Technique Magazine - May 1987

THE OFFICIAL TECHNICAL PUBLICATION OF THE UNITED STATES GYMNASTICS FEDERATION

May 1987

Vol. 7, No.2

Task Complexity Of Judging Gymnastics

Non路Prolit Drvanlzatlon

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Vol. 7, No.2

May 1987

Inside This Issue 4-7

Test Of A Model Scoring System

By John Scheer and Charles Ansorge

8-13

Task Complexity Of Judging By Hardy Fink Univ. British Columbia Gymnastics

14-16 How To Videotape A Gymnastics Meet

Prepared by Robert Cowan Men's Program Administrator

18-19 Judging Pommel Horse

By Fred Roethlisberger Univ. of Minnesota

19

USGF Calendar Of Events

Cover and inside photos © USGF 1987, by Dave Black.

1104 86-87 Supp. to WCode ,-

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The USGF Supplement is a publication of the USGF Women's Technical Committee and the official rule interpretation for USGF competitions.

The Supplement is a must for all professionals involved in the competitive aspect of Women's Artistic gymnastics.

Contents include new rules, interpretations, and clarification of international rules, adopted by the Women's Technical Committee, plus over 300 additional elements of A,B,C, and D values.

Publisher Mike Jacki Education/Safety Editor Dr. Gerald George Production Michael G. Botkin UNITED STATES GYMNASTI CS FEDERATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Executive Director: Mike Jacki . Athlete Representatives: Lyd ia Bree; Peter Vidmar; Linda Kardos; Tom Beach; Kathy Johnson; Tim Daggett; Kelly Garrison . Amateur Athletic Union: Jerry Hardy. American Sokol Organization: Norma Zabka. American Turners: Harry Warnken . Members at Large: Linda Chencinski. NCAA Gymnastics CoachesMen: Fred Roe thlisber~er, University of Minnesota. NCAA Gy mnashcs Coaches-Women: Judi Avener, Penn State University. National Association for Girls and Women In Sports: Dr. Mimi Murray, Sprin~field College . National Association of Women s Gymnastics Judges: Dale Brown .

NCAA: Sylvia Moore, Oregon State University; Gail Davis, Rhode Island College; Jerry Miles, do NCAA; Wayne Young, Brigham Young University. NAIA: Bonnie Morrow. NHSGCA: john Brinkworth. National Federation of State High School Athletic Assoc .: Sh aron Wilch; Susa n True.

National Jewish Welfare Board: Courtney Shanken. NJCAA: Dave Rowlands, Truman College.

NGJA: Mike Milidon is. USAIGC: Ed Knepper.

Men's Elite Coaches Assoc.: Jim Howard, University of Nebraska. USECA for Women: Roe Kreutzer; Steve Whitlock. Youn~ Men's Christian Assoc .: Cliff Loth ery. Jr. Boy s Gym. Coaches Assoc.: Rich Boccia. President: Mike Donahue.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Pr es ident: Mike Donahue. Secretary: Judi Avener. Vice President: Jim Howard . Executive Director: Mike Jacki. FIG Technical Committee: Jackie Fie. FIG Rhythmic Technical Comm.: Andrea Schmid. FIG Men's Technical Committee: Bill Roetzheim. Vice President for Women: Sue Ammerman . President Emeritus: Bud Wilkinson. Athlete Representatives: Kathy Johnson; Peter Vidmar; Larry Gerald .

Members at Large: Mike Milidonis; Linda Chencinski.

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As_iate Content Editors SPORTS MEDICINE COMMITfU,;

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SAFETY COMMllTEE Dr. Marc Rabinoff EDUCATION COMMITIEE Dr. Garland O'Quinn BIOMECHANICS COMMITIEE Dr. Marlene Adrian, Director SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY COMMITIEE Dr. Keith Henschen, Ph.D. EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY COMMITIEE Dr. Pat EisenmaJ\, Ph.D. UnIess expressly Identified to the co ntrary, all articles, state ments and views printed he re in are attri buted soley 10 the aut hor and the United

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Technique

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Test Of A Model Scoring System For The Self.Regulation Of Internationa Bias In Gymnastics Judging

By John Scheer and Charles Ansorge School of Health , Physical Education and Recreation University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Abstract

", T'

correct international bias, Roetzheim and Muzyczko (1986) proposed that, when a judge scores a team from his own country, the team score should be reduced by the difference between the gymnasts' average scores and the scores of that judge , after discarding the highest and lowest differences. Similarly, if a judge underscores teams in close competition to his own , his bias would be added to those team scores.

The purpose of this study was to determine the adjustments to men's and women 's team scores wh ich would have resulted had this system been used in the 1984 Olympics. Analysis revealed that all judges scored gymnasts from their home countries higher than their panel average, resulting in an average subtraction of 0.93 from the scores of men 's teams (two judges per team, nine teams), and 0.86 from women's teams (one judge per team, nine teams). Judges also underscored teams in close competition with their own , resulting in an average addition of 0.79 to the scores of men 's teams, and 0.77 to women 's teams. The proposed system could be a powerful method of enforcing the selfregulation by judges of international bias patterns, or could be used as a tool for exposing bias and evaluating judges.

0

nternational bias in gymnatics judging has been the subject of much conjecture in the past. Until recently, however, rigorous proof of bias has been lacking. In a study of the 1984 Olympics , Ansorge and Scheer (1985) reported a clear and significant bias pattern in which judges overscored gymnasts from their own countries and underscored gymnasts from countries in close competition with their own.

That study revealed a degree of bias which was not only statistically Significant, but of tremendous practical significance as well. The vast majority of judges followed the predicted pattern, and the question was raised regarding the potential impact of even one judge.

In other words, how much difference can one judge make? An example of a frequently occurring score range for a panel of four judges would be 9.5,9.6, 9.7, and 9.7, for an average of 9.65. If one of the 9.7s represented a biased score for a gymnast from that

I

4

judge 's home country, and that judge were to change the 9.7 to a 9.5 for an equally good routine by a gymnast from an opposing country, the average score would be reduced from 9.65 to 9.55 if the other scores remained the same. One judge can easily have a .05 to .1 impact on a single gymnast, and a .25 or more impact on a team score in a single event. This degree of bias, which is representative of the bias found by Scheer and Ansorge, means that one judge who both overscores and underscores gymnasts in the pattern described above can create a half-point or more swing between the scores of two teams in just one event.

Given the extent of the problem , it would seem desirable to explore methods of reducing international bias in gymnastics judging. Roetzheim and Muzyczko (1986), with conceptual input from Doug Hills, proposed a system for the self-regulation of international bias.

The system involves analyzing the scores of judges whose countries have teams entered in the competition. A pattern of bias favoring his/her team would result in a reduction of his/her team 's score , while a pattern of bias against teams in close competition would result in additions to those team scores .

Example 1: Impleme ntation of Scoring System for USA Judge Scoring USA Gymnasts in Men ' s Compet i tion

at the 1984 Olympic Games Routine

J2

J3

J4

Average

9. 9

9.6

9. 7

9.5

9.65

+ . 25--discard

9. 9

9.7

9. 7

9 .7

9.70

+ . 20 +.15

JI*

Difference

9.9

9. 8

9. 6

9. 7

9 . 75

10 . 0

9.8

9. 8

9.9

9.85

+ .1 5

10 . 0

9.9

9.9

9. 8

9 . 90

+.10

10.0

9. 9

9. 9

9.9

9 . 90

!.:..!Q.

-discard

+ . 60

Summation

Bias Correct i o n Made From Team Finals

Unadjusted Team Score (United Sta t es) Bias Co r rection Subt r ac t ion

Correc t ed Team Score

296.10 ~

295.50

In this example , J l is scor in g gymnasts ""ho are f r om his own coun t ry .

For each gymnas t , his sco r e was h i gher than the av e rage of the panel.

The highest a nd lo wes t d i fference scores a r e di sca rd e d a nd the r e maining fou r differences a r e t o t a l ed t o dete r mi n e the bi as correc t io n.

Technique

Specifically, the judge's deviations from the average scores of gymnasts from a given team would be calculated. The highest and lowest deviations would be discarded , and the remaining deviations would be totaled.

