USGF News - May/June 1978 by USA Gymnastics

Meet the newest member ofthe US. Gymnastics Team.

Dial Soap. The makers of Dial Soap have long believed exercise is essential for fitness. That's why we've joined with the United States Gymnastics Federation to help promote gymnastics across the country. For years, the USGF has endeavored to develop the gymnastic skil ls of boys and girls of all ages, from grade school novices to Olympic hopefuls. To encourage their efforts, we've joined them as a sponsor to help this sport receive the participation and recognition it deserves.

The United States Gymnastics Federation's

Gymnastics May•June!!!S The USGF takes a position on withdrawal of a nation from a world championship.

Editorial TheCSSRCup Tournament of Champions• East Berlin Opinion Tournament of Champions• East Berlin The Romanian Invitational 1978 Dial• American Cup 1978 Dial• American Cup Scores Florida After The Dial • American Cup East German Invitational 1978

American girls find competition in Czechoslavakia a meaningful experience.

USA Coach Chic Johnson details the East Berlin meet and the fine showing by American participants.

11 12 17

Judge William Roetzheim discusses East Berlin and the politics of judging and being judged. Kurt Thomas wins fust place at the Romanian Invitational. A full-color photographic report on an unforgettable event.

Scores, and scores of pictures too!

A little relief on a Florida beach helps after pressure-filled competition.

Paul Ziert terms the East German Invitational a major American success.

The Romanian Intemational Comments on Compulsory Exercises

American girls with a gold, a silver and two bronze medals behind the Iron Curtain.

Compulsory exercise information/World Championships 1978 in Strasbourg and Olympic Games 1980 in Moscow.

USGFNews

USG F explores safety and sports/medicine as related to the training and developing of gymnasts.

COVER

United States Gymna5tic5 Federation

Men's all around winner Kurt Thomas/USA on the rings. Inset photo Kurt Thomas/USA and Natascha Tereschenko/USSR. The back cover features Natascha on the balance beam. PRESIDENT, WILLIAM ROETZHEIM/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FRANK L. BARE/VICE-PRESIDENT FOR WOMEN, SUE AMMERMAN/VICE-PRESIDENT FOR MEN, BILL CRENSHAW MEMBERS: American Alliance for Health , Physical Education and Recreation - Amateur Athletic Union American Sokol Organization - National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics - National Association of Womens Gymnastics Judges - National Gymnastics Judges Association - The American Turners - The National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches - The National Association of High School Gymnastics Coaches - The National Collegiate Athletic Association - The National Junior College Athletic Association - The National Federation of State High School Associatio n s - U.S . Association of Independent Gymnastics Clubs - Young Men 's Christian Association.

Gymnastics News/May-June 1978

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Editorial Frank L. Bare Executive Director

USGF has participated in a number of international events of significance during the past few months. The gymnasts who have made those trips and represented our country have done even better than we had hoped. If the talent shown us at the women's Championships of the U.S.A. can perform as a team in Strasbourg they should do quite well for our nation. The men's Championships at UCLA will also see the finest performers we have ever had take to the floor for qualification into the World Championship Trials. The final trials for the USA teams will take place in September of this year. The top six men and women from that trial will be the USA team ... number seven will be the alternate. Mrs. Ernestine Weaver of Clarion State College (Pa) has been named women's coach and her assistant coach is Mr. Vannie Edwards of Belcher, La. The men's coach and assistant will be named at UCLA therefore they are not yet known as of this writing.

"The American attitude is not to use sport for political arenas . . . If any nation withdraws from a world championship, all that is accomplished is that some of the world's finest young athletes are denied an opportunity forever."

they do participate will the Socialist nations boycott? Time alone will tell us the answer to that question but it poses some interesting problems for participants and hosts. The American attitude is not to use sport for political arenas. If we disliked the policy of a particular nation we would prefer to beat them soundly on the floor of competition before the whole world . If any nation withdraws from a world championship, all that is accomplished is that some of the world's finest young athletes are denied an opportunity forever. The 197 6 Olympic Games in Montreal being the finest example ever of that political use of a boycott. The black African nations withdrew , over the weakest of reasons ... New Zealand's presence. The Games went right on, viewed by all the world. And one day after the great athletes of the boycotting nations departed, no one gave them a passing thought. No governments changed policies, only some deserving athletes went home having missed perhaps their one greatest opportunity of a lifetime. Plan on travelling with the USA Team to Strasbourg ... with the USGF Tour .. . see the World Championships and enjoy France and Switzerland at the same time . Write ... World Championships Tour/1978 USGF P.O. Box 12713 Tucson, Arizona 85732

Strasbourg, in October will be the site of one of the most interesting World Championships of all time. It will not be without the usual run of problems. Will South Africa participate? They are entitled to by virtue of their bona-fide membership in the F .I.G. If Gy mnastics News/ May-June 1978

TheCSSRCup Kosice, Czechoslavakia • April 13-14, 1978

Donna Strauss

Leslie Pyfer (OAAG) , and Gigi Ambandos (Parkettes), Linda Chencinski (Judge) and myself left New York on April 10. Sixteen hours later we arrived in Kosice to spend our first night in a small hotel in the mountains. The next morning as hungry as we were upon being served our first breakfast we quickly realized that Mr. Bare was right ... we should have packed a jar of peanut butter. After breakfast we drove back to the city of Kosice and went directly to the Sports hall for our first practice session. We used the competitive gym which was adequately set up with Reuther equipment - 1 set of each piece - plus 2 lower beams - no spring boards - landing pads were 2" in thickness , 4'x5' over Sarnege mats. After a two hour workout we finally arrived at the motel we were to stay at for the remainder of our trip. The afternoon practice session went much better since they had a split session and only half of the delegations worked out together. Competition Day Unfortunately Gigi became ill during the night with a virus. After spending the morning in bed she decided to compete. Leslie and I attended a welcoming ceremony by city officials at the town . We also had the opportunity to visit an enormous cathedral which was built in the 12th century . Competition There were 36 competitors representing the following countries : CSSR, USSR, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Poland, Belgium. All nations entered three competitors except the CSSR with nine and the U.S.A. with only two. The first days competition determined the allaround with finals made up of the top eight competi4 Gy mnastics News/ May -June 1978

tors per event. The Russians finished the AA 1-2-3. Leslie was 6th and Gigi finished 9th. Vaulting Leslie scored a 9.25 on a piked Tsukahara, which put her in 7th place. Gigi received a 9.15 for a handspring full. Balance Beam Leslie had a fall on a backhandspring series on an otherwise flawless routine giving her a 9 .0. Gigi had a fall on her back tuck and a fall on the beam for an 8.35. Floor Exercise Both girls performed exciting routines and received a positive audience reaction. Leslie scored a 9.25 and qualified for finals finishing 2nd. Her tumbling was impressive - high double full and a strong full at the end. Gigi scored 8.9 to qualify for finals. Her full at the end was low. Larisa Milovanova scored the highest with a 9.55 . Excellent high tumbling - opened with a double back and ended with a double back. Uneven Bars Leslie had super bars : free hip handstand to a back stalter, handstand, back stalter handstand to a push back sommie over the low bar. Dismount had a hand touch and she scored a 9.0. Gigi performed an excellent routine for a 9 .45, 3rd place finish into finals. Finals Vaulting finals were exciting: 1st place went to Tana Arznikova of the USSR - Tsuk full performed better than Nellie Kim and a front pike - for an average score of 9.5 25.

