THE MODERN GYMNAST MAGAZINE

JUNE-JULY 1969 60c

OLYMPIA MAT MFG. CO. INC. SAFETY - BEAUTY - HANDLING EASE - SERVICE

Olympia Gymnastic Mats were used at the final USA Olympic (men's) trials at UCLA. Also Final USA Olym­pic (women's) trials at Long Beach, Calif. National United States Gymnastic Federation Championships, NCAA finals, Pasadena National Invitationals, Cali­fornia State College Gymnastic Championships, Calif. Women's State J.c. f inals, L.A. City High School finals, and the United States Gymnastic Championships and the 1 st Annual World Cup at Long Beach, Calif.

OLYMPIA MAT MFG. CO., INC. 9051 Del Mar Avenue Montclair, Calif. 91763

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

COACHES; Moil this coupon - fo r furt her info rmation and FREE O lympia Grip Exe rcise r .

OLYMPIA MAT. MFG. CO. INC. 9051 Del Mar Avenue Mantclai r, Ca lif. 91763

Name

Address (Sch~C;if - ---- · · ·--···-··-·· .. · ... _- .. _- .......... .

City .... State .......................... Zip ............... .. ... .

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

ZWICKEL A Distinctive Line

of Men's and Women's Uniforms

Tailors to the 7968 Men's Olympic

Gymnastic Team

Why Settle for less? FREE CATALOG

ZWICKEL Gymnastic

Tailors 1415-17 W. Susquehanna Philadelphia, Pa. 19121

o ,

NEW MG PIN & Booster Button Just send in one or more new subscrip­

tions (not renewal s) to the MG and we will send you by return mail your NEW MG PIN. We will also se nd you our attrac­tive new MG Booster Button as a bonus. PS: If all your friends already subscribe to the MG you can purchase a MG PI N (& Booster Button) for just $1.00.

MG PIN (& Booster Button) Box 777 Santa Monica, Ca. 90406

Enclosed please find one new subscription to The MODERN GYMNAST magazine . Please send me my MG PIN and Booster Button. Make check payable to:

SUNDBY PUBLICATIONS

New Subscriber's Name

Address City State Zip Your Name ________ _

Address City State Zi p

Gym Master has the only adjuster that

• • .GRIPS~ LIKE A STEEL

FIST I

Lifting the lever handle (1) permits positive height and/or width adjustment. With the handle up (2) the piston can be raised by lift­ing it until the safety latch (3) engages in the groove desired. To lower, a slightthumb pres­sure on the safety latch permits the grooved piston to be lowered to the desired position. After adjustment, the lever handle is pushed down and piston is securely locked in place.

• Gym Master's

exclusive "Lever Lock" Adjuster

gripsthe calibrated grooved piston uprights with

positive firm rigidity . Yet

the same "Steel Fist" is the fastest

and easiest heig ht and/or width adjuster

ever designed! No problem

even for women and children.

You'll find this "Lever Lock" Adjuster on

all Gym Master Parallel Bars, Balance Beams,

Short Horses, Bucks, Side and Long Horses.

We're concerned with every construction feature

at Gym Master!

THE WORLD'S GYMNASTIC EQUIPMENT SPECIALISTS

3200 SOUTH ZUNI STREET, ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO 80110

notes FROM THE

editor:

What's Ahead: With our Annual High School report coming up in the next edition of the MG (August-September), we wi ll just about wind up the '69 competit ive 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 & Univers ity Data, a more Up-To-Date Calendar and a planned ON TIME publishing schedule.

:i: :;: * 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 ries featuring each of the AA events in every MG edition. Join ing Jerry will be Don Tonry and Dan Millman with Jerry instructing 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.

:;: ::: :::

Iluestions & Answers: With our limited staff we have always had a difficult time answering all of the gymnastic 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 statist ic . . . If each subscriber (over 7,000 of 'em) wrote us just one letter with a question during a year and it took us just ten minutes to answer, type, sea l, stamp and moil (impossible) the letter, it would amount 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 stat ionery. We are sorry 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. Start ing in the fal l we will have a "Questions & Answers" feature in the MG with sev­eral well known Coaches, Gymnasts and 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 the 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 cover some 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 you. Please understand, these Panel members are volunteerin g their 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.

::: :;:

College & University Data: Another new MG series 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).

:;: :;: :::

Adding It Up: With these new features along w ith our regular articles "J udging by Jerry," "USGF Report," "Gymnastics in P.E.," "Scoreboard," "Viewpoints" and many other Photo fea­tures 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 the fall. And best of all we expect to be on schedule by then (and stay on schedule, with your help). So be su re you r subscr iption is up to date and stays there, because we wouldn't want you to miss one sing le exciting edition of the MG.

m THE MODERN GYMNAST MAGAZINE

G Official Publication of the United States Gymnastic Federation

VOL. XI

CONTENTS

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-si t, 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.

senior gymnastics apparatus

THE ATLAS LINE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND GYMNASTICS TRAINING

ATLAS Senior Apparatus meets all the demanding requirements

for physical education and gymnastics training. This heavy duty,

fully adjustable apparatus has been engineered for years of

service at realistic prices.

Write today for your free A TLAS catalog

ATLAS ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT CO. DEPARTMENT C • 2339 HAMPTON AVE .• ST. LOUIS, MO. 63139

ATLAS manufactures • Gymnastics Apparatus • Wrestling and Gym Mats • Football Sleds and Dummies • Gymnasium Equipment

m THE MODERN GYMNAST MAGAZINE

CG

6

VIEWpoints fly Vi ck Criley

Following this year's NCAA competitions, solicited reactions concerning the competi­

tions 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 underrepresentation 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 answer 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 qualify 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 freshmen into the NCAA 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 the stronger mid­west teams by weaker west and east coast teams. While Barbas hashed over the same arguments that 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 that, " the Russians and Japanese would dominate the competition , with the

Americans te n years behind them 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 knowledgeable sportswriters see fit to worry over the state of our sport. I think it meri ts a ttention. It see ms to me that a national 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, workable so lutions will not come from closed door hearings but from open give-and-take involving a ll interested parties in the (gymnastic) commun ity.

CANADIAN

• REPORT ALBERTA REPORT

(G. ELLIOT) The National Scene

An internationa l Junior competition in Cana­da on 4th, 5th, 6th September aga inst U.S. , C uba and Mexico.

T he A.A .U. have a uthorized the e.G.F. to issue its own card with the provision that 50% goes to prov incial A. A. U. and 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 and female gymnastic teams. Both Calgary a nd Edmonton have strong bids in to host these championships.

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 , especially at the local junior a nd age group levels, Canada fai ls , no matter how much money the national tea m gets from the government," quote from the Honourable John e. Monroe a t a Canadian Amateur Sports Fed­eration meeting. The Provincial Scene

Congratulations to the U of A men's gym­nastic team in winning the national intercolle­giate championships aga inst some very tough opposition from the East. Every team member contributed to the title proving that gymnastics can be a TEAM effort. Individua l honours to Rick Danielson, who was a ll -around champion for the second time. Don Meik le was third and Francis Tall y fifth . D a rryl O ' Brien 10th, Paul Cooper 15th and H ardy Schafer 16th complet­ed this good strong all-around team. The site of next year's champions hips to be held early in March in Edmonton. Your executives hope to arrange a n internationa l judges course in con­junction w ith these championships.

You should make an effort to read "Sports and Games in Canadian Life - 1700 to the Present" by Howell and Howell: it provides an excellent insight 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 dig up those judges?" " How can we ever expect to raise the gym­

nastic level with such poor judging?" " I have not been to one well-organized, well-

officiated meet thi s year!" " I am sick and tired of the level 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, and in many cases we have been justi fied . I n genera l the level of judging a nd meet management in this province is not at par. Why?

Because we, the coaches and officials , are too busy or too lazy to do anything but com­plain. If we ex pect a strong organization with we ll -run meets and good judging, we , the same coaches a nd organizers, must be willing to ac­cept the responsibi lities of helping each other.

When a meet is held , it shou ld be the respon­s ibility of each team en tered to provide two qua lified judges to ass ist the host c lub. If thi s were done , we would have the a nswe rs to the ques tions above a nd a cure for the co mpla in­ers.

The advantages of thi s are as fo llows : I . Decrease the load of the meet organizer. 2. I ncrease the efficiency of the meets. 3. Encourage more clubs , especially sma ller

c lubs , to hold meets. 4. Expand the depth of present clubs (en­

courage more parents to active ly participate, encourage gy mnasts 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 gymnast ic association as a

whole. Disadvantages : I . It wou ld require more effort than com­

plain ing. 2. It would take time . As you can see it wou ld not be impossible to

accomplis h th is step forward. It wou ld be eas ier to continue complaining a nd crit iciz ing, but I hope we want to advance gy mnas tics 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.

Shreveport Gymnastic Supply

Company P. 0 , Box 5374

Shreveport, La . 71105

Suppliers of 1968 U. S. Women 's Olympic

Gymnastic Team 1968 World Trampoline Team

WHY WAIT FOR YOUR ORDER?

Our stock items are shipped the day your order is receiv­ed , We stock most gymnastic clothing items and accessories,

Send 'for our catalog

1969 WORLD CUP INVITATIONAL (Super 8 - in color)

See the greatest routines ever executed in the U.S. at the 1 st 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.

