions incl ud e d in M ad e m o isell e Gymn ast e edi li o ns incl ud e d in M ad e moise ll e Gymn ast

se l A se t B set D sel E

* u . una va il a bl e xe ro x co p ie s of an y a rt ic le s Ihal a re in un ava ila bl e ed illo ns m ay be ob la in ed for SO~ (Ple ase inc lud e a se lf addr e sse d sta mpe d e nve lo pe ) fro m :

Gymnast P.O. Bo x '1'10-M Sa nl a Mo nica , C A 90406)

...••..•.......•••.............. .... .................... .. .... .. ..... ......• ............ .. ... ........•.....................••• Use Ihe hand y ch ec kli st be lo w 10 ind ica le w h ic h sets and e dil io ns yo u wish 10 b u y.

GYMNAS l

Vall 1957 - 1958 0 1.. ... s.su 01.. .su OJ... .su 0 4... .75 Valli 1959

OZ... '1.50 OJ... .7S 0 4.. ... .50 (J tL. 1.50 Vo l III 1%0- 1% 1

OJ... 52.uu 0; . 1.00 o Y... LUU Vol IV 1%2

0 1... '11.00 01.. .7S OJ... LOU 04..... 1.00 OS... .7S o ~.. . 1.0U DIS.. . .75

GYM NAST o Se t A .. o Set B o Sel C ..

Vol V 1% ) o 1&2... .7 5

o !S&Y. .. l.00 .

Vol VII 1%5 o b. .. 1.00 o 1S&9... 1.00

Vo l VIII 19bf .. o I .. S1.00 o 1. .... .75 OJ... .'u o 4... .75 o 5... 2.00 o 6&7... .75 o "&9... .7S 010.. . .75 01 1.. .so

$25.00 $8.50

$30.00

Vo l. IX 1% '1 o 2.. . ~.50 o J... so fJ 4&5... .50 o 6& 7. .. .50 o !S .. .- .50 o 9.. . .7S 010. .... 1.0U 011 ... .SU OIl.. . .50

O v oll .... ~. 1908)1 .UO

8 , ... l OU

OJ. .. .50 o 4. .. . .7 "1 Os... .,u o b& 7... LOU o 11&IL. 1 00

MADEMOISELLE GYMN AST o Set D.. $ 8.50 o Sel E.. $ 9.00 o Set F.. $15.00

Vo l. Xiii 197 1 o l... ~1 . 00 o 2... . 1.00 o 4.. l. OU 010... 1.00

o II... \'Ull

MADl:M01Sl:ll l: GYMNAS l

Val.l 1%& o 1..... ).is o 1.. .. .7 '.>

Vol. XI 1% 9 o 1... ) .50 o 4... .75 o 5. .. 1.00 o 6&7... 1.00 o !S&'L . L OU iJ 10... .75 0 ' 1.. .75 011... .75 o L .. .I'.>

Vol. XIV 1972 o 6& 7... SL UU o !S&IJ... 1.00

Vo l. XV 1973 o 1.. S.7S OJ.,... .75 o && 7... .75 o IS&Y ... .75 011 ..... .75 OIl.. . .75

Vol. II 1%1- 1% 8 o 1... )i.UU

o 1. .. 1.00 o 4. .. \.00 o 5.. . I.UO

Vol. III 1%8-I % Y o 4. .. )1.00 o 5... 1.0U

Vo l IV I%Y-19 70 o 1... Sl.UU

Vol V 1970-1971

OIL. .75

Vo l. XII 1970 o 1.. 'b .75 o 1.. . .75 OJ.. . .75 o 4.... ?S Os..... 7S [j 6&7... .7S o -U& 9... LUU o 10. .... .7 "1 o 11... IUft 01.1 . .75 o 1.. \LU<J

ORDER FORM

o Please se nd m e Ihe compl e le ind ex (G ym n aS I & Mill e G ) a l $1.00 to he lp cove r Ih e cos l o f Ih is se rvice.

Ple ase include the foll owing' postage fo r eac h se t o rdered:

Se t A or C $3.00 e a. ; Se l F $1.50 ea. ; Se l B, D or E $1.00 ea .

G YMNAST P.O .Box 110 - M Sa nta M o nica, Ca. 90~06

De ar GYM NAST: Please find e nclosed c heck o r m oney o rd e r in Ihe J m o un l o f $ for se ts a nd ed il ions m ark ed (p lus postage as nOle d abo ve)

Na m e ________________________________________ __

Street __________________________________________ __

City Sta te .. ______ ~-

Zip ---- --- Sc hool ------- ------•••••••••• • ••••••••• • •••••• • ••••••••••••• • • • •• •• • • ••••• • • r • •• ••• • ••••••• ••• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • ••••••••••••••••••••

~LETTERS~

THE AESTHETICS OF GYMNASTICS

Dear Editor: Our gymnasti<:s programs should not be

dire<:led at produ <: ing Olympi<: dlJmpions but ilt produdng people whu love gymnilstics. Our spur t is a grea t dealmure than s ix men and s ix wom en who represent us at In ternational Cumpetitiuns.