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Gigi Ambandos/Rafael Beer

Leslie moved from 7th to 5th place - Piked Tsuk and a front sommie tuck for an 9 .35 average. (2nd highest average in finals). Uneven Bars - Gigi performed an excellent bar routine: Back Stalter shoot to a handstand was a little short, for a 9.25 . She maintained her 3rd place and won the bronze medal. Gigi received an ovation as she kissed the 1st place Russian and the 2nd place Czech during the Award Ceremony. First place again went to USSR Tana Arznikova with a 9 .5 5 - free hip full pirouette and Comaneci dismount with a full. Balance Beam - Leslie had a flawless routine but again fell on the back-handspring for a 9.0 and 6th place. The audience was impressed with the position and the amount of difficulty in her routine - gainer back tuck, front somie , high straddle leap, back handspring, back handspring, and double back twist dismount. Winning beam with a 9 .5 5, (high score) was Larisa Milovanova USSR - Flawless super difficult routine - Mt. - front sommie - roundoff layout stepout - full turning jump. Dismount - tuck double back. Floor Exercise - the American girls performed dynamic routines and received a strong positive audience reaction . Leslie had a hand touch on her double back but ended with a high double full twist . She expressed throughout the routine and received a 9.25 for 4th place. Gigi received a 9.25 for a 6th place finish. Again the composition and elegant performance was above the other competitors. Larisa Milovanova was again the 1st place competitor with a 9 .65. Excellent dynamic tumbling - double back double full in the 2nd pass and a double back at the end . The composition of this routine came the closest to the Americans. Observations 1) Russian competitors finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Gymnasti cs News/May-June 1978 5

2) 3) 4)

5) 6)

Their routines had several superior tricks: However they were not spotted once during their workouts or in the competition. Their attitude was very positive and aggressive. No extra landing pads were used during the competition. It would have benefitted our gymnasts if we could have arrived one day earlier. Super tricks Vaulting: - Tsuk full - front pike - front pike with Yi twist - Tsuk layout Uneven Bars : - free hip full pirouette - single bar hecht back mount free hip on low bar facing away from the high bar - front sommie catch high bar - dismount - Comaneci with a full dismount - double flyaway Balance Beam: - front sommie mount - tuck double back dismount - several back combination series showed a high punch before sommie trick - Russians difficult dance - round off back layout Floor Exercise: - lacking in composition and presentation - difficult tumbling (USSR & CSSR): 1st run - piked double back 2nd run - double full 3rd run - tuck double back - 2 girls mounted and dismounted with double backs. Beam and floor routines without high difficulty, if performed well , scored above 9.0. Americans well respected by the audience.

Summary In summation we would like to thank the Czech's for their hospitality and the friendly atmosphere under which we visited them. Gymnastically the entire U.S. envoy shared a positive meaningful experience which will greatly enhance all our careers. We were extremely proud to represent our country and would like to thank the U.S.G .F. for giving us the opportunity . •

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6 Gy mn asti cs News/ May -Jun e 197 8

Tournament of Champions-East Berlin East Berlin, GDR â€˘ April 15-16, 1978

Chic Johnson USA Coach Gymnasts representing the USA: Kelly McCoy, TWIGS - Miamisburg, Ohio Kolleen Casey, Southwest Missouri State University Bart Connor, University of Oklahoma Mike Wilson, University of Oklahoma Coaches: Dr. Chic Johnson, Southwest Missouri State University Mr. Paul Ziert, University of Oklahoma Judges: Mr. Bill Roetzheim, University of Illinois Chicago Circle

delegation left for the GDR on April 12 from New York's JFK airport. The flight itself proved beneficial in developing rapport between the individuals, for the AIAW and NCAA National Gymnastics Championships had recently been concluded, and this proved to be a stimulating topic of discussion. It was surprising how knowledgeable each of the individuals were of the others involvement in their respective competitions. This established an immediate mutual respect and enthusiasm among the group and by the end of the 71h hour flight it seemed as if we had been traveling and competing together all year. We left JFK at 6: 15 p.m. and arrived in Copenhagen at 8 :05 a.m. the next morning. Losing a night's sleep was difficult, but we had a four hour layover prior to taking off for East Germany and Bart and Mike rented a bed and sacked out for a few hours. The remainder of us killed time as best we could, playing cards , catching cat-naps, and wandering around in a half-stupor.

We arrived in East Berlin at 1 :00 p.m. We were met by the GDR representatives and introduced to one another. Mrs. Karin Wildgrube was to be our hostess, and Beate Ramin, a student at the university was to serve as our interpreter. These two lovely ladies proved to be exceptional in their respective capacities, and we were grateful for the many kindnesses and the generosity they bestowed on us. We went to the Berlin Stradt Hotel where we were to be housed, and then on to the gymnasium for a short workout. The gymnasium was located in a large sports complex, and although rather old, it was a fine gym. The equipment was not assembled in its finished manner for competition - nor was this to be the case right up to the day of competition - so we worked on moves and sequences under less than ideal circumstances. During the time that we were in the GDR we were treated very graciously. Perhaps the major problem that we encountered was that the hosts were too kind, always filling up every minute with tours, visits, meals, etc. so that we had no time to relax or unwind. This sometimes was frustrating, yet if we begged off from attending a function, or not eating a meal, it seemed to offend them a great deal. Our hosts presented us with 50 marks apiece (approximately $25.00). This was to be used for spending money, but all other amenities were paid for by the GDR Sports Federation. We had good workout sessions leading up to the competition although Kelly had a reat deal of .Qroblems with the uneven bars. The lower rail was broken on the Reuther System bars during an early workout and the bar they put on as a replacement was much larger than a regulation bar in its circumference (this was quite noticeable for the bar had to be filed down quite some bit in order to fit into the sleeve at the Gymnastics New s/May-June 1978

top of the upright). Other than that and a bit of adjustment in getting use to the beam , there appeared to be minimal problems. Kelly and Kolleen had a fine attitude going into the competition , although everyone could have used more rest. Competition There were twenty-eight gymnasts in the competition (female), grouped into four squads of seven gymnasts each. Although there were supposed to be two gymnasts from each of fourteen countries, some of the nations did not show up and replacements were made from the GDR, so they had six of their own gymnasts in the meet. During competition on Day one, the squad with Kelly and Kolleen drew balance beam as their first event and Kelly was the first performer and Kolleen was second. They only dropped one performer as they rotated to each event , so Kolleen was first on floor, and then the girls had good placements on vaulting and uneven bars.

"It appeared that it was going

Kelly and Kolleen performed very well, although the scores do not bear this out too well. Despite the reputation for scoring relatively high in international competition ... the scores in this meet were held down significantly . Although the scoring was very conservative, I felt that it was quite fair in most instances. The GDR gymnasts received obvious "gifts" from the judges, ranging anywhere from .2 to .6 high. It appeared that it was going to be impossible to beat the GDR gymnasts on their home floor, and that was precisely true.

Top Six Gymnasts Vault

Bars

Beam Floor All-Ar'd

9.20 9.40 9.40 9.35 9.20 9.05

9.60 9.55 9.50 8.90 8.45 9.45

9.50 9.05 8.95 9.45 9.65 8.95

9.30 9.35 9.35 9.45 9.15 8.95

Naimuschina, J elena Gnauck, Maxi Nikocajentrow, J el. McCoy, Kelly

USSR GDR USSR USA

18.50 18.425 18.425 18.375

GDR USSR USA USSR

19.15 18.45 18.40 18.25

GDR GDR USA USA

19.20 19.20 18 .85 18 .70

GDR USSR USSR GDR

18.70 18 .55 18.25 18.20

Balance Beam Trantow, Sigrid Nikocajentrew, Jel. Casey , Kolleen Naigmuschina , Jelena

Uneven Bars Tran tow, Sigrid Kunhardt , Keike Casey, Kolleen McCoy , Kelly

Floor Exercises

to be impossible to beat the GDR gymnasts on their home floor, and that was precisely true."