Men's . . ... 300 It. .. . ... $29.00 Ppd. ORDER FROM:

1969 WORLD CUP FILM BOX 71J

SANTA MONICA CALIF. 90406

SEND FOR FREE COMPLETE

CATALOG OF TRAMPOLINE

EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES

SID LINGER • TRAMPOLINE CO. P.O. Box 2

Garland. Texas 75040

Indisputably the finest name in trampol ining - since 1948

7

Kenmotsu tries the surf in Hawoii

Mr. Frank Bare United States Gymllastic Federa tion P.O. Box 4699 Tucson, Arizona Dear Frank:

Th e HalVaiian Gymnastic Association lVould like to express its appreciation to the USGF for providing the opportunity for the Japan ese competitors in the World C liP to stop over in Ollrs tate.

A Ithollgh lVe had bllt l 'h days' notice, lVe lI'ere able to ar/"(l1/ge fo r sight-seeing, R &R and 1V0rk-01lt opportunities for Ollr guests, Coach Hirofllmi Okamllra, Akinori Nakayama, Eizo Kenmots ll alld Miss Chieko ada. all the last el'ening of their stay the Japan ese exhibit­ed their !"Olltines and demonstrated basic skills fo r a croll'd of abollt 200 persons at the Central YMCA of H anoi 11111.

I IV0uid like to ackll olVledl{e th e fo llolVingfor their assistance in making a success of this visit: Th e Central YMCA of Honollllu , Mr. J ack Schaff and Mr. Chuck COllpe, IVhose co­operation and j(lcilities made it all possible; Mr. Ralph Arthllr for arrangements to tOllr the Capitol and to be introduced in both hOllses of 0 /11' state legislatllre; television stations KI K U alld KGMB fo r interviews and general pllb­licity; the HalVaiian Visitors Bllreau for ar­ranging a tour of Pearl Harbor; University of Hawaii A thletic Director Palll Durham for making available a video-tape machine and operator; U . of H. Sports Publicist Dick Fish­back for neil's releases; Mr. Carl Haberland for competent assistance throllghollt the week, and Un iversity of Ha waii gymnastic team for providing transportation, workouts, muscle pOlVer, recreation alld international goodlVill. We lVere also very jortunate in ha ving mallY Japan ese-speaking Americans to help lVith problems of communication .

Ollr visitors retllrned to Japan lVith many ex­pressions of pleasure over the warm aloha spirit shown here in Hawaii. We here in Ha­waii look forward to many return visits and pledge the same warm reception to other mem­bers of the international gymnastic commu­nity. Mahala.'

8

Sincerely yours, Richard A. Criley (for) the Ha waiian Gymnastic Assoc.

Kenmotsu & Nakaya ma visi t Santo Monico beach during their stay.

l

1 , ,

.... Ce ror accompanied by M,ss McDonnel and Miss Diac hun (Canada) Miss Oda (Japan) at Santo Monico Beach

The World Cup competitors and friends tour Disneyland.

FIRST ANNUAL WORLD CUP

The finest gymnastics meet in the history of the USA got under way a t the Long Beach Arena , in Cali forn ia on Apri l 26th of thi s year, with the march-in ceremonies for the F irst World C up.

The United States has a lways needed a really big inte rnationa l event invol ving the worlq's finest gymnasts and providing our own promis­ing youngsters with an opportunity to compete aga inst these international winners in an annua l basis on our home floor. This year we began the first of such an annual event that with the sup­port of the F. I. G. (such as we had thi s yea r) in obtaining pa rticipation of the world 's best gy m­nasts promi ses to become a tremendously sig­nificant event for the USA.

Biggest name in this year's event was Ak inori Nakayama, winner of three gold medals in Mex ico. He won the all-around handil y, and was followed c losely by his teammate , Eizo Kenmotsu. Miroslav Cera, of Yugos lav ia, was third: Mauno Nissnenen of F inland was fourth and the USA's Emery and Thor were fifth and s ixth . Young Steve Hug was looking so good in Friday's compet ition that he was aimed at a high position in the world compet ition but he suffe red a chipped bone on the first event mount and was out of the meet. Bob Emery of Penn State took Steve's place and worked we ll , particularl y in view of the sudden need for his pelformances.

THE WORLD CUP fe atured contestants from Can­ada, Yugos lav ia, F inl and , J apan and the U .S. A. N ext year we hope to invite the to$ two Rus­sian gy mnasts - one man and one woman - and the top Czech woman as wel l. It is now up to the U.S.G.F. to promote this event into what America has needed for a good many years, and we promise you every attempt to make it the event it should be. N aturally, we need the help of all the gy mnas tics people in the U.S.A . This event , covered by TV and involving the nation 'S most promi sing gy mnas ts, such as thi s year's meet, will provide us with the finest opportunity we've ever had to improve our interna tiona l image.

I n the women's meet , as an example , youthfu l Cathy Rigby fini shed first , edging out J apan 's ODA, and then in third wi th a st rong per­formance for the second stra ight day was Joyce Tanac. Yugoslav ia's Slejpich was fourth and Canada's Diachun and McDonnel were fifth and sixth . T he meet was a great event, and pro­vided for the Americans and Canadians in­volved a chance to meet Japan 's fine st and Yugoslavia's finest pe rformer here in North America. Next year we hope to invite the top two Rus­sia and Czechoslovakia, we wi ll see the Ameri­cans participating with the world 's champions ... and aga in we look for our girls to do very well.

The World Cup, an idea envisioned some years ago by G lenn Sundby , is now a reality with the first competition history. Now, with some real effort , the USA can continue to host a truly internationa l event annua ll y.

Akinori Nakayama, Japan tokes World Cup AA title.

First Annual World Cup AA Placings, 1. Na kayama, Japan; 2. Kenmotsu, 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 9.45 Nakayama, SH 9.50

10

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, SH 9.20 Photo by Gary Billington

(erar, HB 9.50 (eror, PB 9.25 Photo by Gary Billington

12

Emery, R 9.1 5 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

JAPAN

2. EIZO KENMOTSU 9.60 965 9.45 9.35 9.60 930 56.95 JAPAN

3. MIROSLAV CERAR 9.10 9.25 8.95 9.05 9.50 9.20 55.05 YUGOSLAVIA

4. MAUND NISSENEN 8.85 9.30 8.80 9.05 9.20 8.75 53.95 FINLAND

5. BOB EMERY 8.70 8.75 9.15 9.15 9.00 8.60 53.35 U.S.A.

6. DAVE THOR 8.80 7. 15 8. 10 9.05 9.25 9.30 51.65 U.S.A.

1 4 Mitchell , Bore and Su nd by

Kenmotsu & Nakayama ) This interview was made by Mr. Frank Endo IIpon th e arriva l of the J apanese delega­tion to the fi rst USC F World Cup In vitational Meet. Mr. Himflllni Okamura , who officiated at this meet , accompanied K enmotsu, Nakayama and one girl fo r th e com­petition.

Name: Eizo Kenmotsu Age : 21 HI.: 5'·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 Mex­

ico 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? OJ<amura: Yes, please da. Endo : Is this your first trip to the states? 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. This is Nokoyamo's third t ri p. Endo : Although you have just arrived, do you like Long Beach? 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? Okamura: Since the Japanese are presently the best gymnasts in the world, it is very important that we keep ahead of the sport. We have a gymnas­tic research magazine that is published four times a year and written by our top au thorit ies. This 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 instructors tha t teach gymnastics and other sports . However, those who have gymnastic teams coach without pay. Endo: Kenmotsu, what is your occupation? Kenmotsu: I am presently attending the University of Physical Educa tion in Tokyo. I will be graduating in Aprill 970. Endo: When did you get interested in gymnastics? Kenmotsu: I first competed in high school but was

Kenmotsu, Endo 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 Fest ival. Endo: What is the highest honor in gymnastics that you have ever attained? Kenmotsu: Last year I won the National Collegiate Championships 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 gymnasts 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? Nakayama: I am presently a gymnastic instructor at the Chukyo University in Nagoya City. Endo: When do you have time to work out? Nakayama: I work out after school for about two hours each day, SIX days a week and rest on Sun­day. Endo : How did you become interested in gymnastics? Nakayama: Ouring my second year in junior high school I saw an exhibition by the great Takemoto. I really admired him. Endo : Are you on a diet during your tra ining? Nakayama : I do not have a diet. I eat practica lly anything. Endo: Have you ever been injured? ~akayama: Yes, I have. I cut my Achilles tendon during the free exercise when I was a freshman in college. I was 1 B years of age. Thi s was my on ly bad experience. Endo : What is your most favorite event? Nakayamo: I have always loved the horizontal 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 Japanese have gradua lly learned to wear their grips in th is fashion as it gives better control and execution. Endo : Since you are the Olympic champion on the hori­zontal bar, what kind of care do you give your hands? Nakayama: 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 hands soft. I use cream to keep my hands soft. I try to keep my honds in excellent 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 udents would spot. Endo : How did you learn to do the side split stretch? Nakayama: It took me a couple of months. After warming up I had another person pushing down on my shoulders while stretched out on the floor so that I could reach my toes. I also find that after a hot bath the muscles are loose, and this same stretch exercise would help. Endo : There are many Americans that do the Yama­shita 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 mentioned is the old way the Japanese fi rst learned this va ult. The 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 would work ou t three to four hours daily. I have a set pattern 'starting my warmup with cal isthenics and tumbling. Then I proceed into the six Olympic events as follows: F.X., S. H., Rings, PB., H.B. & L.H. Endo: How many meets do you enter a year? Nakayama: 1. NH K (Japan Broadcasting Corp.); 2. National Sports Festival ; 3. International, 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 the same moves. A shorter gymnast must extend more and exert more effort to look like the taller gymnast. For this reason, the Japanese must train harder. Endo:. How much longer do you plan to continue com­peting? Nakayama: This 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

