Gymnast Magazine - October 1974

Our new 74-75 Catal09 il on it~ way to you ••• Pretty soon, you should be receiving your copy of our new catalog.

We're happy to announce more than 90 new items(lncluding our "EARLY ACTION" Products for Movement Education), new easy·to-read code numbers, metric measurements on every item and a host of other innovations. Whatever you need for your Gymnastics or P.E. Program, you'll find it in the 25th Anniversary issue of the GSC Athletic Equipment Catalog!

P.S. If you don't receive a copy, write us, we'll be more than happy to send you one.

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Each year the Gym Master Company presents its coveted diamond mounted 14-carat gold insignias to a select group of champions for achievements in gymnastics.

This Diamond Award is also presented to outstanding coaches for their exceptional contributions to gymnastics.

NCAA CHAMPIONS

USGF CHAMPIONS - WOMEN

All Around . Steve Hug Floor Exe rci se .. . .. Doug Fitzjarrell Pommel Horse ... . . . . .. Ted Marcy Still Rings . . . . .. ..... Keith Heaver Long Horse . . .. Greg Goodrum Parallel Bars . . . . . . . . Steve Hu g Horizontal Bar. . .. Rick Danley

All Around ..... . . Joan Rice Vault . . . . Dianne Dunbar Uneven Bars . . .... Dianne Dunbar Beam .. . ... Joan Rice Floor Exerc ise .... .. Joan Rice

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All Around . . . ... . . . . John Crosby Floor Exercise ... John Crosby Pommel Horse .. . . Marshal Avener Still Rings . . ... Tom Weeden Long Horse ......... . John Cro sby . . .. .. Jim Ivicek Parallel Bars .

Horizontal Bar . Brent Simmons

National Coach of the Year . .. .. .. , . Ed Gagnier Eastern Regional Coach of the Yea r . ...... Abe Grossfeld Mideast Regional Coach of the Yea r . ... . .. Roger Counci I Midwest Regional Coach of the Year . . . .... Don Robinson Western Regional Coach of the Year . ..... . ... AI Marino Division II Coach of the Year . . . ...... Dick Wolfe

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Special Diamond Award Gym Master proudly presents this special honor to those who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of gymnastics.

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From The PUBLISHER

TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume XVI/Number 10 / October 1974 FROM THE PUBLISHER, Glenn Sundby VIEWPOINTS, Dick Criley WHAT'S HAPPENING! ON THE BEAM, Barbara Thatcher HAWAII BEACH MEET SANTA MONICA GYMFEST, Tom Wa keling 16. SUMMER GYMNASTIC CAMPS: 17. Catalina Island 19. New England Area 20. Across New England 20. Lake Bistineau 21. SIU 22. Tumble Town 22. Olympic Camp 23. Camp Sears 23. Woodward 24. Stony Brook 25. THE MIND OF A GYMNASTIC ROUTINE GOLDEN DOZEN AMERICAN 26. THE WOMEN GYMNASTS, b y Minot Simon s II 5.

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HELEN'S CORNER, He le n Sjursen HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR COACHING, Gary And e rson COMMITMENT AND THE GYMNAST, John W. Hin gs Jr. INSTRUCTION: Pirouettes and Stutzes (Twisting Mechanics III). H.J. Bies terfe ldt . Jr. RESEARCH: Comparison of the Body Dimensions of Japanese, Hungarian, and American Gymnasts, Ri c hard C. Ne lso n THIRTY SECONDS, Da vid Je ndrzejek SWING: The Essence of Gymnastics (Part III), A.B. Frederi c k SEQUENCES BY SCHULZ, Dieter Sch u lz A COMPARISON TWOTECHNIQUESOF TEACHING THE BACK HANDSPRING, Marvin Joh nso n THE WORLDS BEST, Dr. Josef Gohler GYMNAST MEMORABILIA: The World Gymnastic Championships 1930-1970, Tom Wakeling LETTERS FILM REVIEW, Dick Cr il ey BOOK REVIEW, Dr. J. Borrns MEET RESULTS

Publisher: G len n Sundby Associate Editors: Di c k Criley Renee He nd e rsh Ol1 Research Editor: H.J. Bi es le rfeldl , Jr. Education Editor: A.B. Frederick Junior Gymnast Editor: Joe Sweeney Modern Rhythmic Gvmnastics Editor: Annelis Sirang e Hoy man Instructional Editors : AA : Bill Ball es le r. FX: Paul l ie n .

PH: Jame s Hesso n . R: Ed Isabel le, LH: Jim Turpin. PO: Bill Roel z h e imm HO: Bill Holm es.

Layout and Design : Teri John so n

SUMMER CATCH-UP: Summer is supposed to be a time of relaxation, vacation and family outings ." But not if your in Gymnastics." In Gymnastics it is a time of Camps, Clinics and Workshops, and in the case of Gymnast magazine it is the time to take advantage of our bi-monthly summer publishing schedul e and work to get the Gymnast caught up and out on time . With the aid of our new Art Directo r, Teri Johnson we were able to do just that as this O cto ber edition is ready for press and should be in themail to you by the first of the month (at that point we hope the Post Office will out do themselves and really rush it on to you). We want to thank all the Camp, Clinic and Competition directors who rushed th eir " Summer Gymnastic Happenings" report on to us in time for this edition . We reali ze we have only scrat che d the surface in this report of summer camps and that many directors are still gathering photos and data on their program to forward on to us. There fore we will make a special effort to use as many of these be lat ed su mm er cam p reports as space permits in the next edition of Gymnast.

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NEXT EDITION: We will feat ure reports and photos on the WORLD GAMES final trials for Women at Anaheim , California and the Men at Austin, Texas ... A report on my visit to Japan to cover the " Ikeda GymnasticClub of Tokyo " World 's Jr. Championship. " Plus a visit with Gymnast Associate Editor, Di ck Criley in H awaii and an " On Balance" session with the Handbalance rs on the Beach at Waikiki ". Also Gymnast wandering staff writer Barbara Thatc her (her " On The Beam '" co lumn reappears this edition) spent the summer at seve ral Gymnastic ca mps across the USA decided to accept a position with Bill and Ginny Coco's Gymnastic School in Philad elphi a. We expect as Barbara continues her " On Th e Beam " column we will also be receiving more complete reports of on the scene Gymnastic Hap penings from the Eastern section of the USA for coming editions of Gymnqst.

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Thats it for now, Hope you all had an enjo yab le Summer Gymnastic Camp Experience and ... HAVE A HAPPY HANDSTAND.

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GYMNAST Oct. '74

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American Athletic Equipment P.o. Box 111 , Jefferson , Iowa 50129

BY DICK C RllEY

Amid the great publi city affo rd ed th e W atergate and Ni xo n cover-up acti viti es thi s summer, Congress plodded ahead w ith its own business of in stit uting laws and sett ing up actions to affect many as pe cts of o ur li ves. Last yea r the Senate co nsid ered th e Amateur Athl etic Act of 1973, but returned it to co mmittee. Thi s yea r, minu s a few sponsors and amendments, th e Amateur Athletic Act of 1974 (AAA '74) re-eme rg ed to b e passed on July 9 by th e Senat e. Also kno wn as th e Pearson Bill or S 3500, it ha s been se nt o n to the Ho use fo r approva l.

Passed ea rli er this yea r by th e Senate (and sent on to th e H o use) wa s a bill p ro pose d b y Sen. John V. Tunn ey (D-Calif.) w hi ch crea ted a 9-man commission to recom mend reforms in U .S. participation in the Ol ymp ic Games. The co mmi ssion would eva luate th e stru ct ure and policies of the U.S.O.c.; review how athl etes, coac hes, and officials are cho se n; reco mm end special trainin g programs; and stud y areas ove r which the U.S. has no direct cont ro l.

Assuming passage by th e Ho use, thi s Commission will probably uncove r a curi o u s situation. If th e U.S. government steps into the sph ere of nam in g its official sports gove rnin g bodi es as specified by AAA '74, it will ri sk contradicting regulation by which m any international fede rations recognize their members, as well as the Interna ti ona'i Olympic Committee policy of keeping nationa l Olympic com mittees free from political pressures.

AAA '74 was strongl y supported by the NCAA, which praise d its passage as a blow to AAU control of the U.S.O.c. and a number of national sports gove rnin g bodies. Ju st as vigorou sly, th e AAU opposed AAA '74 and ad voca ted ame ndments (spo nsored by Sens.

Cook and Humphrey) whi ch wo uld have deleted the secti o n by which a co mmi ssion represe ntin g th e u.s. government would have responsibility for choosing the nation al governing body for a sport and a secti on w h ich re stricted to a maximu m of 3 (closely related sports) th e number of sports an orga ni zat ion co uld con trol. Sen. Humphrey 's amendme nt to set up a sport s arbit ration board passed w hile Sen. Cook ' s prov ision s failed.

Major provis ion s of AAA '74 have no affect on non-Olympic sports such as footbal l, golf, ten nis, etc., but d o affect all o f the Ol ympi c sports, includin g gy mn astics. Th e affected sports will b e b ro ught under a federal Amateur Sports Board charge d with iss uin g charters to governing bodi es. A $50 milli o n fund would be set up (to b e matc hed with priv ate fund s) and ad mini sterd by a 16-memb er Sports Foundation for the ptlrpose of d eve lopin g athletes and improv ing sports facilities.

One provision of AAA '74 gives athletes a vo ice in the management of the Amateur Sports Board (how, it is diffi cult to see as th e appointees are Presidential and there are only 5 seats) and in th e to-be-chartered Sports Associations w hich are supposed to have at least 20% representation by active athletes.

In their May 13, 1974, iss u e, Sports Illustrated ca m e out aga in st AAA '74 while supporting the Tunney Bill. SI's opposition ce nters on government co ntrol of amateur at hl et ics, GYMNAST Oct. '74

how wdl \t affect ~~ the 3FI1 t)]st 7

especiall y in the areas of naming the persons and o rganizat ions w hi ch wo uld lead the nation 's programs and because it regards the cos t of $50 milli o n of tax paye r's money (p lu s ano th er $50 million from more w illin g taxpayer-contributors) as a mere drop in th e b ucke t for t he real needs in deve loping athl etics.

At present, th e AAA '74 bill is in the Ho use Education and Labor Committee and th e Tunn ey Bill in the H o use Judi ciaryComm ittee.

There is no tellin g ju st when hear in gs w ill be conclu ded and th e bil ls pr esented fo r a vo te.

With mood of Congress to adjourn for ca mpigning for elec ti ons, th ese bi ll s cou ld move qui ck ly o r n'ot at all.

In m y view, th e Tunney Bill does me rit support because of the rev iew of the U.S.O.c.

Even th e U .S.O.c. claims to favor it as a vehic le to clear it s name.

AAA '74, on the ot her hand , seems to me to ca rry more dangerous prov isions t han needed ones. Granted the need fo r an arbitrati o n mechanism to resol ve athl e te- sports assoc iat io n and association-associati o n conf li cts, but I am not convi nced th at we are in nee d of ano th er leve l of federal bureaucracy.

The idea of money to aid amateur spor ts is not all th at bad, but wil l the ta xpayer sta nd for it ?

And more to th e poi nt, do we rea ll y n eed a federal board to dispense ' the money? Eve n the co ncept of o ne sport-one gove rnin g body, w hi ch is an attempt to strip the AAU of 9 sports which it still co ntro ls (make th at 8 as the international basketba ll federation j ust recogn ized t he rival ABAUSA), doesn' t rea ll y get to th e root of thin gs. It is the intern ation al body' s prerogati ve to re cog nize the organization it chooses an d on w hatever basi s it chooses, rath er than to have to accept a governm ent-produced sports organ iza tion. It ca n be argued that t he international federations are r ecog nizing th e governmen tspo nso red organi za tions of th e comm uni st co untri es wher e spo rts pa rt icipa ti o n is.a form

of political policy, but w hy sho uld th e U .S .A . have to adopt the same route?

The national spo rt s fed eratio ns which have been recogn ized internati o n all y in place of so m e AAU body have wo rk ed hard to justify the ir positions. In many areas o f intern ational trade, the free market syst em has wo rked tolerably we ll , w hil e government meddling (as in the case of ai r fares) has usuall y led to an unstable situat ion req uiring mu ch tink ering to , keep it go in g. If th e AAU ca n ju stify its international represe ntat ion in diverse sports whi le facing chall enges at home from up-andcoming nati ona l federa tion s, w h y no t let the situation wo rk it se lf o ut ? If animosit ies had n o t built up over th e yea rs b y fo ll ow in g thi s method and if the athl etes had not bee n hurt, and if the AAU did not exert unreaso nable co ntrol over th e U.S.O.c. as a result of co ntrolling so many spo rts, this approa c h would be ju stifiabl e and the AAA '74 bill wo uld probably never have r eached Cong ress. Still , something does need to be done, but AAA '74 may be a bit too stro ng a m ea ns for doing it.

One other reservat io n I have about AAA 7 4 is a charg e made by OliverC. Cassell of th e AAU th at an exempti o n for co lleges was agreed to fo ll owing a meeting between Walter Byers (of the NCAA) and Sen. Pearson, the bill ' s spo nsor.

Our U.S.G .F. has not taken a stand o n AAA '74 in the U.s.G.F. N ews. Desp ite U.S.G.F. Dir ector, Frank Bare, hav ing se rved on th e U .S. Co ll egiate Spo rt s Co unci l, I dou bt if h e necessa ril y adopts th e NCAA sta nd . Howeve r, it wi ll be interesting to h ea r hi s repo rt at the 1974 U.S.G. F. Congress as h e had opposed the 1973 ve rsion of this bill.

In th e m ea ntime, concerned parents, at hl etes, coac hes, off icial s, and orga nization o ffi cers wo uld do we ll to become info rmed. If thi s iss ue of GYMNAST reaches yo u before Cong ress adjour ns (a nd if th e bill has n' t pa ssed by then), wr ite yo ur rep rese ntati ve for a copy of S 35 00 and its amen dm ent s, then ask him to co nsid er yo ur position on it (es peciall y if he is up for re-elect io n).

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FRANK ENOD 12200 South 8erendo Avenue

L-4 LJUBLJANA-W This women 's gymnastic slipper won fame at Munich on the balance beam and uneven parallel bars. Styled with two layer, stretch nylon uppers that pro'/ ide glove fit. Crossed ank le st raps and an aesthetic touch and keep slippers snug.

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L-1 GYM II For practice and trampoline. Fully foxed sole provides excellent wear. Equally su itabl e for men or women.

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L-6 DORTMUND A form-fitti ng leather gymnastic sl ipper at a reasonable price. Nylon stitched for st rength. For sid e-ho rse, free exercise and vau lting.

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Los Angeles, Calif. 90044

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GYMNASTICS JUDGES ASSOCIATION 1974-1975

ASsist.ing Mis~ Alamitos in the!ib~on-cutting ceremony are Dan Speraw (left), Wendy Cluff, Mayor Cox of Los AlamItos (wh,te pants), DebbIe Flke from the SCATS, and mayors of neighboring communities. .

GYMNASTICS USA D an Speraw's n ew club , Gymnastics USA, had its gra nd o p ening on Saturday, September 7th. A large and enthusi asti c crowd witnessed an ex hibiti o n o f gymnastics put o n by 40 former m embers of the Somies Gymn asti c Club w ho have been incorporated into Gymnastics USA. Th e new club is located at 10701 Bl oo mfi eld, Los Alamitos, California. It is a no n-pro fit organization whose goa l is to prom o te yo uth throu gh gym nast ics . The spaci o us gy m is f ull y equ ipped.

Coach and director Dan Sp eraw h as sixtee n years in gymnastics, in cludin g nin e yea rs with th e SCATS. H e wil l be assisted b y Mrs. Peggy Stoll, who co m es from fi ve years coac hing at Lon g Beach City College . Dance instru cto r wi ll be M iss Kristin Ol se n, who has fifteen yea rs dance training in ballet, modern , and j azz.

Dan is al ready off to a good start w ith his yo un g group. Stars of hi s club are Karen Brak ke, Paul a Kim , Jennifer Barnes, and Rayma By num .

Woodwa rd Gy mna st ics Camp and National Gymnastics Centers, Inc. are in no wa y assoc iated or acquainted w ith th e o rga nization " M en United to Coach Fema leGymnast s" . Thi s organization in no wa y reflec ts the op in ions or thinkin g of th e princi pals of Woodward Gymnastics Camp or National Gymnastics Centers, In c. Miss Pietruszewski formed thi s organization and took th e li berty to use th e add ress of W oo dward Gymnastics Camp for the duration of her sta y as a summ er employee.

An y further inquiri es sho uld be addressed to : Cirg l Pietru szews ki 841 So uth Fairfi eld ' Lo mb ard , III. 60140

Th e So uthe rn Ca lifornia Gymnast ics Judg es Assoc iati o n invites all coaches, men and wo men, jud ges and gymna sts to a two- d ay gymn as ti c sy mp os ium featuring Masay uki Watanabe, gy mna sti cs coach at th e U ni ve rsity of Ca li forn ia, Berkeley, also m emb er o f th e 1964-1968 O lympi c Tea m , Japan.

Th e sy mp os ium w ill cover the analys is o f problem skill s in bas ic an d adva nced gy mn astics. Sp ec ial empha sis will be given to moveme nts that are essenti al to good gymnast ic techn ique.

Th e clini c w ill be h eld on October 12 and October 13 at Golden West Community College, Huntington Beach. Clinic tim es are sc hed ul ed from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm on Saturday and from 9: 00 am - 4:00 pm on Sunday. Free parkin g is avai labl e along Golden W es t Ave. Th e co llege is located off the Garden Grove and San Di ego freeways on Golden W es t Ave. Fee - $15.00 .

Th e clini c officially opens reg istrati o n fo r jud gin g and renewin g membership in th e associat ion for 1975.

There w ill be an open me et for all aro und gymn asts usin g th e new olympic co mpul so ri es on january 3 and january 4,1975. Th e meet will be titled th e Southern Californ ia Op en. All gy mna sts who wo rk the all around are invited .

M o re in format ion w il l follow giving the co mpetition site and time s.

This yea rs bo ard of directors se rvin g th e So uth ern Californ ia area are George Beckstea d, Pres id ent; Jack Beckner, Secre tary ; AI M arin o, Treas urer; Fred Bellmar, judges assignment c hairman ; Les Sasvar y, judges in stru ction al chairman ; Fred M arqu ez and Jerry Todd , and Ed Ta ylor.

JUNIOR TEAM COMPETES IN JAPAN Th e United States se nt its Junior Nationa l Tea m to Japan to co mpete in th e A ll-J apan Juni or National Champ ionships in Tok yo on Augu st 16th through 20th . Th e photo below shows m embers of the group se lected by the U.S.G.F. about to leave Los Angeles.

iflltiwif Left to right: Mrs. Margit Treiber, chief of the Mission; Mrs. Erna Wachtel, Reed (Denver); Carrie Englert (Oregon); Debby Wilcox (Denver); Kelly Muncie (Kips); and coach.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

9

be ing held a t Southern Illinois University. Nice g ro up of gy mna sts a nd ve ry ni ce ca mpu s.

rJ!{ ClThe

GJ3EAM

by Barbara Thatcher

Another summer and what wo uld it be without gy mn astics? Spe nt the summ e r traveling , teaching, ga th ering informa tion and meeting new p eo pl e in ord e r to keep better inform e d a nd mor e up to d a te on c urre nt trands and happ e nings in gym nastics.

Started off by going back to New Mexico, for another summ e r with Caravan of Camps. Some of the faces from last year were mis sin g but Larry a nd Jan Bilharlz neve r-th e -Iess fe lt thi s year 's staff wa s one of th e bes t ever. New addition s includ e d Chic a nd Gloria Johnson (Chick amazed eve ryone wi th his exce ll e nt presentation of th e in ve rt e d acce le ra tion phenom e non u sed for b ack upri ses o n bars) from Springfield, Missouri, Carole Liedtke, nationally rat ed jud ge from Louisville, Kentucky, Tom Jones coach from Dayton, Ohio, Charlie Morse, ass ista nt coach a t Michigan State University, Bill Kern from Oklahoma, and Erling Hesgaard, a tal e nt e d coach a nd gymnast fro,m Copenhagen, Denmark, who opened many mind s and eyes with his ideas on techniqu e , body contro l, a nd breath co ntrol , a nd by th e e nd of the seco nd week at Santa Fe almost everyo ne was stress in g the " monkey positi on," a positi o n Erling fee ls is the most natural for gym nast ics ....

Ret urn ees to C of C in cl uded ... Steve Whitlock from Michigan, whose top gymnast Beth Sheppard will be at te nding Southern Illinois University thi s yea r .. . Steve came wit h hi s assistant coach Jerry Tobias (O ffi cial camp streak er) ... Bob Childers from Tulsa, Oklahoma a nd hi s partn e r Richard, Betty Axelson of Chicago and of co urse Rusty Mitchell w ho w ill be th e USA World Games coac h .. . A g reat bun ch of peopl e. In Canyon Texas more peop le joined th e staff and helped to ma ke th e week there successfu l. Approx imat e ly 50 gymnasts from Mexico City a tt e nd e d th e Canyon ca mp.

Very few spoke En g li sh but some how th e staff seemed to comm uni cate and words li ke " lea po" a nd " jumpo" w e re fr e quentl y used and understood . On e highlight of this c lini c was Johnny Hamilton 's co m edy trampo lin e routin e .. . very funn y. Johnny is a former sta r trampolini st fr om th e University of Michigan ....

Following Canyon I trave ll e Ll with Annie (Moose) Weaver, a lso a me mber of th e C of C staff and a top gymnast fr o m MSU, up North with a bri e f stop a t th e University of Oklahoma (fantasti c gym .. . use d to be a th ea te r... th e rings are on th e stage) whe re w e me t Randy Balhorn and Michael Henry as well as other U of 0 gymnasts. Bob Rikli of the University of Oregon was a lso working out th e re for part of th e su mm e r. Coac h Paul liert was away a t a c lin c i 10

Th e n o n to Ames, Iowa w he re we sto pp ed sho rtl y to see th e Iowa State gymnasium a nd o f co urse noti ced the pictures of a ll the All American gymnasts cove rin g th e wa ll s. Quit e a n impress iv e place. In cide ntl y coach Ed Gagnier recent ly had hi s book e ntitl e d "Inside Gymnastics" publishe d , a book about women 's as well as m e n 's gy mna sti cs.

Th e n way up North to Cable, Wisconsin and one of th e most bea utiful camps visi ted a ll summer ... Camp Tsukara .... on th e ba nk s of Lake Owen, wonderfu l sce n e ry a nd ve ry good fac ili ties. Camp Tsukara is directed by Jerry Fontana and Mike Jacki. A mon g th e na tion a l a nd int e rn a ti o na l co mpe titor s pr ese nt were Dave Butzman (form e r ISU g ymn as t), Sandy Philips (1973 World University Games), Mark Davis (w ho is co nSid er in g turnin g into a profess ional acro ba t) Jon Aitken, (1973 NCAA High Bar Champ), Jim Stephenson (fo rm e r ISU gy mnast) , Ed Hembd (ISU gymnast), Kim Cosner (Florida gymnast) , Karen Smith (fo rmer SIU gy mn as t), a nd ma ny, man y mor e .. .. ..

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Ah Michigan State University .... Cozy, o ld gy mna sium a nd many gy mn as ts ga th e red for the summ e r-l o ng se ri es of c lini cs w ith one of th e sess io ns being th e Annual National Clinic run by MSU coac h George Szypula. Among th e in structors a t thi s yea r's National Clinic were Charlie Dubois, Charlie Morse, Jan a nd Tom Heineike of Wichita, Kan sas, Barb Mackenzie, MSU women's coac h a nd m a ny o th e rs. Met so m e fant as ti c p e opl e from Michigan thi s summ e r. Good sta te .

And th e last leg of th is summ er 's jou rney .. . on to Pennsylvania. First stop a t Woodward Camp ... run by Ed Isabelle, form e r Penn State star, a nd the pres ident of National Gymnastic Centers. Nice a tm osp he re a nd la rge workout areas . Among the gymnasts around w hen I stopped b y we re Gene Whelan (EIGL champ, Univ. of Mass.), Mike Ke lly (Cal State Fullerton), Terry Spencer (me mbe r 1970, 73 University Games teams), and Heidi Armstrong (University of Massachusetts gymnast) .. .

Woodward is lo ca ted n ea r Penn State University, one of th e gy mn as ti c capi tal s of th e Eas t.

Approx im a te ly 3 ho urs from Woodward I reac he d m y d es tinati o n ... Stroudsburg Sports Camp d irected by Bill Coco, coac h of th e Mannettes a nd Fred Turoff, assistant coac h a t Temple University. A fantastic four weeks I spe nt there with su c h outsta ndin g teac hers as Yoshi (BN) Hayasaki, NCAA All Around Champion and thi s year 's AAU Senior National All Around Champion (My sin cere a p o logies to Yoshi for givin g th e honor to John Crosby in by last co lumn ), Rick and Grace Ann Tucker (Rick was form e rl y a to p gy mn as t for Southern Illinois University), Fred Dennis (a noth e r former SIU gym na st), Stu Smith (yet another SIU gym nast), Janet Cantwell (a m e mb e r of th e 1970 World Games team , a former Mannett ~_ and a definit e in spira ti o n to th e e ntire staff), Gail Davis, coach a t Southern Connecticut State College and National jud ge, Val L(!wis from sesc, Dave Berg, a lso from sesc, Rich Onysko an d Peter Kormann of SCSC, Jimmy Leo, from New York, Richy Martin a n exce pti o n a l dan ce teac her fr om New York, Don Covington, coac h at Montgomery Community College, Jeff Rosenberg, Tom Ahn, a nd Blane Nasveschuk,

from Temple University, Dennis Seidel (also from Temple) and hi s wife Ronie w ho were the program directors, Vince Faust (a fo rm er Penn State gymnast), Betty Bernz from Ithaca College, Eileen Hubbard of Trenton State U., Arlene Weiner; a former Mannette, Ricky Lund (former E.I.G.L. FX Champ), Richy and Debbie Tobin a nd Don Furrer just io na me a few. It was definit e ly hard to say goodbye w hen camp ended .

Right n ex t door (practicall y) to sse was International Gym Camp run b y Bruno Klaus.

Each week Bruno seemed to gather togeth e r a new group of supe r sta r gymnasts. Notable gymnasts suc h as Ol ympians Jo hn Cros.b y a nd Jim Culhane were th e re as well as Tom Lmdner, Jay Whelan, Olympic coach Abie Grossfi~ld, Dr. Gerry George, a nd Joan a nd Bob Rice.

Bruno's camp was just co mpleted this summe r but already he ha s pl ans for expa nsion n ex t yea r including a te nni s court, swi mming poo l a nd of course even better workout faciliti es.

And now for th e kill; ... for what woulJ a camp b e witho ut th e gym nasts? At each and every camp there we re ded ica teJ, hard work in g gym nasts w ho a re showing grea t potential for the future a nd who mad e th e hours p ass quickly a nd the work wo rthwhd.e ...

And just to name a fe w of th e gIrls .... KrISta Canary, a c ute gym nas t from Illinois who succe ssfully did her fir st back h andsp rin g o n th e be am by herse lf this summe r .. .. Joni Wachtal a nine yea r old gym nast from Springfi~ld, Missouri, w ho al so did her fir st . bac k hand spring on th e high beam b y .h e ~se lf this summ e r ... Leslie Beavers from illinOis ....

Vicki and Christy Nell p lu s Karen Kilkenny from Michigan ..... Kathy Hartzell, a n exce ptional 12 yea r o ld gy mnast fr o m Andrews, Texas .... Kristy Mattheson from Phillips 66 of Oklahoma .... .

Wendy Hanafee and Karen Martino als? from Michigan .... Kim and Tammy Custodl from Buffalo, New York, coac hed by Kathy Gleason Tibbetts (fo rm er Ol ympian) .... of co urse t h e re were man y others a nd GYMNAST readers are sure to hea r about th e m.

Credit should have been give n to Barb Knothe for th e fine drawing th a t was prese nt ed in the last " On The Beam " column.

Unfortunate ly h er na me was no t added to ·the drawing a nd shou ld have bee n. Exce ll e nt work.. . Tnank you .

Hope yo ur summ e r was as good as mine . I think th e best thin g abo ut th e summer was a ll the fantast ic peopl e I met and th e ones I go t to see and work with aga in. Saw a " T" sh irt that sa id "Gymnasts are better than People ... " 011 that I' ll have to agre e.

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HIGHLIGHTS 1974 USGF ELITE WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIPS 16 MM COLOR 610 Ft. (16 r" in ut es) Price $100.M 'Rental: $20.00 (for 5 days) Highlights include Top 6 Va ult Top 'S Uneve n Parallel Bars Top 3 Bea m Top 3 Floor Exe rcise For further information contact : Don Clegg 501 So . Highland Champaign , III. 61820

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GYMNAST Oct. '74

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HAWAII BEACt..

MEET

It was the Fourth of Jul y and the theme was Bicentennia l Minus Two. The sce ne was Kapio lani Park in Wa ikik i, H o no lulu , Hawaii.

The Act io n : the first beach meet h eld by the Hawa ii Gymnastics Association in coopera tion with the Hono lu lu Recreation Department.

Act uall y, th ere was more than ju st gymnasti cs as the w ho le afternoo n was one big fitness ce leb rat ion with everyth in g from hu la-hoop and frisbee demonst rations to we ight-liftin g and beauty contests.

Rick and Robin Mashler o rga in ized the HGA compe titi on w hil e var ious sc hoo ls, pri va te c lubs, and V' s p rov id ed eq uipm ent. The Recreation Department provided the awa rds.

Competitio n was held in junior and sen ior catego ri es for boys and girl s w ith nearly 50 youngsters taking part.

Outstanding performa nces were few, but Kim Sanders from Fresno, California , was a clear w inner in all eve nt s in t he 14 & under age div isio ns, as sh e turned in most of the outstand in g routines . While compet iti on was proceed ing, a hand - ba la ncing ex hibitio n (Wa ikik i Adag io and Acrobatic Tro up) and trampo lin e demonstration (Lar ry Anderson Trampol in e School)" were appea rin g at the Kapio lan i Bandshell. Coord in ati ng betwee n th e City and the HG A were Tommy Kono and D ick C ril ey .

looking for

Gymnastics & Academics?

Walnut Hill School of Natick, Mass. is introducing a gymnastics program taught by the staff of Woodland Gymnastics. Opportuniti es unmatched in other sc hool s; soli d college prepurotory program, a strong arts program including expert ballet and mod ern dance training, combined with g y m nastics. Stud ents w ho want quality instruction, academically o r gymnastically, wri t e for brochure .

