Gymnastics News
winter/2014
A LETTER FROM THE ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT Dear Friends and Alumni of Yale Gymnastics, It’s hard to believe that the 2014 season is well underway, but not surprising that the current members of the Yale Gymnastics team are competing well and improving with every meet. As one of the many alumni and supporters of this historic program, I am happy to see our team and coaches giving us reason to be proud. The team will continue to face tough competition the rest of the season and I hope that you will check the remaining schedule (included below) to see if they are competing in your area – they would love to see familiar faces and feel your support along the way! Our association saw a banner year of fundraising in 2012-13, exceeding our 13k annual giving goal. We have much to celebrate, but our work is not done. It is important that we keep the momentum going and I ask you to consider making a gift to the program to honor the legacy as well as the future of Yale Gymnastics. The work of this association provides critical support for Barbara, Jason, and gymnasts. Our goal of 15k for 2013-14 will help them maintain and propel the excellence of the program we all helped build and hope to continue. No gift is too small to help the program achieve our goals. There are multiple ways to show your support, and while a gift is only one small component of giving back, it is critical to maintaining the legacy of Yale Gymnastics. You may give in the following ways: • Write a check payable to Yale University and mail it to Yale Gymnastics Association, P.O. Box 1844, New Haven, CT 06508-1844. • Visit giving.yale.edu to pay by credit card and be sure to select ‘Athletics’ and ‘Gymnastics’ from the drop down menus. • You can also visit our association page for more information: www. yalebulldogs.com/information/alumni/associations/gymnastics. Thank you in advance for supporting Yale Gymnastics!
2014 Remaining GymnasƟcs Schedule
Shoshanna Engel ‘03 Association President
Feb 28, 2014 Mar 8, 2014 Mar 16, 2014 Mar 20, 2014 Mar 22, 2014 Apr 5, 2014 Apr 12, 2014
at Penn St. at Rutgers w/ Central Michigan, SCSU and Temple at George Washington w/ Towson at Bridgeport ECAC Championships @ Philadelphia, Pa. at NCAA Regionals at USAG Collegiate NaƟonals
7:00 PM 1:00 PM 1:00 PM 5:00 PM 12:00 PM TBD TBD
GYMNASTICS / WINTER, 2014
COACH’S CORNER Hello gymnastics alumni, We are a little late in getting our newsletter out, but are excited to share the information you have been waiting for. Our season was a little rough when we started this year but has shown steady improvement as it progresses. The highlight of the season so far was defeating Penn. This past weekend we hoped to have our best performance of the year when we competed at the Ivy Classic at Brown. We accomplished that goal HEAD COACH, BARBARA TONRY and the Bulldogs finished second with another Beam Champion, Morgan Traina, who won the Ivy Beam Championship as a freshman. Please take a moment to read the meet recap on the Yale Bulldogs website. The girls did an outstanding job and dedicated the meet in Don’s honor by placing his initials on their hair ribbons. We hope to see some alumni when we travel to Penn State, George Washington and Rutgers. We love to see you in the stands and want you to meet our 2014 team. Alumni who have been at meets this year are Graciella Trilla, Mia Yabut, Margaret Greenberg, Jennifer Cohn and Heather Simpson. I hope to add more to this list before the season ends. The remainder of the 2014 season schedule is included in this newsletter. It was so good to see alumni from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s at Don’s memorial. They travelled from all over the US and Canada. Esther Fong DeLory along with alumni from the men’s program did a beautiful job. The memories that Yale Gymnastics has for me, started by Don and his enthuastic work for the sport at Yale and the men he trained have been a blessing at this time. I want to thank you all for the letters, cards and calls that meant so much to me. I am asking that the alumni continue to support the team in any way you can. Annual funding is critical to what we do and I hope you can see your way to give this year. Please let me know where you are and what you are doing. I try to keep up on Facebook but would love to have firsthand information from each of you. Thank you for all the support you have given us in the past, you don’t know how much you are appreciated. Barbara
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GYMNASTICS / WINTER, 2014
DON TONRY MEMORIAL ͵ OCTOBER 25ͳ27, 2013 BY ESTHER FONG DE LORY ‘77
A