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 format 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 youngsters 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

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

Steve Hug, 1969 USGF National All-Around Champ

John Ellos, 9.05 High Bar Rich Grigsby, B. 70 P. Bars

19

NAME FI.Ex. P·Bars Rings Vaulting HB SH All -Around Place

STEVE HUG 9.10 9.30 8.65 9.10 9.20 9.25 54.60 1 BOI> EMERY 8.70 9.25 9.15 8.90 8.95 8.80 53.75 2 DAVE THOR 9.10 7.65 8.45 9.05 8.75 9.40 52.40 3 RICHARD GRIGSBY 8.55 8.70 8.40 8.80 9.40 8.45 52.30 4 JOHN ELLAS 8.50 9.00 8.45 8.40 9.05 8.85 52.25 5 . G. GREENFIELD 8.90 8.85 8 .1 5 8.90 9.00 8.1 5 51.95 6

Jomes Betters FRED DENNIS 8.50 8.75 9 .1 5 8.20 8.95 8.40 51.95 6 808 DICKSON 8.65 8.80 8.90 8.90 9.00 7.30 51.55 7 KANOTI ALLEN 8.95 8.70 6.75 8.30 9.35 8.95 51.00 8 PAUL TICKENOFF 8.90 8.95 8.35 9.30 8.80 5.55 49.85 9 JIM AMER INE 8.10 8.80 8.45 8.50' 8.50 7.50 49.85 9 DAVE BUTZMAN 8.15 8.60 8.45 9.20 8. 10 7.25 49.75 10 RICHARD TUCKER 8.75 8.25 8.20 8.60 8.55 7.05 49.40 11 BRENT SIMMONS 8.35 9.00 8.80 8.55 8.90 5.70 49.30 12 JAMES CULHANE 8.15 8.35 8.20 8.60 8.90 6.60 48.80 13 MIKE FLANSAAS 7.90 8.35 8.40 8.40 8.55 6.95 48.55 14 RICHARD LLOYD 8.70 7.20 8.20 8 .55 7.45 8.45 48.55 14 RON BAR ETTA 8.65 8.05 8.30 6.30 8.60 8.30 48.20 15 CRAIG RITTER 8.70 7.65 7.60 8.55 7.25 8.45 48.20 15 LARRY BASSIST 8.80 8.15 6.75 9.15 8.55 6.60 48 .00 16 MI KE KIMBALL 8.35 8.55 8.60 8.00 8.25 6.20 47.95 17 DICK SIMMONS 8.65· 7.85 7.10 8.95 8.20 6.80 47 .55 18 ['AN CONNEL LY 7.95 8.85 7.85 7.90 8.50 6.35 47.40 19 MAX MAGDALENO 8 .25 8.80 8.30 8.95 8.40 4.55 47 .25 :10 DAN GARCIA 8 .85 8.35 8.75 8.70 8.45 4.00 47.10 21 JAMES BETTERS 8 .55 8.30 8.70 7.30 8.55 4.50 45 .90 22 PAT DAVEY 7.75 7.60 8.20 8.30 8.00 5.50 45 .35 23 DON FERRE 8.45 7.65 6.75 8.70 8.80 4.75 45.10 24 SEYMOUR RIFKIND 7.90 8.40 7.90 7.35 7.40 5.85 44.80 25 MARTY CA LING 8.60 8.15 6.25 6.90 8.20 5.65 43.75 26 RANDY MARTIN 8.45 7.60 7.50 8.65 5.30 6.20 43 .70 27 DENNIS SULLIVAN 8.00 5.50 8.30 8.45 7.80 4.70 42.75 28

20

THE 1969 NATIONAL YMCA GYMNASTIC CHAMPIONSHIPS

April 11 - 12 New Orleans, Louisiana by WILLIAM BUFFA

C hairman. N ational YM CA Gymna'stic Committee

" It was a great meet.. .. an except iona ll y fine program in a ll respects ... a model example of YM CA Physica l Education and competitive sports at their best.. .. beautiful ly conducted." Such are the praises received about 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 pi­onships were conducted. Thanks also to Mr. Wortman for some of t he fo llowing observa­tions.

Gymnast s travelled to New Orl e an s from as far as Seattle and New York C ity to meet again in friendly competition in a cham­pionship which is as much fun as it is serious. The judging, under the capable supervision of Frank Comiskey and Vannie Edwards, was exceptionall y good . A huge eight by forty­eight foot score-board separated the competi­tive a rea from the warm-up area and permitted pa rti c ipants and 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 llowed a three-minute warm-up on the competition apparatus. During the Fin­als an Old New Orleans " Dixieland" band played during the warm-ups. 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 and cooperati ve

AII·Around 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 score to be added to the aver­age of the qualifying (compulsory and semi­fina l optional) scores. The Men's Championships

Th e caliber of work 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 control and execu­tion in his routines. winning the All -Around title , and leading his Germantown, Pennsyl­vania team- mates to a c lose second place in the team leading his Germantown , Pennsy l­vania team-mates to a c lose second place in the team standings. Gary Anderson displayed ex­cellent consistency of performance to lead his Westchester, Pennsylvania team to a third place in team standings while winning himself three National YMCA titles , and , coming in no less than third any event.

The 1969 Nationa l YMCA Gymnastics C hampionships for Men - Resu lts:

Team Re su lts New Orleans, Louisiana Germantown, Penna. Westchester, Penna. Baton Rouge, Louisiano Dayton, Ohio AII·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, Westchester, 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 Orleons, 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 , Germantown, 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

~ ~------~~~---

WHAT IS TALENT? By D AN S. M ILL MAN

Gyml/astic Coach, Stal/ford The concept of " ta lent " is of great conce rn

to a ll gymnasts a nd coaches . Natura ll y, in thi s contex t we are talking a bout gy mnas tics' a ll­a round talent.

There are three primary reasons why talent is an importan t to pic for discuss ion:

I . I hope to show that for the most part , ta l­ent is del'eloped much more than inborn.

2. U ndersta nding ta lent can he lp coaches utili ze a more va lid cri teria in recruiting tha n tri c ks lea rned a nd past scores.

3. U nde rsta nding talent can act ua ll y enable one to predict with unus ua l accuracy who will be the top gym nasts from a given popu lation in a ce rta in time peri od.

Everyo ne is ta lented. Some gymnasts pos­sess more " ta lent " than others.

Wha t we ca ll ta lent is ac tua ll y a conglomerate of a number of s pec ific s kills which can , to a grea t ex tent, be developed.

Genera ll y li sted , the a ttri butes whic h· make up ta len t a re as fo ll ows:

I . "Tale nted " attitude a nd personality char­acteristics

a. Highl y moti va ted b. Se lf-confident in gy mnas tics c. Stubborn, determined , spirited 2. IlIIelligence

a. I n thi s case meaning the abili ty to profit from expe rience .

3. Flex ibility in a ll joints and te ndons 4. Strength: not binding or ge nera lized powe r

but specific to gym nas tics move me nts. 5. K iI/es thetic fee/.' "air-minded ness" 6. Fast reflexes: ex plosive. dy na mic move­

ment - ab ilit y to move from o ne posi tio n to a nother rapid ly.

7. The las t att ri bute is inborn: Body type -ge ne rall y. a s ma ll , li ght mesamo rphic (musc u­la r) build is important.

A gy mnas tics coach is especiall y importan t in deve loping ta lent ea rl y in a young gy mnas t 's life because the gym nas t' s fin a l pote ntia l, o r ce iling, is depe ndent on hi s ea rl y ph ys ica l tra in­ing ha bits a nd bas ic mecha nics work. I f he be­comes too muscle-bo und ear ly or if he learns the fund a menta ls incorrectly, he will be forced to compen sa te a nd wi ll have problems lea rning more ad vanced work .

Many a coac h and gymnas t has been frus trat­ed because the gy mnas t ca nnot do a correct ha ndstand , no ma tter how hard he tri es be­cause stiff, mu scle-bound s houlders don't a l­low for proper body line. A nothe r exa mple is the gymnas t who has trouble lea rning virtua ll y

22

every movement through a hand sta nd posi tion (inc lud ing roundoffs . giant s on high bar, back ha nds prings. front handsprings, etc.) because he neve r lea rned a correct ha ndstand .

