Modern Gymnast - June/July 1969

THE MODERN GYMNAST MAGAZINE

JUNE-JULY

1969 60c

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notes FROM THE editor:

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What's Ahead: With our Annual High School report coming up in the next edition of the MG (Augus t-September), we wi ll just about wind up the '69 competitive season and be looking ahead to some new fall features in the MG. "Anyone for All-Around " will be a new features series coming your way along with "Questions & Answers," College & Un ivers ity Data, a more Up-To-Date Calendar and a planned ON TIME publishing schedule. :i:

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Iluestions & Answers: With our limited staff we have always had a difficult time answering all of the gymnasti c questions we receive by mail at our MG office. Some of the questions we have been able to answer in the MG and a few we have answered by personal correspondence. But many (t oo many), have just been set . aside with hope of answering on a desk already piled high with more unfinished work ... How's thi s for a statistic . ..If each subscriber (over 7,000 of 'e m) wrote us just one letter with a question durin g a year and it took us just ten minutes to answer, type, sea l, stam p and moil (impossible) the letter, it would amoun t to over a thousand hours in t ime (figured on any wage scale, that's a lot of $$$) and another five hundred dollars (plus) in postage, envelopes and stationery. We are so rry we have not been able in the past to answer all of our readers' questions ...

But now, we have come up with a service whereby we can answer our individual readers ' questions. Starting in the fal l we will have a "Questions & Answers " feature in the MG with several well known Coaches, Gymnasts an d Officials se rving on an answering panel. All questions will be answered by one (or more) of the MG "Q & A" panel members with the most interesting being published in the MG and the others be sent directly to the subscriber. To start us off, Rusty Mitchell, Art Shurlock, Steve Johnson and Steve Hug have volunteered to be on th e panel with others joining our MG 'Q & A" Panel as we progress ... How does it work? . . You send in Your Question along with 25c in cash or sta mps (this will help cove r so me of the cost involved in postage and handling) to: MG "Questions & Answers," P.O. Box 777, Santa Monica, Calif. 90406. We wi ll in turn send it on to one of our "Q & A" Panel members who will in turn answer and return it to yo u. Please understand, these Panel members are volunteerin g th eir services to You, so please do not ask them to write a thesis (unless they just happen to have one handy), just expect a simple solution or suggestion to your problem from their knowledge and experience. :::

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College & University Data: Another new MG se rie s sta rting soon will be a listing of information f rom Colleges and Universities that have a Gymnastic program. Name and location of the school, Date Founded and a bit of History, Enrollment, Coach, Team Record, Alumni of Note, Student assistance availahle, housing , etc. watch for it. (And Coach, if you want to be su re you r school is listed get all data and pictures to us as soon as you can). :;:

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G Official Publication of the United States Gymnastic Federation

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New AA Feature: Gerald George (of "Second Look At Swing" Fame) will head up a team of experts with "Anyone For AIIAround " an instructional se ri es featuring each of the AA events in every MG edition. Join ing Jerry will be Don Tonry and Dan Millman with Jerry in structing on the HB & PB, Tonry covering SH & R and Millman in his own provocative way will stimulate you with LH & FX ideas. A great New AA happening in the MG.

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Adding It Up: With these new features along w ith our regular articles "J udging by Jerry," "USGF Report," "Gym nastics in P.E.," "Scoreboard," "Viewpoints" and many other Photo feature s and articles that will appear (space permitting) on an alternate basis, we feel we have a wonderful MG Gymnastic season lined up for you in th e fall. And be st of all we expect to be on schedule by then (and stay on schedule, with your help). So be su re you r subscription is up to date and stays there, because we wouldn't want you to miss one sing le exc itin g edition of the MG.

THE MODERN GYMNAST MAGAZINE

CONTENTS VOL. XI

JUNE-JULY 1969

NUMBER 6-7

NOTES FROM THE EDITOR ............. ..... Glenn Sundby 4 MG MADEMOISELLE ......... ... ....... ... ......... ... ..... 6 VIEWPOINTS ....... .... ... .... .... .... ..... ..... Dick Criley 6 CANADIAN REPORT .. __ .............. ........ John Nooney 7 FIRST ANNUAL WORLD CUP ........... .. ..... ....... ..... 8 MG INTERVIEW: Kenmotsu & Nakayama: Frank Endo 15 MG CENTER PHOTO .. . Kenmotsu .... ............... ... 16 1969 USGF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS : Frank Bare 18 1969 NATIONAL YMCA CHAMPIONSHIPS ..... . ..... ...... .. ..... ... .william Buffa 21 WHAT IS TALENT? ... .... ... ... .. .... ... .... Dan S. Millman 22 A SECOND LOOK AT SWING .......... Gerald S. George 23 INTERNATIONAL GYMNASTIC SYMPOSIUM .. ..... . ..... ... ...... ....... ..... .Richard M. Aronson 25 Judging by Jerry ..... ........ ... ..... ........ .. Jerry Wright 27 SUMMER GYMNASTICS' CAMPS & CLiNiCS ........ ..... 30

COVER , Nakayama, first World Cup M chomp, pictured in his glide-kip-s toop-thru-to-hi-V-sit, PB mount_Photo by Wilkenson

PUBLISHER - EDITOR GLENN SUNDBY

ASSOCIATE EDITORS -Technical KEN SAKODA, Design

ASSOCIATE EDITORS - Fe3ture A. Bruce Frederick , Education; Dr. James S. Bosco, Research; Dick eriley, Statistics; Jerry Wright, Competition; Frank L. Bare, USCF; John Nooney, Canada.

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THE MODERN GYMNAST MAGAZINE

CG

6

VIEWpoints fly Vi ck Criley

Following this year's NCAA competitions, solicited reactions concerning the competitions for the student newspapers of the top three schools and the University of Michiganwhich was the only school aside from Washington to have a reporter present. Of these, only Penn State's Daily Collegian and the Michigan Daily replied. The opinions expressed were, naturally, biased , but reflected intense interest in the problems of the sport. The opinions so cited do not necessarily reflect my own.

Andy Barbas, Executive Sports Editor for the Michigan Daily, editorialized upon discriminatory policies towards the Big Ten Conference: " . . . the fact that recent rules changes (within the pas t few years) have been so blatantly discriminatory towards the Big Ten Conference and Michigan in particular has done nothing towards improving the popularity of the sport here, in fact it has done much to hurt it. " Again, " How this inequality could come about is obvious when the composition of the NCAA Gymnastics Rules Committee is looked at. . .. It is in most of these committee members benefit to limit the number of Big Ten schools as much as possible." In his opinion one of the " more glaring error(s) in the sport, however, is the recent policy of the NCAA to have national qualifications by conference rather than regional meet. The result has been a gross underreprese ntation of Big Ten teams ."

MSU Coach George Szypula was quoted as saying, "I used to think that the N C AA 's were supposed to' be among the top teams in the country. After this past weekend, I see I was wrong."

What Mr. Barbas and the Big Ten coaches see as an an swer to the situation is a return to a regional system wherein the top two teams qualify. Mr. Barbas advocates this as more equitable than systems which give conference teams two chances (i.e., conference + regional) to qu alify while non-conference teams would get but one.

At this point I turned to Penn State's Sports Editor, Ron Kolb, whose interviews with Penn State gymnasts and coach Gene Wettstone led him to conclude that the judging, improved as it may have been, was biased against the Penn State team. Team captain Bob Emery was quoted as saying, " It seems that when you're from Penn State, you 're automatically a bad guy. Because of what we've won in the past everyone is down on Penn State. People have in their heads to knock us off." The Penn State sports writer also leveled an indirect blast at the-N C AA policy which allows conferences to determine whether freshman athletes may compete on the varsity level as he saw EI G L restrictions on using freshmen as a limiting factor in the future growth of the sport in the east.

(I should note here that several conferences including the AA WU , WAC, and Big Eight did place fre shmen into the N C AA Championships.

The controversy over the trampoline event , now a separate sport with a separate championship of its own , was joined with the observation by Barbas that this; too , was another political change directed at th e stronger midwest teams by weaker west and east coast teams. While Barbas hashed over the same arguments th at MG readers have read before, he did bring to bear the office of USG F Director Frank Bare who prophesized , " I have little hope for the survival of the event if it is not remade a gymnastics event. " Stressing the international potential of trampolining, Barbas concluded th at, " the Russians and Japanese would dominate the competition , with the

Americans te n years be hind th em in one more sport. " At thi s point , if the reader has not lost patience, he may well ask why I' ve c hosen to present a pair of biased viewpoints. I'd like to quote Penn State's Gene Wett stone : "Eve ry year there are more teams , better teams, better competitors than the year before. A lot has been accomplished, bu t a lot more has to be done."

When the influent ial st udent news papers with knowledgeab le spo rt swriters see fit to worry over the state of our sport. I think it meri ts a ttention. It see ms to me that a na tional airing of these controversies could be he lpful in att racting construct ive proposals from an informed audience. As with many problems of national importance, workab le so lutions will not come from closed door hearings but from open give-and-take involving all interested parties in the (gymnastic) commun ity.

CANADIAN

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REPORT ALBERTA REPORT (G. ELLIOT)

The National Scene An internation a l Junior competition in Canada on 4th, 5t h, 6th September aga in st U.S. , C uba and Mexico.

T he A.A . U. have a uthori zed the e.G.F. to issue it s own card with the provision that 50% goes to prov incial A. A. U. a nd 25 % to the e.G.A. ( Roll on next September w hen 100% goes to gymnastics') Winter Games in 1971 are to include fu ll junior ma le a nd fema le gymnastic teams. Both Calgary a nd Edmonton have strong bids in to host these champ ionships.

The e.G . F. is in the process of incorporating, and the target date for receiving the charter is Sept. 15 of thi s year. " If you fail , especiall y at the local junior a nd age group levels, Canada fai ls , no ma tter how much mone y the na tional tea m gets from the government," quote from the Honoura ble John e. Monroe a t a Canadian Amateur Sports Federation meeting.

The Provincial Scene Co ngratulation s to the U of A me n's gymnastic te am in winning the national intercollegiate c hampio nships aga in st so me very tough opposition from the East. Every team member contributed to the title proving that gym nasti cs can be a TEAM effort. Individu a l honours to Rick Danielso n, who was a ll -around champion for the second time. Don Meik le was third and Franc is Tall y fifth . D a rryl O ' Brien 10th, Paul Coope r 15th and H a rdy Schafe r 16th completed this good strong all-around team. The site of next year' s c hampions hips to be held early in March in Edmonton. Your executives hope to arra nge a n internatio na l judges course in conjunction w ith these championships.

You sho uld make an effort to read "Sports and Games in Canadian Life - 1700 to the Present" by Howell and Howell: it provides an excellent in sight into the past work ings of sports organizations in Canada.

GUEST EDITORIAL

by MRS. P. DUNN Women's Technical C hairman " Where d id they d ig up those judges?" " How can we ever expect to raise the gymnastic leve l with such poor judging?" " I hav e not been to one well-organized, well-

officiated meet thi s year!" " I am sick and tired of the leve l of judging a nd meet organization in this area' " We have a ll voiced the above fee lings at o ne time or a nother, a nd in many cases we have been ju sti fied . I n genera l the level of judging a nd mee t management in this province is not at par. Why? Because we , the coaches and officials, are too busy or too lazy to do a nything but complain. If we ex pect a strong organi zation with we ll -run meets and good judging, we , the sa me coaches a nd organ izers, mu st be willing to accept the responsibi liti es of helping each other.

When a meet is held , it shou ld be the re spo ns ibility of each team en tered to provid e two qua lified judges to ass ist the host c lu b. If thi s were don e , we would have th e a nswe rs to the qu es tion s above a nd a cure for the co mpla iners.

The advantages of thi s are as fo ll ows : I. Decrease the load of the meet organizer.

2. I ncre ase the efficie ncy of th e meet s.

3. Encourage more clubs , especially sma ller c lubs , to hold meets.

4. Expand the depth of present clu bs (encourage more pare nt s to active ly participate, encourage gy mn asts to be judges).

5. Expand the suppl y of judges availab le.

6. Encourage more judging clinics.

7. Ra ise the level of judging.

8. Strengthen the gym nast ic association as a whole.

Disadvantages : I . It wou ld require more effort than complain in g.

2. It wo uld take time .

As yo u can see it wou ld not be impossible to acco mpli s h th is step forward. It wou ld be eas ier to continue comp laining a nd crit iciz ing, but I hope we want to advance gy mnas tic s not reta rd it.

ALBERTA JUNIOR ANO SENIOR PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Junior Women - All Round L. Svatkova Calgary G. Club D. Mickleborough Edmonton Gym Club D. DeSutter Edmonton Gym Club Junior Men - All Round H. Schafer - Edmonton Gym Club W. Krehel - Calgary Gym Club B. Smith - Y.M.CA, Edmonton Senior Men - All Round R. Danielson - University of Alberta B. O'Brien - University of Alberta D. Maclure - University of Alberta (19 clubs and schools competed) CENTRAL ONTARIO CHAMPIONSHIPS KINGSTON , ONTARIO Junior All-Around (Camp. and Optionols) 6 Events 1. Dave Hunter - Tor Harmonie 2. Bruce Medd - Ottawo G.c.

