The master instructo rs for men includ ed Bob Eisinger, Rick Black, Doug Alt, Bob Pataky, and Ned Crossley. The girls staff included Kate Rafferty, judy Black, Ute Alt, Chris Collier, and Lois Eisinger. (Many of the above being former Springfield College gymnasts.) Th e camp catered to o ne hundred boys and gi rl s each week. Each Gymnast and coach received individua l help in prob lem solving and general wo rk-o ut sessio ns. A lth ough the camp is a Gymnast ics Camp, recreational activit ies were made avai lab le such as sw imming, tennis, vo ll eyball , and a 40 foot sail boat captai ned by Coach Bob Pataky.
The National YMCA Gymnastic Championships Th e 22nd Men's and 7th Women 's National YMCA Gymnastic Championships will be held at the New Canaan Community YMCA in New Canaan, Conn ecticut this co min g April 16 and 17, 1971. Th e Nationa l YMCA Operating Council for Gymnastics has approved the new World Games Adaptat ion Routines, w hi ch are th e junior National Women ' s routines for the comp ul so ri es for the 7th Women's National YMCA Championships. Th e Men ' s compulsories routin es will be, as last year, the 1970 juni or National Men' s Routines. Copies of the compulsory exerc ises m ay be obtained free of cha rge by writing Mr. William Buffa, 53 Skymeadow Place, Elmsford, New York. Entry ' blanks and further meet information may be o btain ed from Meet Director Patrick j . King, Physical Education Directcr, New Canaan Community YMCA, 564 South Avenue, New Canaan, Conn . 06840 .
VIEWpoints B y Uick Cril ey
Old Gentlemen On a recent TV panel which directed attention to the "Sports Revolution," Olympic swim m er Murray Rose charged that the Olympics have become too big and too cost ly. As examples, he cited the t remendo us building efforts of Mexico City and Munich and the heavy expenditures by Moscow, Los Angeles, and Montreal seeking to host the 1976 Olympics. In addition , the costs to each participating country multiply as the number of co mpetito rs, coac hes, trainers, m anagers and off icia ls increases. One solution Rose offered was to reduce o r elim inate team competit ions (i.e., basketball, socce r, hockey, water polo, etc.) . He felt this wou ld have at least two advantages: elimi~ate the costs of several different stadia for the host and reduce the number of athl etes to be financed by each participating country. In the same panel exchange, former profootball star, Rosey Grier, urged the reduction of po liti cs in athletics. In parallel with this pl ea, Olympics swimmer and gold medalist, Don Schollander, wrote in the October 1970 iss ue of Signature m agazine
that too much nationalism had crept into O lympic ceremony and that cou ntr ies were using the Olympics to pol iti cal ends. As a first step to elimi nat in g political overtones, Schollander suggested doing away with flags and anthem-p laying at the cere monies ho norin g the medalists. While not denying pride in repres enting his count ry, Schollander argued that the Olympics were set up to honor ath letics and the athlete, not a country. The concept of amateurism, particularly as it has evolved in the past decade, is a far c ry from the ideal env isio ned by the founders of amateur sport. Murray Rose argued that it (amateurism) is an anachronism perpetuated by "old gentleme n" and that in the reality of today true amateurism is imposs ibl e. Few ath letes in any sport can find the tim e, the faci lities, and the coachin g necessa ry to co m pete internationally unless some aid is provided. If a workable answer is not found , all th e 10C legislation against equipment manufacturers' payoffs will go for naught as alternatives will be found to finance athletes and parade a company' s products. A number of solut ions have been offered. These range from national sports schoo ls w hich co uld undertake to train ath letes in their post-college days to separate compet itio ns for "tru e" amateurs versus those from gove rnm ent subsidized p rograms. Th e Modern Gymnast at one time (Dece mber 1967) carr ied a guest editorial by Olympic skati ng champ, Irving j affee, who urged m onetary support of the amateur programs by the professional sports. Such funds would go to the sports schools, scholarships, and coac hes so that an athlete's training cou ld continue as long as he was competitive ly wo rth y. The United States and other English-speaking nations are alm ost alo ne in their lack of govern m ental suppo rt of international athletics. If Murray Rose's "o ld gentlem en" have their way this situation will continue to exist.
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years ago we started producing gymnasium equipment of finest quality and long-life. Designs and materials have constantly changed since then but our same, timeless tradition of fine quality remains as modern today as it was 60 years ago and will . be just as up-to·date 60 years from now in 2030. That's the way it is with Quality. It has a way of lasting and assuring its buyers the equipment they purchased this year, last year, 10 years ago or 10, 20 years hence will always be current, will always be Quality, and will always have a " home" with someone interested in its condition and ready with parts and serVice if needed. ~
I f you need gymnastic equ ipment you shou Id look to Porter for these many advantages: Fully Olympic Specs. Best of Materials and Workmanship Safety Engineering Modern Design Experienced Representatives Full Technical Staff Installati on Capability
* Have things really reached a cr isis stage? The AAU knows the problems of fund raising for the U. S. Olympic Committee and the U .S.C.F. wi ll soo n too. We have gymnastic potenti al spread out all ove r the country and a national coac hing staff as thinly spread and with teams of their own to coach . Our top gymnasts out of college find it difficult to <;:ontinue the type of workouts they knew in college. Our National Te ams are National , all right, but just barely m eet the definition of team. Even th e interpretat io ns given the national compulsory exerc ises can be shown to vary ' in sty le and techniqu e from one side of the · co untry to the other. There is no doubt that improvements can be made. These problems and many others will have to be faced by the U .S.G .F. The entire gym nas ti c commu nity should be involved, .not just our " o ld gent lemen," in the effort to b rin g abo ut fresh solutions. Unfort unately, it is not just for the glory of the individu al athl ete, but also a matter of national pride that action must be taken, an d compromises w ill be inevitable.
All of PORTER'S floor equipment has the " safety-at·a-glance" Qu ik Lok .
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