The firs t reason for discuss ing ta le nt is to s how that it is deve loped: to give hope to young gy mnas ts who may not be doing much trick­wise or score-wise: to give them a direction in th e ir trai ning. ATTITUDE: Gy mnas ti cs is deve loped by att itude , a nd atti ­tude is developed by gy mnas tics. The best gym­nasts have an open mind and are w illing to li s ten to coach's advice and give it a try. Good gy mnasts don't give up . ever. They work through di scourage ment (even tho ugh a ll get di scouraged). The y are aggressive di scouraged). They are aggressil'e indiv idua ls. T hey remembe r to e njoy the sport. Pe riodica lly, ask yourself, "Shou ld I be in gy m­nastics? Wh y?" If you cannot answer the ques­tio n. quit rat her than do a mediocre job. If you do find your goals , continue even harde r with new ly found moti va tio n. As k yourse lf, "A m I rea ll y li s ten ing to my coach?" Reme mber that a ll gymnas ti cs exce llence s te ms from wal/ting to be great! The n comes the work . INTE LLIGENCE: Means not maki ng the same mi stakes more tha n once. For example, if you " blow your cool" in o ne meet , forget your ro utine because of one break , don 't le t it ha ppe n again. Don 't throwaway points in two meets for the sa me reason. I nte lligence also means trying to a nalyze your movements and figure out how you can do them better: constant ly s tri ving for improved me­chan ics and clea n appearance. FLEX IBILITY : This is the first a nd perhaps the most impo rta nt of the physical aspec ts of a talented gy mnast. It o nly takes o ne year (inc luding the s ummer) of ha rd daily flexibi li ty workouts to become fl ex ible. Every movement will then be eas ier a nd is likel y to be mechanica ll y s uperior"" STRENGTH: I n gy mnasti cs, the re are not a grea t ma ny power mo ve ment s required. (No specific s tre ngth moveme nt is required in free exercise, merely "stre ngth parts. " On the rings a hand­stand is required executed with strength. O n the parallel bars, one stre ngth part is required.) Other than the require ments , the gy mnas t needs no s pecial strengt h o ther tha n the abilit y to sup­port hi s body weight in a variety of support a nd ha nging movements. Thi s doesn' t take a mus­c le man. It is beneficial , however, to have mo re than minimum strength so that you may " save" yourse lf if you are off balance and need power to pull back. O ne key in effec ti ve strength is the ab ilit y to ti ghten on ly those muscles needed fo r each move ment. For exa mple , we have had a ll seen ne rvou s gy mnas ts mi ss a press handsta nd -apparentl y, they didn 't have the strength to push up , but actua ll y they were tensing the wro ng mu scles as we ll as the co rrec t ones, re­s ulting in a s ta ndoff l We have a lso seen gy m­nas t w ith a " tight " sw ing on para ll e l bars he is ti ghtening a ll hi s up per body musc les when he o nl y needs to contrac t the de ltoids and the tri ceps (primaril y). I n summary, get s trong by performing gym nas­ti cs , not work ing o ut side weight exerc ises ex­cept for minima l supple me nta ry exe rcises. KIN ESTHETI C FEEL: A ny gy mnas t wi ll know where he is in th e a ir w he n he has so mersaulted and "gotte n los t" about 10 ,000 t imes ... so ge t sta rt ed .

FAST REFLEXES: Ofte n, the effecti veness of a move depends upon the speed of the compone nt movements. When ca ll ed for , the gy mnas t should be ab le to change from one body pos iti on to a noth e r in a frac tion of a second. A general examp le of thi s

is in a ll " felge " (fe l-ga) moveme nt s s uch as stre illi , shoot hand. fl yaway from high bar, e tc.: w he n a quic k " pop " is necessary. ** A fl ex ibilit y c irc uit is inc luded a t the conc lu ­sio n of thi s a rti c le. Add exercises of your own to the basic ones. Reme mber, every day'

In recruiting , it would be we ll fo r coaches to check a boy 's flex ibilit y, strength , kines the tic fee l, reflexes and determine his a ttitude in add i­tio n to just looking at ro utines. I n thi s way the coach ca n often pi ck out a " ge m in the ro ugh "; a lad who hasn ' t done much ye t (pe rh aps be­ca use of a late s tart) but who has a ll the com­ponents of a ta le nted a thlete.

If we rate a li st of gy mnasts on a 0- 10 scale on each of the " qua lities of ta le nt ," perha ps with appropria te weighing of the factors a nd with the use of a compu te r. it may be poss ible to accurate ly predict the o utcome of seve ra l yea rs' train ing on different indi vidu als. This w riter has attempted th is in the past, predicting the outcome of the U.S. O lympic Team's indi­vid ual orders and was very accurate. (This was done before the final tria ls). Steve Hug, inci­denta ll y, placed top o n the li st, eve n though he was e ighth in the tri a ls a t UC LA.

It should be ment ioned here that a coach can inc rease a pe lformer's talent tremendous ly . and should work on his ta le nt firs t before push­ing the gymnas t towards advanced tri c ks or routines.

Often the freshm an yea r, when there is n't quite the competition pressure can be used as a yea r fo r "building ta lent " (attitude , fl ex ibility, st rength , kinest heti c fee l, refl exes) , so that la ter, hi s talel/ ted gy mnas t can pick up tricks qu ick ly a nd perform . cons is ten t, mecha nica lly correct rout ines.

There is no excuse for pushing a gy mnas t too far too soon for tea m glory, school glory or anyone's glory. I f a gy mnast is inco ns iste nt , blows ro utines, or a ppea rs to have da nge rous ly weak mechanics, or if he s imply learns s lowl y, he needs work on vario us facet s of his ta len t before continuing.

For the gy mnas t the message is c lear. If he want s to be a n a rti s t, he can by firs t deve loping his ta lent. It may see m li ke the long way around , but it 's a short c ut to exce lle l' ce.

FLEXIBILITY CIRCUIT FOR GYMNASTICS

The purpose of the circui t is to increase suppleness of muscles and tendons throughout the body in many differ· ent ranges of motian.

Flexibili ty increases muscle tone, helps ci rculation, mini­mizes pulling or teo ring type injuries and enable the gym· nost to leorn more rapidly ond with correct technique.

- The Circuit -1. Worm up by running (in place O.K.); as long as per­

spiring ond pant ing. 2. Move head in lorge ci rcles five t imes eoch direction. 3. Move shoulders up ond down five times, forward and

backward five times, and in big, slow circles, 1 5 times eoch direction. (Relax the arms, jus t use shoulder muscles -one of the "secrets" of effect ive movement is to selec­tively tighten some muscles and relax others.)

4. Circle enti re orms quickly, shoke them loose. (By now you should reolize thot we are bui lding muscles as well as st retching.)

5. Hold parollel bars in regulor and reverse grip with each exercise, in loco te and dislocote - hong from bars in in locate posit ion - face bors wi th regular grip, and drop chest ond heod so honds through shoulders, th rough hips forms a stroight line.

6. Stonding up with orms stretched stroight over the heod, bend forword at woist with back slightly arched, ond see how fo r forword you con bend (keep orms in stroight line with body I). Now drop arms ond toto lly relax (keeping knees stroi ght !) - ob ject, to touch elbows to the ground.

7. Stonding stroi ght with orms overhead, bend side­woys fi ve times eoch woy.

8. Standing stroight with orms overheod, bend bock· wards as far as possible.

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

10. From position 9, stroighten legs and try ond keep toes on ground behind head (with legs stroight!). (Grob toes ond pull towords heod legs stroight) ... it only hurts for 0 week or so.

Continued on page 29

A SECOND LOOK AT SWING © By (fflrald S. George

Varsity Gymnastic Ooach Louisiana State University

Everybod y likes to swi ng . . . a nd those who engage in compet itio n love it ... ye t those who border the luna ti c fringe of exacting execution li ve it a nd that 's the simple truth. In thi s light. I invite you to e ntertai n a c ha mpion among hori zontal bar skill s. the stoop-in.

An interes ting observation can be found in the fact that Illustra tio ns A through L are identical in mechanic s and technique to the U nde rgriD Stalder (J a n. issue of '69 MG). This s trict mechanical relations hip mere ly points out that accurate learning a nd interpret a tio n of any one given sk ill implies . a t leas t, a partia l learn­ing of a ny and all technica ll y similar s kill s. It would be we ll to reme mber that "consistency" is the mo ther of c ha mpio ns.

The de lica te timing of the mule-k ick ac tion serves to position the body mass as far as is anatomica ll y possible away from the bar. Thi s action , together wi th the forceful " fo lding- in " of the hip a ngle, w ill trul y bury the bod y at the bottom of th e swing. o nl y to ri se agai n w ith the awesom~ reply of th e vic tor's cha nt, ' 'I'm num­ber one. .

A lthough this sk ill ca ll s for ci rc ling about the ba r with a tota ll y decreased hip angle. the leg­trunk unit does not. in any degree , turn about the ho ri zont al-vertical ax is. The forceful back­downwa rd pus h of the a rms aga in st the bar not only stabili zes the leg- trun k unit in thi s respec t , but a lso it insures a tt a inme nt of the I nloca ted Ha nd sta nd Positio n. From the bottom of the swing. it' s s impl y a matte r of "th rowing the bar, witho ut ac tu all y releas ing one 's ha ndgrasp. away from a nd behind oneself until thi s specific anatomi ca l ra nge of motion IS to tall y a nd com­pl etely ex ha usted . I POlllt to Jim L urZI age" II , for he is a maste r of thi s technique.

