February / 1972 / 75

Group Sports Rapidly Increasing .....

Girls' "Modern Gymnastics" The growth of group and team sports, particularly girls,

is creating a lot of excitment among girl students who have always wished to participate.

'Modern Gymnastics', which arrived here from Europe, is rapidly becoming the most popular of the girls' team sports. The investment involved to either the student of school is very low and the girls participate in an excellent physical fittness

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program which does not require extreme physical exertion. GSC has been the leader in introducing and promoting interest in this sport. We were the first to bring the official hand apparatus used in 'Modern Gymnastics' from Germany and Finland and are now in full production here on streamers, indian clubs, practice and official jump ropes. Write for our FREE booklet on 'Modern Gymnastics'.

WOMEN'S SHOES Nylon double knit tops' with soft leather sole or all nylon models. The shoes most de-sired by the female gymnast . See our 100 page catalog for details.

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REPORT FROM:

THE PUBLISHER JAPANESE USA TOUR: At press time we were still receiving photos and reports concerning the Japanese Gymnastic Team tour of the USA. The success of the immeadiate tour, the impact on the audiences and the carryover values for the USA National program seemed to surpass the wildest dreams of all involved . It was another step forward for the growing enthusiasm for the sport of Gymnastics in America today, not just among the participants, but also among the vast TV popularity our sport has developed over the past few years . ... Cathy Rigby is becoming a household name synonymous with gymnastics across ou r nation. People who heretofore may have thought of Gymnastics as a mass of people jumping up and down, now see it as the beautiful individual expression of movement, feeling and skill so aptly viewed today. We are sure after the TV showing of the JAPAN -USA Compet ition (scheduled for April on ABC) the names of Nakayama, Kasamatsu and Tsukahara, along with Moore and Pierce will take on added significance with the general public and that the list of names, expressions, events and moves will not be limited to a core of elite followers( such as our GYMNAST subscribers) and the knowledgeable audiences of Penn State University.

THIS YEAR! More than ever before is the year for the big growth in the sport of Gymnastics. Everyday we hear of new programs, new clubs being formed, old programs and gyms reactivated along with new interests in competitive and technical aids, plus the increasing number of summerGymnasticCamps popping up allover the country. The fantastic Japanese Tour and the forthcoming Summer Olympics to be held in Munich, Germany at the end of August just add adrenalin to the already rapid pulse of our growing sport.

With YOUR AID the GYMNAST would like to add more fuel to the growth pattern of Gymnastics in America for 1972. If you have a local Gymnastic Newsletter, do not limit it to your club, gymnasts and coaches, but place it in the waiting rooms of Medical buildings, Doctors offices, company reception rooms, libraries etc., let the people in your area know YOU ARE AROUND. To help in your service program to makeyourfriends aware of Gymnastics we will send an introductory subscription to the next three editions of GYMNAST for just one dollar to each name you send us along with a notice stating that this is a three issue introductory gift subscription to: .. . ...... ..... (their name) from GYMNAST subscriber . .. .. . . . ....... (your name).

THIS SPECIAL Introductory subscription offer is NOT for the coach, gymnast or official in your area{we would like to assume they are already subs cribers), but this is a GYMNAST public relations program to stimulate interest and Gymnastic knowledge to your friends, neighbors and relatives interested in Gymnastics but not actively participating. we at GYMNAST realize that the more the general public(your friends, neighbors and relatives) know about the sport of Gymnastics, the more support and enthusiasm will be generated for your local program and our National Teams. Working together we can help stimulate this interest and support at all levels for -"GYMNASTICS, The Beautiful Sport."

NEXT EDITION: More photos and reports on the Japanese USA Tour.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume XIV / Number 2 / February 1972

4 FROM THE PUBLISHER, Glenn Sundby

6 LETTERS

7 GYMNASTICS WITH LOURIE, Rodney C. Hill

8 NAMES 'N NEWS

9 VIEWPOINTS, Dick Criley

10 GYMNASTICS: A PATH TO THE ARTISTIC LIFE, Daniel J. Millman

12 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GYMNASTIC CLINIC

WOMEN'S

14 TWO STEPS FORWARD - STEP BACK, Herb Vogel

16 1972 JAPAN USA TOUR, Frank Bare 20 SAN FERNANDO V ALLEY STATE COLLEGE 23 CALIFORNIA STATE COLLEGE AT FUllERTON 28 CHICAGO 29 TEMPLE UNIVERSITY 30 PENN STATE

32 JAPANESE-AMERICAN COACHES INTERVIEW

33 NEWS 'N NOTES, Renee P. Hendershott

INSTRUCTIONAL: 36 PRINCIPLES OF JUMPING AS THEY RELATE

TO GYMNASTICS, Renee P. Hendershott 37 A CINEMATORGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF

THE VALDEZ, Ronald Byrd and Peter Everett 38 HELEN'S CORNER, Helen Sjursen

V ARIA TIONS OF ROLL TO ARCH OUT, Helen Sjursen

39 BEGINNER HORIZONTAL BAR ROUTINE, Jerry Wright

40 SKILLS FROM START TO FINISH, Don Tonry

44 BOOK REVIEW

46 CALENDAR

COVER: Center the Japanese Team arrival at the Los Angeles Intemational Airport and scenes from their Competitions across the USA.

Jack Medina Dick Criley Rich Grigsby Jerry Wright

Publisher: Glenn Sundby

Associate Editors Gerald George Don Tonry A.B. Frederick Rod Hill

Renee Hendershott Helen Sjursen Marialice Carter (More to come)

GYMNAST magaZine is published by Sundby Publications, 410 Broadway, Santa Monica, Ca. 90401. Second Class Postage paid at Santa Monica, Ca. published monthly except bi-monthly June, July, August and September. Price 75 a single copy. Subscription correspondence, GYMNAST - P.O. Box 110, Santa Monica, Ca. 90406. Copyright1972~ all rights reserved by SUNDBY PUBLICATIONS, 410 Broadway, Santa Monica, Ca. All photos and manuscripts submitted become the property of GYMNAST unless return request and sufficient postage are included.

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5

6

Be a "NAME DROPPER" MENTION

t:~"fU~ known and preferred 'round the world!

Wherever coaches meet nd gymnasts compete ...

I

M MASTER is first,' ice in gymnastici

ment, built to,'rigid

tional competition.

LETIERS: Dear MS. Sundby: I had to write to you rega rding an unusual circlimsta nce. My daug hter just recently received he r first copy (after a long wa it and many letters). I happened to look at the copy (Sept.-Oct.) and noti ced the following on yo ur masthead page: "One su ch feature will be a fictional se ri es by coach Rod Hill ," Gymnast ics with Lorie" My name is Rod Hill ... My daughters ' name is Laurie! Laurie atte nded the nationa l summer palaestrum ca mp in 1970 and is now the manager of the boys gymnastics team at New Rochelle , N.Y. Hi gh Schoo l. Sin cere ly you rs,

Rod Hill New Rochelle, N.Y.

Your middle initial doesn' t happen to be 'C'n? .. ed.

Dear Editor :

I would li ke to thank Edward Bailey for the comp liment he pa id to me printed in the Sept.-Oct. 1971 Mme G. issue . So for him the fo llowing are the stick figures of Judy Putnams mount described on page 25 of Mme. G. May-Jun e 1971 issue.

! .c= Take off under LB with Y2 twist catch LB

.

~ Raise legs up and over LB

Helen Sjursen Fanwood , N.J.

to front support

Dear readers: Miss jeannette jay, one of our new 'Gymnast' contributors will be starting a column for the ladies called " Dear Jea nn ette" . . below are a couple of examples of letters .. If you have some questions to " Ask jeanette" send them on to her at: 1482 Alabama Ave.,Pittsburgh, Penna. 15216 . and the most interesting will be published in the 'Gymnast'.

Dea r Jeanette: Do yo u think fe male coaches are as good as

male coaches? Ans: no not really, I think it kind of balances out. Women are good on style and dance, like on floor and beam and men are good spotters especially in bars, vaulting, and tumbling. Personally I think us female have mc-e patience! Dear Jeanette:

I have been doing gy mnastics forB yea rs and I don ' t seem to be gett ing anywhere, do I need a new coach? or shou ld I just g ive up a ltogethe r? Ans: no. 1 - Do you practice daily at least 2 to 4 hours? Do you know anything about your coaches background!? Are you in it to be a Natn'l champion? Or just for the fun of it. Lots of it depends on you, a good gymnast doesn't need to have a coach there every single minute. Then if you're still not getting anywhere, why don't you take up weight lifting?