Tran tow , Si12)d GDR Kunhardt , Keike GDR Gnauck, Maxi GDR Nikolajenewa ,Jel. USSR Naimuschina , Jet. USSR Casey , Kolleen USA

Finals Vault

37.60 37.35 37.20 37.15 36.45 36.40

Tran tow , Sigrid Nikocajentrew, J el. Nagmuschina, Jelena Kunhardt, Heike

Koleen Casey also came in sixth in vaulting and floor exercise. The USA gymnasts did very well in this competition . While claiming a neutral vision (???) I felt that Kelly was underscored in balance beam and significantly so in vaulting. Kelly did a good floor exercise, throwing the best double back in the meet , but had the misfortune of over-rotating it which cost her dearly. Also, Koleen was grossly underscored in vaulting, and slightly so in balance beam and floor exercise. Other than that I felt the judging was proper, but quite low . The draw in finals consistently placed the GDR girls near the last, and this was especially true when there was a competitor close to her in score. The Russian gymnasts warmed up in between other gymnasts during finals , without penalty! One of the Russian gymnasts used a band for her floor exercise music (it sounded like Herb Alpert's Tiaj uana Brass) ... no penalty. Our interpreter was a tremendous help , but when (Cont inued on page I 0)

8 Gymnastics News/May-June 1978

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it came to protesting conduct like that mentioned above, she could not seem to be able to communicate very well! ! !

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General Comments The trip was successful. It provided good exposure for the American gymnasts and a newspaper article claimed that the Americans were the surprise of the meet , doing far better than was expected. Although I do not have the scores of the men's competition, Bart and Mike did a fantastic job. Bart was 2nd AA, and captured a couple of 2nd and a couple of 3rd places along with a 1st in sidehorse. Kolleen, Bart and Mike made finals in every event, and Kelly made finals in vaulting and uneven bars (eight performers selected for finals in each event). The American gymnasts moved freely, with confidence and composure throughout the meet. They undoubtedly left a favorable impression with judges, spectators, and other gymnasts. Along with the fine newspaper article on the Americans, our interpreter told us of many compliments passed on about the American showing. I was immensely proud to be a member of the American delegation, for I would find it difficult to imagine a finer group of young athletes to be associated with than Kolleen, Kelly, Mike and Bart. My congratulations to this group of competitors for their excellent showing, and for their marvelous behavior and attitude throughout the entire trip . •

PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHING SYSTEMS BASIC SYSTEM (charts with teaching manual) Girls (6) .. . . . . .. . . ..... . . . . ... .. . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . 10.00 Boys (8) .. .. . . ... . . ...... . .. .. . . .•.... ... . . .. . ... 12.00 Teache r 's Manual only .. ... . .... .. ... . . . .. . .. ... . .. . 2.00 (specify Girls' or boys')

GYMNASTICS CHARTS Men's Int. Parallel Bar (5) . . . . ..... . . ... . .... . . . ... .... . . Int . Rings (3) .. .. . ... . .... .. . .......... .. . . . ..•. Basic to Int. Side Horse (2) with book* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Basic to Advanced Tumb lin g (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . Advanced Parallel Bar (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advanced Rings (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Basic to Advanced Horizon ta I Bar (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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7 .00 5 .00 7 .00 6.00 6 .00 5.00 8.00

Girl's Int . to Advanced Balance Beam (6) . . . . . Basic to Advanced Tumbling (4) . . . . . . . (same as above) Compet itive Vaulting (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . Int. Uneven Paral lel Bars (5) .... .. .. .. Adv. Uneven Parallel Bars (4) . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . 8.00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 .00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 .00 . ...... ........ . 7 .00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 .00

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GYMNASTIC FILMS 1972 Olympic Men's Finals .. . .. . .... ... .. .. . . . . . . ... . 40 .00 1972 Olympic Women 's Finals . .. . •. . . ... ... .. . .. . . . . . 40.00 Modern Rhythmic Gymnastics .. .. . ... . .. . . . . ... .. .... 25.00 1976 Olympic Men's Finals . .... . .. .. .... ... . . .. . . .. . . 45.00 1976 Olympic Women's Fina ls . .. . .. .. ... .. . . .. . . . . . . . 45.00 Selected Routines-Women's Teams & All -Around Finals-1976 Olympics . . . .. ... . .. .. .. . ... 45.00

BOOKS Gymnastics Illustrated ........ ... .. .. . • . . . .... . . . . .. 9 .50 Th e Side Hor se* ... . .. .... . .•. . . .. . .. .. . . .. ... . . ... 3.50

HANDGUARDS Men 's Leather Sm-Med-Lge . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.00 Women's Suede Sm -Med . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . • . . 3.50 Swiss Embroidered Emblem Gymnastics Emblem . . . . . . Duffie Bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Travel Bag . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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10 Gy mnastics News/ May-June 1978

School _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Zip _ _ __

Tour Cham William Roetzheim Judge

l e bulk of the text of our gymnastic experience in the D.D.R. has been most amply covered by our two coaches , "Chic" Johnson and Paul Ziert. I have been asked to briefly comment on the technical aspect of this competition. First let me say as an observer not directly interacting with our teams that Chic and Paul did an outstanding job. Our gymnasts were ready to compete psychologically as well as physically , which accounted for their outstanding performance. It is obvious in all invitationals that the competition is structured to produce successful results for the host nation. The only way the visiting team can hope to have some degree of success is to be represented by a judge. His presence on the floor is not only a threat to the nation who is holding the competition , but his voice at technical meetings prior to the event is most important. The D.D.R. was a most gracious host. I believe this favorable climate was in some degree the result of Canada, Finland, England and France all cancelling at the last moment. They felt that this was a general conspiracy among the Western Bloc Nations to boycott this affair. You can imagine their relief when the U.S.A. walked in two days prior to the meet. The political advantage we gained by our action made the trip worthwhile even if we were not as successful as we were in competition. I mentioned earlier how most international meets are orchestrated to produce winning results for the host nation. This meet was no exception. Every team had two entries with the exception of the D.D.R. who was permitted to enter nine. With this numerical advantage and other factors being equal it is quite ob-

vious that your probability of advancing a high percentage of gymnasts to the finals would be high. Combine this with three out of four home town judges per event and your chance of success escalates rapidly . To make sure you have covered any unexpected situation that may arise you sit all the judges at the same table which will permit them to interact and exchange information while the meet is in progress. I do not know how my pointing this out to them prior to the competition affected our scores, but although some nations were scored low, we for the most part were scored quite accurate. They also utilized me as a superior judge and assigned me more events in the finals than any other official. This I imagine had to be a deviation from the original game plan. Despite the adverse structure we qualified both our gymnasts in all six events . One added benefit we derived from this meet was the opportunity to evaluate the depth of the D.D.R. program. It was my observation that after the first three or four gymnasts there was a rapid decline in the proficiency of the gymnast and by the time you got to their ninth man the skill level was reduced to mediocrity. In summation, the judging of our gymnasts was fair (for an international meet), the hospitality extended us was outstanding and tl}e rapport we developed_with_the East Germans will benefit our program for many years. ~Iâ€˘

