REGIONAL NAMES 'N' NEWS MICHIGAN by Owen Perkins
Information pertaining to the A.A.U. Junior Olympic Competition: The September M .W .G.C. Newsletter indi ca ted Editor Owen Perkins' concern about a change in the Junior O lympic Compul sories for this 19 70-7 1 season ... he rece ived many res'ponses to hi s letter and ed ito ri al from persons all ove r the nation, and it is hi s interpretation of th eir comments th at th e Junior Olympic Compu lsories for 1970-71 wi ll be those published in the guide for 1970-1972. It wou ld be presumptuous to know what the AAU. Olympic G irl s' Committee at the national convention in San Francisco on Dec. 5 w ill decide. However, it is not in th e best interests of the gymnasts, coaches, judges and othe r interested parties to make a major change at this late date . . . . Owen Perkins' suggestion for this season : " The 1971 Junior Olympic Program shou ld use the Developmental Leve l compulsories as published and distributed by th e A.A.U. of the U.S. for 1970-1972 and nationally sponsored by The Quaker Oats Compa ny" ... and for the future. . .. " If indeed it is wise to change for the 197 1-72 season to modifications of the AAU. junior nation al compul sori es (I' bel ieve it has merit and shou ld be given serious consideration) that this decisic)Il shou ld be made at th e Dec. 5 meetin g with a stiup lation th at a supplement contain ing these exerc ises be printed and made avai lable not later than May 1, 1971, or the change be voided. Thi s would allow spring, summer and fall clinics to include these compulsori es in training of judges, coaches as well as gymnasts."
The First Judging Clinic and Exam at the Ann Arbor Y on Sept. 25-26 was a great step forward! About 30 people attended the clini c, and 18 participated in the exam! Continued effo rts by judgin g chairman Li nda Morton and her comm ittee w ill see more rated officials in Mic higan and a hi gher leve l of judging for meets! Judges need to learn th e junior O lympic comp ul sories! To do a proper eva luation when j udging and to pass th e exam req uires a thorough knowledge of these compulsories routines . Two Avenues Are Open for Learning These Routines: The compu lsory cl ini cs on Nov. 7 and Dec. 5 and the Second Judging Clinic in November. Watch for the Flyer on the Second Judgi ng Clin ic and Exam!!! ... Mid-America Conference (F lint, Michigan, team): Gymnasts representing Flint in the Mid-America Conference : Gay le Compton (age 14), Nancy Dickey (13), Becky Ensign (10), Dianne Grayson (15), Sha rmane Peek (11 ), Cindy Roberts (13), Maddie Wetherell (18) ... the home dual meets will be held in Flint (not in M adison Heights as originally an nou nced) . . . the first meet is tentatively schedu led for Saturday, Dec. 12 . . . Champaign , Illinois vs. Fl int, Mich ... . com ments from Jim McGraw, Flint coach , on the Flint team and its competitors : "We are defin itely youn g, inexperienced and wil l take ou r lumps for awhil e. Compu lso ri es wi ll be used as well as optiona l exercises. At least half the conference teams we meet have one or more U.S. national team members; one team nas three ... Dianne Grayson is one gi rl w ho at the present time can compete at thi s hi gh level with success. She has the necessary experience - is determined - and shou ld finish nea r the top in any competition she enters. I' m anti cipating a great yea r for her.. . . Our next best AA. performances shou ld come from Nancy Dickey and Gay le Compton . A lthough not as 'polished, they both should eventually deve lop into good gymnasts .... Sharmane Peek and Becky Ensi gn are too small to work regu lation ba rs ... they will only be entered in three events, as wi ll Cindy Roberts and M addie Wetherell M addie has just recently returned tQ us after a two-yea r absence. ... Now graduated, she is servi ng in the capac ity of assistant coach for ou r newer gymnasts and slow ly working herself back into shape to help fill our ga ps until ou r younger ones develop some experi ence. Our best team event w ill be floo r exercise .. . shortage of seasoned gy mnasts will hurt our cons istency . . . . Our routines are difficult ... these kids are a very determined bunch .... Di anne, espec ially, shou ld be reaching her peak, and I pred ict that this yea r will see her make the U.S. training ca mp." ...