GYMNASTICS WITH LOURIE By

Rodney C. Hill

Illustrations by Marialice Carter

"The nineteen seventy-one State Champion in the Open Division is Sylv ia Gearhart. "

Lour ie Corbet sat with her mother, in the upper section of the high schoo l bleachers, watching, as Sylvia wa lked across th e gymnas ium floor toward the victory platform. Mom e nts later, as the audience applauded their approva l, the young gymnast mounted th e platform to take her place behind the sign procl a iming her No.1 in the State.

Lo uri e added her app lause to the hundreds around her. For the past three hours she had seen Sylvia com pete against the best the State had to offer, and as the day progressed , it becam e more and more obvious that she was No.1.

Mrs. Corbet looke d at her yo ung daughter and smiled . " Are yo u glad she won? "

" Yes. " " Do you still think yo u 'd like to become a

gymnast? " The brown-headed, blue-eyed, slim-figured ,

10-yea r-old girl smi led broadly and sa id , " Yes, ca n I?"

Mrs . Corbet, a young-looking woman of twenty-n in e, had to laugh at the enthusiasm of her daughter. She said, " That 's one of the reason s we came here. First to see if we like the sport , then if we did , to find out how to get you into it. It 's obvious that we both like it , now for the second part, wh ich might be the ha rd es t. "

The mother and daughter sat looking at the remaining activ ities on the floor for seve ra l minutes. They knew from the day' s act ivities that Sylvia Gearhart was a member of a loca l team , named the Mason GymClub. The Mason Group won the all-around titles in each of the four age groups, and th e Sta te Team Titl e. Even though she was not a n experienced gymnastics observer, it was obvious to Mrs. Corbet that the Mascn Group was by fa r the best in the gymnastics.

As the ceremonies on the floor e nded and the gymnasts were surrounded by groups of admirers, Mrs. Corbet said , " Let 's go down and see if we can get you in. "

Lou rie stood and anxiously fo llowed her mother down the stairs to the gymnasium floor. They hes itated for a moment, then walked over to the crowd around Sylvia. After severa l moments, the young gymnast was free . Mrs.

Corbet said, "Can I talk to you for a moment?" Sylvia turned and smil ed as she sa id, "Sure. " " First let me say that we enjoyed watching

you and the other girls today. It's the first gymnastic meet we've eve r been to, and we found it very exciting."

" I'm glad . We need more people like you to take the time to co me out and see the sport. Then we'd have more supporters."

Looking around at the sta nd s which were now nearly empty, Mrs. Corbet co ntinued, " You had a real good c rowd today."

" Yes," said Sylvia . " But this was the State Meet. At the other meets the crowds sometimes are not ve ry good . In fact , sometimes they're practically non-existent. "

"That 's too bad because it 's reall y a beautiful sport. "

"Aga in we ag ree," laughed Sylvia. Mrs. Corbet put her around Lourie's

shou ld er and said, " We certa inly do. In fact , so much so th at I want to see about getting my daughter in . That 's the main reason we came down to talk to you, to see if you cou ld give us some information on how to go about it."

Sylvia smiled at Lourie and said, " Have yo u ever done any gymnastics?"

Lourie turned and looked at her mother, then back to Sylvia as she said, " No. "

Looking at Mrs. Corbet, Sylvia said, " How about dance? "

t/ No, " " Howald are you?" Sylvia again directed her

quest ion to the you nger girl. elTen, " " That 's a good age to sta rt. I wish I could have

started at that age." "Howa ld were you?" asked Mrs. Corbet. " Thirteen. " "You 've done pretty good." " Not bad , but it cou ld have been better. But

to answer your quest ion . The first thing you should do is talk to Mister Mason." Sylvia looked around and said, "He's cleani ng up some tables over there now. Come on over, and I' ll introdu ce you to him."

Lourie and he r mother followed Sylvia across the nearly empty floor. When they were sta nding in front of Mister Mason, Sylvia said, "Thi s lad y wants to get her daughter into gymnastics. "

Mrs. Corbet look ed at the young man before her and sm il ed. From the stands he had looked o ld er than he now appeared .. He was slightly taller than her, and his blue eyes lit up as he smi led a nd said , " I' m always looking for more talent."

" It looks like yo u already have a great deal here," said Mrs. Corbet as she returned the smile.

Mister Mason said , "True, but we can always use more. Is this the daughter you're talking about? "

Hy'es." Looking at the slim girl before him, Mister

Mason said, " Has she done anything in the spo rt?"

" No. This was our first experience in gymnastics. "

To Lourie he sa id , " You think you'd like to try it, huh? "

IIYes. " "Good. Let's take a moment and see what

kind of natural talent you have ." Mister Mason took Lourie's hand in his and

walked out onto the light green free exercise pad. He asked, "Have you ever done a back bend? "

HYes." "Let's see it." Lourie stood with her feet slightly spread

apa rt and slow ly bent backward . When her hands were on the floor, Mister Mason stood looking at a nearly perfect backbend. He helped her back to her feet and said, " How abou t the splits?"

" I ca n 't do them ." " Let's see how close you are." Louri e lowered her body into the splits.

When she was about six inches from the floor, she stopped and said , " That's as far as I can go."

Mister Mason smiled and said, "That 's fine . Now come here."

Louri e followed him across the floor to the uneven bars. Hhere he said, " I want you to do some pullups. "

Mister Mason helped the small girl up to the high bar, then watched as she easily performed three pullups. "That 's fine," he said, and helped he r back to the mat.

Lourie and the coach walked back to stand in . front of Mrs. Corbet. Mister Mason said , "She has some fine natural talent. Her body is good for the sport, and she seems to have a good mind. Actually that 's the only unknown factor at this point. If she has drive and desire, and can learn discipline, then I think I can make a darn good gymnast out of her. If she doesn ' t, then it 's ha rd to say."

" I noticed she doesn't have the splits," said Mrs. Corbet. " Those are needed, aren't they?"

"Yes. But splits are something that ca n be learned . If she had a bad back , then we'd have prob'lems. The splits and strength for bars ca n be developed, but a back cannot be helped very much if it's really bad."

" You think she has a good back for the sport?"

"Ve ry good," said Mister Mason. " Would you be willing to coach her? " Looking at Lourie, Mister Mason said, " Do

you want to work?" Smiling at the man before her, Lourie said,

"Yes." " Th en I'd be willing to help you." Mrs. Corbet winked at her daughter, then

sa id to the coach, "What do we have to do?" " Our gymnasium is located in the Baker

Shopping Center. We took over one of the old department stores. There's a big sign on the front so you can ' t miss it. Have Lourie over

continued on page 42

7

NAMES 'N NEWS

NEW REGIONAL REPORTERS FOR THE GYMNAST

Reporting for Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Washington D.C. w ill be MissJeannette Jay of Pittsburgh, Pa. Jeannette Jay is the owner and director of the National Schoo l of Gymnastics in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. She was a member of the Buffalo Turners for 10 years. She was also Polish Falcons' Nat ional Gymnastic and Diving Champ ion and a member of the USA Tumbling Team coached by A I Stumph in 1959 . Miss Jay also competed in International competition . .. USA vs. Canada in 1959.

Miss Jeannette Jay 1482 Alabama Ave. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15216 Reporting for New England, New York, and

New Jersey wi ll be David Reeves, current ly coaching the young Go ldettes team in Livingston , New Jersey, as we ll as instructing at three YMCA's. He is a member of the Jersey Shore Board of Women Officials and holds a region al USGF/ DGWS judges's card. He is also Competitions Chairman of the New Jersey Gymnastics A ssociation .

Mr. David Reeves 29 Nassau Rd. Upper Montclair, New Jersey 07043 Reporting for our Southern States in USGF

Regions 3 an d 8 is Mar ialice Carter who has performed as a dancer with the Shreveport Civic Ballet, th e A rkansas State Ballet, and the Baton Rouge Bal let theatre. She attended School of Art and Drama in Little Rock Arkansas and th en L.S. U. as a fi ne arts major. She and her husband originated the Panama City Tumblers program , They now operate their own " Mademoisel le Gym Club" in Panama City. They have compet itive programs for both boys and girls. Not on ly will Mrs. Carter be reporting for The Gymnast, but she w ill be contributing her art work for our new column, Gymnastics w ith Lorie written by coach Rod Hill.

Mrs. Marialice Carter 2405 Stanford Rd. No. 120 Panama City, Florida 32401 Reporting from our Western States in USGF

Regions 1 and 2 wi ll be Chery l Wagner who holds a USGF/ DGWS Nationa l Judges rating. She is very active in teaching judging in California and is soon to be the Co-Editor of THE CAL IFOR NIA GYMNASTICS NEWSLETTER.

M rs. Cheryl Wagner 185 West Celeste Ave. Fresno, California 93704 These four peop le wil l be looking to you for

information on meet and clinic dates and writeups . Meet results, interesting writeups about meets or c1in ics you have attended, newsy items about people known to us all , and pictures-pictures-pictures! They must get their material in to us by the 21st of the month preceding pub li cation , so be sure to get your information to them on time.