Gymnastics is a means of cum municating the experiences of rhythm , coordina tion , grace. combinatiun. risk. strength , agility, uriginality. virtuosity. into a unified experience. " In gymnastics the dillerent parts compris ing an exe rcise are tu folluw in a harmunious manne r su that a harmoniuus whole is brought about." (I". I. G, p. - IBo ) But I am spea king not jus t uf technicill manifesta tions: for when a gym nast jOins together s kill. fee lings , emuthions and experi ences into a "W hole". he is communicating a n artistic experience, Considera tions uf simplicity and s ubLi ety , puwer and precis ion, scope and se le<:livity , famili a rity a nd freshness a re a ll relevant: a nd the ir va lue is rela ti ve tu our interes ts. our informatiun and our inquiry. Only when a gymnastics ruutine is permeated with these qua liti es is it grea Ll y va lued.

"W hen the gy mnast suc<:eeds in blending elegance of executiun. richness. freedom of movement. amplitude in night. the mas tering uf dilli<:ulty and ri s k in an impress iunab le dynamic, he creates a prese ntation which radia tes an inne r experience a nd ha rmony which characteri zes the virtuoso. He is ab le to capture the soul of the s pectators and to fi ll the ir heart· with joy. " (F .I.G. p. - IB4) Yet more. What gymnastics is is " felt" in our bones. nerves a nd musd es as we ll as grasped by our minds. All the sens iti vity a nd responsiveness we ha ve partidpates in the invention a nd interpretatiun of gym nastics. This "Feeling" is not just buu nd in the ellort to win but in the ellor t to do sum ething bette r. dillerent , highe r . more cuntrulled. with more impa<:t ur greater scope. IL is nut just the ex pe rience uf seeing or perha ps doing a g rea t performance ur the sensation of wi nning but it is what som eone fee ls while working out. whil e at a dinic , tumbling down a beach . throwi ng a new trick , ta lking abuut next Saturday's com petition". it is tea<:hing. lea rning. enjoying. a nd reachi ng a " feeling" about something ca lled gymnasli<:s. When this sponta neous appreciatiu n for a pa rti<:ular ex perience uccurs. the ex peri ence manifes ts aesthetic qualities. and no thing is truely "an" ex peri en<:e unless it is ruundedwith this quality of a ppre<:iati ve percei"ing and enjuyi ng.

Bob Henne<:ke

QUA NT ITY SMALL". QUA LITY BIG

Dea r Mr. Sundby. I am writing this letter to te ll yuu abuut uur

newly fo rmed wumen's gymnasti<:s team at Auburn Uni versi ty in Auburn . Alabama. Although small in qua ntity (uur tea m cuns is ts uf only three gil'is). we a re working ha rdtu be big in quality' We bega n as a team last yea r a nd had only one meet (a dual m ee(. whi ch we wun), but thi s yea r we will be cumpeting with many ut her teams from a ll over the suutheast". I wuuld upprec iute it if yuu wuu ld put in u "plug" for our ' tea m in Gymnast . and especiu lly for our Coa<:h Ed Bengston. whom we love very much. Thank you' sincerely, N uncy Schneider Birminglwm, Alabama

58

INSTRUCTION ? !

Dea r Mr. Sundby . Seeing as your m agaz ine is finding it ha rder to

find good instructiona l articles , we, the membe rs of Troup 2817, have decided to submit the following article (the first of m a ny. if possible.)

Re: The Entity of the Biosynthes is of the Creation of an Aes thetica lly Pleas ing Sense of Balance as it Rela tes to the Geographic Kines iology of Enthropy in Terms of DeBroglie Wavelengths using Eigenvectors a nd LaPlace Transforms Describing the Single Leg Tramlot Down .

It has come to our attention in recent weeks. after months of grueling competition around the country. tha t there is a serious defi ciency in the proper technique while executing the Single leg tram lot down. One should beat in mind the socio­economic implications in this potenti a lly useless combina tion. However. the comic benefits of thi s move wi ll brighten up any olympic caliber pommel horse routine. or . in short . add the sp ice of life to yo ur breakfast.

I'm reminded of the story of the pommel horse specia list who walked into a bar wi th an a lligator under his arm . Of course , this has nothing to do with the a forementioned topic -- whatever that was. And so. in conclusion , one must keep in mind at a ll times the following eq uation:

lL is now obvious that up until now this move has been tremendous ly misunderstood. The iJbove Simplification of the technical execution of this part of no va lue should encourage coaches who, up until now, have s hyed away from this ellusive move to continue to shy away from this ellusive move. F inally. the gym nast s hould a lways keep in mind that... "" a m a n may work from sun to sun but a wom a ns work is never done ."

Sincerely, Troup 2817 Ames. Iowa 50010

ONE FLAW

Dear MI'. Sundby: I am a su bscriber to your magazine. & I think

it' s abso lute ly fa nt as ti c, Your best ~t!c tion is the "Club Corner". parti <: ularly the one in the June/ July issue on the Denver School of Gym nustics . which I aLLend. The a rtiele was completely accurate , except for one nail'. On puge 41. you showed a small pidure of" girl in the splits on the beulll . The <:a ption said she was Henee Huck, but it was a~tua ll y Trish Heed. Thanks lor a great mugazllle. Si ncerely. Liese Dall Commerce City , Colo.