3. Rusty Pierce - Ottawa G.c.

Intermediate (Optionals only) 1. Blasko Gabric - Hamilton Germania 2. Hartmut Fink - Hamilton Germania 3. Dieter Woerle - Homilton Germonia Senior All-Around (Opt. and Camp .) 6 Events 1. B. Brooker - Tor Harmonie 2. E. Bauer - Hamilton Germania 3. S. Mitruk - Hamilton Germania Meet Convener M. Art Vondette Royal Military College METRO TORONTO CHAMPIONSHIPS (Men) 1969 Junior All Around (Comp and Optionals) 6 Events Bruce Medd - Ottawa G. C. Dave Hunter - German Harmonie (Toronto) Rusty Pierce - Ottawa G. C. Intermediate (Optional only) All Around Blasko Gabric - Hamilton Germania Hartmut Fink - Hamilt on Germanic Dieter Woehrle - Hamilton Germania Sen ior All Around (Comp and Optiona l) Eberhart Bauer - Hamilton Germania Steve Mitruk - Hamilton Germania Barry Brooker - Toronto Harmonie ONTARIO CHAMPIONSHIPS PORT COLBORNE , ONTARIO (Men) Junior All Around (Comp and Optiona ls) 6 Events 1. Bruce Medd - Ottawa G.c.

2. Mike McKoy - Port Colborne H.S. 3. Dave Hunter - Toronto Harmonie Senior All Around (Camp and Optionals) 6 Events 1. Barry Brooker - East York G.c.

2. S. Mitruk - Hamilton Germania 3. D. Copeland - Hamilton Germania Meet Covener: Mr. Jim McPherson Port Colborne H.S.

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1969 WORLD CUP INVITATIONAL (Super 8 - in color) See the greatest routines ever executed in the U.S. at the 1st USGF World Cup Invitational Meet held in Long Beach, Calif. Champions like Cerar, Kenmotsu and Nakayama can be seen in semi-slow motion (24 fps) executing extremely difficult routines greater thon they performed at the Mexico Olympic Games.

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Kenmotsu tries the surf in Hawoii

Mr. Frank Bare United States Gymllastic Federa tion P.O. Box 4699 Tu cson, Arizona Dea r Frank: Th e HalVaiian Gymnastic Association lVould like to express its appreciation to th e USGF for providing th e opportunity fo r the Japan ese competitors in th e World C liP to stop over in Ollrs tate.

A Ithollgh lVe had bllt l 'h days' notice, lVe lI'ere ab le to ar/"(l1/ge fo r sight-seeing, R &R and 1V0rk-01lt opportunities for Ollr gues ts, Coach Hirofllmi Okamllra, Akinori Nakayama, Eizo K enmots ll alld Miss C hieko ada. all th e last el'ening of their stay th e Japan ese exhibited th eir !"Olltines and demonstrated basic skills fo r a croll'd of abollt 200 persons at the Central YMCA of H anoi11111.

I IV0uid like to ackll olVledl{e th e fo llolVingfor th eir assistance in making a s uccess of this visit: Th e Central YMCA of H onollllu , Mr. J ack Schaff and Mr. Chuck COllpe, IVhose cooperation and j(lcilities made it all possible; Mr. Ralph Arthllr for arrange ments to tOllr th e Capitol and to be introduced in both hOllses of 0 /11' stat e legislatllre; television stations KI K U alld KGMB fo r interviews and general pllblicity; th e H alVaiian Visitors Bllreau for arranging a tour of Pea rl Harb or; U ni versity of Hawaii A thletic Director Palll Durham for making available a video-ta pe machine and operator; U . of H. Sports Publicist Dick Fishback for neil's releases; Mr. Carl Haberland for competent assistance throllghollt th e week, and Un iversity of Ha waii gymnastic tea m fo r providing transportation, workouts, muscle pOlVer, recrea tion alld int ernational goodlVill.

We lVere also very jortunat e in ha ving mallY Japan ese-speaking Americans to help lVith problems of communica tion .

Ollr visitors retllrn ed to Japan lVith many express ions of pleasure over th e warm aloha spirit shown here in Hawaii. We here in Hawaii look forward to many return visits and pledge th e sa me warm reception to oth er members of the international gymnastic community. Mahala.'

Sincerely yours, Richard A. Criley (for) th e Ha waiian G ymnastic Assoc.

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Kenmotsu & Nakaya ma visit Santo Monico beach during their stay.

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l Ce ror accompanied by M,ss McDonnel and Miss Diac hun (Canada)

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Miss Oda (Japan) at Santo Monico Beach

The World Cup competitors and friends tour Disneyland.

FIRST ANNUAL

WORLD

CUP

The finest gy mnastics meet in th e hi story of the USA got und e r way a t the Long Beach Arena , in Cali forn ia on Apri l 26th of thi s year, with the ma rch-in ce re monies for the F irst World C up .

The United States has a lways nee ded a really big inte rnationa l eve nt invol ving the worlq's fin est gym nasts a nd providing our own promising youngsters with an opportunity to compete aga inst these international winners in an annua l basis on ou r home floor. This year we began the first of s uch a n a nnu al eve nt th at with the support of the F. I. G. (such as we had thi s yea r) in obtaining pa rticipation of the wo rld 's best gy mnasts promi ses to become a tremendou sly significant eve nt for the USA. Biggest na me in thi s year's event was Ak in ori Nakaya ma , winn er of three gold med als in Mex ico. H e won the all-around ha ndil y, a nd was followed c lose ly by hi s te a mmate , Eizo Ke nmot su. Miro sla v Ce ra, of Yu gos lav ia, was third: Ma uno Nissnenen of F inl an d was fourth and th e USA's Emery and Thor were fifth and s ixth . Young Steve Hug was lookin g so good in Friday's co mpet ition that he was aimed at a high positi on in the world compet iti on but he suffe red a c hipped bone on th e first eve nt mount a nd was out of th e meet. Bob Eme ry of Pen n State took Steve's place and worked we ll , particula rl y in view of the sudden nee d for hi s pelformance s.

THE WORLD CUP fe atured contestants from Ca nada , Yugos lav ia, F inl a nd , J a pan and the U .S. A. N ex t year we hope to invite the to$ two Ru ssian gy mna sts - one ma n a nd one woma n - a nd the top Czec h woman as wel l. It is now up to th e U.S.G.F. to promote thi s event into what Ame ri ca has needed for a good ma ny years, and we promise yo u every atte mpt to ma ke it th e even t it should be. N aturall y, we need the help of all the gy mnas ti cs people in th e U.S.A .

This eve nt , cove red by TV a nd involving th e nation 'S mo st promi sing gy mn as ts, such as thi s year's meet, will provide us with th e finest opportunity we've eve r had to improve our interna tiona l image.

I n th e wome n's meet , as an example , youthfu l Cath y Rigby fini shed first , edging o ut J a pan 's ODA , and then in third wi th a st rong performance for the second stra ight day was Joyce Tanac. Yu gos lav ia's S lejpich was fourth and Canada's Diachun a nd McDonnel were fifth and sixth . T he meet was a great event, a nd provi ded for the Americans and Ca nadi a ns invo lved a cha nce to meet Ja pan 's fine st and Yugoslavia's finest pe rforme r here in North America.

Next year we hope to invite the top two Ru ssia a nd Czechoslovakia, we wi ll see th e Ameri cans participating with the world 's champions ... and aga in we look for our girls to do very we ll.

The World Cup, an idea env isioned some years ago by G lenn Sundby , is now a reality with the first competition hi sto ry. Now , with so me real effort , the USA can continue to host a truly internationa l eve nt annua ll y.

Akinori Nakayama, Japan tokes Worl d Cup AA titl e.

First Annual World Cup AA Placings , 1. Na kayama, Japan; 2. Kenmot su, Japan; 3. Cerar, Yugoslavia; 4. Nissenen, Finland; 5. Bob Emery, U.S.A.; 6. Dove Thor, U.S.A. (Mr. Ikamuro, Japanese competitors manager shown in front).

9

Nakayama, FX 9.55

Nakayama, R 9.40

Nakayama, LHV 9.4 5

10

Nakayama, SH 9. 50

Kenmotsu, FX 9.60

Photo by Gary Billington

Kenmotsu, HB 9.60

Kenmotsu, SH 9.30

Kenmotsu, R 9.45

11

(era r, FX 9.16

(erar, HB 9.50 12

(erar, SH 9.20

Photo by Gary Billington

(eror, PB 9.25

Photo by Gary Billington

Emery, R 9.15

Photo by Gory Billington

Emery, PB 8.75

Photo by Gory Billington

13

1!IE3ImI3EDBEI 1. AK INOR I NAKAYAMA

955

9.65

9.40

9.45

980

9.50

57.35

9.60

965

9.45

9.35

9.60

930

56.95

9.10

9.25

8.95

9.05

9.50

9.20

55.05

8.85

9.30

8.80

9.05

9.20

8.75

53.95

8.70

8.75

9.15

9.15

9.00

8.60

53.35

8.80

7. 15

8. 10

9.05

9.25

9.30

51.65

JAPAN

2. EIZO KENMOTSU JAPAN

3. MIROSLAV CERAR YUGOSLAVIA

4. MA UND NISSENEN FINLAND

5. BOB EMERY U.S.A.

6. DAVE THOR U.S.A.

14

Mitchell, Bore and Su nd by

Kenmotsu &Nakayama

)

This interview was made by Mr. Frank Endo IIpon th e arriva l of th e J apanese delegation to the fi rst USC F World Cup In vitational Meet. Mr. Himflllni Okamura , who officiated at this meet , accompa nied K enmo tsu, Nakayama and one girl fo r th e com petition.

Name: Eizo Kenmotsu Age : 21 HI.: 5'路4" Wt. : 137 Ibs. Honors: Second AA All -Japan in 1968; fourth AA 1968 Mexico Olympic Games.

Name: Akinori Nakayama Age : 26 Ht.: 5'-5" Wt. : 130 Ibs. Honors: First AA All -Japan in 1968; third AA 1968 Mexico Olympic Games. Won four Gold Medals.

Endo: On behalf of the USGF, I would like to welcome you and your gymnasts to the first World Cup Invitational Meet here in Long Beach. Will it be possible for me to interview Kenmotsu and Nakayama?

of an average gymnast. But during my thi rd yea r in high school at the age of l 7, I placed firs t at the National Sports Festival.

Endo: What is the highest honor in gymnastics that you have ever attained?

Kenmotsu: La st year I won the National Collegia te Champions hips just prior to the Olympic Games, of which I was a member.

Endo: How many hours do you practice a day?

Kenmotsu: Two to three hours a day and six days a week.

Endo : 00 you smoke?

Kenmotsu: Yes, I smoke about two packs every three days. Most of the gymnast s smoke about the same.

Endo : How about you , Nakayama? 00 you smoke or drink?

Nakayama: I don't smoke ..

Endo: What is your present occupation?

OJ<amura: Yes, please da.

Nakayama: I am presently a gymnasti c instructor at the Chukyo University in Nagoya City.

Endo : Is this your first trip to the states?

Endo: When do you have time to work out?

Okamura: As far myself this is the first time. Hawever, the gymnasts have been in LA prior to the Mexica Olympic Games for several days for conditioning. Thi s is Nokoyamo's third t ri p.

Naka yama: I work out after school for abo ut two hours eac h day, SIX days a week and rest on Sunday.

Endo : Although you have just arrived, do you like Long Beach?

Nakaya ma : Ouring my secon d year in ju nior high school I saw an exhibition by the great Takemoto.

I really admired him.

Okamura: Upon my arrival I was impressed with the beouty of the LA Internotional Airport and your f reeways. Our freewa ys in Japon are on ly one-holf the width of you r freeways.

Endo: In the past I have noted that the Japanese offi cials are well versed with the FIG rules. Why is this?

Okam ura: Since t he Japanese are presently the best gymnasts in the world, it is very important that we keep ahead of th e sport. We have a gymnastic research magazine that is published four times a year and written by our t op au thorities. Thi s magazine keeps me astride with new rules, regulations and techniques. I am also an officia l of the Japan Gymnastic Association.

Endo: How many professional gymnastic coaches do you believe are in Japan?

Okamura: There are no professional coaches specia lizing in gymnastics. We have many professional instructor s tha t teach gymnastics and other spo rts .

Howeve r, th ose who have gymnastic t eams coach without pay.

Endo: Kenmotsu, what is your occupation?

Kenmotsu: I am presently attending the University of Physical Educa ti on in Tokyo. I will be graduatin g in Aprill 970.

Endo: When did you get interested in gymnastics?