If you are doing a writeup, it would be very helpful if you wou ld type it and double space it. If you are sending us dates, be sure and include a contact.

REMEMBER . . . WE CAN MOVE THE NEWS FASTER ... IF YOU HELP US PUSH!

Coordinating the efforts of these four reporters is Renne Hendershott. Any information from USGF Regions 4 and 5 (Midwest) should be sent directly to her. Also anyone wishing to write articles for the women 's sect ion of The Gymnast should submit their material directly to her. She would like each potential author to list possible titles in order for her to plan a good progression of material. All articles shou ld be typed and double-spaced. Drawings and photographs are welcome. Send " Letters to Editor" to her also.

We would like to start a monthly " Gym-Chat" co lumn in which we wi ll include, short in sp iring slogans, cartoons, short poems, bits of wisdom . . all submitted by yo u . . . our readers . . . for others to share.

Mrs. Renne P. Hendershott 17615 Fries Avenue Lakewood, Ohio 44107

TERRY SPENCER VOWS RETURN despite broken back

TERRY SPENCER Terry Spencer of SIU had her Olympic

dreams shattered in February when she seriously injured her back from a falloff the uneven parallels which resulted in a compression fracture of her 11th dorsal vertebrae. Upon recovery she should be as good as new, but only time and faith will tell.

Terry who now has had her Olympic hopes dashed a second time&an ankle sprain kept her out of the final trials for Mexico), has discovered there is more to ath leti cs than winning and losing. The following letter by Terry, printed in a Carbondale, III. newspaper, came to our attention and we believe. it warrents a second printing.

"About one week ago all I had worked for and dreamed about since my ninth b irthday came to an end.

"Suddenly, by 'accident,' I became aware the most important event in my life would not be a trip to Munich, Germany, as a member of the United States Olympic team .

A lso, by 'accident,' I began to discover that in my disappointment, loneliness and physical discomfort, an important event in mylife had occurred. Due to the accident, I was given the opportunity to measure my fellow man.

" Only moments earlier, I had experienced the indescribable freedom of gymnastics. The

next moment, became enchaineci by confus ion, pain and fear. This began a sequence of events far more important to me than the glory of Olympic team membership.

"My return to reality came when I realized that unidentifiable faces looking down at me were those of my teammates and the hands that cradled my head were those of my coach( Herb Vogel) . Only then was I allowed to know him as he really is ... if his eyes, vo ice or hands could heal , then healed I wou ld have been .. .

" The next morning . . . flowers from the team. .. plus gifts, flowers , cards and calls from students and community people I didn't even know . ..

" Once I thought that standing on the victory platform at the Olympic Games might be the ultimate experience. But finding out that people do care about other people has now erased that thought . . .

After only 11 days in the hospital, Terry put on a hefty and painful brace and started walking around. She knows now she w ill never make an Olympic team. She couldn't possibly stay in shape until 1976. Her moment has passed. Everyone told her to quit and just be thankful she can walk. But,recently Terry decided as soon as the brace comes off she is going to start again. She is go ing back into rigorous training and try to make the U.S. team for the 1973 World University Games to be held in Moscow.

Terry Spencer is a very brave and courageous girl indeed and her determination to continue in gymnastics and strive for future championship goals attests to this fact .. '. Best of luck Terry.

U.S. T. A. TUMBLING RULES A committee on tumbling garthered in Geneva, Ohio recent ly to formulate tumbling rules Which wi ll be used for future tumbling competitions. These ru les are now complete and ready for distribution to members of the U.S.T.A. In the future, all U.S.T.A. sponsored meets will have tumbling and these rules will apply. For further information write: United States Trampoline and Tumbling Association, Box 1270 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406, Editor: John Miller

A com me rica I from George Huntzicker and coach, Newt Loken

GYMNASTICS OCACHING POSITIONS

1972-73 School Year

The following is a li st of teaching and coaching positions in the state of oregon. For additional information, contact: Bill Ballester, Gymnastics Coach, University of Oregon, McArther Court, Eugene, Oregon. 97403 Beaverton High School District: (Portland suburb) New Program 3 positions: Men's gymnastics and open teaching areas, Approximate salary : $7,200 up to $14,000, Approximate coaching salary: $1 ,000-$1,200 Contact: Jerry Pflug, Athletic Director, Beaverton High School, Beaverton , Oreg. 97005

Springfield High School: (Eugene suburb) New Program. 1 Position: Men 's coach (combination English and possibly other), Salary : $7,100-$13,000, Coaching: $450.00 Contact: Mr. Don Buckley, Activities Director, 875 North 7th Street, Springfield, Oreg. 97477 (503-747-3331) South Eugene High School: (Eugene) Top program in the state. Excellent facilities. State Champions seven out of eight years. 1 Position: Men 's gymnastics and physical education (possibly other) Salary: $7,250-$14,500, Coaching Salary: ? Contact: Harry Johnson, Gymnastics Coach, South Eugene High School, Eugene, Oreg. 97405 Thurston High School: (in Springfield) 1 Position: Men 's coach (teaching other than P.E.) Salary: $7,00-$13,000, Coaching Salary: open Contact: Herb Devos, Principal, Thruston High School , Springfield, Oreg. 97477

INTERNATIONAL GYMNASTICS lIfeAW HAll NORTHWISTIRN UNIV. IVANSTON, IU.

WOMIN SATURDAY JAN. ZZ, 117Z 7:10 RM. MIN SUNDAY JAN. ZI, 117Z 7:10 RIA.

OffICIAl 'IOCIAM 1\.00

JAPAN -USA PROGRAM-POSTER CALENDAR

A unique and beautiful 2 x 3 foot program-poster calendar was printed up for the Official Japan vs USA match in Chicago. Some of these souvenir Program-poster Calendars are still available from the Illinois Gymnastic Coaches Assoc. who hosted the competition . If interested you may obtain copies of them at 501t each (or 3 for a dollar). Write to: John E. Armour,Pres. ,IHSGCA,Niles West High School, Oakton at Edens - Skokie, Illinois 60076.(don't forget to include your money) .

VIEWpoints by Dick Criley

A newspaper columnist in our town recently completed his 200lstdaily column; I' ll never get that far, but every once in a while, Ilike to think back to my early days in gymnastics. This column is prompted by a richly colored Hawaiian sunset which reminded me of similar sunsets I observed during those cold winters back at Penn State.

It would be about 5 o'clock or so as I'd leave a chemistry or botany lab and start hiking across a half mile (then) of campus, the wind biting at my face, to Rec Hall. My glasses would fog up instantly as I entered that warm, seaty locker room. The gym team shared the floor with the basketball team and a couple of high jumpers already anticipating their spring season. We were supposed to quit at 6 but usually rolled up the tumbling mat about 6:15 . The flying rings specialists had it easy by campa rison. (For today's gymnasts, these were the daring young men who did their "thing" while swinging in a 40 to 60 foot arc and holding on to a pair of heavy, rubber-covered, iron rings; their thing ranging from double cut catches at either end of the swing to flying handstands and Hickman rolls to a shoulder-destroyer called a whippet.)

The floor exercise pad, when we brought it out at all, was a three-piece, Va inch, hard rubber mat which had to be unrolled, re- rolled, lifted onto carts, and pushed into a closet. At the end of a workout, you still faced a workout to put the equipment away. I'm told that such conditions no longer exist at Penn State (a pity, for it surely brought everybody together), but I feel at at home again here in hawaii (at least we 've got a floor exercise mat to put away!).

Nearly everyone who has caught gymnastic fever (almost incurable, seldom fatal) remembers the joys and aches of learning something new, "losing it, and re-Iearning it to use it finally in a meet. Even after competition is no longer a factor, the drive to work on a new move still persists . The caution has to be against over-doing it. (Who am I to be talking after a repeat of an achilles tendon accident!)

Other " retired" gymnasts I've talked with also have found in gymnastics a special kind of recreation. Linda Stanley, formerly of Ithaca College, confided that her friends could always tell when she hadn't been able to practice because of pressures of studying, "Go do some Floor Ex, you'll feel better," they always said. UCLA gymnast Brian Casserly now with the U.S. Navy said he didn't even think to pack his hand grips when he entered the service and admitted he had missed the feel of the high bar and all the other events. Even while working on his Ph .D. in Radiation Biophsics at the University of Tokyo, Lonnie Kapp (Cal Berkeley) still cummuted across town for a chance to work out. I certainly admit that the chance to work and play at gymnastics during six years of graduate study kept me from climbing walls, and I know of many other gymnasts who feel the same way.

Like many of my VIEWpoints columns, this one also has an editorial thought.