s many of you are aware, Don Tonry, Olympian, Yale Men’s Gymnastics Coach, author, artist, husband and mentor, passed away in New Haven on May 17, 2013. On October 25-27, a wonderful memorial weekend was held to celebrate his life and accomplishments. We began the weekend with a gathering at Mory’s where 20+ alumni and guests dined upstairs and greeted Barbara Tonry. On Saturday, October 26, a Memorial was held at Battell Chapel with Sharon Kugler, Yale University Chaplain, conducting. Michael Tonry, nephew, gave family remembrances, followed by readings and remembrances of friends and Yale gymnasts, whose classes spanned 5 decades. Speakers included best friend and fellow Olympian, Abie Grossfeld, Esther de Lory ’77, Charlie Jeffrey ’69, Ray Kinoshita ’76, Dan Leahy ’82, and Kevin McLean ’16. A special highlight was a slideshow, compiled by Andrew de Lory, and set to music from each era. It captured moments from Don’s early years, his college competing years, his military service, his Olympic glory, his marriage to life-long love, Barbara, and his Yale years, as coach and mentor to both men and women gymnasts. The slideshow was particularly poignant because Barbara, family, friends and Yale Alumni contributed photos collected over many decades. Another highlight of the memorial was two outstanding performances by a male a cappella group. The ensemble included Ray Kinoshita ’76, Rich Murahata ’77, Kevin Shrock ’82, and ‘adopted’ gymnast/singers, Jonathan Nelson ’78 and David-Marc Finley ’84. Despite having only one dress rehearsal before the memorial, they gave moving renditions of “Danny Boy” and “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling”… there was not a dry eye in the chapel! Following the memorial, Barbara hosted an elegant reception at the nearby Graduate Club, where guests enjoyed refreshments and many joyous remembrances of Don. Ray Kinoshita videotaped additional personal remembrances.
At the close of the reception the group then convened at Jonathan Edwards Residential College where Master Penelope Laurens, provided a dining hall that was beautifully adorned with white rosebud and evergreen settings. Old friends, new acquaintances, and the current Yale Women’s Gymnastics Team were able to make and renew friendships. We ended our full and satisfying day with a hearty rendition of ‘Bright College Years’ amid fluttering white napkins. On Sunday, the Alumni gathered once more at Calhoun Residential College for brunch and final farewells. It was the close of a memorable weekend and as we left, we did so with a deeper appreciation for one of Yale’s most beloved and heroic coaches of all time, Don Tonry. As a side note, all Alumni were invited to participate by emailing their personal remembrances that were later compiled into a binder and given to Barbara. A DVD was made of the entire Memorial along with additional remembrances videotaped at the Graduate Club so that all alumni, who so wished, could purchase a copy and enjoy the proceedings. Individuals who are interested in obtaining a copy should contact Esther de Lory at estherdelory@gmail.com.
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YALE ATHLETICS COMPLIANCE CORNER As a supporter of Yale athle cs, you may employ current Yale student-athletes provided: • The student-athlete is paid the going rate for similar experience; • The student-athlete is compensated for work actually performed; and • The student-athlete does not receive any preferen al treatment due to his/her status as a Yale student-athlete. Please contact the Yale Compliance Office (203.436.8309) if you have any ques ons or concerns. Can I pick up a student-athlete and bring him/her to work each day? You may give a student-athlete a ride to or from work only if you provide the same ride to every employee in the same posi on. It is not permissible to provide special treatment to a student-athlete. The student-athlete I employ played a great game this week, can I take him/ her out to lunch to celebrate? No. You may not provide a complimentary meal to a student-athlete because of his/her status as a student-athlete. Unless the same benefit is extended to all employees under similar circumstances, you cannot take the student-athlete out for lunch.
The student-athlete’s team is doing really well this year and ge ng a lot of posi ve publicity. I have a big promo on coming up to sell one of my products. Can I create an adver sement, in print and/or on the radio, emphasizing that Yale student-athletes use and recommend my product? Can I use their names, pictures, or likenesses? It is not permissible for student-athletes to par cipate in any promo onal ac vi es on behalf of a commercial en ty. You cannot use a student-athlete’s picture to promote a commercial product. Therefore, student-athletes may not be used to promote your product because of their status or success. I am sponsoring a fundraiser at my restaurant for cancer research. When someone purchases a meal, all of the proceeds go toward cancer research. On the day of the event, can the student-athlete that works for me wear his/ her Yale uniform and invite teammates to work as part of the fes vi es? They are very recognizable and I want as many people to donate me and money to this cause as possible. No. Student-Athletes may not par cipate in any promo onal ac vi es for a commercial enterprise, even if it is for charitable purposes. The employee’s status as an Yale student-athlete cannot be used to promote this event, even though it is for a charitable cause.