GYMNAST O ct. '74

Headmaster: Earle C. Batchelder, B.A . McGill, M.Ed. Harva rd Instructors : W il l St. Cyr, Co-Director, Woodland Gymnastics Former N .E.A.A .U. Tumbl ing Champion Former Coach, Wellesl ey H.S . · Gymnastics Team

George Wheeler, Co-Director, Woodland Gymnastics High School Coach of four college All-Americans Ken Henderson , Floor Exercise and Vaulting Champion Former Nationally Ranked Gymnast.

Experienced, Successful Instructor .

WALNUT HILL SCHOOL 66H ighland St., Natick, Mass. 01760

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SANTA MONicA GYMfEST A dOZEN VEARS of TRAdiTioN To anyo n e w ho has th e leas t amo unt of interes t fo r gy mna sti cs, th e o nl y pl ace to have been on thi s las t Labo r D ay weeke nd wo ul d ha ve been o n th e San ta Mo ni ca Beach, att endin g th e 12th A nnu al Sa n ta Mo nica Gymfest.

U nd er th e di rec ti o n of A I Luber o f th e Sant a Gymn as ti c Ce nter, and th e M o ni ca sp o nsorship o f G lenn Sundb y, thi s th ree day affair ca n sin ce rely be term ed as a su ccess. Th e m ee t co nsisted o f an ope n co mp eti t io n fea turin g to p hi gh sc h oo l, co ll ege, club and form er (w orkin g u natt ached) gym nas ts.

Pr esent w ere represe ntati ves fro m th e wes tern portion of th e United St ates th eir ages rangin g from 7 to 33. So m e b eli eved it wo rth th eir w hil e to com e from as far away as New York!

M any we re pl ease d to see th e vas t number o f comp etitors th at ca m e to .parti cipate. Th e w ome n' s sign-up sh ee t li sted up to 63 nam es to an event o u t o f w hic h 29 were all-aro und . Th e m en cam e up w ith but 30 co ntes tan ts to an eve nt , six o f th ese all -a ro und (w hi ch is " fo ur up o n la st yea rs' w here th ere we re o nl y two allaro und co nt ende rs).

Th e m en 's co mpe titi o n op en ed th e occas io n in fin e style o n Sa turd ay th e 31st, th e wo m en 's o n th e foll owi n g d ay . M on day was rese rved fo r th e finals (th e to p six co mp etit o rs fro m th e indi vidual eve nt and th e first three fini shers all aro un d, all o f w hi ch we re d etermin ed o n th e pr evio us d ays) .

ORe se nse d th e atm osp here en comp ass in g th e co nt es t as b ein g I ight and ca refree, w ith th e co mp etit o rs prim aril y int ent o n havin g a good

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tim e. But it was o bvio us that thi s intent was suppl em ent ed b y a se ri o u s w ill to w in.

Som e excell ent gy mn as ts and perfo rm ance.s we r e seen w ith such stand o us as Jam es Tay lo r, Ri chard Pasca le and Jacob Pared es, w hil e lea din g th e wo m en's all -a ro und we re Lo ri Schn eider Do nna Turnbow and Lauri e D ona ldso n. Th ere we re o n hand so m e fin e in d ividu al ef fo rt s th at are d u e cred it as we ll , no tin g Ross Ol so n 's o n Hi gh Bar and th e powe rful rin g ro utin e of To m Mo rga n. Patt y M urd ich 's va ult (a yamas hita) was pos iti ve and fi rm, and Kell y M un cey's smoo th bar rp utin e clea rl y in d ica ted her as o ne o f th e top co mp et it o rs of t he m ee t.

The fin als end ed at aro und 3: 00, after w hi ch th e li g hter eve nt s we re stage d - fl yin g rin gs and m ini tra m p . Ma rk D av is and Tim Shaw see m ed to b e th e ce nter of atte nti o n (as far as Tim is co n ce rn ed , ce nt er m ay no t be th e ri ght wo rd ... as k him abo ut hi s rin g ro ut in e w ith hi s new move m en t: a dou b le w it h a full bare bo ttom ???) as th eir mi sc hi evio us antics pr ov ided enj oyab le mo m ents charac teri zed b y large amo unts of unrest rain ed laughter.

D emons trati ng so m e o f th eir pa rti cul ar talent s, M ark execut ed hi s t ripl e off t he hi gh bar and Tim hi s layo ut back t o reg ras p (a la Ko rbu t) .

Th e Gy m fes t se rved we ll as it provid ed a grea t o ppo rtuni ty fo r many sp ec tato rs to see li ve gy mn as ti cs , pe rhaps by so me, fo r th e first tim e. Toge th er came p eop le bo nded b y a comm o n interes t - gymn ast ics. It was a good time. It was a fun tim e, and I ce rt ai n ly h ope th e co mp etit o rs had as m uch of a tim e as th e sp ec tators. I am sure th ey d id .

By Tom Wakeling

Gymfest Results MEN'S Rings: Tom Morgan 9.3; Dave Raznick 9.25; Steve M cCormi c 9.0; AI Garcia 8.85; Dan Ega n 8.75; Jon Ha rri son 8.2 . Vault: Jim Turpin 9.55 ; G reg Casian 9.35; Steve Ke tezawa 9.2; Ja co b 'Pa re des 9.15; Ri chard Pasca le 9.05; M att Hol z inge r 8.65. Floor Ex: Ri chard Pascal e 9.25; Gre g Cas ia n 9.05; Jhoe Abe jon & Chri s Ch a mbers 8.55; Fra n k Ca rde lla 8.35; Joe l Hale 8.1. Side Horse: Ke ith M ill e r 9.05; Shaw n M iyake 8.65; Ke n Bail ey 8.1; Rob Robinson 7.7; Joh n Gree n 7.4. P-Bars: Ri cha rd Pascal e 9.45; Do n Leave nwo rth 8.95; James Ta ylor 8.45; Dan Ko lb 7.55; Steve Sp ea kma n 7.3; Robin Ha stin gs 7.2. High Bar: Ross Ol so n 9.5; Ri ch ard Pasca le 9.15; John Hart 8.75; Ma rk Dav is 8.55; Ma rk Pluml ey & Ja mes Tay lor 8.45. All-Around: Ja mes Tay lor 50.05; Ri cha rd Pasca le 49.55; Jaco b Pa re d es 46.8.

WOMEN'S Balance Beam: Les li e W o lfsbe rge r 8.75; Lori Sc hn e id e r 8.7; Do nna Turnbow 8.6; Lauri e Dona ld son & Ann e Ma lu e r 8.3; C ha rlen e Hayas hid a 8.15. Uneven Parallel Bars: Ke ll y M uncey 9.25; Sh ari Smith 9.15; Lo ri Sc hn e id e r 9.1; Do nn a Turnbow 8.95; Les lie Wolfsbe rger 8.8; Jill Orn ste in 7.45. Free Ex: Do nn a Turnbow 8.9; Lo ri Sc hn e id e r 8.85; Charl e ne Ha yas hida 8.75; Patti Re id 8.4; Jill Orn ste in 8.3; Sa ndra Skil es 8.25. Vault: Patty M urdi c h 9.1; Lo ri Sc hn e id e r 8.75; Jill Orn ste in 8.55; La uri e Do na ld so n 8.15; Li sa Ha mad a 6.2. All-Around : Lo ri Sc hn e ide r 35.4; Do nna Turn bow 34.95; La uri e Do n ald so n 32.75.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

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Above: One of the younger competitors. Be low:Womens AA winners (L to R): Laurie Donaldson (3rd.); Lori Schneider (1s\.); Donna Turnbow (2nd.). Men's AA winners (L to R): Jacob Pare des (3rd.); James Taylor (1st.); Richard Pascale (2nd). Upper right: Ja mes Taylor, 1st AA. Middle right: Ross Olson. Lowe r right: AI Luber, Meet Director.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

13

SCENES FROM GYMFEST

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GYMNAST Oct. '74

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ADVENTURES IN GYMNASTICS at

CATALINA ISLAND GYMNASTICS CAMP

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Catalina Island

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Surrounded by rolling hills and the beautiful Pacific ocean, the Catalina Island Gym Camp had an extreme ly successfu l first year. The island setting provided a unique location for a gymnastics camp, and also served as an exciting environment for additiona l acti vities. Staffed with gymnasts and coaches from all parts of the nation, the camp offered expert instruction in correct technique and skill learning in all Ol ympic events and trampoline .

All workouts were held in a spacious outdoor complex equipped with complete lin es of gymnastic apparatus. Other facilities included an indoor dance studio, numerous trampolines , crash pads, and spotting belts. A large scenic beach, canteen, and camp store stocked with gymnastic clothing, posters, and personal grooming accessories complimented the gym program . In add iti on to the gymnastic program campers e lected instruction in skin diving, spotting techniques, swimm in g and Red Cross certif ied life saving programs.

Basketball, tenn is, and volleyball were also offered.

The camp 's teaching philosophy involved an equa l balance between basics and more advanced sk ills. The structured morning classes were devoted to basic movements and progressions, whi le the afternoon sessions included problem solving emphasis and advancement of skill level.

Regularly scheduled clinics, conducted by the master teaching staff and visiting instructors, covered such important topics as: care and prevention of athletic injuries, integration of dance and tumbling in floor exercise, routine construction, ana lysis of gymnastic movement , and competitive gymnastics from a judge's perspective. The open evening workout provided the campers and staff an additiona l opportunity for exposure and learning.

The camp director was Michael Kasavana, and Margie Combs and Bob Koenig served as program directors . Some staff members were: Ira Stolzer, Steve Lerner, Susan and Diane Cantwe ll , Ruth Dohn e r, Roy Johnson , Henry Stanley, Toby Kasavana , Terry Spencer, Ron Reznick , Kim Whitelaw, Jim and Barb Hartman , and Paul , Steve, and Greg Marks. Several additional guest staff members rotated in for various periods of time.

The camp enjoyed well planned dining room service and several entertaining socia l activities. The camp anticipates the Summer of '75 wi ll be an even more pleasureable experience.

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Catalina photo essay

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GYMNAST Oct. '74

paral lel bars, ten b alance bea ms, a fl oo r exe rcise mat, seve ral tumblin g areas, m an y "cras h " p ads and t wo tramp o lines. Both m en also o pe rat e a sc ho ol year program at th e W alnut H i ll Sc hoo l in Na ti c k, M ass.

Ed W ill ia ms, fo rm er Wes t Ch ester gy mna st, owns th e Acade m y o f Gymn astics in Newton , Mass. and o perates a year ro und p rog ram as we ll as a summ e r clinic. Thi s summ er he featured seve ral co ll egian s on hi s staff as well as No ree n C o nn ell w ho present ed a program in co mpul so ry fl oo r exe rc ises. Fu tu re p lans ca ll for o p enin g a n ew building in g rea ter Bo ston in 1975-76.

Ca mp W ij o m o Gymna sti cs Day Camp loca ted o n Lak e A ldri ch, Grandby, M ass. and sp o nsored b y th e Holyoke, M ass. YMCA is under th e di rec ti o n o f Bill Jo nes and Vern Mo ngea u b o th successful coac hes in W estern Mass. An n Vex ler, fo rm er U M ass. gymnast, wa s wo me n' s progra m di rec tor. A nn and husband No rm are openin g th e Hampshire Gymna sti cs Sc hool in Amh e rst, Ma ss. thi s fal l.

Dance se ssion at Stroudsburg Gym Camp, with Jud y Alperim, Joanne Gestieman, and

Nor~en

E. Connell.

"ew- England Area

By Richard M. Aronson and Noreen E. Connell W it h no end in sigh t, gymnastics has ta ken oft to be o n e of the most po pul ar su mmer act ivities in th e area. Ful l registra ti o r.l s have been re po rted in ma ny ca mps and clini cs w h ile seve ral schools co ntinu ed to co nduct yea r ro und p rogram s.

Al th oug h n o t loca ted in the New England area, the Int ernationa l Gymna stics Camp in St roud sbu rg, Pa. under the d irection of Bruno Klaus was one of th e mo st po p u lar camps.

Brun o had a rotating staff of some o f th e o utstand ing coac hes in t h e co u nt ry. The li st in cluded suc h no tab les as : Joa n Moo re Rice (U S O ly m p ian); Sonia Klein (1968 & 1972 We st Germa n O lymp ic Team) ; Barba ra Gallag her Tonry; No ree n E. Conne ll ; Judy A lperin ; Li nda Cas tner; Joanne Gent leme n; Conn ie Ma loney; Ab ie G rossfe ld; Bo b Ri ce ; Do n To nry; Di ck A ronso n ; Fred O rl o fsky; Fred Ro e th leisbe rge r; Jo hn Crosb y; Jim C ul ha ne; Jay Whe lan; Tom Li ndne r; Bob Ca rgi ll ; Jerry George; Tom G ibbs; Len DeP ue; Box D ixon and Steve W hitlock . One of t he hi gh li gh ts was No reen Co n ne ll of W in chester, Mass., w ho prese n ted seve ral se min ars in da nce fac to rs relati ng to floor exercise. (Thi s camp is su re to rem ain po pul ar-- the food was excell ent !) Bru no has p lans to start an ov erni ght camp in Be lgrade Lakes, Ma in e in 1975 . Contact him for in forma t ion.

Retu rnin g to New En gland, t he Wood land Gy mn as ti cs D ay Ca mp loca ted in Ho pkint o n, Mass. at th e YMCA Outd oo r Ce nt er had a se ll GYMNAST Oct. '74

out reg istrati on t hree of t he six weeks .

Woo dl an d bega n i n 1972 w it h an effort to provide qual it y ins tr uct io n to asp irin g yo un g gymnasts in the greater Fram i ng ham , Mass. area. Di rectors, W il l 51. Cyr and George Wheeler, bot h lo ng ti me coac hes in th e area , have prov ided a u n iqu e wo rko u t atm os ph ere co mpl etely o utdoo rs w it h six se ts of un eve n

Cape Co d, M ass. is an area th at is beg innin g to " boom " . Fro m a gy mn as ti c vacuum o nl y t wo years ago, int eres t in th e spo rt has led to th e co nstru cti o n of t he Ruth E. Free ley Sc h oo l w here both gy mn as tics and da n ce in stru c tion are fea tured . Th e buildin g h as th e newes t equi p ment ava il ab le and is co mpletel y m i rrore d . A spec ial clini c was directed b y Noreen Co n ne ll and ass iste d b y Steph an ie Foss, Ly nn LaCarsc ia and Karen Whit elaw .. . The Cape Cod Gymn ast ics Co rp o w n ed by M arcia Kin gman and D oro th y Vrit ze in South Ya rm o uth was pri v il ege d to have Kitt y Kj eld sen as clini c in stru cto r in compul so ri es ... Durin g the las t thr ee wee ks i n A ug ust, th e U nited Sta tes Gym nas ti cs Traini ng Cent er held a clini c at t h e US Ma ritim e Aca dem y in Buzza rds Bay u nde r th e d irecti o n of M ik e Jaco bso n and Bo b Pataky . Th e prog ram annuall y trave ls in th e Eas tern and New En gland area s, this year hostin g clini cs in New Jersey, Co nn ecti cut and Massac hu sett s... It wo uld app ea r th at interest in gymn as ti cs has made dramati c inroad s on th e Ca p e in o nl y a few short yea r s. Th e result s sho uld be co ntinual impro ve m ent at all level s and great er popul arti y from a sp ectator point of view.

Jane Tuoney, coach at Needham High School, Mass., spots a young gymnast.

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LakL

'istineau Sponsored by st. John' s Southern Jills Reported by John Rogers

At Ca pe Cod Clinic, gy mnasVcampers le arned new moves for their routin es.

Across Hew- England To m Dunkl ey o f th e U ni ve rsit y o f Ve rmo nt, Howa rd j o hn so n Motor Inn in A ugu st. Dance o p ened a ca m p w ith da u ghte rs, Ruth and . pe rso naliti es from all ove r the co untry co mpri sed th e m as te r teac hi ng staff in every Debbie, bo th o uts tand in g gym nasts at major form of "da nce arts " . Da nce as Sp ri ngfi eld Co ll ege, o n Lak e Cham p lain, NY ... ap p li ca bl e to floo r exercise was p rese nted by Lou D atili o, (Templ e Grad) , has a new beaut iful fac ili ty co mpl ete w it h sw im ming pool No reen Conne ll, a graduate of Boston Conse rva tory of M usic and Da nce an d a we ll loca ted i n No rt h Hamp ton, N H. Lou 's school (New H amps hi re Acade m y of Art istic known New En gland judge in gymn as ti cs. H er program was designed ar o und va ri o us Gym nastics) also co mp et es d urin g the sc hoo l elemen ts t hat co nstitut e a good , so und and year. H e ran a grea t i n tern ati o nal m ee t in Apr i l at t he Un ivers ity of N H w ith ove r 2,000 in int eres tin g exerc ise. Foc us, leve ls, d yn ami cs , att endance ... and rh ythm we re d isc ussed. A id in g in th e two Th e No rth Sho r e Sc hoo l of Gym nasti cs i n de mo nstrati o ns we re seve ral exce ll ent Sa lem , Mass ., o perated by Bo b Hanscom gy mn as ts and coac h es: Ma ura McC ue and fea tures th e success ful M o ran sisters w ho Ly nn Masafe ro of th e Fitc hburg- Leomini ster co ntinuall y sweep ho n o rs in USGF and AAU YMCA w ith coac h es Ly nn Schlit ztin g and A nn Talbot; Lin da Davey of th e Ru th E. Fee ley co m pet iti o n...

Gail Mason of Sa lem State Co l lege hosted a Sc hoo l and Ma rcia Rav ic h and Lee Pi sto ne coac hed by D r. j oe Mass im o. weeks cli ni c w it h A bi e G rossfeld and j o h n Crosby alo ng w it h jay W h elan all on th e staf f. ..

Ma rcie ju st return ed from Nebraska w here Ka th y Corrigan Ekas runs th e Ka th y Corr igan she p laced fif th in the ju n ior Oly mpi c Sc hoo l of Gy mn as ti cs in Weymo u th and Natio nals, Int ermed iate Di visio n ...

Newto n, M ass ...

A new com pany, A IC Gym nas ti cs Etc. , Inc. Th e Br im me r & May sc hoo l w ill o p en in was opened thi s su m m er com pl ete w it h a sh ow Sep tember fea turin g Dr. j ose ph Massi mo as room and office for gy mn as ti cs. A ver y tea m coac h. Th e sc hoo l is o p era ted by j ean ne success ful o peni ng was h eld o n jul y 28 at th e and Mike Bu zz i ... office w ith a soc ial ho ur held nex t d oo r at th e Frank W o lco tt co ntinu es t o run Sto ny Broo k new Howa rd j o hn so n 's resor t m o tel. AIC is A cres in Wilbraham, M ass. Thi s ca m p ju st ow ned and o pera t ed by Di ck A ro nson and co mpl eted it 's 15th successful yea r ...

Noree n Co nnell ...

Darrell Ga ll ant, fo rm er Lowe ll Tech capta in , o p ened th e New H amps hire Gymn astics Ca mp Ki tty Kj eldse n, we ll k nown gymn astic in Co nco rd , N H .. . personal ity, has bee n ve ry bu sy thi s sum me r ...

Ed Datt i, Andy Wa htera and Pa ul Br iggs, all Ar izo na St ate Un ive rsity... Un ive rsit y of fo rm er Sp ring f ield Co ll ege gym nas ts, ru n t he Neb raska...

Bri dgewa ter State, Ma ss ....

Mo ntva le Sc hoo l of Gy mn as ti cs in Wo bu rn , Co lora d o Springs, Cape Cod, Mass .. .. FIG Mass ... j ud ges course i n Washi n gton DC, Empire Th e Wo rld of G ymn asti cs prog ram had Gy mnas ti cs Ca mp in NY .... co nt in uin g her severa l weeks at Wes tfi eld St ate Co ll ege ... studi es in t he d octo ral pr og ram at U Mass.. .. and w ritin g. H er future pl ans w ill take h er to Gymn ast ics was introdu ced at th e 51st Annu al Co nve nti o n of th e Dan ce Teach er' s H o usto n, Texas, Kansas an d D enver and in j anu ary 1975, A tl anta ...

Club o f Bosto n held at th e 57 Park Pl aza,

20

The f irs t su mme r Gy mn asti c Camp in No rth Lo ui siana was h eld at Le Bi stin eau State Park, jun e 30t h - j u ly 6t h. The ca mp was desig ned fo r girl s i n beg in n er and in te rm ed iat e leve ls. The sta ted p urpose of deve lo p in g fo rm , sty le, and en hanc ing m otivat io n of the gymnasts was we l l match ed to t he p rogram wh ich was h eaded b y Camp Directo r Marie Roge r s of th e Sou th ern ji lls and devi se d by Master Cli ni cian Pat A lexa nder of the Dads Cl u b Y of Hou ston, Texa s.

Th e ca mp inco rpora ted many ideas observed

by Pat in pas t years at o th er ca mps, su ch as M~S I f' r Sf' ss io ns, wor kin g o ut-of -doo rs, e tc., and gave him free rein to d evelop o ri gin al co ncepts in n ew sk ill develo p me nt and spo tting me th ods.

The staff, co mposed of Clinicians Dave Taggart and Randy Snow (Gymca ts, Mon roe, Lou isiana), Coac hes j oa n j o h nso n, Phy ll is H aw thorne, Kay Taggart, Lydia McLamore, Susan Ma rch, Gay Farmer and Dance Ins tr ucto r Pa m Co naway, put the 107 gi rl s att end ing from a th ree State area , th roug h an ar d uou s 6 da y wo rk load . Th o ugh th e g irl s sub mit ted to 3V1 to 4 ho urs a day o f wo rkin g o n equi p men t - and an additi o nal 2 h o ur s plu s a day o f ve rb al and chalkboa rd sess io ns, th ere we re we ll p lann ed open p rac ti ces, r es t pe ri o d s and sw immin g ho u rs eac h day to li ght en the load.

Th ere we re two special eve n ts staged Wed n esday, ju ly 3 was designated Parents' N ight wh ich wa s we ll at ten ded by over 125 pa rents and guests w h o we re t reated to a 2 h ou r ex hi bi ti on fea tu ri ng nat io nal ly ran ked Karen Sche n ke l of Pa t A lexan d er 's D ads Clu b Y and team mates Kim H oppe and Ke ll y Craft. A lso show in g to adva ntage we re Beth j o hn son and Th eresa j o hn so n o f th e Shrevepo rt Y, Ta m my Bo ne, Geo rga nn e W hit e and Laura Symo ni ak o f th e St. j o hn 's South ern jill s an d Penn y Ma rtin of Lin woo d Sch oo l, Shrevepo rt.

Th e fo ll owi ng ni ght, jul y 4th was turn ed ove r to the stu den ts and Stu n t N ight became a good natured , laug h- happy . "spoof " of t he Cli ni cians' and camp li fe in genera l. .. plus a new 4th of jul y in nova ti on, " The Shavi n g Cream Wa r."

Camp li v in g p resented ma n y n ew exper iences fo r the gi rl s, includ in g sharing li vin g space wi t h po isio n ivy and sO ITie li ttl e "beas ties " t hat craw l, b u t at week ' sen d,a 100'Yo req ues t fo r "cou nt m e in fo r 1975 " from bo th stu de nt s and in stru cto rs, gave Pat A lexande r, M rs. Roge rs and th e spo nso rs th e in ce nti ve to a bi gge r and be tt er cam p n ex t seaso n.

Lake

Bi ~ tineau

gymnasts at workout session.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Pat Alexander spots gymnast at Lake Bistin eau.

llO Jun e 22-July 13, 1974 Mik e Nee dleman, SIU Student Sunn y wea th er, fine fa cil iti es, and o utstanding in stru ction att racted nea rl y 200 campe rs from 10 states to SIU fo r it s fir st SUMMER GYMNASTICS CAMP. Th e states of Illino is, Indiana, Wi scon sin, M issouri , Kentuck y, Texas, Ok lah o m a, Co lorado, Penn sy lvani a and New Yo rk we re all repr es ent ed. Ca mp ers could attend fo r one or all thr ee on e wee k sess ion s, and cou ld train as eith er all -aro und m en or as sp eciali sts.

Th e camp was directed by SIU hea d coach Bill M eade . Th e ca mp pro gram wa s o rga ni zed and co ordin ated by Dr. Jack Bi es terfe ldt (GYMNAST resea rch editor, and in str uct ion al coordinat o r) and by Paul Ziert (GYM NAST in stru ctional sec tion), ass isted by Brent Simmon s (Iowa State), Cha rl es Ropi eq uet (S I U ) and Pete H emmerling (SIU) .

Among th ? o ut standin g uni ve rsit y fa ciliti es ava il ab le to th e ca mpers was th e as troturf football fi eld , w hic h serve d as a padd ed o utdo or f loo r exercise area. In side, th e fin est un iversit y trainin g ro om in th e cou ntry w as superv ised by Robe rt Spackman , p h ysical th erapi st and auth o r of numerous books on athl et ic training , cond itionin g, i nju ry pr eve ntion and trea tment. For som e campers , hi s supervised co rrecti ve exercise program was the most valu abl e part of the camp. Of co urse, the Uni versit y Health Service was avai lab le as it is for any ot her Uni ve rs it y stud ent. The full aircondit ioned SI U Arena all owed workouts in comfort no matter how w arm th e o utsid e w eather.

Durin g free tim e, camp ers enjo yed the ca mpus lak e, equipped w ith a filt ered outdoor lake sw im ming area, an d w ith 30 acres of water for fi shing, boating, and canoeing. Un iversit y

GYMNAST Oct. '74

tenni s co urt s (lighted fo r n ight u se) and handball co urt s we re ava il ab le, alo ng w ith baseball fi elds and o th er usual ca mpu s recre atio nal lacil iti es.

W il son Hall , a pri va te of f ca ll1 p us do rmit o ry, is perhaps th e Ill OS t o utstan d in g facilit y assoc iated w ith th e ca mp. It prov id ed indi vidu all y air-co nd iti o n ed rOO Ill S, two Ill en to a rOOIll , in a wi ng sp eciall y reserved fo r ca mp ers. Out sid e, ava il ab le at alm os t any tim e, w as th e larges t o utdoo r poo l in th e area, home o f ho urs o f w at er vo ll ey ball and o th er n o n gy mn as ti c ac ti v iti es . Mea l s we r e o ut standing, and seco nds we re ava il abl e o n main courses at eve ry m ea l, so no o ne we nt away hungry.

On a typ ica l d ay , an ea rl y break fas t was fo ll owe d by a wa rm up and rh ythm exe rcises.

Thi s was fo ll owe d w ith furth er str etchin g, o n altern ate days w ith o utd oo r va u ltin g into a Po le Vault PORT AP IT. Thi s four foo t thi ck p ad all o w ed m en to try all so rt s o f interes tin g va ults w ith sa fety. Th e rh ythlll exe rcises we re th ose brought to A m eri ca from Jap an b y Mr. W atanabe. Th e o bj ec ti ve: to d eve lufJ a se n se o f rh ythm and pos iti o n th at is of ten lack in g in o ur gy mn as ts.

Th en, each gy mn ast att ended two ho urs of class in stru cti o n in Ill o rnin g. A ll classes we re parti c ipati o n classes, and th e in stru ctio n was tail o red to in di vidual n ee d s. Th e mo rnin g ended with fl ex ibi li ty class fo r all those w ho nee d ed it. Th e flex ibilit y prog ram has alread y bee n desc ribed in thi s Ill agaz in e (Ma rch 1974), and was tap ed to coo rdin ate th e wo rk and to all ow th e in stru cto r to supervise and co rrect p osition s during th e sess ion. It is-ex pec ted th at thi s tape, or an imp roved versio n o f thi s tape, wi ll be mad e ava il ab le throu gh th e GYM N AST MAGAZINE in th e n ea r future.

Lun ch, rest pe ri o d , sun, an d swimmin g precee d ed th e afte rn oo n sess io ns.

In aft ernoon , two m o re h o urs of cl ass, fo ll ow ed by a free supervise d in stru cti o n sess ion , end ed w ith runnin g o r sw i mlllin g fo r ca rd iovas cu lar condition ing . Fo r Illany, lat e aft ern oo n also inclu d ed a strength bui lding prog ram fo r tho se special strength s u sef ul in mod e rn gYlllna sti cs .

About an ho ur aft er dinn er, so m e isntru cto rs and co un se lo rs return ed to th e gymn as ium to supervise two h o urs o f free w o rko ut. Ca ll1pe rs co ul d u se th is ti lll e at th eir p leasure, resti ng, training, o r usin g recreat ion al faciliti es . Fi llll s or oth er sp ec ia l prog ram s as occas io n d emand ed , began about 9:00 at th e resi d ence hall.

U niqu e in A m eri ca n ca ll1ps, each ca mp er w as ass ign ed to a co un sel o r/ lea der fo r an enti re week. Th e lead er was give n th e res ul ts of

the eva lu at ion and con d i ti o n tes ts, as we ll as th e ca mp ers respo nses to a qu es ti o nairre abo ut hi s skill s and o bj ec ti ve. Before th e first cl ass mee tin g, th e leade rs fallli liari zed th emse lves w ith each ca m per 's ab iliti es, o bj ecti ves , and p rob lem s. Thu s th ey co ul d h elp coac hes to see th at each man wo rked o n w hat he nee d ed .

These leade rs we re no t in stru cto rs, but rath e r we re o th er ath le tes, also trainin g und er th e su pe rv isio n o f th e coac h es . But in th eir spar e t illl e, leade rs help ed to spot and to mak e su re th at each ca m pe r was trea ted as an indi vidu al.

In thi s way, ca m pe rs received th e benef it of i nstru cti o n fro m all of th e coac hes, w hile still receivin g th e in divid ual att en tio n th at wo uld be hi s w ith ju st o ne in stru cto r.

Th e unit y of ap p roac h to th e spo rt am o ng the coac hes was mos t v isib le, so few if an y tech ni cal co n fli cts d eve lope d . But furth er unit y was show n : a unifi ed p rog ram u sin g each eve n t to co mp lem ent th e o th ers in a to tal lea rn in g p rog ram . Coac hes Zie rt and Bi es terfeldt wi ll be repor tin g on th ese thin gs in th e In stru ctional Sec ti o n of thi s magaz in e in future iss ues .

W ith bell er fac iliti es, b ett er m ea ls, beller m edica l se rvice, and b eller staff and pro gr am th an o th er ca mps, th e cos t o f $75 .00 a week st ill was amo ng th e lowes t in th e co u n try. Thi s yea r 's ca lllp was m o re su ccess fu l, and SIU int end s to co ntinue in futur e yea rs. A nyon e w ishing to b e put 0 11 th e Illail ing li st for ann o un ce lllent of n ex t yea r 's prog ram (boys o nl y) sho uld d ro p a ca rd to Dr. Jack Bi es terf eldt , SIU Are na, Ca rbo ndale, Illinoi s 62901 .