If the total represents bias in the expected direction , that total would be subtracted from his/her team's score, or added to the team score of the preceding and succeeding teams in the competition. Example 1 shows how the system would be implemented for a judge scoring his home country's gymnasts. Example 2 shows the system for a judge scoring gymnasts from a team in close competition with her own .

to team totals due to negative bias from opposing judges, the preceding and succeeding teams after compulsories were used for compulsory additions. The final placements (combined compulsories and optionals) were used to determine the preceding and succeeding teams for optional additions. For the first place teams, the second and third place teams were considered to be in close competition , while for the ninth place teams, the eighth and seventh place teams were considered close.

Tables 1 and 2 show the results of applying the bias correction factors for each team's score. The subtrac-

Table l·Bias Cor r ection Adjustme nts t o Team Scores i n Men's Gymnastics at the 1984

Ol~ i cs

Exa mpl e 2 : Subtractions

Impl eme ntati on of Sco ring Sys t em for Sp a nish Jud ge

Additions (Opposing Judges) Tota l

Team

Actual Score

(own Judges) Total Co. Opt.

USA

591.4

- 1.35 ( • . 60. -.75)

1.55

CHII

590 . 8

- .60 (· . 35. - .25)

1. 05

Sco r in g Great Brit ai n Gymnasts in Wo men I s Competition

Adjus t ed Score

Ac t ual Finish

Adju s ted Fi n ish

(.75 t::o., . 80 Opt.)

at the 198 4 Ol ympic Ga me s

(1.15 CHII*, .40 JPtl)

591. 60

(.50 Co .•. 55 Opt.)

Routi ne

Diffe r ence

J I'

J2

J3

J4

8.6

8. 8

8. 5

8. 8

8 . 70

- .lO--di sca rd

8. 3

8. 8

8. 7

9 .1

8 . 75

-. 45

Aver ase

( . 65 USA, .40 JPN)

591. 25

(.40 Co . , .20 Opt .)

JPIl

586.7

- .60 (-.40 . - . 20)

.60

(.55 CHII, .05 FRG)

586.70

( . 15 Co . , .35 Opt. )

8. 9

9. 3

9.2

9.3

9 . 25

-. 35

9. 2

9.4

9.4

9.4

9.40

-. 20

8 .9

9. 5

9. 4

9.30

9 . 35

- . 45-- di s c a rd

9. 1

9.2

9. 5

9. 2

9 .20

- .10

Summa t i on

fRG

SUI

582 . 1

579.95

- 1.05 (-.65 . - . 40)

- 1.20 (- . 50. - . 70)

. 50

. 40

( . 10 JPII, . 40 SU I) ( . 20 Co .•. 20 Op t. )

581.55

579.20

(.05 fRG •. 15 CAN) .20 FRA)

fRA

578.25

- 1.45 ( · .95. -.50)

.75

CAN

577 . 15

- .55 (- . 15 . - . 40)

. 30

(.10 Co., .65 Opt.) (.35 CAli, . 30 SU I • . 10 KOR)

577 .55

- 1.10 ( .eo Co. , . 10 Op t. )

576. 90

( . 05 FRA, .20 SUI. .05 KOR)

Bia s Correction Ma d e From Team Final s Un a d j u s ted Te a m Sco r e ( Great Br i tain) Bia s Correc ti on Additi on

Corre c t e d Team Score

KOR

574.45

- .50 (-.30, - .20)

GBR

571. 0

-1.1 0 ( - .80. - .30)

1.10

L87 . 95 ~

. 90

Column Averages

Spain in the gymnas t ics c om pe tition.

(.35 Co., . 55 Opt .)

575 . 05

570.80

( . 35 KOR, .30 FRA, . 25 CAN)

189 . 05

Jl is s co rin g gy mnas t s who a r e f r om Grea t Br i t a in . t he t eam which p r eceded

( . 65 Co. , . 45 Op t. ) (.75 G8R, .20 FRA, .15 CAN)

Column Standard Deviation

- .93

. 52

.4 1

. 79

. 37 Co . . 42 Opt.

- . 37

. 25

.20

.39

.23 Co.

.23 Opt .

· fjOTE--These are COOlb i ned compul so ry and op ti ona l additions to t eam t ot a l s based opon neg ative b i as of judges f rom spec ific oppos ing countries.

For a more detailed description of the system, see Roetzheim and Muzyczko, Technique, Volume 6, Number 1, 1986, pages 14-17.

Roetzheim and Muzyczko proposed a phased introduction and implementation of the system . Phase 1 involved explaining the system , which they have done. The purpose of this paper is Phase 2: the study of past major competitions to determine the results if the system had been in use.

1984 Olympics With Bias Correction omplete results and judging assignments were obtained for the 1984's men's and women 's Olympic gymnastics competition. Officials included two male judges for each of nine qualified countries for the men's competition and one female judge for each of the nine countries for the women's competition . The proposed scoring system was implemented for the scoring of all involved judges. To determine additions

C

Techn ique

tions and additions are based upon the total of two judges for each team in the men 's competition, and one judge for each team in the women's. For both men and women the subtractions and additions are broken down into compulsories (Co.) and optionals (Opt.). The additions column is also broken down into the amounts added on due to judges from specific opposing countries.

It can be seen that, in every case, judges scoring their own team awarded higher overall scores than the average, which resulted in a subtraction from their team scores. Also in the vast majority of cases, when judges scored gymnasts from teams in close competition to their own, they awarded lower overall scores, resulting in an addition to those team scores.

In the men's competition , the team order of finish remained the same after all bias corrections were applied.

It is interesting, however, that the USA and China would have switched positions if only the subtraction part of the system had been used. While the USA judges showed slightly more favoritism toward the USA than 5

the Chinese judges showed for China, the Chinese made up for it by showing more negative bias towards the USA than the USA judges showed toward the Chinese. Clearly, both kinds of bias must be considered in using this system, or the focus of the bias pattern will merely shift.

In the women's competition , four teams changed positions after the bias corrections were applied! The West German judge was considerably more biased both for her team and against the Canadian team than was the Canadian judge. Since West Germany beat the Canadians by a mere .25, it is clear that the West German 's bias netted her team a fourth place finish instead of fifth had the bias been equal. A similar position change due to unequal bias can be seen between Great Britain and Switzerland .

It seems apparent that there are some disadvantages to the current system of international gymnastics judging: 1. A predictable pattern of bias is present, and this is obvious to spectators, coaches, gymnasts , and judges. The bias pattern is most noticeable at the top , but exists through all levels of teams competing internationally.

2. The current system prevents ajudge from being fair.

To be fair may cost a judge's team dearly.

3. The current system reduces the credibility of gymnastics as a competition sport. In fact , it encourages blatant disregard of the objective rules laid out in the Code of Points (FIG, 1985). How many times have we read about "impossible" scores being awarded?

The latest analysis shows a number of impossible vaulting scores in the 1985 World Championships (Fystrom, 1986). Is your reaction , " So, what's new? " 4. In selecting judges for international competition , federations of competing countries are more interested in sending judges who are skilled at bias than skilled in judging.

5. Finally, the current system unfairly affects the qualification of individual gymnasts into finals. Internationally in event competition, .05 is often the difference between having a chance of winning and not even making the finals . Whether or not a deserving gymnast qualifies for finals may very well depend upon whether his or her country's judge is on the event or the judge from an opposing country in close competition.

There are some disadvantages to the proposed bias correction model , as well: 1. In some competitions team results would be uncertain until after the judging sessions are over, and this could create some spectator uncertainty. The bias correction for a judge scoring his or her own country could be subtracted immediately, but bias correction additions for judges scoring other countries would have to wait until it is known which countries are in close competition .

2. In some cases, a judge may underscore a close opposing team, but that team would not finish next to the judge's team in the standings. In such an instance, the negative bias of the judge would not be added to the opposing team 's score. For example, the worst negative bias in the 1984 Olympics was that illustrated in Example 2 above . After compulsories , Spain was in ninth place, and Great Britian

6

Tab l e 2 - Bias Correction Adjustments to Team Scores in Women's Gyl1Ulastics at the 1984 Olympics

Subtractions

Additions

Team

Actual SCOre

Total

ROM

392.20

-.45 (-.35.

-.10)

. 75

USA

391 . 20

-.60 (-.55.

-.05)

1.20

(own Judges) Opt.) Co.

(Opposing Judges)

Total

Adjusted

Score

.3, '0" .'U Opt. (.45 USA·, . 30 CHN ) (.40 Co., .80 Opt.)