MY COACH

Dear Mr. Sundby: Since you're interes ted in gymnas ti cs and

coaching I would like to tell you a bout my coach. She won't let you play a round. H som ething needs to be done she'll make you do it. But she's not m ea n' Our team has fun' We kid each other a lot and she gi ves us days oil because she believes yo u can get tired of gymnas tics and you need resl.

The team isn't even a yea r old now but I believe we've come a long way. We have a small gym and we a re trying to ra ise enough money to buy a free exercise mal. Beca use of this m y coach has had to ma ke a ll kinds of ar ra ngements so we <:ould do things to raise money. She is married but she still gives her team much time and devotion like the team tries to do to her. Her name is Mrs. Leuh Fryman. I hopt! a ll gym nasts are able to have a coach li ke her. I hope I'm like her some day. . Sincerely, Melanie All Lex ington. Kentucky

AN OLD FHIEND REPLIES

Dear Glenn : Thank you for your thoughLlul sending of the old

materiul back to m e. As you wrote it brings a lillie hi s tory back to me. The early days of the MG. and the chi ldhood of American gymnu~ ti <:s. We cUllle a long way s ince. GYlllnasti<:s in Ame ri <:u has gro\vn many fo lds and it is not within my ub ility anymore to put my finger on the pulse of Ihe everyday gymnastic a<:livity. lL has grown into a mons ter. I am sure the USG F could eom e up with u better s tatistical e"a lu ation of the actua l growth thun anyone else. This growth. e~pe<: i a ll y in women's gymnas tics. will definitely bring success and reeognition for Ame rica in interna tional competitions in a time not too far ilway.

It is alway~ nice to hea r from you even thoug h our association is di seontinued. Perhups no ut her fador stopped me to write 1'01' you th" n ag ing. " cynical displeasure \\'ith the world in gener"l und with the inner-politi <:s of gym na~ti c~ in particuklr. We all went through such lows in re<:ent yea rs. thu s perhaps my lack of enthusiusm cu n a lso be forgi ven. I ellll no mort! a pioneer bannerholder as I wa~. I have understood the futi lity of one-man fight~ . There are currents on ly. big pOjJu lar movem ents which a re unres pons ive to indi vidual d forts.

Now I am onesidedly concerned with the grass root developmental gymnas ti c:; "lone. This is whe re gymnas ts are born a nd s tur ted towa rd greutness. not un the co llege level where the honors are dispensed . Ther'e are plenty of people who need to talk and write about gymnastics . They do not do a bad job at " ll : I prder to be an observer no \\'. maybe not even that. I am convinced that internation"l gymna~tics. the trends are not in the bes tcultural -edul:utional-and hea lth-intere:;t of the people involved: they a re <:a rri ed away by intern ationa l power-politics and not by sound phys ieal edueational conside rutions. Gymnastics 1'01' the Illasse~ should be bused on other principle~ 'Illd the goals ~ hould enrieh the live~ of those tens of thousands who pa rti cipate. ruther than wreck the phys ique and the mind of com petitors who try to eurn u meda l in the international arena.

With s incere personal regard ~. as eve r Jim I'a rkas Phys ica l Diredur. Mi lwa ukee 'l'ul'lle rs Mi lwaukee. Wiscons in

ED: Thanks Jim in your ownll'ay you still throw a good punch ... To our newel' readers Jim Farkas was a great assist to GYMNAST during its formati\'e years \I'ith fin e instructional a rticles , technica l assistance and encouragement. Another imponant contribution to grassroots gymnastics was his excellent instruc tional text a nd drawings published by the USGF as their Age­Group Gymnastics Workbook.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

GAHY POSTEH

I am writing in refe rem;e to the cente r/old ul Gary Mora va in the Oct. '73 issue of Gymnast". Is there a possibility of m ak ing a puste r of that center/old. Gary was the coolest. toughest gymnast I' ve ever m et and I think that 's a reall y sharp picture. Thanh Pierce Brown III . AA Cincinnati. Ohio

ED: Because of this and other similar req uests we are considering m a king a m emorial poster of the University Games photo of Gary, taken in Moscow, with the proceeds going to the Morava Fund at SIU .

SWEDISH THOOP Hello:

We a re a gymnast ic society in Sweden , who would be much obliged if yo u can help us with som e contacts in USA a nd Canada . Contacts , where we can do PH for Sweden.

He re is some inform a tion a bout our troops. We ha ve a troop for men, who last yea r becam e the troop champion of the Scandinavia. Most of these m en a re al so ve ry good in gymnastic compcti ti on. We ha ve a ls o tr oops for girl s , who a re in the Swedis h top-class .

Our gymnastic soc ie ty is the onl y one which has taken pan in a ll Swed ish Champion Competi tion for t roops rrum the beg inning. Our gymnas tic soci ety was rounded in the yea r 1899 unde r the nam e Vaste ras Gymlws tik-ro rening. (Vas te ras , is a town in the middl e or the Sweden. a bout 110 miles rrom Stockhulm .)

I would be ve ry thankrul if yo u ca n send som e interested pa rt y addresses on to me.