Kenmotsu: I first competed in high school but was

Kenmotsu, Endo and Nakayama

Endo : How did you become interested in gymnastics?

Endo : Are you on a diet during your tra ining?

Nakayama : I do not have a diet. I eat pra ctica lly anything.

Endo: Have you ever been injured? ~a kayama: Yes, I have. I cut my Achilles tendon during th e free exercise when I was a freshman in college. I was 1B years of age. Thi s was my on ly bad experience.

Endo : What is your most favorite event?

Nakayamo : I ha ve always loved the hori zontal bar, and I st ill do.

Endo : I have recently n~ted that the Japanese gymnasts are wearing their handgrips extending from the middle of the fingers (halfway down the fingers ). What is ~he purpose of this?

Nakayama: Just about the time of the Tokyo Olympic Games the Japa nese have gradua lly learned t o wear their grips in th is fashion as it gives better control and exec ution.

Endo : Since you are the Olympic champion on the horizontal bar, what kind of care do you give your hands?

Naka yama: I cut off the heavy part of the callouses daily with a razor blade. When they are sore, I dip them in war.m water and even wear gloves to bed to keep my hand s soft. I use cream to keep my hands soft. I try to keep my honds in exce llent con-

dition at all times .

Endo : How about you , Kenmotsu?

Kenmotsu: I also cut my callouses with a razor blade whenever they build up. I smooth down the surface of the skin with a pumice stone so that there wi ll be no rough or sharp spot s.

Endo : How do you practice hazardous moves?

Nakayama: We use the safety foam mat like you have in America. My friends and st udent s would spot.

Endo : How did you learn to do the side split stretch?

Nakayama: It t ook me a co uple of months. After warming up I had another pe rson push ing down on my shoulders while stretched out on th e floor so that I could reach my toes. I also find that after a hot bath the muscles are loose, and thi s same stretch exe rcise would help.

Endo : There are many Americans that do the Yama shita vault-piking immediately after the takeoff and throughout the entire vault. However, there are others who execute the vault starting with a straight body, then pike and extend after the hands touch the horse.

What is your opinion of the two vaults?

Nakayama: The first vault menti oned is the old way th e Japanese fi rst learned thi s va ult. Th e better style of vau lting is the latter and is performed by the better gymnasts of today.

Endo : What do you do in preparation prior to a meet?

Nakayama : My training will be more st renuous than normal. I wou ld wo rk ou t three to four hours daily. I have a set pattern 'starting my warmup with cal isth enics and tumbling. Th en I proceed into the six Olympic even t s as foll ows: F.X., S. H., Rings, PB., H.B. & L.H.

Endo: How many meets do you enter a year?

Nakayama : 1. NH K (Japa n Broadcasting Corp.); 2.

National Sports Festival ; 3. Interna tional, World or Olympic tryouts; 4. All -Japan.

Endo: Do you find that due to the lack of your height you lose the flare and beauty that of a taller gymnast?

Nakayama: I definitely feel that we are at a disadvan tage. A taller gymnast looks much better doing th e same moves. A shorter gymnast must extend more and exert more effort to look like the taller gymna st. For thi s rea son, the Japanese must train harder.

Endo:. How much longer do you plan to continue competing?

Nakayama : Thi s is a very difficult question. I will dedicate my life to gymnastics as an instructor but will feel my way as the future is uncertain.

Endo: Do you have a hobby?

Nakayama: Yes, I like fishing very much. When I have ti me, I go ta the river near the school to fi sh.

Nakayama, Oda, Kenmotsu

1969 USGF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Report by FRAN K BARE , USG F Executive Director

USGF All-Around winners, (rt to It) 1. Steve Hug, 2. Bob Emery, 3. Dave Thor, 4.' Rich Grig sby, S. John Elia s, 6. George Greenfield, 6. Fred Dennis

The CHAMPIONSHIPS OF THE USA got under way as a one-day , All-Around and Optionals only event this year in the beautiful Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, California, on April 25, 1969. All tuld, 32 women and 28 men entered the meet and , considering that the allaround form at eliminates a good many American gymnasts , this is an amazing total. Many of us recall that in 1964, when the men 's team was being selected for the Tokyo Olympics , there were scarcely more than 10 to choose from in the trials. Now , in 1969, to see 28 men in the all-around event , means our Olympic image is destined to improve. The women , as proven in Mexico City , are somewhat ahead of the men along the road to Olympic development and they are ),,)unger and seem to work hard, if not harder. than their counterparts.

Young Steve Hug, great young gymnast from Los Angeles (Chatsworth High School) won the all-around quite handily and edged Bob Emery of Penn State University by just under . one full point. Dave Thor was holding up well until he had a disas\rous performance on the parallel bars (one of Dave's better events) and scored a 7.65. He held on to finish third. The scores for this meet are shown in this issue.

Take a look at the names and you will see those of the finest nen and women gymnasts and the 1972 Olympi..; Team candidates.

Joyce Tanac, of Seattle, Washington, won the women 's all-around title to become national champion. She looked great and only scored under 9.0 in the Balance Beam. Janet Boyd, a Seattle teammate, was second and Lorna Woodard was third, with Olympian Wendy Cluff of the SCATS in fourth. Much has to be said for the Seattle YMCA Team and their great coach .. . they looked good and appeared to be trained for competition. George Lewis has a fine squad of girls.

After the Friday meet, in two sessions, the officials present called a World 's Games Compulsory clinic for Saturday morning and it was very well attended. I ndividuals present offered their interpretations of the routines for Lubjlana next Fall and discussions and training hints followed. It was gratifying again to see the interest on the part of the you ngsters present in learning the routines. Naturally, with all the entries being all-around performers they were interested in international routines.

The seventh annual national championships closed with a feeling that the all-around meet is the only way to go. The USGF is pleased to have pioneered a style of meet for international gymnasts and even . more we appreciate the pleasant feelings displayed by all present coaches , officials and gymnasts - all of whom contributed to an excellent Championships of the USA. 18

Steve Hug, 1969 USGF National All-Around Champ

John Ellos, 9.05 High Bar

Rich Grigsby, B.70 P. Bars

19

.

Jomes Betters

20

NAME

FI.Ex.

P路Bars

Rings

Vaulting

HB

SH

All -Around

Place

STEVE HUG BOI> EMERY DAVE THOR RICHARD GRIGSBY JOHN ELLAS G. GREENFIELD FRED DENNIS 808 DICKSON KANOTI ALLEN PAUL TICKENOFF JIM AMER INE DAVE BUTZMAN RICHARD TUCKER BRENT SIMMONS JAMES CULHANE MIKE FLANSAAS RICHARD LLOYD RON BAR ETTA CRAIG RITTER LARRY BASSIST MI KE KIMBALL DICK SIMMONS ['AN CONNEL LY MAX MAGDALENO DAN GARC IA JAMES BETT ERS PAT DAVEY DON FERRE SEYMOUR RIFKIND MARTY CA LING RANDY MARTIN DENNIS SULLIVAN

9.10 8.70 9.10 8.55 8.50 8.90 8.50 8.65 8.95 8.90 8.10 8.15 8.75 8.35 8.15 7.90 8.70 8.65 8.70 8.80 8.35 8.65路 7.95 8 .25 8 .85 8 .55 7.75 8.45 7.90 8.60 8.45 8.00

9.30 9.25 7.65 8.70 9.00 8.85 8.75 8.80 8.70 8.95 8.80 8.60 8.25 9.00 8.35 8.35 7.20 8.05 7.65 8.15 8.55 7.85 8.85 8.80 8.35 8.30 7.60 7.65 8.40 8.15 7.60 5.50

8.65 9.15 8.45 8.40 8.45 8 .1 5 9 .1 5 8.90 6.75 8.35 8.45 8.45 8.20 8.80 8.20 8.40 8.20 8.30 7.60 6.75 8.60 7.10 7.85 8.30 8.75 8.70 8.20 6.75 7.90 6.25 7.50 8.30

9.10 8.90 9.05 8.80 8.40 8.90 8.20 8.90 8.30 9.30 8.50' 9.20 8.60 8.55 8.60 8.40 8 .55 6.30 8.55 9.15 8.00 8.95 7.90 8.95 8.70 7.30 8.30 8.70 7.35 6.90 8.65 8.45

9.20 8.95 8.75 9.40 9.05 9.00 8.95 9.00 9.35 8.80 8.50 8. 10 8.55 8.90 8.90 8.55 7.45 8.60 7.25 8.55 8.25 8.20 8.50 8.40 8.45 8.55 8.00 8.80 7.40 8.20 5.30 7.80

9.25 8.80 9.40 8.45 8.85 8.1 5 8.40 7.30 8.95 5.55 7.50 7.25 7.05 5.70 6.60 6.95 8.45 8.30 8.45 6.60 6.20 6.80 6.35 4.55 4.00 4.50 5.50 4.75 5.85 5.65 6.20 4.70

54.60 53.75 52.40 52.30 52.25 51.95 51.95 51.55 51.00 49.85 49.85 49.75 49.40 49.30 48.80 48.55 48.55 48.20 48.20 48 .00 47.95 47 .55 47.40 47 .25 47.10 45 .90 45 .35 45.10 44.80 43.75 43 .70 42.75

1 2 3 4

5 6 6 7 8 9 9 10 11 12 13 14 14 15 15 16 17 18 19 :10 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

AII路Around

THE 1969 NATIONAL YMCA GYMNASTIC CHAMPIONSHIPS April 11 - 12 New Orleans, Louisiana

by WILLIAM BUFFA C hairman.

N ation al YM CA Gymna's tic Commi ttee " It was a great meet.. .. an except iona ll y fine program in a ll respects ... a model ex a mple of YM CA Physica l Education and competitive sports at their best.. .. beautiful ly conducted."

Such are the praises rece ived abo ut the 1969 National YMCA Gymnastic C hampionships held in New Orleans las t Apri l I I- 12th. Respons ible for 'turning out ' this fine event is Mr. Phil Wortman , Ph ys ical Director of the Lee Circle Branch YM CA , under whose constant expert organization and guidance the C ham pi onships were conducted. Th a nks also to Mr. Wortman for some of t he fo ll owing observation s.

Gymnast s travelled to New Orl e an s from as far as Seattle and New York C it y to meet again in friendly compe tition in a championship which is as much fun as it is serious.

The judging, under th e capab le supervisio n of Frank Comiskey a nd Vannie Edwards, was exceptionall y good . A huge eight by forty eight foot score-board separated the competitive a rea from the warm-up area and permitted pa rti c ipants a nd spectators to obtain up-tothe-minute results at all times during the competition. I n each of the longer events , contestants competed in groups of ten with each group being a ll owed a three-minute warm-up on the competition apparatus. Durin g the Finals an Old New Orleans " Dixiela nd " band played during the warm- up s. Palm trees , " welcome" signs , a hospitality area with free coffee and cokes for particpants , awards presented by young ladies in formal Old South gowns and young men in summer tu xedos , a ll contributed to the friendly a nd coo perati ve

atmosphere characteri stIC of our "Y" Gymnast ic Nationals and made it one long to be remembered.

In the summary of the results which fo llow the Finals scores have been adjusted to reflect the results in accordance with proper scoring procedure , which ca ll s for the fina l optional exercise sco re to be added to the average of the qualifying (compu lsory and semifina l optional) score s.

The Men's Championships Th e cali ber of wo rk in the men 's event s showed considerab le improvement over last year, but the number of entrants decl ined again.

New Orleans , Louisiana won the Men's National Team Championship led by th e fine performances of Bruce McGartlin whose well styled routines a lso won him first place in the Free Exercise. It was a welcome sight to see Marc Cohn agai n , competing All-Around only , as he displayed excellent co ntrol a nd execution in his routines. winning the A ll -Aro und title , and leading hi s Germantown, Pennsylvania team- mates to a c lose second pl ace in the team leading hi s Germantown , Pennsy lvania team-mates to a c lose secon d place in the team standings. Gary Anderson displayed excellent consistency of performance to lead his Westchester, Pennsylvania team to a third place in te a m standings while winning him se lf three National YMCA titles , and , coming in no less tha n third a ny event.

The 1969 Na tio na l YMCA Gymna stics C ha mpio ns hip s for Men - Resu lts: Team Re su lts New Orleans, Louisiana Germantown, Penna.

Westchester, Penna.

Baton Rouge, Louisiano Dayton, Ohio AII路Around M. Cohn, Germantown, Po. G. Anderson, Westchester, Po. B. McGartlin, New Orleans, La .

N. Alise, Wes tchester, Po. R. Russell, New Orleans, La.

309.15 301.45 255.05 144.20 129.50 107.10 100.90 96.35 88.65 87. 15

J Williams, Westchester, Po. Long Hilse D. Jacobs, Queens c., NYC J Wang , New Orleans, La .

