gymnast to spectacu lar ly display this technique was Di a ne Dunbar: Her first vault came in very fast with a high , qUick pop-off, hittin g the Yami pike wit h her back a lmost parallel to the floor . She then kicked out o f the pike to a la yout position, landing without any unn ecessa ry or off balance steps. The score was a 9.45 and I definitely felt it was underscored. Ev~n the spectators were taken by the va ult, probably because It was far superior to other va ults performed. Doing ve ry nice Yamis were Vicki Schuler, Martha Newton, a nd Barbie Myslak. A few tWisting vaults were thrown, but few hit the completion of the twist at the height of the pre and after flights. One handspring full twist was executed, but the twist was initiated around one hand remaining on the horse.
Diane Dunbar 3rd AA USGF Jr. Nationals WESTERN REPORT by Cheryl Wagner WESTERN VIEW OF THE USGF JUNIOR NATIONALS It has recently become a great concern of coaches and judges as to the organization and carrying out of national meets, where gymnasts are gathered to compete for top honors. It is expected at this high leve l to provide only the finest meet organization atmoshphere, and awards. The USGF Junior Nationals somewhat national . meet. Due to many late regional competitions, many gymnasts were entered a few days before the opening of competition . This was not only inconsid erate, but a great deal of extra last minute work became burdened on the meet director. Competition began at 7:00 Friday evening, with all 76 gymnasts waiting to perform four events of compulsories. When 1 :00 am rolled around and gymnasts were still competiting, meet atmos~here began to drop . Saturday evening optlOnals again began at 7:00 and gymnasts definitely showed signs of fatigue. Instead of official score sheets, judges were given tablets of paper, taking up valuable tim e in tabul ating each gymnasts score. Sunday's competition final~ , were indeed an improvement. The top .six i~ each event gave performances compariab le to elite competitions and abilities. Free Ex. Compulsory: Many of the routines contained a great deal more arm movements than d es ignated by the written text. Few showed any amount of amplitude. Many on the second pass did a dive cartwh'eel which was an incorrect move and received a deduction . On the whole: comp~lsories were poorly executed, with the body waves being the most difficult to perform . ' Optionals: Very few free exercise routine showed nat io nal level performance. Vicki Shuler, McK!nley Y, executed a 1Y2 twist, step out that was Indeed spectacu lar. Debbie Hung, Diablo Gymnastic Club, had a superior performance with moves including a standing back layout step-out. A great deal of front tumbling was shown, with a minimum of full back twists. An interesting combination, front handspring, front tuck, round-off, back tuck, was performed ' by Kim Sanders, Fresno Gymnastics Club. Beverly Dees performed a back layout to an immediate allusion that was very beautiful. Some nice control m~vements ;
tour jete to an immediante free torward roll. Balance Beam: Compulsory: Many variations were seen with a few straddle swing ups hitting the required layout position . The only outstanding performances in the 9.0 catagory were executed by Sharon Palmer and Vicki Shuler. Optional: Too many routines with falls , and not many solid routines prevailed. Without a doubt, Sharon Palmer displayed a beam routine that shows national superiority. He r9.4 performance including back ha nd springs, back extension, straddle swing up handstand, had great composition and rhythm . Not many aerials were thrown, nor twisting dismounts. Diane Dumbar, Diablo Gymnastic Club, had one of the more exciting routines. She works very fast, has difficult dance moves and turns, and exciting superiors, ending with a back handspring, back layo ut dismount. Bars: Compulosry: Much ' controversy over the seat c ircle to a static layout position or the catch coming at the stretch of the seat c ircle. The ruling at the meet was that the seat circle must be completed. A seat circle catch will not be accepted. The majority of the routines were nicely executed, with the only majo r downfall being the use of extra swings to continue moves. Optional: Many bar routines contained falls and few had any ' nice and exciting, orginal moves. Dismounts ending with th e feet pushing off the bars in a back somi was being allowed since it started with a hand grasp and a ~winging movement. Vicki Shuler. had a very Impressive routine containing much more than the minimum requirements. Browses seemed t~ be a connective move rath er tha~ the major trick. More free back hip circles, back up rises, and back straddle over the bars were seen. Vau~: . Compulsory: The majority of handsprings were executed with nice high flights and straight arms, but the troubles came with the landings. Many gymnasts had to take 'four or five steps to stop, and then failed to acknowledge the superior }udges one they did stop. Few vaults had fast pop-off or great distance arriving and leaving the horse. Optional: Vaulting consisted of 'the usual Yamashitas, but some very beautiful Yam is were thrown using the .technique demonstrated by the Russians, hitting ' a hQrizontal layout position in ' the post flight after the rise of the Yam'i pike. The only
All-Around Scores for the eight girls: Vicki Shuler - McKinley Y, 71.60; Ann CarrMannetes, 70.90; Diane Dunbar - Diablo GC 70.65; Barbara Myslak - Southern Conn. GC: 69.575; Sharon Palmer- Powell GC, 69.75; Linda Antonio - Denver, Colo. , 68.75; Belly Miller ~ Lakewood, Ohio, 68.25; Karen Robertson Brentwood, Calif .. 68.00.
continued from page 7 and attack throughout the ;o utine ... an element not seen enough in the USA . FLOOR EXERCISE: -Compulsory No ~uestion here, the USSR routine is in a class by Itself. It is so well-integrated with the music; highly efficient in the use of time and the artisitic placements and featuring of elements; that It IS outstanding overall. The mood is contemporary accompanied by Gershwinian classical music. There is great ,contrast between sections by mood and is filled with ' modern total body movement. East Germans seemed 2nd best but their routine was considerably better structured than the rest . USSR scores range from 9.55 to 9.3 ... other gymnasts , with equal compulsory skill only gaining 9.0 to 9.15. Content seems to be the answer here, not technique o~ execuiion. , Optional - Although Korbat won the event, the best USSR floor worker seems to be Bogdonova, who cut double full, suicide back and full twist with simple uet artistic connective movements . Her score - 9.4. Moore finished 6th with optional score of 9.3. As highest scores in event were 9.4 we again see the lack in compulsory routine probably penalized the gymnast in her final standing. Below you will find a listing of the top six gymnasts in each event plus the top ten all around gymnasts in the meet. T his will give you a clear picture as to the final evauluation of the competition as seen through the judges eye: WOMEN'S RESULTS - AA: Korbat - USSR 74 45 '
Koshel- USSR, 74.10; Scegolkova - USSR,73.85; G~rk~ - DDR, 73.70; Matsihishu - Japan, 73.50; Kadolf - DDR, 73.05; Shaeffer - DDR, 72.65; Bogdonova- USSR, 72.50;Moore - USA, 72.00; Paula - Romania, 71.60. V: Korbat.. USSR, 18.90; Gerke - DDR, 18.875; Koshel - USSR, 18.650; Schorn - W. Ger., 18.575; Scegolkova USSR, 18,550; Kern - Hungry, 18.350. . UB: Korbat .- . USSR, 18.975; Scegolkova - USSR, 18.575; Matslhlshu - Japan , 18.500; Shaeffer - DDR, 18.425; Kadolf - DDR, 18.400; Gerke - DDR, 18.325. BB: Korbat _ USSR, 19.175; Matshishu - Japan, 18.800; Kosher -, USSR , 18.775; Gerke - DDR, 18.575; Scegolkova - USSR , 18.475; Kadolf - DDR, 18.475. FX: Korbat - USSR , 18.775; Scegolk6va - USSR, 18.775; Bogdonova - USSR, 18.750; Koshel - USSR 18625' Kadolf - DDR, 18.600; Moore - USA, 18.525.' . , 55