As gymnastics grows in the high school and college programs, there will be more and more people like Linda, Brian, and Lonnie who want

[0 keep up wit h their gymnastics after col lege. Many European countries do offer the opportunities for their gymnasts to work out as long as they are able th rough clubs or organizations affiliated with their national gymnastics association. Is it too much to hope that our USGF might soon devise a program into w hich our many senior gymnasts can fit -both for their owr sat isfaction and to the benefit of newer gymnasts. After all, the AAU offers senior or master's competitions in many .sports, most natably track and field.

Gymnastics needs are, of course, more complex than track and fi eld , but the encouragement of a national organization could do much to the opening up of more recreation opportunities for gymnasts by ci ties, the military, y's, and school systems. One of the objections always offered by schools or clubs having equipment is the lack of liability insurance for other than the ir own members. The USGF could take the leadership in stimulating the development of an insurance program for workouts in addition to the program offered for the USGF-sanctioned competitions.

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ONCE UPON A HIGH BAR . .. There was a gymnast, and Unfortunately - he flew off th e high bar Fortunately - there was a crash mat; Unfortunately - there was a chalk stand Fortunately - he missed the chalk stand; Unfortunately - he missed the mat.

parapharsed from: " Once upon a plane . . . " Feburary '72 Christian Reader

9

gymnastics: A PATH TO THE ARTISTIC LIFE

Daniel j. Millman Stanford University This article is the first in a series of three --

each dealing with an aspect of gymnastics-and-the-mind. I. Describes obstacles found in Western society which hinder our development of body-m ind unity through sport. II. Discusses in particular how gymnastics can help us to better integrate body-mind, and perhaps grow in previously unexplored ways. III. Tells how gymnastics can serve as a constant reminder " how to live an artistic life." Part I: "Obstacles in the Path of Inner Development"

For the past two or three hundred years, Western thought has been dominated by a body-mind polarity -- the concept that the physical body and the mind are somehow two separate entities joined together in an uneasy partnership, with each "fighting" for control. The body has been viewed as lower, or "animalistic," to be controlled by the " higher" part, the mind

This body~mind dualism didn 't exist to the same extent in ancient Greece. Plato taught gymnastics. Aristotle did much of his teachings while sitting on the floor of the gymnasium. The intellectual man who wasn't physically fit was not considered a whole individual. The athlete who had an undisciplined mind drew little respect. The body-mind was seen as a unit, reflected in a later latin saying, " Mens corpore en corpore sano;" "A healthy mind in a healthy body."

The Chinese Taoist and japanese Zen Buddhist life-views are similar in many ways to the Greek's. Man and nature, the physical and spiriutal, are regarded as one. The

10

development of body-mind unity comes in many ways in japan; through meditation or meditative activity, ranging from flower arranging to karate, gymnastics or painting, haiku or kendo, archery or the tea ceremony.

All activities are seen as potentially artistic en deavors ... a bus driver who has mastered the refinements of his activity is an artist as much as a musician who has mastered his. There are no status heirarchies of art in Taoist or Zen thought -- the important thing is that the individual picks and pursues every activity of his life with an artistic spirit.

The artistic spirit is simply a constant awareness based on some fundamental questions -- " How can I act with the least possible conflict (with myself, with nature's laws) -- how can I flow, be lighter" more effortless, natural , relaxed?" If all the Western techniques ("how to" do gymnastics movements, paint, do karate movements) could be called the parts of a stained glass window, we in the West would have a very beutiful window, with many fine and colorful , panes ... but this spirit is the light from behind the window, shining through and bringing the beauty alive. Without the spirit, the light, all our fancy techniques are mechanical, without life.

Perhaps an example will serve well here. There is a story of a Zen master of archery who severely chasti zed a pupil for hitting the bull's-eyes! "W hat!?" we reply. " That doesn 't make sense! " Because we 've been taught all our lives, on television, in the little leagues of baseball or football , that so long as you win, or get first place, you've done the job. How different were this Zen master 's views! For the

only goal in his mind was to "become one" with the bow -- to feel the forces involved so closely, to become so finely in tune w ith the bow, that the archer's spirit is an a rrow, and the 'arrow " shoots itse lf" with no conscious effort on the part of the archer. Therein is the potential for mental refinements, and a growing unity of body and mind , of man and nature.

As it happens, Zen archers are known to shoot more than 1200 bull's-eyes in a row, for once one has discovered the spirit of kyundo (a rchery), the physical follows the spirit.

In the Eastern tradition, mastery of one activity leads to master of any activ ity, for in mastering one activ ity, you learn to master yourself .

In the West, our sports are socially oriented, with external development stressed rather than internal. Because of many complicating economic and psychological factors, we end up with often authoritarian tendencies in our sporting activities, gymnastics included. Other than relatively shallow "cha racter building" rhetoric, we seem to havellittle stress on inner development, because our aims, like the beginning archer, seem confused. It becomes harder and harde r to seek and find individual joy in the free movement of sport.

Since the 1950's when Sputnik was orbited, there has been an unprecedented push toward scientific and technological professions. What waning prestige physical education and physical activity had in the 1950's was soon sublimated for the "great intellectual " push in the schools, which has affected most of us. In trying to keep up with the joneses (in this cases, the USSR) , we have fallen deeper into the semantic trap of " higher" mind over the "less important" body.

Many students are self conscious about spending so much time in the gymnasium. Why do you, reader, not enter the gymnasium with the attitude that you are about to do some important studying? One reason is our conditioning -- another is , our programs are rarely run in such a way that one is allowed to pursue individual body-mind growth . It seems as if most gymnasts and coaches are preoccupied with the little wars we call competition, and fetishizing of external rewards such as medals, trophies and such. We build the stained glass window with such care we forget about the light beyond.

Another complicating factor obscuring a meaning'ful view of sport is the economically-oriented, spectator-based system of athletics in the West. Intense, individually oriented growth is generally set aside for team goals. Since schools receive prestige from sports pages and how well their teams do in the gladitorial arena of athletics, the emphasis on winning has overshadowed participation for the fun of it. A great deal of pressure falls on coaches, and "s uccess" in their job is defined by the school administrators and society at large as winning (and if any character development happens on the way, that's fine) .

Often this pressure on coaches is mirrored on the athletes, who are required to do such and such "for the good of their own development." This might be true for their physical development , but too many athletes forget the inherent fun in their activity and begin finding their only solace in winning, by " beating" other people. This development is particularly sad in gymnastics -- an art form of such aesthetic appeal, one wonders if such competition stress is needed at all.

Since coaches often must deal with many, many athletes at once, it's too common that they devise a general schedu le for al l of th e gymnasts to fo llow, enen though in reality each man on the squad may have wide ly differing phys ica l abilit ies and psychologi ca l make-ups.

Those gymnasts who are more independent, individ uali st, are often labe led as " problems" and told to "shape up or ship out."

It 's easy to see how gradual, internal development and a happy, se rene state of mind are not easily nurtured in our .typical training environment.

Gymnastics, like other physica l act ivities, can be engaged in on many levels : As a form of drukgery (or even self-punishment!), as a form of entertainment, for physical fitness, for recreation, as a form of self-mastery, self-transcendence, self understanding, as a form of meditation . . . or as a pure, (but chal lenging) childlike activity of joy.

What form our physical endeavor tak es depends upon our depth of body and spiritua l involvemeent.

Next article, we can look more deeply into just how gymnastics in particular is a beautiful means of achieving body-mind unity. The following is a brief bibliography of some readings you may fin d en lightening and interesti ng. The gymnast who is interested in doing more than just building some muscle and winn ing some meets wou ld do we ll to look over some of these readings :

---BIBLIOGRAPHY ---

Zen in the Art of Archery: Eugerl Herrigel , McGraw Hill.

Points out a unique concept of body-mind un ity and demonstrates how a physical discipline contributes toward individual growth. Gestalt Therapy Verbatim: Fritz Perls , Real People Press

An insigbtful book into the making of a real , whole individual -- lea rnin g to " live in the now." Your Inner Child of the Past: H. Missildine, Simon and Schuster I'm O.K., You're O.K.: T. Harri s, Harper-Row (Torch)

Both of the above books help one gain definite perspective on his o r her own motivations -- a better understanding and acceptance of the parent figure, ad ult, and child that is in each of us. The Athletic Revolution: J. Scott, Free Press.

Probably the best book yet on current athletic trends, problems and potentials. Deals with various shortcomings of organized sport. Faith, love and Seaweed: I. Rose, Award Books

One of the better books written about nutrition and the athlete. Aikido in Daily Life: K. Tohei , Ri kuge i Publishing

A model of " living the good li fe" based upon suberb, aesthetically and morally refined martial art .

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12

GYMNASTIC PHOTO REPORT

Long Beach State College was the site of the " First" annual Southern California Womens' Gymnastic Clinic held during the Christmas vacation recess. Registration went beyond all estimates. Over 340 girls registered, including the Mexican National Modern Gymnastics Team for Mexico City, for the 5 day program of classes and demonstrations and an open to the .public show on the final night.