Gy mnastics News/ May-June 1978 11

The Romanian Invitational Bacau, Romania â€˘ April 19-23, 1978

Ken Allen

Orr

number one male and female competitors, their coaches and one male judge were sent to the Romanian Invitational by the USGF. Although we all started our journeys in different ways the final leg of the journey began in Heathrow Airport in London on Wednesday, April 19, at 1:40 p.m. Kurt Thomas and his coach Roger Council had been in London since the previous Thursday training for Champions All. I arrived Saturday morning and was able to enjoy watching Kurt and Donna Turnbow win the all around titles in the afternoon's competition. Donna returned to the U.S. with her coach Jim Fountaine and the rest of us joined up with Kathy Johnson and her coach Vannie Edwards who had left from Belcher, Louisiana ; Tuesday , (April 18) morning. We arrived at Bucharest at 7 :30 p.m. and were met very enthusiastically by representatives of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and an interpreter. We went through the usual rather lengthy security procedures and then were taken by bus to a hotel. We were to leave the ne xt morning for Bacau which was about 400 kilometers to the north so the federation chose a hotel directly across from the train station. We were up at 5: 30 a.m. and on the train at 7 :00 a.m. They had packed some food for us as our breakfast. We were at our hotel in Bacau by noon , ate light , and then went to the gymnasium so Kmt could train. There would be a separate workout time for the women. I was elected Chef de Mission by a 2-1 vote and spent some time with our interpreter determining times and places for meetings, training, competition, meals, and transportation. Everything was very well arranged. Our biggest problem was placing our order for meals for all the time we were to be there. 12 Gymnast ics News/May-June 1978

Sanda , our young (21) but very capable interpreter helped us quite a bit. The first technical meeting was held on Thursday evening. The gymnasts were drawn for groups and order in a very equitable way. Roger, Vannie and I were there along with our interpreter to cover all of our areas of concern. With all the translating and slight differences in format it takes quite a bit of time before things become clear. Everything was well organized and the various ad ministrative personnel for the meet were patient in answering our questions. We had our first judges meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning. The announcement of judges was made and I would be superior judge on floor exercise and vaulting throughout the competition. Judging with me would be a Hungarian, an Italian and two Romanians. I would also be a member of the Jury of Appeals along with the Director of Judges, Robert Podlaha ; the Secretary General of the Romanian Federation, Nicholae Vieru; and the Chef de Mission from Russia . There was only one group of men's judges in which we had three Romanian judges. This was in contrast to the women where there would be tluÂˇee Romanian judges on each of the women's events. This, combined with the fact that there was no U.S. judge for women gave some cause for concern. I got my group of judges together and we discussed the floor exercise event in length. We were not very concerned about style of arm movements. We would concentrate on evaluating height of tumbling, rhythm of parts and passes and obvious form errors. We decided to deduct .2 each for extra steps before tumbling passes. The Italian judge fe lt that we should deduct up to .5 for not coming into an immediate straddle piked position from the head-

spring. I thought that was too much and recommended up to .3. There was nothing discussed on vaulting that we haven't discussed at great length already in this country.

"I found the judging to be typically European in that it was not very critical of technical problems. Things that had to be watched for carefully were not, in fact." The compulsory session for men began at 11 :00 a.m. The gymnasts would work in Olympic order. Since we only had three groups of judges, our group started on floor exercise, moved to vaulting for three rotations and returned for the last two rotations to floor exercise. I found the judging to be typically European in that it was not very critical of technical problems. Things that had to be watched for carefully were not , in fact. I called several conferences and found that deductions were not being made for extra steps nor for holding the handstand following the press. We did not have many problems on vaulting. When we returned for the last two rotations of floor exercise the situation improved. I feel as though there was a definite attempt to pump the scores for the better Romanians and to hold down Kurt's scores. Where it was subtle, I could do little about it. When it was flagrant , I brought

them in and changed scores. I felt very fair in my over all evaluations. My most difficult time came when Cepoi received 8.2 from one Romanian, 8.3 from the Hungarian, 8.4 from the Italian and 9.0 from the other Romanian . I had 7 .9. The judge with the 9 .0 demanded a conference and I told him we had nothing to discuss, that the scores were in range and in order. The coach came out on the floor and I asked him to leave. He wrote a protest which was presented to me after the event was over by the Director of Judges. During the discussion I explained my deductions. There were only .5 in judgment type deductions. The rest were fairly straight forward obvious errors made by the gymnast. The other Romanian judge (8.2) had second thoughts and felt he should raise his score to 8. 7. I insisted that no individual scores would be changed at that time. Only the average score might be changed if we all agreed on it and I assured the Director of the Judges that we would not. I assured him that Cepoi was one of my favorite gymnasts and it was a shame that he performed so poorly. I also reminded him of the speech he made to the judges beforehand about all of us forgetting the country we represented while we were on the floor judging. He decided that our score was a just one and the score remained as it was . An interesting footnote is that when I spoke to the Romanian coach following the competition he went out of his way to let me know that he was not upset at me at all. He was furious with the Romanian judge who gave Ce poi the 8.2 ! ! Roger Council pointed out that the meet was used as a national trial and, as such , probably "complicated judging with regional biases within Romania as well as between nations." Roger was able to watch Gymnastics News/May-June 1978

all six events and felt as though Cepoi and Georgescu were both better gymnasts than Grecu but that the judges usually pumped Grecu's scores. I would say that was definitely the case on my events but there was little that I could do about it because he did not make many obvious errors. We had a few more problems during the optionals . Whenever I called the judges together to raise or lower a score of a gymnast not in the "Top Four" the change was made very easily . Whenever the conference concerned Kurt or a Romanian , the conversation was lengthy and I would draw a crowd consisting of the meet director, his assistant, the Director of Judges and some other officer of the federation. I had to fight to get Kurt .05 on vaulting. I had the Hungarian and Italian agreeing with me and six other people standing around demanding that the scores be lowered. During the last rotation on floor exercise , the Romanian judge who got himself in the doghouse the day before gave Kurt an 8.9 on floor. The other three judges gave a 9 .3 and I had 9 .4. I told that judge (8.9) there was no purpose in having a conference especially in light of the fact that his fellow Romanian agreed with us all. He hollered something in Romanian to his buddy and we went on. Later he wanted Georgescu's score raised to the 9.7 he gave him. Fortunately his buddy's score again agreed with the 9 .5 the rest of us gave him. Perhaps they make doghouses in Romania which are large enough for two people. Another problem which arose involved the official scoresheet. Most people probably realize that when judging an international meet the scoring is closed. That , of course, means that all judges place their marks on slips of paper and they are passed to the superior judge who passes them on to a person who records them on a scoresheet. This scoresheet is signed by all the judges after each rotation and it becomes the official scoresheet. I decided I should check all the individual recorded scores as well as the averages. I found no less than a dozen errors in the three days of competition. I am sure they were honest recording errors but they were nevertheless errors which could have changed the outcome of the meet. It seems to be something which should not be overlooked. The most interesting gymnasts had to be the Russians. Although they were young and, as yet, unrefined, their performances reflected a definite trend in their training. Roger and I both agreed that it was they who had the "biggest tricks" in their exercises. Bogdan did a flyaway l /2 twist straddle pike regrasp and finished with a full in full out on horizontal bar. Lev did a reverse hecht regrasp and finished with a 14 Gymnastics News/ May-June 1978

snap down half in half out on the same event. One of them finished with a back somersault on pommel horse which was described by Roger as "the ugliest singular movement I have ever seen in gymnastics." Bogdan performed a floor exercise routine with a very unusual style. There was much ballet and lunging which didn't come off very well . He tumbled well , however, starting with a full in and ending with a double back. In addition to the Russians there must have been at least eight gymnasts who had more than one double somersault in their floor exercise.