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Coach Ziert leads warm-ups at SIU Gym Camp.

21

supervised and led the r ecreationa l activ iti es .

This was the seco nd yea r for the Tumbl e Tow n summ er clinic and things we nt so we ll that nex t year the cl inic w ill ope rate fo r at least three weeks. A lso, sin ce Unive rsit y Ho usin g has not proven as sa ti sfactory as W il son Hall was fo r the bo ys program , plans are in the works to make so m e improve ments. Next year, the Tumble Tow n Cli ni cs are expected to be held at the Duquoin State Fair Grounds no t far from Carbondale. Th e co untry se ttin g th ere, as we ll as the exce ll ent facilities sho uld make next yea r 's clinic th e best ye t.

Anyo ne int erested i n next yea rsclinicshould w rit e to Tumbl e Tow n Dir ector Alyce Vogel and as k to be placed o n the mailing list; Alyce Vogel 611 Skyline Dr. Carbondale, III. 62901

Ol'lmpir~~

Tumble........

Town Clinicr Two hundred and twe nt y aspiring yo un g woman gymnasts made Carbondale, Illin o is their home fo r th e tw o weeks of the Tumbl e Tow n summer clinics .

Herb Vogel , h ea d coac h of th e SI U woma ns team that has won m o re tea m titles than any other team in th e co untry, se rved as head coac h for th e clini c. In add iti on to co achin g at the c lini c, h e gave ma sters clin ics for th e in structors durin g free tim e in th e aft ern oon.

Clinic d irec to r A lyce Voge l, and her o utstandin g staff b ro ught girls from as far away as Florida , New Yo rk , and Was hin gton, D.C. Donn a (Sc hae nze r) Krammer, Do n Carney, Caro l Donn ell y, Ph ylli s and Dale Hardt we re ass isted by members o f th e SIU Woman s Gymna sti cs Team i n th e teachin g and operation of th e clini c.

Housing was at th e U ni ve rsit y Park h o usin g area of SIU. Instru ct io nal sessions we re held at the Newman Cent er of SIU and at a n ea rb y schoo l gym . Th ere we re two fou r ho u r train in g sess ions d ail y, so that eac h girl worked on all four olympic event s each day.

On a typical da y, breakfast was fo llo wed b y . warmup and stre t chi ng exercises, supplemented say by tumb lin g and bar in structi o n. After lunc h a free per iod all owed ca mpers to u se th e SI U Ca mpu s Lake, go horseback r idin g, o r ju st relax an d b eco m e fri end s w ith o th er ca mper s. Th en aft er dinner a second workout sess io n wo uld cover th e remaining tw o eve nt s. A t th e en d of the in struction al sess io n, tim e was all owed for free supervised trainin g.

Ea ch campe r had a co un selo r ass igned fo r th e week , who li ve d with th e ca mp ers, land

22

Camp Th e U nited States Gymna sti cs Federation h as ju st co mpl eted it 's first pr e-O lympic summ er ca mp at th e Un ive rsit y of Neb raska in Lin clon , Neb raska . Th e ca mp was held from A ugu st 12th to A ugust 21st.

Seven of th e nati on's outs tanding high sc hool gymn asts and seve n of the best col lege sophomores in th e U nit ed States attended. M r.

Bill Meade, gy mn ast ics coach at Southern

Bill Meadeassists Bar Conner at USCF Olympic Camp.

Illin ois U ni vers it y, was the ca mp directo r and Mr. Masiuk i Wata nabe, co ach at th e Univers it y of Cal i for ni a, was th e h ead coach. Th e camp provid ed a relaxed training atmosph ere for so me of th e mo st promising g ymna sts in th e U nit ed States, who have th e oppo rtunit y to be a member o f the Ol ympi c Tea m in 1976 and future Ol ympi c Tea m s and Wo rl d Ga m e Tea ms.

Th e goa ls of th e ca mp we r e to teach prop er training m e th ods, teach th e n ew 1976 Ol ympi c co mpulsori es, and to pro vid e the prop er stimulu s of 14 good gy mn as ts and good coac hes wo rkin g together. Th e camp was an o utstanding success.

Shown above are the coaches involved at the U.S.C.F. camp. From left to right Francis Allen, host and head gymnastics coach at the University of Nebraska; Mr. Masiuki Watanabe, coach at the University of California; Mr. Bill Meade, gymnastics coach at Southern Illinois University; Mr. Paul liert, head gymnastics coach at the University of Oklahoma; and Mr. Frank J. Cumiskey, Technical Director for the U.S.C.F.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Woodward GYMNASTICS

Illinois' contribution to the U.S.G.F. camp are shown above: From left to right Steve Roskam, 1972 High School All-Around Champion and current All-Around record holder at the University of Oregon; Bart Connor, 1974 State High School All-Around Champion; Kevin M enz, one of the nation's outstanding high school All-Around gymnasts from Hersey High; Iverso n Eiken, State High School finalist .in 1972 and one of the University of California's outstanding All-Around gymnasts. Eiken is a two yea r letter winner at the University of California. Bill M eade, gymnastics coach at Southern Illinois University.

Camp,SearsGentlemen First Gymnasts Second Cham pions Always The motto of Ca mp Sea rs has bee n an integra l part in the ove rall phi loso ph y of train ing yo un g gym nasts sin ce 1960.

Many years ago, under Bud Byer, a gymnastics p rogram was held at Camp Channing in Pullman, Michigan. Bud ran that program as a pa rt of a tota l ca mpin g expe ri ence for a number of yea rs. In 1960, th e YMCA of Ch icago asked Sid Dra i n, head coach at Maine W est Hi gh School in DesPla in es, l llino is, to take over Bud ' s program. So, in the summer of 1960, 17 boys att end ed Camp Chan nin g w ith very limited equipment. In 1961, 35 boys were on hand. In 1962, Sid asked th e YMCA if it would be possibl e to co nve rt th e entire ca mp to a gymnas ti cs program for two weeks out of th e summe r. Th e " Y" gave its approval , so in 1962, 85 boys, 5 coac hes, and 9 co unselors b raved bad weather , 24-ho ur f lu , and brok en legs - a totally di sas trou s summer . The program was dropped by Camp C hanni ng in 1963, and p icke d up by Camp Sears.

So, in th e summer of 1964, w ith the comp lete coo peration of Nissen Corporation who supplied us wit h eq uipment , th e hi story of Camp Sea rs began. That yea r, 120 b oys attended and the ca mp has grow n ever sin ce.

The h isto ry lies not in the number of boys , but th e qua lit y th at ha s suffered through tho se twomi le run s at 7 a.m ., six sess ions of exercise, five sess ions of gymnastics, and the fun and game ni ght time act iv iti es that turned gym nas ts to footba ll players. Up until last yea r eve ry NCAA Sid e H orseC hamp ion since 1967 except for one had been in attendance at Camp Sears. Camp Sea rs d idn't make them c hampion s, but we feel th at th ose summers helped make the GYMNAST Oct. '74

difference. Side Horse Champ ions Keith McCan less, Russ Hoffman , and Ed Sleza k are not the on ly ones that went thro ugh the program: Glen Gail is, Still Rings '65; Bob Manna , Hi gh Bar '69; Ch uck Ropiqui et, Still Rings '71; Tom Dunn, Parall el Bars '71; Gary Morava, Long Horse ' 72; Brent Simmons, H igh Bar '72; are on ly a few.

The leade rship that these boys p rov ided in return ing not onl y as cam pers, but as counse lors and coaches year afte r year, he lped pe rpe tu ate th e idea ls of Camp Sears.

The coaches who have helped mold the Sears tradition are numerous: Tom Walthouse, John Burke l, Bob Kies, Bill Ba ll ester, Jo h n Schafer, Ro ge r Gedney, Frank Wa lsh, Dick Fo er ch, Ken A ll en, Jack Biesterfeldt, Skip Ray, Wayne Se lvig, John Bolton , Tom Nev ille, ju st to name a few.

Each man gave to Sears his talent and too k from Sears a pocketfu ll of memories . The ir co ntributi ons can neve r be measured.

This yea r a spec ial award was prese nted in memo ry of Gary Morava w ho spent many sum mers at Camp Sea rs . Gary was a yo ung man who left hi s mark on everyo ne h e met. Thi s year 's Gary Morava Me m oria l Award recipient wa s Mike Mills of Add iso n Trail High School in Add iso n, Illinois. M ike 's coac h, Fred Dennis, was also a cam p er at Ca mp Channin g and an A ll -American in hi s ow n right.

The young men who have gone through Sears h ave all had o ne goal : to be the best gymnast po ss ib le. But in order to accomp li sh this , we believe that the total person comes first; thus: Gentlemen First - - know yo urself, yo ur goa ls, dream s, abil ity; Gymnasts Seco nd- proper tra inin g, diet, exe rci se, sacr ifi ce; Champion s A lways - - for he who tr ies, and tries eve n though he may eve ntuall y fall short of his d ream, wi ll always remain a champion among men.

DOWN ON THE FARM

Woodward Gymna sti cs Camp located in the hea rt of Penn sy lvan ia' s farm land s has ju st comp leted its fourth seaso n . It was a very succe ssfu l yea r of planting fundamental gymnastics technique as well as teaching n ew tri cks to tho se e nthus iastic lea rners who parti cipated in thi s year's program.

Camp director, Ed Isa be ll e, was very pleased w ith his carefu ll y se lected teac hin g staff of collegiate coaches and gym nas ts from va riou s part s of the coun try. A large portion of the credit fo r th e summ ers success mu st be given to Program Director Jo n Culbertson, a former top co mpetitor (on two U. S. team s in 1960, 1962) and prese ntl y chairman of the Techn ica l Comm itt ee of th e Nat io nal Gymnasti cs Jud ges Association. Mrs . Cul bert son (Boo ts) former National Trampo lin e Champio n contributed great ly to the overall program thru gymnas ti cs as we ll as thru her special ta lent s in the arts.

Other se ni or staff included such people as: Gene an d Jay W helan, both conte nd ers for the current World Games Team ; Te rry Spencer, Univers ity Games competitor, Brent Simmons, member of 1971 Pan Am Games team and also contender for the upcoming World Garnes Team ; Karen Schuckmann A . 1. A. W. A IIAround champion; Bob Cargill coac h at Springfi eld Coll ege; Dubi Luf i, Israeli gymnast training for th e World World Games; and Heid i Armstrong, member of EA IAW Championship team . The highl y qua li fied inst ru ctors w ith extensive teac hin g expe ri ence also in cl uded Anne Weav er, Mike Kelly, Earl Metzler, Tom Gardner, and Caro l Pietrusz ews ki. Dance was ab ly tau ght by Sue Carpen ter, Anne Montgo mery and Toby Towson, former gymna st turned professional dan ce r and choreograph er.

Classes and wo rk outs continued rain or shin e . du e to the large main gym located in the barn , as we ll as th e n ewly constructed covered out side ~orko ut are a. Other areas o f intere st in clu ded dance studio , o lymp ic size swimm i ng poo l and a photo lab full y equ ipp ed w ith cam eras and all photo equipment for use by an y and all.

Numerous trips were scheduled to nearb y points of interest: Woodward Cave, Walnut Acres (natura l foods) and local carnivals and fairs. In addition to planned act iv ities and social

Workout sessio n at Woodward Gymnastics ca mp.

23

Woodwards 130 acres of rolling hills.

events, horse ba c k riding and overnight outside camping provided diversity from workouts.

The camp' s teaching phi losophy was reflected by th e morning classes being devoted to fundamental s and progress ion wh il e afternoon cl asses dealt w ith learn ing advan ced ski ll s. Clinic lectures covered such subjects as routine composition, spotting, se nsible dieting and judges view points. Thi s past summ er featured week ly judging se min ars for m en during which th e new olympi c co mpulsori es were analyzed for the advanced gymnasts.

Practice competitions were held and judged the final two weeks for those tra ining for th e World Games. Woodward Camp also offered courses in Red Cross li fesaving and gymnastic spott ing techniqu es for which ce rtifi ca tion was given.

All those at Woodward Camp look forward to next year when th e prim ary emphas is o f th e program w ill b e on th e mental and physica l d iscipline demanded by thi s exac ting but beautiful sport of gy mna sti cs. Through th e co mbined assets of its staff, facilit ies, and activ iti es th e ca mp w ill cont inu e to stri ve to provide those with a hunger fo r gymnastics with a stimulating lea rnin g situatio n plu s a motivation for perso nal growth.

atte ndance. I am sure everyone will remember the egg throw in g co ntests, tlie waterme lon ra ces, th e talent n ights, wate r skii ng, and movi es, as we ll as all the many hours sp ent in th e gy ms wo rkin g on those so-desi red trick s.

Thanks to the profession al touch of John Cal abria, the ass istan t director, Dail e Van Patton , Dave and Kathy Feigley, Bill and Margie Patton, Ja ck and Ruth Brunn er, Ca rl Da vis, Linda Zook , Susan Seibert, Lind a Aus ik aitis, Frank Cassara , Jerry Watskin s, Terry Spencer, and th e oth er hard wo rkin g staff members th e wo rld of gy mnas ti cs is opening up more and mo re for th ose t hat wa nt it.

Stony Brook Gymnastics Camp campers.

Working hard at Stony Brook workout.

,Stony Brook

By Ed Isabelle They say all good things come in thr ees and for Stony Brook Gymnastics Camp th e third year was not on ly good, but it was the best. An outstand in g staff co upled w it h exception all y fine groups of hard working gymnasts made all ten week s at Stony Brook enj oya bl e and educationally pro fitable for all those in

24

GYMNAST Oct. '74

â&#x20AC;˘ A GYMNASTIC â&#x20AC;˘

ROUTINE If you were ever a gymnast at o ne time yo u are probably quite fami li ar w ith that very thing that co nst itut es the mak in g of gymnast ics - the routine . The ro utin e is qu ite an easy thing to describe. It is also very econom ic. It lasts for on ly a minute o r so and it co nsists of more or less twelve tr icks . Now, wasn ' t th at easy to describe? A hah! A close r look into what a routin e is shows us that it isn ' t all that easy to crea te a routine better yet perform one.

What I 'm in te rested in here is not w hat goes into the routine but th e act ual performance itse lf and what happens dur in g it. To the spec iali st thi s means that he w ill be given one chance to show the jud ges what hours and hours of repeating and l earn in g and fall in g and scrap in g and wor ry in g has broug ht him . It really scares the gym nast to think that he has to conde nse wha t he has put all hi s heart and love in for years into a minute o r so of the best tricks h e knows and the best order he knows how to show th em.

It's hi s turn now, because th e announcer has called him up and has mi spron o unced his name, as usual. H e takes that giant step up to th e mat an d faces the head judge who is still calculating the las t performance. Right now he is a pi cture o f read in ess. H e is sure he looks perfect because o ne of th e team members fi xed hi s suspe nde rs and this time h e remem bered to h ook hi s toe st raps. He kn ows th at hi s stomac h co uld be a good free -ex man because right now it' s doin g flip flops. It 's bad en o ugh that he is i n gym nasti cs but he also has to be an acto r in the se nse that even though that cucumbe r coo l appea rance is on the o utsid e his nerves are frayed to the ve ry last th read . Th e head jud ge is look in g him over now and sil entl y t he gymnast is saying, "Yo u better give me a good score, yo u sk un k. " Th e head ju dge has give n him the OK and there is no backing o ut n ow. Th e gymnast looks at his appa ratus, comp letely dul ls hi s senses of eve ryt hing and puts all the jui ces of hi s body th at are working for him into tha t all important mo unt. Ju st as he exp lodes int o hi s mount h e ca n hear, "SCORES FOR SO-AND-SO. " A good gymnast cou ld hea r thi s and im med iate ly block it o ut but st ill an int er rupti on breaks all concentration an d immediate ly the gym nast tri es to b rin g him se lf back up to t he super acute sta te and con tinu es.

Now h e is fl ying through hi s tricks and nothi ng ca n ho ld h im back. A ho ld move is coming up and he ca n use t hose two seco nd s to breathe. During rh is short t i me 11 8 things go thro ugh th e gymnast 's mind. Some of these th oug ht s might include, "We ll , I' m doing alri ght so far," o r " I hope I do n't blow that C move t hat's com in g up, " or even ext rem es li ke " I wonder w hat Sa ll y is thinking of me right now, " or " Ju st think , right now everyone is look in g at me, I hope my hair isn 't too messed. " If yo u think the latter ideas co ul d never occ ur don ' t be too su re. Many a gym nas t ha ve passed GYMNAST Oct. '74

ideas like th ose th ro ugh their heads. I' ve always sy mpathized w ith t he sid e ho rse and high bar men because they ca n 't eve r exper ience w h at their m in d goes th ro ugh during a ho ld move.

In stinctively th e gymnast, if capab le, knows exact ly when to come out of th e ho ld mo ve even though no counting at al l is experi enced.

In every routine t here is a problem spot. A ce rtain trick t hat isn ' t too certa in , and now it ' s co min g up. Th e gymnast is thinking extra hard abo ut thi s trick and maybe a littl e ahead of tim e. In any case the gym nast blows the trick sli g h t l y and mir acu lous l y reco ve rs.

Imm ed iately after any blown trick the gymnast (as I have experienced) w ill hope to himself, " Maybe th e ju dge d idn ' t see it. " At any rate the gymnast contin ues through his B's and A ' s and soo n th e most important a nd relieving pa rt of his ro utin e, th e d ismo un t, comes up. A lthoug h hi s tired bod y after twisting and. turn in g and circli ng can ba rely get the ext ra str ength th e gymnas t needs to perform the dismount, he does it. Ton igh t he is happy, he stuck it straig ht as an arrow. A sli g ht sm il e diffuses through hi s bod y and co ll aborates at hi s lips but it quickl y disappears. Hi s hands are up in the air and slow ly he ca n aga in hea r sou nd s. Th e app lau se is of co urse t he so un d that brings him back to the normal body f uncti ons. The gymnast now steps back and aga in honors th e jud ge.

Some tim es the gymnas t w ill find the ju dges nose is b uri ed in hi s cl ipboa rd sea rch in g for a ju st sco re. W hen this happens th e gymnast has an urge to sti ck hi s tongue o ut at him b ut in stead wa lks polit ely back to his team .

After a few congratu latio ns the gymnast tu rn s his att enti o n to the sco res. No matter

w hat the scores happen to be, they are never hi gh eno ugh in hi s eyes bu t he' ll never le t anyo ne k now.

A n d so th e speciali sts job is done for the night. H e ca n sit back and chee r for hi s team .

Ug h! Th ose po or all around men have to go th ro ugh it six times eve ry me et. But all aro und o r specia li st th ey all h ave to throw routines.

Tho se. painful body manipulations, nerve rac kin gs, and mind po u nu in gs that we gymnasts wo uldn 't trad e for the wo rl d.

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Jodi Yocum

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by Minot Simons II

Diane Dunbar

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Diane Dunbar Age: 15 Height: 5'2" Weight: 105 Ibs. Sophomore at Foothill High School, Pleasanton, Cal ifornia.

Dian e belongs to the Diablo Gymna sti cs Club, W alnut Creek, California , where she is coached by Jim Gault and H al Shaw.

She has been a gymnast for seve n years, having begun w h en she was eig ht and a half.

Ho wever, w h en she was ju st five, she b egan tum b lin g and also began to tak e ba ll et and tap dancing lesso ns. She still tak es a ba ll et lesso n eac h week for one hour at th e San Ram o n Academ y of Ba ll et. H er t eacher th ere is Joan Winton.

D iane li kes all gymnast ics eve nt s, but her favo rit e is th e floor ex erc ise. At th e mome nt GYMNAST Oct. '74

she perfo rms a rout ine crea ted for her by the coac h of the U.S. Nat io nal Te am, M uri el Grossfeld . It is se t to the music of " Su pe rca I ifragi Ii sti cex pi aI idoc ius. " Dian e first came int o prom in ence in 1973, whe n she plac ed seve nth all aro und in the USGF Elit e Championships in Seattle, Wa sh ington. In thi s meet, she pl aced fourth in va ult, fifth on the beam, and sixt h in floor exerc ise. Pr eviously, fourteen yea r-old Dian e had participated in the Romania vs . U.S.A. co mpetit io n at U.c. Berkeley, h er fir st int ernat ional eve nt.

Internationall y in 1974, she p laced fourth all aro und in th e Fr enc h Inv itat ional Mee t h eld at A ntibes. She rece ived a special awa rd for her f loor exe rcise routin e (m ention ed above) for being m ost or igin al. She co nside rs that Antib es was a good expe ri ence fo r her.

Nationa ll y in 1974, she placed seco nd all around in the USGF Elite Nat ional s at Southern Illin ois University, Carbondale, althou gh she placed first in bars and va ult. In the USGF Elite Qualifi ca tion meets h eld earlier at the Uni ve rsity of D elaware,. Newa rk , and at Ca li fornia State University, Fullerton , she plac ed first and th ird . Diane is now ranked number one in the Golden Dozen Ame ri can Wome n Gymnasts. She participated in the USA-USSR Gymn as ti cs Ex hibitions at the EXPO '74 World 's Fair in Spokane, Washington, where her floo r exe rci se routine was aga in ent hu siasti ca ll y rece ive d .

Dian e lik es th e o utd oors - camp ing, hikin g, and bik e-ridin g.

(See also int erview " Gymna st") .

in

Jun e-Jul y

1974

27

Joan Moore Rice Age: 20 Height: 5'4" Weight: 106 Ibs. Joan began gymnastics in Philade lphia in

1961 at the age of seven. She graduated from Philadelphia High School for girls and attended Temple University for a year.

She has been a m ember of the U.S. Nat ional Team since 1970. At the World Championships that year in Ljublj ana , Yugos lavia, she tied w ith Ade le Gleaves for thirty-third p lace. Joan p laced twent y-e ighth on beam and thirtysecond in floor exericse. In 1971, she was a member of a team sent by the State Department on a European Tour and th en took first pla ce all around, in floor exercise, and on balance beam in th e French In v itational Meet at Antibes .1 n the USGF Elite Nationals . she to o k first place all around, includin g first in floor

28

exercise, uneven bars, and va ult; and second on ba lance beam.

In 1972, she was again first in the USGF Elite Nat iona ls, this time tied for fir st with Cathy Rigby, and was , of course, a member of the U.S. Ol ympic Team. At Mun ich , she placed twentyfirst all around. H er best event was floor exercise, in w hich she placed twelfth. In 1972, Joan won the South Africa Cup, placing first in floor , beam, and va ult; and she placed-fourth all around in the Chunichi Cup, behind Liudmila Tourishcheva, Karin Janz, and Nina Dronova. And in 1972, she married Bob Rice. . 1973 saw Joan tak e her third consecutive win in the USGF Elite Nationals. She took first in floor exercise, secon d in va ult, and third in bars and beam. She took second p lace in the meet with Hungary at Penn State.

In 1974, Joan took fifth p lacei n the USGF Elite Qualifi ca tion Meet at the University of

Delaware, Newark, but took first place (for the fourth stra ight time) in the USGF Elite Nationals at Southern Illino is University, Carbonda le. At the Nationals, Joan won balance beam and floor exercise. She is current ly ranked number two in the Golden Dozen American Women Gymnasts.

Joan ' s other interests include dance, tennis, and swimming. In hi gh school she competed for the swimmin g and di ving team, and at co ll ege she majored in dance.

She has three brothers and three sisters. One of her sisters started her in gymnastics but later retired from the sport.

She and Bob plan to buy a school in Minneapolis. After the World Championships, she plans to retire and to devote her time to coaching the " Kegs " Gym Club in Minnesota along with her husband Bob.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Debbie Fike Age: 17 Height: 5'3" Weight: 105 Ibs. Senior at Kennedy High School, Cypress, California Debbi e b elongs to the SCATS Gymnastic Clu b (So uth ern Ca liforni a Ac ro Team In c.). H er co ac h ther e is Scott Crouse.

D ebbie actua ll y b egan stud ying ballet at the age of nine. H oweve r, th ere was an acroba ti c class in th e ba c k of h er building and this soon interes ted her more than ball et. Thi s cla ss was coac hed by Fred Seabum and was known as th e KiPS Gym nas ti c Club. ju st three or four months aft er she began gym nas ti cs, Fred Seabum was kill ed in an automobil e accid ent. Hi s p lace was taken by jim Fountaine; jim remained D ebbie 's (')ach for six yea rs. However, Debbi e has been a SCAT for a yea r now.

She ha s lo ng bee n r ecogni ze d as a girl of promi se . Wh e n she was eleven years old , a GYMNAST Oct. '74

coac h from j apan spok e of her in such terms.

When she w as tw elve, she won a major reg iona l meet in th e twelve to fourteen yea r old age gro up, Class One, and also pl aced third all around in th e AAU State Cha mpi o nships h eld at Di ablo Co ll ege in Pl easa nt Hill s, Ca lifornia.

(Story and photo in th e May-jun e 1970 iss u e of " Mademoiselle Gymnast " ).

Debbi e already has a long li st of accom pli shments. internation all y, in june 1973 she placed seco nd al l arou nd in th e N HK Cup, j apan. in March 1974, she pl aced sixth all aro und in th e " Moscow News" co mpetition , w inning fourth pla ce in va ult and fifth in bars; and seve nth all arou nd in the Riga invitation al M ee t, where she pl aced fourth on beam and fifth in va ult. in Apr il 1974, she won the South Af ri ca Cup, placing first in va ult , first in beam, first on bars, and third in f loor exercise.

Nationally, she pla ced fifth all aroun d in th e 1973 USGF Elite Nat io nals in Seattl e, Wa shington. in 1974, she wo n th e fir st USGF

Elit e Qualification Meet at Ca liforni a State University, Full erton , and pla ce d third in the USGF Elite Na ti o nals at Southern Illinois Universit y, Carb o ndale . She participated in the USA- USS R Gymn as ti c Ex hibiti o ns at the EXPO '74 World's Fa ir in Spokane, Washington . A bu sy sche dul e for a high school se ni o r !

Debbi e is no w ranked third in th e Golden Do ze n Amer ica n Women (:;ymnas ts.

Sh e has a sister and two broth ers, all yo un ge r.

Th ey are not gymnasts, although one broth er is a di ve r. Debbi e does not like di vin g, eve n th ough she ca n use her tumbling skill s in di vin g, but she does like sw immin g.

H er da il y rout in e naturall y revol ves about gymnastics. Out of sc hool at noon , she reach es the SCATS gym about one. During th e sc h oo l year she pract ices from one to four and from six to nin e- thirty, a tota l o f six and a half hours. H er favor ite eve nt s are b ea m and bars.

(See also intervi ew in th e th e Decemb er 1973 " Gy mna st " .)

29

Ann Carr Age: 16

Height: 5'0" Weight: 95 Ibs. Senior at Northeast High School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Ann belongs to the Mannettes Gym Club, Philad elp hi a, w here her coaches are Bill and Ginn y Coco and Don Peters. Her gymnastics ca reer goes back to th e age of n in e when she began to take ballet lessons. She started tumbling and acrobatic work when she was eleven in a class at a nea rby recreation center.

Her nat iona l co mpetiti ve career in gym na stics began in 1972, when she participated in the USGF elite m ee ts. Sh e made eli te both in 1972 and 1973.

30

1974 ha s been a busy year for Ann. Internationally, she part icipated in the Go ld en Sands Internationa l Compet it ion held in Jun e at Varna , Bulgaria. She placed third all around.

Her teammate in this compet ition was Kathy Ho wa rd.

Nat ionall y, she plac ed fourth in the USGF Elite Qualification Mee t at the University of Delaware, Newark . Then she placed th ird in th e USG F Elite Nationals at Southern Illin ois Unive rsity, Carbondale. Ann is currently tied wit h Roxanne Pierce for fourth p lace in the Go lden Dozen Ameri ca n Women Gymnasts.

She participated in the USA-USSR gymnastics ex hibition s at the EXPO '74 World 's Fair, Spokane, Washington.

Once in a w hil e A nn w ill compete for h er schoo l team, but predom inantly her gymnastic activ ities are w ith the Mannettes. She is very keen on her club and spends about four hours per day there. It is about a th i rty-five minute drive from her home. She also helps to teach in the Gymschool program.

She like s to swim and to dive, an activity in which she ca n u se sk ill s acquired in h er gymnastics. She li kes to read nove ls and to li sten to rock mu sic. Most of all , however, Ann loves h er gymnastics . We can look forward to seeing a lot of her in th e y~a r s to come.

Ann 's parents came to the U.S. from Ireland about twenty years ago. She has a married siste r plus and o ld er and a yo unger brother.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Roxann e Pierce Age: 19 He ight: 5'7" Weig ht: 125 Ibs. Sin ce mid-Jul y 1974, Roxan ne has been a member of th e Mannettes Gym Club, Philad elphia , where h er coaches are Bill and Ginny Coco and Don Peters. Prior to th at, she had b een si nce March 1973 a m ember of the South ern Conn ec ti cut G ym Club, where her coac h wa s Muriel Grossfeld , coac h o f th e U.S .

Nat iona l Tea m .

Sh e bega n gymn as tics durin g h er seventh grade in Jun io r High Sc hoo l at Kensin gto n, Mary land . Durin g t he ninth grade sh e jo in ed

GYMNAST O ct. '74

the Marvateens Gym Clu b whe re her coach was Ruth Ann McBr ide.

Roxanne ' s intern ation al co mpetitions date from 1971, when she participated in the USAUSSR competition in February at Penn State. In this m eet she pl ace d n iflth. Later she participated in the PanAm Games and then , w ith Cathy Rigby, Joan Moore Rice, and Wend y Clu ff, she com peted in the Rig a Invitat ional Meet. At Riga , she p laced fifth in va ult and sixth in bars. She was a member of the U.S. Ol ympic Team w hich placed fourth in Munich i n 1972. In 1973, she won both th e South Africa Cup and th e French In vitation al Meet at Antibes; she aga in part icipat ed In th e Klga II llernationa l Meet and placed sixth . She participated in th e Braz ili an Intern ationa l Festi va l of Olympi c

Gymn as ts w hi ch put o n ten ex hibiti ons in fi ve citi es.

Nationa ll y i n 1974, she placed se cond in the USGF Elite Qua lifi ca tion Meet at Ca lifo rni a Stat e U ni ve rsit y, Full erton and fift h in th e USGF Elit e Na ti o nals at Sou th ern Illin ois Un ive rsity, Ca rbondal e. She is ti ed with Ann Carr for fo urth pl ace in th e Golden Dozen American Women Gymn as ts. She p arti cipa ted in th e USA-USSR Gymn as ti cs Ex hi b iti ons at EXPO '74 World 's Fair, Spokane, Was hil~ g toll.