Yours s ince re ly ,

Roll Eriksson Bof'inksl' agcn 41 724 70 Vas te ras Sweden

E D. Inter es ted clubs are encouraged tu write to Mr. Eriksson for more information.

TOGETHEHNESS

Dea r Mr. Sundby : E nclused <Ire twu photos . . or the Firs t Prize

winning rl o<lt \\'hi ch was ente red in the s uburb' s a nnua l Ind ependence Da y parade by a g roup or yuung gymnasts lrom Wyumi ng. Ohiu.

The t111'm e or the pa ra de in thi s centenni a l ye'lr lI'as, "Wyom ing, Queen o r Suburbs" - (Wyom ing is a suburb or Cincinn'lti. whi ch is ca lled " The Queen City", The rl oat. all rac ti ve ly a nd dynamic'lll y promoted gy mnas ti cs as a s po rt whi ch Wyom ing High School should a dopt. A balance beam 11" 1$ the ru nc tional e lement ty ing the High School (Irunt) uni t a nd gy mnast ics (rear) unit togethe r The g irl s a re members or the POII'e! Cros ley Branch. YMCA Girls Gymna st ics Team. They 'I nd their rI oa t we re roundl y a ppl auded ,Ill a long the pa rade route .

Curdia ll y yours . Fred H. Luhm a n Gi rl s Gymn as ti cs Cuach Wyoming. Ohio

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Ol-"I-"I ':I \ L JU I'U I\ .\1. uF

I 1ft A !,, ~O C I.\TIU'l O F A C RURATS

MOV ING

Dea r Glenn : I will be moving to Australi a the end or July , it is

my intention to open m y own ac roba tic studio there.

All Assoc ia tion and Edi to ri a l m a tters will be ca rri ed on rrom the follo wing address:

3 Algona Stree t Bilgo la P lateau New South Wales 2107 Our Acrobatics m agaz ine will continue to be

printed in the U. K. until s uch tim e as I a m a ble to get it dea lt with in m y new s urroundings.

I hope tha t we can keep in to uch.

Sincere ly, Ralph Sa muels Middl esex. E ngland

ED . Editor Samuels Acrobatics magazine just celebrated its' 20th year or publication. Itl'ea tures news or a mateur and profess ional acrobatic acts through out the world". for subscription information IITite to :

Acrobatics 27 Bridge Way Twickenha m, Middlesex England

By Dick Criley The American AII-Around--Gymnastics For

Young Men Produced by Media Services, Eastern Michigan Uni versity, Ypsilanti , Michican, 48197 . 22 min. sound. color. Re ntal inquiry invited.

Back in the late '60 ' s, Dr. Marvin Johnson publi shed a pair of booklets, " Illustrated Graded G ymna st ic Routines " and " Programmed Basic G ymnastic Routines. " After several further yea rs of testing and evaluating, he persuaded EM U's Media Services to produce a film using his A-B-C-D and elite leve l routines.

Ordinaril y suc h a film might seem dull in concept; after all, gymnastics is supposed to be dynamic, full of flair and difficulty. But to 'a novice, such exercises ma y not allow him to identify w ith th e spo rt. Th e illu strated routines of Dr. Johnson allow this identity-making, yet portra y the preg ression gym nas ts take to reach the top. Th e re we re no specia l subj ects sought; a ll e xe rcises are portrayed by gymna sts of that particular skill leve l. I wo uld guess that the leve l of orientation for PE c la sses is about the junior high grades.

However, to say th a t, is to overlook the entertainm e nt va lu e of th e film. It is about th e right le ngth to use as a program for PTA and se rvice clubs. In color a nd w ith a musical so und track shou c l find a wo rthwhil e use in spark ing community in terest in gymnast ics for boys.

ClAssifiEd WOULD YOU LIKE TO COMMUNICA n WITH

THE READERS OF "GYMNAST"? "GYMNAST CLASSIFIED" , a rno nthl y' feature, is your­oppon ullit )'. R,lIe!> Me 20CI per word fo r the firsI 25 words {$S .OO m in imum) .1I1(l l OCi. lur eJ( h <ludi l ioll.ll word. (Adsdfeaccep l ed <11 tilt' J i~nelion 011/1(' pu b lisher). Check or money arder must uCTOm pJIlY (Op ), JIHJ be received prior to the closi ng ual e . which I ~ the 101h 01 the month preceding iss ue date. Se nd o rdpl !> 10 CI,I:)~iticd D ept., "GYMNAST" MJgJlinc. P.O. Hox 11 0. $,IIlI<.l MOlli("<1. CA 90406. Endospd is m y <.ld.

FOR SALE: Immed iately - o ne Ameri can Free Exercise Rug Mar. Blue in color, complete w ith the foam. One yea r o ld an d in excel lent shape. Ca ll: Colorado Springs. Colo rado (303) 591 -2601 o r (303) 596-0H51, or wr il e Mr. Bill Brooks, 3835 Radiant Drive ; 649, Colorado Sprin gs, Colo rado 8091 7. POSITION AVAILABLE: Needed pari-time ex perienced gymnast ic coach fo r girls classes and team. Conta ct Fred Fa ll on, YMCA, 137 Lexington St reet, Woburn, Mass. 01B01 , o r call (61 7) 935-3270.

