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LETTERS Dear Sirs: I am coaching a gymnastics club and find that the sequence and still ph ot os of various rOll tines are quite usefu I as a teac hing device . Also, if you could send me NCAA or Olympic rulings on apparatus spec ifications for both men an d women I would greatly appreciate it. Th e kind of specifications to which I am r e f e rring are such things as equipment dimen s ions (i.e., length of beam , h eight of b eam when worked, height of h orse when vaulted). Al so, may I have r outine s p ec ification for both men's and women ' s events (either Olympic and/ol' NCAA)specifications s uch as number and typ es of movements involved in completing a routine. Thank you .West Liberty State College Sincerely, Jack Osmon West Liberty, W. Va. 26074 Ed: Here are the F.I.G. beam specifications as a starter. Balance Beam (Specifications of the 1965 F.I.G. Technical Committee) Material: 'Vooden beam, working s urface smooth but not slippery 2 feet of steel or gray pig iron. 1. The a ngles must be slightly round e d , see 1 2. The h eight o f the beam mu st be a djus t a bl e from 800 to 1200 mm at 50 mm intervals. (From 31.49 in. to 47.24 in. at 1.96 in. intervals). 3. Th e beam must not v ibra te on the uprights when in use. 4. The d esign for the f eet or the m eans for joining th e beam to the uprights must a llow s light irregulariti es on the ground t o b e cancelled out. 5. The feet must h ave grooved rubber pads or rubber s hock -absorbers 3. Th e m easurements a nd dimension s s hown in the a bove s k etches must be strictly adhered to. Testing the apparatus: 1. With t h e beam set at a heig ht of 1200 mm (47.24 in.) a test weight of 135 kg. (302.48 lbs.) placed in the middle of the beam, mu s t produce a maximum sag of 8 mm (approx. 5/16 in.) (see 1). 2. With the beam set at a h e ight of 1200 mm a (test) weight of 150 kg. (330.69 Ibs.) placed on the beam in th e axis of one of the uprights (see left hand side of the sketch) placed on rigid ground, must produce a m ax imum depression of th e upright of 2 mm (approx. 5/64 in.) . Balance Beam (Complement to F.I.G. Specifications, dated January 20, 1967) The beam u sed until now was n ever quite as stable as one w,ould h ave like d b ecause of the impossibility of finding a method of fixing it to the ground without interfe ring with its function. The m an ufacturer Richard Reuther has now f ound a solution to this problem which e n s ures absolute stability without fixin g to th e gnound, a stab ility guaranteed during th e mos t difficult exercises. Furthermor e, this new apparatus considerably redu ces the ris k of accidents and also f acilitates tra n s port since the apparatus need n o t b e take n to pieces. Balance Beam During the last few yars, wom e n 's gymnastics on the beam have made enormo us progress. Today's world class gymnast~ present exerci ses which experts wou ld h ave c onsidered impossible o nly a few years ago. The development makes greater demands on the beam itself, especially as rega rds the following: a ) Sta bility of the apparatus b) Elimination of the risk of accidents arising from the increas ing difficulty of the exercises. c ) Ease of transport for the apparatus when set up and r eady for u se. d) W -ell-planned manufacture in view o f the possibility of new kinds of exercises. The c r eation of a new base largely fulfills these conditions. Th e beam is pla ced on 4 f ee t (foundation plates) in the n e utra l zone. . l.e. underneath the ends of the beam. This arrangement in creases stability to m a ximum and requires no special
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presente d r e presentatio n of Gymn astics. I h ave hope d for this often and wish to let you know that one person appreciates it and th a nks you. Some of the articles I thought were good would be "Let' s Go All-Aro und" , "All-Around the World" and "Conditioning fo r Competition." Th e drawings a nd s k e tc h es w e re generally inte r es ting but p e rhaps too large in number. Even so your magazine could be improved . Some suggestions of min e a re to print some of the top routin es in words a nd pictures a nd then - have a c riti cal analysis of the routines . Anoth er article mig ht be o ne where actual judges t e ll what th ey look for a nd what they don't want t o see in routines o n the diffe r ent events. I think thi s type of a rtic le wou ld be much appreciated by many gymnasts tha t s ubscribe to your magazin e . I offer these thoughts ou t of the d esire to n e rhaps in a s mall way be able to c ontribute to and improve the Modern Gymnast Jn agazin e.
Sincerely. Lucky Holloway W a ukesha, Wisco n s in 53186 ED. Constructive advice is always appreci. ated . fixture s. The free a r ea underneath the bean1 is a noth er con s id erable advan t age as it can be complete ly cover ed with a fall mat. Eac h foot mu s t h ave a swi p e mechanism so that th e ap p a r atus can be m oved by one p er son when set up. Regulations Materials: for base : s teel for b eam : wood 1. The h eight of the b eam mus t b e from 1000 to 1200 mm (39.37 in. t o 47.24 in .) adjustable in sections of 100 mm (approx. 3 15 / 16 in .) a nd th e a dju s ting m echanism mu s t no t lesse n the efficiency of the blocking during u se. The b eam mu s t not v ibra t e o n the uprights. 2. The feet or the joints b e tween the bea m and the uprig hts must be m a de in such a w ay as to compe n sate f or s light irregularities in th e flo or . 3. The stability of th e apparatus le ngthwise and transver sa lly r e quires the beam to rest on 2 x 2 s tru t s. 4. These struts are p laced und er th e two ends of the b eam so that th e area under the beam can b e co mpletely covered with !l- f a ll-ma t . . Conversion fro m metrIc to EnglIsh measure: Length in Length in (Feet) Inches Millimeters 16.40 196. 85 5000 29.72 755 29.53 750 15.75 400 8. 66 220 6.29 160 5.12 130 3.93 100 2.36 60 approx. 1/8 3 approx 5/ 64 2 appro' •. 1/ 32 1 Dea r Sir·s: I subscribe to the Modern Gym nast magazine and enjoy r eading it. Th e November issue, was in my opinion s up erior to the previous editions of the Modern Gymnast. I feel that perhaps your magazine has now come of a ge and is not only a picture magazine but is a n intelligen tly
Dear Glenn, May I t a k e this opportunity to thank yo u on b e h a lf of t he Canadian gym n astic fra t e rnity for the assistance y ou a nd y our magazine h as b een to th e Sport in Can a d a in th e past years. Allowing the "Canadian Report" to be publi s hed in your excell ent m agaz in e has assisted u s here in Canada t o unify a nd <>o mmunicat e. It h as als o allowed u s to ta k e our place in the International s cen e a nd h as given educators, coach es a nd oth e r s a n opportunity t o learn abou tour prog r ess in gymn as tics and in m a n y cases encouraged th em to e migrate to Can ada. Th a nk yo u G le n n a nd Barbara. May I wish you a nd yo ur wife a very HAPPY NEW YEAR from the gymnastic a dminis trato r s, coaches and gymnasts o f Canada. Sincerely yours, John Noon ey ED: It has only been possible because of your efforts. •
DEDICATED BOYS Dear Sirs: This is a pho t o of the Belvede r e Junior High Turners. They a re part of a gymn as tics club whic h meets a ft er sc h ool r egularly . The best b oys (photo en'c losed) h ave given gymnastics exhib itions t o;, th e loca l ele m en t a ry and junior high sc h ools in the area. These are d edicated boys who a re good perform e r s a nd as their coach I am very proud o f them.