So why be le ft in a s tupo r~? Take tha t second look, a nd you' ll find a s tyle that is both provoca­ti ve a nd cha ll enging. Writ e e it her to the MG or to me perso na ll y fo r those s kill s you would like to have a nalyzed. From an Undergrip Giant Swing -STOOP-IN CIRCLE SHOOT - to an Inlocated Handstand Position

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

more 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 strations E-F. a re ide nt ica l to the res pecti ve i1lu slra tl o ns dep ic ted in th e Bas ic U nd e rgrip G ian t

Swing (A ug.-Sept. iss ue of '68 MG). Hence. 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 .

The 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 rde r to facil itate the upward ci rcular swi ng. The gymnast must imme­diat e ly fo ll ow up thi s act io n firs t by dec reasing th e sho uld e r angle s lightl y a nd th e n by dec reas ing the hip a ng le in direct proport io n to the upward circular swing. Ill ustra 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 mentioned dec reased hi p a ngle begin s to in c rease to a poi nt suc h th at the body line is s light ly a rched. Howeve r. the minute ly dec reased s ho ulde r a ngle is mai ntain ed 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 will 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 rves as a tac ti cal cue for the s li p-grip actio 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 suppo rt for th e o nco ming body weight.

Obse rve ca refu ll y the delicate re la ti o nship between Illu s tration s Land M . Si nce a ll upward momentum is nearly ex hau sted. th e bod y a ppea rs to be mom en­tar ily s tall ed. A s lig ht forw a rd pu sh against th e ba r ( Illu stratio n L) e nha nces the timing necessa ry for the " mul e- kick" ac tio n of the " Stoop- In '" (Illu stra 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 transce nd the upper ve rtical. th e "S too p- In" ac tion beg in s a nd cont inu es throughout one's full a nalO mical range o f moti o n. It mu st be in s ta ntaneous, v igorous 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 inloca ti o n of the sho uld e r jo int. T he greater

GYMNASTIC CLASSICS Volume 1 - Horizonta l Bar Section "H" - Stoops

Number 2 - From on Undergr ip Gia nt Swi ng - STOOP-IN CIRCLE SHOOT - to on In located

Handstand Position.

the di s ta nce that th e gy mn ast 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 uent mo mentum necessary for a n e ffecti ve ascent.

IIlu s lration R depic ts the aC lU a l "BotlOming Effect'" in act ion. The bar bows slightl y downward 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 ted Ha nd stand 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 end ed Inloca ted H a nd sta nd Pos ition. The fu ll and complele hi p a ngle dec re me nt is mai ntained th roug ho ut the e ntire ascent. Prec ise obse rva ti o n revea ls th a t the sho uld er a ngle co minues to full a na­lOmica l h yperextension in direct proportio n to th e upward c irc ul a r swing. Thi s cO nJinu ed sho uld er a ngle incre ment is acco mpli shed by a most forceful bac k­downward pu sh against the bar. Such a pu sh 1I1lIst co ntinu e until th e full ra nge o f mo tio n relative lo th e inloca ted sho uld er posi ti on is touil ly ex hausted .

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 nse 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 s lip-grip ac tio n of the ha nd s is realized. The wrists are vigorous ly a rc hed o nt o th e top of th e bar to pro vide s uppo rt fo r the o nco ming bod y we ight.

Illu stra 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 an Inlocated H a nd­s ta nd Pos itio n. The hi p a ngle is tota ll y dec reased w ith reference 10 its specific anatomical range of Illo lion. th e sho uld er a nule is ex te nd ed rearward to it s full est ra nge wi thout ;5 ye t incurring disloca tion : and the e ntire body un it is so pos itio ned that it s grav ita ti ona l lin e li es s lightl y in front o f the int end ed direction of movement. A paused tempo is therefore realized a t the apex of the sk ill. Suc h a considera tio n w ill he lp lo in sure 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.

© Copyright

23

Another winner tromBSe .. .

the new SOFLIII 4 .. . ·au . -

lor comPllllion use

sides and bottom

Nylon based plastic (POWERHYDE) cover

1" closed cell Vinyl foam (NY-O-BOND)

3 " POLY foam

After months of engineering GSC has developed a safety mat acceptable in com­

petition. This versatile all purpose safety mat offers maximum firm-foot landing

when competing and when turned over the SOFLAN 4 becomes a crash pad when

the participant uses it for practice.

The four-inch thick mat is composed of one inch of Vinylfoam with a bonded

Powerhyde cover which allows a firm-foot landing. Underneath the Vinylfoam is

three inches of Polyfoam covered with breather fabric which allows the performer

a cushioned landing in case of an unexpected fall. When practicing soft side of

mat may be turned up making a 4 inch crash pad.

M-SG48 - 4'x8' Soflan Competition Mat

M·SG510 - 5'xlO' Soflan Competition Mat

M-SG612 - 6'x12' Soflan Competition Mat

TEAM

95,00

140.00

195.00

Report and Critique of: AN INTERNATIONAL GYMNASTIC

SYMPOSIUM FOR MALE COACHES Federal Sports School, Macolin, Switzerland March 19-23, 1969

S ubmitt ed by : RI C H A RD M. A RO NS O N

O n M a rch 17. 1969. Di c k A ro nso n (NACGC). T om Wa lth ouse a nd J oe Gia ll o m­bardo ( Illin o is Hi g h Schoo l Gy mn as ti c Coaches Assoc ia tio n) left New York for a n Inte rnat io na l Gy mn as ti c Sy mposium in Maco­lin . Sw itze rl a nd . Th e trip was initia ted by the US F G and Frank Ba re a lo ng wi th the coopera­ti on of me mbe r associa ti o ns. Through the ef­forts of t he SGF. A me ricans. for the firs t time. we re in vited to the sy mpus ium a nd we were exc it ed a t the prospec t of not o nl y meet­ing coac hes from differe nt na tio ns but of being exposed to internationa l gym nastics.

Upon our a rri va l in Swit ze rl a nd . we we re ho used in the Fede ra l Spo rt s Sc hoo l in Maco­lin w hich is located on a hill a bove th e tow n of Biel. (One has to take a tra in uphi ll to ge t there.) We we re ass igned roo ms in dormitories locat ed near th e main lec ture a rea a nd dining area. The F I G co mmitt ee a ttempted to house people with simi la r co mmunica ti ve ab ilities. therefore. we roo med w ith N ik Stua rt. nationa l coach of G reat Britain. (N ik was the hit of the c lose-o ut pa rt y hav ing a marve lo us se nse of humor a long with the kno wledge of the technical as pec ts of gy mnas ti cs. )

The first meeting was he ld by Mr. A rthur Gander. Preside nt of th e F IG. H e had a ro ll ca ll of delega tes. introduced some of the gues t lec ture rs. di scussed the ge nera l tre nd of the confe re nce the n di s mi ssed the group until la te r in the eve ning w hen the 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 of the

co nference. ' The F uture of~G ymnas ti cs.·· He discussed hi s to ry of the s port sta ting tha t on ly by looking back can we find nega ti ve e le me nt s in gym nas ti cs. Th e FI G was just co ming into the picture around 1948 and pri o r to that date. organi za tion a nd ad mini s tra tio n of gy mnas ti cs was poor. I n th e 1948 O ly mpic Games. so me tea ms brought the ir own a ppa ra tu s a nd the ir own judges. Even s izes o f ap paratus was diffe r­ent for some nation s. conseque ntl y. thi s ce r­ta inl y he lped those gy mnas ts who we re used to "h ome" equipme nt. Finally. in 1950. a ppara tus began to be s tanda rd a nd in 1952 the "great surge" in gy mnas tics s ta rted to mode rn ize the sport. 1956 fo und th e deve lop ment of ABC moves a nd the side horse using three pa rt s of the horse. And in 1960. th e c urrent approach

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

Gande r di scussed the qua lit y of gy mnas ti cs in s tead of a nega ti ve approach. " Artistic work mu st neve r be expe nded a t the expense ofform and execution." By qualit y, Gande r means tha t the gy mnast must be in control of hi s body a t a ll times a nd not sac ri fice execution in order to deve lop the exerc ise with a g reat deal of diffi­cult y but doing it badl y. "Elegance and sec urit y a re the key facts in gy mnas tics a nd becau se of thi s women a re ten yea rs ahead of the me n '" (Naturally. thi s must be seen as new o nl y be­cause of the uneve n bar work being developed a nd a grea t dea l of dance being used in noor exe rc ise. ) H e s tressed th a t wo men see m to lure the me n in a s imila r style of gy mnas ti cs but me n mu st be careful of goi ng to far with the feminin e tre nd because :

I . le n 's rul e have diffe re nt techni ca l view. ., The code of point s for men s upport mas­

c uline movement s. 3. Men's appa ratus not construc ted for

wome n. 4. No real co mpari"so n to code of points

a nd s tyle of gy mnas t ics. 5. Men mu st co ntinue in th e ir own pe rson­

a l s ty le a nd no t copy women wbo sup­port a fe minine approach to the sport .

A rti s ti c gy mnasti cs mu st continue in a posi­ti ve dii'ec tio n and th e gy mnast must develop hi s personal role and s tress a di sc iplined a p­proach to ma ke gy mnasti cs more interes ting. ( I assume Gander mea ns that "negative" gy m­nastics goes aga inst the code w hile "positi ve" gy mnasti cs s tri ves to reac h the a rti sti c work so needed to be a c ham pi on.) Hi s' exa mple was. s ide saltos done with poo r form looses the e le­ga nce.