59

60

Ale GYMNASTICS ETC, INC

THE FIRST GYMNASTICS STORE AND OFFICE IN NEW ENGLAND

featuring

SUPER SERVICE IN LEOTARDS All Si zes, Colors, Styles MENS COMPETITIVE UNIFORMS WARM UP SUITS Tapered and Fl ared TENNIS WARMUPS SWIMWEAR ACCESSORIES

FIG BOOKS COACHING BOOKS flOOR EX RECORDS T-SHIRTS & TROPHIES EMBLEMS AND JEWElRY CHALK AND POSTERS

INFORMATION ON: CAMPS SCHOOLS All COMPETITIONS JUDGES CLINICS AND SERVICES

Write or Call: AIC GYMNASTICS, ETC, INC

Suite 110 2 Mack Road

Woburn, Ma. 01801 Tel. 617 - 933-6250

OLYMPISCHET TURNKUNS

For coaches and active gymnasts.

"Olympische Turnkunst" is th e int ernati ona l professiona l journa l for both wom en and m en in th e sport of gymnastics. Each iss ue is printed in three languages - Engli sh, German, and French. Fea tured are report s, result s, analysis, and instruction . Ma ny ph otos. High quality paper. " Ol ympi sche Turnkun st" appears four timesper yea r, conta ins 32 pages, and is edited by Dr. Joseph Goe hler . recogni zed gymnas tics expert. Annua l subscripti o ns, 28 OM (Deutsc h Marks), foreign draft, obtainable at your bank. Write to Pohl­Verlag, 0-31 Ce li e, Postfach 103, West Germany.

WRONA'S Gymnastic Apparel

RD =1 Elmbroo k Vill age Beaver fall s. PA 15010

412846-7078

All GYMNASTIC NEEDS Serving

Pittsburgh and Tri-State Area

30 Years Experience

Atkinson, John GYMNASTICS, A programme of development for schools and colleges, BI P Reinforced Produ cts Ltd ., England , 1972, 174 p.

Although J. Atkinson is only mentioned as "compil er " on pa ge two of this book among th e names of a number of ve ry prai sewo rth y technical co ll aborato rs, such as Bob Currier, th e full credit of this new and excellent volume shou ld go to "a utho r" Atkinson. We are especially happy to be able to review this wo rk not onl y beca use a warm and friend ly relationship has ex isted for man y yea rs betwee n Atkinson as well as Currier and myself, but also beca use this book is worth reviewing. Th e way in w hich the material has been presented is origina l. Apparent ly neither money nor effort was lack ing to add a personal and original stamp on a book that eve ry male gymnast ic coach should possess.

Th e programme fo r th e four O lympi c apparatus plus f loor and vau lting co ntain s exe rcises in six grades: three grades fo r children (9-12 yrs; 13 + yea rs; 14 + yea rsJ and three grades for yo uth (14 + yea rs; 15 + yea rs and 16 + ).

In th e ea rl y chap ters the autho r devotes a number of pa ges to general and specifi c tests w ith norms for each age group and to flexib ility exe r cises. Thr o u gh tech ni ca ll y goo d photographs many flexibi lity exe rcises for shoulders, trunk , hips, w ri sts, legs and ankles have bee n p erfec tly demonstrated by some yo ung and apparantl y talented youngsters.

Furthermore a section on strength and endurance has been provided as well as a chapter on coach ing. At this point th e author expla ins his personal philosophy on coaching. He uses the chr isti an name Patri ck, each le tte r of w hi ch fo rms a number of qualiti es describing (what we co uld ca ll ) th e personalit y - pro fil e of a gymnast.

We beli eve that in particular thi s chapter is ve ry success ful , because between th e many methodological tips a person al and moti va ting cl imate has been c reated. .

It is a book that we strongly recommended to eve ry mal e gymnas ti cs coach.

Dr. J. Borms ! ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

BOOKS POSTERS JEWELRY

412 Broadway Ca. 90406

SPKIAL PRICE

" I WANT GOLD" (Keg . $4 .951 4.50 MAGIC Of GYMNASTICS (Reg. $6.951 4.95 STILL RINGS SKILLS AND TKHNIQUES

(hdrd Bound Reg. $6.95 ) 5.50 (Salt Bound Reg. $5.001 3.95

POSTERS NAKA Y AMA full Color Poster 23".35"

(Reg. $2.00)

CATHY RIGBY full Color Poster 23".35" (Reg . $2.00)

JEWElRY STAG HANDSTAND NKKLACE

1.50

1.50

3.95

..•............•...••.•••••.......••••••. GYMNAST Oct. '74

,\\eet I~esilits VERMONT STATE GIRLS' CHAMPIONSHIPS Saturday, March 23 - Essex Junctio n High

School, Essex Junct ion, VI.