"The most interesting gymnasts had to be the Russians." When the dust cleared Kurt had retained the Romanian Invitational All Around Championship by the great margin of .05. Everyone agreed that he was the best gymnast there. The judges were congratulated for their success in selecting the true champion. We all shook hands and left the arena with smiles on our faces. Everything had gone as everyone expected it would!! That evening I experienced one of the fringe benefits of being the Chef de Mission. All the Chiefs of Delegations along with their interpreters were bussed to a small Romanian Restaurant north of town. We were met by the mayor of Bacau and other dignitaries . There must have been 40-5 0 of us in all. We enjoyed an evening of live Romanian music, Romanian cuisine, international conversation, joviality , receiving of souvenirs of our trip to Bacau, lots of wine and some international dancing. We were made to feel very welcome. Other than the fact that they started at 10 :30 a.m. Sunday morning, the finals were a pleasure. Bias for any country was minimized. The only ones complaining were the Russians and I agreed with them most of the time. As a member of the jury, I became involved in several protests whereby we granted up to .15 to a performer. Actually the situations were handled fairly well. Kurt had a bruised foot, was showing signs of fatigue from the entire trip and was just not mentally up for the day's competition . He decided to mount with a double full on floor in place of his double back but he had several very rough places. I was biting my lip when I gave him a 9.0. I was shocked at his 9.3 average and decided that I was probably prejudiced because I expected more from him. I decided

not to call the judges in. He had a very good pommel horse set and was probably slightly underscored at 9 .5 5 but it was enough for him to win the event. Roger decided to scratch him from rings. His first vault was great in the air but the zone faulted before he left the horse and overturned the landing. It was a piked Tsukahara. Average score 8.6. Despite the 9.6 he received on his full twisting Tsukahara he did not make it to the awards stand. His parallel bar exercise was very good. He was not exceptionally sharp but did everything well and finished his double back dismount with only a slight step. Georgescu and Cepoi who were sitting in front of him did not fare nearly so well and Kurt passed them up to win this event also. As he marched out for the last event he signaled with his index finger - one more go to! He really went at it ai1d had an excellent performance. Score 9.70! Unfortunately he had come off the bar on his hecht half turn straddle regrasp the day before and scored only 8.9. He finished like a champion but had to settle for fourth place on horizontal bar. The closing ceremonies were fairly elaborate. There were mass floor exercises to music by young girls. Flowers were given to all of the performers and some were thrown up into the audience. Members of the Jury of Appeals and other dignitaries presented beautiful varnished wood trophies, medals and certificates to the high place finishers. The crowd of about 4,000 (packed house) was most appreciative . In fact, throughout the competition Kurt probably received more applause than any Romanian. Being with Kurt and Kathy after such a competition is somewhat of a hazard but we managed to bull our way through the large crowd of admiring people outside of the competition hall and were aided by the NBC people who provided transportation for us back to the hotel. A very well organized banquet commenced at 3 :00 p.m. Speeches were short, the food was good and there was the traditional exchanging of gifts. For a while following the banquet we all stayed around saying goodbye to old friend s and the new ones we had made over the past few days. We then packed up and headed for the train station. We made the return trip to Bucharest and stayed the night in the same hotel. In the morning we were driven by bus to the airport where our interpreter saw us throug!L__We_went to Frankfurt , London and then New York before we all parted ways. In summary it was an excellent trip. We were treated very well all along the way. I think we made strides with the performances of our gymnasts and

United States Gymnastics Coaches Placement Center William C. Hopkins/Director Box 868, Jericho, Vermont 05465

(802) 899-3477 Dear Coach, The United States Gymnastics Coaches Placement Center receives gymnastics coaching openings from all over the United States and ten foreign countries. Every two weeks we send a complete list of openings to all coaches registered with us. Our openings include positions for both men and women at all levels; university, junior college, secondary, Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A., private clubs and gymnastic camps . Each job listing will include the level (university, club, etc.), a job description and a general description of the area that the opening is in. The salary range will be included if it is available.

United States Gymnastics Coaches Placement Center Registration Form

City _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ State _ _ _ __ Zip Code _ _ _ _ _ _ Country _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Telephone _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Main Interests University _ __

Y.M.C.A. _ _

Jr. College _ __

Y.W .C.A. _ __

Secondary _ __

Club

Camp

All Areas _ __

Registration Fee: $50.00 one year U.S. resident ($55.00 foreign resident)

(Continued on page 3 0)

Gy mnast ics News/ May-June 1978

Photo courtesy USGF

The United States Gymnastics Federation Invites You To Order Official USGF Products, In Support Of The USGF And The Sport Of Gymnastics:

A. 100% Nylon Competition Shirts, B. USGF Sweater, Red, Blue, Navy. C. USGF T-Shirt with collar, Light Blue or White. Sizes 3-10, $9.00 Sizes Small, Medium, Large, $12.00 Blue or White, S,M,L,X-L $7.50 Bl. USGF Gym bag, $15.00 Al. USGF-Dial insignia adjustable golf hat, Red brim or Blue brim,

D. USGF Windbreaker , Navy. Child's Large, Men's Small, Med., Large. $10.00

$5.00

Please send me:

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F. USGF Design, S,M,L. $5.00

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Name: Address: City:

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G. "Gymnasts do it upside down", S,M,L. $5.00

Zip: _ __

All orders MUST be prepaid. Please se nd th is order form and a check or money order made payable to "SPORTS DESIGNS" to:

Sports Designs 4500 East Speedway Tucson, Arizona 85712 Sports Designs is the official distributor for all USGF promotional items. Please all ow four weeks for delivery of yo ur order. 1l1ank you.

24 Gymnastics News/May-June 1978

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You can buy the sa01e quality Gy01nastic Equipntent we furnished for the 1976 Oly01pics in Montreal Nissen has only one quality. The equipment used at the 1976 Olympics is exactly the same as we furnish to thousands of schools and colleges in the United States each year. It's also the same equipment used for NCAA, USGF, AAU c.nd Junior College championships and countless high school gymnastic meets. For official competition or physical education programs, wherever high performance and reliability are required, you' 11 find Nissen. Write for our colorful new catalog.

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1978 Dialâ€¢ American Cup Preliminary Scores All-Around Competition Women 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Tereschenko, N. Johnson , K. Cerna, V. Gheorghiu, G. Kanyo , E. Marechkova, E. Suesz B. Egervari, M. Neascu M. Schlegel, E. Shaposhnikova, N. Casper, K. Turnbow, D. Kano Schumacher, Y. Sanquinetti, V. Carrazcosa Audin N. Robb , K. Tajima

JAP

38.30 38.25 37.65 37.45 37.25 37.20 37.20 36.90 36.85 36.80 36.55 36.50 36.30 35.85 35.70 35.55 35.40 35.15 35.05 33.05

USSR USA CSS R CSSR HUNG DDR HUNG ROM

38.35 37.95 37.65 37.50 37.35 37.10 36.70 36.65

USSR USA CSSR ROM HUN CSSR DDR HUN ROM CAN USSR DDR USA JAP

SWITZ F RA BRA FRA G.B.

FINALS: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Tereschenko, N. Johnson, K. Marechkova, E. Cerna, V. Egervari, M. Suesz, B. Kanyo, E. Gheorghui, G.

26 Gymnastics News/May-June 1978

1978 Dialâ€¢ American Cup Preliminary Scores All-Around Competition Men 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.

Thomas, K. Kishniakov, S. Brueckner R. Conner, B. Tsukahara, M. Boerio, H. Bretscher, R. Cepoi, S. Donath, F. Kovacs, P. Kanai Tabak, J. Mack , L. Migdau, J. Choquette , J. Boutard M. Popescu Arnold, E. Garcia, J.

USA USSR DDR USA JAP FRA SWITZ ROM HUN HUN JAP CSSR DDR CSSR CAN FRA ROM G.B. MEX

56.65 55.50 55.40 55.35 55.30 54.75 54.55 53.90 53.65 53.50 53.50 53.35 53.20 52.85 52.80 52.50 51.95 51.65 47.15

USA DDR USA USSR JAP ROM SWITZ FRA

57.95 56.55 56.45 56.25 56.20 55.05 55 .00 54.35

FINALS: 1. Thomas, K.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Brueckner, R. Conner, B. Kishniakov, S. Tsukahara, M. Cepoi , S. Bretscher R. Boerio, H.