The 1968 code. a lth ough not comp le ted. s ta tes that a ll judges must be ne utra l. "There we re no ac tual findings of nega ti ve judging in Mexico a nd th e adminis tration of judges we nt so we ll in the final s that the enti re meet wen t off in two hours. Thi s cut down 30 minutes from T o kyo. The O lympic Ga mes s howed us tha t with prope r organiZa tio n of offic ia ls the s po rt can be a ppealing to s pecta tors." "In addi ­tion to judging. the para ll e l bar event is s till lac king in imagi na tio n but the horizo nta l bar is correc t a nd pas t mono ton y."

(It see ms that man y coac hes are conce rned a bo ut "monotony" in gy mnas ti cs. The future of the sport seems to hinge o n elim in ating tire­so me eve nt s a nd th ose tha t have the sa me type of exe rc ises pe lformed ove r and ove r aga in dur­ing a co mpetition . Long horse is o ne eve nt we ce rt a inl y s uffer from mo noton y. The 196H Ol ympi c Games had 94 to 108 gymnasts doing the sa me va ult a ll ranging from 9. 0 to 9.3.1

G ande rs fin a l thought concerned the tra in­ing of yo ung gymnasts in correct head. ha nd and bod y pos it ions and the discipline of com-

pu lsory exe rc ises. (Abe. of Japa n as ked me how man y inte rnationa l c lass gy mnas ts th e U nited States had . I told him I thought about 12 now in tra ining. H e th en s ta ted th at we have exce l­le nt spec(a li s ts but did no t know the ir names: howeve r. if they we re a ll around gy mnas ts he wo uld probabl y kno w a ll 12' I be lieve he means tha t wit h compu lso ry exe rc ises combi ned with o ptio na l work for A LL our gymnasts . we could soon become a mongs t the world's fines t')

I n addition. the gymnast sho uld deve lop hi s own s ty le with the coac hes gu idance and mu st be aware of a lso develo ping hi s pe rsona l c ha r­ac teri s ti cs. Thi s means that the gy mnas t shou ld s tri ve to prod uce hi s pe rsonal ab ilities a nd use hi s natura l ph ys ical g irt s fo r work o n the ap­para tu s. Perha ps an example of thi s is Cerar who s ta rt ed the " vogue" of using the o ut s ide of the parall e l ba rs or o ne bar during hi s op tion­a l exe rci se. A nother tre nd towa rds personal de ve lopme nt is found in the "M innec helli s tyle" n oor exerc ise. (This was mention ed during the co nfere nce as th e type of 1100 r ex­e rc ise now becoming preva le nt in thi s event.!

When the d eve lopme nt of th e gy mna s t reac hes a point of pe rsonal develop me nt and he knows what hi s limitatio ns are the coac h must take over an d continue thi s deve lopment in o rder to lead the athle te beyond what he thinks is hi s finalit y in routine construction . " The so-ca ll ed 'stock' exercise must not be seen in the evo lut ion of a rti s ti c gymnast ics a nd coaches a nd judges must ta ke the hint."

II. Second Session­speaker, Mr. Abe (Japan)

" The deve lopment of gy mnastics rea ll y be­gins with student gy mnas tics." Thi s was ev i­de nt by th e fac t that half the team in Me xico was made up of s tude nt s. Because of a young tea m. it is felt th a t the future of J apanese gym­nas tics has had a new beginning as far as deve l­o pme nt of art is tics exerci ses a re concerned. The J apanese Federa tio n has se t up basic prin­ciples to follow a nd wi ll see k future deve lop­ment in areas of:

I. Resea rc h o f Mecha nical Analys is J a pane se gymnas ti cs actu a ll y began wi th resea rc h. They first copied European gy mnas tics combined thi s with "arti s tic" gy mnas tics a nd plann ed structural move­me nt s o f the body. The y made mistakes in Ihe heginning. suc h as. L support he ld too high but fin a ll y lowe red them to wha t we know as normal posi ti o n.

., The compu lso ry influe nce on a n opt iona l exercise. This has had a so mewhat direct effec t upon the deve lopme nt of new moveme nt s.

3. I t is necessary for judges to master the code and a ppl y th e rules w ithout hes i­tatio n.

4 . The coach is the authorit y and th e gym-25

nast must follow his directions. (An ex­cellent point!)

5. Routine construction can blend into oth­er areas. An example of this 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 combina­tions.

And in order to develop stronger combina­tions, the Japanese feel the following are the best procedures to follow:

I. Develop bas ic principles in hum a n movement.

2. Develop movements from fantasy. 3. Develop movements from a missed ex­

ercIse. a. The Yamashita was a missed hand­

spring. 4. Develop varied combinations using the

same tricks. 5. Develop individual and group muscles.

Regarding · speci al events , it is felt that 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 forms were needed in order to have a winning exercise. Using only a half-twister ( 180 degrees) is def­intely not enough to win but full twisting saltos (360 degrees) and above is the key to winning. Going beyond this 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 Yamashita with full twists and some gymnasts are working 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. Psy­chology, sociology, and bio-mechanics are a ll playing a role in developing the all-around gym­nast. The coach and gymnast must 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 the gym­nast. (Psychology is playing a role in under­standing the athlete and I had an opportunity to discuss this area with both Dr. Appelt and Dr. Karas. Credit must be given to Dr. Joseph Mas­simo for his recent artic le in the Modern G ym­nas t along this line.)

Artistic gymnastics involving techniques , moving parts, training methods shou ld involve 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 train­ing system involving coach and gymnast should be directed to adapting movement sequences not only on a practical sense but will imply direct areas of bio-mechanics. Newton Laws, forces , vectors all should be understood by the coach in order to give the gymnast the best possible exercise.

Static movements must be under control , such 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 , one is "safe ," and the other shows risk com­bined with force and technique. A st.lIic move­ment with faults is difficult to correct , there-

26

fore, it is important for the young gymnast to be schooled in correct hab its from the very be­ginning of his training.

Future progress of optional exercises 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 readily find them, combine them with arti stic gymnas­tics and execute to the letter of the code. Tak­ing the future into consideration, we find:

I. Floor exercise hav ing a fast style with some static move ments that have a high C part. This event could develop to have music added so the exercise will grow to have aesthetics and a max imal range

. of muscles. . 2. The side horse should be done with no

force parts, eliminate repitition , circles on one pumell and more twist ing type dismounts .

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

4. T he Yamashita vault started a new trend on long horse. Judges must be stricter in judging thi s event. The future could bring a dirferent value for a ll vaults and add a difficulty coefficient for each vault. Coaches should try to develop twisting movements before the vault , twist after the vault or even combinations of twists during a vault.

5. Parallel bars give possibly the greates t area for future development. The use of one bar combinations will be seen com­bined with two bar twi st ing movements. There will be a greater range of move­inents from the outside of the bar to the inside. Coaches should eliminate extra movements, unnecessary A movements, such as: kips, upri ses and simple circles.

6. The judges on the horizontal bar are now very criti cal since many gy mnas ts have reached a point where ROV is attain­able. (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 flyaways with several twists.

Finally , coaches must refuse very dangerous exerci ses and be aware of individual differences in gymnasts. The coach should develop a feel­ing for aes thetics and technical evaluations so needed to produce the accomplished gymnast.

After the first three lectures, a free discussion ensued concerning either the lecture·s or any other problems that the conferees might have. This, in my opinion , was the turning point of the sy mposium. Many coaches spoke about injuries, long horse, difficulty ·and compulsory exercises. The following are excerpts: SCHUHWERE: (J unior national coach from

Switzerland): "Concerning the long horse event. We must either re-evaluate this event or eliminate it.· Why does ROV not count in long horse ?"

GUNTHARD (Swiss National Coach): (He was really concerned about · the long horse and held the floor for soine time discuss­ing it. ) "What is wrong with us ? A gym­nas 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 reasons were:

I. Eliminate a single action on one piece of apparatus.

2. There are II elements on other pieces. 3. The judges have to move too quickly

in order to judge properly. 4. It offers too few variations. (Not ac­

cording to the Japanese.) 5. It will shorten dual meets.

SCH UHWERE: "There are too many gym-

nas ts on long horse in th·e 9.0 to 9.4 range. Either cancel the event or develop a new type of spring board. We must also be con­cerned with injuries after landing. Perhaps an additional step after land ing wi ll prevent some injuries.

GANDER TO GUNTHARD: " Yes , we must to something 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 mnasts can develop and learn by using a Reuther board for this event and other events. "

DOT (France): " Perhaps the Reuther board needs adjustment for different weight gymnasts. " .

DI C KHUT (West Germany): " Be careful of adding springs to the board . And, how about floor exercise? We still must 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 robatics. Keep in mind there are rules fo r men and forget the beauty aspects that 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 discussion would be continued in the next free discussion.)

IV. Fourth Session ­Speaker, Mr. Smolevsky (Russia)

"Russia has improved between 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 st ic expression. Let us look into the future ."

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

2. Concentrate on the technical aspects for difficulty and combination.

3. Mechanical analys is in a ll events. 4. Use psychology . 5. Be arti stic in the development of B and

C parts. 6. Concentrate on beginners for the edu­

cation of both the ath lete and the public. In order for a gymnast to make a very fa­

vorable impress ion he must be guided into working wi th ROV. T hen , the element of sur­prise must take effect. For example, in floor exercise , the gymnast usually fini shes a rou­tine 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 trends to gym­nastics and wi ll most certainly keep the judges on their toes.)