Roxa nne likes bars and th e fr ee exe rcise but is not so keen on b ea m. Outsid e o f the gy mn asium, she lik es di vin g and loves the b eac h. She enjo ys bod ys urfing. However, gym nas ti cs tak es mo st of her tim e; she spe nd s eight o r nin e hours at th e gym every day.

31

Kathy Howard Age: 16 Height: 5'3" Weight: 105 Ibs. Junior at Northwest Classen High School, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Kathy belongs to the Hi-Lo Twisters Gymnastics Club, w here she is coached by Mary Welin in bars and va ult and by Jessie Arnold in floor exerc ise and beam. She has been a gymnast for three and a half years, all of them with the Hi-Lo's.

Because of her late start in gy mn ast ics (age

32

13) and abso lutely zero pr ev ious training in related activ iti es, Kath y was learning cartwheels wh ile the ot hers we re breaking into the Juni or Natio nals. H er's has been a catc h-up type of de ve lopment and an amazin g one. In 1973, her third yea r of gymna stics, she p laced tenth all arou nd in the USG F Elite Nationals in Seattle, Washington.

Internationa ll y in 1974, Kath y participat ed in th e Golden Sands Internatio nal Competit ion at Varna, Bulgaria. She placed fifth al l arou nd but took second pla ce on bal ance beam .

Nationa ll y, she parti cipated in th e USGF Elit e Qualification Meets at Ca lifornia State

U ni ve rsity, Fullerton, w here she placed fifth; and at the Un ivers it y of D elawa re, Newark, whe re she placed third. In the USGF Elite Nationals held at South ern Ill inois University, Carbondale, she placed ninth. She participated in the USA - USSR Gymnastics Exhibitions at the EXPO '74 World's Fair, Spoka ne, Washington.

Kathy is cu rrent ly ranked sixth in the Golden Dozen Amer ican Women Gymnasts.

Kathy does not have a favorite eve nt. Her coac h says she's coo l under pressure. Outside of gymnastics, Kath y lik es track - particularly hi gh jumping and the 100 and 220 yard sprints.

She lik es dancing.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Kyle Gayner Age: 16 Height: 5'4" Weight: 108 Ibs. Junior at Estancia High School, Costa Mesa, California Kyle belongs to the SCATS Gymnastic C lub (South ern Ca lifornia Acro Team Inc.). She h as been a SCAT fo r fou r yea rs. H er coac h is Scott Crouse.

She ha s b ee n a gy mn ast fo r fi ve and a half to six years, havin g started in a ba ll et cla ss. Her

GYMNAST Oct. '74

class, however, inc lu ded so me acroba ti cs at t he end of th e class and th is interested her more than th e ba ll et.

1974 has been a busy year for Kyle.

In te rn at iona ll y, she parti c ipated in th e " Moscow News " and Riga In vitational Cup mee ts, pla cin g eight h in Moscow and fourth in Riga . At Moscow, Kyle pl aced fo urth in bea m and sixt h in floor exe rcise; in Riga she pla ced seco nd in balance bea m and fifth in flo o r exe rcise.

Na tion all y in 1974, sh e parti cipated in th e meet against Czechos lovak ia. She pla ced

fo u rth in th e USGF Elite Qualifi ca tion meet at Ca li for nia State U ni ve rsity, Full erton , an d tied wi th Na ncy Thies for sixt h place in th e USGF Elite Na ti onals at Southe rn Illi nois Un ive rsit y, Carbonda le. She pa rti cipated in th e USA-USSR Gym nastics Ex hibiti ons at EXPO '74 World 's Fair in Spokane, Was hin gton .

Kyle is now ranked seve nth in th e Golden Dozen American Women Gymnasts .

Kyle li kes all gy mna sti cs eve nt s, but likes beam th e b est. She says it co m es m ost naturally to her. Out side o f gy mn as ti cs, she likes to cook and parti cul arl y enj oys watersk ii ng.

33

Nancy Thies Age: 17 Height: 5'2" Weight: 110 Ibs. Senior at South Eugene High School, Oregon.

Nancy is a m ember of the Nationa l Academy of Artistic Gymnastics, Eugene, OR. Her coaches there are Dick Mulvi-hill, Head Coach, and Linda Metheny Mulvihill, Ass ista nt Coach.

Nancy comes from Urbana, Illinois but moved to the Academy w hen it opened in September 1973. She li ves at a dormitory there and divides her time between c lasses at her high school and gymnastics at the Academy.

Nancy started her gym nast ics at eight, although sh e had begun ballet at six. Before going to Eugene, sh e was a member of the McKinley, Illinoi s YMCA w here her coac hes were again Dick and Linda Mulvihill.

She ha s been in the forefront of the co untry's gymnastic activi ty si nce 1972 w hen she became th e you ng es t perso n eve r to qualify for the United States Olympic Women 's Gymnastic Team, ha vin g done so at age 14. She co mpeted in Munich and placed thirty-fifth all around, an.

34

outstanding performance for a girl that age.

Nancy ha s b ee n a member of the U.S. nati onal tea ms com pe ting against Japan, Hungary, Romania, France and the hi storica l meetings against Red China in Madison Square Garden and Philadelphia in1973 . Millions who wa tched Wide World of Sports ' presentation of th e Madison Square Garden Meet wil l recall th e emotional sce n e when Na n cy 's tape of her fr ee exerc ise mu sic failed to play and th e Chine se piano player improvised for her routine, after w hi ch 15,000 sp ec tator s gave a sta ndi ng ovation for the performance. Also in 1973, she placed fifth all around in the Golden Sa nd s International Mee t in Var na , Bulgaria. In thi s me et she placed third in bea m and fifth in vault.

In 1974, she participated in the " Moscow News" and Rig a meets but was seve rely handicapped by a case of flu. However , wit h teammate Debbie Fike, after Riga she flew directly down to Johann esburg w h ere she placed third in the South Afr ica Cup. Nationally, she placed third all around in the 1973 USGF Elite Nationals in Seattle, taking first place in beam and second in floor exercise. In

1974, she placed fifth in th e USGF Elite Qualification Mee t at Ca lifornia State University, Full erton , and sixt h in the USG F Elite Nat iona ls at Southern Illin ois University, Carbondale. At the Natio nals, she placed third in floor exercise . She is cu rrentl y ranked eighth in th e Golden Dozen American Women Gymnasts. She participated in the USA-U~ :, R Gymnastics Exhibitions at th e EXPO '74 World 's Fair in Spokane.

In her spa re tim e she enjo ys reading, arts and crafts, and spend in g time with her friends. She is act ive in her church yo uth group and likes doing co mmunit y projects. She also likes to ski and swim. Of course, her favorite pastime is spend in g tim e with her family. As they are in Illinois, her tim e w ith them is limited. She has two brothers and two sisters.

Nancy likes all co urses at school but she is particularly interes ted in foreign lang ua ges.

She lik es being ab le to ca rryon a conve rsation w ith someo ne from a foreign co untry.

In the future she would lik e to get into coach in g gymnast ics, perhaps even startin g an academy in Illinoi s, sim ilar to Dick and Lind a's.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Jodi Yocum Age: 14 Height: 5'2" Weight: 97 Ibs. Sophomore at Exeter High School, Reading, Pennsylvania.

Jodi is a member of th e Parkette Gymnastic Club o f A ll entow n, PA. H er coac hes are Donna and Bill Str auss. She has been w ith th e Park ettes for three yea rs, althou gh h er gy mn ast ics ca ree r began at another club w h en she was seve n.

In 1974, Jodi partic ipated in the USGF Elite Qu ali fication Meet at Ca lifornia State

GYMNAST Oct. '74

University, Fullerton, but did not qualify for eli te; in th e qualification meet at the University of Delaware, Newark, Jodi not only qualified but placed ninth. She took eighth place all around and fourth on balance beam in th e USGF Elite Nationa ls at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Jodi parti cipated in the USA-USSR Gymnastics Exhibitions at the EXPO '74 World 's Fair, Spokane, Washington. She is current ly ranked ninth in the Golden Do zen American Women Gymnasts.

Jodi co nsiders beam h er strongest event, although she lik es floor. She is least ke en on va ulting. She tak es a ballet lesson once a week

for an hour, w hi ch sh e says helps her very much. She p lays tenni s and sw im s. Other than gy mnastics, her m ain inte re st is horseback riding. At school, she lik es m athematics. Most of her hom ewo rk is co mplet ed in t he famil y car in her two-hour dri ve to and from practice.

Jodi ha s three sisters and one broth er, among whom is a pair of six yea r-old tw ins. O ne of h er older sisters teaches at gym classes co ndu c ted by the Parkette s at the club and at A ll entow n College, SI. Francis de Sa lles, summer camp.

Jodi pla ys th e drum s in a fami ly c;ombo known as " Father 's Prid e" . H er older sisters pl ay th e organ and guitar w hil e the tw in s sing.

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Debbie Hill Age: 22 Height: 5'2" Weight: 105 Ibs. Debbi e b elo n gs to th e D enve r Schoo l of Gy mn as ti cs (Hill 's A ngels), w here h er coac h (a nd hu sband) is Rod H ill.

She has bee n a gy mn as t fo r eight yea rs, hav in g b eg un w hen she was fo urt ee n at th e Spark s (Nevada) Gy m Cl ub . H er coac h th en, as now, was Rod Hill.

Deb b ie's ca reer in majo r competiti o n goes back to 1970, w hen she b eca m e an alt ern ate me m ber o f the U.S. Na ti ona l Tea m tha t we nt to th e Wo rld Champi o nshi ps at Ljublj ana, Yu gos lav ia. In 1972, she pl ace d sixth in t rials for th e U.S. Ol ym p ic Tea m . H oweve r, as at Ljublj ana, she we nt to M u n ich as altern ate in sevent h pos iti o n. Ca th y Rig by had bee n injured be fo re t he t ria ls fo r th e O lym p ic tea m and so

36

did no t co mp ete. Neverth e less, th e judges vo ted to app o int her to th e tea m and thi s se lecti o n m oved Debbi e fro m sixth to seventh pos iti o n. In 1973, she too k fi rs t p lace in th e fir st U.S.G.F. Eli te Qu ali ficat ion Mee t and th en we nt o n th e Euro p ea n To ur of the Denve r Schoo l.

Wi t h Na ncy Thi es she parti cipated in th e Go lde n Sa nd s In te rn ati o nal Co mp etiti o n, Va rn a, Bul ga ri a. She pl aced te nth all aro und but pl ace d fo urth in ba rs and fi fth in floo r exe rcise. In 1974, she p laced eleventh in th e Elite Qu ali fica ti o n Mee t at Ca li fo rni a State U ni ve rsity, Full erton, an u seve nth i n th e Eli te Qu alifi cat ion Meet at the U ni ve rsit y of Delawa re, Newa rk. She p laced twe lfth in the Eli te Na ti o nals, So uth ern Illin o is U ni ve rsity, Ca rbo ndale, and is curren t ly ran ked ten t h in t he Go lde n Doze n Amer ica n Wome n Gymn asts.

In Jun e 1974 she participate d in th e five wee k Euro pea n to ur of t he D enver Schoo l. Thi s to ur was nota bl e in th at it was th e first ti me an

Am eri ca n club had co mpeted in co mmuni st co un t ri es. D ebbi e pl ace d secon d all aro un d in t he co mp etiti o n aga i nst th e Juni o r Sq uad in Ro man ia and fi rs t all around in Hunga ry, w here Ma d am e Nagy was o ne of th e ju dges. Th e Denve r Sch ool has bee n in vite d to return to Ro mani a to t rai n w ith th e juni o rs th ere. In A ugust an d Sep tem be r, she we nt w ith her cl ub to Japan to co mp ete in th e Wo rld Club co mpetiti o n.

Debbi e's d ay is di v id ed b etwee n her own trainin g an d her coac hin g. She assi sts Rod in all co achin g and is co ach of th e Cherub Tea m (Baby A ngels). She loves coac hin g. In h er ow n gy mn asti cs, sh e usuall y sco res abo ut th e sa m e in bars, va ul t, and floo r - so m et im es a littl e more in bars. H er fl oo r exe rcise mu sic is th e t heme from " Dr. Zhi vago". D eb bi e loves all kind s of m usic.

(See also interview in Febru ary 1973 "Gymnas t" and b iog rap hy in Sept ember-O cto ber 1970 " Mademo ise ll e gy mn as t " ).

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Barbie Myslak Age: 15 Height: 4'11 " Weight: 90 Ibs. Junior at Lee High School, New Haven, Connecticut Barbie is a m ember o f th e Southern Connect icut Gym Club, w here her coac h is Muri el Gro ss feld , coac h of th e u .S. Na ti o nal Tea m. She has been a gymn ast for four yea rs, all of th em at her prese nt club.

GYMNAST Oct. ' 74

In 1974, Barbi e competed in th e USGF Elit e Qu alifi cation Meet held in Jan uary at California State Unive rsit y, Fu ll ert o n. Sh e d id not qualif y at Fu ll erton but we nt o n to qu alif y and pl ace sixth in th e Elit e Qu ali fica ti o n Meet held in March at the U ni ve rsit y o f Dela wa re, Newa rk.

A lth o ugh sh e pla ced seve ntee nth in th e USGF Elit e Na tion als co nducted at Southern Illinoi s U ni ve rsit y, Carbonda le, w ith h er co mbin ed sco res she is no w ranked eleve nth in th e Golden Do ze n A me ri ca n Wom en Gymnasts.

She participated in th e USA- USSR Gymna sti cs Exh ibi t ion s at th e EXP O '74 Wo rl d ' s Fair, Spokane.

Barbi e has two bro th ers and a sister , but she is th e on ly gy mna st in t he famil y. She I ik es to swim and to di ve. She does not take ballet lessons at a se parate sc hoo l but does r ece ive d an ce in stru cti o n fro m one of th e teac hers at th e gy m . She was h andicapped in 1973 by a hand fracture and a case of mono, but has been in good h eal th w ith out injuri es this year.

37

Lynn Govin Age: 17 Height: 5'2'/2" Weight: 106 Ibs. Lynn is a fre shman at Southern Illin ois University, Carbondale, where her coach is H erb Vogel. Before going to S.I.U ., sh e was a member of the SCATS for two and a-half yea rs.

She is a graduate of Tustin High School.

38

In 1974, she participated in the USGF Elite Qu alification Meet at California State University, Full erton , but d id not qualify . She qualif ied and placed eighth in the USGF Elite Qualification Meet at the U ni ve rsity of Delaware, Newark, and went on to place sixteenth in the USGF Elite Na ti onals at

Southern Illin ois University, Carbonda le.

Although Lynn 's favorite event is floor exercise, her coach finds that she is a balanced gymnast w ith no weak eve nts.

Lynn, ranked twelfth in the Gold en Doze n Amer ica n Women Gym nasts, is one of the new faces on the national sce ne .

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Janette Anderson Age: 21 Height: 5' Weight: 102 Ibs. Jan et te belongs to the Southern Con necticut Gym Club, where her coach is Muriel Grossfeld.

Jan et te got into gymnastics by way of ballet.

Her doctor recommend ed ballet dancing as a cure for her bein g knock-kneed and pigeo ntoed. Consequently, she started taking le ssons when she was seve n. After eight yea rs, sh e had a sc holarship to go into a professional company. Howeve r, in th e m ea nwhile sh e had become int erest ed in gymnast ics and h ad begun to work out on her own in her back ya rd in EI Paso, Texas. There was no gymnastic instruction offered in EI Paso at th at tim e.

When she was fift ee n, she saw the Junior GYMNAST Oct. '74

Nat ionals in Hurst, Texas and watched the team from Seatt le win. Thereupon , she resol ve d to go to Seattle. Setting an exa mple of parental support, her whole fami ly mo ved there and Janette joined the YMCA. Her coach was George Lewis. Janette remained with the Seatt le YMCA club for fi ve yea rs, until in 1973 she move d to Southern Connecticut. At about the same time , her former club became Gymnastics Incorporated, a non-profit school.

Janette now spends her full time on gymnastics. Thi s graceful gymnast is proof that ballet and gymnastics ca n be good therapy and a sp lendid m ea ns of phys ical deve lopment.

She ha s twice been on the U.S . team. In February 1973, she participated in the Romania vs. U.S.A. competit ion at the University of Ca liforn ia, Berke ley, and in March 1974, she parti cipated in th e Czechoslovakia vs . U.S.A. competition at th e University of Ca li fornia .

Nationa ll y in 1974, Janette placed seventh in the USGF Elit e Qu alifi cation meet conducted in Janu ary at Cal ifornia State Un iversity, Fullerton and went on to place second in the USGF Elite Qualification Meet held in March at the University of Delaware, Newark. Since then, Janette ha s been unable to compete because of injuri es. These preve nted her from competing in th e USGF Senior Nationals at Southern Illinois University, Carbonda le. However, on her petition b eca us e of her injuries, the USGF has granted her permission to compete along with th e Golden Doz'en for a place on the World Champ ionships team.

Janette 's famil y still resides in Seattle. Her mother is Japanese; her father is an American I ndian who ha s retired after twenty years in the Army. She has a younger sister who is also a gymnast. Her brother, also very much a spo rt sman , is in col lege.

39

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Fig. 1

Fig. 2

F;g.~ ~o ~ ~~'~a"F·ig·'·8'-""·d~

Fig. 3

lAY-OUT CATCh If a beginner ca n p e rfor m a glide singl e leg shoo t through to a strid e support, th e re is no reason w hy she should not be able to ma ster the lay-out ca tch.

Th e fir st step for anyo ne trying th e lay -out ca tch is to ju st turn backwa rd s over th e high bar and deliberately drop to th e feet. Thi s gives th e gy mna st th e fee l of turning backward s from a hi gh position.

LAY -OUT CATCH

helen's Helen Sjursen

Fi g. 1 - Stand o n the low bar, back to wa rd s high bar. Grip hi gh bar w ith a regula r grip .

Fig. 2 - Jum p backwards to a rear support st retch ed (stretched b ody) Be sure arms are straight and rem ain straight during Fi g. 3 & 4.

Fi g. 3 & 4 - Lea n ba c kwa rd s to start a turn backwards. In crease th e arc h a littl e so th e legs w ill " trail " . Keep ail g le between arm s and body ri gid so that th e bod y stays clo se to th e bar wh il e tu~ning bac kwa rd s.

Fig. 5 - Re lease th e hi g h bar and imm edia tel y grip th e low bar, reg ul ar grip. At th e m o ment th e regrasp is m ade, should th e arm s be sli ghtly

bent, be sure to imm ediatel y straighten th e m out. Th e m ome n t th e reg ras p is made, th e hips sho uld be nd at th e sa m e tim e, no more th an 90 0 .

Fig. 6 - H o ld thi s b ent p osi tion until th e bod y sw ing s und er the low bar, then ex tend as u su al , fo r th e g lide. (Figures 7 and 8.)

(Superior - FIG Cod e 197 0 pa ge 37 #2) From Fi g. 5, th e mo st natural thing to do is to ju st jump to th e fl oo r af te r reg ras ping th e low bar. On ce yo u have successf ull y regrasped th e low bar " th e trick is m ade " so th ere is no rea l reas on to bend th e legs and le t th e fee t drop to th e floor. In stea d, o nce the regras p is m ad e, loo k at yo ur legs co nce ntrating o n keeping th e m straight , kn ees li ght , toes po inted hard , and keeping yo ur stom ac h mu scles rea l tight to fight that split seco nd of forc eful gra vit y.

SPOTTING ... If th e gy mna st is ju st to turn back w ard s and land to he r Jee t, th e spo tt e r just grasps th e upper arm. On th e lay-out catch as soon as th e gym nast re leases th e high bar, th e spott er circ les th e hips with both arms until th e ca tch is m ade, th e n th e spo tt er re leases so th e gymnast ca n co ntinu e w ith th e g li de.

Box l88-A, Lake Crystal, Mn, 56055 Phone (507) 726-2534

Write for Complete Accessory Catalog_

MENS' &WOMENS' GYMNASTIC APPAREL &ACCESSORIES 40

GYMNAST Oct. '74

COACItING··· HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR COACHING

By Gary Anderson Assistant Gym Coach, U.S. Naval Academy One of th e most common rationali za tion s th at is heard from U .S. Gymnasts (on all leve ls) is th at th ey do not h ave a good coach. It is m y fe eling ·th at thi s is often an excuse or "cop-out··, and probabl Y indicates simpl y that the parti cular gymnast does not know how to get th e mo st out of th e coach he does h ave.

Not eve ryo n e is fortunate enough to have a Watanabe, M itc hell , or Grossfield in the gym to help with th e technical execut ion of va riou s ski ll s. Ev en if they d id (and these fine coac hes would pr obab ly be th e first to adm it) th ey wou ld not ha ve th e proper critic ism or k ey word to teac h or co rrect every skill eve ry tim e.

A good coac h is often one who simply opens up th e gym six days a week , ten or tw elve month s a yea r. A top performer with pa st ex peri ence in our sport does not n ecessa ril y gu arantee successf ul coaching credential s.

Part of the problem seems to be that gymna sts usuall y look for th e bad things in their coac h es rather than th e good , and th e re-i n li es th e secre t of getti ng th e most out of yo u r coac hi ng.

Th e following th en is a li st of factors th at I fee l wi ll be helpful to yo u in getting th e most out of yo ur coach or coac hes.

1. Li sten caref ull y it a coac h is crit icizin g or exp lainin g a tri c k. D o n ot pretend to be li stening and d ayd ream . Yo u are wa sting hi s tim e and yo urs.

2. Do not back yo ur coac h into a co m er b y sayin g he is w ro ng , o r th at anoth er coac h to ld yo u to do ju st the oppos it e. There are man y hint s or clu es to performing each and every sk ill.

3. Try a skill th e way yo ur coac h tells you several times, not ju st o nce . II yo u are still no t hav ing success, pursu e anot her means of lea rnin g the tri ck. Asking other coaches o r stud yin g film s of th e parti cul ar move are so me alternati ves. Rem ember th at seve ral method s or terms ca rl be u se d to accompl ish the sa m e end. An examp le would be th e coach w ho tell s hi s boys to ki c k hi s legs toward s the ce ilin g o n hi s way to a shoot hand stand on ri ngs. Another coac h ma y use th e term ·' acce lerat e' · and still ano th er m ay say " lift '·. All ar e telling yo u to do the sa me thing, do n o t ge t in volved w ith se mantics and p layi ng one coa ch against th e other.

4. Watch , li ste n, and experim ent with severa l method s or tec hniqu es. Because of differences in body bui lds, strengths, and flexibilities among gymna sts all ma y not be able to use th e tec hniques with the sa me succe ss.

Al so rememb er when stud yin g film s of top p erfo rm ers th at th ey ha ve p erform ed th eir tri c ks thou sa nd s and th o u sand s of tim es; the re fore, th ey ma y sometimes perform a sk ill that is no t technica ll y co rrec t and still acco mpli sh th e skil l, for th ey have co mp ensa ted so m ew h er e else -- thru ex tr a str ength , ext rem e fl ex ibilit y, etc.

5. H elp coac h each other o n obvious things su ch as arched hand stand s, majo r o r m in o r form brea ks, and es tim atin g the height or fli ght of tri cks. d o no t cla ss ify your coac h as a '· bad coac h " simpl y b eca use h e ha s not see n yo u perfo rm eve ry tri ck o r even h alf th e trick s or rou li n es you try each and ever y prac ti ce.

To ge t th e most out of your coac hin g yo u mu st be lik ea good resea rcher. Co ll ect all your d ata; your coache s hints and clu es, other coac hes op ini ons, stud y film s, ex p erim ent , and mo st import anlth o usa nd s of repetition s. From all thi s, you pi ck Ihe clue or techniqu e that wo rk s bes t for yo u. Above all don ' t be so qui ck to co ndemn yo ur coach as a bad one simpl y beca use hi s m ethod of teaching yo u a ski ll differs from ano th er coache s method. Many gymnast s become quite good wi thout any coac h and simply work ing out every da y. D o n ' t take th e easy wa y out and blame yo ur lack of enthu sias m o r la ck of hard work on havin g a " Bad Coach".

ANd COMMiTMENT••• COMMITMENT AND THE GYMNAST

by John W. Hinds Jr.

....

As in any endeavor in li fe, a total commitment to the task at hand is needed for success to occu r. Therefore, a gymnast must be a comm itted individual if he is to expe ri ence the thr ill of standing on top o f the victory pl atform and claim the blue ribbon or the go ld medal.

For the successful gymnast comm itment is needed in a variety of ways. His every action must come w ith the total commitme nt of a professional. Realizing this fact the gymnast wi ll find hi s worko uts more meaningful and more enjoyable.

Commitment begins when the gymnast first starts training. He must realize th e nee d to follow training ru les. He must realize that his energies shou ld be directed toward building hi s body and not toward tearing it down by drink, drugs, lack of rest , poor nutrition , and / or smoking. Gymnastics w ill provid e an adequate amount of activity to help build the body if th e gymnast attends to his other bodily needs. With present day pressures it takes a strong indi vidual to resist the temptat ions ever prese nt - it take s comm itm ent.

Few activities w ill or should stand in the way of pra cti ce for the dedicated gymnast.

Gymnastics is a spo rt of perfection and perf ection comes from practice. Gymnasts who plac e a hi gher va lu e on socia l and rom antic interests, optiona l appointments and othe r purely personal in vo lvemen ts than on practice

GYMNAST Oct. '74

at the estab li shed tim e will seldom reach the top.

Although th ere is usuall y a va riet y of athl etic teams avai lab le for a young man to join , th e true gymnast wi ll ce nter his every in terest and action in hi s c hosen sport, the spo rt of gym nastics. He need not be narrow in view but must be so lidl y co mmitted in his spo rt as the only spor t - he must be " so ld " on it's supreme importan ce for him.

To obtain the strength and the flexibility required of a champion gym na st much homework is n ee ded . The gymnas t mu st faithfully perform movements w hi ch will develop strength and flexibil ity at home .

Workout time is too va lu able to use for exercises. The committed gymnast can and wi ll obtain strength and flexibility at home.

For effective learning and performing, the gymnast must be committed to perfecting each skill he performs. A back flip can only be executed if the gymnast is committed to doing th e w hol e sk ill. A gymnast th at goes half way through a back flip and stops is headed for trouble. Lik ewise a gymnast that does not go al l out for a giant sw ing on the high bar is likel y to experience diffic ult y.

By the same tok en a neophyte learning a new sk ill will find success co mes more readi ly if he commits himself to the sk ill and does not hold back . A gymnast with th e prop er fundamentals will have little d iffic ulty in going all out si nce he w ill have th e confidence necessa ry to commit hi s all. Without co nfiden ce, fea r often develops and this creates a v icious cycle . The gymnast will usuall y hold back and thus the new ski ll is

not co mpl eted satisfactorily. In fact a frightening situation or even an injury may result ca using more fear and loss of co nfid en ce .

It th erefo re behooves th e beginning gymnast to learn th e bas ics thoroughl y and advance from skill to ski ll i ~ a logical order of progress ion, ga inin g confidence as h e goes.

Only when such confidence is deve loped will the gymnast become committed wit h hi s whol e body to each new skill. H e must remember se ld om ca n a move be p erform ed by go in g about it half-heartedly.

Ju st as it is difficult to learn new skills without total com mitment it is ju st as diffi cult to perform a routine w ith out tota l commitment.

Routin es that win are dynamic and fl aw less th ey move with a sureness and ease that co m es from lon g hours of practi ce, co nfid ence and comm itment.

To co mpliment the routin e and skill s perform ed, the gymnast mu st have " form. " He mu st rea li ze that once good form b eco m es a habit it w ill remain with him and con tribut e to hi s success. Th e gymnast must rea li ze that gymna sti cs is an art of bod y expression and that good form promotes beauty in th e skill s perform ed. Th erefore for success to occur, th e gymnast m ust b e co mmitt ed to excep ti o nal for m at all tim es when le arnin g sk ills and pe rformin g ro utin es .

For th e gy mna st to be committed he mu st ha ve a coa ch who is also co mmitt ed - a coach who is co mmitted 110'70 to gymna stics and to gu iding hi s gymnasts toward champion ship ca liber. With th e co mbination of a co mmitted gymnast and a committed coac h th e rewa rds of su ccess should res ult for all conce rn ed .

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Instruction: PIROUETTES AND STUTZES (Twisting Mechanics III)

By H. J. Biesterfeldt, Jr.

Note: Parts I and II app ea red in th e Research Section, April '74 and Ju ne-Jul y '74. Thi s art ic le ho weve r is co ncerned w it h in st ru cti o nal asp ects o f th e m ate ri al f r o m p arts I and II. Introduction.

It is th e pu rpose o f thi s arti cle to ill us trate how, inca unifi ed way, th e m ateri al f ro m TM I and II ca.n be used in teac hin g e lem entary p art s in g y mn ~s ti cs . Our exa mpl es are ve ry bas ic: piro uettes o f var io us so rts o n fl oo r, parall e l bars, and h o ri zo nta l bar, toge th er w ith th e fro nt st ut z. We have restricted att ention to these ve ry si mpl e skill s beca use a large part of fa ult y m ec hani cs in adva nced sk ill s stem s f ro m a fault y app roac h t o more bas ic m oves. Th e stutz is includ ed t o show t h e simil arit y of ap p roac h , and he nce ad d unit y to th e m eth ods.

Thro ugho ut, we shall emph as ize t ha t t he mos t visibl e fea ture o f th e " m ode rn " tw ist is the eco no m y of m ove m ent. In eac h tw ist, it appea rs to th e viewe r as th o u gh alm ost no thin g was done to p ro du ce th e tw ist.

In all cases we show how simpl e m ove m ents on o ne eve nt ca n be used to teach mu ch o r all of th e m echani cs fo r an o th er eve nt.

Back Pirouettes Most ex pe ri ence d p erfo rm ers find t hat, save fo r th e co urage required to go for it, sw in g ing back piro uett es are bo th eas ier th an st ill bac k piroue tt es, and easier th an fro nt p ir o uett es .

The ce ntral reaso n fo r thi s is th at in sw in g back piro uettes, th e tw ist is almost entire ly se parate from th e sw in g fo r it, and th at th e tw ist in g mec hani cs is an alm os t p erfect exa m p le o f t h e " mod e rn " tw ist. Fi g u re 1 shows t hi s. Th e pe rform er has, in th e sw in g, pl ace d hi s body alm ost exactl y in th e pl ace w here it w ill fini sh the t w ist, b efo re any tw ist starts. No te t hat t h e ce ntre of gravi ty is behind th e hand s, ove r th e place w here th e m ove fini sh es. Th e u p pe r body is sli ghtl y ho llow , and th e sho uld ers ar e displ ace d bac kwa rd , towa rd th e p lace whe re they will be at th e e nd of th e tw ist. Th en, w it h no visibl e tw ist, th e le ft han.d is re leased and reach es fo r th e ri ght ba r. As thi s arm reach es and stretches t o suppo rt th e bo d y, a V, tw ist is exec uted in o ne sm oo th m o ti o n . A nd d urin g the entire tw ist, t he mea n bo d y lin e re m ain s t he sam e as it w as at t he start of th e move. Of co ur se, a sli ght arch is thu s prese nt at th e e nd .