A lot of preliminary work by the directors was evident by the lack of confusion among students and clinic in general. Plans are already in motion for a bigger clinic next December.

SOUTHERN CALIFO~

1. A portion of over 300 girls that registered for the clinic doing the daily warm-up exercises. 2. Gym wheel instruction being given by Norbert Dill, former world champion and Vice-President of Gymnastic Supply Company. 3. Balance Beam demonstration at the Thrusday night show which drew .a capacity crowd . 4. Over 300 girls registered for the clinic. S. (I. to r.) Madeleine Cratty, Gretchen Dowsing, Norbert Dill and Wendy Cluff (not pictured) directors of the clinic. 6. Coaches session in the excellent gym nastic room of Long Beach State College. 7. Dan Speraw teaching spotting techniques. 8. Tramp-oline classes were popular. 9. One of many special classes. 10. Helena Grathaus, competitor in World Modern Gymnastics Championships, demonstrating scarf routine. 11. Spotting for cartwheel dismounts. 12. Smaller girls during public performance. 13. Madeleine Cratty with large class 14. Gym wheel per-fromance pleases the crowd.

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Photos courtesy of Gymnastic Supp ly Company

13

TWO STEPS FORWARD -ONE STEP BACK

Report by HERB VOGEL Women 's Gymnastic Coach , SIU

In the not too distant past the description of our progress was found to contain a high percentage of adjectives and nouns with a low level seasoning of verbage. While busying ourselves with self acclaim, fantasizing about what might be or could have been , the sweet smell of success eluded United States gymnastics most effectively.

Not too long ago it was one step forward and two steps backward. Yet gymnastic authorities, perhaps due to the length of time they spent standing on their heads as youths, called that progress. The Aquarian Age For U.S. Gymnastics

The 70's might well be the Aquarian age for gymnastics. Our period of darkness, the dark age of gymnastics, is over. The renaissance period of gymnastics brought its enlightenment but it cannot end here. The best is yet to come.

The dark ages of gymnastics gave us little more than historical foundation upon w hich to build. Historical events, accomplishments as well as mistakes, need not be repeated to realize that to some, from both a physiological as well as a sociological point of view, the pain of growing up can be severe.

Even in those dark ages came slivers of light--small penetrations of light in a near impenetrable darkness by those indi viduals who were, to use a well worn phrase, "a head of their time,' , challenging the honesty and integrity of man, as well as challenging the established limitations placed upon bodily movement. Presently there are coaches, this writer included, and administrators who feel that they too were or are ahead of their time--the best available estimate is about 15 minutes. At best we are just catching up and are on the threshold of letting the sunshine through.

To exemplify this, many readers will remember the big dismount Tom Maloney, via national television , glibly called a " Rigby." With no discredit to Cathy intended, the first underswing front sommi uneven bardismount was first executed by Doris Fuchs in 1959.ln fact she did it the hard way--from a free hip circle instead of a sole circle. Doris can also be credited with the first stateside heche giant swing, free hip circles, etc.

Few self deSignated or experienced authorities could disagree that Doris Fuchs was ahead of her time. The 1Y, twisting back sommi step out to a tinsica mounter in floor exercise by, Teresa Montefusco is another example of the catching up that now is being accomplished by not just one, but many yo ung aspiring coaches and gymnasts. Overview Opinion

Credit must be given to whoever said " out of the darkness comes the dawn." It is not just the dawning of a new generation but a " now" generation impressive in number, skill and capabiiity--a mass of now generation young coaches and gymnasts, who are not just ahead of their time but are setting a torid pace on the

14

Two step forward . . . one step back! Progress? Knock it if you like ... but progress is being made.

national level that must, and shall, particdarly if nurtured and administrated effectively, have international impact. Historically speaking, we have have had pace setters in our gymnastic past. Even in gymnastics darkest days glimpses of hope were found in the "then" gymnastic names as Meta Neuman, Ruth Growkowski and Clara Schroth--names that the now generation haven 't forgotten but perhaps never even heard of. Gymnastics then, impressive for its time, can be compared to the Wright brothers ' endeavors. To get man "of f the ground" versus the " now-space age" gymnastics performance levels of today.

When we sit in judgment of the gymnastic progress of today, we must try to keep our perspective by recalling what has gone before us. Even space age historians will agree that although air travel seemed a hopeless dream, the Wright brothers did get off the ground. Some folks on the current gymnastic scene may recall that as recentl y as 1956 our U.S. Olympic Team contained some members who had some difficulty getting off the ground via a flip flop. That humble beginning certainly could not predict the balance beam combination " moon walk " of the 1971 U.S.G.F. Elite Championship. A now generation combination of an in-sequence standing back sommi to an immediate back full twisting sommi discount.

But some individuals within our historical past, as did the Wright brothers, did get off the ground and literally got gymnastics off the ground. The past, quite apart from the present, did not ha ve numbers but had individuals. Individual standouts who stood out--head and shoulder above the mass; individuals who must be credited for setting the standards of yesterday as well as la ying the foundation upon which tomorrows are built.

In the opinion of this writer, Sandra Ruddick is the first gymnast to start the United States on its way to today's leve l of gymnastis. The Walt Lienert-coached Sandy was the Queen of U.S. Gymnastics, setting the pace for Lienert-coached teammates as well as the nation . Incidentally, Miss Ruddick, proving perhaps that gymnastics may have some carry over to civilian life, continued in her pace-setting ways by also becoming the first gymnast to receive marque billing as the first olympic stripper. Possibly more exciting, I'm sure more lucrative, than judging or coaching after retiring from competitive gymnastics. That of course is predicated upon your point of reference.

Ruddick's first competitive challenge, at least on this side of the ocean, came from Ernestine Russel Carter. The diminutive blond, pony-tailed , blue-eyed Canadian was quite a contrast to the dark-eyed, brunette, 5'7" plus U.S. star Ruddick, but that 's where the contrast ended. " Ernie" took charge and became the national champion of two nations and in doing set standards in style and performance that rings loud and clear in toda y's gymnastics as well as echoes through the chambers of the

Canadian Hall of Fame which credits her past achievements.

Where now there are man y, then there was but one. One girl, waiting in the wings off stage, willing and as it came to be, quite able to challenge the wearer of the crown . That girl was Muriel Davis Grossfeld--another phase in our sports hi story as the western hemisphere now had two stars to help chart the course of progress.

Both Muriel and Ernestine possessed fine dance backgrounds, ample gymnastic preparation , individual beauty and grace and both were creativel y proud. While the rest of the masses plodded on , attempting to attain what they exemplified, Ernie and Muriel began a gymnastic tug-of-war for which, year in and yea r out, alternated the title of Queen of Western Hemisphere Gymnastics.

These young women were, in the opinion of this writer, the true pace setters of current day gymnastics. The remaining body of the gymnastic society used their style and class to guide their training but seemed content to settle for less than best while watching their annual battle for supremacy.

As great as these two women were and as large as the influence they had on gymnastics, it is unfortunate that they became .by-products of a system of administration which was simply not as good " politically" as the gymnasts were gymnastically. Although their contributions to the sport were immeasurably large the leadership of the period infinitesimal. Adequate, perhaps even good, but simply not good enough--an administrative weakness that hopefully will not carryover to this generation.

Historically, this was a period of confusion and turmoil. We coaches "pretended " to know, as our judges pretended to evaluate, and our leaders pretended to lead. A great deal of " tail chasing" caused little more than dizziness and an ample amount of nausea. In this confusion , time, as it ineVitably does, plodded on. Out of the wings came Betty Maycock, whose gymnastic bag of tricks had pace setting ways. Acrobatics, both isolated and in dance type competition, in floor exercise and beam, had its impact. Another pace setter was Gail

Far Left- Donna Schaenzer; Top Center- Dale Flansaas; Bottom Center- Betty Maycock; Top Right- M urie l Grossfe ld; Bottom Right- Marie Walther.

Songerath who picked up the Maycock cl ue but in add ition brought new movement to bars. Marie Walther and Donna Schaenzer entered the scene about th is t ime as d id the current coach of the 1972 U .S. Olympic Team, Dale McC lements Flansaas. Dale, in particular, brough t the European dance influence and creat ivity and her personal influence to the spo rt w ith each of the above mentio ned in their turn and thei r time helping to raise the standa rd of gymnast ic content and performance.

Now, of the o ld line compet itors, on ly Linda Metheny remains. The Tanacs, Gleasons, Daleys, have Lind a as thei r only linkage to the past. Linda Metheny, too, is one that can stand out as a U.S. pace setter. Under the dedicated stubborn ness of a capab le coach, coup led with the pain and sacrifi ce of long hours of disciplined preparation, Lind a rose from a 13th place A.A. placement, among a fie ld of 20 in the first U.S.G.F. national meet in 1962 to Olympic team membership the fo llowing year. She, an d she alone, must be credited w ith the first b reak through o f United Sta tes gymnast ics on the international scene.