Team: Essex Junction Education Center; South Burlington High School. AA:Joanne Murra y (Essex Junction ). UPS : Rachel Backmon (Union 32) 7.15; Susan Dumas (Harwood) 6.9; Debbie Anger (Burlington) 6.7; Sue Thaeder (Woodstock) 6.65; Kim Dunkley (5. Burlington) 6.6; Joanne Murray (Essex Junction) 6.6. V: Ann Hayes (5. Burlington) 8.05; Janet Lynch (Burlington ) 7.8; Maureen Hennessey (Essex Junction ) 7.65; Pam Richards (Essex Junction ) 7.65; tunice flanders (Un ion 32) 7.1; Joanne Murra y 7.0. FX: Ann Hayes 8.2; Evelyn Germain (5. Burlington ) 8.15; Janet Lynch 8.15; Belinda Emerson (Burlington) 7.85; Carol rolino (Essex Junct ion) 7.75; Peri Chickering (Union 32) 7.3. SS: Joanne M urray 8.3; I:.ve lyne Germain 8.0 ; Maureeen Henessey 7.7; Kim M ye tte (5 . Hurlington) 7.6S; Bel inda l:.merson 7.45; Peri Chickering 7.4.

1974 Class II STATE MEET fresno. Ca. M ay 3, 4, & 5 1974

Top 3 teams: Mid Valley Y 335.40; KIPS 329.50; Aztec, 323.65. Senior Division: AA: Graff (WH ). 65.40; Sch ul er (MV) 65.25; Rock (55) ) 65.15; Schack Ie, (lan) 64.75; Buchanan (Aim) 64.75; Potter (55)) 64.50. BB: Fisher (NU) 16.55; Potter 16.30; Schacher (Mont. ) 16.20; William, (Pip) 16.20; Schuber (MYV) 16.20; Hand (stats) 16.05; Rock 16.05. FX: 8eam (Heck ',) 17.25; Potter 17.15; Chan (San Raf) 17.10; Schyler (MYV) 17.00; Rock 16.95. UPB: Ken ejZ (MVY) 16.90; Buchanan (Aim ) 16.80; Wellington (Heck's) 16.80; Evanson (KIPS) 16.60; johnson (SCATS) 16.60; schuber (MYV) 16.50. V: Skyles (Gym West) 17.30; Priest (Diablo) 17.15; Graff (W. H.) 16.85; A tlas (Aim) 16.85; Wellington (Heck's) 16.85; TuHanelli fBur) 16.85.

WRITE FOR:

(1) Illustrat ion of Medals. (2) Pricing Information. (3) Handy Order

Form.

FEMALE

DIEGES & CLUST

Junior Division: AA : Hayashida (la n) 68.80; floyd (Red) 66.75; DeWalt (Vega,) 66.30; Ruhlman (MYV) 66.20; Gould (KIPS) 66.20; Hall (Unatt.) 65.90. UPB: Haya,hida 17.85; Hall 17.30; Ruhlman 17.20; flo \'d 17.10; Abbott (Diab) 17.00; Pi erce (M YV) 16.90. B: Tanaka (Sac Y) 17.1 0; Casse lman (S.c. ) 16.90; Ahern (55)) 16.60; Moore (sD Y) 16.40; floyd 16.40; T. Quan (Sac Y) 16.35. V: Hayashida 17.85; DeWalt 17.50; Pittard (Heck',) 17.30; Tanaka 17.10; Gould 17.10; Schneider (Kips) 16.85. fX: Hayashida 17.55; Turner (SCATS) 17.40; Moore 17.15; Peters (MYV) 17.10; Ruhlman 17.10; Pi erce 17.05; N iel,on (MYV) 17.05.

Children's Division : AA : Mula (MYV) 33.35; lone, (Kips) 33.00; S. Quan (Sac Y) 32.70; I, himoto (flip) 32.55; Woodburn (stats) 32.45; Yunker (S.D. Y.) 32.00. V: Wh itacre (letes) 8.25; Quan 8.20; Garcia (Diablo) 8.20; Ishimoto 8.05; Vie t (Flip) 8.00; Ross (flip ) 8.00. UPB : l one, (Kips) 9.15; W il, on (Kips) 8.80; Mula 8.70; Sender (MVY) 8.55; Woodburn 8.55; Sutherland (S.c.) 8.55. B: Mula 8.35; Harrington (S tats) 8.35; Quan 8.15; Reed (s.D.Y.) 8.05; Painter (A im) 8.00; W est (Fre, no) 7.95; Tanaka (Penn Ky,) 7.95; Schwandt (Jetes) 7.95; Woodburn 7.95; Jones 7.95. FX: Yunker (s .D.Y. ) 8.60; Ross (Flip) 8.5; Mula 8.5; Sender 8.45; Woodburn 8.45; Quan 8.40.

What a crow o f talented, beautiful gi rl s, and what a crow of talented , young coaches. And w hat a crowd of girls moving up to class I! !!! Accordi ng to my coun t, 63 girls M UST move up to Class I. How InlnY MAY move up? Al so received several letters from coaches who questioned the lega lity of several clubs from one area competing all their girls under one name ... something for the coaches associa tion to ponder on.

Sequence of Each Event is

Illustrated in these Unique Medals.