Digress io n : Th e fa mili ar st rai t/ arch arg u ment dese rves co nsid era ti o n. We re th e bo d y pe rfectl y strai t at th e sta rt , th en o ur p r in cip les would di cta te a strait body at th e fini sh .

However, w ith a p e rfec tl y st rait body, th e tw ist mu st be i niti ta ted b efo re m ov in g th e hand. An unn ecessa ry effo rt is r equired, int roduc in g a lac k o f rh ythm. IT IS TH E OP IN ION O F TH E WRITER THAT AS A RU LE, ST IC K-LI KE A W OO D EN STRAITNE SS RE SULTS IN SOLDIER A PPEA RANCE TH AT G REA TL Y DETRACTS FROM TH E TOTA L A PPEARANCE .

42

Eq uall y we ll , u ncont ro ll ed arc hes, and be nd s th at i n no wa y co nt r ibu te to th e eco no m y o f m ove m e n t, are to be avo ided . Th e perfo rm e r shou ld of co u rse be to ld t h e u sual t h i ngs abo u t st rait body, to ge t h im off to a so un d start. Bu t t he coac h shou ld be awa re t hat t h e famili ar ru les o f t hum b st ill are inaccurate r ul es .

We fi nd t hat th e hard pa rt is to get t he perform er in to t he sli gh t ly ho ll ow body pos iti o n at t he star t, and t ha t mos t performe rs w ill eith e r 1) arc h o n u psw in g, o r 2) pik e excessive ly, fr equ e ntl y at t he start of th e turn .

So, ce rta in ly work f irst o n a sw in g " from t he sh o ul ders" so th at th e body moves as a sin g le un it. Nei th er " hee ls, t he n hips" no r " h ips, th en hee ls" is accep tabl e. Each of these e rror patte rn s represe nt s an att empt to sho rt cu t th e sw in g, and bot h stem f ro m fault y we ight shift at t he bott o m of t he sw i ng.

Now th at yo u have yo u r m an do in g m o re o r less sa ti sfactory sw in g, o r even before, yo u sho ul d try to teac h hi m t he bas ic m echani cs of th e pi ro uett e in at least two o r th ree o th er ways.

Simpl est way : Stand in g o n toes , bod y ho ll owed, m ove left hand across and let in stru cto r hold ha nd in pl ace w hil e stu de n t ex tends arm, sli g h t ly raises h ead look in g along arm , turn s body to a sli ght side arch, o n in to a sli ght back arc h, m eanw hil e turni ng V, turn .

After a few tim es throug h , th e perfo rme r w ill f ind t he m o ti o n qu ite na tural. Th en he sho ul d be all owe d to go t hro ugh it ve ry rap id ly, so th at he d iscove rs t hat he tw ists b eca use of th e u se of hi s arm , and t he way t hat he m oves hi s bod y. He sho uld no t be all owed to leave thin ki ng th at he d oes th e tw ist by p ushin g off w ith hi s feet.

exec ute % & V4 tu rn s as show n, w it h a sp ot to en sure good pos iti o n . (f ig. 4) Fi gure 3 shows a fro nt p iro uett e do ne by the sa m e tech ni q u e.

Teaching Step: Sa m e tu rn from back ex te nsio n ro ll , do in g t he ro ll to a sli ghtl y un derba lanced pos it io n so th at th e t urn is n o t start ed f rom a ba lanced handsta nd.

Final Leadup: Sw ing & wa lk b ackwa rd to handsta n d. Fi gure 5 shows thi s. Thi s is to lea rn th e rh yt hm of t he move, as we ll as th e sw in g to 路 ba lance w he re th e hands w ill be at th e end of th e m ove.

Last Teaching Step: H ave perfo rm er go f or th e entire m ove, w it h a spo t, t he fir st att emp t.

Do not all ow him th e chance to t r yo ut a wa lk ed p iro uett e f irs t. If he d oes no t sw in g to pro p er pos iti o n do not let hi m go for th e m ove . In thi s way, yo u ca n avoid m ost of th e pe rfo rme r's p rob le m s w ith th e m ove.

We f ind th at, even a consid e rabl e sho rt cutting o f th e above路. pr ogra m , a

Fig. 2

----~

Alternative : Have th e pe rf o rm er l ie o n t he f loo r as in fi gure 2. The actio ns are li ke prev io us o nes, but here, by keep in g th e head, hands, and toes we ll o f f th e f loo r, t he perfo rm e r automa tica ll y m oves h is body t hro ug h th e req uired sli ght side arch and backwar d arch . Of co urse, t he sequ e nce exagge rates th e arch, fo r p u rpose of vis ibil ity.

Leadup 1. Lear n a fo rwa rd ro ll & ro ll w ith st ra it legs to handsta nd. Thi s is no t a pr ess, and is do ne with some sm all , co ntro ll ed mome ntum. H ere, we wa nt a ho ll ow ch es t, so th at th e ro un ded back is th e fo rem os t pa rt of th e body. Most pe rfor m e rs fim'! thi s ro ll q uite d ifficu lt. H oweve r, it does no t wea r h and s, and is very sa fe. In o p en in g out, t he bo d y shou ld reach an exte nded b ut still ho ll ow lin e, as shown in f igure 3.

Leadup 2. Sim i lar ho llow pos iti o n fro m bac k ex ten sio n ro ll.

Teaching step: Fo rwa rd ro ll , ro ll to handstand, un de r ba lanced and ho ll ow, th e n GYMNAST Oct. '74

I

â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

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performer easi ly learns the move, perhaps the easiest pirou ette to learn.

List of Common Faults and Probable Causes Pik e at finish: Failure to sw ing as a unit, usuall y, arch-pike or arch swi ng technique, perhaps also poor weight shift. .

Falling off to sid e. Fai lure to believe in own abil it y to tw ist w ithout pu shin g for the twist, i.e., pu shing off w ith lef t hand . Swing more und erb alanced, and w ith a con tro ll ed ho ll ow .

Wron g grip w ith left hand: Head too high o r excess arch, in swing.

Arch throughout turn : Failur e to ex tend in should er as we ight transfe rs to left arm , also swing too balanced, so that twi st is done with pushoff.

Variations on a Movement The famili ar " blind change " is esse ntiall y a back pir o uett e, done w ith '11 rather than !I.. & \I.i twi st. But since in both, the bod y moti o n is continuou s, th ere is rea ll y ve ry littl e difference betwee n th em . If yo u do not beli eve th is, wa lk through both , on yo ur fee t, and no te the similarit y of moti o ns.

There is littl e argument as to how to do th is mo ve, sin ce the body automati ca ll y start s in the proper ho llo w po si ti on du e to th e motion for giants .

We find that the back exte nsion ro l l, do ne not like a kip, but like a streuli , followed b y V1 pirou ett e, is ve ry effective both as a leadup and as a co rr ection al technique. In fact, performers w ith yea rs of ex perien ce o n bar have made major co rrec tion s merely by wo rkin g th e move ment on floor.

Th e weight shift of co urse is need ed for the 1;1 turn.

Early Front Pirouettes To co ntinu e w ith o u r instru ctional theme, let us use th e fo rward roll , but now ro llin g up w ith an undergrip o n the edge of a mat, as in figure 6. Again we in sist o n the ho llow body lin e, we ll stretch ed, but we give eno ugh momentum to pass beyond th e hand stand. We try to co mpl ete th e ex t ensio n ju st b efo re reaching th e

hand stand , and exec ute the turn so to finish by th e tim e we reach the handstand . H ead remain s close to arm in twist, and is slightl y rai se d at th e end of the twist. This also means o n e is ve ry li ghtly arched at the end.

Thi s mo ve does not require mu ch effort to keep stretch ed, since there are only a few pound s of we ight on the hands during the turn.

It is best to wo rk for some time o n floor before movin g lei bar, and I feel that one shou ld avoid teac hing old style late pirouett e at all.

When moving to bar, first, a 10 bar and tab le, dupli ca ting th e action on the floor, helps . A minitramp ma y replace the table, and does a lo t for th e performer 's cc ,lfidence. But SPOT. A cras h into the minitramp hurts.

Stutzes A stutz can be taught in essentia ll y the same manner as we ha ve done with pirouettes, and th e rout ine can often be use d to co rr ect badly taught stut zes, as well. Begin with the procedure o f figur e 7, ~nd have the p erformer go t hrou gh it o ft en, for a week or so before try in g a stut z on bars. We here are o nl y cons iderin g hi gh stut zes, 45 degrees above horizonta l, at lea st. For otherwise the mechani cs we descri be do not work. Also, th e p erform er mu st ha ve the shou lder flexibilit y shown in th e pi ctures, o r quite near to it.

Th e lea dup, toes off th e floor throug hout, se rves to mak e th e perform er move th rough the co rrec t bod y position s, so that he shou ld fini sh hi s stut z in a hand sta nd quit e soon. We always sp o t on the bars for a start, and we tr y to make sure th at the performer never learns to try and land on hi s feet. The effort to land on th e feet leads to fau lt y t w isting mech ani cs for th e stut z. Noti ce that there is no " throw " w hatever to initiate the tw ist. (fig. 8) Summary: Very simpl e floor move ment s ca n be made to emb ody mu ch of the mechanics o f var ious simpl e tw istin g move ment s. All of these mov es depe nd , in addition to the twisting mechanics, an adequate sw ing - - a topic for an o th er lesso n.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

43

RESEi1R~H ··•

(L~"v-=; /. ) ..

i...................•.....

: : :

DR. H.J. BIESTERFELDT, JR. "GYMNAST" RESEARCH EDITOR Athletics Department- SIU Arena i Carbondale, Illinois 62901 ~ •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• USA * .: NOTE: CORRECT IO to DIET & GYMNASTICS , GYMNAST, Aug/ Sept '74, p. 47, Column 2 pa rag rap h 3 from th e bottom. Se nt e nce read in g: " A little h ydroge na ted fat. . .' · sh o uld inst ead read: " As littl e h ydroge na ted fa t sh o uld be add e d to th e di e t as co n ven ie nt " ... th a t is, " avoi d h ydroge n a ted fat w hen co n venie ntl y possible " .

EDITORIAL NOTES: It is my OpIniOn, based on experience and on my own work with body measurements, that the biomechanical advantage of the Japanese is very real. However we must warn readers that the numbers in this study represent the athletes at roughly the peak of their development. No study has been made of the measurements during the developmental stages. And moreover, it is often possible to train to make up for any given disadvantage. Therefore, it would be very wrong to merely make the significant measurements on a high school student, and try to use the values to predict success. We hope to have a second article in the near future, indicating how to take suitable measurements, and indicating something of the proper interpretation of the data obtained. /! seems to me that it would be a very worthwhile thing to conduct a longitudinal study of this sort - m easurements taken over say ages 12 through 20, for an entire large high school team, repeated annually and correlated with progress in scores. Unfortunately, not many graduate students will wait 8 or 10 years for data for a thesis. Moreover a tremendous amount of data must be processed for such a study, due to Ihe many uncontrolled factors in development.

HJ8

Th e results of thi s latter pha se are highlighted in thi s paper.

Int e r es t in th e bod y dimensions (a nthropo metri c measurements) of champion at hl etes has led to many studi es in wh ich performers from va rio us sport s have b ee n com pared. In variab ly th e mal e and female gym nasts are found to be among the small es t athl etes in term s of h eight and weight. It is gen era ll y know n th at successful gymnasts must be relatively sho rt of stature. Exce ption s occ ur, of co urse, amon g spec iali sts but th ese are less prevalent in all-aro und perform ers. The domination of m en 's gymnastics by the Japanese in rece nt years raises an int eres ting qu es tion concerning their bod y dimensions relati ve to th e biom ec hanical requirements of the six eve nt s. Is it po ss ible that th ey possess w hat mi ght b e termed a " biom echanical advan tage " as a result of th ei r stature?

With this qu es ti o n in mind, th e first phase of th e project was co nducted during th e visit of th e Japanese Na tion al team in 1972. At thi s time anthro pometri c measurements we re taken of th e Japa nese and Amer ica n mal e co mp etitors.

Res ult s of thi s stud y w hi ch are includ ed here were previously pub li shed by LeVeau, Ward and Ne lso n (1974). Additiona l m eas urement s w hen th ey competed in 1973 were taken of both the Hungarian m en and women 's teams.

All o f th ese res ult s ha ve been comp il ed and are presented here.

Eleven of th e 21 m ale and 5 of th e 7 female gymnasts included in thi s stud y co mp eted in th e 1972 Muni ch Ol ympics. Th e 11 men and th eir po sition s in th e A ll Around were: Nakayama (3), Kasa matsu (5), Tsuk ahara (8) of Japan ; Molnar (19), Magyar (29), Ki ss and Berzi of Hungary and Hu g (31), Avener, Crosby and Gree nfi eld of th e U.S. The two lOp finishers were also Japanese w hic h mean s th at of the top eight gymnasts in the world, five were from Japan. Ol ympi ans am o ng the Hungari an girls were: Bekesi (9) , M edvecz ky (13), Csaszar (14), Kelemen (34 ) and Nagy . The fact that 16 of the 28 gy mnasts were O lympian s indi ca tes that a representati ve sa mpl e of high level p erformers were included in this stud y.

Procedures and Results

COMPARISON OF THIBODY DIMENSIONS OF JAPANESE, HUNGARIAN AND AMERICAN GYMNASTS by Richard C. Nelson Penn State University University Park, Pa. Penn State U ni ve rsit y, undN th e direction of Gymnastics Coach Gene Wettstone , ha s hosted 12 internation al gymnastics me ets sin ce 1954.

M any of the b es t m e n and women gymnasts in th e world have performed in thes e events. The most recent teams to compete were from Russia , Japan and Hungar y, all of whom ha ve di sti nguished records in internat ional competition and performed well during the Munich Ol ympic Games of 1972. These meets prov ided members of the Biomechanics Laborator y a unique opportunity to study these highl y skilled athletes as part of an on-going re sea rch program in gymnastics. The research activities have included high speed filming of selected eve nts during practice and compet iti on and measurement of the body dimensions and proportions of the gymnast.

44

A tot al of 35 anthropometric m easurements were taken of each gy mnast using stand ardized procedures recomm ende d b y Hana van (1964) and Tanner (1964). Th e mea n va lu es for each tea m and for th e co mbined group of m ales are prese nted in Tabl e 1. The three m en' s teams were compared statistica ll y to identify any significa nt differences among th em w hile the male and female gymnasts from Hungary were also co mpared. A lett er following a mea n va lue indi ca tes the tea m with wh ich it differs significantly. An asterisk after a mea n va lu e for th e Hungarian wom en identifies th at va riable as being significant ly different from the Hungarian men.

A variet y of indices ha ve been developed which utilize certain anthropometri c data in their calculation . These 'indices prov ide additiona l information about bod y proportions and are useful in contrasti ng groups such asthe gymnasts in this study . The nine indices which were calcu lated in this study are described in Table 2 while the resu lts of the comparison among the team s are presented in Table 3.

Examination of Table 1 reveals that the three male groups were similar in body weight while the Japanese were slightl Y shorter. The groups we re 'qu ite simi lar in nearl y all c ircumference,

br ea dth , height and depth mea sureme nts. This perh aps co uld be ex pec ted si nce th e gro ups were similar in bo d y we ight. Ho weve r, the length mea surement s r eflect a number of mea ningf ul differences with th e Japanese havi ng the lowest va lu es for each meas urement. Significant differences b etween two, and in som e cases all three, groups were ob se rve d for foot length, forearm length , total arm length and tibia length , bot not for upper arm and femur length.

Th e differences amo ng these three gro ups are amp lified furth er in the comparison of anthropometric i ndices (Table 3). Th e most important differences are in Bru gsch ' s Che st Stature (N o. 37) where the Japanese have the hi ghest va lu e; the Bra c hi al Ind ex (n o . 40) and th e Po nderal Index (no. 45) where th ey have the smallest va lu es .

As a res ult of th e data anal ys is, a pattern emerges w hich indi ca tes the Japan ese differ from th e other two groups in m easurem ents w hich have parti cular relevan ce to the biom ec hanical req uirements of gymnast ics sk ill s. Although the ir body weight is similar th ey are so me w hat sho rt er which is primari ly due to shorter lower legs (tibia ). O f sp ecial sign ifica nce are shorter ex tremiti es including th e fOOl, forearm and tOlal arm as we ll as the tibi a. Th ey ha ve larg e chests relati ve to their height and are r elati ve ly short with resp ect to th eir bod y weight.

Furth er co mpari so ns were mad e between th e m ale and fema le competitors from Hungary. The purpose was to observe the simil arities and differences in stru cture with resp ec t to the biom ec hanical requirements of th e event s perform ed by each group. The result s appearing in Tab le 1 and 3 in dicate that th ese groups are obviously different in their propo rtion s. Eve n though the m en and·women are different in .h eight and we ight their pond eral indices were identical.' Of the meas urements that were simil ar, most were from the legs and hips. Leg length s, leg circumferences, except the knee, bi-iliac brea dth, and buttock d epth we re similar betwee n th e men an d women . Above th e hips mo st circumfere nce measurem en ts were small er for the wom en, wh il e the cormix index (No . 44), bi-acromi al (shou ld er) bread th and arm length were simil ar. These d ata indicate th at the Hungarian women as compared to the Hun ga rian men gym nasts have a greater proportion of body mas s distributed in the lower r egion of the body, primarily in th e hips and thighs , at th e ex pense of mu sc ul ature in th e trunk, chest and arms. Arm supported skills except those on th e un eve n parallel bars, are of less importance in the women 's events.

Comparison With Other Athletes The results of thi s stud y have been compared with those of select ed studies in which a variety of athletes had been in vestigated. Tanner (1964) stud ied the bod y dimensions of 1960 Olympic track and field, weight lifting and wrestling athletes. The ponderal indices of the male gymnasts reported here were greater than the discus throwers, shot putters, weight lifters and wrestlers but less than the other track and field athletes. The Corm ic index (No. 44) is a measure of trunk length relative to height. The gymnasts had higher average cormic indices than any other group of athletes in Tanner' s study except the ca ucas ian we ight lifters.

GYMNAST Oct. '74 ,

Table 2 Table 1

Anthropom e tric Ind ices

Ant hropome tric Measurements of American, japanese, H u ngarian Male Gymnasts a nd Hunga rian Fe male Gymnasts

Me an of

1. Age (yrs.)

2. He ig ht (in .)

3. We igh t (in.)

Ci rcumfere nces (in .)

4. Ankl e 5. Ca li 6. Knee 7. Thi g h 8. Waist 9. C hest 10. Fist 11 . Wr ist 12. Elbow 13. M idar m 14. Axil Arm 15. Hea d BREADTHS (in.)

16. Bi-iliac 17. Wa ist 18. C hes t 19. Bi ac ro mial 20. Hu me ra l Bico ndy lar 21. Femo ra l Bi co nd ylar HEIG HTS (i n.)

22. Sittin g Heig ht 23. Sph yrio n 24. Tib ial 25. Troc ha nte ric 26. Sho u ld e r 27. Su bste rn a l DEPTHS (i n.)

28. Chest 29. Wa ist 30. Buttock LENGTHS (in.)

31. Foot 32. Upper Arm 33. Forea rm 34. To ta l Ar m 35. Tib ia 36. Fe m ur * H US -

)

All M ale Gymnasts

U.S. Me n (N =8)

japan Men (N =6)

22.4 66.0 136.2

21.5 66.9 135.1

24.3 64.7 135.9

Bru g sch 's C hest Sta t ure = Ches t C irc u mfe re nce x 100'10 He ig ht

Hu nga ry Me n (N=7) 21.8 66.0 137.7

20.5 64.0* 122.4* 8. 0 13.1

8.1 13.5 13.3 19.2 27.4 36.1 10.6 6.6 9.5 11 .2 11 .2 21.7

8.2 13.4 13.3 19.0 27. 1 35.4 j 10.4 6.5 9.8 10.9 10.9 21.7

8. 1 13.7 13.2 19.3 27.3 36.7US 10.5 6.8 9.4 11 .3 21.7

8. 1 13.3 13.5 19.3 27.8 36.5 10.7 6.6 9.2 11 .3 11.3 21.7

10.5 9.7 12.5 15.5 2.7 3.6

10.4 9.8 12.5 15.6 2.7J 3.6

10.5 9.7 12.9 16.0H 2.5US/ H 3.7

10.5 9.8 12.4 15.1 J 2.7 J 3.6

10.5 8.7' 10.8* 14.7 2.4' 3.4*

35.0 2.6 17.5 34.4 53.5 45.9

35.4 2.7 H 18.1 35.2 53.9 46.3

34.5 2.6 16.7US 33.1 52.5 45.2

34.9 2.4US 17.6 34.5 53.8 46.1

34.2* 2.3 16.8 33.4 52.0' 45 .1

8.5 6.9 7.9

8.5 6.8 7.9

8.3 7.0 8.2 H

8.8 7. 0 7.6J

9.7 5.9' 7.8

9.9 12.5 10.3 29.6 15.0 16.8

10.2J 12.7 10.2H 29.8 15.4J 17.1

'1'1.3

Acro m ia l- lii ac

Hunga ry Women (N=7)

Re la t ive Arm Le ngth

Brac hia l

Brugsc h 's Ches t Sta tu re Ac ro m ia l- Il iac Re la tive Arm Le ngth Brac hi a l Crura l Uppe r to Lower Limb Fo rearm to Tibia Co rmi c Ponde ra l

.

20.0 24.7* 34.0' 9.6' 5.S· 8.6 9.2'

Cru ra l

x 100'Xo

Tib ia Leng t h·

x 100'Yo

Fe mur Le ngt'h

lU.O·

Upp er- Lowe r Li mb

20.9'

Tota l Arm Le ngt h

x 100'Yo

Trodia nt e ri c He ig ht Fore a rm -Tibia

9.5US 12,4 9.8 H 28 .6 H 14.2USIH 16.4

10.0 12.5 10.7US/ J 3U.2 j 15.2J 16.8

All Male Gym nas ts 54. 80 67.50 44. 80 82.00 89.40 86.10 68 .60 53. 00 12.82

= Sitti ng He ig ht x 100'Yo He ig ht

Po nd era l

Heig ht .jWe ig ht

9.3* 11 .6' 10.1' 28.2 14.5 16.6

U.S. Men

japa n Men

Hu ngary Men

Hu ngary Women

53 .00H / )

56.7US 65.4 44 .2 H, 79.3 H 86 .8 86 .4 69.3 53.4 12.5US

55.40US 70.00J 45.80 86.30 US / J 90.80 87.60 70.70·US 52.90 12.90

53.15' 71.30 44.00' 87. 00 87. 10 •.

84.30 69 .50 53.40 12.90

66.90 44.50 80.40H 90.20 84.60 66 .30H 53.00 13.05J

= Forea rm Le ngt h x 100'70 Tibi a Le ng th

Co r mi c

- Des ig nat es sig n if ica nt di ffe re nce be tween Hun ga ri a n me n an d wo men .

J - De no tes sign ifica n t d iffe re nce fro m th e Ja pa nese.

H - De no tes sig ni fica nt d iff ere nce fro m th e Hun garians US - Denotes sig n ificant d iffe re nce fro m the Ame ri ca n s

GYMNAST O ct. ' 74

Fo rea rm Le ng th Up pe r Arm Le ng th

Table 3

37.

38.

39.

40.

41 .

42.

43 .

44.

45 .

= To ta l Arm Le ng th x 100'70

12.7*

Anthropome t ric Indices fo r American, Japanese, Hungarian Male Gymnasts and Hun!!arian Fema le Gymnasts Mean of

100 '~,

He ig ht

Des igna tes sig ni fica n t d iffe re nce be tween Hungar ia n me n and wo m en .

De no tes signif ican t d iffere nce fro m the Japa nese.

Denotes sign ificant di ffe re nce tra m th e Hu ngar ia ns.

[J e notes Sig ni fica nt d iffe re nce fro m the Ame ri ca ns.

IND ICES

x

Bi-Il iac Bread th Bi-Acro mi a l Breadt h

A cco rdin g to Hirata (1966) w ho measured' th e 1964 O lympi c athl etes in To kyo the m ale gymn asts w eig hte d th e least and we re th e shortest group amon g all ath letes w ith th e excepti o n of th e long d istan ce runn ers. Th e O lymp ic gy mn as ts ex hibit ed a high degree o f sto utn ess as did th ose in th is stud y. Similar iti es we re also n ot ed in height and bod y weight.

Eib en (1972) in hi s b oo k, Th e Ph ysique of Women At hletes, rep o rt ed th e anthropome tri c measureme nt s o f Hun ga ri an w om en tr ack and fi eld perform ers as co mpared to two group s, w omen ph ys ical edu ca ti o n m aj o rs and w om en coll ege stud ent s. In almo st every vai ab le th e gymn asts in th e prese nt stud y we re simi lar to th e ph ys ica l educa tio n majors and w om en co ll ege stud ent s w ho we re as a group smaller than th e trac k and fi eld ath letes. The gy mn as ts had grea t er ches t circ umferen ces th an th e co ntro l g ro up subj ect s and we r e simi lar to th e mea n of al l th e track and fie ld athl etes. Th ei r leg circumferences we re less than th e con t r o ls and less th an all th e track an d field ath letes. It app ears that th e w om en gymn as ts tend to b e short e r w i th re l ati ve l y l ar ge ch es t c ircumferences and small I ~ g circum fe ren ces.

Th ey w er e not th e stoute st as compared to the track and field at hl etes, but compared alm ost identi call y to the ph ysi cal educat ion major and we re the sa m e as th e Hungar ian men gymna sts in stoutn ess.

Pract ical Implicat ions Th e resu lts of thi s in vesti gat ion and previous studi es o f oth er ath letes cl ea r ly show that m ale gymn as ts are smal l of stature and relati ve ly low in bod y we igh t. Stud ies o f O lympi c ath let es

45

beginning in 1928 have show n a continuous increase in height and we igh t for at hletes in mo st eve nt s for eac h success ive Ol ymp ics. It now app ears, howeve r, that the champion gymnasts, namely th e japan ese, are becoming small er rat her than larger w hen compared to champion s of the pa st. If this is indeed true, it offers an unu sual trend w hich is co ntrary to almost all ot her sport s. What is it about men 's gymnastics that mi g ht ex plain the phenom eno n?

It is ge nerall y acce pted th at gymna sts must be relati ve ly sma ll of stature. This is partl y du e to th e fact t hat among highl y trained athletes sma ll er men ha ve g reater strength relati ve to the ir body we ight, that it, strength per pound of bod y we ight. Fo r exa mple, j okl (1973) exam in ed the reco rds of wo rld cla ss we ight lifters and noted a sli ght increase in we ight li fted per pound of body we ight from the fl ywe ight (1 14 Ibs. ) up to the lightweight (132 Ibs.) and th en a rapid decline through the largest compet itors. Thi s means that sma ll er men are better ab le to handle their own bod y we ight w hen p erform in g gymnastics skill s espec ially th e arm-supported acti viti es.

Thi s co ncept can be ex pl ain ed on more sc ien t ifi c g round s since strength (ability to produce force) is directly r elated to th e crosssect ional area not th e volume of th e mu scle(s).

Consequentl y, an increase in muscle vo lume leads to an inc rease in w€ ight by cubic units (in. 3) w hil e streng th as represtented by cro ss sect ional area only inc reases by squared unites (in. ') . When co mparing smaller men w ith larger men it should be apparent that the larger perso n p ossesses greater bod y weight but rel ati ve ly le ss st rength.

Th e co ncept of st rength p er pound of bod y we ight pro vid es o nl y a parti al exp lanation for th e sma lln ess of gymnas ts. Equall y important is th e fact that sma lI er persons provid e less re sistance (inertia) to move ment. Wh en exa minin g lin ea r mo tion th e inertia of th e object is direct ly proportion al to its weight.

Ho weve r, in angu lar (rotar y) motion not on ly is th e we igh t important but also its distribution in relation to the axis of rotation. The resistance of a bod y to angular motion is defined as the moment of in ertia and is of direct relevance to mo st gymnastics move m ents.

A smaller p erso n ha s a smaller mom ent of in ertia when ro tati on occurs about hi s center of grav it y in free flight or w hen he rotates about his hands w hich occ urs in man y gymnast ics sk ill s. For exa mpl e, a tall , thin gymnast wo uld encounter grea ter resista nce to angu lar move ment in a giant swing th an a short gymn ast of eq ual bo d y we ight.

Th ese two facto rs, str ength / bod y weight and mo ment of inertia of the body exp lain why male gymn as ts in ge neral are. small of stature.

The o bviou s superiority or the japanese male gymnasts , howeve r, h as led the authors to sp ec ulat io n co nce rning the difference noted in bod y proportions in comparison w ith th e Ame ri ca n and Hunga rian competitors. Un like other spo rts studi ed, it ap pea rs that w ithin th e popul ation of wo rld class male gymnasts th e best in terms of performance (Japanese ) are also se t apart in t erms of th eir bod y proportions. Cou ld thi s be m erely a coi ncide nce o r is it po ss ibl e' that t he " japane se Ph ys iqu e" affo rd s these we ll trained ath letes a " biom echani ca l adva ntage " in most events?

The authors suggest th e latter is th e case .

A ca p sule d escript ion o f the j apanese gy mna sts revea ls a stru cture w hich is short o f stat ure w ith sma ll fee t, sho rt shank s (lower legs), short arm s, broa d shou ld ers and a large

46

chest. Such a co mpact st ructure is ideall y suited fo r mo ve ments of the body about the hand s as observed in the side horse, horizontal bar, parall el bar s and rings . Because the arms are short the center of gra vity of the bod y is nearer the ax is of rotation. This fa ct coupled w ith the shorter shanks and sma ller feet tends to reduce the moment of inert ia of the bod y w hen rotation occurs about the hands. This would be of special importance in performance on the horizontal bar since almost all movements are performed while the hands are in contact with the bar. The shorter arms wo uld be advantageous also on the rings especially in a position like the ir on cross. . Although an accurate assessment of th e magnitude of these structura l differences wi ll require additiona l research it is the opinion of the authors that th e japanese possess a biomech anical advantage which is augmented by their dedication and training techniques .

