(LETTERS) HA VE A HAPPY HANDSTAND
9IU: dul1t1/;fll YOUR
~OlTU ~
HAV! A HAIfY
N~~AND
, SO
IOfCII)£O Tl> SENDON·r
f~OM 1ii~l}.~D. I AM ACOO<H fli:OM tL PhOO,TEXAS , ASUBS:RIB&R fO YOUIt MfI:i~t\NE AHO IJJ Alialf ~ llS~f INTELLIGe..CE I~ 1ii~lJ.AfJo.1
itIl\( AOVmTh4E 01' A LOCAL ELffllANT SHOW TO /'RACfleE SAME l1ME \)IS1V8
SUMclUHAT at 1\11
A~\BAI~M)OR'AL
A~O
AnUf
GOOD I.v1LL IN
1\\E- N~tI\'· 01' G~MN.\STIC~ .
IN1\JRTAtJU Ot &E\I11'/ EXISlS, &0 WITH 111m, h.LCl-OSE ·
CQOD'5~F ,C,OOO LLlU:: AND HAVe AAAPP'I ~MD!TA"D·
Jours frul~,£,
7/La»t f:Y.7?-
A FANTASTIC TOUR Once again (after 1956 and 1969) Swiss gymnasts had the great pleas ure to be on a tour through your bea utiful and interesti ngly big country. We say it in advance: Everything WaS fantastic! Of course (how coul d it be else on a three week excursion?) we had som e trou bles due to the world wide energy cri sis, strikes, weather conditions and aircra ft defects. But the 19 peop le who made the de legation never were despo nde nt and tried to cheer up with a racy song· a lso after 55 hours of practica lly no sleep on our way hom e from New Orl eans - Atl anta - New York . A tra ining for astrona uts in Ca pe Kenn edy cannot be mo re strenuous. Clini cs and Coac hes Our first stop WaS in P hoeni x/ Tempe where coach IJon Hobin ~ ()n \Va ~ a 1V0nderfui li'J~l. We rema ined in bea utifu l Arizona and moved on ly a little bit more South, down to Tucson . And we SaW more than " only" Old Tucson ... At the State University of Arizona we got to know the organizing ,talent of cOach Jeff Ben non. To visit your famous Cli nics WaS one of the ma in reasons of this tour. What we SaW and lea rned WaS doub tl ess ly very impressive. Tucson WaS the place where we met for the fi rst time coach Jerry Todd, a m an we learned to hold in esteem beCa use of his fin e character and his be ing ready to help. We think that those Cli nics a re an exce ll ent institution. Especia lly the Master Clin ics (w here coaches ta ught coac hes) were very interestin g to attend. A negative point we m ight menti on too. When two , three hundred gymnasts are in gym hall the air is awfu lly bad and secondly the waiting times behind each event are too long. Result: The intensity of training is unSatisfyi ng. But we didn 't come to thi s country in order to give stupid comments: please don't see it in that lighl. A Sugges tion One more poinl. We know about your prob lems regarding the tremendous distances in your country. We fee l that this fact m a kes everythi ng even mo re compli Cated, We also know th at your na ti ona l team cannot come togeth er each week as ours does , It's beyond question that such concentrations help to ma ke a team compl ete, In Pasadena (on our nationa l meet) we recognized that your boys - who showed many brilla nt a nd outstanding ro utines were too much individualists. The sense of being a tea m - a nd to win with that team - WaS not enough prese nl. Cou ldn't you create Cadres , as they exist e,g, in Germany, Eastern Europe, Switzerla nd and so on ? We think of gro ups such as J uniors / National Cadre / Internationa l Cadre coming together at least twice a year, Tha t wou ld without any doub t help a lot to brin g up a team where everyone knows each other very well.
Before endi ng this little report we wou ld like to express our honest thanks for all the support, help a nd the excell ent friendship we hav e learn ed duri ng this tour, Long li ve the USGF , long live Frank Bare and Frank Cumiskey. Swiss Nationa l Gym nastics Team J ack Gunthard Hsp, Frey ,
.
BEST YET Dear Mr , Sundby . I wou ld like to congratU late both you and YOllr on the Jalllwl'.v i ~ s lle ul "GYlllna ~ L ", II is iJy far the best issue YOll have published during my sCTbscription' Thank-you , and keep it up, Ak ison Carlson
~tarr
MEN 'S LIB As submitted to Dick Criley Concerning m en in women's gymnastics: I am a m an coaching in wom en's and girl's gymnastics, The question in gymnasti c circles seems to be: should m en be in girl's,and women's gymnastics at all ? The answer from many seems to be: absolutely NOT! ! Look! I'm a gymnast myself (for 11 years), There is no 4ue~tion in m y mi nd about being a ble to teach most of the moves to my girls (especially in tumbling and va ulting), (Throughout th is letter I am referring to begi nn er level and in tcrmcd iate level gymna~tic~), Also, I have had ba ll et tra ining (taught by a woman , by the way') so I fee l that I am MYSELF capable of instructing in beginner level da nce, What's more , m y girls a re taki ng ba ll et classes Con' t. on page 43
looking for
Gymnastics & Academics? Walnut Hill School of Natick, Mass. is introducing a gymnastics program taught by the staff of Woodland Gymna stics. Opportunities unmatched in other schools; solid college preparatory program, a strong arts program including expert ballet and modern dance training, combined with gym nastics. Students who want quality instruction, academically or gymnastically, write for brochure.
Headmaster:
George Wheeler, Co-Directo r, Woodland G ymna stics High School Coach of four coll ege Instructors: All-Americans Will St. Cyr, Co-Director, Ken Henderson, Floor Woodland Gymnastics Exercise and Vaulting Former N.E .A.A. U. C hampion Tumbling Champion Former Natio nally Former Coach, Ranked Gymnast. Wellesley H.S . Experienced, Gymnastics Team Successful Instructor. Earle C. Batchelder, B.A. McGill, M.Ed . Harvard
WALN UT HILL SCHOOL 62 Hig hland St. , Natick, Mass. 01 760 7