HIsTORY
GYMNASI1CS msroRY Frank Cumiskey gives a personal review of USA gymnastics highlighting the American gymnasts in the Olympic Games and the intervening years. -Part 1 A Personal Review -
By FRANK J. CUMISKEY
Edi tor's Note: - Frank.f. CWlJisk ey, a native of West New York, N ew J er sey, becam e interested in gym nastics w hile in gr;ulll1lar school. By the time he was in high school, Cumisk ey had won numerous state championships for Memorial High School. He WilS a m ember of tile United States Olympic team in 1932 and won the Nationm AA U All-Around Championship in 1934. He won a total of 25 Nationm AAU titles and was a member of two more Olympic teams, tile 1936 Berlin games and 1948 London games. Cumiskey WilS the first of ten persons elected to the Helms FoundMion HaJJ of Fam e and has received tile NNACGC Honor Coach es A ward. H e hilS mso r eceived tile United States Gymn;/stic Federation 's Master of Sports Award; th e Na tional Gymnastics Judges HaJJ of Fame Award; and is a founder of tile NGJA. TIle NGJA HaJJ of Hune is nam ed, "TIle Frank.f. Cumiskey Hall of Fam e. " He hilS published "\VllO's \VllO in Gymnastics," ,Uld a Judging Guide ;Uld Course. Comiskey r etired from th e Post Office after 32 y ears ofsel'l'i ce. H e served ilS a Technicm Director for tile USGF until 19 77. 'f71is series of articles is a p ersonm revi ew of gymnilStics. Clarence "Red " L111cton, a gymnast and coach for m ore than 50 year s, assisted Cwniskey in gatilering material .
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W
hat is gymnastics? After 55 years in the sparr as a partiCipant, coach, judge and administrator, a good defi nition e lud es m e. The definition used by Webster's is too broad. A second definitio n fro m another dictio nary is too confining. A definition flitted through my thoughts:
"Gymna s tics - A damned difficult, d emanding, dangerous, debilitating, d eh y drating, degenerating, method of self-destruction. " Unless you h ave trai ned as a gymnast, that definition won't m ean anything to you . But it becomes all of this and more w he n you co nsider h ow far a gymnast of Olympic tale nt is from the raw beginner. As a beginner, a gym nast can d o virtually no thing, w here a beginne r can kick a footb all , throw a base ball and shoot a basket w ith a basketball . I started th e lo ng trail in gymnastics and it was a year before I co uld d o a kip o n the ho rizontal bar. I remember the fear as I contemplated a new, difficult trick. I re me mber the to rn hands, the bruises, the sweat and the tears, the d o ubts and fears. Gy mnastics beco mes a chall e nge that won't le t you go. The co ntest is be tween you and the events. The opponents are the re and dri ve yo u o nward, but once the competition begins, it is between yo u and the app aratus and let th e judges do the rest. Each new movement, each new trick is slow and the fact that there are fo ur or six events helps w hen an impasse comes in o ne routine. 'The varie ty of events helps. One is slow one day, ano ther the next, but the differences provide the excitement and variation which keep it all fresh. Learning a new trick is slow, but tllis is the [l1n part of gymnastics. You go home from practice in a glow and, in 40
th e privacy of your though ts, yo u insert a new trick in your exercise and it fits fU1e. You never break as you go tlu-ough your new exercise. Then, the next day in the gym, the new trick is gone. You can't do it. It happens with disco uraging frequency. I have seen it happe n to gymn asts who have had a trick for a long time. Suddenly, it is gone. But the saving grace is that most times it returns and stays. l1lere are plateaus of performance and plateaus of the mind. l1le fear plateau has halted the career of many gymnasts. To move from o ne plateau to the nex t in difficulty takes a certain amount of courage. Fears vary with the individual. We each have o ur own. Age has a bem'ing on tll em, prior falls have a bearing as d oes confidence in your coach. Good safety practices and good coaching prevent most injuries. But despite the courage, there will be bumps mld bruises tllat might decide just how far a gymnast will go in the sport. Ihen tllere is the ability plateau. Let's face it, all gymnasts are not going to make the O lympic team. l1lere are so mmly factors that play a part: coaching, proper diet, good trailling, body weight mld good competition. l1lese are tile variables; these are the factors dlat help make a gymnast. There m'e o thers, but these seem to be the basic ones. Some gymnasts s tart slowly and th e n come o n quickly. Gymnasts ask tllemselves if it is worth it. l1lere is always the next routine, the next trick to learn, and as you progress, the pressure begins, mostly from witllin yourself, but also from your coach, your temllmates, your friends, your parents, and even your country w hen you make the Olympic sq uad. Is it worth it? Of course gymnastics is wortl1 it. \VhiI e it is nice to make an Olympic temu , onIy seven men mld seven women make one every four years. There are many other great satisfactions in the sport. Is it wortll it? You bet it is. Here is another definition. It's mine and good eno ugh for me. 11lere may be o dlers w ho find fault w ith my deftllition. Let them make their OWI1 ; this is mine. I didn 't include the word Continued on 46
USGF GYMNASTICS