Emperi cal support for this opinion can be found in the resu lts o f the Munich Ol ympic Gam es. Of the top six fini shers in each eve nt , the Japanese placed three men in the side horse, four each in the free exercise , rings and parall el bars, and fi ve in the horizontal bars. In these fi ve events the y amassed three Gold, four Sil ve r and fi ve Bronz e medal s. These acti vities consist mainl y of swing ing and other arm supported activities. I n contrast they were far less success ful in the long horse va ult placing onl y two m en in th e top six with the highest finisher in fourth plac e. It is suggested that the y are at a di sa dvantage at least until they contact the horse since they are shorter (center of gra vit y furth er below the horse) and les s suited to running (shorter lowe r legs). In the co mpetition between the U.S. and Japanese team s at Penn State the America ns won the lo ng horse vault but we re well be low th e Japanese p erfo rm ances in the other fi ve events.

Summary In summary, the male gymnast is a relati ve ly stout (sho rt and thick ) at hlete as compared to ot her athletes. Among gymnasts, the j apanese, the stoutest group, were superi or in ability to all other groups of gymnasts. The y had shorter tibias (lower legs), the lowest ponderal ind ex, the lo west brachial index, the shortest arms, largest chests, circumferentiall y, and the highe st Brughsch ' s chest stature ind ex than either the Americans or the Hungarians. With rega rd to the inertial characteri st ics of th e japan ese ph ys ique, it appears that the y ha ve a distinct advanta ge ove r the Ame ri cans and Hungarians, however, other factors, i.e. type of traini ng and coach in g, etc., are also respon sible for their success .

The female gymnast is also stout as compared to other female ath letes. Th ey are simi lar to the male gymnasts in their leg dimension s. but ha ve small er circumference dimensions abo ve th e hips. Among other women ath letes the gymnas ts ha ve greate r should er de ve lopment, w hich aids them in arm supported act iviti es .

The y seem to differ from the female track and fie ld athletes in about the same ways as the mal e gymnasts differ from the male track and field ath lete s.

The resu lts of this in vestigation suggest that th e bod y dim ensions of gymnasts ha ve a much greater influence on perform ance than has previou sly bee n recog ni ze d. It is hoped that thi s stud y w ill focu s attention upon thi s important aspect of performance and stimulate int erest in future sc ientific in ves tigation s in this area.

Th e authors w ish to express th e ir th ank s to the fo llowing per sons who provid ed in va lu able ass ista nce in th e cond uc t of th is stu d y : Barne y LeVea u a nd Terry Ward , Biomechanics Labo rat o ry, Gene Wettstone, PS U G ymnas ti cs Coach , Coaches Tsu rumi (Japan ), A. Grossfield (USA), Bord an and Bekesi (Hun gary) a n d M iklos Tottossy, (Qu ee ns College ).

REFERENCES Eibe n , O.G .: The Physique of the Woman Athlete, The Hun garian Scientific Council for Ph ys ical Edu catio n , Budapest, 1972 Ha na va n , E.P.: " A Ma thma ti ca l Model of the Hum an Body." AMRL-TR-l02, W ri ght- Patte rson Air Force Base, Ohio 1964.

Hirata, K. : " Ph ysique a nd Age of Tok yo Ol ympiC Champions, " The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 6(4): 207·222 , 1966. 'loki; E.: " Phys ique an d Performance," American Corrective Therapy Journal, Jul y· Aug u st, pp. 99-114 , 1973 .

Le Veau , B.F. ; Ward, T. and Ne lso n , R.C.: " Bod y Dim e nsions of Japa nese and American G ymnasts ."

Accepted for publi cat ion in Medicine and Science of Sport.

Tanner, J. M.: The Physique of the Olympic Athlete, George Allen a nd Un w in , Ltd ., 1964.

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GYMNASTIC AlDIS

V=rnl1[UJ~~~rn ill~rn~ 1 \ ORDER ~OIlM BASIC GYMNASTIC TEACHING SYSTEM G irl s' (6 c h m w it h tea c h e r's manu al) 10.00 Boys' (8 chorts w ith tedche r' s m a nu a l) 12.00 Teacher's Ma nu al onl y 2.00 (s pec ify boys' or gi rl s') GYMNASTIC CHARTS'

Men's Inl. Para llel 13M (5) 7.00 Inl. Rin gs (3) 5.00 Ba sic to Inl. Sid e Horse ( 2) 4.00 Ba sic to Ad v. I umbling (4) 6.00 Adva n ced Parallel l3a r (4) 6.00 Advanced Rin gs (3) 5.00 Ba sic to Adv. Ho ri zo nt al Ba r (6) 8.00 Girl's Inl. to Adv. Ba la n ce l3eam (6) 8.00 Basic to Adv. Tumblin g (4) 6.00 (sa m e as Me n 's a b ove) Co mp e ti tive Va ult in g (3) 5.00 In l. U n e ve n Para ll e l l3ar s (5) 7.00 BOOKS Gymnas ti cs Illu s tr ~ted 9.50 Th e Side Ho rse 3.50 FILMS 1972 Ol ympi c G ymnastics In d. Fin a ls Super 8 Ko d acolor 400 fl. Me n s' 40.00 40.00 400 fl. Women 's FLOOR EXERCISE MUSIC Music Ada pt e d from th e Munich Ol ympics 8.00 12" stereo reco rd cassell e tape 5.00 AIDS Meet Ad ve rti sing Pos te rs (each) 1.00 g irl s b oys Sco rin g Kit s 1.50 gi rl s boys Ha n dgua rc.l s 2.25 sm m ed Ig e Gymn as ti c Embl e m s .75 Add postag e and ha nd lin g 50~ for o rders und e r $10.00 $1.00 fo r orde rs o ver $10.00 TOTAL $ _ __

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GYMNAST Oct. '74

ZWICKEL

TltiRTY

A Distinctive Line of Men's and Women's Uniforms

SECONds I

I

\S '

b y David Jendrzejek Th e tim e has come .

It is an icy Tu esday ni ght in Janu ary and o utsid e vag rant fl akes o f fa ll en snow flitter ac ross dese rt ed stre ets. Ins id e th e gy mn asium it is wa rm and bright; the clutt ered gym floor immersed in b ea m s of ye ll ow li ght fro m o ld low- hangin g lamps.

Asse mbl ed in th e gy mn asium are va ri o us p ieces of gymna stic apparatu s, two ri va l gy mn ast ic tea ms d ressed in fa ul t less w hite, and a sma ll , but fanatic cro wd of spectators pr ese ntl y in sil ent and inte nt concentratio n on th e move ment across t he floor . Criti ca ll y followi ng every mo ve, th eir gaze is fi xed o n the co ntes tant perform in g on th e paralle l ba rs as h ef ini shed hi s ro utin e. H e is tired and b reat hes heav il y, b ut end s hi s routin e we ll w ith a lofty f ront so mersa ult man euve r which leaves him landin g strongl y o n th e thick mat s to the enthu sia sti c applause of the home spectat o rs. As he wa lks off the floor, th e girl ann o uncin g scores jo in s w ith the crowd to b reak th e sil ence by reading t he scores fo r t he co ntesta nt now being held up by th e judges. I do not hea r the sco res nor do I notice th e fact t hat she mi spronoun ces m y name because it is m y turn nex t and I am nervous. I have wa ited impati entl y all eve nin g for th is moment to do a routin e on the parall el ba rs w hi ch last s no more than thirt y seco nd s. Th e wo rth of lo ng hou rs of practic e w ill be q uick ly proven in th e next h alfminute. Aga in r echeck in g th e condit ion of m y hand straps, I draw in one last deep b reat h and th en strid e o ut on the gym flo or. Now, for th e first tim e, I no ti ce th e audi ence, wa tchin g and wa iti ng, expectin g an d d emanding of me a good showin g. I also n ot ice m y own rapidl y increasin g heartbeat , b ut I am co nfide nt beca use I have don e th e rout in e su ccessfull y man y tim es befo re. I try to remind myse lf of thi s fact as I hu rried ly fi ni sh chalk in g up and turn to face th e para ll el ba rs and the judges, one o n either side of th e bars. I stand as str aight and as tall as I can, arm s outstretched , show in g no emotion or anxiety , and glance from one j udge to the other in assu rance that I have the ir attention. They both g ive a fat h erly nod of approva l, and in the tota l silence m y mind shout s for me to leap on the ba rs and do a st ron g, flo w in g routi ne. A ft er starin g at m y task for a seco nd and reviewi ng m y mount, I start moving. At f irst slow ly, I qui cke n th e las t few steps and jump into the ce nt er o f the bars o n my uppe r arm s, all owing th e mom entum to car ry m y body up hi gh likea pend ulum . I kno w I mu st ge t up hi gh for m y mou nt to be successf ul. Th en I swing down and as I co m e int o a normal rea r rise, I cut my legs across the outside of th e bars and ho ld an immediate Lseat. I did not cut fast enough; my legs we re pro babl y bent and that m ea ns points off. I try to forget the last m ove and conce ntrate on holdin g a good L- sea t and completing th e rest of m y rou tin e. I mu st be st ro ng, but I also mu st be quick and smo ot h, deliberate in every GYMNAST Oct. '74

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mo ve . In th e L- sea t I begin to go into m y ne xt move, a st raigh t-arm strai ght-l eg handstand press, I rem ind myse lf th at I m u st lea n over ve ry fa r in order to make thi s trick poss ible. I mu st lea n! I mu st lea n! Good! Now hold it. If I fa ll no w, it w ill ruin th e r est of th e ro utin e. Now I have to brin g m y h ip s u p at th e sa me time.

That ' s it, slow ly b ut steadil y. Come on , keep pushing, yo u're almost there. That is it! I' m at th e top; now I mu stn 't overba lance. I ho ld the hand stand as st rongl y as I ca n for the required two seco nd s, w hic h is not diffi cul t but is rega rd ed in st ead by most gymnasts as a time to res t up from previous move to attack the nex t ones. Th en I beg in th e next and hard est part of m y routin e w hi c h in vo lves abo ut eight moves in about as man y seco nds. I sw in g down slo w ly from m y hand stand and fall back to move und er t he bars and th en shoot o ut w ith t he Finni sh kip to end up in an upper arm hang. As usual the Finni sh kip is not as hi gh as I wo uld li ke it to be, bu t it was smoot h and thu s passable.

Continuing w ith that same mom entum , I drop under the bars on the ba cksw in g and gli de w ith my fee t w it hin an in ch of t he ground , making sure that th ey remain th e same distance off the groun d at all tim es . Then I mu st shoot my legs straight up and aro und to co me to a st raight-arm support above the bars. This sup port I neve r h o ld but cont inu e on in th e backswing to lower myself to th e bars and from ther e to do a front ri se immed iate swin gin g pirou ette in w hi ch I swin g up as if go in g into a hand stand, but t urn on the bars to mak e a 180 deg ree switch. Flowing in one con tinuou s mo ti on, I swin g from th e ne arhand stand posit ion to do a mo ve ca ll ed a stut z in w hich o n the fo rward swing I release the bars and do an ot her 180 degree turn. From here I sw in g to a handstand. It is difficult to think at all during thi s. se ri es of moves. Th ey all go so fast that it is diffi cult eno ugh sim p ly remembering such bas ic thing s as form an d smoothne ss. I am ve ry tired after the se moves and this add iti ona l hand stand gives me at least a short tim e to rest before att empting m y newl y lea rned d ismo unt.

Afte r cou ntin g off the three seco nd s, I lowe r m yse lf dow n to an upper-arm han g to a front rise . Th e front ri se is d iffi cu lt from t hat position and r equires much more effo rt to make it look good, es peciall y so far towards the en d of th e rout in e. Immed iately from the front rise, I do a front off dismount in w hi ch I do a for wa rd so m ersa ult off th e bars to a standin g positi o n, ho pe full y on th e mat. Th e front off is th e mo st exc itin g m oye in m y routin e beca use, as yo u do it, you leave t he bars co mpl etely and fl y thro ugh th e ai r in a so m ersa ult and fin all y ope n up at th e end . Landing on th e mat w ith m y arm s in th e air, I am qu ite ex hausted for th e moment and quite happy that I ma nage d to ge t through my ro uti ne w ith on ly a few minor errors. A ll th e exciteme nt is go ne; all th e tension is go ne; and I sit bac k to watc h the r es t of t he m eet.

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â&#x20AC;˘ SWING THE ESSENCE OF GYMNASTICS (Part III) A. B. Frederick, Ph. D. University of Wisconsin Superior, Wisconsin

SYNOPSIS: As a qualitative activity, gymnastics has evolved in the qualitative domain demanding an interpretive or artistic evaluation. Events such as the rope climb have often been discarded probably due to their quantitative aspects while others have not fit into the grand design of the F.I.G. Gymnastics, unlike many other "sports", is much more than a competitive program. It is or represents a special view of man ("The Swinger"). I n this third article, I exa mine a statement by a prominent psychologist, G. Stanley Hall, who, by the turn of the century had become an American pioneer in psychology and education. A quote from Hall is followed by brief assessment of the symbolism of gymnastics.

In 1930, Dr. Leopold Zwarg, himself one of the strong forces in gymnastics in the United States and a man w ho understood the moti vat ion of Jahn , quoted from G. Stanley Hall. This particular quote captu res an essentia l spirit attributab le to gymnastics in the Jahn sense which is often missed in the technical orientation of present-day competitive programs. Hall was speaking about the influ ence of gymnastics on life itse lf when he sa id: " Th e world now demands what this country has never had, a man who, knowing the human body, gymnastic history, and the various great athletic traditions of the past, shall study anew the whole motor field , as few great leaders in the last century tried to do; who shall gather and corre late the literature and experiences of the past and present w ith a deep sense of responsibility to the future; w ho shall examine marti al training with all the inspirations, warnings and new demands; and who sha ll know how to revive the inspirations of the past animated by the same sp irit as the Turners, who were al most inflamed by referring back to the hardy life of the ear ly Te utons and try in g to reprod uce his best features; who sha ll catch the spirit of, and make due connections with, the popular sports, past and present, study both industry and education to compensate their debilitating effects, and be himse lf animated by a great ethica l and humani stic hope and faith in a better future. Such a man, if he ever wa lk s the earth, w ill be the id o l of youth, will know their physical secrets, will come almost as a savior to the bodies of men, and will, like Jahn, fee l his ca lling and work sacred, and his institution a temple in which every physical act wi ll be for the sake of the soul. The world of adolescence, especia ll y that part which sits in closed spaces conn ing books, groans and travails all the more grievously and yea rnin gly because it is unconscio usly, waiting for a redeemer for its body. Till he appears, our culture must remain for the most a littl e hollow, falsetto and handi capped by sc hoo l-bred diseases. " Youth (App leton, 1907 p. 64)

48

Those of us who are stud ents of physical education w ill have di scovered the mot ivation of Luther Gulick who provided an international symbo l for the YMCA (an in verted triangle).

Although he referred to " sp iri t," " mind" and "body " as compos ing the sides of his equ il ateral triangle, he emphas ized that the triangle was his way of symbo li zing man. Hi s thinking was not unlike the Greek sp irit of harmony whic h served ancient philosophers nor for that matter, the unify in g symbolism of the Eastern world which unites body, mind and sou l.

But before Gu li ck ' s triangle appeared, there was the thinking of Jahn and his Turners. His earliest symbo l related to his purpose of reviving the Teutonic ideals he felt were blurred by Nepolianic domination. This ea rl y symbol is found in Figure 1. Above and below the word , " Turnkunst," are found the dates 9, 919, 1519 and 1811. The latter date refers to the we ll-known founding of Turnerism at the " Turn platz" (outdoor gymnas ium ) by Jahn near Berlin on a field known as the Hasenheide.

The first date, 9 AD , refers to the rout of the Roman legions by Hermann. In 919 AD, tournaments were introduced into Germany and 600 hundred years later in 1519 AD, the last tournaments were held. This badge, worn by all the early Turners with great pride, was nothing more than " German Power " in the modern context and was found by Jahn to be insufficient for the goa ls he expressed in hi s " T urn k u nst. " Jahn 's friend, Lud w ig Uhland , provided him w ith an id ea for a more appropriate symbol whose origin was a popular Sixteenth ce ntury saying attributed to stud ents. Uhland related to Jahn the popular " Four T " phrase standing for " Fri sch ", " Frei " , " Frohlich " and " Fromm " . The " 4-F " symbol is found commonly today in Germany and other parts of Europe. (See Figures 2 and 3.) A coppersm ith fashioned the " 4-F " symbol as shown in Figure 4. But Jah n p referred the design of the symbo l in Figure 5, the o ne which is most prominent even today w here it is employed, because of its having a firmer foundat ion . There were also other troubles and Jahn felt obli ged to defend " Fromm " in the public press when his symbo l and its obvious religious intent were misconstrued.

In Figure 6 one finds a sampling of many of the later applications of the "4-F " symbol.

Notice that the one on the left in the shield of the Workers Gymnastic and Sport Federation eliminates the " Frohlich " and " Fromm " of the origina l substituting instead "Stark " and " Treu " which was later preferred by the Nort h American Gymnastic Union and some American Turner C lu bs. (See Figures 7 and 8).

Once transferred to the United States, the symbol underwent some ot her changes . The

Latin expression , " Mens sana in corporesano," replaced the German words probably due to the pressures of two wars with Germany (See Figure 9) and later this was replaced with " Sound mind, sound body. " (See Figure 10).

The symbo l of the Greek discobolus was also employed but the dualistic nature of the Roman sloga n attributed to Ju stinian and later to Jo hn Locke was more typical of Western dualism than the integrated ideal of harmony espoused by the Greeks. Jahn 's spiritualism was difficu lt to trans late into American cultural li fe and the American Turners bacame simpl e advocates of physical ed ucation in th e schools since it seemed to provide the needed balance referred to by Hall in the opening quote. The same fate has come to the YMCA triangle of Gulick.

When one hears today of " general impression," " spi ritu al expression " and other simil ar terms related to the eva lu at ion of gymnastics, one is tempted to believe that the pendulum is turning back to a more integrated concept. But as long as judges seek a quantification of such values, the underlYing intent w ill not bring us closer to Jahn but merel y emphasize the gross materialism of the modern, competit ive program. (My own view of " spiritual expression" w ill be given late r based upon a very simplisti c view of anatomy and the humanistic view of human performance.)

The qualitative domain mu st of necessity deal w ith abstract io n and ideali sm. Although the modern program must be eva lu ated subject ive ly in the arena of competition, we have seen tremendous changes in the rules to quantify such subjeivity to an extent that becoming a judge in gymnastics is one of the most intricate and complicated tasks in the world of sport. No doubt, present effo rts will result in furthering the objectivi ty of such eval uations until at last they can be submitted to computerization thus eliminating any " human " error. This too, is well and good . But if gymnastics is truly " Turnkunst," much more is impli ed than the ab ilit y to determine who is " N umber 1."

Jahn realized that the spontaneity of chi ldren 's play had much more to offer than the hyperorganization of a " Littl e League." He observed young men at play and utilized their instinctive nature to challenge one another to get at more serious goa ls. In var iably such goa ls were at the same time humanistic and qualitative, moral istic and id ea li stic; the ultimate expression of SWING. Note: I n the next article (Part IV) the biomechanicst looks at " sp iritual expression."

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Fig. 5

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Fig. 7

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Fig. 6 Fig. 7

'IMIIIIIIIIIIIIHllllnmIlIUIllIUlllilllllnUlilfIJHlllftttlHllflllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII"IIIII""'"U.IIIIIIIII"'"_'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII"'IIIIII1IIIIIIIIIUIIUUlIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIHi.MIIINtNIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH,IUtMII ..ItHIIHmll"IKHHlllffI . . . . I ... '"~I .. UIl I

GYMNASTIC HONOR RESEARCH AWARDS FOR 1974-75

Each year four (4) $100.00 awards are give n b y th e Nationa l Assoc iation of Co llege Gymnastics Coaches Resea rch and Profess ional Li asion Committ ee. Th e NACGC Research Committee, in coo peration with the N issen, Gym M as ter, Am eri ca n, and Zw ickel compani es, wishes to promote sc holarl y research in th e area of gymnastics. Li sted be low, find pertinent informat ion related to th e four Honor Resea rch Awards.

1. The Carl Patterson Honor Research Award of th e National Gymnastic C lini c and NACGC- Sarasota, Florida-- $100.00, (Coopera tin g Frank Cum iskey). D ecided at Sarasota, Chairman - Dr. Newt Lok en (Spo nsored b y th e Nissen Corporation). All Candidates res iding in th e NCAA Mid - East Di strict shou ld subm it th eir pro sp ec tu s to Dr. Newt Loken, University of GYMNAST Oct. '74

M ichigan , Ann Arbor , Mich iga n 48104 b y November 30. It wi ll facilitate matters if seve ral co pies are sent.

2. The Lyle Welser Honor Research Award of the NACGC--Ft. Laud erdal e, Florida- - $100.00, Chairman - Di ck Hol zae pfel (Cooperat in g Bill Meade). Decided at Fort Lauderdale. All Ca ndid ates residing in th e NCAA Ea stern District should submit t heir prospec tu s to Di ck Holzae pfel , Athl eti c D epartm ent, Un ive rsity of Iowa , Iowa City, Iowa 52240 by November 30. It w ill fac ilitate matters if severa l cop ies are se nt.

3. The Hartley Price Honor Research Award - Tu sco n, Ar izo na--$100.00, Chairman - Dr. Robe rt D. Peavy (Coo p erating , Coach Je ff Bennon ). D ecided at Tu cson (S pon so red b y Gym MasterCompany). A ll Cand idates residing in th e NCAA Mid-West District should submit their prospect us to Dr . Robert D. Pea vy, D epartment of Ph ys ica l Educat ion, Washington State Univers ity, Pullman, Wash in gton 99163 b y

Novem be r 30. It wi ll facilitate matters if seve ral copies are se nt.

4. The Leopold Zwarg Honor Research Award of th e NACGC --Berk eley, Californ ia-$100.00, Cha irman - Dr. Harold Fr ey. D ecided at Berkeley, Californ ia (Cooperat in g Dr. Eri c Hu ghes). A ll ca ndidate s residing in th e NCAA Western Di stri ct shou ld submit th e ir pro sp ect us to Dr. Harold 路Frey, Gymnastics Coach, Un ive rsit y of Californi a, Berk eley, California 94720 by November 30. It wil l fa cilitate matters if seve ral copies are se nt.

Awards Chairman: Dr. H artl ey Price , Professor Emer itu s of Ph ys ical Education , Florid a State Uni ve rsity, Tall aha ssee, Fl orid a.

Assistants: Art Mdritt, NACGC Vice President , U ni vers ity of California, Santa Barbara , California 93017. Dr. Gera ld George, Old Dominion Un ive rsity, No rfold, Virgini a 23508.

Dr. Robert D. Peavy, NACGC Secretary / Tr easurer, Washington Stat e Un ive rsity, Pullm an, Washington 99163.

49路

SEQUENCES

by sch!JJ! Top row: Tsukahara, from Japan in a cartwheel back piked somersault vault. (Munich (72).

2nd row: Japanese gymnast in a double back somersault from P-bars.

3rd row: Kenmotsu, from Japan, in a back somersault with a triple twist.

4th row: Olympic gymnast from the '72 Games in a piked back somersault with full twist.

50

GYMNAST Oct. '74

GYMNAST Oct. '74

51

bACk

1

ItANdsPR iNGS A COMPARISON OF TWO TKHN IQUES OF TEACHING THE BACK HANDSPRING

By Marvin Johnson Eastern Michigan University Introduction Th e procedure recommend ed fo r teac hing th e back hand spring has changed littl e ove r th e years. In 1925 Bukh (1 :169) illu strated thi s tradition al technique. The method ca n be chara cteri ze d by the u se of a " chair " pos iti o n accompani ed b y a complete swing of th e arm s from down and back past th e hips, in preparation for th e spring or tak e-off, to forward upward and overhead on take-off.

However, film s and observa ti o ns o f fl o or exe rcise p erfo rm ers suggest th at th e back hand sprin g ca n be perform ed w itho ut swin g in g the arm s as a preparati o n fo r th e move m ent. Experim entation w ith teachin g th e back hand sprin g w ithout a preparato ry arm sw in g indi ca tes th at it is not o nl y poss ib le to teach th e skill this way, but th at it may b e as eff ec ti ve an approa c h as th e tradi t io nal procedure.

Illustration and Description of Technique A of Learning the Back Handspring From a sta ndin g posi ti o n wit h th e ar m s ex te nd e d fo rwa rd , sw in g th e a rms ex te n ded forwa rd , sw ing the a rms d ow n a nd backwa rd . Simulta neous ly be n d the knees to assu m e a chai r pos iti o n w ith th e uppe r bo d y e rect. As the bo d y ove rba la nces backward spring fro m the m at, ex te n d th e body co m p le te ly, sw in g th e arm s fo rwa rd , upwa rd a n d backward over head a n d reach for the ma t. Wit h prope r tim in g th e bod y will pass thro ug h a ha ndbal a nce posi ti o n w he re we ig ht is taken on th e ha n ds. Vigo ro usly pus h off th e mat w ith th e ha nd s and sna p th e legs d own b y be n d in g a t th e h ips.

Purpose Th e purpose of thi s stud y wa s to compare th e effecti ve ness of two techniques of teachin g th e ba ck hand sprin g.

A reaso nabl e randomi zation was empl oyed in teachin g ba ck handsprings b y 2 meth od s. In th e eva lu ati o n, eac h slUdent att empted th e ski ll tw ice, th e spo tt ers joi ntl y rated th e perfo rm er' s abilit y to execute th e back hand sprin g based on th e amo unt o f spo t o r ass istance requi red .

Th e foll ow in g sca le w as used in th e eva lu ati o n.

Rating

o

Description Sli g ht ass istance g ive n, but m ay have bee n sa fe without aid .

No spo t or ass ista nce re quire d . Skill pe rform e d w ith o ut a id.

2

Skill pe rform e d wi th so m e re li ance o n spo tt e rs, but not co mple te ly d e pe nde nt o n ass ista nce of spo tte rs.

3

Pe rfo rme r co mple tely spo tt e rs fo r ass ista nce.

d epe nde nt

on

At a later date, the performances of the students were eVi!luated by three experien ced judges of high school gymnastics using a four point sca le. Th e judge s were permitted as m an y pl ay backs of th e tap e as d es ired, and jointl y record ed o ne sc ore for each subject. Th e sca le used by th e jud ges to eval uate th e techni q ue o f perfo rmin g th e back hand spring was as fo ll ows.

Rating

Description

4

Exce ll e nt techniqu es co rrec tl y pe rfo rmed.

3

G ood techn iqu e bas ica lly co rrect w ith o nl y m ino r e rro rs.

2

Fa ir t ec hnique p e rfo rma nce.

m a jo r

e rr o rs

in

Poo r techniqu e not a bl e to d e m o nstra te an y skill d eve lopm e nt.

#l!.1 '1lIustration and Description of Technique B of Learning the Back Handspring Fro m a standi ng positio n w it h th e a rm s ex te nd e d ove rh ead, be n d th e kn ees to a pproxim a te ly a fo rt y-five d eg ree a n gle w ith the u pper bo d y e rect. Beg in to over ba la n ce bac kwa rd b y reaching o verhead bac kwa rd w ith th e a rms. As the body ove rba la n ces begin th e sprin gi n g ac ti on' by ex te n d in g th e bod y complete ly a nd reac h the ma t. W ith prope r timin g t h e bod y will pass th ro u g h a mo me n ta ry hand bala n ce positi o n w here weig h t is take n o n th e ha nds. Vi go ro usly p ush o ff t h e mat w it h th e ha nd s a n d sn ap the legs dow n by bending a t the hips.

Th e differences in th e two techni q ues we re sta tisticall y an alyze d b y m eans o f a chi-square tes t of signifi ca nce. Thi s analys is is prese nted in Tabl es I and II. Th e numbers fo r ratin gs on e and two w ere combin ed in Tabl e II fo r anal ys is because of th e small number of cases w ith the rating of one.

Ta bl e 1. Compa riso n o f two tec hn iqu es of lea rning th e bac k handsprin g b y ra t ings o f the d egree o f ass ista n ce re quire d as ju dged by th e spott ers by C h i-Sq ua re Ana lys is.

Technique C h i. Sq. Ra tin g A B (; 0 14 1 6 9 7. 92 15 2 6 7 3 5 x2 o f 7.815 = .05 leve l of sig n if ica n ce Ta ble II. Compa riso n o f two techniqu es o f lea rnin g th e back ha nd sprin g by ra tin gs o f th e skill as judged from pla ybacks of video ta pe b y C hi-Squ a re Analys is.

Technique Ra tin g A B C hi . Sq. 4 7 16 3 14 9 2 10 7 5. 3 2 ns 1 3 2 x2 of 5.991 = .05 leve l of significa nce

Results and Discussion Th e results of th e stu dy indi ca ted, th at fo r th e limited tim e d evo ted to th e d eve lo pm ent of th e ski II, stud ent s ac hi eved significa ntl y grea ter ind epend ence in p erfo rm ance of th e skill w itho ut th e use o f th e prep arato ry arm action.

Th e stu dy d id no t d em o nstrate any sig nif ica nt di fferen ces in ski ll d eve lo pm ent as in d ica ted by th e eva lu ati o n o f p erforman ce s record ed o n vid eo tap e.

Th e stud y did n o t w arrent an y jud ge ment as to w hi ch techniqu e of learnin g th e skill was b es t; but fr o m o bse rva tion s of stud ent s du r in g th e stud y, th e fo ll ow in g spe culation s we re made rega rd in g d ifferen-ces in techniqu e o r executio n w hich deve lo p ed as a result of using th e two p roced ures. Without th e prep arato ry arm ac ti o n, stu de nt s we re ab le to spo t each o th er' s pe rfo rma nces b ett er . Thi s may have resulted in co nfid ence d evelopin g fas ter and thro ugh thi s co nfid erice, ind ep en dence .

Stud en ts w ho d id no t u se the prelimin ary arm act io n seemed to ex p erience more di ff icult y in securin g adequate lift from th eir take-o ff, but did seem to ac hi eve a b ett er exten sio n with o ut th e tendency to d eve lop a twi st in fli g ht ; and thu s, w ere abl e to achiev e a moment ary handbalance w ith g rea ter consi sten cy. A stud y of th e pro bl ems o f p erfo rmin g back hand sprin gs in a se ri es o r preced ed b y a ro undoff may wa rrant different co nclu sio ns rega rdi ng t he e ffec ti ve n ess of th e two techni q ues o f teach i n g t he back hand sprin g.

Th e r elati o nship s of age and sex differences to th e effec ti ve ness o f th e vari o u s techniqu es m ay result in d iffere nt co nclu sions .