G. Anderson, Westchester, Po. N. Alise, Westchester, Po. R. Russell, New Orleans, La .

B. McGartlin, New Orleans La. Parallel Bars G. Anderson, Westchester, Po. C. Ashley, Baton Rouge, La. B. McGartlin, New Orleans, La. K. Foetor, Germantown, Po. R. Russell, New Orleans, La. J Betol, Germantown, Po. Free Exercise B. McGartlin, New Orleans, La .

G. Anderson, Westc hester, Po. T. Jaeger, New Orleans, La .

D. Jacobs, Queens C. NYC K. Foetor, Germantown, Po. R. Rickli , Columbia, Mo. Tumbling T. Jaeger, New Orleans, La. J Wong, New Orleans, La. M. Hill, Germantown, Po. Side Horse G. Anderson, Westchester, Po. M. Hill, Germantown, Po .

R. Olds, Westside NYC C. Ashley, Boton Rouge, Lo. N. Alise, Westchester, Po. R. Russell , New Orleon s, La. Rings J Zimmerman, Dayton, Ohio G. Anderson, Westchester, Po. S. Radosta, New Orleons, La. J Betal, Germantown, Po. N. Alise, Westchester, Po .

B. McGartlin, New Orlean s, La .

Horizontal Bar G. Anderson, Westchester, Po. B. McGartlin, New Orleans, La .

L Blitzstein, Germantown, Po. M. Hill, Germant own , Po .

R. Russell, New Orleans, La. N. Alise, Westchester, Po .

Rebound Tumbling W. Copp, Cleveland, Ohio D. Eby, Dayton, Ohio R. Hauhart, SI. Loui s, Mo.

81.00 17.900T 17.900T 17.650 17.575 17.400 17.375 18.150 17.675 17.525 16.650 16.200 15.025 18.025 17.400 17.050 16.850 16.400 16.200 7.90 7.75 6.90 16.300 15.850 15.100 15.075 14.675 14.075 17.400 17.050 16.300 16.200 15,800 7.875 15.950 15.475 12.450 11.700 11.675 11.27.5 7.75 7.05 6.90

21

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WHAT IS TALENT?

By D AN S. M ILL MAN Gy ml/astic Coach, Stal/ford The concept of " ta lent " is of great conce rn to a ll gymnasts a nd coac hes . Natura ll y, in thi s co nt ex t we a re talking a bout gy mnas ti cs' a lla round talent.

There are three prima ry reaso ns why talent is a n import an t to pic for di scuss io n : I. I hope to show tha t for th e most part , ta lent is del'eloped mu c h more th a n inborn.

2. U nd e rsta ndin g ta lent can he lp coaches utili ze a more va lid cri teri a in recruiting th a n tri c ks lea rn ed a nd past scores.

3. U nd e rsta nding talent can act ua ll y enable o ne to predict with unu s ua l acc uracy who will be the top gym na sts from a give n popu la tion in a ce rta in tim e peri od.

Everyo ne is ta le nted . Some gymnasts po ssess more " ta lent " th an ot hers.

Wh a t we ca ll ta le nt is ac tua ll y a cong lome ra te of a number of s pec ific s kills whi c h can , to a grea t ex tent, be developed.

Genera ll y li sted , the a ttri butes whi c h路 make up ta len t a re as fo ll ows: I. "Tale nted " attitude a nd personality characteristics a. Hi ghl y moti va ted b. Se lf-confi dent in gy mn as ti cs c. Stubborn, de termined , spirited 2. IlII ellige nce a. I n thi s case mea ning th e abili ty to profit from expe rience .

3. Flex ibility in a ll joint s a nd te nd o ns 4. Strength: no t binding or ge nera lized po we r but spec ific to gym nas ti cs mo ve me nt s.

5. K iI/ es th etic fee/.' "air-minded ness" 6. Fast reflexes: ex plo sive. dy na mi c moveme nt - ab ilit y to move from o ne posi ti o n to a nother rapid ly.

7. The las t att ri bute is in bo rn: Bod y ty pe ge ne rall y. a s ma ll , li ght mesa mo rphi c (mu sc ula r) build is important.

A gy mn as tics coac h is especiall y import an t in deve lo pin g ta le nt ea rl y in a yo ung gy mn as t's life because th e gym nas t' s fin a l po te nti a l, o r ce ilin g, is de pe ndent o n hi s ea rl y ph ys ica l tra in ing ha bits a nd bas ic mec ha nics work. I f he becomes too mu sc le-bo und ear ly o r if he learns th e fund a me nt a ls incorrectl y, he will be forced to co mpen sa te a nd wi ll have problems lea rning more ad va nced wo rk .

Many a coac h a nd gym nas t has bee n fr us trated beca use th e gy mn as t ca nn o t do a co rre ct ha nd sta nd , no ma tt er how ha rd he tri es because stiff, mu sc le-bo und s ho ulders do n't a llow for proper bod y lin e. A no th e r exa mpl e is th e gy mnas t who has troubl e lea rning virtu a ll y 22

eve ry movement through a hand sta nd posi tion is in a ll " felge " (fe l-ga) moveme nt s s uc h as (in c lu d in g roundoffs . giant s o n hi gh ba r, back stre illi , shoot hand. fl yaway from hi gh bar, ha nd s prings. front ha ndsprings, etc.) because e tc.: w he n a qui c k " pop " is necessa ry. he neve r lea rn ed a correct ha nd stand . ** A fl ex ibilit y c irc uit is in c lu ded a t th e co nc lu sio n of thi s a rti c le. A dd exerc ises of your ow n The first reason for disc uss ing ta le nt is to to th e basic o nes. Reme mber, every day' s how th at it is deve loped: to give hope to yo ung gy mn as ts who may not be doing much trickIn recruiting , it wo uld be we ll fo r coac hes to check a boy ' s fle x ibilit y, stre ngth , kines th e tic wise o r score- wise: to give them a direction in fee l, reflexes and determin e hi s a ttitud e in add ith e ir trai nin g.

ATTITUDE: ti o n to just lookin g a t ro utin es. I n thi s way the coac h ca n often pi ck out a " ge m in th e ro ugh "; Gy mn as ti cs is deve lope d by att itude , a nd a tti a lad who hasn ' t do ne much ye t (pe rh aps betude is developed by gy mn as tics. The best gymca use of a late start) but who has a ll the co mnasts have a n ope n mind a nd a re w illing to ponents of a ta le nt ed a thl e te. li sten to coac h's advice and give it a try. Good If we ra te a li st of gy mna sts o n a 0- 10 sca le gy mna sts don't give up . eve r. They work o n eac h of th e " qu a liti es of ta le nt ," perh a ps through di sco urage ment (e ve n tho ugh a ll get with app ropri a te we ighing of th e factors a nd di sco uraged). The y a re aggressive with the use of a compu te r. it may be poss ible di sco urage d). They a re aggressil'e indiv idu a ls. to accurate ly predict th e o utcome of seve ra l T hey remembe r to e nj oy the s port. yea rs' train ing on different indi vidu als. This Pe ri odi ca ll y, ask yo urse lf, "S hou ld I be in gy mw rit er has a ttempted th is in the past, predicting nastic s? Wh y?" If yo u cannot answe r th e questh e o ut come of th e U.S. O lympic Team's indi ti o n. quit rat her than do a medi ocre job. If you vid ual orde rs and was very accurate. (Thi s was do fin d your goa ls , co ntinue eve n ha rde r wit h do ne before th e final tria ls). Steve Hug, in cinew ly found mo ti va ti o n. den tall y, placed top o n th e li st, eve n thou gh he As k yo urse lf, "A m I rea ll y li sten in g to my was e ig hth in th e tri a ls a t UC LA . coac h ?"

It should be ment ioned here that a coac h can Reme mber th a t a ll gym nas ti cs exce llen ce in c rease a pe lformer's talent tremendo us ly . s te ms from wal/ting to be great! Th e n comes an d should work on hi s ta le nt first befo re pushthe wo rk . ing the gym nas t towards ad vanced tri c ks or INT E LLIGE NCE : routines.

Means not maki ng the sa me mi stakes more Often the freshm a n yea r, whe n th e re is n't tha n o nce. For examp le, if yo u " blow yo ur quite the competition pressure can be used as a coo l" in o ne meet , fo rget your ro utin e because yea r fo r "b uilding ta lent " (attitude , fl ex ibilit y, of one break , don 't le t it ha ppe n again. Don 't st re ngth , kinest heti c fee l, refl exes) , so th a t throwaway points in two me ets for th e sa me la ter, hi s talel/ ted gy mn as t can pi ck up tricks reaso n. qu ick ly a nd perform . co ns is ten t, mec ha ni ca ll y I nt e lli ge nc e also means tryi ng to a nalyze your co rrect rout ines. movements and figure o ut ho w yo u can do them There is no exc use for pu shing a gy mn as t better: constant ly stri ving for impro ved me too far too soo n for tea m glory, sc hoo l glo ry or chan ics a nd clea n a ppea rance . a nyo ne's glory. I f a gy mn ast is inco ns iste nt , FLEX IBILITY : blows ro utin es, or a ppea rs to have da nge rou s ly This is the first a nd perhaps the mo st impo rta nt weak mechanics, o r if he s impl y lea rn s s lowl y, of th e physica l aspec ts of a talented gy mnast. he needs wo rk on vario us facet s of his ta len t It o nl y takes o ne year (inc ludin g the s ummer) before co ntinuing. of ha rd dail y flexibi li ty wo rk o ut s to become Fo r the gy mn as t th e message is c lear. If he fl ex ibl e. Every moveme nt will then be eas ier wa nt s to be a n a rti st, he can by first deve lop ing a nd is likel y to be mecha nic a ll y s upe ri or"" hi s ta le nt. It ma y see m li ke the long way aro und , STRENGTH: but it 's a short c ut to exce ll e l' ce.

I n gy mnasti cs, th e re a re not a grea t ma ny power mo ve ment s required. (No specific FLEXIBILITY CIRCUIT stre ngt h mo ve me nt is required in free exercise, FOR GYMNASTICS me rely "stre ngth parts. " On the rings a handThe purpose of the circui t is to increase suppleness of stand is required exec ut ed with strength. O n the muscles and tendons throughout the body in many differ路 parallel bars, one stre ngth part is required.) ent ranges of motian.

Flexibility increases muscle tone, helps ci rcula tion, miniOther th a n the require ments , th e gy mn as t needs mizes pulli ng or teo ring t ype injuries and enable the gym路 no s pec ial strengt h o th e r th a n the abilit y to supnost to leorn more rapidly ond wit h correct technique. port hi s body weight in a variety of support a nd - The Circuit ha nging movement s. Thi s does n' t take a mu s1. Worm up by runnin g (in place O.K.); as long as perc le man. It is beneficial , however, to have mo re spiring ond pant ing. th a n minimum strength so th at yo u may " save" 2. Move head in lorge ci rcles five t imes eoch direction. yo urse lf if yo u are off balance and need power 3. Move shoulders up ond down five times, forward and backward five times, and in big, slow circles, 1 5 time s eoch to pull back. direction. (Relax the arms, jus t use shoulder muscles O ne key in effec ti ve stre ngth is th e ab ilit y to one of th e "secrets" of effect ive movement is to selecti ght e n on ly th ose mu sc les needed fo r eac h ti vely tighten some muscles and relax others.) move ment. For exa mple , we have had a ll see n 4. Circle enti re orms quickly, shoke them loose. (By ne rvou s gy mn as ts mi ss a pre ss ha nd sta nd now you should reolize thot we are bui lding muscles as a ppare ntl y, th ey didn 't have the strength to well as st retching.) pu sh up , but actua ll y t hey we re ten sing the 5. Hold parollel bars in regulor and rever se grip with wro ng mu sc les as we ll as the co rrec t ones, reeach exercise, in loco te and dislocote - hong from ba rs in in locate position - face bors wi th regular grip, and drop s ultin g in a sta ndoff l We have a lso see n gy mchest ond heod so honds through shoulders, th rough hi ps nas t w ith a " tig ht " sw ing on para ll e l bars form s a stroig ht line. he is ti g ht e ning a ll hi s up pe r body mu sc les whe n 6. Stonding up with orms stretched stroig ht over the he o nl y needs to co ntrac t th e de lt oids an d the heod, bend forword at woist with back slig htly arched, tri ceps (prima ril y). ond see how fo r forword you con bend (keep orms in I n summary , get strong by perfo rmin g gym nasstroight line with body I). Now drop arms ond toto lly relax ti cs , no t work in g o ut sid e weight exerc ises ex(keeping knees stroi ght !) - ob ject, to touch elbows to the ground. cept for minim a l suppl e me nt a ry exe rcises.

7. Stonding stroi ght with or ms overh ead, bend sideKIN ESTHETI C FEEL: w oys fi ve times eoch woy.

A ny gy mn as t wi ll know whe re he is in th e a ir 8. Standing stroight with orms overheod, bend bock路 w he n he has so me rsa ult ed a nd "go tt e n los t" wards as far as possible. about 10 ,000 times ... so ge t sta rt ed .