Actual Finish

Adjusted

Finish

392.50

391.80

(.75 ROM, . 45CHr/)

CHN

388.60

- .85 (-.30.

- .55)

.20

1.05 Co . • . 15 OpL)

387.95

(.20 USA • • 00 FRG )

FRG

379.15

- 1.40 (-1.0,

-.40)

.25

(.20 Co .• . 05 Opt.)

378 . 00

(.00 CHII • . 25 CAH)

CAN

378 . 90

-.55 ( - .15.

-.40)

1.50

( . BS Co .• . 65 Opt.)

379.85

(1.30 FRG • . 20 JPII)

JPtl

376.75

-.40 (- .10.

- . 30)

.70

( . 30 Co .• 40 Opt.)

377.05

(.15 CAN • . 30 SUI •

• 25 GBR)

GSR

373.85

-1.20 (- . 94. -.25)

.75

(.65 Co . • . 10 Opt.)

373.40

(.35 SUI • . 40 ESP,

.00 JPII)

SUI

373 . 50

-.55

(- . 20. -.35)

1.15

(.65 Co . , . 50 Opt.)

374 . 10

(.20 JPN • . 55 GBR .40 ESP) (.20 Co., .20 Opt.) ESP

372.10

-1.70 (-1.70 • . 00)

.40

(.40 GSR, .00 SUI)

Column Averages

-.86 (.59

. 27)

.77

(.41 Co .

.36 Opt. )

Column Standard Deviations

-.47 (.53

• 18)

.44

(.26 Co .

.2S Opt.)

370.80

*tlote - -These are combined compulsorY and optional additions to team totD.1s based upon negatiVe bias of judges from specific oppos i ng countries.

was in eighth . In the optional competition, the Spanish judge was grossly biased against Great Britian .

Yet Great Britian moved into seventh place after optionals, so the bias of the Spanish judge was not added on to Britian 's optional score .

3. The proposed model would require some rule changes to solve potential problems, but this should not be a major obstacle . For example, line judges would need to be from non-competing countries.

There would also have to be a control limit on the spread of all four scores, otherwise a judge could throw the competition to one team or another simply by awarding a couple of 2.0s to a team in close competition .

4. The proposed model would also force conformity of judges, thereby actually redUCing their objectivity and independence.

5. If the proposed system were implemented , extra care would have to be taken to insure that the distribution of judges from competing countries and neutral judges was fair and equal. From a political standpoint, this may be a major problem .

We believe, however, that the advantages of the bias correction model outweight the disadvantages. The advantages of the proposed system would be: 1. The proposed model would result in improvements in all of the listed disadvantages of the current system. Pattern bias would be reduced and the credibility of gymnastics would be increased.

2. The proposed model would make all judges' scores count.

3. The model would be effective in discovering alliances of judges. For example, in the women's competition, there was a wide gap in talent between the third place Chinese and the fourth place West GerTechnique

mans, with more than nine points separating the two teams . Clearly, the West Germans were not a threat to the Chinese. It was curious, therefore, that the Chinese judge helped the West Germans, and the West German judge helped the Chinese. Out of 24 routines, these two judges were above the average score for the opposing team 14 times, and below the average score only once!

4. Use of the model would represent not only a bias correction system, but the implementation of an evaluation system of judges, as well. In fact, whether the system is implemented or not, its potential use as a method of evaluating judges is tremendous.

In summary, there is no question that this system exposes international bias patterns in gymnastics judging. Implementation of the bias correction factors would almost have to reduce the degree of international bias found by Scheer and Ansorge. Judges simply could not award extremely biased scores without hurting their team. If the International Gymnastics Federation seriously wants to reduce favoritism shown by judges, then the self-regulating bias correction system is one they should carefully consider.

References 1. Ansorge , Charles J., and Scheer, John K. " Prevalence of International Bias in the Judging of Medal Winning Gymnastics Teams in the 1984 Olympic Games. " Research paper presented at the National Convention of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education , Recreation and Dance, Atlanta, Georgia, 1985.

2. Roetzheim, Bill, and Muzyczko, Ted. " Bias Correction Factors: A Proposal to Minimize Unwanted Pattern Bias in International Competitions." Technique, Volume 6, Number 1, 14-17, 1986.

3. International Gymnastics Federation . Code of Points, Switzerland , FIG , 1985.

4. Fystrom, Russel. "Observation on Men's Vaulting from the 1985 World Championships." Technique, Volume 6, Number 3, 15-16, October, 1986.

About The Authors John Scheer competed in gymnastics at the University of Nebraska from 1963 to 1967. He became a nationally certifed judge in 1970 and internationally certified in 1976. He has judged the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Team Trials, as well as numerous other world team trials and USA Championships. Internationally he has judged such meets as the World University Games, World Cup, Swiss and DTB Cups, and Goodwill Games. He was founder and president of the Great Plains Gymnastics Judges Association, and currently serves as Technical Secretary for the National Gymnastics Judges Association. Dr. Scheer is an Associate Professor in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at the University of NebraskaLincoln.

Dr. Charles Ansorge is a statistician and Professor of HPER at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. For the past 14 years, Drs. Scheeer and Ansorge have collaborated on various research projects regarding influences in gymnastics judging, resulting in the publication of 14 articles and the presentation of 11 research papers.

COMING THIS SUMMERNEW USGF SAFETY VIDEO

速

us. GYMNASTICS FEDERATION

"Gymnastics Safety: First, Second and Always" The final editing is now being completed for a new, state-of-the-art video addressing one of the most important issues in our sport-gymnastics safety.

Featuring some of the most recognized coaches, athletes and authorities in gymnastics, this video presentation is an absolute necessity for all club owners, coaches and professionals.

Produced by the U.S. Gymnastics Federation to promote and increase safety awareness, "Gymnastics Safety: First, Second and Always" features some of the most recognized personalities in gymnastics. Bart Connor, Peter Vidmar, Kathy Johnson, Greg Marsden, Bela Karolyi, Judi Avener and others speak to parents and students alike about the responsibilities of the gymnast, the coach and the club owner in conducting gymnastics activities safely and effectively.

Be sure to watch for information in the next issues of USA Gymanstics and Technique on how to order this informative and vital video program.

Technique

7

Task Complexity Of Judging Gymnastics

By Hardy Fink University of British Columbia

ore and more research and experimental evidence is accumulating which suggests that the judging or evaluation of gymnastics performances is extremely difficult and may, in fact, be impossible. Scores awarded by judges suffer frequently, depending on the particular circumstances, from not being valid, from not being reliable and from not being objective.

For instance intra-judge reliability coefficients as low as -.03 have been reported for side horse vaulting (Wilson, 1974) with not one judge ranking the gymnasts in the same order on the second viewing and some judges completely reversing the order leading the author to state, "One may seriously question, based upon the result of this study, the use of the side horse vault mark in determining the all-around competitor, or determining anything for that matter."

The factors contributing to this state of affairs are related to the: 1. Complexity and nature of the sport.

2. Complexity and nature of the rules.

3. Task demands and information

processing demands of judging.

4. Internal pressures affecting the judge.

5. External pressures affecting the judge.

This discussion will attempt to look at the task demands of judging and how these contribute to the probable impossibility of accurate rating . The contribution to this problem of the other four factors will be looked at more briefly.

Sport Complexity Gymnastics as a sport derives its complexity from the variety of unrelated apparatii that one must compete on (floor exercises, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, and horizontal bar for men and vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercises for women) and the expectation that virtually the full human movement potential, with certain minor constraints, be explored within and among the events.

My investigations reveal that a full competitive performance requires, typically, some 200 seconds and presents some 80-100 distinct skills; an average of about one new skill every 2 seconds.

Salmela (1976) has shown that by the 1972 Olympics, pommel horse performers had attained 1.7 hand changes (Changes in the base of support) per second and that some had by

1976 reached 1.9 per second thereby approaching the "theoretical limits of man's information processing capacity of two precise movements per second." My preliminary investigations of the 1983 World Championships show that top performers still do not exceed 1.9 base of support changes per second when averaged over a 25 to 30 second routine. However, some individuals perform certain skill combinations requiring as many as 3.9 hand changes per second and can maintain that speed for at least 10 support changes in 2.6 seconds. What this says about the "theoretical limits" as stated by Salmela (1976, 1978) is unclear.

