Top Left: KIPS Team - Cindy Eastwood, Gay Wilson, Debbie Fike, Jim Fountaine (Coach), Ra yma Bynrum , Patty Mirtich and Karen Atkins. Top Right: Karen Atkins.Above: Patty Mirtich and Debbie Fike.
MEXICO INTERNATIONAL JUVENILE GYMNASSIC CHAMPIONSHIPS By Patty He,ckart Assistant Coach , KIPS Gymnastic Team
The KIPS Gymnastics Team was selected to represent the United States at the Fourth International Juvenile Gymnastic Championships in Mexico City. Competing for the KIPS were Karen Atkins, Rayma Bynum , Cindy Eastwood, Debbie Fike, Patti Mirtich, and Gaye Wilson . They were accompanied by their coach Jim Fountaine, A.A.U. District Chairman Florence Palas, judge Shirley Ruhlman, and myself. We arrived in Mexico City late at night on Thursday, September 23, and were taken by bus to the Casa del Maestro (teachers' hotel) where we lived during our stay in Mexico. The meet was held at the beautiful Sala de Armas -- the site of the 1968 Olympic fencing competition -- with the preliminaries being held on Friday and the finals on Sunday. In addition to the KIPS there were ten teams from Mexico and one from Guatemala. Panama and Cuba were supposed to compete but canceled out at the last minute. We were especially disappointed to learn that Cuba had withdrawn as we had planned to compare our Olympic Compulsory routines with theirs. The meet itself was very well run , and the awards ceremonies were very elaborate and impressive. In the womens' competition, the KI PS took the first place team award with a score of 178.85 points ; the team from Puebla was second with 142.95 points. Outstanding performances were given by
Debbie Fike (first place all around) and Cindy Eastwood (second all around) of the KIPS and by Patricia Ollinger of Mexico. During our free time we visited the Pyramid of the Sun and nearby archeological sites as well as cultural and religious places in Mexico City itself. The people we met were very friendly and always tried to amke us feel welcome . We spoke very little Spanish but somehow the language difference did not seem to be a problem. One of our most enjoyable experiences was trading souvenirs (patches, pins, flags, and uniforms) with the other gymnasts, coaches, spectators, and even custodians! Meet Results:
All Around 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Debb ie Fike Cindy Eastwood Patricia Ollinger Karen Atkins Patricia Garcia Patti Mirtich
Team
Score
KIPS KIPS S.O.P. KIPS U.N.A.M. KIPS
35.90 35.60 34.05 33.15 32.75 32.70