9. Lying on bock, try to touch knees on ground on either side of heod. (Roll back ond forth, to sitting position, knees FAST R EFLEXES: bock on floor, etc.)

Ofte n, th e effecti ve ness of a move depends 10. From position 9, stroi ghten legs and try ond keep up o n th e spee d of th e co mpon e nt movements. toes on ground behind head (wit h leg s stroi ght!). (Grob When ca ll ed for , th e gy mn as t should be ab le to legs stroight) ... it only toes ond pull towords heod hu rts for 0 week or so. c ha nge from one body pos iti on to a no th e r in a frac tion of a seco nd . A ge neral examp le of thi s Continued on page 29

m ore vivid p rese nt a ti on of thc Stoop- In Ci rc le S hoot ca n be real ized . The omiJled illust rations. in add itio n to Illu s trations E-F. a re ide nt ica l to the res pecti ve i1lu slra tl o ns d ep ic ted in th e Bas ic U nd e rgrip G ian t Swing (A ug.-Se pt. iss ue of '68 MG). Hen ce. the mec hanics and tec hniqu es re lati ve to eac h s kill a re thu s fa r o ne a nd the sa me .

Th e pote ntial force of the a rc hed body positio n appare nl in Illu s trat ion F is relea se d in o rd e r to facil itate the upwa rd ci rcul ar swi ng. The gymnast mu st imme-

A SECOND LOOK AT SWING © By (fflrald S. George Varsity Gymnastic Ooach Louisiana State University

Everybod y lik es to swi ng . . . a nd tho se who engage in compet iti o n love it ... ye t tho se who border the lun a ti c fringe of exac ting exec uti o n li ve it a nd th a t's th e simpl e truth. In thi s light. I invit e yo u to e nt ertai n a c ha mpion among hori zo ntal bar skill s. th e stoo p-in.

An int e res ting observation ca n be found in the fact th at Illu stra tio ns A throug h L a re identical in mec ha nic s and tec hnique to the U nd e rgriD Stalder (J a n. iss ue of ' 69 MG). This strict mec hani ca l relations hip mere ly points out th a t accurate lea rning a nd int e rpret a ti o n of a ny one given sk ill implies . a t leas t, a partia l lea rning of a ny a nd all tec hni ca ll y similar s kill s. It wo uld be we ll to re me mber th at "co nsistency " is th e mo th e r of c ha mpi o ns.

The de li ca te timin g of the mul e-k ick ac tion se rves to position th e body mass as far as is anatomica ll y possible away from the bar. Thi s action , toget he r wi th t he forceful " fo lding- in " of the hip a ngle, w ill trul y bury th e bod y a t th e bottom of th e sw ing. o nl y to ri se agai n w ith the awesom~ reply of th e vic tor's c ha nt, ' 'I'm num ber one. .

A lth o ugh thi s sk ill ca ll s for ci rc ling abo ut the ba r with a tot a ll y decrea sed hip a ngle. th e legtrunk unit does not. in any degree , turn about the ho ri zo nt al-ve rtica l ax is. The forceful back dow nwa rd pu s h of the a rm s aga in st the bar not on ly stab ili zes th e leg- trun k unit in thi s res pec t , but a lso it insure s a tt a inm e nt of th e I nloca ted Ha nd sta nd Pos iti o n. From the bottom of the sw ing. it' s s impl y a matte r of "th rowing th e bar, with o ut ac tu all y relea s ing on e 's ha ndgra sp. away from a nd be hind onese lf until thi s s pecific a na tomi ca l ra nge of motion IS to tall y a nd co mpl etely ex ha usted . I POlllt to Jim L urZI age" II , for he is a ma ste r of thi s tec hnique.

So why be le ft in a s tup o r ~? Take th a t seco nd look, a nd yo u' ll find a s tyle that is both pro vocati ve a nd cha ll e ngin g. Writ e e it her to the MG or to me pe rso na ll y fo r those s kill s yo u wo uld like to ha ve a nalyzed.

From an Undergrip Giant Swing STOOP-IN CIRCLE SHOOT - to an Inlocated Handstand Position

diat e ly fo ll ow up thi s act io n firs t by dec reasing th e s ho uld e r ang le slightl y a nd th e n by dec reas ing the hip a ng le in direct proport io n to the up ward circular swing. Ill us tra tions G- H - I progress int o thi s " Hip Lead " posit io n.

As the body app roaches the apex of the upward circtll a r sw ing. the a fo re me ntione d dec reased hi p a ngle begin s to in c rease to a poi nt suc h th at the body line is slight ly a rc hed. H oweve r. the minute ly dec reased s ho ulde r a ngle is m ai ntain e d thro ugho ut Illu s tra ti o ns J-K-L. Such a ngul a r variations in the fin al phases o f the upward c ircular swi ng w ill not on ly serve to yie ld a fee ling of we ig htl ess ness but w ill a lso serve to pl ace the gym nast in an ideal pos ilion for the o ncomi ng ··slOop- in .·· Thi s fee ling of weight lessness se r ves as a tac ti cal cue for the sli p-grip ac tio n or th e ha nd s. The wris ts a re a rc hed o nt o the top of the bar to provid e s upp o rt for th e o nco ming body weight.

Obse r ve ca refu ll y the delicate re la ti o ns hip between Illu s tration s Land M . Si nce a ll up ward momentum is nearly ex hau s te d. th e bod y a ppea rs to be mom e ntar ily s tall e d. A slig ht forw a rd pu s h agains t th e ba r ( Illu s tratio n L) e nha nces the timing necessa ry for the " mul e- ki ck" ac tio n of the " Stoop- In '" (Illu s tra tion M ).

Illu s tration s M - -O-P-Q are best considered as a unit for the sa ke of concept. As th e a rms tran sce nd the uppe r ve rtical. th e "S too p- In" ac tion beg in s a nd cont inu es throughout one's full a nalO m ical ra nge o f moti o n. It mu s t be in s ta ntaneous, v igoro us a nd compl e te. The s hould er a ngle dec reases continuall y. but on ly to th e degree that it wi ll inhi bit the poss ibilit y o f premature inl oca ti o n of the s ho uld e r jo int. T he greater

the di s ta nce that th e gy mn as t ca n pl ace hi s ce nle r o f gravity from the ba r on th e descent. th e g reate r wi ll be hi s s ubseq ue nt mo mentum necessary for a n e ffecti ve asce nt.

IIlu s lration R depic ts the aC lU a l "BotlOmi ng Effect'" in act ion. Th e bar bows slightl y dow nward and th en.

as th e bod y begins to ri se up the c irc ul ar swing. it w ill recoil o r pull it self s tra ight. T hi s tacti cal c ue se rves as a timing dev ice for direcling Ih e body unit to th e in tended I nl oca te d H a nd s tand Pos ition.

Illu s tra ti ons S-T-U-V-W-X re la te the c ru cia l asce nt 10 th e int e nd ed Inl oca te d H a nd s ta nd Pos ition. Th e fu ll and complele hi p a ngle d ec re me nt is mai ntained th ro ug ho ut the e ntire ascent. Prec ise obse rva ti o n revea ls th a t the s ho uld er a ngle co minu es to full a na lOmica l h yperexten sion in direct proportio n to th e upward c irc ul a r s wing. Thi s cO nJinu ed s ho uld er a ngle incre ment is acco m pli s hed by a most forceful bac kdownward pu sh against the bar. Su ch a pu sh 1I1lIst

co ntinu e until th e full ra nge o f mo tio n relative lo th e inloca ted s ho uld er posi ti on is touil ly ex ha us te d .

As th e body approac hes the apex of the S toop-In C ircl e S hoot. Illu s tra tion W. th e bod y ~gain se n se a fee ling of weight less ness. a lmos t as if it we re being pull ed up a nd above the bar. It is during thi s fee ling of we ightl essness tha t th e slip-grip ac tio n of the ha nd s is realized. The wr ists are vigoro us ly a rc he d o nt o th e top of th e bar to pro vide s upp o rt fo r the o nco ming bod y we ight.

Illu s tra ti o n X re lates a "moment of truth " in th at the bod y has a ll a ined the objecti ve of a n Inl ocate d H a nds ta nd Pos itio n. The hi p a ngle is tota ll y dec reased w ith reference 10 it s specific anatomical range of Illo li on. th e s ho uld er a nule is ex te nd ed rearward to it s full est ra nge wi th out ye t in curring di sloca tion : and the

;5

e ntire body un it is so pos itio ned that it s grav ita ti ona l lin e li es slightl y in front o f the int e nd ed direction of movement. A pau sed tempo is therefore realized a t the apex of the sk ill. Suc h a considera tio n w ill he lp lo in s ure g reat e r continuit y re la ti ve to th e sequ e nti a ll y re la ted s kill s.

GYMNASTIC CLASSICS Volume 1 - Horizonta l Bar Section "H" - Stoops Number 2 - From on Undergrip Gia nt Swi ng - STOOP-IN CIRCLE SHOOT - to on In located Handstand Position.

© Copyright

Ill u s tra ti o ns A-8-C-D are o miJl ed in o rd er that a

23

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Report and Critique of:

AN INTERNATIONAL GYMNASTIC SYMPOSIUM FOR MALE COACHES Federal Sports School, Macolin, Switzerland March 19-23, 1969 S ub mitt ed by : RI C H A RD M . A RO NS O N O n M a rch 17. 1969. Di c k A r o n so n (NACGC). T om Wa lth o use a nd J oe Gia ll o mba rd o ( Illin o is Hi g h Schoo l Gy mn as ti c Coac hes Assoc ia ti o n ) left New York for a n Int e rn at io na l Gy mn as ti c Sy mpos ium in Macolin . S w it ze rl a nd . Th e trip was initi a ted by the US F G a nd Frank Ba re a lo ng wi th th e cooperati o n of me mbe r assoc ia ti o ns. Through th e efforts of t he SGF. A me ri ca ns. for th e firs t time. we re in v it e d to th e sy mpus ium a nd we were exc it ed a t th e pros pec t of not o nl y meetin g coac hes from differe nt na ti o ns b ut of be ing exposed to internationa l gym nastics.

Upo n our a rri va l in Sw it ze rl a nd . we we re ho use d in th e Fede ra l Spo rt s Sc hoo l in Macolin w hich is located on a hill a bove th e tow n o f Biel. (O ne has to take a tra in uphi ll to ge t there.)

W e we re ass igne d roo ms in dormitori es locat ed nea r th e ma in lec ture a rea a nd dining a rea. Th e F I G co mmitt ee a ttempted to hou se people w ith simi la r co mmuni ca ti ve ab iliti es. th erefo re. we roo med w ith N ik S tu a rt. nati o na l coach of G reat Britain. (N ik was the hit of th e c lose -o ut pa rt y hav ing a ma rve lo us se nse o f humor a long w ith th e kno w le dge of the tec hni ca l as pec ts of gy mn as ti cs. ) Th e first mee ting was he ld by Mr. A rthur Gander. Preside nt of th e F IG. H e had a ro ll ca ll of del ega tes. introdu ced so me of th e gues t lec ture rs. di scussed th e ge nera l tre nd of the co nfe re nce th e n di s mi ssed the group until la te r in the eve ning w hen th e firs t major sess io n was he ld .

I. First Session - speaker, Mr. Gander Thi s lect ure in vo lved the ge ne ra l idea o f th e co nference. ' The F uture of~G y mn as ti cs.路路 H e discu sse d hi s to ry o f th e s port sta tin g th a t on ly by looking back ca n we find nega ti ve e le me nt s in gym nas ti cs. Th e FI G was jus t co min g into th e picture aro und 1948 and pri o r to that dat e. organi za ti on a nd ad mini s tra ti o n o f gy mn as ti cs was poor. I n th e 1948 O ly mpic Games. so me te a ms brought th e ir own a ppa ra tu s a nd th e ir own judges. Even s izes o f ap paratu s was diffe rent for some nation s. co nse qu e ntl y. thi s ce rta inl y he lpe d th ose gy mn as ts w ho we re use d to "h ome" eq uipm e nt. Finally. in 1950. a ppara tu s began to be s tanda rd a nd in 1952 the "grea t s urge" in gy mn as ti cs s ta rt ed to mo de rn ize the spo rt. 1956 fo und th e d eve lop ment o f ABC mo ves a nd th e side ho rs e using three pa rt s of th e horse. And in 1960. th e c urrent approach

o n a ppa ra tu s was organized a nd thi s is s till in effec t at thi s time .

Ga nde r di sc ussed th e qu a lit y of gy mn as ti cs in s tead of a nega ti ve approach. " Artistic wo rk mu st neve r be expe nded a t th e expen se ofform a nd execution." By qualit y, Ga nd e r mea ns th a t th e gy mnast mu s t be in co ntrol o f hi s body a t a ll times a nd not sac ri fice exec ution in order to deve lop th e exerc ise with a g reat d ea l of diffic ult y but doing it badl y. "Elega nce a nd sec urit y a re th e key facts in gy mn as tic s a nd becau se of thi s women a re ten yea rs ahead of the me n'" (Naturally. thi s mu s t be see n as new o nl y beca use of the uneve n bar work being develope d a nd a grea t d ea l of da nce being use d in noor exe rc ise. ) H e s tresse d th a t wo men see m to lure th e me n in a simil a r st y le of gy mn as ti cs but me n mu st be ca reful of goi ng to far with th e feminin e tre nd because : I . le n's rul e have diffe re nt tec hni ca l v iew. ., The co de of point s for men s upport mas c uline mo veme nt s.