Rule Complexity he complexity of the sport of gymnastics requires a correspondingly complex set of rules: At least, at the present time, the rules are corresponding complex. Each of the most recent men's and women's rule books (FIG, 1979) and accompanying supplementary judging information encompasses some 250 to 300 pages of information. Each identifies some 700 typical skills (many more exist) and rates them among three difficulty categories as well as, depending on the skill, assessing them according to the presence of risk and originality.

The rule books provide indirect, and somewhat arbitrary, constraints and requirements for each routine and list hundreds of deductions appropriate for possible deviations from the ideal performance . Further, the rules demand the demonstration of elegance and virtuosity extemporaneously with demands for the display of risk and originality. Unlisted skills, at least for men, are expected to be evaluated, virtually instantaneously, by a subjective comparison with related or similar skills already rated.

T

As athletes present themselves to the judges, they must think of doing their best, not of how the judges will perceive them.

8

Technique

I

I,

Task And Information Processing Demands It is the combination of sport and rule complexity that provides the judge with the initial aspects of the task complexity of juding. Further complexities are introduced by the needs for the identification of and the decision about each presented skill and the composite judgement resulting in the final score.

As has already been indicated, the stimulus or input information presented to the judge can vary greatly. The combination of hundreds of possible skills, any of which can be, to varying degrees, discrepant from the stereotyped ideal or the rule requirements, the requirement for originality as entrenched in the rules and the probability, also entrenched in the rules, that only the gymnast knows what will come next in a performance maximizes the uncertainty of information with which the judge will be confronted.

Having been presented the stimulus the judge must then process the information, make a decision and respond accordingly. The steps involved for each skill include at least the following .

1. Identify the skill.

2. Identify the difficulty, risk and originality rating for the skill.

3. Identify if it deviates from either the ideal performance or from the rule requirements.

4. Identify the degree of that discrepancy.

Technique

5. Associate the appropriate deduction with that discrepancy or error.

Because of the limited capacity of the running short term memory (on which many judges still rely) in contemporary times judges are expected to have and use a relatively comprehensive recording sytem (Fink, 1975) both for immediate needs and later feedback to coaches and athletes.

Thus: 6. Identify the appropriate symbolic representation of the skill and the deduction.

7. Record the symbol' for the skill and the deduction on paper.

Most dynamic skills in gymnastics are performed in less than one second .

The forgoing steps must, therefore, be repeated at least 10 and as many as 30 times during a performance. For the worst case of a contemporary pommel horse routine these steps may be required 25 times in 30 seconds. Other routines allow for some longer transition times and include static skills which offer the judge some relief.

After a routine, the judge is expected to decode the usually messy written record, assess the possibility (from memory) of having erred during the recording or identification and then compute and present the final composite decision - the score - in about 15, but certainly no more than 30 seconds.

Certain other mechanical proficiencies are expected of a judge but these will

International conflicts between judges sometimes are not the only factors present during conferences. Sometimes the coach puts his/her two cents worth in.

not be discussed here.

The speed with which the judge is presented with information and the short time over which he must process and record the information requires of him certain strategies which will reduce the reaction time during the decision making process. Reaction time can be reduced by the ability to anticipate (reduce the uncertainty) the input and the response and by automating the identification-association-recording process. Clearly, both of them - anticipation and automation - demand expertise and practice.

The judge can learn to anticipate upcoming skill combinations or at least assess the probability of certain combinations appearing by being steeped in the sport. Knowing the sport thoroughly will decrease the need to be "prepared for anything" as some possibilities are precluded. Watching previous films of gymnasts to be evaluated or observing them in warm up can further reduce the uncertainty of what may be presented in competition.

Automation occurs as a result of overlearning. In this case it is the instantaneous association of a skill with a difficulty value and a deduction; of the skill and deduction with a symbol; 9'

and, of the physical recording on paper of that symbol. This automation can be achieved only with hours and perhaps years of practice.

Gymnastics judges too frequently are unwilling to minimize their reaction time and to maximize their information processing capabilities in this way.

They rely instead on a variety of untenable short cuts such as not bothering with the difficult intermediate tasks of judging. Instead they render a score that seems, at the time, to be compatible with others. Often prior knowledge of the gymnasts, order of appearance within a team, country of origin and other non-performance related information is used to assist in the "decision" .

Internal Presssures here are a large variety of influences that affect a judge in the performance of his duties regardless of the sincerity of his information proceSSing and decision making efforts. The process of subconsciously and subjectively comparing performances to a stereotyped perfect performance is liable to many errors.

Among them: 1. Order of appearance Scheer & Ansorge (1965) and Ansorge et al (1978) have documented that gymnasts appearing later within a team have a siginificant score advantage due to judges' expectations that the best will appear last. They, as well as Wilson (1974) and others recommend complete randomization of order such that no gymnast will be disadvantaged simply by his order.

The order effect is even more insidious in day long competitions of successive flights of athletes, such as at a World Championship. Evening performers have such a massive score advantage, due possibly to an accumulation of little judging errors that reset the judges' expectations over the course of the day, that it is a truism that teams in the morning "draw" might just as well stay home.

2. Judge-gymnast relationships Beliefs about the personal characteristics of a gymnast (race, personality, attitude, etc.) will affect a judge's rating of that

T

10

gymnast. Also a judge's expectations of that gymnast gained from prior experience, rumours, announcements during meets, etc. and his association of a certain range of scores with that gymnast along with a pre-set from the gymnast's behaviour will affect the rating.

This "halo effect" would indicate that acquaintance with the performer reduces the validity of the rating (Start, 1975) In some cases an aware judge with a special relationship may overcompensate for these "general mental attitude" effects in order to eliminate accusations of bias.

3. Experience Specialists in the sport tend to make as many judgement errors as novices (Bard, 1980, Imwold, 1983) but are able to recognize more errors, have learned to make as many as 27% fewer fixations in viewing a performance and concentrate on the upper body instead of the legs during evaluation.

Specialists may have adopted unique inspection strategies. According to Imwold (1983) "skill in analyzing movement . . . , depends upon an elaborate repertoire of task-specific knowledge requiring intensive practice ex-

perience over a protracted period of time for its development."

4. Courseness of scale Start (1965) suggests that an optimal rating scale has between seven and 25 discriminating steps. Gymnastics evaluated from zero to 10 in 0.01 increments has 100. This may be too many, especially for beginners as indications are that unmotivated and inexperienced raters do better with lesser scales.

5. Human judgement & information gathering Research into this area indicates that man cannot be relied on to reproduce the same decision given the same information and that he is not very good at taking in and processing information. Furthermore, training and experience do not appear to improve the accuracy of rating.

Connolly and Serre (1983) showed that real world information gathering is seriously suboptimal and that judges form strong beliefs as to the differential validity of cues and continue to make decisions in accordance with these erroneous beliefs.

6. Anxiety, stress Anxiety and stress occur in a judging situation to the degree that the judge perceives he may not be able to handle the task and

nastits a colour quarterly, published by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), whose news and pictures are not restricted to anyone country but cover the whole world of our beautiful sport.

Special introductory subscription rates and brochure, write to: American Representative P.O.Box 75072 Los Angeles, CA 90075

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possible conflict situations that may crop up. Judge-coach goals, if inconsistent, can aggravate the possibility of conflict.

As the arousal level, due to anxiety, increases it becomes more difficult for the judge to attend to task relevant cues .

Effective coping strategies such as relaxation techniques , meditation and biofeedback exist which can help control both the cognitions about a situation and the arousal level.

7. Position Stephenson (1977) , Wilson (1976) and others have documented that the position from which a performance is viewed affects the evaluation. It would seem that high inter-judge reliability can not be expected under the present system of seating judges at four different corners relative to the performance.

8. Judges' self-rating There is a tendancy for judges to rate opposite to how they perceive themselves (Start, 1965) with respect to the trait being evaluated . Those who rate themselves high in a certain trait tend to rate others low and vice versa.

This problem may be alleviated either by using average performers with much expertise as judges or by using groups of judges who range widely in gymnastics abilities so that the various effects might cancel.

9. Central tendency There is a reluctance among judges to award extreme scores and , therefore , the better performer is invariably cheated with respect to the poor performer (Fink, 1975). This problem may be due to lack of competence (not knowing or applying rules and deductions properly) or lack of confidence (pressure to conform due to seeing the flashed score and fear of appearing ridiculous).

External Pressures uch information exists on role conflict in teacher/coaches (Locke & Massengale, 1978). That information may perhaps be extended to include other types of role conflict.