NEW JERSEY: by Helen Sjursen Junior Olympics National Trampoline Girls' Champion fo r 1970 is Greer Th ompson of Tennessee .. .. USGF Olympic Tour .. . Reservations now being accepted ... total co st approximately $600 per person . . . includes air transportation, hotel and ti ckets to opening ce remonies Aug. 26th, Munich, Germ any . . . for further info rm ation wri te to Frank Bare, O lym pic Tour, P.O. Box 469 9, Tucson, Ari zona 85717; telephone (602) 622-3865 . ... 1971 Junior Olympics Girls' Compulsory Exercises . . . the 13-14 and 15-18 age group will use the new 19 71 junior national compu lsories. These rou tines are now avai lable in a packet (i ncludes text, code of deductions, music, film , etc.), cost $10. Order from Di ck Mulvilhill , c/o McKinley YMCA, 500 Church St., Champaign, Illinoi s 61820 . (These com pulsories are th e " mod ified 1970 World Games compulsories" referred to as the " new 1971 junior national compu lsori es" and wi ll also be used fo r th e AAU juni or nationals and YMCA nationals.) ... 1971 Junior Olympics Developmental level for 10-12 Age Group . ... Up to this writing, we still have to wait on a decision for this age group in regards to th e use of comp ul sories . They may remain th e same as last season , or they may be changed. Most likely thi s decision will be made at the December AAU convention. . . . 1971 Junior Olympics Novice level .. . There are no changes in compul sori es for this level for the coming season . . . use the sa me compulsories as was used last year shown in the AAU Junior O lympi cs Compulsory Book . .. YMCA Nationals . .. th e women will use the new 197 1 Junior National AAU compulsori es .... "Skills for Women's Gymnastics" by Helen Sjursen . .. includes skills for uneven bars, ba lance beam, floor exercise and vau lting . .. no need to scan throu gh a dozen separate books to hunt up different skills to learn or to teach .. . over 890 skills, incl udin g some combinations . .. all listed under one cover ... espec ially helpful to coaches and gymnasts with a limited knowledge of gy mnastic skills .. . for convenience the skills have been " unoffi cially" listed as an element of " medium" or "superior" difficulty so that judges may use this book as a guide when judging competitions within th eir loca l area ... no one in the gy mnast field shou ld be w ithout thi s handy, convenient, reference book ... each sk ill illustrated ... beg inner to advanced .. . cost approximatel y $6 more or less, plus postage and handling . . . expected off the press by late October or ea rl y December. Order from HOCTOR RECORDS, WALDWICK, NEW JERSEy .... Get Well , Sandy ... Sandra Stutzman, coach at Trenton State Co llege, w as forced to resign due to illness resulting in hosp itali zation and a long recuperatin g peri od. Bes id es doing an excell ent coaching job, Sandy was instrumental in orga nizin g th e first J.J. State Intercollegiate Champi onships last season and hopes that
Outstanding Michigan Girl Gymnast: Dianne Grayson, age 15, is a member of the Flint Olympians team and is coached by Jim McGraw .... Dianne won her first all-around championship in 1966 at the age of 10, w hi ch she followed with four more wins in the prep divis ion ... w hen she was 12, she entered the junior division and won 13 out of 14 meets climaxed by winning th e AAU Junior Olymp ic N ational Champ ionships in 1968 in Tennessee. . .. In 1969 she won th e Michigan State M.A.G . Junior Division Championsh ips .. . in 1970 she placed 10th in UB in her first AAU senior nationals... . Di anne says, "Gy mnastics has enabled me to meet many interesting people and to travel and see many places. It has taught me how to accept a loss and be proud of a w in and to ac knowledge other gym nasts' hard work." . .. Di anne advises beginners, " I would tell a beginn er that if she keeps working and progresses, she has a wonderful future ahead of her and never to get too discouraged and q uit. " ... Michigan Calendar: Michiga n Women's Gym nast ic Com mi ss ion Compulsory Rou tines Clinics, junior Olympic developmental leve l, 13-14 and 15-18, and junior nationals ... headed by Lindsay Cobb with mem bers of the An n Arbor Y Gymnastic tea m Dec. 5, Taylor, M ich . .. . Illin ois vs. Flint dual meet Dec. 12, Flint. . . . Michiga n State YMCA Gymnastic Clin ic at the Mt. Clemens YMCA, staffed by Peter Rondot, Jim Bryden , Bob Sw islo, Dorothy Hoben, Sharon Ri chards, Rusty Weiman, Jerry Tay lor, Carol Cratchoff, Kathleen Berube Dec. 12, Mt. Clemens, Mi ch... . Louisv ille, Kentucky, vs. Flint, Mich. , dual meet Jan . 9 (time and exact site not yet desi gnated) ... YMCA State Compu lsory Meet Jan. 30, 19 71, site to be an no unced.
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