The future in coaching and bui lding exer­cises will see : . I. Minnechilli s tyle in floor exercise.

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

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

3. Long horse needs 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 a ll it will take the monotony out of this event.

4. The use of one bar on the para llel bars will be seen much 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 new combination but

straddle was "6" part

11-1 T ' support new listing

IV-4 new

VIII-4 new

ill IX-1 change - easier - was to

~:'-::;£~ ~

XI-7 new

that: I. Judges' assocIatIOns should begin to as­

sume 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

B 1-8 new

VI I-5 wos "C" port

VIII-5 new

XII- 11 new- shou ld be A+ 6

XII-i 4 Was "C" "WOW"

XIV-2 change - now 45 degree

attempted 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 require­

ment 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 same part is pelformed 2nd time with same parts before and after , no credit for difficulty would be given but no deductions (other than execution) would be given. If the same part is performed the second time but in a different combination, difficulty credit would be given and no deduct ion (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.

V-9 new

VI-6 new

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

VII-6 new

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

27

XV-? new

tf\ tl' ( t I~ XIV-8 new XII-9 new

XV- I 0 straddle is A - was B

~~u~ XVI- I changed - momentary I XV-8 new XII-I S wow - new

1 ~~\ ~ ~lJ~\n'b XVI-? was " B" XIV- 12 new

XVI-S was "("

1 XVII-? new XVI-8 new

XIX-I look close! XV II-2 new XVI-3 new

~\~?r ,~ XVII-S Big change Was "A" XV I-1 2 new

(!~~~ft< XIX- I was " B" XIX-2 new XVII -3 Change - was f rom glide kip

~i\~)j-"I ~ ~I

XIX-I was " B" USGF XVII -6 new

~/~~ 1968 Men's ~11 \I jI OLYMPIC GYMNASTIC FILM I Just $16.00 for T 400 ft. 8mm (black & white)

All the top final routines of the individual Championships from XII XII-6 new

FIG CODE OF POINTS The F.I.G. Code of Points for Men . .. the 1968 Olympic Games in t? JT&III~<$. b 96 pages of the International Rules for Mexico City. ORDER FROM:

m~n .. . all the "A·B·C parts" included. USGF Men's Olympic Film Order from the U.S.GJ., P.O. Box 4699, ' / ;?/ J

Tucson, Arizona 85717. $3.50 per copy. P.O. Box 777 The Official Code of Points . Santa Monica, Ca. 90406

28

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 (l ike #6). (Rela x arms and grab toes and pull them towa rd s face and hold wi th 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 # 1 2).

15. Try split s faci ng both ways (g radual). 16. Tuck toes underneath (si t 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 stretching; every· thing should be gradual - stay in the "pain pos'ition" for 30 seconds for maximal 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 lis ted, and flexibility wi ll be weighted heavily.

Coaches Symposium from page 26

with stra ight arms as will a ll upri ses. There will be more ri sk in dismounts .

6. Horizonta l bar will have fewer giant swings a nd there will be more use of stra ight arms a nd legs on a ll moves , whenever poss ible .

The Russ ia n Federa tion recommends the fo llowing:

I . Compulsory exercises be va lid for four years. (Thi s recommendation is excel­le nt. Not on ly will it give the middle or weaker nation s additiona l time to work on them for pe rfec tion it will give the better nations time to develop a ve ry thorough tec hnical development as we ll as work on optiona l exercises.)

2. Floor exercise with music. 3. T wo types of sc issors on s ide ho rse in

a ll co mpul sories. 4. Develop the lo ng horse with a s pring

board attach ment. 5. Use soft landing mats to prevent in-

jury. (The recommendations a re ce rta inly the ones dealing wi th compulsory exercises and safer landing mats warra nt the in vestigations of a ll federations a nd the FI G Technical commi ttee.)

I vancovic opened the next sess ion by di s­cuss ing the long ho rse event. He feel s it should stay in the sport in order to deve lop the a ll ­around ma n. Thi s person should learn to mas­te r vaulting therefore mas te r the event. " Per­haps we should develo p a s pecia l va lue for vault s but it would the s port if we dropped it. " He was a lso concerned abou t floor exe rcise regarding the 1970 World compulsories. Since all floor exercise routines must be li vely , have force a nd sta ti c movement s the co mpulsory exercises for 1970 have a ll of this co mbined .

Gander fo llowed I vancovic by stating that lo ng horse must look for new tactics a nd be made more attrac ti ve to a iL " No one want s to sit through the sa me exerc ise over and over aga in. People a re squirming in the ir sea ts." " We mus t a lso ta lk about a new code fo r thi s e vent , such as awarding· say .6 for la nding. And we must loo k into the injury problem to the Achilles te ndon."

Frede rick (West Germany): "The Ru ss ian Federati on has a good idea whe n they state that co mpul sory exe rci ses for four years a re good : perha ps long horse is good wi th a s pring attachment: we mus t a lso watch for injuries and how about the specia li st . .. is there room fo r him in ou r sport ? Wh y on ly 12 events~ Wh y not 12 even ts plus s peciali sts eve nts?" " I suggest four men and one spec ia li st in com­petition. Do we need a junio r world champion­ship ?" (A lbe rt Telligent is a lso a strong sup· porter of the spec ial ist.)

The coach from Portuga l s tated that rul es must be put in force in o rder to rai se the stan­da rds of the weaker nations . (Again thi s was di scussed. I t seems tha t this reques t is very reasonable in tha t it would indeed give a ll nations an opport uni ty to deve lop the m.)

Gander aga in spoke on the long ho rse sta t· ing tha t spring boards and mini tra mps would give the gy mnas t a n acroba ti c look a nd would take away from wha t the body is required to do as o ne in control of hi s body. I vancovic a lso sta ted that a spring type attachme nt would cause proble ms. Both men agreed that long ho rse needs di scuss ion, ex pe rimenta tion and revis ion .

NE IMAN (Eas t Germany) : " Kee p lo ng ho rse but cha nge th e diffi cult y ratings or have a scale of vau lts that must be done a round diffe rent axes of the bod y."

GUNT H A RD : " Let us take a vote and see just how many want to keep thi s event. " Because he wanted a good sampling from each natio n a ten minute caucus was giv­en. (Aro nson , I'epresenting the United States , ex pla ined to the confe re nce s ince we (A ronson , Walthouse a nd Giallombar­do) did not re present the new US Gym­nas tics Commission but only a sampling of the coaches. He went on to expla in th at the Co mmiss io n was working ve ry we ll and the gy mnas ti c world would soon hear of the fine progress that was being made in Ame rica.} (The vote was in favor of keeping the lo ng ho rse but hav ing the code changed to in­sure better vau lting. The FI G Technica l Co mmittee wi ll be looking into the mat­ter.)

V. Fifth Session - Dr. Karas (Czech): Dr. Ka ras gave a very long speech with

numerous diagra ms on bio-mecha nics a nd its re lationship to gy mnasti cs. The discussion was ve ry technical, stating that an understanding of mecha nicil l a na lys is of move me nt is neces­sary to good coaching. T ime, s pace, Newto ns Laws. moments of force , acce le ratio n. vec tors are a ll important in de termining the correct move ments for a gymnast. The impo rtance of an understa nding of gravity and mome nts of release a re necessary in understa nding dis­mounts. This is especia ll y true in knowing spot­ting tech niques . (I might add that Dr. Ka ras a nd Jan Borms of Belgium have wri tte n on thi s subject dealing wi th mechanical movement s. They fee'l, as do many others in Europe , that thi s knowledge is a key to coaching. This con­cept is not new but has it been passed over lightly by US coaches? The Modern Gy mnas t does give adequate space to studies of MA a nd Dr. J ames Bosco, J erry Wright and Do n Tonry have a ll made contributions to thi s phase of coac hing. I feel we wi ll see mo re of this in the future.)

VI. Sixth Session - Mr. Yantchev (Bulgaria) The final sess io n involved a di sc uss ion of

ethi cs a nd how the F IG has made coaches a nd gym nas ts aware of the importance of proper conduct on the floor during competition . The conduc t of gy mnas ti cs sta rted in 1949 with a few rules being se t down by the FIG . ( It see ms tha t after the 1948 O lympic G a mes , many c ha nges were due a nd this was a sta rting point.) This pe riod was the beginning of a code for diffic ult y, execu tion a nd combina tio n. In addition, it included conduct for gy mnas ts a nd judges. At the 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 ions for judges were becoming required for judges who wi shed to advance in judgi ng c ircles. The year 1956, brought the "finals" in mi~or compe­tit ion a nd in 1964 a newer code was deve lo ped which inc luded judges courses fo r inte rnatio na l co mpet itio n. F inall y , 1968 gave gy mnas tics the present code and inc luded ethica l conduct for judges, gy mnas ts a nd coaches. (This por­tio n of the code is import ant to the sport in

tha t it inc ludes proper dress a nd ac tions on the floor. )

On March 23 , !'vlr. Gander gave a summa ry speech covering the highlight s of the sy mpo­s ium 'lnd introduced two add itional speake rs, Boris Schalkin a nd General Ba tlonoff (Presi­de nt of the Russ ia n Federation). Scha lkin gave brief ta lk o n mechan ics a nd the "i llusion" movements of gy mnas ti cs. (I'vla inta in the six Ol ympic eve nts: do not cance l lo ng horse but insta ll a new code of points: kee p compu lso ry exe rc ises for four yea rs a nd continue to deve lo p gymnast ics on a scientifi c basis.)