12

The conflict arises from the incompatibility of society's expectations for the two roles. Eventually unresolved role conflict can lead to sufficient stress to precipitate " burn out. " Typically a person resolves this by "turning off" or " dropping out." In gymnastics judging this would result either in a loss in the number of judges or a reduction in conscientiousness and competence of judges.

Judges have many opportunities for role-conflict in that many are coach/judges, or parent/judges, or worker/judges and so on . More complex role interactions can of course exist such as the not uncommon adminis-

The poSition of the judge is very important to scoring a routine well, or missing key elements of it.

t rato r / coac h/pare nt/wo rke r /j u d ge multi-roles leading, in this case to 10 different role conflict dyads that could exist.

In general a simple derivation from combination theory shows that the number of role conflict dyads that can exist is (n/2)(n-1) where n is the number of roles held simultaneously by that person . Of course not all role interactons need necessarily supply the same Technique

subjective feelings of conflict intensi-

ty. Judges might assess their various roles and the potential for conflict that might interfere with judging effectiveness.

The worst form of pressure in judging gymnastics is the pressure to cheat. Gymnastics finds itself among a group of indirect competitive sports which the sociologist Malpass defines as sports where one strives for a standard regardless what others may do.

In such sports it is virtually impossible for an athlete to cheat since he can have no direct detrimental influence on his opponents performance. In indirect competitive sports the officials must do the cheating for the athlete - and cheat they do, usually against the wishes or the knowledge of the athletes.

The reasons for this cheating behaviour are too complex to go into in this paper. Nevertheless, deliberate cheating eliminates the utility of any of the other information presented here and, in a twisted way, this may be a relief because it may mean that all of the other negative forces exist only in theory. These problems of cheating manifest themselves most strongly at the international level.

Conclusion ymnastics judging is virtually an impossible task given the complexity of the sport, of the rules, of the information processing task and of the innumerable internal and external environmental influences.

Judges are advised to be as aware as is possible of all of these factors and to become ever more expert at their task through exposure and practice.

The ability to anticipate and automate portions of the task will allow time to attend properly to important aspects of the performance. Care should be taken that the judges' goals do not differ from those of other important leaders in the sport and that internal and external influences and stresses be, as much as possible controlled.

Little relief of this situation seems possible without major changes in the way the sport is evaluted. These changes could take the form of: 1. Judges specializing on one event.

2. Having different judges evaluate different aspects of a performance.

3. Having the gymnast present a

G

Technique

4.

5.

6.

7.

written rendition of the routine prior to the competition.

Simplifying the rules.

Changing the constraints put on the performances.

Seating judges side by side.

Giving judges no access to information about others' scores.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Ansorge, C. et al. "Bias in Judging Women's Gymnastics Induced by Expectations of Within-Team Order." Research Quarterly. 49(4):399-405, 1978.

Arend, S. & Higgins, J. "A Strategy for the Classification, Subjective Analysis and Observation of Human Movement" Journal of Human Movement Studies.

2:36-52, 1976.

Bard , C. et al. "Analysis of Gymnastics Judges' Visual Search." Research Quarterly. 51 (2):267-273, 1980.

Connolly, T. & Sorre, P. "Informaton Search Judgement Tasks: The Effects of Unequal Cue Validity and Cost. " Unpublished paper. Georgia Institute of Technology, 1983.

Federation International de Gymnastique.

Code of Points: Artistic Gymnastics for Men. Zurich: Neue Zuricher Zeitung, 1979.

Federation International de Gymnastique.

Code of Points: Artistic Gymnastics for Women. Zurich: Neue Zuricher Zeitung, 1979.

Fink, H. "A Method of Active Evaluation ."

The Gymnastics Technician. #9:21-24, March, 1975.

Fink, H. "Difficulties Inherent in Gymnastics Judging." Bulletin of the International Gymnastics Federation. #4, December, 1975.

Fink, H. " The Coach and the Code: Some Hints for Maximizing Scores." in Gymnastics Coaches Certification Manual: Level III Women. (in print) Canadian Gymnastics Fed., Ottawa, 1984.

Fisher, R.D. " Construction and Validity of a Written Test for use in Certifying Gymnastics Judges." M.Sc. Thesis, University of Colorado, 1974.

Flatten, K. "A biomechanist Looks at Gymnastics Judging - A Proposal." Journal of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. 44: June, 1973.

Henry, F. "The Loss of Precision from Discarding Discrepant Data." Research Quarterly. 21:145-152, 1950.

Imwold, C. & Hoffman, S. "Visual Recognition of a Gymnastics Skill by Ex-

in

perienced and Inexperienced Instructors ."

Research Quarterly.

54(2): 149-155, 1983.

Johnson, M. "Providing Qualified Gymnastics Judges." The Physical Educator.

28(1): March, 1971.

Masengale, J. & Locke, L. "Role Conflict in Teacher/Coaches." Research Quarterly. 49(2):162-174, 1978.

Salmela, J. "Application of a Psychological Taxonomy to Sports Performance."

Canadian Journal of Applied Sports Sciences. 1(1):23-32, 1976.

Salmela, J. "Gymnastics Judging: A Complex Information Processing Task." International Gymnast. part 1 in June, 1978; part 2 in July, 1978.

Saskatchewan Department of Culture and Youth. Officials Development Program. 1978.

Scheer, J. & Ansorge, C. "Effects of Naturally Induced Judges' Expectations on the Ratings of Physical Performances."

Research Quarterly. 46(4):463-470, 1975.

Start, K. " The Use of Subjective Rating as a Criterion Measure." New Zealand Journal of Phys-ical Education. pp.

3-13, April, 1965.

Stephenson, D. & Jackson, A. "The Effects of Training and Position on Judges' Ratings of a Gymnastics Event." Research Quarterly. 48(1):177-180, 1977.

Sterling, L. & Webb, R. "Scoring Behaviour of Gymnastics Judges." The Modern Gymnast. pp. 18-19, April , 1969.

Wilson, V. "Judging GymnastiCS Judging."

Unpublished paper. York University, 1976.

Wilson, V. "The Order Effect in Gymnastics." Bulletin of the Canadian Gymnastics Federation. #9, 1974.

Wilson , V. "Use of Video Tape Recorders in Gymnastics Judging. " Bulletin of the.

Canadian Gymnastics Federation. December, 1973.

13

How To Videotape A Gymnastics Meet A Guide Prepared By Robert Cowan Mens Program Administrator

expenses which make these projects possible.

Edited by: Francis Allen Fred Turoff

Film Training If At All Possible The USGF will attempt to get you press/photo credentials from the host organizers which will make this possible. Oftentimes, some of the newest or most bizarre skills are done in training and not thrown or shown in the competition. Also, training gives you a chance to familiarize yourself with the competitors, check out your equipment and determine if there are some teams you could omit from consideration of your time.

Additionally, during training or even the warm-ups before the competition, IF A PERSON /S SPOTTING, ATTEMPT TO GET AS CLOSE-UP AS POSSIBLE ON THE SPOTTING SO THAT THE

Purpose he purpose of this guide is to give additional insight to the art of videotaping a gymnastics meet.

You are providing a great service to the gymnastics community, whether you are a coach, a judge, or are being specifically sent to an event for the purpose of recording the event for posterity.

However, if the tape is unusable due to poor quality, poor visual angles or incomplete routines, it is not worth your time and possibly the expense of all involved .

This guide is divided into sections to aid you in your quest for a better quality video.

WHAT TO FILM

T

asicially, the best advice is to film everything you can. If you are attending a major competition such as European Championships in a European city which few or no people have seen, it is a good idea to get some footage outside the arena, to familiarize folks with what to look for on their visit.

Remember, you should think of this as an attempt to record history and the merit of any documentary is framing the event in time so that it takes on a special significance, all its own.

Also, the more professional the presentation, the more marketable the product, which provides the USGF with a base for recouping some of the

TECHNIQUE CAN BE STUDIED. This

could be very helpful later on.

HELPFUL HINT: The key to good video taping is to keep the figure in the view finder as large as possible. This will require some zoom work on vaulting and floor exercise. Practice this before you actually need to film the competition. Finally, you may also have access to some training facilities which might provide further insight to bettering our own program. If it looks unique, unusual or original either film it or take 3Smm shots of the facility.

GET THE COMPETITORS NUMBER BEFORE THE ROUTINE-If they are using electronic scoring and they post the numbers prior to the competitor, get the number.