The U.S.G.F. Eli te Champ io nship of 1971 found more of eve rythi ng, both in vo lume and capab ility--better leadershi p, more produ ctive coaches, judges v: merit, and a mass of wel l-trained kids. Young enough to dream more, young enough to give themselves and U.S. gymnast ics a br ight today and a brilliant tomorrow. To be more specif ic, the recent U.S.G.F. Elite Champiohship gave these ind ications.

There was a time that Metheny's A.A. supremacy, due in part to her d isciplined mastery of t he compu lso ri es, as we ll as strong progressive optional performance, particularly in floor exercise, beam and bars, was as secure, in the t it le " Th e Nationa l Champ ion " as a " fly in an outhouse. " Lin da no longer holds, w hat on occas ion has been , near two pointed edge over her peers. Thi s heretofore pace setter must now keep pace. W here o nce there were few, now there are many.

Cat hy Rigby, w ho stands quite tall despite her d iminutive size, simpl y is not the so le chal lenger. She most certa inl y heads the li st w hi ch includes Joanne Moore, w ho unexpected ly tied Meth eny for th e 19671 elite title particu lar ly after Moore's much to be desired show ing in her unsuccessful bid for th e '71 Pan Am Team and Roaxanne Pierce, who, in the absence of Rigby, reigned supreme in th e Pan Am Trials and the Pan Am Games. For the first time in the h isto ry of gym nasti cs there are more good -to -exce ll ent gymn as ts than there are judges.

W ithout a doubt, the United States w ill fi eld the finest team yet , come " prosit" time in Munich. But the best is yet to come! Predictions

Munich w ill be the loca tion ; 1972 the yea r--the United States w ill no longer be ' just a Olympic partic ipant in the spo rt of gym nasti cs. Our first O lympic Medalli on wi ll be won.

Yet, 1972 wi ll not be " our" year. We w ill st ill have members on the sq uad w ho will have a weak event. Hopefu ll y t he coaches, grossfeld , Flansaas, and Mulvihill-- w ill not be satura ted w ith the sport by 1976 for this is the time when the complete all-event performer w ill come of age. Thoughts

For those readers w ho might have found t ime or made tim e to broaden your life beyond four wa lls of gymnasiums the fo ll owin g refe rence wi l not be unfamiliar. Shakespeare, in Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene III , wro te a passage that depicts the present gymnasti c sceen and gives advice as gymnasti cs enter its Aquar ian age.

" There is a tide in the affairs of men wh ich, taken at th e flood , leads on to fortu ne. Omittted, all the voyage of their life is bound in sha ll ows and in miseries. "

In simpler words perhaps, th e tide for U.S. gymnastics is in. There are more ca pabl e, better tra ined and highly sk ill ed female gym nasts than ever before. There are more capab le, bette r trained and act ive judges than

ever before. The experien ced coaches are putting their maturity into practical application w hil e the you ng coaches are using the knowledge ava il ab le to them and seasoning th ei r efforts w ith creat ivity. The judges have increased in numbers, knowledge and quality of co n sistent performance and th e administration has never been more sincere.

In total, gymnasti cs of the ea rly '70's, the now, is massive ly impressive. The tide is high, flooded with ability and the prospect of that sweet smell of success . Nothing ca n be more impressive in strength , size and potential than a w hale but let the tide go out and the ineffectiveness of the mass can only be equalled by a smell th at is less than sweet.

More directly, women's gymnasti cs in its totality is the greatest it has ever been but is not good enough. It cont inues to be pl agued by ego, it st ill has sho rt circuits in its lines of communica tion , it still la cks togetherness. In a rule book of longer standing that the FIG code of points we find , Eccl es iastes 3:1-2, these wo rds:

"To eve rything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heave n. A time to be born, and a time to di e; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that w hich is planted " Women 's gymnasti cs is on the move

but the question that yet remains to be answered is w here is women's gymna st ics go in g? The progress, two steps forward and one step back, of today is exceptional but only in retrospect. The gestat ion period of women's gymnastics is complete, the dark ages are over, the best is yet to come.

15

JAPAN USA TOUR 1972 Repolt by FRANK BARE, USGF EXE'c-utive Director

The finest ambassadors of gymnastics won most of their competitions, and thousands of friends.

The japanese men 's and women 's national team came to the United States in mid-january to tour from the West Coast to the East Coast. The tour was maginificent from every aspect; the teilms performed before a packed house at every stop. Received standing ovations for the last two performers at every stop, and in general were outstanding good-will ambassadors for gymnastics and their homeland that it will be difficult for others to match their performance even off th e gymnasium floor. Hard-maney-wise there is another facet of this tour that needs and deserves mention. This tour marked the first real maturity gymnastics has ever reached from a busin ess standpoint. Every stop met the guarantee and every stop made monies for their horne area for the promotion of gymnastics.

The tour began in Los Angeles. included Disneyland and Hollywood, and then got down to serious business. Bud Marquette teamed with Dick Wolfe at Fullerton State College and together th ey did a great job hosti ng the women 's event. More than 5,000 sea ts where filled and some 400 others had to stand to witness the Southern California ' All-Stars ' made up of team membersfrom the SCATS and th e KIPS edge out the japanese women 's team by a narrow margin. The presentation of the meet was excellent and it was a pleasure to see good gymnastics in a gymnasium with not only . . no empty seats, but no place to move!

Next evening, at San Fernando Valley State College, under the able guidance of coach jack Medina, and team coach jack Beckner, the men's teams met. The USA 'All-Star' men 's team was under the gun from the very begining in meeting the finest men 's team in the world, but did a creditable job and showed signs of greatness in spots that could not be denied. Naturally, the japanese men 's team won the event but the situation of significance . . another standing room only appreciative crowd with standing ovations when deserved, which was often. Les Sasvary, President of the So. California judges Association was in charge of this appea rance and he was a perfect host, everything was handled professionally and with proper courtesy and diplomacy.

From Los Angeles to Den ver. It was perfectl y timed and the host Colorado Gymnastic Association even managed to take the visitors to see a real Rod eo . .. and issued for official wear ,typical cowboy hats. Th e japanese Team wore th ese hats for the remainder of th e tour! The visiting teams performed in Denver and th e following night at Colorado Springs, both purely ex hibitions but both very we ll received and attended again by ma ximum capacity crowds. Tothe CGA many th anks for being th e b . cious hosts they have alway been to visiting teams and in this case, better th an ever!

Brent Sim mo ns 18

Next stop Chicago, Illinois, hosted by th e Illinois High Schoo l Gymnastics Coaches Assoc iation. John Srmour(Pres.), Sid Drain , Tom Gardn er and many others all worked many, man y hours to prepare for this the Official USA vs JAPAN competition at th e McGaw Hall of Northwestern University. ABC-TV was also on hand to film the matches for showing on Wide World of Sports,April 15th ... mark yo ur ca lendars! The matches were close, the women dropped a chance to win th e women 's competition by a technica l error that saw us penalized some 1.5 points for too many va ults of the same type . . . this was a real area for discussion , but even with that deduction for our team with fewer misses the women cou ld have pulled that meet out for the USA. None-the-Iess we didn 't. . . and that 's the part of the sport that counts, so we dropped the match to Japan by .6 of a point. The men 's meet the next evening was great, and the same fantasti c crowd(nearly 6,000) filled the Hall and gave Nakayama and Kasa matsu standing ovations at the close of the meet. Our American team lost again, but a strange thing .. . some of those who also worked against the Japanese in Los Ange les were looked even better and scored higher. Tom Lindner got a 9.60 on the High bar and finished 4th! He did a super job and worked under grea t pressure following Nakayama with a 9.90. All in all two excellent competitions in Evanston , and a great job by the hosts at that Windy City stop.

On to Philadelphia and an appearance at Temple University. Host Coach, Bill Coco and host Director, Ernie Casale rea lly did a fine job preparing for this event. About 4,000 spectators in Temples ne McGionig le Hall and the young American gymnasts who worked in the three-deep format for each event all turned in fine performances. Joan Moore of Philadelphia looked great as usual! Again ... before the evening was over standing ovat ions for th e visitors from Japan! American crowds saw gymnastics as never before and appreciated everything they saw.