3. Men's appa ratus not co ns tru c ted for wo me n.

4. No rea l co mpari"so n to code of points a nd s ty le of gy mn as t ics.

5. Men mu st co ntinu e in th e ir own pe rso na l s ty le a nd no t copy women w bo s u pport a fe minin e a pproac h to th e s port .

A rti s ti c gy mnas ti cs mu st co ntinue in a po siti ve dii'ec ti o n and th e gy mnas t mu s t develop hi s pe rso nal rol e and s tress a di sc iplin e d a pproac h to ma ke gy mnas ti cs more interes tin g. ( I ass ume Ga nder mea ns that "negative" gy mna s tic s goes aga in st th e code w hil e "positi ve" gy mna s ti cs s tri ves to reac h th e a rti sti c wo rk so nee de d to be a c ham pi o n.) Hi s' exa mple was. s id e saltos done w ith poo r form looses th e e lega nce.

The 1968 code. a lth ough not comp le ted. s ta tes that a ll judges mu s t be ne utra l. "There we re no a c tual finding s of nega ti ve judging in Mexico a nd th e a dmini s trati o n o f judges we nt so we ll in the final s that the enti re meet wen t off in two hours. Thi s c ut down 30 minut es from T o kyo. Th e O ly mpic Ga me s s howed us t ha t with prope r organ iZa ti o n of offic ia ls th e s po rt can be a ppea ling to s pect a tors." "In a ddi tion to judging. the para ll e l bar event is s till lac king in imagi na tio n but the hori zo nt a l ba r is co rrec t a nd pas t mono ton y."

(It see ms that man y coac he s are co nce rn ed a bo ut "mo noto ny" in gy mn as ti cs. Th e future o f th e spo rt seems to hinge o n elim in a ting tireso me eve nt s a nd th ose th a t have the sa me type of exe rc ises pe lformed ove r a nd ove r aga in during a co mpe tition . Long horse is o ne eve nt we ce rt a inl y s uffer from mo no ton y. The 196H Ol y mpi c Games ha d 94 to 108 gy mna s ts doing th e sa me va ult a ll ra nging from 9. 0 to 9.3.1 G and e rs fin a l thought co ncerned the tra in ing of yo ung gymnasts in correct head. ha nd a nd bod y pos it ions and the disciplin e of com -

pu lsory exe rc ises. (Abe. of Japa n as ke d me how man y int e rnation a l c lass gy mn as ts th e U nit e d S tate s ha d . I told him I thought about 12 now in tra ining. H e th e n s ta te d th at we ha ve exce lle nt spec(a li s ts but did no t know th e ir names: ho weve r. if th ey we re a ll aro und gy mn as ts he wo uld probabl y kno w a ll 12' I be li eve he mea ns th a t wit h compu lso ry exe rc ises combi ne d with o pti o na l work for A LL our gymnas ts . we co uld soo n become a mongs t th e world's fine s t') I n a ddition. th e gy mn ast s ho uld deve lop hi s ow n s ty le w ith th e coac hes gu idan ce and mu s t be awa re of a lso deve lo ping hi s pe rso na l c ha rac teri s ti cs. Thi s mea ns that th e gy mn as t s hou ld s tri ve to prod uc e hi s pe rso na l ab iliti es a nd use hi s na tura l ph ys ica l g irt s fo r work o n th e appara tu s. Pe rh a ps an ex ample of thi s is Cerar w ho s ta rt ed th e " vogue" o f using the o ut s id e o f th e parall e l ba rs or o ne ba r durin g hi s op ti ona l exe rci se. A no ther tre nd towa rd s personal de ve lopme nt is found in th e "M inn ec helli s ty le" n oo r exerc ise. (T his was me ntion ed durin g th e co nfere nce as th e ty pe of 1100 r exe rc ise now beco ming preva le nt in thi s eve nt.!

When the d eve lopme nt of th e g y mna s t reac hes a point of pe rso nal d eve lop me nt and he kn ows w hat hi s limit atio ns are th e coac h mu s t take over an d co ntinue thi s deve lo pment in o rder to lead the athle te beyo nd w hat he think s is hi s finalit y in routin e co ns truction . " Th e so-ca ll ed 'stock' exercise mu s t not be see n in th e evo lut ion o f a rti s ti c gymnast ics a nd coaches a nd judges must ta ke th e hint."

II. Second Sessionspeaker, Mr. Abe (Japan) " The deve lopment of gy mn astics rea ll y be gins w ith student gy mn as tic s." Thi s was ev id e nt by th e fac t that half the team in Me x ico was ma d e up of s tud e nt s. Beca use of a yo ung tea m. it is felt th a t th e future of J a pan ese gymnas tic s has had a new beginnin g as far as deve lo pme nt of art is tic s exe rci ses a re concerned.

The J apanese Federa ti o n has se t up basic prin ciples to follow a nd wi ll see k future deve lopment in area s of: I. Resea rc h o f Mec ha ni ca l Analys is J a pane se gymnas ti cs actu a ll y began wi th resea rc h. The y first copied European gy mn as tic s combined thi s w ith "a rti s tic" gy mn as tics a nd plann ed structural mo veme nt s o f th e body. The y made mi s takes in Ih e heg inning. suc h as. L support he ld too high but fin a ll y lowe red them to wha t we know as norm a l posi ti o n. ., Th e compu lso ry influe nce on a n opt ion a l exerc ise. This has had a so mewhat direct effec t upon th e deve lopm e nt of new mo veme nt s.

3. I t is necessa ry for judges to mas ter the code and a ppl y th e rul es w ithout hes itati o n.

4 . The coach is th e authorit y and th e gym25

nast must follow hi s direction s. (An excellent point!)

5. Routine co nstructio n can blend into other areas. An example of thi s is, circles on side horse being used in floor exercise and parallel bars.

Regarding training, Abe stated that ROV will great ly aid the Japanese in terms of creative gymnastics since it involves : I. Executi ng events to the technical ideal.

2. A changing of combinations in order to develop new ideas in routine construction.

3. Developing single parts, then combination s.

And in order to develop stronger combinations, the Japanese feel th e following are the best procedures to follow: I. Develop bas ic principl es in hum a n movement.

2. Develop movements from fa ntasy.

3. Develop movements from a mi ssed exercIse. a. The Yamashita was a missed handspring.

4. Develop varied combinations using the same tricks.

5. Develop individual and group mu scles.

Regarding ·speci al events , it is felt th at the future of the floor exercise event is dependent upon cutting down the time but increase the speed of movements with more handspring type movements combined with twists. In 1960, a research project showed saltos in all form s were needed in order to have a win ning exercise.

Using only a half-twister ( 180 degree s) is defintely not enough to win but full twisting saltos (360 degrees) and above is the key to winning.

Going beyond thi s point , 1350 degrees is ideal.

(This equals a double full , I Y2 twi ster and a Y2 twister all in one exercise.)

The future of rings will show more swing parts but force parts should be held with sureness and .elegance. Long horse is being developed to show variat ions, such as , a Yamas hita wit h full twists and some gymnasts are worki ng on handsprings with I Y2 saltos.

III. Third Session - Dr. Appelt (Czech) Continued research with mechanical analysis along with the use of sc ience and psychology is of prime importance in Czech gymnast ics. Psychol ogy, sociology, and bio-mechanics are all playing a role in developing the all-around gymnast. The coach and gy mnast mu st consider a wider variation of combinations and do continued research of human movement regarding difficulty and technical development .

The future of the optional exercise depends upon responsible attitudes in reaching th e gymnast. (Psychology is playing a role in und erstanding the athlete and I had an opportunity to discu ss this area with both Dr. Appelt and Dr. Karas. Credit mu st be give n to Dr. Joseph Massimo for hi s recent artic le in the Modern G ymnas t along thi s line.)

Artistic gymnastics involving techniqu es , moving parts, training methods shou ld in volve an understanding of correct body positions, intricate combinations are keys in the development of the gymnas t. Principles of creation of gymnastic exercises should be made up from the physical make-up of the gymnast. The trai ning system involving coach and gymnast should be directed to ada pting movement sequences not only on a practical se nse but will imply direct areas of bio-mechanics. Newton Laws, forces , vectors all should be understood by the coac h in order to give the gymnas t the best possible exercise.

Static movements must be under control , suc h as, a press to a hand stand on the rings with bent arms as opposed to a press to a handstand with straight arms . There is a great deal of difference between the two presses, in that , o ne is " safe ," and the other shows risk combined with force and technique. A st.lIic movement with fault s is difficult to correct , there26

fore, it is important for the young gy mnast to be schooled in correct hab its from the very beginning of hi s training.

Future progress of optional exe rci ses revolve around a knowledge of past hi story. Before the current code, C parts, as we know them, were difficult to find but with the code we readil y find them, combine them with arti stic gymnasti cs and execute to the letter of the code. Taking the future into consideration, we find: I. Floor exe rcise hav in g a fast style with so me stati c move ment s that have a high C part. This event could develop to have mu sic add ed so the exercise will grow to have aestheti cs and a max imal range . . of mu scles.

2. The side horse should be done with no force parts, eliminate repitition , circles o n one pumell and more twisting type dismounts .

3. F uture demands on rings will call for all shoots to be done with straight arms whi le dislocates and inlocates should be the sa me in terms of technique and style.

4. T he Yamas hita vault started a new trend on long horse. Judges must be stri cter in jud ging thi s event. The future could bring a dirferent value for all vaults and add a difficult y coefficient for each vault.

Coaches should try to develop twi sting move ment s before the vault , twist after the vault or even combinations of twi sts during a vault.

5. Parallel bars give possibly th e greates t area for future development. The use of one bar co mbin ations will be see n combined with two bar twi st ing movements.

There will be a greater range of moveinents from the outside of th e bar to the inside. Coac hes should eliminate extra movements, unnecessary A movements, such as: kips, upri ses and simple circles.

6. The judges on the hori zo ntal bar are now very criti cal since many gy mn as ts have reached a point where ROV is attainab le. (In Mexico 88 out of 140 exercises had 9.0 to 9.8 routines with ROV.) The future will see more leg exercises , movements with straight arms and legs and flyaw ays with several twi sts.

Finally , coaches must refu se very dangerous exe rci ses and be aware of individual differe nces in gymnasts. The coach should develop a feeling for aes thetics and technical evaluations so needed to produce the accomp lished gymnast.

After the first three lectures, a free di sc ussion ensued concerning either the lecture·s or any other problems that the co nferees might have.

This, in my opinion , was the turning point of the sy mposium. Many coaches spo ke about injuries, long horse, diffi cult y ·a nd compulsory exercises. The followin g are excerpts: SCHUHWERE: (J unior national coach from Switzerland): "Concerning the long horse event. We mu st either re-evalu ate thi s event or eliminate it.· Wh y does ROV not count in long horse ?"

GUNTHARD (Sw iss Nation al Coach ): (He was really concerned about · the long horse and held the floor for soine time di scussing it. ) " What is wrong with us ? A gy mnas t cannot even reach 9.5 on a stoop vault? It seems that 9.35 is the best that was reached in Mexico. Are we loosing sight of what gy mnastics is in relations to other events? We should give thought to dropping the event." .

His reaso ns were: I. Eliminate a single action on one piece of a pparatus.

2. There are II elements on other pieces.

3. The judges have to move too quickly in o rder to judge properly.

4. It offers too few variations. (Not according to the Japanese.)

5. It will shorten dual meets.

SC H UHWERE: "There are too many gym-

nas ts o n long horse in th·e 9.0 to 9.4 range.

Either cancel the event or develop a new type of s pring board. We must also be concerned with injuries after landing. Perhaps an additional step after land ing wi ll prevent so me injuries.

GANDER TO GUNTHARD: " Yes , we must to so mething about long horse or cancel it. There is a lack of training in this event.

It is the las t item on the training program and the judges are not we ll trained for it.

Perhaps we can solve it by usi ng electronics. We still lack in basics here and new gy mn asts can develop and learn by using a Reuther board for this event and other events. " DOT (France): " Perhaps the Reuther board needs adj ustment for different weight . gy mnasts. " DI C KHUT (West Germany): " Be careful of adding s prings to th e board . And, how about floor exercise? We still mu st learn to bend the elbows. The technical committee must investigate the breaking of the Achilles tendon. Are saltos too dangerous? Who says we have to go so high?

Let us forget the ac robati cs. Keep in mind there are rules fo r men and forget the beauty aspects th at women need for competition.