Gy mnastics News/May -June 1978 27

Florida After The Dial•American Cup .,"""-

-<::

§-

2 0

~ "-

.!;!

"§ CQ

•

HAPPY HOLIDAY I: FT. LAUDERDALE. FLA.

28 Gymnastics News/May-June 1978

THE UNITED STATES GYMNASTICS FEDERATION PRESENTS:

1978

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL TRIALS September 21, 22, 23, 1978

The Final Trials, for the United States teams to participate in the 1978 World Championships scheduled for Strasbourg, France in late October, will be held at the beautiful MYRIAD CENTER in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The dates are September 21-22-23. The mens and womens trials will be held at the same time, in this spacious and modern Arena that seats some 16,000 spectators. ABC-TV will be present to film the trials which take place just one month before the opening of the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS on October 22 in France. The women's competition will feature a double round of routines, whereas the men will perform one set of compulsories and one set of optionals. The top six men and women will be named the U.S.A. Teams, and the seventh man and woman will be the alternate. Scores will be combined ... the women then will count four sets of routines, two each of the current Olympic compulsories (which will be used in France) and their own optionals. The Women's team will be determined on the final day, Saturday, September 23. The men's team will be selected based on two sets of routines, the compulsories and optionals combined. The three day schedule is as follows: (Prelims) Thursday-September 21

10:00 a.m. Compulsories - Women 2:00 p.m . Compulsories - Men 7:30 p.m. Optionals - Women

(Finals-Men) Friday-September 22

1 :00 p.m. Compulsories - Women 7:30 p.m. Optionals - Men

MENS TEAM ANNOUNCED AND INTRODUCED AT CONCLUSION OF SESSION. (Finals-Women) Saturday-September 23

Final set of optionals (time to be determined) for women and introduction of women's team at end of session.

THE

Myriad USGF

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA

Headquarters hotel is the Sheraton-Century Center Hotel, One North Broadway, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma â€˘ (405) 235-2780

(Continued from page 15)

with the judging situation . I believe my own judging was relatively unbiased. I also felt as though I didn't have to play the game by the rules some were trying to impose on me . I made up my own rules and fortu nately Kurt was good enough to get through on his own . It certainly should have been a wider margin however. I consider our performance as one more positive step in establishing U.S. gymnastics as a threat to the best in the world.

Romanian Invitational All-Around Results 1. Kurt Thomas USA 2. Dan Grecu ROM 3 . Georgeseu Aurelian ROM 4. Cepoi Sorin ROM 5. Lev Andrei USSR Cheoiches Ion 6. ROM 7. Makut Bogdan USS R 8 . Popescu Gabriel ROM 9 . Jen sch Bernd RDG 10. Oprescu Nicolae ROM 11. Vamos Istvan HUN 12 . Enrique Bravo CUBA 13 . Bors Mihai ROM 14. Giantomaso Nazareno ITAL 15 . Mazilu Liviu ROM 16. Hartmut Schmit DDR

55.75

110.20

54.15 56.00

110 .15

54.05

55 .70

109 .75

53.90 55.75

109.65

53.75

54.75

108.50

53.25

54.85

108.10

53.55

54.40

I 07.95

52.70 53.65

I 06.35

53.75

I 06 .00

51.15 54.15

105 .30

5 1.20 53.75

104.95

50.85 53 .20

I 04.05

54.45

52.25

' '

.. •

51.20 52 .80 104.00 50.30 52.80

I 03 .10

49.15

52.70

I 01.85

48.85

52 .75

101.60

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30 Gymnastics News/May-June 1978

•

Individual Event Finals Vault

Floor Exercise 1.

Georgescu Aurelian

ROM

18.825

Hartmut Schmit

DDR

9.275

18 .775

Kurt Thomas

USA

18.550

Georgescu Aurelian

ROM

9 .500

18.625

Giantomaso Nazan

ITA

18.300

J ensch Bernd

DDR

9.375

18 .625

Checiches Ion

ROM

18.250

Varga Ianos

HUNG

9.375

18 .57 5

Makut Bogdan

USSR

18.225

Macuk Bogdan

USSR

9.400

18 .575

Hartmut Schmit

DDR

18 .150

Gabriel Popescu

ROM

9.200

18.425

Vam os Istvan

HUNG

18. l 00

Vamos Istvan

HUNG

9. 100

18 .375

Jensch Bernd

DDR

18 .075

Kurt Thomas

USA

9.050

18.300

Parallel Bars

Side Horse 1.

Kurt Thomas

USA

18.850

Kurt Thomas

USA

18.650

Cepoi Sorin

ROM

18 .55 0

Lev Andrei

USSR

18.375

Lev Andrei

USSR

17.975

Makut Bogdan

USSR

18.150

Enrique Bravo

CUBA

17.950

Georgescu Aurelian

ROM

18.025

Makut Bogdan

USSR

17 .825

Jensch Bernd

DDR

17 .825

Bucuroiu Romulus

ROM

17.250

Vamos Istvan

HUNG

17.725

Vamos Istvan

HUNG

16.700

Cepoi Sorin

ROM

17.700

Varga Ianos

HUNG

16.325

Enrique Bravo

CUBA

17.525

Horizontal Bars

Rings 1.

Grecu Dan

ROM

19 .400

Makut Bogdan

USSR

19. 000

Checiches Ion

ROM

18.925

Lev Andrei

USSR

18.950

Lev Andrei

USSR

18.25 0

Oprescu Nicolae

ROM

18.825

Hartmut Schmit

DDR

18.050

Kurt Thomas

USA

18.800

Jensch Bernd

DDR

17 .825

Cepoi Sorin

ROM

18.77 5

Fik Josef

CSSR

17.700

Vamos Istvan

HUNG

18. 225

Luis R. Gonzales

ESP

17.600

Alfred Lefebre

RDG

18.125

Enrique Bravo

CUBA

17 .300

Zensch Bernd

RDG

17 .625

â€¢

Gymnastics News/May-June 1978 31

East German Invitational 1978 Âˇ Paul Ziert

am not including our travel arrangements, timetables, etc. , in my report. I wish that one important point remain in your minds after reading this - American gymnasts can successfully compete in the eastern block countries. Bart Conner, Mike Wilson , and I, having just completed a great NCAA Championships in Eugene , Oregon , and not having had sufficient time to celebrate, made very strong committments to each other that we were not going to let anything affect our mental high. Factors which we openly discussed as potential invaders were accommodations, schedules, bodily aches and pains, and most importantly, scores. Our objective was quite simple - we wished to display the NEW American version of gymnastics , aggressive gymnastics performed with technical perfection. Contrary to the beliefs of many people, the general impression one leaves is of much greater importance than either the place or score. A first place finish when the top gymnasts miss does very little for our program. Additionally , with the aforementioned objective, we were invincible! The common strategy of scoring our gymnasts low at first causing us to make mistakes later was not going to work. Now, some facts to have in mind before I summarize the competition: (1) Six events were to be run simultaneously , with four judges per event. Total number of judges : 24. Seventeen of the judges were East German and two were from the western bloc. (2) All four judges sat together at one table at each of the six events. (3) Most countries entered two gymnasts ; East Germany entered nine - their top nine; and Romania used three. (4) The draw for order was clever. The coun32 G y mnastics News/ May -June 197 8

try with the largest number of entries got first choice of order, the country with the second largest number of entries got second choice , etc. Hence, East Germany elected to start on floor exercise ; Romania got pommel horse ; the United States was awarded vaulting as its starting point. (5) Norway , Switzerland, and the United States were the only western countries to send gymnasts. Canada , Japan , France , etc., had not accepted invitations. (6) Few results were available throughout the competitions. In fact , I still do not have a set of final results ; hence , this report will be more of an overview than a statistical account. (7) The structure of the men 's competition was that the optional exercises on Saturday afternoon would determine the allaround and qualifiers for the event finals. The optional exercises by the top six gymnasts in each event on Sunday afternoon would determine the event winners. (8) Norway, Switzerland, and the United States were housed in the hotel Stadt Berlin, which was appropriately a mile for the hotel where the other countries were housed. The first round - the All-Around Finals for Men , began promptly at 3 :00 p.m. on Saturday, April 15 . It was absolutely incredible how efficiently a group could run a competition. The entire competition was completed in one hour and forty minutes with some 31 gymnasts participating. When the final results were announced , they reflected an unbelievable showing by the Americans. The All-Around results were : (1) Bruckner GDR 56.55