Last stop State-side was Penn. State University. The teams were ready for an exhibition match , with some USA' ALL-STARS' invited by host coach, Gene Wettstone and th e usual fantastic crowds th at the team appeared before in all parts of the USA were again on hand. 7,300 spectators crowded the Recreation Hall as the format called for two womens events and three mens events the first night and the final half of the events the next night. The format was not even a conce rn of the Penn. State captive audience, th ~y came to see the best gymnasts in the world, and so they did . Friday nights session was good compet ition and ended with the Japanese men's and women 's teams holding leads. G inny Coco. coaching the girls ind icated she~wou ld bring 'em back on Saturday~night prepared to win this unoffic ial match. Saturday night was packed with the same crowd ... even a little more crowded to our eyes, and the meet was on. Th e women , under the able guidance of Ginny, did what they sa id th ey would, turn ed

Continued on page 28 19 Akinori Nakayama

Shun Fuiimoto 20

John Crosby Jack Medina with All Around w.inners

JANUARY 15 SAN FERNANDO VALLEY STATE COLLEGE

men's competition

21

Shun Fu jimoto

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY STATE COLLEGE

Toshiaki Morioka 22

Masanori Takahas hi

JANUARY 14 Sandy Gross

CALIFORNIA STATE COLLEGE AT FU LLERTON

Eiko Hirashima

Debbie Fike Eiko Hi rash ima 23

CALIFORNIA STATE COLLEGE Photos by G le nn Sundby

26 Toshimi Muta Takako Hasegawa

AT FULLERTON women's competition

Dag mar Hintnau s

Kyle Gayno r 27

JANUARY 22 & 23 NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS

the meet around and won the match. The men, far down in score, did what they could in real style. Never has Tom Lindner looked better and he received a 9.70 on the horizontal bar and deserved that or more. The finale . .. was a real show, and a classic finish for this exhibition match at a University noted for its ' showmanship and appreciation for good gym nastics. Tsukahara worked the horizontal bar and received 9.90 as the third from last man for the japanese. Kasamatsu worked later and while everyone waited he received a 9.95 . .. and the crowd was onGe again on their feet for a standing ovation that eemed' as if if would never end. THEN, Nakayama walked on the floor and you could almost hear the silence. The crowd waited, he mounted the high bar and did perhaps the most perfect routine ever performed. Everything to the highest possible point, execution, fo rm, style and risk . .. it was all there including a lot of class ... and when he dismounted with his full-twisting Hecht over the bar(he does it very early) and hit the floor where he stuck like a dart, it was obvious, his score. . . 10.00. You cannot discribe the reaction of the crowd never before having seen a 9.90 in Recreation Hall and tonight seeing a 9.90, a 9.95 and NOWa 10.00 They came to their feet in a collective mass to give Nakayama a fitting tribute by a standing ovation and three bows .. . IT WAS QUITE A SHOW!

MEN'S RESULTS D 1. Shigeru Kasamatsu 9.50 2. Akinori Nakayama 9.55 3. Mitsuo Tsukahara 9.60 4. Shun Fujimoto 9.45 5. Masanori Takahashi 9.45 6. Tom Lindner 9.35 7. Toshiaki Morioka 9.20 8. Paul Tickenoff 9.20 9. George Greenfield 9.40 10. Richard Swetman 6.60 11 . Bob Dixon 6.65 12. Kanati Allen 9.00

28

men's and women's competition

-00 --

- TOTAl

.... -- -9.60 9.70 9.45 9.80 9.80 57.85 9.45 9.80 9.30 9.75 9.90 57.75 9.45 9.70 9.50 9.65 9.80 57.70 9.45 9.65 9.25 9.40 9.60 56.60 9.60 9.25 9.25 9.40 8.9!} 55.65 . 6.80 9.15 6.65 8.95 9.6G 55.30 8.90 9.30 9.30 9.20 8.50 54.50 8.95 6.65 9.30 9.15 9.00 54.45 8.90 6.30 9.30 9.10 9.40 54.40 I 9.20 6.95 6.75 9.35 9.35 54.20 6.85 9.40 6.65 6.45 9.50 53.50 9.05 8.45 6.95 6.75 6.20 52.40

There were at least four mere American Cities or Univers'ities wh0 would have liked to play host to the Japanese Team if they could have extended their tour another week or ten days. But this was not possible so after Penn State the Japanese flew off to Hawaii for a day of rest along with another full house exhibition hosted by Dick Criley and the Hawaiian Gymnastic Association. Then on to their homeland loaded down with trophies, m'ementos and memories of a trip that was perhaps too fast and too short, but very successful as viewed from this side of the Pcific.

What the Japanese tour did for American gymnastics is almost immeasurable as the Japanese were perfect ambassadors 0f good will and Great Gymnastics. All told some 50,000 American spectators saw the Japanese perform in person. Millions more will see them on TV when ABC airs the Official USA vs JAPAN Match on April 15th. Personafl}r, after getting to know lvir. Sasano (Chief of the Delegation) and Mr. Aiba (Judge), and the ' team members, I would Irke them to have stayed forever, The finest tour everlltwill be hard to follow but brace yourselves we are making plans to follow it in 1973.

THE ENE>

WOMEN'S RESULTS [~JBg~ TOTAL 1, Cathy Rigby 9.50 9.70 9.65 9.65 36.50 2. /oane Moore 9.35 9.45 9.35 9.70 37.65 3. Roxanne Pierce 9.45 9.55 9.20 '9.50 37.70 4. Eiko Hirashima 9.40 9.40 9.40 '9.45 37.65 5. Takako Hasegawa 9.45 9.20 9.30 9.60 37.55 6. Toshiko Miyamoto 9.75 9.30 9.35 9.10 37.50

. 7. lunko Hyodo 9.30 9.25 9.20 '9.45 37.20 8. Kim Chace 9.30 6.25 9.35 9.50 36.40

9. Yuniko Komiya 9.00 9.25 6.70 9.35 36.30 '10. Na'ncy Thies 9.00 6.95 6.60 9.35 36.10 11 . Karen Schuckman 9.00 8.35 9.40 9.30 36.05 12. Toshima Muta 9.15 8.60 6.80 9.10 35.85

JANUARY 25 TEMPLE UNIVERSITY

men's and women's competition Photos by Steve Bronstein

Mitsuo Tsukahara Ron Clemmer 29

Marsha ll Avener

Richard Swelman

30

JANUARY 28 PENN STATE

Opening Ceremon ies

men's and women's competition

George Greenfield

Japanese - American Coaches I nterview Centering On The Socio-Cultural Aspects Of Olympic Success

On Tuesday, j anuary 25, the T emple University Varsity Club proudly presented a competition between the japanese national team and the Eastern A ll-Stars. Prior to the competition, a panel discussion was held between the j apanese's team leader (coach), team manager (who participated as a judge in the evening's competition), and the United S tates' Olympic gymnastic team's coach (acting as the eastern A ll-Star team coach during the evening's competition). As a special gesture as well as to broaden the perspective of the discussion, T emple'S team coach was also present. The purpose of the panel discussion was to identify and explicate the ex tent to which various cu lt mal differences come to bear upon the preparation of j apanese and American Olympic gymnastic teams. It was held that the sport of gymnastics as well as the relations between the participant countries would be augmented positively as a resu lt of such understandings. To these ends, however lofty, the discussion was dedicated.

Participants -----------Shuji Tsurumi - Team Leader, Japan Hiroshi Aiba - Team Manager, Japan Abie Grossfeld - Olympic Coach 1972, USA Bill Coco - Temple University Teach Coach

Q. What level of popularity does gymnastics enjoy in japiln? The United States? Aiba - The sport is very popular in senior high schools and colleges. Many elementary schools have little equipment except mats. G"rossfeld - I've been to Japan a few times and found that what equipment there was was usually very good, especially their mats. They have very good land ing mats . Their gyms are very cold in the winter~-U.S. gyms are much better as far as gyms go, but then that makes little difference in preparing gymnasts.