Reference Bukh , Nie ls. Primitive Gymnastics Lo nd o n En g la nd: M e thu en a nd Co. Ltd. , 1925.

52 GYMNAST Oct- '74

The Worlds Best According to Dr. Josef Gohler Editor of Olympische Turnkunst M en: Thun e - DDR Kasa m a tsu - JPN Okamura - JP N M a gya r - H UN Ke nm o tsu - J PN Andri a n ov - USSR Kli m e nk o - USSR Sza jna - PO L Bo e ri o - FRA M o lna r - H UN Koes te - DDR Fuj im o to - JPN S. Kato - JPN Jaege r - DDR Ka ji ya m a - JP N Tsuka hara - JPN E. Mi kae lja n - USS R Vra ti c - YU G Mila n e tt o - ITA M . Ne tu sli - CS SR M a le jev - USS R Sa fro nov - USS R Klot z - DDR Dit ja tin - USS R Ko b in ge r - G FR M ac k - DDR T. Iga ras hi - JP N G a il le - SU I Ha n sc h ke - DDR Ro hn e r - SU I

11 4.000 113.900 113.650 11 2.900 11 2.775 112.700 11 2.700 11 2.65 0 112.600 112.600 112.500 112.450 112.300 112.100 11 1.900 111.700 111.650 111 .650 111.600 111.550 111.500 111 .400 111.300 111 .300 111.250 111.150 111 .100 111 .000 110.900 110.800

.-

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W o men: Tou路ri s h c h eva - USSR Ko rbut - US SR H e ll ma nn - DDR Sc ha fe r - DDR Kim - USS R Csasza r - H UN G rozodova - USS R Dro n ova - USS R D o rn a kova - CSS R Go rbi k - USS R Saa di - US SR M e d vecz ky - H U Zink e - DDR Bo gda n ova - US SR Rice- M oo re - USA Pe rska - USSR G e rsc ha u - DDR Pa rsc h in zeva - USS R Ege rva ri - JI N Dun bar - USA Sav in a - USS R G ilmudti nova - USS R C hrj a p ina - USS R Kosc h e l - USS R Sc hm e iber - DDR Kisc he - DDR Ko les nik ova - USS R N. W o ro n in a - USS R Burd a - USS R M aye r - G FR

GYMNAST Oc t. ' 74

"0

77.350 76.625 76. 025 75.975 75.925 75.500 75.450 75.350 75.350 75.350 75.350 75.350 75.300 75.300 75.1 50 75.100 74.975 74.95 0 74.900 74.85 0 74.775 74.600 74.600 74.575 74.550 74.500 74.500 74.500 74.45 0 74.450

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The TWELFTH' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS were not held until1950 and only si x teams too k part in this first po st war competition in Basel , Switze rland. The team representing that co untry ga ve a superior performanc e and the y took fir st pl ace. The second po sition was tak en

by Fin land and the third by France. Th e allaround titl e was awa rd ed to Lehman of Switz erland.

gymnast memorabilia THE WORLD GYMNASTIC CHAMPIONSHIPS 1930 - 1970

Rom e wa s ho nored w ith the XIII WORLD CHAMP IONS HI PS of 1954. Thi s contest was th e sit e fo r a major turnin g point for thi s int ern ational gymna sti cs co mp etition w hi ch was c haracteri zed by seve ral firsts. It was th e first World Championsh ip in w hi ch : gymn as ti cs se rve d as th e so le form of co mpetiti o n, th e j apanese and th e Soviet Un io n had entered and it was the first co mpetiti o n in which th e U nit ed States was rep resented (Johnn y " ja ck" Beckne r and Charlie Simm s) . The co ntest fini shed with th e Soviet team c laiming the fir st slo t takin g w ith it the first six places all-aro un d: Chukarin and Muratov, 115.45 each ; Ch agin , 114.60; Sh akl in, 114.05 and Vo strik ov, 113.65.

By Tom Wakeling A nticipating th e coming XV III WORLD CHAMP IO NSHIPS, it wou ld see m appropriate to ref lect back to th e Wo rld Champion ships of the past. It probabl y should be first exp lain ed, at leas t briefl y, exac tl y into what th e World Champion ship s have pres entl y ev ol ved. As far as gymnast ics is co nce rn ed , the World Championsh ip s are ju st as significant to th e sport as th e Ol ympi c Games.

Th e Champion ship s are h eld eve ry four yea rs on the even year betwee n Olympiad s. The Wo rld Gam es are fundamenta ly th e sa me as th e Ol ympics; for each nation th at is to be repre se nted, se nds a tea m of six men and six women gymnasts to compet e for all-around and indi vidu al eve nt horiors as we ll as fo r the team tit les (as opp osed , let 's say, to the organ iza tion al poli cy govern in g the Euro pea n Championships ie. gym nas ts competing individuall y, not as a team, utilizin g on ly optional rout in es).

Our Gymnast ma gaz ine records go only as fa r back as to th e N INTH INTERNATIO NAL CONTEST (as it was then ca lled) whi ch too k pla ce at Lu xemburg in 1930. At that time, besides appartu s work , compet ition included the pol e vau lt, broad jump, shot put, a rope climbin g event and a 100 meter sprint.

Czech os lovak ia won the Team Champ ionsh ips that year whi le Fran ce occupi ed second and Yugo slav ia third.

There-after, followed Hungary, Lu xemb urg and Belgium. The perform an ce by Pimoz hich of Yugoslovia wo n him th e Ind iv idu al tit le. .

Albert Azaryan (USSR)

Th e wo men 's com p etiti o n finished in another victo ry for th e tea m fro m th e USSR as th ey sco red 381.62 po int s, alm ost ten p o int s above th eir closes t co m petitor , Czechoslovakia (371.85). Romania ear n ed th e third spot w ith 362.02. Th e Sovie t U nion' s Lari ssa Latyn in a ca m e thro ugh to w in th e wo men 's all-around co mpilin g a total o f 77 .464 (th at's ave raging 9.683 per even t).

Eva Bosokava of Czechoslova kia pl aced seco nd (76.332) aft er whic h followed on e of Lari ssa 's teamm ates, Tam ara Manina (76 .1 97). ;,f-

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Nabuyuki Aihura (Japan)

Moscow hosted the FO URTEENTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS in 1958. The Sov iet men 's tea m took th e top honor (575 .45) as th ey did in 1954. Th e japanese pla ced seco nd w ith 572 .60 and Czec hoslovakia came in third 26.25 point s behind the w inn er. Th e tea m represe nting th e U nited Stat es is li sted as sco rin g 538.85 accumulated points for seventh. Shak lin was th e all-around winner wi th teammat es Tito v and Stolbov pl acin g third and fifth. j apa n 's On o, Takmot o and A ih ara pla ced two, four, and six.

* O ve r 250 top gymnasts representin g 31 nation s ga th ered togeth er in Prag ue, Czech oslovJk ia to participate in th e XV WOR LD CHAM PIO NS HIPS of 1962 (this wou ld be th e seco nd tim e Prag ue hosted th e Game s) .

A det ermin ed and talent ed j apan ese tea m ca m e through to maintain th eir wo.rld gy mn as ti c lea d ers hip (gai n ed at th e XV II OLYMPI AD in Rom e) by a' narrow o n e and o ne half point margin w ith 574.65. Th e Soviet m en had to b e co ntent wi th second, but not until aft er one of th e closes t and mos t co mpetiti ve

Swit ze rland wo n th e TENTH CHAMPIONSHIPS w hich were held in Budapes t in 1934. Czechoslovak ia, this tim e saw second, and Ge rm an y (entering the competitio n for th e first tim e) placed third.

Mack of Switzerland took the Indi vidual honors. An interes tin g point is th at M ex ico is listed for taking the thirteenth position.

Pr ague hosted the XI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS of 1938. Switzerland, it would seem, sent th e most talented gymn as tic team , but that team faced second place due to their relati ve weak showing in the Track and Field events. Th e Czechoslovak ian tea m featuring jan Gajdos won the co ntest.

54

GYMNAST Oct. '74

Germa ny, th ey stepped' down , le t it be said, w ith th e d ignity o f cham pi o ns, victi ms of bo th tim e and p rog ress. Stepping in we re th e n ew tea ms made up o f fr esh athl etes. The men from j apan were apparently mor e im pressive th an th ey had ever been be fo re.. anywhe re. Th e team stand ings we re ide nt ica l to what they h ad bee n in ' 62; on ly t he sco res we re slig h t ly d iffere nt. Th e h ig hest sco rin g tea m at Do rtmun d were th e j apa nese w ith a 375 .1 5 to tal (4.25 p o int s hi gher th an seco n d pl ace Sov iet U ni o n and 14.15 fro m third p lace Eas t Ge rmany). The U nited Stat es agai n ju st mi ssed t he to p five as they p laced sixt h tota li ng 55 5.40.

Vo ro nin o f th e USSR d id lay cla i m to t he allaro u nd t itl e scoring a hi gh 11 6. 15 (t he hi gh est all-aro und sco re eve r accumul ate d b y an y co mpetitor in th e c ham p ions hi p 's hi sto ry).

Ts urmi (11 5.25) and Nakaya ma (1 14.75) bo th o f j apa n fo ll owed ta k ing 2n d an d 3rd . Ma k ato Sa kamoto of the U ni vers ity of Sou th ern Ca liforni a, a membe r of th e 1964 U.S . O lympi c Tea m, pla ced sixtee nth ove rall - th e hi gh est sco rer o f th e A meri can tea m.

Czechos lova ki a lead b y Vera Cas lavska, sn atc hed away th e tea m titl e from t he Sov iet U n io n aft er bein g awa rded 383.625 poi nt s. Thi s was th e fi rst and o nl y tim e in w hi ch t he Sovie t wo me n pl aced seco n d to anyo ne as lo n g as wo me n have b ee n co mp etin g in th e mo d ern fo rm o f th e champi o nships. Th eir fin al score was 383 .587 w hi ch was o nl y 2.664 above third p lace japan. After th eir effo rt of 367 .620, th e A m eri ca n tea m was awa rd ed the sixth positi o n.

Vera to taled 78.298 to clai m the all-aro und ho no rs aft er w hi ch fo ll owed Ko u tsc hin skaya of th e USSR (78 .097) and Ik ed a of j apan (76.997).

D o ri s Brou se p lace d 27 th (74.297) , she bein g A m eri ca's hi ghes t sco rer.

Thi s parti cul ar champi ons hi p was the site fo r w hat is now k now n as the " Brause Case" w hi ch in vo lved perh aps t h e longest and maybe th e " pro udest " ho ur in th e gym n as tic ca ree r o f

co ntests in th e hi sto ry o f th e games. The U.S. tea m fi ni shed 19.40 p oi nt s beh ind j ap an w hi ch was good eno ugh fo r sixth p lace .

Aft er an intensive battl e fo r th e, all -a round titl e, Tit ov fi na ll y m erged to don th e go ld to talin g a 11 5.65 (in spite of th e foo t inj ury he had bee n n u rs in g f ro m the all-aro un d op ti o nals). Yu kio Endo o f japan scored seco n d w it h 11 5. 50 w hil e Shaklin to talin g 11 5.20 fini shed thri d. D o n To nry, NCAA Champi o n of 1956, w as th e to p all-around sco rer fo r the USA (111.90) tak in g 21st.

Th e Sov iet wo m en ' s tea m also success fu lly held th ei r num ber one stand in g accumu la tin g a score o f 384.988. Immedi ately fol low in g we re Czechos lova ki a (382. 590 ) and j apa n (379.523).

Th e indi vidu al p erform an ces we re m os t no teworth y fo r th eir o b vio us pr ecis ion d en otin g lo ng hard prepa ratio n . Lari ssa Laty nina averaged 9.753 for a m uch dese rved fi rst. Stand ing w it h her we re Czechos lova ki a's Ve ra Caslavska (77.73 2) and t he USSR 's Pervu sc hin a (77 .465 ). Th e USA wo men 's tea m did quite noba ly, as th ey finished 8t h of th e seventee n tea ms e ntered.

O bse rve rs n o ted th at th e Ame ri ca n tea m s (b o th m en and wo m en ) n eede d wo rk o n th e co mpul so ri es fo r th ey had d emo nstrated a relati ve wea kn ess in thi s area . Eve n th o u gh th ere w as a comm o n fee lin g at Prag ue th at refl ec ted th e genera l o pini o n "t hat th e U nited St ates is defi nately a wo rld powe r in gymna sti cs" fro m w hat had bee n seen "o f tri ck s, ro utines an d po tenti al ab il ity" .

Th ere is o ne o th er po int t hat d istin gui sh es thi s w orld cham p io nship fro m th e o th ers, and th at is th e fac t th at it was h ere a tea m fro m th e Peopl es Repu bli c o f Ch ina mad e its fir st int ernati o nal co mpeti t ive app ea ran ce .

(U nfo rtun ately it wo uld be t he ir las t o ne, at least unt il 1973 .) Both th eir m en's and w o me n ' s tea m faired rath er p roudl y fini shin g 4th and 6th respec ti ve ly.

Th e XVI W O RLD CHA MPIO NS HIPS o f 1966 fo und its ho m e in Dortmund , Germ any. Th at yea r mark ed th e end o f an era an d t he birth o f a new d ecade characte ri zed by a new b reed o f p erform ers as we ll as a new style o f pe rfo rmance; for th e past ten yea rs rang wi th such grea t names as Laty nina, Astak hova, M anina, On o, Tit ov and Shaklin . On ce th ey rul ed th e wo rld o f gy mn as ti cs, b ut in 1966, in

GYMNAST Oct. ' 74

Makato Sakamoto (USA)

Doris Fuchs Brause (USA)

55

Dori s Fu chs Brau se . Th e Ge rm an Sport s Fed erat ion described h er opt ional ro utin e on th e unevens as "a bri lli ant , mi stak e free and fantas tic endeavor. ,. To th e Ge rm an sp ectato rs, the judg es' sco re of 9.766 was not in any way high eno ugh to suit th em . Th eir res pon se to th at score was in th e fo rm of on e ho ur and three minut es of irate w hi st les, ca t- ca ll s and rh ythmi c stampin g o f feet. A Germ an judge publi shed a statem ent to the effect th at "Bro use's rout i ne was th e bes t of th e co mp etiti o n. " She th en added that a sco re of 9.9 would sti ll no t h ave been high enough .

Th e po in t of thi s is to illu strate th e fact th at th e Un it ed States had b een, and is, a tru e co nte nder in inte rn ati o nal gy mna sti cs. Thi s was prove n in 1966 by Dori s Fuchs Brau se ... th e " un crown ed champi on " of the un eve n bars at D o rtmund.

ea ch World Champ io nship sin ce 1962) . The U nited States ca m e in seventh after accumulat in g 573.60 po in ts wh ich was 33.50 tea m p o int s b ehind j apan (abo ut half a point per manp er event).

Ei zo Kenmotsu p erformed beautiful ly to total 115.05 for first place all-around. A IIArou nd Champ ion of th e World is a wel l deserved and appropriate tit le fo r thi s man ; fo r hi s int erpretat ion , ab il it y and sty le clea rl y pl ace d him above any and all male gymnasts of that 路time . Th e second and third pl aces were iill ed by Kenmotsu 's teammates Tsukahara (1 13.85) and Nakaya ma (113.80) to make it o n e, two and three for j apan (a lso 6, 7, and 8).

Sakamoto (w ho h ad missed out on any int ern ation al co mpetition for th e previou s four years) once aga in was th e hi ghe st sco rer forth e U.S. p lacing 12t h al l-around w ith 111 .65.

It shou ld be noted that th e judges were mu ch more d iffic ult t o pl eas e at the 1970 Wo rl d Champ ion sh ip s (fo r bot h m en and women) than eve r b efore, as was in dica ted by the lower scores (by no m ea ns had the qua lit y of performance, .in ilny way, dim ini shed).

Afte r the '66 Dor,tmund World Games, it was clear East Germa ny wo uld be o n th e ri se, and th at th ey proved in Mex ico in 1968. But th e Ru ss ians... If th ere is o ne word th at characte ri zes them , it is " profess iona l ". Th e compe titi on beca me ve ry interest in g beca use th ere was such a w ide rang e of interpretation.

Th e Ea st Germ ans w ere ve ry brisk, th e j apanese flowery and th e Ru ss ians - dynam ic.

Du e to th e se ri es of Soviet fa ilures o f th e co mpul sory beam , wh ich was indeed the shock of th e champio nships, it see m ed as though th e Eas t German s co uld :ake th e team awa rd . The y lost that opportun it y at th e o pti ona l floor exercise for th e Soviet women trul y dominated that eve nt. The fin al results show the te am stand in gs wit h th e USSR tak in g fir st b y a 2.90 margin from second pla ce East Germ an y (377.75). Czechos lovakia p laced third with 'a 371.90 tot al. Th e U.S. Women 's team fini sh ed 7t h p lace (360.20) in th e ove rall co mp etition .

Ludmilla Tourishcheva (USSR)

Ludmilla Tourishc heva who had ju st bega n her intern ational gymnast ic ca reer in 1968 at Mexic o (she pl aced 24th ) captured th e .allarou nd titl e for the USSR as she accumul ated a total of 77.05. East Germany' s Erika Zuc hold ca m e in second w it h 76.45 and Zina id a Voronina third w ith 76 .1 5. Th e hi ghest U.s . sco rer was Ca th y Rigby of Long Beach , Californ ia, co mpiling a sco re of 74.45.

*

Mitsuo Tsukahara (Japan)

1970 w as th e yea r for th e XV II WORLD GYMNASTIC CHAM PION SH IPS w hi ch was host ed by Ljublj ana, Yugoslavia. The tota l number of competit o rs was 250 representin g twen ty-two nat ions. The ge neral impression at Ljubljana was that the j apanese we re in a class all their own. Th ey had prove n th em se lves th e inn ova tors, th e leade rs, and th e virtuosos of men' s gymnas ti cs . In fact , thi s impress io n had bee n so appealing that th e " intern ational gymnastic comm unit y" atte nd ed thi s champi o nship w ith the primary inten t to decide who was d es tin ed to fill th e second spot.

As ex pect ed, th e j apanese ca me through in th ei r usual excitin g style to' w in the top hon ors w ith 571.10 point s. The Soviet Un io n p lace d second w ith 564.35, fo ll owed by Ea st Ge rm any wi th 553. 15 (noti ce that the first three positi on s ha ve b ee n dominated by th e sa m e tea m s in

56

*

After all thi s we m ay still ask, " What are th e Champ ions h ips and wha t do th ey represe nt? " Th e cham pi o nships are a home for pressures and anxiet y, so what are the m erits or rewards ?

For as so m eon e once sa id co nce rnin g th e champ ions hip ro le, " To be a represent ative of one 's co untry is an honor, to p arti c ip ate equitab ly is a di stin ction , but most ofte n, the tes t of skill that bring s th.e highest d eg ree of ' honor an d distinction ' is not mere parti ci pation but th e w innin g" . Unfo rtu nately in th e Wo rld Class of Co mpetiti o n it is simpl y not a ga me. Th e c hampion shi p role is th e imperso nal ro le of w i nn in g, yet the champ ion is of " fl es h and b lood " and w ith th e int erna ti ona l po litica l impact o f hi s or h er" achi evement , thi s perso n b ecomes a knowing, li vin g sy mbo l of prestig e.

Cathy Rigby

Ca th y Ri gby cracked a meda l for th e Un ited States as she was awarded th e "sil ve r" for h er performance o n the beam and in do in g so mad e hi story for th e U .S.A. Th at was Ame ri ca 's first m edal ever in wome n 's gy mnasti cs. If o ne conside rs th e ve ry hi gh ca liber of th e beam comp etition (Z uchold, Schmitt, Petri k and H ell mann) , th is feat beco m es th at mu ch more fant as ti c.

NOTE: Information from the following publications was used in the pre pa ration of this article.

Gymnast A. Sept .!Oct. 1962 Vol. 4 - NO.7 B. Nove m be r 1966 Vo l. 8 - No. 11 C. Decembe r 1966 Vol. 8 - No. 12 D. Novembe r 1970 Vo l. 8 - No . 11 E. December 1970 Vol. 12 - No. 12 Mademoiselle Gymnast A. jan .!Fe b. 1971 Vol. 5 - No.3 B. Mar.! Apr. 1971 Vo l. 5 - NO.4 Souvenir Program for the USSR-USA Exhibition at Expo '74

GYMNAST Oct. '74

ACT s~;~Cf~;~;R,;'Ey~M~~BS~h~NCE!

ENRich YOUR GYMNAST LibRARY! These special GYMNAST sets and indi vid ual editions are Going Fast Thro u g h th e ye ars b eca use o f diffe re nt size pre ss ru n s, c omp li m e n ta ry p rom o tio n a l m a ilin gs, C lini c and Con venti o n sal es, p lu s a flu c tu a tin g s ubsc rip t io n list, we fin d o u rse lve s a m o n g sh e lves of asso rt ed amo u n ts of ba c k e diti o n s of Th e M o d e rn Gymnas t, MG , Gymn as t, and M a d e moi sell e G ymnast. A ll of th ese iss u e s a re fi lle d w it h Ph ot o s, News, Repo rt s, Instr u c tio n a nd G ymnas tic Aid s. Ea c h e d iti o n is a n exce ll e nt refe re n c e so u rce .

Gym nast : Set A (50 ed il ions ) Se t B (15 ed iti ons ) Set C (comb in JIIOll of ,e l, A & Il )

Ac t a nd o rd e r O W and take a d va nl age of Ihi s sp ecial offe r fo r th e re is a wea lt h o f in forma live a n d hi slo rica l m a le ri a l ava il ab le in e ac h a nd eve ry ba c k e dit ion.

W e h ave a ccumul a le d c e rt a in e d ilio n s of Th e Mod e rn Gymn as t, M G, a n d G ymn as t in lO tw o c ombin ed se lS; o n e co m p rise d of 50 a nd Ih e olh e r 15.

Also ava il a bl e a re two se p a ra le 5 e d ition se ls of M a d e moisell e Gymn as t.

Mademoise ll e G ymn as t : Set D (5 c dil io lls) Set E (5 ra re edi li o",) Se t F (co m b in Jl ioll of SCi, D &[ )

~ 25.0U ~ 8 .50 ~ 30 . 00

~ 8 .50

$9.00 ~ 15. 0 0

Ma d em o is e ll e Vol. V II 1965

Vo l. X 1968

Ja n.

;;1

Jan .

Feb .

#2 ;3 #4

Mar.

Mar.

Ap r.

Gy mn as( Vo l. X II I 197 1

Feb.

Ma y & Ju ne ;5 lul y & Aug. #6 b Se pt. & Oct. #7 No v./Dec. ;8/ %

u

Apr. May ;5 d lune/ lul )' ;617 h Aug.lsept. . 8/ 9

51 .00

OCI.

u 51.00

51.00 $1.00 5 .50 5 .75 5 .50

51.Oe

' 10 u No v.lDec. . 11/ 12., 52.0(

Jan.

$2.00 52.00

Feb. Mar.

Ap r.

"4 .,

Ma~'

;5

Ju ne/ Ju ly

=6/7

Aug.lsepl. ; 8/ 9 O c t.

Dec.

Vo l. XI 1969

M o d e rn Gym nas t Vo l. I 1957-1958

Vol. III 1960-1 961

Ma y ;;1. $ .50 lu ly #2 ' $ .50 Sept. & Oct. $ .50 N o v. & Dec. Ian. & Fe b.

M a r. & Ap r. luly & Aug. Sept. & Oel .

.3 .

i:; 4a $ .75

#5 ;6 #7

u'

#8

u

June

.. 1

Jan. Fe b.

Vo l. V 1963

lan ./Fe b.

#112 , $ .75

M ar .

Apr. May ;5 b lune/ luly #6/ 7 , Aug.lsept. #8/ 9 '

N o v.

#2

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#3 b

52.00

#4

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Ap r. #5 Ma y & lune #6 lull' & Aug. #7

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#9

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#.11 a

$ ,50 5."75 52.00 $ .75 5 .75 ' 5 .75 $ .50

; 12

Vo l. IX 196 7 Vol. IV 1%2

Ian .

Fe b.

'1

u

; 2 . $ .50 ;3" $ .75 #4 ' $ .50

Ma r.

Apr. Ma y & Jun e luly & Aug.

u u u

Sept. Oct.

#5 #6 #7

Nov. & De c.

;8 b $1,00

#1

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#2, ;3

#1 b $1.00 .2' 5 .75 .3 $1.00 $2.00 ;4 Ma y & Ju ne #5 d 5 .75 lu ly & Aug. • 6 ' 51.00 Se pt. & Oct. . 7 u No v. ; 8 .1 5 .75 Dec. ;9

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#2 ;;3 Apr. #4 May & lun e #5 lul y & Au g. ; 6 Sept. & Oel. #7

u

Nov .

#8

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#2 , Ma r. ; 3 .1 Apr ./Ma y ;4/ 5. lune/ lul y 0617 .

$ .50 $ .50 $ .50

$ .50

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#8 a

$ .50

Sept.

Oct.

.9' $ .75 #10 b $1.00

No v.

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#11oJ

$ .50

#12,

$ .50

O el.

Nov. Dec.

Nov.

; 11

Dec.

; 12

, e d iti o ns Ihal are includ e d in Mode rn G ymn as t b e d ilions th a t a re incl u d ed in M o d e rn G ymn as t d e dil ion s incl u d e d in M ad e m o isell e Gymn as t e edi li o ns incl u d e d in M ad e moise ll e Gymn as t

se l se t set sel

A B D E

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=3

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("'<lr . & Apr. ;; 4 l ' S2. 00 May & JUIl t-' ::5 d $ 1. GO

Vo l. IV 1969 -1 9i O

Sepl. & 0(1. ; 1

\, .7 5 $ .75 Fe b. :=2 d $ .75 M a r. ;::3.1 Apr . ;4d 5 .75 $ .75 l' 0ay #5 d lun e/ lu ly ;;617 , 5 .75 Aug.lSepl "8/ 9 >1.00 O c l. ;: 10.1 S .75 Nov. ;::1 1 51.00 Dec. .1 2 S .75

* u . una va il a bl e xe ro x c o p ie s of a n y a rt ic le s Ih al a re in

" 1 ,. 52.00 ; 2 d $1 .00

sepl. & 0(1 . " 1

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Pri ces on indi vidu a l e diti o n s a re n OI based o n co nt e nl bUI on ava il a b ili ty.

MdY &- June' ~epL & O( I. Jan. & I-eb Mar. &. ApI.

Vol. 11 11 968-1 969

lun / lul )'

Ja n.

;4

Jan. Feb.

Vo l. XV 1973

Feb.

#1

"l d S. 75 "3 d 5 .75

Fall

Vo l. II 196 7- 1968

Vo l. XII 1970

u

::1

:: 1 d $ .75

Summer

,Vld )' & JUIle'

Ma r.

; 10 it $ .75 ; 11 •• S .75 .1 2 , $ .75

u u

Winlcr

Spring

Vol. XIV 1972

u 5 .50 u Apr. ;;4., S .75 Ma y #5 b S2.00 lun e/ lul y . 617 b 51.00 Aug.lsept. #8/ 9 52.00 Ma r.

Vo l. VI 1964

Ja n.

Vo l. II 1959

Jan .

51 .00

"1 0 b S1. 00 " 11 51.00 ;1 2 5 .75

Nov.

Vol. Viii 1966

G ymn as t

Vo l. I 196&

Jan. Feb.

;1.,

5 .75

1\11.1 1. & ApI. =4

=2

u

Mel)' & Jun. =5

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; 3 " S .75 ; 4/ 5 u

Apr .lMay lune / lu ly ;:6/ 7 ,1 $ .75 Aug.lsepl. ; 8/ 9' 5 .75 Oct.

Sepl . & O( I. =1 Nov. & DCL =2

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" 11"

Jan. & Feb.

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=1 2 " 5 .75

5 .75

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Vo l. V 1970- 1971

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$2. 00

=3 u

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NOl e : W e h ave co mpil e d a co mpi e le in uex (s ubj eci & aU lho r for G ym nas t (1957 -1 973 ) dnd Ma d e m oi se ll e Gy mn as t (1966-1 971) w hi ch will ,erve '" a n aid 10 se leclion o f a n y pa rt icul ar a rt icl e IhJ I m ighl b e d es ire d . If you wo u ld lik e Ihe ind ex 10 hel p fill Ih e ga p s in yo ur Gy mn ast library . p lease ,e nd $1.00 10 help co ve r cos t o f thi s ser v ice .

...••..•.......•••.............. .......... .............. .. .... .. ..... ......• .............. ...........•.....................••• Use Ih e hand y c h ec kli st be lo w

GYMNAS l

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1.0U Vo l IV I%Y-19 70 1...

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m e Ih e co mpl e le ind ex (G ym n aS I & Mill e G ) a l $1.00 to h e lp cove r Ih e cos l o f Ih is se rvice.

Ple ase include the foll ow ing' p ostage fo r eac h se t o rdered: Se t A or C $3. 00 e a. ; Se l F $1.50 ea. ; Se l B, D or E $1.00 e a .

G YMNAST P.O .Box 110 - M Sa nta M o nica, Ca.

90~06

De ar GYM NAST: Please find e n closed c h eck o r for m on ey o rd e r in Ih e J m o un l o f $ se ts a n d ed il ion s m a rk ed (p lus p ostage a s n Ole d abo ve) Na m e __________________________________________ Street ____________________________________________ City Zip - - --

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~-

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•••••••••• • ••••••••• • •••••• • ••••••••••••• • • • •• •• • • ••••• • • r • •• ••• • ••••••• ••• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • ••••••••••••••••••••

~LETTERS~ THE AESTHET ICS OF GYMNASTICS Dear Editor: Our gymnasti<:s prog ram s should not be dire<:led at produ <: ing Olympi<: dlJmpio ns but ilt produdng people whu love gymnilstics. Our spu r t is a g rea t dealmure than s ix men and s ix wom e n who represe nt us at In ternational Cu mpe titiuns.

Gymnastics is a means of cum municating th e ex pe ri ences of rhythm , coord in a tion , g race. combi natiun. risk. streng th , agility, uriginality. virtuosity. into a unifi ed expe ri e nce. " In gymnastics th e dillerent parts co mpri s ing an exe rci se are tu follu w in a harmunious mann e r su that a harmoniuus whole is brought about."

(I". I. G, p. - IBo ) But I am spea king not jus t uf technicill manifesta tions: for when a gym nast jOins together s kill. fee lings , emuthions and ex peri ences into a "W hol e". he is communicati ng a n artistic experience, Conside ra tions uf simplicity and s ubLi ety , puwe r and precis ion, scope and se le<:livity , famili a rity a nd fre shn ess a re a ll relevant: a nd th e ir va lu e is rela ti ve tu our inte res ts. our informatiun and our inquiry. Onl y when a gymnastics ruutine is perm ea ted with these qua liti es is it g rea Ll y va lu ed.