GET THE COMPLETE ROUTlNEJumping from one event to another and getting part of the routine is not as beneficial or as marketable as a com-

B

WHAT TO FILM

illustrations by Kathy Flaherty

14

Technique

plete set. Start the camera when the gymnast raises his hand. Videotape is cheap. Do not worry about wasting it.

Let the gymnast land, salute, and walk out of the frame before stopping the camera.

GET THE SCORE-I mediately following the routine, get the score for that set, if at all possible. Even if you get results, sometimes they do not get sent with the Videotape or they get lost, or whatever.

CAUTION: REMEMBER THAT MOST VIDEO CAMERAS AUTOMATICALL Y BACK UP A FEW FRAMES WHEN TURNED ON. SO, YOU SHOULD TAKE A FEW MORE SECONDS OF FILM THAN YOU ORDINARIL Y WOULD, IN ORDER TO INSURE YOU DO NOT CUT OFF THE DISMOUNT, THE SCORE, THE COMPETITORS NUMBER, ETC.

However, the USGF will attempt to get you credentials which will allow you to be in a more viable position. Therefore, it is suggested you arrive at least one and one half hours early.

If you are videotaping in the United States or anywhere else you can use a traditional power source (110) , then you would want to get to the arena early, investigate the power sources, make friends with the custodian (give him a pin , patch, etc.) and set up your base of operations .

Also, have a second or third power alternative, in case you get moved, the power goes down, etc. By getting there early each day, you can begin to create temporary relationships which can benefit you in case you need to negotiate.

Things To Do 1. Represent the United States and the USGF in a professional manner. We have enough " ugly Americans," we could use a positive image.

2. Charge your batteries before you go, after you get there and each night. Several long term rechargeable batteries will make you independent of wall outlets and mobile if need be. Be sure all batteries are fully and correctly charged.

(NiCad batteries should be run dry before recharging).

3. Take all your accessories with you.

It won't help to know you have a lens extender back in Peoria when you are in Beijing .

GET THE AWARDS CEREMONEY, IF APPROPRIA TE-If you are shooting the Junior Asian Games, it might be good to show who won All-Around, Team, etc. This helps our coaching community begin to identify potential future competitors and familiarize themselves with their faces.

When To Get There oU should prepare to arrive as early as possible for the event. Ordinarily, if you have tickets, doors will open one hour to one and one half hours before the competition.

Y

Things To Do

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For a complete Elitej Gym-Kin catalog, coacbes and instructors please send request on business or scboollellerbead. All otbers please include $3.50 witb your request.

Technique

15

4. Take more than you think you will need: Video tapes, batteries, foam for packing your camera, lens cleaner, head cleaner, note books, pens . Use reliable name-brand videotapes, not cheaper "noname" brands.

5. Get a set of results, in fact , get two if possible.

6. Get all the information you can .

For example, the 1988 Junior Asian Games are in Jakarta, Indonesia. No one I know or have ever heard of has been there. However, we might have an event there someday. All the information you can get will go into a file which will be used someday.

7. Take a 35 mm camera. Still shots of various key individuals, various interesting area, etc. can be very important.

8. Do a report. I realize that Confucius said that a picture is worth a thousand words or some such, but some pictures need a lot of explaining. Your report should point out salient details of the competition , direct attention to specific routines or skills which are important. Detail weather, exchange rate , economy, etc. All of of these things are important.

9. Don't assume anything.

10. Get the material to the USGF as quickly as you can .

11. Edit the material if possible so that it is marketable when received .

12. Shoot the competition at the fastest speed. In other words, SP

rather that SLP . Some portable VCR's have a speed adjustment.

Some do not.

13. Use a reliable tripod. If the height adjustment is loose, the camera can tip over.

14. Open the video tape packaging before the competition.

15. Label the tapes.

16. Take a battery charger or two.

17. Take an electrical converter.

18. If a domestic event, take an extension cord.

19. Do your home work - Study the country, the currency exchange, a few phrases which you can learn and use to break the ice.

20. Know how your cameraIVCR works before you go.

Framing The Event his section is not concerned with an object you hang on the wall, but rather the manner in which you actually present the event on the videotape. Each event will "frame" differently, depending on the nature of the event.

Consider the framing of each event.

A complete floor exercise mat in the picture means you got one small performer who is hard to see. The camera can be set still on a tripod for most events.

For floor, beam and vault, the camera must be able to move. A good general guideline is to keep the performer around 1/2 the frame height.

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Framing The Event 16

When following tumbling or a vaulting run, keep the performer's feet at the bottom of the frame. That way the tumbling or vault will not jump out of the top of the picture and you will not have time to adjust to keep the performer in the frame. Also be ready for dismounts that might move out of the frame .

For events such as pommel horse, still rings, parallel bars, horizontal bar and uneven bars, if the mats are at the bottom of the frame and the performers toes (at their highest point) are at the top , you usually will not have to move the camera.

Remember to set your focus for the center of the action. If you are not close but can zoom in, then you will have little problem with depth of field when a performer moves toward or away from you. For example, it is best to be back and to use the zoom for floor exercise (focus on the center of the area). If you are looking at vault from the end and you are close, do not worry about the run being in focus, just concern yourself with the horse and vault. However, do shoot the run as it can be important to study run technique .

The Best Angle here are many differing philosophies on which angie is best to shoot various events from . The following is a general philosophy that may help you. However, if you have an assigned seat in the bleachers, it is totally worthless.

Floor exercise: Dead center of the floor or slightly to one side.

Pommel horse: Slightly off center and from the head judges side .

Still rings: Slightly off to one sidediagonal-from front.

Vaulting : From side with ability to pan the entire run, the vault and the landing. Attempt to be closest to horse and yet not lose vaulter due to being too close.

Parallel bars: From the side and slightly off center.

Horizontal bar: Same angle as ringsDON'T GET CLOSE UPS OF THE HANDS. Uneven baffi: Same as rings and horizontal bar.

Balance beam : From side and slightly off center or from obtuse angle from end. Be sure to get clear shot at beam work including mount and dismount.

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Technique

Announcing the . ..

1987 {]SGF CONGRESS Once again, the USGF will present an outstanding program, featuring the finest clinicians and professionals in the sport.

The 1987 Congress will provide you with essential, useful information on coaching technique, rules interpretation, running a successful, profitable operation, and more.

1987 USGF CongressFacts at a Glance

The highlights of the 1987 Congress in St. Louis:

Date: October 1-4

• The latest on 1988-92 Compulsories • Lecture/Demonstrations by top technicians

Site:

• Videotape skill analysis for coaches, judges

Adam 's Mark St. Louis Hotel Fourth and Chestnut St. Louis, Missouri 63102 (314) 241-7400 When making reservations, ask for " 1987 USGF Congress special rates ."

Sufficient rooms are reserved for Congress up to August 28, 1987.

Reserve early to assure room and special discount rates.

Fee:

$70 for USGF professional members postmarked by August 28, 1987. $80 for USGF professional members postmarked after August 28, 1987. $90 for non-USGF professional members regardless of date.

Fee Includes:

Registration:

'87 USGF CONGRESS REGISTRATION FORM ONE NAME PER REGISTRATION Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ Date _ _ _ _ __ Home Address _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ City _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ _ State

Please check appropriate box: Women's Program 0 Men's Program

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Fill out the registration form below and mail, along with your registration fee, to: 1987 (JSGF Congress (J.S. Gymnastics Federation 1099 N. Meridian, #380 Indianapolis. IN 46204

Prof. Members $70 if postmarked by 8/28/87 $80 if postmarked after 8128/87 $90 Non-(JSGF Prof. Members

Zip _ _ _ __ Phone (Night) _ _ __

Phone (Day)

• Free entrance to all lectures, master clinics, demonstrations, open meetings and general assembly.

• Final Awards Banquet and Dance

Rhythmic Program

Coach 0 Judge 0 Club Owner/Administrator Other, please specify: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

PRIMARY INTERESTIPURPOSE FOR ATTENDING CONGRESS: _ _ __

(JSGF PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP #

Please return this registration form with check for fee to USGF Congress: 1099 N. Meridian. Suite 380 Indianapolis. IN 46204 Note: Registration is non-refundable after September 15. 1987.

Coaching Pommel Horse

By Fred Roethlisberger University of Minnesota I. Skills on the pommel horse should be performed without deviation from the basic circle shape .