PUBLIC STREET, PROVIDENCE, R.1. 02905

GYMNAST Oct. '74

VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPS

Upon returning to school for the new year I recei ved my back issues of Gymnast. I hope it is not to late to enter our Stale meet results. Va rina High School is located in Richmond, Va. for the pa st two years Va rina 's gymnastic learn has wo n th e Di st rict , Sectiona l, and Stale Championships. This was done by only 4 gymnasts, all who areall around. In Virginia teams are limited to only four entries per event per team.

Not only have these girls won the A-AA division championship but ha ve raised over $4,000.00 to purchase their own equipment. It would mean a great deal to them to ha ve their meet results published in Gym nast.

Thank you , Mrs. Judy Courtney Coach, Varina High School Richmond, Virginia

P.S. W e love our Gymnast magaz in e.

Team Scores: Var ina 155.60; Dublin 115.025. All-Around: D. Garber (V) 55.30; H. Mclemore (V) 52.50; C. Reynold, (V) 46.40; B. Manahan (V) 43.75; B. Dornermuth (Bla ) 39.90; K. Dunavant (Dub) 34.45. Vaulling: B. Mclemore (V) 12.30; D. Garber (V) 12.15; K. A nch (BR ) 12.00; l. Carl,on (8R ) 11.10; S. Su ll ivan (Pul) 10.35; K. Bowles (Dub) 10.10. Bars: D. Garber (V) 15.10; B. McLemore (V) 13.55; C. Reynolds (V) 12.10; s. Li , key (TA) 11 .50; D. Dornerrn uth (Bla ) 10.30; l. Kid (8Ia ) 9.70. Balance Beam: D. Garber (V) 14.35; 8. Manahan (V) 13.85; B. Mclemore (V) 13.30; C. Reynold, (V) 13.30; L. Mabry (Gle) 11.00;). Walker (Bla) 10.50. floor Exerci,e: D. Garber (V) 13.70; B. \cLemore (V) 13.35; B. Manahan (V) 12.80; l. Stone (WB) 12.75; C. Reynold, (V) ;2.60; l. Bryant (l.c.) 12.05; T. O'Dell (Pul ) 12.05.

KEY : Bla - Blackburg; BR - Broad Run ; Dub - Dublin; G - Glenvar ; L.c. - loudoun County; Pul - Pula ski ; TA - Turner Ashby; V­Va rina; WB - ,",Vil/iam Byrd.

TAFT L.A. CITY GIRLS CHAMPIONS The Taft rligh School Girls Gymnastics

Team lead by their excellent coach, l'v1rs. Sh irl ey Ruhlman, is a very happy and proud group of girl' this year. Out of a to tal of 21 girls on their team, 16 of them qualified for the city final s.

In class three, Paige Tipton was the only double winner. She pla ced first in the uneven bars event with an excellent score of 8.30 another first in va ulting w ith a score of 8.00. Going on to free exercise, there was a tie for first place between l aura Lumsden and Lori Mendes with a top score of 8.25. Taft 's Sue Spillman placed fourth in this event with a score o f 8.20. O ver again to vault ing, Ceci Maron placed third with a good score of 7.85 . Paige Tipton had the highest score w ith her 8.30.

In th e intermediate class IWO , Sue levine placed fi rst all -around with an impressive top score of 60.00. She placed first in va ulting with a score of 17.15, the highes l score in the class two catagory. She also placed second on free exercise w ith a score of 16.00. Geo rgia Sasvary, with a score of 16.15, placed third in va ulting and a second in balance beam with a good score of 15.40. She took a fif th place in free exercise w ith a 15.75. Claudia Connell y , a senior, now graduated, placed fourth in balance beam wi th a score of 14.40.

In the advanced class on e catagory, Robyn Durham placed third in the all -around wi th a score of 59.20. She p laced first in vaulting with an impressive score of 15.90. She also placed third in balance beam with a score of 13.50 and free exercise with a score of 16.60. Her score on uneven paralle l ba rs, 13.20, gave her the fourth place pOSi tion. _

Taft is now the number one tea m in the city, ha ving not lost one practice meet. not one league meet, leading in semifinals and becomi ng the top girls gymna stics tea m in the city of Los A ngeles w ith their very excellen t and impressive team score of 331.25. EI Camino Real High School placed second with a score of 255.80.

Without Mrs. Ruhlman, their coach, the tea m could have never done it. She helped them during school, after school and on holida}'s and weekend s. She had open workouts for her team as well as other h igh school competitors in the city league.

Congratulations again, Taft High School's Girls Gymnastics Team in becoming the cit y's number one gymnast ics team .

FEMININE GYMNASTICS

Second Edition By Phyllis Cooper, Trenton State College

"Best basic women's gymnastic book available on the market. Includes very good section on dance as well as skills on each event. "

From fundamentals to routines for competition, Femi­nine Gymnastics describes skill analysis, common errors by beginners, and spotting techniques . The second edition covers locomotor, tumbling, and acrobatic skills; floor exercises; balance beam; uneven parallel bars; side horse vaulting; and, in a new chapter, the tram pol ine. Of special interest to gymnastic teachers and coaches is the chapter on organi zing and directing a meet. 1973; 8'h x 11"; 256 pp; highly illustrated with over 260 drawings; spiral; $6.75

Order from Dept. G 1074

BURGESS PUBLISHING COMPANY 7108 Ohms Lane. Minneapolis, MN 55435

61

Beams For Homes & Gyms For Less Than $100.00

• Laminated Wood Beams

• Padded Beams • Carpeted Beams • With Training Stripe • Gym Mats & Pads

Oibson Oyr.o.nas tic

Supplies

For Information - Call or Write

5734 Shasta Circle Littleton, Colo. 80123 - Ph. (303) 893-6969

WRITE FOR COMPLETE DANCE OR RECORD CATALOGUE.