"W hen th e gy mnast suc<:eeds in blending elega nce of exec utiun. richn ess. freedom of mov e ment. amplitude in night. the mas te ring uf dilli<:ulty and ri s k in an impress iunab le dy nami c, he creates a prese ntation whic h radi a tes an inne r ex pe rience a nd ha rmon y which characte ri zes th e virtuoso. He is ab le to capture the so ul of the s pectato rs and to fi ll the ir heart路 with joy. " (F .I.G. p. - IB4) Yet more. What gy mna stics is is " felt" in our bones. ne rves a nd musd es as we ll as grasped by our minds. All the se ns iti vity a nd res ponsive ness we ha ve parti dpates in the invention a nd inte rpretatiun of gym na stics. Thi s "Feeling" is not just buu nd in th e ellort to win but in th e ellor t to do sum e thing bette r. dillerent , hi g he r . more cuntrull ed. with more impa<:t ur greater scope. IL is nut just th e ex pe rie nce uf seeing or pe rh a ps doing a g rea t performance ur the sensa tion of wi nning but it is what som eone fee ls while wo rkin g out. whil e at a dinic , tumbling down a beach . throwi ng a new trick , ta lking abuut next Saturday's com petition". it is tea<:hing. lea rning. enjoying. a nd reachi ng a " feeling" about somethin g ca lled gy mn asli<:s. Whe n this sponta neous app reciatiu n for a pa rti<:ular ex pe ri ence uccurs. the ex pe ri e nce manifes ts aesthetic qualiti es. and no thin g is tru ely "a n" ex pe ri en<:e unl ess it is ruundedwith thi s quality of a ppre<:iati ve percei"in g and e njuyi ng .

Bob Henne<:k e

INSTRUCTION ? !

MY COACH

Dea r Mr. Sundby .

Seeing as your m agaz ine is findin g it ha rde r to find good instructio na l articles, we, th e membe rs of Troup 2817, have decided to submit the following article (the first of m a ny. if possible.)

Dear Mr. Sundby: Since you're inte res ted in gymn as ti cs and coaching I wou ld lik e to tell yo u a bout m y coach.

She won't let you play a round. H som ething needs to be done she'll mak e you do it. But she's not m ea n' Our team has fun' We kid each othe r a lot and she gi ves us days oil because she beli eves yo u ca n get tired of gymnas tics and you need resl.

The team isn't eve n a yea r old now but I believe we've come a long way. We have a small gym and we a re tryi ng to ra ise e nough money to buy a free exe rcise mal. Beca use of this m y coach has had to ma ke a ll kinds of ar ra ngements so we <:ould do things to raise money. She is married but she still gives her team much time and devotion lik e the team tries to do to he r. He r name is Mrs. Leuh Fryman. I hopt! a ll gym nasts are able to have a coach li ke her. I hope I'm like her some day. .

Sincerely, Melanie All Lex ington. Kentucky

Re: The Entity of the Biosynthes is of the Creation of a n Aes the ti ca ll y Pleas ing Sense of Balance as it R ela tes to the Geographi c Kines iology of Enthropy in Terms of DeBroglie Wave lengths using Eigenvectors a nd LaPlace Transforms Describing the Single Leg Tramlot Down .

It has come to ou r atte nti on in recent weeks. after months of grueling competition around th e country. t ha t there is a seriou s defi ciency in th e proper technique whil e executing the Single leg tram lot down . One shou ld beat in mind the soc ioeconomi c impli cations in this potenti a ll y useless combin a tion. However. the comic benefits of thi s mov e wi ll brighten up any olympi c caliber pommel horse routine. or . in short . add th e sp ice of life to yo ur brea kfa st.

I'm remi nded of the story of th e pomm el horse spec ia list who wa lked into a bar wi th a n a lligator unde r his arm . Of course , this has nothin g to do with the a forementioned topic -- whatever that was.

And so. in conclusion , one must kee p in mind at a ll times the following eq uation:

58

Dear Gle nn : Thank you for yo ur thoughLlul sending of the old mat e riul back to m e. As you wrote it brings a lillie hi story back to me. The ear ly days of the MG. and th e chi ldh ood of American gym n u~ ti <:s. We cUllle a long way s ince. GYlllnasti<:s in Ame ri <:u has gro\vn many fo lds and it is not within m y ub ility anymo re to put my fing e r on the pul se of Ih e eve r yda y gym nastic a<:livity. lL has grow n into a mons ter. I am sure th e USG F could eom e up with u better statistical e " a lu ation of the actua l grow th thun anyone else. Thi s growth. e~pe<: i a ll y in wome n's gym nas tics. will definitely bring success and reeognition for Ame ri ca in int erna tional competitions in a time not too far ilway.

lL is now obvious th at up until now this move has been tremendous ly misunderstood. The iJbove Simplification of the technical exec ution of this part of no va lue should e ncourage coac hes who, up until now, have s hyed away from thi s ellusive move to continue to shy away from t hi s ell usive move. F inally. the gym nast s hould a lways keep in mind that... "" a m a n may work from sun to sun but a wom a ns work is never done ."

Since rely, Troup 2817 Ames. Iowa 50010

QUA NT ITY SMALL". QUA LITY BIG Dea r Mr. Sundby.

I am writing thi s letter to te ll yu u abuut uur ne wly fo rm ed wume n's gymna sti<:s team at Auburn Uni versi ty in Auburn . Alabama.

Although small in qua ntity (uur tea m cuns is ts uf on ly three gil'is). we a re wo rking ha rdtu be bi g in quality' We bega n as a team last yea r a nd had onl y one meet (a dual m ee (. whi ch we wun), but thi s yea r we will be cumpeting with man y ut her teams from a ll over the su uth east". I wuuld upprec iute it if yuu wuu ld put in u "plu g" for our ' tea m in Gymnast. and es peciu ll y for our Coa<: h Ed Bengston. whom we lov e ve ry muc h.

Thank yo u' si nce r ely, N uncy Schn eid er Birminglwm , Alabama

AN OLD FHIEND REPLI ES

ONE FLAW

It is alway~ nice to hea r from you eve n thoug h our assoc iation is di seontinued . Pe r hups no ut her fador stopped me to write 1'01' yo u th " n ag ing. " cyni cal disp leasure \\'ith the wo rld in gene r"l und with the inner- politi <:s of gym n a~ ti c~ in particuklr. We all went throu g h suc h lows in re<:ent yea rs. thu s perhaps m y lack of enthu siu sm cu n a lso be forgi ve n. I ellll no mort! a pioneer bannerhold er as I wa~. I have und erstood the futi lity of one-man fight~ . There are currents on ly. bi g pOjJu lar mo vem ents which a re unres pons ive to indi vidual d forts.

Now I am onesidedly co nce rned with the g rass r oot deve lopm e ntal gy mnas ti c:; "lone. This is whe re gym na s ts are born a nd s tur ted to wa rd greutness. not un the co ll ege leve l where the honors are dispensed . Th e r'e are pl enty of peopl e who nee d to talk and write a bout gy mnastics .

They do not do a bad job at " ll : I prde r to be an observer no \\'. ma y be not even that. I a m co nvinced that internation"l gy mn a~tics. the trends are not in th e bes tcultural -edul:utional-and hea lth-intere:;t of the people involved: they a re <:a rri ed away by inte rn atio na l power-politi cs and not by sound phys ieal edu eational consid e rutions.

Gymnastics 1'01' the Illa sse~ should be bused on other principle~ 'Illd the goals ~ h ould enrieh the live~ of those tens of thou sands who pa rti cip ate. ruthe r than wrec k th e ph ys ique and th e mind of com pe titors who try to eu rn u meda l in the international arena.

Dear MI'. Sundby: I am a su bscriber to your maga zine. & I think it' s abso lute ly fa nt as ti c, Your best ~t!c tion is the "Club Corner". parti <: ularl y th e one in th e Jun e/ Jul y iss ue on th e De nve r School of Gym nustics . which I aLLend. Th e a rtiele was complete ly accurate , except for one n ail'. On puge 41. yo u showed a small pidure of" girl in the s plits on the beulll . Th e <:a ption sai d she was Henee Huc k, but it was a~tua ll y Trish Heed.

Thanks lor a great muga zlll e.

Si ncere ly.

Li ese Dall Commerce City , Colo.

With s incere personal regard ~. as eve r Jim I'a rka s Ph ys ica l Diredur. Mi lwa ukee 'l'ul'lle rs Mi lwaukee. Wiscons in ED: Thanks Jim in your ownll'ay you still throw a goo d punch ... To our ne wel' read e rs Jim Farkas was a great assist to GYMNAST during its formati\'e years \I'ith fin e instructional a rticles , tec hnica l assistance and encouragement.

Another imponant contribution to grassroots gymnastics was his excellent instruc tional text a nd drawings published by the USGF as their AgeGroup Gymnastics Workbook.

GYMNAST Oct. '74

GAHY POSTEH I am writing in refe r e m;e to th e ce nte r/old ul Gary Mora va in the Oct. '73 iss ue of Gymna s t". Is there a possibility of m ak ing a puste r of that center/old. Gary was the coolest. toughest gymn ast I' ve ever m et and I think that 's a reall y s harp picture.

Thanh Pierce Brown III . AA Cincinnati. Ohio

By Dick Criley The American AII-Around--Gymnastics For Young Men

ED: Beca use of this and oth er similar r eq uests we are considering m a king a m emorial poster of the University Games photo of Gary, taken in Moscow, with the proceeds going to the Morava Fund at SIU .

SWEDISH THOOP Hello: We a re a gy mn ast ic society in Sweden , who wou ld be much obli ged if yo u ca n help us with so m e co nta cts in USA a nd Canad a . Contacts , where we can do PH for Sweden.

He re is so m e inform a tion a bout our troops. We ha ve a troop for m e n , who last yea r beca m e the troop c hampion of th e Scandinavia. Most of these m en a r e al s o ve ry good in gy mn astic compcti ti on.

We ha ve a ls o tr oops for girl s , who a re in the Swedis h top-class .

Our gy mn astic soc ie ty is the onl y one whi c h has taken pan in a ll Swed is h Cha mpion Competi ti on for t roops rrum the beg inning. Our gymn as tic soci ety was round ed in the yea r 1899 unde r the nam e Vaste ras Gymlw s tik-ro r ening. (Vas te r as , is a town in th e middl e or the Sweden. a bout 110 mil es rrom Stock hulm .)

I would be ve ry thankrul if yo u ca n send som e interested pa rt y ad dr esses on to m e.

Yours s ince r e ly , Roll Eriksson Bof'inksl' a gc n 41 724 70 Va s te ras Swed e n E D. Inter es ted clubs are encouraged tu write to Mr. Eriksson for more information.

Ol-"I-"I ':I \ L

I 1ft

JU I'U I\ .\1.

A !,, ~O C I.\TIU'l

O F

uF

A C RURATS

MOV ING Dea r Gle nn : I will be mo ving to Australi a th e e nd or Jul y , it is my intention to ope n m y ow n ac roba tic studi o there.

All Assoc ia tion and Edi to ri a l m a tter s will be ca rri ed on rrom the follo wing a ddress: 3 Algona Stree t Bil go la P lateau New South Wa les 2107 Our Acrobatics m agaz in e will continu e to be printed in th e U. K. until s uc h tim e as I a m a bl e to get it dea lt with in m y new s urroundings.

I hope tha t we can keep in to uc h.

Si nce r e ly, Ralph Sa mu e ls Middl esex. E ngland ED . Editor Samuels Acrobatics magazin e just celebrated its' 20th year or publi cation. Itl'ea tures news or a mateur and profess ional acrobatic acts through out the world". for subscription information IITite to : Acro batics 27 Bridge Way Twi cken ha m, Mid dlesex England

Produced b y Media Services, Eastern Michigan U ni versit y, Ypsilanti , Michican, 48197 . 22 min. sound. color. Re ntal inquir y invited.

Back in the lat e '60 ' s, Dr. Marvin Johnson publi shed a pair of booklets, " Illustrated Graded G y mna st ic Routines " and " Programmed Basic G ymnastic Routine s. " After several further yea rs of testing and evaluating, he persuaded EM U's Media Services to produce a film using his A-B-C-D and elite leve l routines.

Ordinaril y su c h a film might seem dull in concept; after all, gymnastics is supposed to be dynamic, full of flair and difficulty. But to 'a nov ice, such exercises ma y not allow him to identify w ith th e spo rt. Th e illu strated routine s of Dr. Johnson allow this identity-making, yet portra y th e pre g ression gym n as ts take to reach th e top. Th e re we re no specia l subj ects sought; a ll e xe rcises are portrayed b y gymna sts of that particular skill leve l. I wo uld guess that the le ve l of orientation for PE c la sses is about the junior high grades.

Ho wever, to sa y th a t, is to overlook the entertainm e nt va lu e of th e film. It is about th e right le ngth t o u se as a program for PTA and se rvice clubs. In color a nd w ith a musical so und track s hou c l find a wo rthwhil e u se in spark ing community in terest in g ymna st ics for boys.

ClAssifiEd

WOULD YOU LIKE TO COMMUNICA n WITH THE READERS OF "GYMNAST"?

CLASSIFIED" , a rno nthl y' featur e, is yo uro ppon ullit )'. R,lIe!> Me 20CI p er word fo r the firsI 25 words {$S .OO m i n imum) .1I1(l l OCi. lur eJ( h <ludi l ioll.ll wor d. (A d s dfeaccep l ed <11 tilt' J i~ne lion 011/1(' pu b lisher). Ch eck or mone y arder mu st uCTOm pJIl Y (O p ), JIHJ be received prior to th e closi ng ual e . which I ~ the 101h 01 the month preceding iss ue date. Se nd o rd pl !> 10 CI,I:)~iticd D ept., "GYMNAST" MJgJli nc. P.O. Hox 11 0. $,IIlI<.l MOlli("<1. CA 90406.

End os pd is m y <.ld.

"GYMNAST

FOR SALE: Immed iately - o ne Ame ri can Free Exercise Rug Mar. Blue i n color, comp lete w ith the foam. One yea r o ld an d in excel lent shape. Ca ll: Colorado Spring s. Colo rad o (303 ) 591 2601 o r (303) 596-0H51, or wr il e Mr. Bill Br ooks, 3835 Radiant Dri ve ; 649, Colorado Sprin gs, Colo rado 8091 7.

POSITION AVAILABLE: Needed p ari-tim e ex perienced gym nastic coac h fo r girls classes an d team. Conta ct Fred Fa ll on, YMCA , 137 Lexing ton St reet, W oburn, Mass. 01B01 , o r call (61 7) 935-3 270.

TOGETHEHNESS Dea r Mr. Sundby : E nclused <Ire twu photos . . or th e Firs t Pr ize winning rl o<lt \\'hi c h was e nte r ed in th e s uburb' s a nnu a l Ind ependence Da y parade by a g roup or yuung gy mnasts lrom Wyumi ng. Ohiu.

The t111'm e or the pa ra de in thi s c entenni a l ye'lr lI'a s, "W yom in g, Qu een o r Suburbs" - (Wyom ing is a s uburb or Cincinn'lti. whi ch is ca ll ed " Th e Qu ee n City", The rl oat. all rac ti ve ly a nd dynamic'lll y promoted gy mn as ti cs as a s po rt whi ch Wyom in g Hi g h Sc hool s hould a dopt. A balance beam 11" 1$ th e ru nc ti onal e lement ty ing the Hig h Sc hool (Irunt) uni t a nd gy mn ast ics (r ear) unit togethe r The g irl s a re members or th e POII'e! Cros ley Branch. YMCA Girls Gymna st ics Team. Th ey 'I nd their rI oa t we re roundl y a ppl a uded ,Ill a long the pa r ade route .

Curdi a ll y y ours .

Fred H. Luhm a n Gi rl s Gymn as ti cs Cuach Wyomin g. Ohio GYMNAST Oct. '74

59

OLYMPISCHE TURNKUNST

Atkinson, John GYMNASTICS, A programme of development for schools and colleges, BI P Reinforced Produ c ts Ltd ., England ,

1972, 174 p.

Ale GYMNASTICS ETC, INC THE FIRST GYMNASTICS STORE AND OFFICE IN NEW ENGLAND

featuring SUPER SERVICE IN

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MENS COMPETITIVE UNIFORMS WARM UP SUITS

For coaches and active gymnasts.

"Olympische

Turnkunst" is th e int ernati ona l professiona l journa l for both wo m en and m en in th e sport of gymnas ti cs. Each iss u e is print ed in three languages - Engli sh, German, and Fre nch. Fea tur ed are report s, res ult s, analysis, and instruction . Ma ny ph otos.

Hi gh qu alit y paper. " Ol ympi sc he Turnkun st" appears four tim esper yea r, conta in s 32 p ages, and is edited by Dr. Joseph Goe hl er . recog ni ze d gy mn as tics expe rt. Annua l subsc ripti o ns, 28 OM (De ut sc h Marks), for eig n draft, obtainable at yo ur bank. Writ e to Po hlVerlag, 0-31 Ce li e, Pos tfa ch 103, West Germany.

Tape red and Fl ared

TENNIS WARMUPS SWIMWEAR ACCESSORIES FIG BOOKS COACHING BOOKS flOOR EX RECORDS T-SHIRTS & TROPHIES EMBLEMS AND JEWElRY CHALK AND POSTERS INFORMATION ON: CAMPS SCHOOLS All COMPETITIONS JUDGES CLINICS AND SERVICES

Write or Call: AIC GYMNASTICS, ETC, INC

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Although J. Atkinson is only mentioned as "com pil er " on pa ge two of this book among th e names of a numbe r of ve ry prai sewo rth y tec hnical co ll aborato rs, such as Bob Currier, th e full credit of this new and excelle nt vo lum e shou ld go to "a uth o r" Atkinson. We are especially happy to be able to review this wo rk not onl y beca use a warm and friend ly relationship ha s ex ist ed for man y yea rs betwee n Atkinson as well as Currier and m yse lf, but also beca use this book is wort h reviewing.

Th e w ay in w hich th e material has b ee n pr esented is origina l. Apparent ly neith e r money nor effort was lack ing to add a personal and original stamp on a book that eve ry male gymnast ic coach should po ssess.

Th e programme fo r th e four O lympi c apparatu s plus f loor and vau ltin g co nt ain s exe rcises in six grades: three grades fo r childr e n (9- 12 yrs ; 13 + yea rs; 14 + yea rsJ and three grades for yo uth (14 + yea rs; 15 + yea rs and 16 + ).

In th e ea rl y chap te rs the auth o r devote s a numbe r of pa ges to ge ne ral and spec ifi c tests w ith norm s for eac h age group and to flexib ilit y exe r ci ses.

Thr o u g h t ech ni ca ll y goo d photographs many flexibi lit y exe rcises for sho uld ers, trunk , hips, w ri sts, legs and ankles have b ee n p erfec tly demonstrated by some yo ung and apparantl y tal ented yo un gs ters.

Furth er mor e a sec tion on stre ngth and en durance has been provided as we ll as a chap ter on coach ing . At thi s point th e author expla in s hi s per so nal philosop h y on coac hin g.

He uses th e chr isti an name Patri ck, each le tt e r of w hi ch fo rms a number of q ualiti es describing (w hat we co uld ca ll ) th e p erso na lit y - pr o fil e of a gymnast.

We beli eve th at in particular thi s chapter is ve ry success ful , because between th e many me thodological tips a p e rson al and moti va ting cl im ate has bee n c reated. .

It is a book th at we str o ng ly recommended to eve ry mal e gym nas ti cs coach.

Dr. J. Borms ! ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

BOOKS POSTERS JEWELRY 412 Broadway Ca. 90406

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GYMNAST Oct. '74

,\\eet I~esilits VE RMONT STATE GIRLS' CHAMPIONSHIPS

Saturd ay, March 23 - Essex Jun cti o n Hi g h School, Essex Jun ct ion, VI. Team: Essex Junction Education Center; South Burlington High School.

AA:Joanne Murra y (Ess ex Junction ). UPS : Rachel Backmon (U nion 32 ) 7.15; Susan Duma s (Harwood) 6.9; Debbie A nger (Burlington) 6.7; Sue Thaeder (Woodstock ) 6.65; Kim Dunkley (5. Burlingt o n) 6.6; Joanne Murra y (Essex Junction ) 6.6. V: Ann Ha yes (5. Burlington) 8.05; Janet Lynch (Burlington ) 7.8; Maureen H ennessey (Essex Junction ) 7.65; Pam Ri chards (Essex Junction ) 7.65; tunice flander s (Un ion 32) 7.1; Joann e Murra y 7.0. FX: Ann Ha yes 8.2; Evel yn Germain (5. Burlington ) 8. 15; Janet Lync h 8.15; Belinda Em erson (Burlingt on) 7.85; Carol rolino (Essex Junct ion) 7.75; Peri Chickering (U nion 32) 7.3. SS: Joann e M urray 8.3; I:.ve lyne Germain 8.0 ; Maureee n Henessey 7.7; Kim M ye tt e (5 . Hurlingto n ) 7.6S; Bel inda l:.merso n 7.45; Peri Chick ering

7.4.

1974 Class II STATE MEET fresno. Ca. M ay 3, 4, & 5 1974 Top 3 teams: Mid Valley Y 335.40; KIPS 329.50; Aztec, 323.65.

Senior Di visio n: AA: Graff (WH ). 65.40; Sch ul er (MV) 65.25; Rock (55) ) 65. 15; Schack Ie, (lan ) 64.75; Buchanan (Aim) 64.75; Potter (55)) 64.50. BB : Fisher (NU ) 16.55; Potter 16.30; Schacher (Mont. ) 16.20; William, (Pip) 16.20; Schuber (MYV) 16.20; Hand (stats ) 16.05; Rock 16.05. FX: 8eam (H eck ',) 17.25; Pott er 17.15; Chan (San Raf) 17.10; Schyler (MYV) 17.00; Rock 16.95. UPB : Ken ejZ (MVY) 16.90; Buchanan (Aim ) 16.80; Wellington (H eck's) 16.80; Evanson (KIPS) 16.60; johnson (SCA TS ) 16.60; schuber (MYV) 16.50. V: Sk yles (G ym West ) 17.30; Pri est (Di ablo) 17.15 ; Graff (W. H.) 16.85; A tla s (Aim ) 16.85; Wellington (Heck's ) 16.85; TuHanelli fBur) 16.85.

Junior Divi sio n: AA : Hayashida (la n) 68.80; floyd (Red ) 66.75; DeWalt (V ega,) 66.30; Ruhlman (MYV) 66.20; Gould (KIPS ) 66.20; Hall (Unatt.) 65.90. UPB: Ha ya,hida 17.85; Hall 17.30; Ruhlman 17.20; flo \'d 17.10; Abbott (Diab) 17.00; Pi erce (M YV ) 16.90. B: Tanaka (Sac Y) 17.1 0; Casse lman (S.c. ) 16.90; Ahern (55)) 16.60; Moore (sD Y) 16.40; floyd 16.40; T. Quan (S ac Y) 16.35. V: H ayashida 17.85; DeWalt 17.50; Pittard (Heck',) 17.30; Tanaka 17.10; Gould 17.10 ; Schneider (Kips) 16.85. fX: Hayashi da 17.55; Turner (SCATS) 17.40; Moore 17.15; Peters (MYV) 17.10; Ruhlman 17.10; Pi erc e 17.05; N iel,on (MYV)

17.05.

Children's Divisio n : AA : Mula (MYV) 33.35; lone, (Kip s) 33.00; S. Quan (Sac Y) 32.70; I, himoto (flip) 32.55; Woo dburn (stats) 32.45; Yunker (S.D. Y.) 32.00. V: Wh itacre (letes) 8.25; Quan 8.20; Garcia (Di ablo) 8.20; Ishimoto 8.05; Vie t (Flip) 8.00; Ross (flip ) 8.00.

UPB : l one, (Kip s) 9.15; W il, on (Kips ) 8.80; Mula 8.70; Sender (MVY) 8.55; Woo dburn 8.55; Sutherland (S.c.) 8.55. B: Mula 8.35; Harrington (S tats) 8.35; Quan 8.15; Reed (s.D.Y.) 8.05; Painter (A im) 8.00; W est (Fre, no) 7.95; Tanaka (Penn Ky,) 7.95; Schwandt (Jete s) 7.95; Woodburn 7.95; Jones 7.95. FX: Yunker (s .D.Y. ) 8.60; Ross (Flip) 8.5; Mula 8.5; Sender 8.45; Woodburn 8.45; Quan 8.40.

What a crow o f talented , beautiful gi rl s, and w hat a crow of talented , y oung coaches.

And w hat a crowd of girls moving up to class I! !!! Accordi ng to my coun t, 63 girls M UST move up to Class I. How Inln Y MAY mo ve up ? Al so received several letters from coaches who ques tioned the lega lit y of several clubs from o ne area competing all their girls under one name ... so mething for t he coaches associa tion to ponder on.

VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPS Upon returning to school for the n ew year I recei ved my back issues of G ymnast. I hope it is not to late to enter our Stale m eet result s.

Va rina High School is located in Richmond, Va. for the pa st two years Va rina 's gym nastic learn has wo n th e Di st rict , Sec ti ona l, and Stale Championships. Thi s wa s don e by only 4 gymna sts, all who areall around. In Virginia teams are limited to onl y four entries per event per team.

Not only have these girls won the A -AA di vision cham pio nship but ha ve raised over $4,000.00 to purc hase their own equipment.

It would mean a great deal to them to ha ve their meet re sults published in G ym n ast.

Thank yo u , Mrs. Jud y Courtney Coach, Varina High School Richmond, Virginia P.S. W e love our Gymnast magaz in e.

Team

Scores:

Varina

155.60;

Dublin

115.025. All-Around: D. Garber (V) 55.30; H. Mclemore (V) 52.50; C. Rey nold, (V) 46.40; B. Manahan (V) 43.75; B. Dorn ermuth (Bla ) 39.90; K. Duna vant (Dub) 34.45. Vaulling: B. Mclemore (V) 12.30; D . Garber (V) 12.15; K. A nch (BR ) 12.00; l. Carl,o n (8R ) 11.10; S. Su ll ivan (Pul) 10.35; K. Bowles (Dub) 10.10.

Bars: D . Garber (V) 15.10; B. McLemore (V) 13.55; C. Reynolds (V) 12.10; s. Li, ke y (TA ) 11 .50; D. Dorn errn uth (Bla ) 10.30; l. Kid (8Ia ) 9.70. Balance Beam: D. Garber (V) 14.35; 8.

Manahan (V) 13.85; B. Mclemore (V) 13.30; C. Reynold, (V) 13.30; L. Mabry (Gle) 11.00;).

Walker (Bl a) 10.50. floor Exerci,e: D. Garber (V) 13.70; B. \cLemore (V) 13.35; B. Mana h an (V) 12.80; l. Stone (WB) 12.75; C. Reynold, (V) ;2.60; l. Bryant (l.c.) 12.05; T. O'Dell (Pul ) 12.05.

KEY : Bla - Blackburg; BR - Broad Run ; Dub - Dublin; G - Glen var ; L.c. - loudoun Count y; Pul - Pula ski ; TA - Turner A shb y; VVa rina; WB - ,",Vil/iam Byrd.

TAFT L.A. CITY GIRLS CHAMPIONS The Taft rligh School Girls Gymnastics Team lead by their excellent coach , l'v1rs.

Sh irl ey Ruhlman , is a very happy and proud group of girl' this year. Out of a to tal of 21 girls on th eir team, 16 of them qualified for the city final s.

In class three, Paige Tipton was the onl y double winner. She pla ced first in th e uneven bars event with an excellent score of 8.30 another first in va ulting w ith a sco re of 8.00. Going on to free exercise, there was a tie for first place between l aura Lumsden and Lori Mendes with a top sco re of 8.25. Taft 's Sue Spillman placed fourth in this event with a score o f 8.20. O ver again to vault ing, Ceci Maron placed third with a good score of 7.85 .

Paige Tip ton had the highest score w ith her

8.30.

In th e intermedia te cla ss IWO , Sue levine placed fi rst all -around with an impressive top score of 60.00. She placed first in va ulting with a sco re of 17. 15, the highes l scor e in the class two catagory. She also placed second on free exercise w ith a score of 16.00. Geo r gia Sasvary, with a score of 16.15, pla ce d third in va ulting and a second in balance beam with a good score of 15.40. She took a fif th place in free exercise w ith a 15.75. Claudia Connell y , a senior, n ow graduated, placed fourth in balance beam wi th a sco re of 14.40.

In th e advanced class on e catagory, Robyn Durham placed third in the all-around wi t h a score of 59.20. She p laced first in vaulting with an impressive score of 15.90. She also placed third in balance beam with a score of 13.50 and free exercise with a score of 16.60.

Her score on uneven paralle l ba rs, 13.20, gave h er the fourth place pOSi tion. _ Taft is now th e number one tea m in th e cit y, ha ving not lost one practic e meet. not one league meet, leading in semifinals and becomi n g the top girl s gymna stics tea m i n th e city of Los A ngeles w ith th eir very excellen t and impressive team sco re of 331.25. EI Camino Real High School placed second with a score of 255.80.

Without Mrs. Ruhlman , their coac h, the tea m co uld ha ve neve r done it. She helped them during school, after school and on holida}'s and weekend s. She had open workouts for her team as well as other h igh school co mpetitors in the city leagu e.

Congratulations again, Taft High School's Girls G ymnastics Team i n becoming the cit y's number one gymn ast ics team .

FEMININE GYMNASTICS Second Edition

By Phyllis Cooper, Trenton State College

"Best basic women's gymnastic book available on the market. Includes very good section on dance as well as skills on each event. "

WRITE FOR: (1) Illustrat io n of Medals.

(2) Pricing Information.

(3) Handy Order Form .

Sequence of Each Event is Illustrated in these Unique Medals.

From fundamentals to routines for competition, Feminine Gymnastics describes skill analysis, common errors by beginners, and spotting techniques . The second edition covers locomotor, tumbling, and acrobatic skills; floor exercises; balance beam; uneven parallel bars; side horse vaulting; and, in a new chapter, the tram pol ine. Of special interest to gymnastic teachers and coaches is the chapter on organi zing and directing a meet. 1973; 8'h x 11"; 256 pp; highly illustrated with over 260 drawings; spiral; $6.75

FEMALE Order from Dept. G 1074

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930 27TH AVENUE S.W., CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA 52406 Region 1-Mass., Conn., Vermont, N. Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . Phone: 413/ 733-7927 Phone: 800/ 638-9170 Region 2-Pennsylvania, NYC, L. Island, Delaware, New Jersey .. . . . ..... .

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