A. Characteristics of a good circle.

1. Speed generated by a strong pull and entry into the circle.

2. Flat body with the hips depressed in front support.

3. Considerable shoulder movement in order to maintain the straight body line while circling the horse.

Shoulder lean determines balance. There must be constant movement of the shoulders to maintain balance. This ability to move the shoulders in order to maintain balance with a flat body position must be thoroughly established during the learning of the circle or this movement will be undependable and make advanced movements on one pommel very difficult.

it by the dominant or critical support position provides a simple way of presenting it and coaching it.

A. Skills with rear support as key position.

1. Direct stockli A (back Moor)

A. Observe the shoulder line during the critical support phases of a skill.

1. It should be perpendicular to the long axis horse during side support skills like circles.

2 . Stockli 3. Back travel

3

4. Shoulders depressed with

long axis of the horse during cross support skills like hoops.

II. Skills on pommel horse are dominated by one of two support positions. Pommel horse performances are to be a fluid piece of work from start to finish but a useful conceptual framework in analyzing skills is to view them as a succession of movements from one balanced two hand support to the next. Any particular circle skill is dominated by either front support or rear support and analyzing 18

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2. Magyar walk

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B. Observe the shoulder line during the pick up of a circle; that point at which the performer prepares to enter into the next circle. The shoulder line during the pick up should be slightly counter rotated in relation to the next rear support position as in a basic circle.

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6. Back stockli C. Skills with front and rear sup~~~ ~ port as key positions. ~~ ~ 1. Circles I.

upper trunk straight.

B. Training aids important in developing a good circle.

1. The hanging bucket 2. Mushroom 3. Floor horse 4. Walking length of horse in cross support

....

2. It should be parallel to the

B. Skills with front support as key position.

1. Chzechkehre

3. Russians 4. Front travels 5. Double Swiss 2

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III. Skills are performed by allowing the shoulders to turn to a new support position while maintaining the same circle shape. Thus analyzing the line of the shoulders in relationship to the horse during key positions of a skill will provide many coaching clues.

I Pick up second circle (as for pommel loop)

Technique

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u.s. GYMNASTICS FEDERATION

USGF

VIDEO LIBRARY The most extensive library of gymnastics video cassettes in the u.s. !

The perfect training aid for your club, home study, or to take to summer camp!

New slow motion footage of the Soviets !

A Video on strength and conditioning by Bill Sands . Highlights of the 1986 Women 's Junior European Championships! The best of the competition!

And much more !

COMPETITION TAPES 1987 Moscow News -

(Note: USGF video tapes were produced for educational and development purposes and may not be representative of broadcast quality. All tapes VHS.)

Moscow and Leningrad, USSR

See America's Joyce Wi lbo rn and the best women from the Soviet Union , Romania, Bulgaria and China compete in thi s prestigious international competition. All events.

Running time: 110 min.

Price:~

$26.95

Order #2401

1986 Junior European Cha mpionships Full routines and all events shown from this top flight meet held in Karlesruh, West Germany. This competition is an early predictor of top prospects for the 1988 European O lymp ic teams! Awesome tumbling and releases.

(Women) Running time: 75 min.

(Men) Running time: 110 min.

Price: ~ Price:~

$26.95 $26.95

Order # 2110 Order # 2210

1985 World Championships - Optionals - Montreal Omeliantchik, Shoushounova and Mostepanova of the USSRI Szabo and Silivas of Romania! Garrison, Sey and Mar of the U.S.! Forthe men , the strongest Soviet team in years-Koro lev, Artemov and Mogi lnyi are awesome! Plus China's Li Ning and Tong Fei, and East Germany's Sylvio Kroll. For the U.S.-Daggett, Johnson and Lakes.

(Men) Running time: 45 min.

Price : ~ $35.95 Order #2215 (Women) Running time: 45 min.

Price:~ $35.95 Order # 2115

1984 Olympic Games - Wom en - Los Angeles Top routines of the women 's gymnastics competition , including the gold medal routine of Mary Lou Retton! See Szabo, Johnson and all of the greats from 1984!

Running time: 110 min.

Price:-$45:O(T

$40.50

Order #2101

1984 Olympic Games - Men - Los Angeles Own the tape of the most historic moment in U.S. men's gymnastics-the triumphant routines of Vidmar, Conner, Gaylord, Hartung , Daggett and Johnson. Plus Japan 's Koji Gushiken and China's Li Ning! A must for all gymnastics vid eo libraries.

Running time: 110 min.

1986 USA

VS.

Price:-$45:O(T

$40.50

Order #2201

USSR Dual Meet - Women

The world champion Soviet women at thei r best! A scrappy and talented U.S. team , led by Meli ssa Marlowe, Stacy Gunthorpe and Marie Rothlisberger

Running time: 110 min.

Price:~

$26.95

Order #2116

COMPULSORY TRAINING TAPES 1988 USGF Junior Olympic Compulsories -

Men

Compulsories are performed by members of the Junior National Men's team and judged by a panel of experts , includi ng comm ittee members who wrote the rou ti nes .

Pric e:~ $28. 75 Order #2221 Running time: 60 min .

1988 USGF Women's Age Group Compulsories USGF Compulsory exercises for all age groups, classes and events and shown. A great way to teach and learn!

Class I - Time: 30 min.

Price : ~ $ 44.95 Class II & III 45 min.

Price : -%f5T:Orr $135.90 Class IV & V: 120 min.

Price: -%f5T:Orr $135.90

are described Order # 2107 Order # 2105 Order # 2106

1988 USGF Rhythmic Age Group Compulsories Purchase Class II or Class III tapes individually, or save and buy a combination of the two ! Videos include the six classes of Class II and Class III compulsory events.

Each routine is performed th ree times , two times completely through and one time in segments . (Class III tape also includes the comp ulsory group ball routine for 6 gymnasts) . A great tool for starting a rhythmic program in your club!

Class II: Price:-55fT.gf) $53.95 Order #2321 Class III: Price : ~ 553.95 Order #2322 Class II & III: Price:-$4fM:(JfT $93.60 Order # 2323

ONDITIONING AND MOTIVATIONAL TAPES Strength & Conditioning with Bill Sands Bill Sands, one of the most respected gymnastics coaches in the U.S., covers every element of a championship-caliber strength and conditioning program that bui lds strength and endurance, while protecting the athlete against injury through proper conditioning . An excellent, authoritative approach .

Price:~ $55.75 Order # 2440 Running time: 60 min .

NEW!! The WORLD'S BEST IN SLOW MOTION!!

Grace Under Pressure-The Soviets in Slow-Motion

New slow motion footage of Soviet (and U.S.) gymnasts ! Shot in April , 1987, in Denver, this 30-minute video shows the world 's best gymnasts working parts on all six men's events and the wo men warm ing up on bars, beam and vaulting . Lots of releases and dismounts, includi ng triple flyaways, full-ins off unevens, and a full-i n, full-out on floor.

Plus Marlowe and Frolova on unevens, Boginskaya working vaults, Bicherova on beam, Hayden's Kovac, Luytkin's full-t wisting Geinger and Mogilnyi on pommel horse! Shot for promotional purposes, this footage is still loaded with insights fo r training and judging! Set to music, it' ll get you and your teammates psyched !