Thi s write r'S comments were viewed at the NCAA Univers ity Di vis ion Gy mnas tics Championships in Seatt le. It was stated th at European and J apa nese gy mnas tics have highl y technica l methods of training a nd se lec ting tea ms. Gymnas tics is thought of as a " major" sport in Europe with 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 college . Sports sc hools a nd c lubs a re mainta ined for those who wish to cont in ue training or even compete for a c lu b tea m. The U nit ed St ates has a proble m of strict a ma te urism. T hi s ca uses problems with o ur athl etes not onl y in gymnas ti cs but in a ll other Ol ym pic sponsored sports. Pressures of jobs. ma rriage are pre va­le nt to co llege age gy mnas ts as is the dra ft hanging over their heads . T he athlete mu st choose hi s time a nd job carefull y if he w ishes to co ntinue to co mpete. If we a re to co m pete favorab ly in 1972 a nd even fini sh a possible third or fourth , I R ECOMMEND THE FOL­LOWING: I . That we select a national coach lI'ith an

expense account geared to professiunal tral" el in order to build the bes t possible tea lll ever fie lded fo r internatiunal COli/pe tition. (With ha rd work we can build a tealll that can place wilh th e best in the lI ·urld. O ther teams a re building , such as Eas t G enn(/Il\' and G real Britain. Great Britain is plannin;' fo r uver 12 dual meets this vea l' and are really trying 10 do lI'ell in inter;/(/tional CU III­pet ition. )

2. That lI 'e select five area coaches with a lilll' ited expense account IV aid the natiunal coach. (I realize that all this depends upun./inanC£'s, cunsequently, these plans may be long range ill terms of actual operation.)

3. T hat area meetings be held al leas t three times a year in urder to discuss problems of training and share opinions as to hOIl' 10 ge t the job done!

4. That we contillue tu adopt a scien tific ap­proach to coaching.

5. That we cOlltinue to inculcate the idea thaI gymnastics is all " art" and can be a lI'a), of life using the gymnasts' personality alld psy' chological II/akeup in order to develop the "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 conferences or im­porUlIlt competitions. This persoll should be schooled ill th e language since COI11I1UllliclI­tion is very important. (German or French would be advisable.) This person would be respunsible to make a report to the US Gymnastics Commission alld 10 all cuaches .

7. Tha t we submit articles cUll cerning training etc .. to the FIG Bulletin.

8 . That coaches, gymnasts alldjudges continue to work toge ther for unity so that lI'e call pro­duce all excellent representation for fUllIre international competition.

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

10. That we continue to edu cate the public to gymnastics and make it a popular "spec­tMor" spurt . This call be accomplish ed by a continuing program in public relation media .

29

30

NEW SKILL DEVELOPMENT EQUIPMENT FOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION

A new concept in equipment for teaching basic physical skills has been introduced by the manu­facturers of Port-a-Pit landing surfaces.

Skill Development Equipment, constructed of safe, durable foam, removes fea r and builds teacher and pupil confidence. Extensive test ing has shown outstanding results in accelerated learning of gymnastic skills and development of coordination. The manufacturer states, "Pupils of all ages quickly develop new techniques and ski lls with reduced adult dependence." The equip­ment also has many applicat ions in federa lly ap­proved pro jects for handicapped children.

Skill Development Equipment is particularly suited to the physical education of exceptiona l children - developing confidence through s uc~ cessful achievement. Ron Clarke, famed Olympic ru nner, writes from Australia after demonstrat­ing the new equipment at a school for blind chi l­dren, "The confidence gained and the ex tra gym­nastic tricks they successfully attempted thrilled everyone watching."

For fu rther informat ion write, Porto pit Corp., P.O. Box C, Temple Ci ty, Calif. 91780.

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 chart s per se t ) .. . {o) 5 .00 per set

INTERMEDIATE RING SKILLS (three c hor~ s pe r se t ) ... J" 4 .00 pe r set

ADVANCED RING SKILLS (three cha rt s per set) .. . . ((, 4 .0 0 per se t

MG BOOKSHELF BOUND EDITIONS: The Modern Gymnast. All issues

published 1956-68, Hard bound Volumes 1-10 complete .. .. : ..... ................ ..... ... $125.00 Single Volumes bound: Vol. 8 1966 .. .... .. .......... ,. .. ..... ....... $1 0.00 Vol. 9 1967 .. .. .. ........... .... ....... ..... $10.00 Vol. 10, 1968 .. ........... ...... ... ..... .. . $10.00 Order all three for iust $25.00

Unbound complete volumes, Vol. 8 ........... .. .............. ... ... .... ..... $4.00 Vol. 9 .... ....... .. ...... ...................... . $4.00 Vol. 10 ..................... ..... .. ............. $4.00 Order three unbound volumes for iust $10.00

MG 10 year index ava ilable free, iust send self­addressed stomped envelope

BALLET FOR GYMNASTICS Manual # 1000 to accompany Closs "C" record (Slepping Tones) ............ .... ..... .. ...... $3.00 Manual # 101 0 to accompany Closs " 8:' record (Slepping Tones) ...... ..... ............... .... $4.00 Special offer, 80th monuols ............ ... .. $5.00

NCAA 1968 HIGHLIGHTS Regular $1.00. Order now for just 50c each

LET'S TEACH ROUTINES ... ........................ $1.00 MG POSTERS:

Four colo r 20x24 uneven bar .... .. .. . ..... $1.00 Giant 2'x3' World Cup Poster ....... .... ... $1.00 Gymnastics Moderne 16V.x23.. ..... .... . .50 High 8ar 16V.x23 .... ..... .... .... .•......... 50

Special offer, All four posters suitable for framing ... ........ ... ...... ..... . $2.00

Order From:

SUNDBY PUBLICA liONS MG BOOKSHELF 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

(available 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 lights of the World Cup, including com­plete rout ines, were filmed fo r the USGF by Francis G. Murphy Productions of Holly­wood. The fi lm, in 1 6mm color, w ith sound, is now available fo r purchase. A limited number of pri nts are also avai lable for rent on a f irst -come, fi rst-served basis. For order­ing info rmation contact Francis G. Murphy Productions, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, California 90028. Telephone: (Area Code 213) 466-2131.

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

1968 MODEL I mported Gym Pants, Not Seconds or Re­jects: 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-Resil ite)

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

SUMMER GYMNASTIC CAMPS & CLINICS 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 1 3790. Lake Tahoe Gymnastic Camp: The University of Nevada will be conducting a summer Gymnastic 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 Gymnastic Coach. University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada. Eastern GymnastiC Clin ic: Session 1; June 22-29. Session, 2 August 24·31. Camp Skymaunt. Green lone, Po. For fu rther Info, Eastern Gym Cl in ic, 8009 Rugby St., Philo., Po. 19150. Rusty Mitchell Gymnastic Camp : Los Vegas, New Mexico. Session 1 - June 14-21. Sessi on -Z - August 23·30th. For fu rther 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 rector NSGC Michigan State Univ .• Ea st Lansing, Mich. 48823. Northern California Gymnastic Camp: Camp Gualala, Ca lif., August, 1969. For further Info. write, Ernie Marinoni. Phy. Di r. YMCA, Berkeley, Calif. Soko l Gymnastic School : 6 one week sessions. July and August. For further Info. wri te , Sokol Woodlands, 8arry­ville, New York 12719. Southern Calif. Gymnastic Camp : Camp Arbalota, Mt. Gorgonia. August 25-3 1 st, 1969. For furthe r info. write, Gordie Maddux. 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, Indiana 47809. West Penn Gymnastic CliniC: Sokol Camp. New Kensington. Po., July 27·August 23. 1 st 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 Kline, RD #4, West Chester, Po. 19380 OKLAHOMA UN IV. CLINIC: The Univ. of Oklahoma wi ll host its second annual Men's and Women's Gymnastic 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, cl inic and workshop schedules 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, Regional and State top level events will be considered for publication in the MG Calendar.

NOTICE At press time the annua l MG High School report is ready for printing and we have not received the State Championship results f rom the following HS' s who have sent in r eports in the past:

WASHINGT ON KENTUCKY VIRGINIA T ENNESSEE F LORIDA KANSAS CONNECTICUT NEW MEXICO OHIO VERMONT CALIF . BA Y AREA CALIF. FA R NO RTH

If yo ur state has had High School Champions hips which have not been r eported previously in our annua l HS edition please r ush the res ults to us for this coming edition .

welcome to the world

of .d new leas. • •

in gymnasium and physical education equipment

Schools look to American, the leader, for innovations in new equipment.

Why? Our record of firsts is unmatched ...• The company that developed the Junior All-American gymnasium apparatus, All-American 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 Nissen RING STAND

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 competi­

tion, 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 sta­

bility. Each upright is equipped with the exclusive Floating

Counterbalance mechanism, permitting almost effortless

height adjustment by one person from 61 Y4" to 1 04Y4 "

(ring height). Since the frame adjust~, up and down, the

suspensions for the rings do not need to be adjusted, elimi-

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.

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 re­

main 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 EI NISSEN I