" '

(2) Conner USA 55.45 (3) M. Nikolay 55.35 GDR (4) Mack GDR 55.15 (5) Szajna Pol 54.75 (6) Wilson 54.55 USA Furthermore, early the next morning we were informed that both Bart and Mike had qualified for individual finals in all six events. With the trip already a complete success, the Sunday competition would be icing on the cake - and that it was!

Floor Exercise: Both Bart and Mike performed very well. Mike used full in for his mount and was very clean finishing with a full punch front. His score was a very conservative 9.3. Szajna followed Mike with an okay routine, double back and double full. His score was also 9.3. With Szajna having a higher qualifying score, he took the Bronze. Interestingly enough , Szajna very apologetically gave the award to Mike . (Many times we forget how knowledgeable and honest the athletes are!) Final Results: Mike - 4th Bart - 5th Pommel Horse: This is quickly becoming an American event. Mike had one stop but performed his routine with excellent amplitude, scoring 8.75. Bart was incredible! He swang wide and with unbelievable confidence to score the highest score of the entire competition, a 9.55 - gold medal and the playing of the American national anthem. Great! Final Results : Bart - 1st Mike - 5th Rings: Our swing mechanics were by far the best of the competition. However, we do need to work on leather straps in this country. The change is not impossible, but our gymnasts tend to show a lack of steadiness when trying to switch from cloth to leather straps. Nevertheless , Bart and Mike showed very well in this event - the biggy for both the Romanians and the East Germans. Final Results : Bart - 3rd Mike - 6th

to a backward roll . Final Results : Mike - 4th Bart - 6th Parallel Bars: Going into the finals, Bart and Mike stood 1st and 4th, respectively . Mike did a very nice routine with excellent diamidov and stutz handstands. Bart, going all out to fully display our objective, was great except for his press on one bar. Final Results: Mike - 3rd (Finally , Mike had earned a medal) . Bart - 4th High Bar: We were now 41h hours into the competition. We weren't sure it would ever end! Mike was steady and clean here surviving his incredibly taxing day with no major battle scars. Bart was on to the Max - here again reflecting that the Americans are not going to let down no matter what . He showed excellent extension and aggressiveness, scoring 9. 5. Final Results: Bart - 3rd Mike - 5th General Summary: I know that I cannot begin to express the pride I felt as we finished the competition. For what could have been a real disaster, we had turned into a major American success. The places and scores were somewhat exciting, but of lasting importance was that we had truly and completely achieved our goal. We had shown incredibly the new American gymnastics aggressive gymnastics performed with technical perfection. WE HA VE ARRIVED!!! ~

Vaulting: Out with the air board and in with the old wooden board - Mike was able to show his great power in this event, nailing an open piked tsukahara and handspring front to average 9.45. Bart did an excellent piked 9 .5 and then over-rotated his layout tsukahara Gymnastics News/May-June 1978 33

The Romanian International Bacau, Romania • April 21-23, 1978

Vannie Edwards

Representing the United States in the meet was Kathy Johnson and her coach Vannie Edwards. The competitive equipment met international specifications but was far below the standards that our United States gymnasts have become accustomed to. Specific examples are: the bars were stiff the beam was shakey the floor pad hard the vaulting board dead. Old cliche's but very true! The competition was judged by twelve Romanians, one Russian, one East German , one Hungarian and one Chezh. One could amply say that this was a communist bloc judging panel. Four events were run simultaneously and the meet was run efficiently with a few exceptions ; the language barrier made communication virtually impossible , and the scores were very difficult to obtain. We later found out that the scores on the sheet did not coincide with the scores flashed. Kathy Johnson competed in twelve events; four compulsory , four optional and four events in the finals. Out of twelve events she only had one medium break on an aerial on the beam. In the finals Kathy tied for first in vault with 18 .7 75 ; she was second in floor with 19.000, third in uneven bars with 18.775 and third in beam with 18.850. She had to really work for her scores, whether they were what she deserved or not. I was delightfully pleased with her performance. We ended the competition receiving one gold , one silver and two bronze medals. We were delighted to have reaped such a harvest from behind the iron curtain. Our deepest thanks to the U.S.G.F. for giving us 34 Gym nastics News/ May-June 1978

the privilege of representing the United States in this international competition.

•

All-Around Results

•

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

ROM Neascu, Marilena Turner, Dumitrita ROM Trusca, Gabriele ROM Grigoras, Anca ROM Johnson , Kathy USA Bratu, Angela ROM Oancea, Mirela ROM Savu, Carmen ROM Dunca, Rodica ROM Stewart, Ellen CAN Gould, Karen CAN Sosim 2 Margorzata POL Giorgioni, Marinella IT A Lucke , Jacqueline DDR Pasio , Foaterina ITA

37.90 37.15 36.90 37.20 37.00 36.15 36 .65 36.25 36.55 35.85 36.00 35.45 35.40 35.50 35.50

37.55 37 .65 37 .85 37.45 37.60 37 .15 36.50 36.75 36.35 35 .35 36.10 36.45 36.45 36.15 36.05

75.45 74.80 74.75 74.65 74.60 73 .30 73.15 73.00 72.90 72.20 72.10 71.90 71.85 71.65 71.55

•

Vault 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Grogoras, A. Johnson, K. Turner, D. Hrabovszky, E. Eloise M. Gould, K. Umlauf, B.

ROM USA ROM HUN SSP CAN DDR

18.775 18.775 18.600 18 .100 18 .050 17 .9 25 17 .92 5

ROM ROM

19.175 18.9 50

Uneven Bars 1. Trusca G. 2 . Neascu, M.

•

SCORE TODAY WITH ... RE CO MMENDED BY

UNITED STATES

GYMNASTIC FEDERATION

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Johnson K. Lucke J. Gajdausova, J. Keukelaire, J. Giorgioni , M.

USA DDR CSSR

BEL ITA

18.775 18.575 18.400 18 .325 18.325

Balance Beam 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Neascu M. Turner D. Johnson, K. Gould , K. Giorgioni, M. Jonas, G. Umlauf, B.

ROM ROM USA CAN ITA

USSR DDR

19.200 18.975 18.850 18.450 18.300 18.000 17.575

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Floor Exercise 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Turner, D. Johnson, K. Neascu, M. Jonas, G. Lucke, J . Kasper, K. Gould , K.