Running time: 30 minutes Price:~ $17.95 Order # 2435

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USGF VIDEO LIBRARY

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ORDER FORM

NAME _

L路 ~(;) \I :\"t\srI0

1FD~I{ 路\r In,

USGF Merchandise

PO . Box 5562

Indianapolis , IN 46255 -5562

ADD RESS _ _ __ CITY _ _ __

ORDER #

QUANTITY

_ ZIP

STATE _

DISCOUNT PR ICE

TITLE

TOTAL

TOTAL AMT. CHARGE MY:

FOR CREDIT CARD ORDERS ONLY, CALL

317-638-8743

D VISA D MASTERCARD CARD NO. MY CARD EXPIR ES:

7

8

9

I

10

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12

13

Pick up third circle (as for Moor completion)

CALENDAR June 1-5 Grande Prix Rome (M) Aome. Italy 2-7 Olympic Solidarity Course Virgin Islands 2-8 Golden Sands (MIW) Varna. Bulgaria 3-8 German Gym Fest (MIW) Berlin 5-7 Junior Olympic Championships (W) Dram, UT 13-Jul 17"' Group T raining/Selection Camp (R) Marquette, MI 18-21 McDonald's U.S. Gymnastics Champs (MIW) Kansas City , MO WORLD CHAMPS TRIALS (W) & PAN AMERICAN TEAM SELECTION (MIW) 20-26 JR Rhythmic Elite Training Camp (R) Colorado Springs, CO 22-29 Moncodo Cup Cuba 24-27 JRISR Trai ning Camp (W) TeA 26-28 Junior Olympic Boys Nationals (M) Los Angeles, CA 3O-Jul 7 J unior Boys Training Camp (10.12 yr aids) Colorado Springs, CO T8A Canadian C lassic Canada July 2·6 5-11

19·30

FIG Congress Junior Boys Developm ent Camp Class I Coaches Symposium (MIW/R) FIG Gymnaestrada Junior (8 ) T raining Camp (W) World University Games (MIWIR) Jun ior Boys Developm ent Camp Class II 1987 U.S. Olympic Festival (MlWfR) (TRIALS-Rhythmic World Champsi Pan Am Games) Pan Am Team Selection & Camp (M)

August 4·25 5-18 8-16 9-11 12·16 12·17 17-23 2 1-23 • • 2 1-31 24-Sept 9 26-31 TBA

Rhythmic Developmental Camps (R) Rhythmic Group Training Camp (A) Junior Elite Training Camp (A) Pan Am Gam es (A) Pan Am Games (M) Pan Am Trai ning Camp (W) Pan Am Games (W) Alfred Vogel ASG Competition (A) Jr. National Team Training Camp (M) Ahythmic Group Training Camp (A) USNlIaly (W) Brazil Cup (W)

5-17 7-11 9-12 9- 16 11· 17

17-26

FREE PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL FOR USGF JUNIOR OLYMPIC COMPETITIONS FREE color posters (100) -To promote your event all over town

FREE program covers (100) -To use for meet info packet -To sell as event programs

FREE brochure -To help generate event publicity -To help you approach Dodge Dealers for local support

FREE event banners -To hang in your gym -To present to the winning team -To present to your local Dodge Dealers

The Dodge Division of Chrysler Motors is a national sponsor of the USGF's Junior Olympic Program. FREE material is available through the USGF for all USGF age group competitions.

The Dodge/USGF material can be used to: • Build awareness for a specific meet you're hosting • Build awareness for your gymnastics club and the benefits of gymnastics participation • Help you enlarge your instructional program and hopefully, your revenues

Hern ing. Denmark Colorado Springs, CO NY, Chicago, LA Herning, Denmark TBA Zagreb, Yugoslavia Colorado Springs, CO RaleighfDurham , NC

Colorado Springs, CO

Marquette, MI Marquette, MI Marquette, MI Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis, IN Holland Colorado Springs, CO Marquette, MI lIaly Brazil

All you have to do is SEND a copy of your USGF sanction request form at least 30 days in advance of your USGF meet to: Dodge/USGF Account Coordinator U.S. Gymnastics Federation 1099 N. Meridian, Suite 380 Indianapolis, IN 46204 Also, please be sure to include a street address. UPS will not deliver to P.O. Box numbers. So, start using these FREE materials to build your program and promote our sport.

• Tentative Dates or Sites ., Proposed Events

Techn ique

19

Sunday, May 24, 1987 Batavia, Ohio - 9:00am-4:00pm Clermont County YMCA 2075 Front Wheel Drive Batavia , OH 45103 Course Director: Ron Ganim - 216-526-2970 Local Contact : Debbie Gormley - 513-724-9622 Hotel Contact: Holiday Inn Eastgate - 513-752-4400 Red Roof Inn - 513-528-2741

u.s. G\1v1NASTICS FEDERATION

SAFETY CERTIFICATION TESTING Everyone Needs To Be Safety Certified 1. Prom o tes a sa fe r tei:ch ing/le arnin g e nviro nm e nt.

2. Red uces in su ra nce pre mi um s.

3. Id entifies vo u r Cllm mi tm en t to yo ur profess ion , you r s port a nd vo ur at hl e tes.

-1 . Impll' m e nt atio n of stricter sa fe ty p rac tices wi ll he lp red uce th e cha nces o f accid e nt s a nd /o r injuri es .

5. H e lp s in me mbershi p recru it m e nt.

General Points of Information 1.

T he tex t boo k fo r the Certi fi cati o n Course is the USGF GYMNASTICS SAFETY MANUAL. This tex tlreference ma nua l is to be pu rchased a nd studi ed pri o r to co urse pa rticipa tion .

2. Th e co urse w ill take app roxim a te ly six h o urs, includin g th e tes t.

3. Th e Co urse fee is $100 .00 (re tes t cost is $25 .00).

4. Ce rtifi ca tion is good fo r fo ur yea rs .

Participation Registration Form Na m e: M r. /Mrs .lMs. Address: _________________________________ Te le ph on e : (c.H :. .:.L)_ _ _ __ _ -'-(B -I.)'---_ _ _ __ Course Direc to r: _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ Cou rse Loca ti o n : _____ _ _ _ _D_a_ te_:_ _ _ _ _ Orga ni za ti o n Re prese nted: If USG F Me mbe r, Li s t Ty pe a nd Numbe r: ___ _ _ Form of Pay m e n t: Ch eck Visa Mastercard N a me o n Card : ____________________________ Numbe r : Expirati o n Da te : ______ Signa ture: Pl ea se make checks payable in full to : USG F SAFETY CERTIFICATION Mai l Registratio n Form an d Pay ment to Respective Course Con tact.

'DO NOT WRITE BELOW THIS LINE -

FOR OFFICE USE ONLY'

Registration Form Received : ___________________ Confirmation Mailed :

Saturday, June 20, 1987 Overland Park, Kansas City, Missouri - 9:00am-4:30pm Double Tree Hotel 10100 College Blvd.

Overland Park, KS 66210 913-451-6100 This course will be conducted by several USGF National Certifiers during the 1987 USGFlMcDonald's US Gymnastics Championships Course Contact: USGF - 317-638-8743 Local Contact: Kayce Gilmore - 913-829-1700 Please send registration form to the USGF Department of Safety 1099 North Meridian Street, Suite 380 Indianapolis, IN 46204 Saturday, June 27, 1987 1. Reno Nevada - 2:00-8:00pm Reno Gymnastics Center 120 Woodland Avenue, Suite B Reno, NV 89523 Course Director: Joseph Rooney - 702-747-2719 2. Seattle, Washington - 1:00-7:00pm Northwest Aerial Gymnastics Club Course Director: Sam Sandmire - 406-442-1840 Local Contact: Patti Lanterman 16039 NE lOlst Street Redmond, WA 98053 Thursday, July 2, 1987 Portland, Maine University of Southern Maine Course Director: Paul Spadaro - 718-816-6287 Local Contact: Carol Miller - 207-783-4369 Sunday, July 12, 1987 Durham, North Carolina - 11:00am-6:00pm Triangle Twisters Gymnastics Center 2809 Rose of Sharon Road Durham, NC 27712 Course Director: Michael Rizzuto - 919-471-3857 Sunday, July 19, 1987 New Haven, Connecticut - 9:30am-5:30pm Southern Connecticut State University Pelz Gymnasium Fitch Street New Haven, CT 06515 Course Director: Joan Hicks - 203-375-3244 Sunday, August 15, 1987 Columbus, Ohio - 9:00am-5:00pm Universal Gymnasts, Inc. 4555 Knightsbridge Blvd.

Columbus, OH 43214 Course Director: Bobbi Monta nari 614-457-1279 Hotel Contact: Red Roof Inn - 614-846-3001 Friday, August 28, 1987 Princeton, New Jersey Princeton Ramada Inn Course Director: Paul Spadaro - 718-816-6287 Local Contact: Geri Johnston - 201-762-5222 This course will be carried out during the Region VII Gymnastics Congress.

Friday, October 9, 1987 Richfield, Ohio - 8:30am-3:30pm Richfield Holiday Inn 4742 Brecksville Road Richfield, OH 44286 216-659-6151 Course Directors: Ron Ganim - 216-526-2970 Dr. Gerald George - 318-988-1220 This course will be carried out during the Region V Gymnastics Congress.

Dates, Times and Locations will all be listed in USA GYMNASTICS and USGF TECHNIQUE. They can also be checked by calling the USGF Department of Safety and Education at (317) 638-8743 _