G UNTH ARD: " Let us ta ke a vote and see how many want to keep the long horse event. " (Time in the program had elapsed but the di scussion wou ld be continued in the next free di scus sion.)

IV. Fourth Session Speaker, Mr. Smolevsky (Russia) "Russia has improved betwee n 1952-68.

We have expanded our programs and worked with our judges to give us the best possible exercises. Gymnastics should be like an art and give individual credot for arti stic expression.

Let us look into the future ."

I. Promotion of creativity of gymnastics for both competi tion and leisure.

2. Co ncentrate on the technical aspects for difficulty and combination.

3. Mechanical analys is in all events.

4. Use psychol ogy .

5. Be arti stic in the deve lopment of B and C parts.

6. Co ncentrate on beginners for the education of both th e ath lete and the public.

In order for a gymnast to make a very fa vora ble impress ion he must be guided into wo rking wi th ROV. T hen , th e eleme nt of surprise must take effect. For exampl e, in floor exercise , the gy mnast usuall y fini shes a routin e with a roundoff, flip flop , back saIto but instead he does not quite fini sh but leads into another movement. (This seems to be a good idea since it wi ll create new trend s to gymnastics and wi ll most certainly keep the judges on their toes.)

The future in coaching and building exercises will see : . I. Minnechilli style in floor exercise.

(Quick movements , short static holds , dynamic expression and the element of surpri se.)

2. T he side horse needs development in di smounts. The fut ure will see more twisting movements both in dismounts and in the middle of an exercise.

3. Long horse need s new concepts. The future may see a new type horse with springs either above or below the horse.

This wi ll give the gymnast added lift and will develop more da ring moves.

Most of all it will take the monotony out of this event.

4. The use of one bar on the para llel bars will be see n mu ch more along with the use of the end of the bars.

5. Di slocates and in locates will be done Continued on page 29

JUDGING

by JERRY Code of Points interpretations : The following is a summary of notes taken from Judges' meetings at the NCAA meet in Seattle and at the U.S.G .F. Nationals in Long Beach. A total of 10 different judges' associations were represented in these two meetings.

This simply means that most of the nation 's top judges were at these meets.

It was the unanimous opinion of these judges

A 1-7

that: I. Judges' assocIatIOns should begin to assume the responsibility for assigning judges to all meets , including the NCAA and U.S.G.F. N ationals. And that this job should be taken out of the hands of the coaches and even out of the hands of the rules committee and- individual rules committee members.

2. Concerning Article 65 of the Code of Points ; it was unanimously felt , by the abov'€: judges, that the interpretat ions given at Penn State were too strict and not actually in keeping with the philosophy of the FIG in giving the gymnast the benefit of the doubt . This group felt that a swing to handstand , for example , or a press to handstand on rings (or elsewhere) need only be held one full second to receive full credit (difficulty plus combination) . Ho wever, full credit here means that a shoot handstand on rings held only one second would receive " B" value and would satisfy the swi ng combination requirement but would suffer a .4 tenths deduction for being short on time (providing, of course, this was the only swing part

attem pted in the routine). If the same part was he ld for less than one second, the part would: ( I) not receive " B" credit.

(2). not sati sfy the swi ng hands tand requirement and , (3) still be subject to deductions for -tech nical error and could possibly be considered a part without value.

3. Concerning a rticle 31 and the reference to repetition of parts: It was ruled by this group that: if sa me part is pelformed 2nd time with same parts before and after , no credit for difficulty would be given but no deductions (other th an execution) would be given. If the sa me part is performed the second time but in a different combination, difficulty credit would be given and no deduction (agai n except for execution) but, if the same part is pelformed the third time, there will be a deduction of . 1- .2 regardless of the combination before or after. (S ide horse was considered an exception to this but not unanimollsly .)

8elow are some more comments about new A·8-C parts.

B new combination but straddle was "6" part

11-1 T ' support new listing

new

IV-4

1-8

new

VI I-5 wo s "C" port

VIII-5

new

V-9

new

VI-6 new

~1."'''rQ \, ~t ~ I) ~J~m

VIII-4

new

ill IX-1 change - easier - was to

~:'-::;£~

new

XII- 11 new- shou ld be A+ 6

VII-6

XII- i 4

IX-3 "Was to momentary handstand - now 2 sec." .

~

XI-7

new

Was "C" "WOW"

XIV-2 change - now 45 degree

27

XV-?

new

tf\ tl' (

tI~

XIV-8

XII-9

new

new

XV- I 0 straddle is A - was B

~~u~

XV I- I changed - momenta ry I

XV-8 new

~ ~\ ~

1 XVI-?

XII-I S

was " B"

wow -

new

~lJ~\n'b XIV- 12

new

XVI-S was "("

XVII-?

XIX- I

1

new

look close!

XVI-8

new

XV II-2

new

XV I-3

~\~?r

new

,~ XVII-S

Big change Was "A"

XV I-1 2 new

(!~~~ft< XIX- I

w as " B"

XIX-2

new

XV II -3 Change - was f rom glide kip

~i\~)j-"I ~

XIX- I

was " B"

~/~~

T

FIG CODE OF POINTS The F.I.G. Code of Points for Men . ..

96 pages of the International Rules for m~n .. . all the "A路B路C parts" included.

Order from the U.S.GJ., P.O. Box 4699, Tucson, Arizona 85717. $3.50 per copy.

The Official Code of Points .

28

~I

USGF 1968 Men's OLYMPIC GYMNASTIC FILM Just $16.00 for 400 ft. 8mm (black & white) All the top final routines of the individual Championships from the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. ORDER FROM :

USGF Men's Olympic Film P.O. Box 777 Santa Monica, Ca. 90406

XVII -6

new

jI ~11 \I I

t?

XII

XII-6

' /

new

JT& III~<$. b J

;?/

What Is Talent from page 22 11 . Straddle legs as wide as possible in position 10.

12. Sit on floor with legs st raig ht and together. Put arms over head; leon forward as fo r as possible while sit· ting (like #6). (Rela x arms and grab toes and pull them towa rd s face and hold with legs straight!) ... ouch l 13. Stand up and go to as wide a straddle stand as pas· sible with hips in the some plane as feet (e.g., don't stick rea r out). Go as low as possible and hold ... relax.

14. Sit down with legs straddled wide, with arms over· head (do as # 12).

15. Try split s faci ng both ways (g radual).

16. Tuck toes underneath (sit on feet with toes pointed); st retch toes.

17. Standing up, leaning against wall, alternately put one leg bock, then other, putting bock heel on ground and putting weig ht on bock foot. Straight line from hands to heel! (Stretch bock to ca lf.)

Genera l comments, When stretching, relax the muscles to be stretched I Never do sudden stretchi ng; every· thing should be gradual - stay in the "pain pos'ition" for 30 seconds for maxima l effectiveness.

Stretch every day and try to go further each day!

(Remember, it must hurt in order to make progress.)

Always stretch in the proper posi tions so the right muscles will be st retched.

Smile!

Grades fo r elementary gymnastics will be based upon performance of ski lls listed, and flexibility will be weighted heavily.

Coaches Symposium from page 26 with stra ight arm s as will a ll upri ses.

There will be more ri s k in di s mount s .

6. Hori zo nta l bar w ill have fewer giant swings a nd there will be more use of stra ight arm s a nd legs on a ll move s , whenever po ss ibl e .

The Ru ss ia n Federa tion recommends th e fo llow in g: I. C ompulsory exe rcises be va lid for four years. (Thi s recommendation is exce lle nt. Not on ly w ill it give the middl e or wea ker nation s additiona l time to wo rk o n th em for pe rfec tion it will give the better nation s time to develop a ve ry thorough tec hni ca l deve lopme nt as we ll as work on o ption a l exe rcises.)

2. Floor exercise with mu sic.

3. T wo types of sc isso rs o n s id e ho rse in a ll co mpul so ries.

4. Develop th e lo ng horse wit h a s pring board attach ment.

5. Use soft landing mats to pre ve nt injury.

(The recommend ation s a re ce rta inly th e ones dea ling wi th compulsory exerc ises and safer lan ding mats warra nt th e in vesti gations of a ll federation s a nd the FI G Technical commi ttee.)

I va ncovic open ed th e nex t sess ion by di scuss in g the lo ng ho rse eve nt. He feel s it should stay in the s port in order to de ve lo p the a ll around ma n. Thi s perso n should learn to maste r va ulting therefo re mas te r the eve nt. " Perhaps we sho uld deve lo p a s peci a l va lue for va ult s but it wo uld th e s port if we dropped it. " He was a lso co nc erned abou t floor exe rcise regarding th e 1970 World compulsories. Since all floor exerc ise routines mu st be li vely , have force a nd sta ti c mo veme nt s th e co mpul sory exe rcises for 1970 have a ll of this co mbin ed .

Gander fo llowed I va ncovic by stating th at lo ng horse must look for new tactics a nd be made more attrac ti ve to a iL " No o ne wa nt s to sit thro ugh th e sa me exe rc ise over and over aga in. Peo pl e a re squirming in the ir sea ts." " We mu s t a lso ta lk about a new code fo r thi s e vent , s uch as awa rding· say .6 for la ndin g.

And we mu st loo k int o the injury prob lem to th e Achilles te nd on."

Frede ri ck (West German y): " The Ru ss ian Federati o n has a good idea whe n th ey state th at co mpul sory exe rci ses for four years a re good : perha ps long horse is good wi th a s pring att ac hmen t: we mu s t a lso watch for injuri es and how abo ut the s pec ia li st . .. is there room fo r him in ou r s port ? Wh y on ly 12 eve nt s~ Wh y not 12 even ts plus s pec iali sts eve nt s?" " I s uggest four men and one s pec ia li st in competition. Do we need a junio r wo rld champions hip ?" (A lbe rt Telligent is a lso a strong sup· porter of th e s pec ial ist.)

The coach from Portuga l s tated that rul es mu st be put in force in o rder to rai se th e standa rd s of th e weaker nations . (Aga in thi s was di sc usse d. I t see ms tha t thi s requ es t is very reaso nable in tha t it wo uld indeed give a ll nation s an opport uni ty to deve lop th e m.)

Ga nd er aga in spoke on the long ho rse sta t· ing tha t spring boards and mini tra mps wo uld give th e gy mn as t a n acroba ti c look a nd wo uld take away from wha t th e body is required to do as o ne in control of hi s body. I va ncov ic a lso sta ted th at a spring type att achme nt wo uld cause probl e ms . Both men agreed th at long ho rse needs di scuss ion, ex pe rimenta ti on and rev is ion .

NE I MAN (Eas t Germany) : " Kee p lo ng ho rse but c ha nge th e diffi cult y ratings or have a sca le of vau lt s that mu st be done a round diffe rent axes of th e bod y."

GUNT H A RD : " Let us take a vote and see ju st ho w many wa nt to keep thi s eve nt. " Because he wa nt ed a good sa mpling from eac h nati o n a ten minute ca ucus was given. (A ro nson , I'epresenting th e U nit ed State s , ex pl a ined to the co nfe re nce s ince we (A ron son , Wa lth o use a nd Giallombardo) did not re prese nt the ne w US Gymnas tics Co mmis sion but o nl y a samp ling of th e coaches. He we nt on to expl a in th at th e Co mmi ss io n was working ve ry we ll and the gy mn as ti c world wo uld soo n hear of the fin e progress that was being made in Ame ri ca.} (The vote was in favor of keeping th e lo ng ho rse but hav in g th e code cha nged to in sure better vau lting. The FI G Technica l Co mmittee wi ll be loo king into the matter.)

V. Fifth Session - Dr. Karas (Czech): Dr. Ka ra s gave a very long speec h with num erou s di agra ms on bio-m ec ha nics a nd it s re lation s hip to gy mnasti cs. Th e di scussion was ve ry tec hni ca l, stating th at an underst anding of mech a ni cil l a na lys is of move me nt is necessary to good coac hin g. T ime, s pace, Ne wto ns Laws. moments of force , acce le rati o n. vec tors are a ll importa nt in de termining th e co rrect move men ts for a gym nast. The impo rt ance of an understa nding of gravity and mome nt s of release a re necessa ry in understa nding di smount s. Thi s is espec ia ll y tru e in knowing s pottin g tech niques . (I might add th at Dr. Ka ras a nd Jan Borms of Belgium have wri tte n on thi s subj ect dea lin g wi th mechanical moveme nt s.

They fee'l, as do man y others in Europe , th at thi s know ledge is a key to coac hing. Th is co nce pt is not new but has it been pass ed ove r li ghtl y by US coac hes? The Modern Gy mn as t does give adequate space to studi es of M A a nd Dr. J ames Bosco, J erry Wright and Do n Tonry have a ll made contributions to thi s phase of coac hin g. I feel we wi ll see mo re of thi s in the future.)