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ROM USA ROM USSR DDR DDR CAN

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•

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•---- ------------------------------------Gy mnastics News/May-June 197 8 35

THE

USGF CONGRESS '78 SEPT. 29-30, OCT. 1 OKLAHOMA CITY The 1978 USGF CONGRESS is set for the beautiful, modern and spacious SHERATON-CENTURY CENTER HOTEL in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on September 29-30 and October 1. Rooms are now held for your reservations, and special Congress rates are in effect if you register early. Rush your USGF REGISTRATION to the USGF National Office, and contact the Sheraton-Century Center Hotel directly (phone and address contained on th is page). Specify that you are registering for the 1978 USG F Congress. Registration fee of $25.00 should be sent to the USG F and as in years past this includes the annual banquet, and attendance at all meetings. This years CONGRESS wil I feature reports by the coaches named for the world Championships 1978 - the presentation of MASTER 0 F SPORTS awards and the naming and awarding of the male and female "GYMNASTS OF THE YEAR". Next years schedule will need a lot of time on the agenda ... Pan-American Games year ... World Cup year, and 1979 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS YEAR ... in the U.S.A. for the first time in our history and that meet is the qualification round for the 1980 Olympic Games. The 1978 USGF CONGRESS. Don't miss it! Send your check made payable to USGF CONGRESS, to the USGF P.O . Box 12713, Tucson, AZ 85732, right away and get registered for this years big event.

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Comments on Compulsory Exercises Floor Alex Lylo The most important in this exercise is the acrobatics. With this we don't want to say, that the other gymnastics movements can be neglected. We call attention to the fact , that beside the faults mentioned in the table of taxation, there can occur other faults in the final body positions. There is stated in the note: Other faults according to the Code of points IGF, 1975 Edition. 1. The start of the exercise (part I) must be executed with supplesness and with maximum amplitude. 2. The salto forward (part II) must be ~xpressively tucked. The downward movement of the landing leg begins at the moment, when the gymnast refind orientation. It must be shown distinctly , that the weight of the body rests for a short time on one leg. The movement of the arms is free. The connections to the handspring forward and to the hecht leap to roll forward must be executed in correct rhythm .

VIII) no step forward is allowed. Otherwise the deduction will be 0,1 pt. 6. The jump in the part IX must be executed with supplesness and rhythm and without interruption in the turn (to be executed as a jump with 5/8 turn). Turn without jumping results in a deduction of 0,2 pt. 7. The salto backward in the part X must be expressively piked (at least 90Â°). The tucked salto will be penalized with a deduction up to 1.00 pt.

As to the rhythm, the whole acrobatic combination must demonstrate the continual forward movement.

The same can be said about the last acrobatic combination, which should be the culmination of the whole exercise with regard not only to the execution but also to the rhythm. 8. The tucked salto backward with late rotation must be executed with distinctly stretched body in the upward flight and with intensively tucked body during the rotation. The rotation is then followed by a swift stretching of the body and la..lding into a steady stand. If the salto is executed without late rotation, the deduction is up to l ,00 p. 9. The duration of the floor exercise is not limited. The only two stops show, that the exercise is very pretending as to the respiration. In spite of this it must be executed with greatest precision and perfection.

In time duration the execution of the salto and handspring is shorter than that of the hecht leap. The last should be the outcome of the two previous springs.

Side Horse Akitomo Kaneko

The deductions are: salto forward picked up to 1,00 pt. Lack of height in the hecht leap - under the shoulder level. Deduction up to 0,2 pt. 3. Standing scale sideways is a typical gymnastic position. The whole movement starts with a step of the right leg forward and goes on harmonically to the final position. The movement of the arms and the left leg must be synchronized and finally fixed in the right position. 4. The head kip must be executed with energy and stopped in the straddle stand with body bent forward , arms sideward. 5. During the swing backward to the handstand (part

1. The exercise must begin in the stand in front of the middle of the saddle, not in front of the pommel. Before starting the mount no step is allowed. Otherwise the deduction is 0,1 - 0,2 pts. 2. The double Swiss (IV) and the simple Swiss (V) can be executed either with simultaneous change of grips and hop, or with successive change of grips. 3. If, at the beginning of the double leg cirlce in the part VII, the body is too much bent forward, the deduction is up to 0,3 pts. 4. Touching the body of the horse with feet when beginning the double leg circle in the part VII the deduction is 0,3 - 0,5 pts. Gy mnastics News/May-June 1978

5. If, during the wende dismount (part X), the support hand is too near to the pommel, the deduction is up to 0,2 pts.

Horizontal Bar Enrique Gonzalez

Rings Tuomo Jalentie

1. Part I - The exercise must begin in the overgrip. 2. The change of grip after the upstart (part II) can be executed during the swing backward to the handstand , but it is not obligatory.

1. Part I - The light swing forward (max 45°) can be executed with bent or stretched body. 2. Part III - The backward swing following the kip must be executed at least 30° above the horizontal. The higher body position is allowed only without stop in the handstand. Deductions: Swing under 30° up to 0,2 pts. Stop in the handstand up to 0,3 pts. 3. After the hanging scale frontways (part VI) it is permitted to raise lightly the body, eventually to bend it lightly forward. 4. Part X - If the felge upward swing does not go through the handstand, i.e. the distance between the hands is too large, the deduction is up to 0,3 pts. 5. Part XI - The dismount with straight body is allowed.

In any case the gymnast musn't lose the right rhythm when changing the grip. 3. Part IV - The body position after the circle rearways forward with Yi turn must be at least 45 °. 4. The underswing with Yi turn must be executed with full amplitude. 5. During the dismount (part XI) the body must first be bent and then stretched at the moment according to the right technique of the Yi turn.

•

If the dismount is executed with stretched body, the deduction is up to 0,3 pts.

•

Vault Boris Chakhlin Handspring with support on the near end of horse. 1. The compulsory vault must be developed in the second flight. 2. For the higher position of the body in the preflight and for the insufficient height in the second flight the deduction can be up to 0,3 pts.

• "

Parallel Bars Karl-Heinz Zschocke 1. The whole exercise, excepting the two hold parts, must be executed in full swing and without disturbances of the rhythm . 2. The stops in handstands (part VI and VII) are considered as disturbances of the rhythm . The deduction is each time up to 0,2 pts. 3. The dismount (part X) must be executed with bent body. The half turn can be executed in- or outward.

• 38 Gy mnasti cs Ne ws/May -June 1978

Gymnastics News/March-April 1978 39

USGFNeY15 New Club Memberships Available in USGF The USGF will soon be sending out invitations for club memberships in the USGF. After several years of discussion on the matter , the USGF will allow club memberships in a special category, allowing the Club to receive direct mailings of both a general and technical nature, including the USGF NEWS. Special Technical Bulletins, along with announcements of tours, and team trials, as well as meet schedules, will be sent the Club after it has been listed as a USGF affiliate and is carried on the membership list at the USGF National Office. The next issue of the USGF NEWS will probably carry an application, or, if your club wishes to get ahead of the game before Fall and the busy times ahead, please write the USGF and request a USGF CLUB MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION. Remember, it is a special membership designed to bring direct information to your club .

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USGF Designs Safety/Sports Medicine Division Xhe USGF has given serious consideration to developing a USGF SAFETY DIVISION. It would have two major areas of concern. On the one hand we will move into the area of safety as it relates to equipment, floor and gymnasium planning, and certification or appropriate recognition of instructors in the area of artistic and modern rythmic gymnastics. We have taken steps to also work in the area of Sports Medicine and this area would seek to develop guidelines for training and developing of gymnasts, while cooperating with the U.S. Olympic Committee (as they already have begun positive action in this specialized area) to test outstanding athletes in the sport of gymnastics. We will seek the cooperation of the medical profession for phase two, and the various equipment companies for phase one. It will serve the sport in many positive ways, and should bring into focus an area that deserves more attention as our sport grows in the USA.• 40 Gymnastics News/May-June 1978

•

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