Catalogues available to teachers and directors ONLY. Please include school name and position.

OFFICE LOCATIONS TO SERVICE YOU

ART STONE THEATRICAL CORP.

NEW YORK: 200 Engineers Rd . Smithtown -11787

MISSOURI: 10021 Highway 66 St. Louis-63126

GEORGIA: 3007 North Druid Hills Rd. Atlanta-30329

SCORE TODAY WITH ... RECOMMENDED IV

UNITED STATES

GYMNASTIC FEDERATION

@V

Peds the original maker of foot socks, offer "GYM GIRL", lightweight sock, made for snug comfort and sure-footed performance, (50% cotton - 50% stretch nylon) . Ask for GYM GIRL Peds at your nearest athletic equipment store or use our convenient order form below.

SCORE 3 WAYSI 1. A sure-footed performance. 2. A special 40% discount for club or schOOl group orders. 3 . . .. and for every package of GYM GIRL Peds sold, "Peds" will make a contribution to the USGF to help gymnasts compete in Inter­national Competition. Suggested retail price 7ge pair

r-----------------------------------------, Peds Products Inc., p.o . BO X 5407 , RIVERSIDE , CALIF. 92507

Please send the following. . .. . . . pairs size A (Fits 8-9V2) ... ..... ... pairs size B (Fits 10-11 V2 ) Minimum order 12 pairs - $5.65 (Calif. residents add 5% sales tax) Amount enclosed $. . . . . . . . . . .. . ... (No COD's please)

CLUB OR SCHOOL.

ADDRESS

CITY

I I I I I I I I I

STATE . . .. ZiP .. ... .... :

I l ______________________________________ ___ ~

ORIGINAL REUTHER PRODUCTS! DESIGNED FOR INCREASED SAFETY

AND PROTECTION FOR GYMNASTS.

NEW VINYL BALANCE BEAM

A one inch layer of specially formulated cushioning mat· erial is laminated into the beam to give greater comfort and protection during long hours of training.

" QUALITY IS A LIFETIME PARTNER"

'MUNICH MODEL' ORIGINAL REUTHER BOARD

BUILT TO MEET NEW SPECIFICATIONS

GIVING GREATER LIFT.

OLYMPIC SPIETH ANDERSON DEALER ENQUIRIES INVITED

OL YMPIC - SPIETH - ANDERSON LTD. WAREHOUSES :

P.O. BOX 40, ORILLlA, ONTARIO, CANADA.

LV36H9

A OuiCk Performance Check '0

for Your Nissen Mats Your Nissen tumbling , wrestling, and floor exercise mats are the finest qual ity available. However, the protec­tive value of any filler or foam can diminish over a period of time. These mats should be inspected regularly for soft spots that may develop and be kept serviceable with firm foam.

Why not take 10 seconds now to try the Thumb and Ruler Test. Place a six-inch wood dowel , one-half inch in diameter, in representative areas of the mat. If the dowel can be pressed downward with your thumb (using moderate pressure) below the bottom edge of the ruler when the ruler is placed across the dowel, further investi­gation is indicated. You should call our TOLL FREE phone number listed below for additional information.

930 27TH AVENUE S.W., CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA 52406

Region 1-Mass., Conn., Vermont, N. Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . Phone: 413/ 733-7927

Region 2-Pennsylvania, NYC, L. Island, Delaware, New Jersey .. . . . ..... . 0 •••• Phone: 800/ 638-9170 S.C., N.C., Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Virginia ....... ... .. ..... . ... Phone: 800/ 638-9190 In Maryland, D.C. . .... . .. 0 •• • • • 0 •••• 0 •• 0 • • ••••••••••• 0 •• • • • • •• " Phone: 263-5685

Region 3-Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky, W. Va., Tenn • .. ... . ... Phone: 800/ 348-2814 In Indiana .. . .... . . . . . . .... . . ... 0 •••••••• • •• • •• 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• Phone: 800/ 552-7826

Region 4-Minn., Missouri, N.D., S.D., Kan., Nebr., Ark., Miss., Okla., Texas, La. . . Phone: 800/ 553-7991 In Iowa .. . ... . . . ... . ... ...... .. .... .. . ... . . . .... . .. . . .. . . .. 0 • •• Phone: 319/ 365-7561

Region 5-0re., Wash., Cal., Col.; N. Mex., Ariz., Idaho, Nev., Utah, Mont., Wyo. .. Phone: 800/ 553-7901 In Alaska, Hawaii .... . . . ..... 0 0 0 0 • 0 ••••••• •••• •• • 0 • •••• 0 ••• •• ••• Phone: 319/ 365-7561