VI. Sixth Session - Mr. Yantchev (Bulgaria) The final sess io n in vo lved a di sc uss ion of ethi cs a nd how th e F IG has made coach es a nd gym nas ts aware of th e importance of proper con du ct on th e flo or during com petition . The co nduc t of gy mn as ti cs sta rted in 1949 with a few rul es being se t dow n by th e FIG . ( It see ms tha t aft er the 1948 O lympi c G a mes , man y c ha nges were due a nd thi s was a sta rting point.) Thi s pe riod was the beginning of a code for diffic ult y, ex ecu tion a nd combin a ti o n. In addition, it included conduct for gy mnas ts a nd judges. At th e sa me time , the foUl' judge sys tem was installed. In 1954. new additions to the code were es ta bli shed a nd training sess ion s for judges were beco ming required for judges who wi shed to adva nce in judgi ng c ircl es. The year 1956, brought the "finals" in m i~or competit ion a nd in 1964 a newer code was deve lo ped which in c luded judges courses fo r int e rn ati o na l co mpet itio n. F in all y , 1968 gave gy mn as ti cs th e prese nt code and in c luded ethica l conduct fo r judges, gy mnas ts a nd coaches. (This porti o n of the code is import ant to the sport in

th a t it inc ludes proper dress a nd ac tion s on th e floor. ) On March 23 , !'vlr. Gander gave a summ a ry s peec h cove ring th e highli ght s of th e sy mpos ium 'lnd introdu ced two add iti ona l speak e rs, Boris Schalkin a nd Ge nera l Ba tlon off (Preside nt of the Ru ss ia n Fede rati on). Sc ha lkin gave brief ta lk o n mechan ic s a nd the "i llusion" movement s of gy mn as ti cs. (I'vla inta in th e six Ol y mpi c eve nt s: do not ca nce l lo ng horse but in sta ll a new code of points: kee p co mpu lso ry ex e rc ises for four yea rs a nd co ntinu e to de ve lo p gymnast ics on a sci entifi c basis.)

Thi s write r'S comments were viewe d at th e NCAA Univers it y Di vis ion Gy mnas ti cs Champions hip s in Seatt le. It was stated th at E uropea n and J apa nese gy mn as ti cs have hi ghl y technica l method s of trainin g a nd se lec ting te a ms . Gym nas tics is th ought of as a " major" spo rt in E urope w ith e mphas is o n maintaining ac ti ve tea ms after a n indi vid ua l has passed wha t we think is th e terminal age for coll ege .

Sport s sc hoo ls a nd c lub s a re maint a in ed for those who wish to co nt in ue training or eve n compe te for a c lu b tea m. Th e U nit ed St ate s has a probl e m of strict a ma te uri s m. T hi s ca uses problems with o ur athl etes not onl y in gym nas ti cs but in a ll ot her Ol ym pic spo nso red sports. Press ures of jobs. ma rri age are pre vale nt to co ll ege age gy mn as ts as is the dra ft hanging ove r their heads . T he athl ete mu st choose hi s tim e a nd job carefull y if he w ishes to co ntinu e to co mpete. If we a re to co m pe te fa vo rab ly in 1972 a nd eve n fini sh a possib le third or fourth , I R ECOMMEND THE FOLL OWI NG: I . That we select a national coach lI'ith an expense account geared to professiunal tral" el in order to build th e bes t possible tea lll ever fie lded fo r int erna tiunal COli/pe tition. ( With ha rd work we ca n build a tea lll that can pla ce wilh th e best in th e lI ·urld. O th er teams a re building , such as Eas t G enn(/Il\' and G rea l Britain. Great Britain is pla nnin;' fo r uver 12 dual meets this vea l' and are really trying 10 do lI'ell in inter;/(/tional CU IIIpetition. ) 2. That lI'e select five area coaches with a lilll' ited expense account IV aid th e natiunal coach.

(I realize that all this depends upun./inanC£'s, cunsequ ently, th ese plans may be long ran ge ill terms of actual operation.)

3. T hat area m eetin gs be held al leas t three times a year in urder to discu ss problems of trainin g and sha re opinions as to hOIl' 10 ge t th e job done!

4. That we contillue tu adop t a scien tific approa ch to coaching.

5. That we cOlltinue to in culca te th e idea thaI gymnastics is all " art" and can be a lI'a), of life using th e gymnasts' personality alld psy' chological II/ak eup in order to develop th e " artist. " 6. That we select an indil'idual or indil'iduals IIIho are free to tra vel to Europe II IeII' times a year in order to attend conferen ces or imporUlIlt competitions. This persoll should be schooled ill th e language sin ce COI11I1UllliclItion is very important. (Ge rman or French wo uld be advisable.) This person wo uld be respunsible to make a report to th e US Gymn as tics Commission alld 10 all cuach es .

7. Tha t we submit articles cUll cerning trainin g etc .. to th e FIG Bulletin.

8 . That co ach es, gymnasts alldjudges continue to work toge th er for unity so that lI'e call produ ce all exce llent representation fo r fUllIre international competition.

9. That Ive try to enlarge upon our notional program uf competitiolls so that everyone who wishes to ge t in vo lved in major competition be affurded th e 0ppUl:tunity .

10. That we continue to edu cate th e public to gymn as tics and make it a popular " sp ectMor" spurt . This call be accomplish ed by a continuing program in public re lation media .

29

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SUNDBY PUBLICA liONS

MGBOOKSHELF Box 777 Santa Monica. Ca. 90406 California residents odd 5% sales tax

CHANGING YOUR ADDRESS? MAIL ADQRESS CHANGE TO: THE MODERN GYMNAST, BOX 611 SANTA MONICA, CALIF. 90406 Be sure to include your ZIP code.

HARD BOUND MG VOLUMES Complete set Vo l. I-I X $125.00 (availa bl e in limit ed supply) Vo lume VIII 1966 $10.00 Vo lume IX 1967 $10.00

MG BOUND EDITIONS Box 777 Santa Monica, Calif. 90406

WORLD CUP HIGHLIGHTS High li ghts of t he Wo rld Cup, incl uding complete rout ine s, were filmed fo r t he USGF by Francis G. Murphy Prod uctions of Hollywood. Th e fi lm, in 16mm color, w ith soun d, is now available fo r purchase. A li mited numbe r of pri nts are also availa ble f or rent on a first -come, fi rst-served basis. For ordering info rmation contact Francis G. Murphy Production s, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Californi a 90028. Telephone: (Area Code 213) 466- 2131.

CLOSEOUT - MEN'S GYMNASTIC PANTS Effective unt il Sept. 1, 1969

1968 MODEL INTERMEDIATE PARALLEL BAR SKILLS (f ive cha rt s per se t ) ... .. (i/ 6 .00 per se t A DVANCED PARALLEL BAR SKI LLS (four c hart s pe r se t ) ... {o) 5 .0 0 pe r set INTERMEDIATE RING SKILLS (thre e c h o r~ s p e r se t ) ... J" 4 .0 0 pe r set ADVANCED RING SKILLS (thre e cha rt s per set) .. .. ((, 4 .0 0 per se t

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Imported Gym Pa nts, Not Second s or Reject s: White - Sizes XS S M L XL All-way stretch nylon - orig inally $ 13.00 now $8.25 - Exlan (orlan) & cotton, originally $6.00, now $4.00

UNIVERSAl-RESILITE (formerly Olympic-Resilite)

12 North Cottage St. Valley Stream, N.Y. 11580

All Girl Gymnastic Camp : Will be held in Deposit, New York.

For further Info, Dr. Frederic Pierce, 119 N. 8road St., Johnson City, New York 13790.

Lake Tahoe Gymnastic Camp : The University of Nevada will be conducting a sum mer Gymna stic Ca mp for both boys and girls at La ke Tahoe. Past Olympian Dole Flonasaas will be the director. For further info, Lee Newell, Women's Gymna stic Coach. University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada.

Eastern GymnastiC Clin ic: Session 1; June 22-29. Session, 2 August 24·3 1. Camp Skymaunt. Green lone, Po. For fu rther Info, Ea stern Gym Cl in ic, 8009 Rugby St., Philo., Po. 19150.

Rusty Mitchell Gymnastic Camp : Los Vega s, New Mexico.

Session 1 - June 14-2 1. Sessi on -Z - August 23·30th.

For fu rthe r info. write, "Camp of Champions" P.O. Box 111 1, Los Vegas, New Mexico, 87701 .

12th Annua l Summer GymnastiC Cl in ic: ·Michigan State Univ.

East Lans ing. Michigan. Augu st 10 -15, 1969 . Fo r further info. write , George Szypu la. Clinic Di recto r NSGC Michigan State Univ.• Ea st Lansing , Mich. 488 23.

Northern California Gymnastic Camp : Camp Gualala, Ca lif., August, 1969. Fo r f urther Info. write, Ernie Ma ri noni.

Phy. Di r. YMC A, Berkeley, Calif.

Soko l Gymnastic School : 6 one week session s. July and August. For further Info. wri te , Sokol Woodland s, 8arry ville, New York 12719.

Southern Calif. Gymnastic Camp : Camp Arbalota, Mt. Gorgonia. August 25-3 1st, 1969 . For furthe r info. write, Gordie Madd ux. Col State L.A.. 5151 State College Drive, Los Angeles, Calif. 90032.

Institute in Advanced Gymnastics: Indiana State University.

For information write, Roger Counsil, dir. Sch. of H.P.E.&R. Indiana State Univ. Terre Haute, India na 47809.

West Penn Gymnastic CliniC : Sokol Camp. New Kensington.

Po., July 27·August 23. 1st week for 4th, 5th & 6th grade students. Lost three weeks for high school gymnasts and coaches. For further info, Steve Banjak, 348 New Castle St.. Slippery Rock, Po. 16057.

IOWA GYMNASTIC CLINIC : Ju ly 13-16. Univ. of Iowa.

For further Info, Mike Jacobson, Univ. of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa 52240. .

MID-ATLANTIC GYMNASTIC CAMP : July 6-20 (6- 13 & 13-20) Fairieigh·Dickinsan Univ. Florham Pork-Madison, New Jersey. For further Info, George Kli ne, RD #4, West Chester, Po. 19380 OKLAHOMA UN IV. CLINIC: The Univ. of Oklahoma wi ll host its second annua l Men's and Women's Gy mna stic Clinic on Oct. 3-4, 1969. For further information, contact Russell Porterfield, Univ. of Oklo., Norman, Oklahoma 73069.

MG Calendar: To insure publication of your important competition, camp, clinic and workshop sched ules in the MG Calendar ... keep them brief and be sure to send them to our office at least 90 days before the event. .. All International, Notional, Regiona l and State top level event s will be con sidered for publication in the MG Calenda r.

NOTICE At press time the annua l MG High School repo rt is ready for printing and we have not received the State Championship results f rom the following HS' s who have s ent in r e ports in the past: WASHINGT ON KENTUCKY VIRGINIA T ENNESSEE F LORIDA KANSAS CONNECTICUT NEW MEXICO OHIO VE RMONT CALIF . BA Y AREA CALIF. FA R NO RTH If yo ur stat e has had High School Champions hips which have not been r eported previously in our a nnua l HS edition pl ease r ush the re s ults to us for this coming edition .

in gymnasium and physical education equipment Schools look to American, the leader, for innovations in new equipment.

welcome to the world ofnew leas. .d • •

Why? Our record of firsts is unmatched ...• The company that developed the Junior All-American gymnasium apparatus, All-A merican Obstacle Course, and the acrylic systems of marking athletic fields .••• now presents ....

A first in the field with Stainless Steel Gymnastic Apparatus.

Also ... . the first really Portable Bleacher ... THE TIP-AWAY. For more information on the new look in gymnasium products, write to your full service company,

~

American -Athletic Equipment Co. ~ P. O. Box 111

Jefferson, Iowa 50129

Introducing the New

System RING Nissen

STAND

Easy To Handle The System Nissen Ring Stand sets up in minutes. It can be quickly folded and transported without disassembly by one person . Ideal for gymnastic meets or for gyms where space is limited.

Just like other ring stands? Look again! The System Nissen has new safety and performance features that make other ring stands seem obsolete. Great for official competition, yet can be quickly adjusted down low for training and physical education classes. The new solid tubular steel guy braces (instead of cables) are easily adjustable and provide both compression and extension strength for unequalled stability. Each upright is equipped with the exclusive Floating Counterbalance mechanism, permitting almost effortless height adjustment by one person from 61 Y4" to 104Y4 " (ring height). Since the frame adjust~, up and down , the suspensions for the rings do not need to be adjusted, elimi-

nating the heavy adjustment fittings and greatly reducing the chance of a performer contacting the rings on dismounts.

Most important, the overall length of the suspensions remain equal at any height for uniform performance. The System Nissen Ring Stand can also be used for exhibitions or off-site competitions where floor plates are impractical by simply adding conversion base extensions (see photo above) .

Write For Our New System Nissen Catalog NISSEN CORPORATION 930 27th Avenue SW. Cedar Rapids , Iowa 52406

EINISSEN I