Q. Is gymnastics funded by the government or by private enterprises? Tsurumi - Gymnastics in the schools is not funded by the government--rather by the Japanese Gymnastics Federation , an organization similar to your Amateur Athletic Union . They sponsor gymnastics in the schools, and particularly those schools in which gymnastics is very popular. Aiba - General physical education programs on the elementary level require gymnastics as they do volley ball, baseball , etc. Tumbling, vaulting and p-bars are required, and thus in senior high the basic tricks are not taught because they _have been I~ar:.!!.ed already. The interested person can join gymnastic clubs which, like other sports, are sponsored by the senior high school. At the junior high level special instructors are hired to handle strictly .club activities. Grossfeld - The Olympic team is funded by private donations from corporations and the like. Olympic bylaws prohibit government funding to keep politics out of sport. Dues from athletic clubs are used sometimes to send a member to the Olympics. Coco - Smaller clubs have been funded by private funds from parents and the like, but the trend nowadays is for these small clubs to become incorporated so they can put on demonstrations, shows, etc., to raise funds. This has become necessa ry because of the tremendous cost of sending gymnasts around the country to compete. Solicitation of funds is also practiced by incorporated clubs. Q. Is there funding in the form of subsidized training camps or clinics? Grossfeld - International rules allow two week of Olympic preparatory training wh ich are to be taken just prior to departure for the Games. 32

Pete Nagafuchi - Interpreter (Temple Univ. Grad. Student) Frederick C. Hatfield - Moderator (Temple Univ. Grad. Stude nt)

This is gotten around, however, by taking a " rest day" between the two week preparatory training and the preceeding period called Olympic development which is funded by a spearate allocation. Aiba - I concur with Abie. We are all allowed two weeks of government funds to train together. Anything other than that is, as you say, " under the table." Q. What are the methods used for selecting Olympic teams in the United States? japan? Grossfeld - We change from Olympiad to Olympiad . This year we're running a series of qualifying meets to compete in the Olympic trials . We've already had one, the USGF Championships. The NCAA, NAIA, National AAU--most meets in which nationally qualified judges are used--serve as preliminary qualifying trials. The gymnast must score over 100 points in these meets in order to qualify for the Olympic trials, the first of which is to be held in May. Eventually, the field will be narrowed to 12 contestants who will compete in the finals. The composite score of the finals and the semifinals will determine the six competitors and the alternate for the 1972 Olympic Team. Tsurumi - This is basically how it's done in Japan as well. Q. How are Olympic team coaches chosen in japan? The United States? How have they been chosen in the pasO Coco - In deference to Abie 's position, I'd like to answer that question . The FIG, the International Gymnastic Federation has a majority of votes on the Olympic Committee, so it's usually been a political appointment from their own organization rather than looking at the coaches' qualifications. Abie, however, improved the status of the United States Gymnastic team in 1966 so much that it was decided to give him another chance. This is the first time, however, that the coaches got together and put in their bid for a coach with the best all-around qualifications. World championship team coaches are chosen by the USGF . The Olympic coach , again, is chosen through the gymnastic portion of the Olympic Committee, and the overseer--the Olympic Committee--has to approve their decision, which they normally do. Aiba - The coach is selected by the Japanese Gymnastic Federation Committee. Generally,

the coach is selected beca use of th e ir career. Fo r instance, Tsurumi, Endo, Ono are, o r were, o n the coaching staff beca use they have been Olympic competitors, and ca n identi fy with the psychological pressures which the younger gymnasts enounter. Also, they a re a lways educated in the physica l education school to prepare them professio nally to adequate ly meet the challenges of training techniqu es, psychological preparedness being optimal , as well as sound knowledge of phys iology and nutrition. Q. Are these considerations taken into account in selecting United States coaches? Grossfeld - No, they haven ' t bee n. Offhand , I remember one coach who was never a gymnast, an d one other who never went to college, altho!Jgh he spent many yea rs as a coach . I feel that the national coach must have been a gymnast in order to have that one experience to fall back on. So many factors are involved in gymnastics that ca n only be experienced through having competed, and if you lack pe rspective it 's just one less dimension that you can draw from. Q. What are the United States' prospects for the 1972 Olympics? japan's prospects? Abie - We have 15-20gymnasts that have a good chance to make the team. It is unrealistic to hope for too many medals, however. Crosby has proven his ability to compete in floor exercise with the best 'gymnasts in the world. Last year in Latvia he tied Nakayama, twice world champion, for first place on two separate occasions. I can't think of another person that has as good a chance of winning a medal as John , but there are a few with a chance. Aiba - As long as the Japanese wish to compete in the Olympics we will be happy only with every gold medal offered . As gymnasts, they aim for this . But, it 's like a flip of the coin--who knows until the Olympics? Coco - Fred Turoff has a good chance of making the team . He's done a fine job so far . He came in third at the World Championship trials. He 's injured, however, and will have to heal first. Ron Clemmer also has a good chance.

I'd like to say a word about the women 's team . If they have a good training setup and if they can get a good coach, they will have a good chance to place among the top four countries in the world . Inte rnationally, they have gained a lot of recog nition--they came in 7th in the world championships . I think they can do it, 'providing they get a good training setup and coach . There again, there's political hassling going on--it hurts the gymnasts to a great extent. The right coach and they can do it--the wrong coach and they will not do it. Grossfeld - I hate to admit it but the girls are ahead of th e boys. I intend to do something about this, but the girls have really come a long way. Q_ln closing this discussion, would you care to make any predictions as to the outcome of the 1972 Olympics? Grossfeld - Japan, Russia , East Germany. After that it's a toss-up between many countries--that's where we stand . These are Poland, Czechoslovakia, Rumania and West Germany--especially beca use the games are to be held in West Germany . Tsurumi - I agree with Abie 's idea s. Japan, I hope, will not lose to Russ ia. NOTE: That evening Crosby went on to win the floor exercise event over Nakayama with a 9.65, and the girls team upset the Japanese girls team .

NEWS

by Renee Hendershott Women 's Coordinating editor

N' NOTES

THE MID-AMERICA CONFERENCE

Dick Mulvihill interviewed by Renee P. Hendershott

Between sessions at one of our Mid-America Conference meets, I had opportunity to speak with Mr. Mulvihill about the purpose, achievements, and future of this very active gymnastic conference. " The purpose of the Mid-America Gymnasti c Conference is to :

1. Develop good all around Olympic caliber performers. 2. Develop our Olympic talent to the point where the Olympic team is amde of gymnasts from the Mid - Ameri ca Conference. Of course we realize there will be other individuals, other teams, and formation of other conferences that will be trying to dupli ca te and beat our work. 3. Develop capable judges who know what they are seeing and have a sound knowledge of the compulsories. We hope to get away from the circumstance where the judges will have only judged th e compulsories once or twice during a dual meet year, and then will be faced with judging them nationally"

" We require that every participating team have all equipment meeting International specifications. Every gym has a floor exercise mat and cable bars. International rules of competition are followed. On example of wh ere this is helping is, in following the new rule that states " only4 of the same vault to be performed by a team " , the kids have had to learn and o ther coaches have been forced to teach other vaults besides the Yamashita and other vaults done so commonly." "We use the current Olympic compulsories at all the meets so that our gymnasts do experience competition using the compulsories before going into national competition. We do have some novice gymnasts in the conference, and they compete using the new USGF/ DGWS Advanced Level routines." "Participation in the conference by less experienced teams has served to provide exposure for the less advanced girls. They look and they emulate, and they ask questions . .. " How long do you work? What's your weight? Why do you do this, etc." These kids mi x, and they socialize a little bit. They really socialize gymnastics." " The coaches get together and establish one uniform version of the compulsories. For example, say Lakewood han't ever been to a clinic and they did the compusories today.

They would have looked like optionals to our judges; so far as Lakewood was concerned, our compulsories would have been optionals to Lakewood judges. We didn 't do this this year, because the USGF said they would do it, but last year we sent films out to all the judges and tapes of the music. This helped the judges quite a bit. I do not know if the film is available thru the USGF. I have not seen it. " "We have really just begun. This is our second year, and our season is really just beginning, but I would say this: Practically every conference team that I know of, Louisville, Oklahoma, Kansas City, Lakewood, ourselves . . . has 3 or 4 rated judges, and we've not had this before the conference , began, so we are moving along in this area. " We had our compulsory clinic for all the teams at the begin'ning of the year . We went thru all of the compulsories and the judges were asked to be there. Many of them attended Madame Nagy's lectures last year. The USGF/ DGWS judges' rating exam was administered at the Elites in Novermber. We were ' highly instrumental in having the examination scheduled there. There were about 11 people who took it. We have a start. " " We counted up and found that the forty girls that made the first cut at the Elites in November, 28 were associated in some way with the conference. In Ljublijana we had 4 on the National Team. On this year's Olympic Team ... in looking to the future, I would say we have 6 girls that will probably be in the top twenty." When asked if there were any changes he would like to see made he replied : " At the moment, I would say we have to do more for the judges.There is not enough written information going out. We are now demanding that our conference judges spend more t ime in the gym watching our kids. I think there should be more workshops within the conference. We have a newsletter, but the newsletter should be more vibrant so far as putii~g out stick figures etc. is concerned. " "The next world games are going to be in Bulgaria. They will be using the same components, but different connections, so the Olympic compulsories are done, as of the Olympics. The components are the only rlling that are good for 4 years . At the next Olympiad they will have different components and connections, but for Bulgaria, there will just the changes in the chronological order of the components. In effect this will force us to choreograph a whole new set of compulsories with different connections. If we don't do ,?omething about the communication gap we will still be way way behind." "Next year, I would like to see an Eastern and a Western Division come in with Dallas, Fort Worth joining Oklahoma City, Kansas City and Denver. The Eastern half would be Lakewood, Louisville, Champaign and Flint. We would meet every team in our section plus maybe two from the other section. Lakewood wouldn't have to . . . in other words we would try to keep down the travel. I would like to do this next year if these peo