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Page 1: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

THE MODERN GYMNAST MAGAZINE

APRIL 1969 60c

Page 2: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

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Page 4: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

\1

notes FROM THE

editor:

-PET PEEVE: I would guess we all have little things that bother us about Gymnastics that happen again and again until over a period of time we just have to speak out or burst.

I don't know what your pet peeve may be (other than you wish the editor would get the MG out sooner), but with all of the competitions we have been covering recently (NCAA's, INVITATIONAL's, USGF Nationals, etc.), your editor's pet peeve really had me climbing the wall. Needless to say, it is just a little thing, but we feel Gymnastics is a beautiful sport with an air of dignity and every time I see a gymnast dismount from the apparatus (sometimes even before his first step away) slip his arms through his suspenders and let them fall loosely to his side I shudder. I feel a gymnast should walk away from the apparatus with the dign ity exnected of an artist who has performed to the best of his ability. To start to undress by throwing off one's suspenders in the middle of the floor is neither artistic or dignified and would be more fitting on a Burlesque stage in some skid row theatre.

Don't get me wrong; I do not blame the gymnast, but the coach, the judge and even myself for not acting or speaking up (in print) long before now on this subject. This bad habit seems confined to the USA as I have not seen one 'instance of this in Olympic and International competition among foreign Gymnasts during the past decade.

Think about it .. .. Do we have a beautiful and artistic sport? YES? . . Well then let us act like it and make our approach and exit reflect our pride and dignity in the wonderful sport of Gymnastics.

NEXT EDITON: Annual MG - NCAA Photo Results Championship Report.

MG SUBSCRIPTION RATE BOOST: The cost of living has continued to rise all around us including the ex­penses of running an office and putting out a Gym­nastic magazine. We have offered special reduced rates to teams and individuals in the past in hopes of meeting our overhead by increased subscription volume . .. We have tried in every way to hold the line, but we have to face the facts and therefore we reluctantly increase our MG Subscription price to meet the added postage rates and general op­erating expenses. HOWEVER, ALL IS NOT LOST for our FAITHFUL SUBSCRIBERS, as we will offer a bonus to all subscribers who renew promptly (a prompt renewal saves us money we will pa ss on to you). So be on the lookout for OUR SPECIAL MG BONUS OFFER when your subscription renewal notice arrives and act promptly to take advantage of this saving in $$ and the assurance that you will not miss a single action packed edition of the MG. 4

m THE MODERN GYMNAST MAGAZINE

G Official Publication of the United States Gymnastic Federation

VOL. XI

CONTENTS

APRIL 1969 NUMBER 4

NOTES FROM THE EDITOR ......... ... . Glenn Sundby 4 CHALK TALK...... ....... . ...... .... .... .. . .... ... .. ...... . 6 ViEWPOINTS .... ... ...... .. .... .. ... .. ....... Dick Criley 7 TOUR DEL NORTE AMERICANOS ....... Rick Tucker 7 USGF REPORT .......... ............. ... .... Frank Bare 8 CANADIAN REPORT ....... ... .... ...... .. John Nooney 9 1969 NCAA COLLEGE DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS ..

Joe Buttitta 10 MG INTERVIEW: Coach Rusty Mitchell

Glenn Sundby 14 MG CALEN DAR .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 RESEARCH AND FITNESS IN GYMNASTICS

Dr. James Bosco 1 8 TUMBLI NG TOPiCS .. .......... ..... ... .... Dick Criley 19 NAKAYAMA'S HORIZONTAL BAR ROUTINE

AB. Frederick 20 A SECOND LOOK AT SWiNG .. .... .. Gerald S. George 22 NATIONAL GYMNASTIC JUDGES ASSOCIATION

Jerry Wright 23 MG SCOREBOARD.. ......... .... ... . ....... ............... 25 LETTERS .... ... .. ...... ....................... ...... ... .. .. 28

COVER, Rich Grigsby (Son Fernando Vo lley State College), winner of five first place medals in the NCAA College Division Individual final events.

PUBLISHER - EDITOR GLENN SUNDBY

ASSOCIATE EDITORS -Technical KEN SAKODA, Design

ASSOCIATE EDITORS - Feature

A. Bruce Frederick, Education; Dr. James S. Bosco , Research; Dick Criley , Statistics; Jerry Wright, Competition; Frank l. Bare , USG F; John Nooney, Canada.

.. THE MODERN GYMNAST magazine is published by Sundby Publications. ~ 10 Broadway, Sonto Monico. California 9040 I. Second Clots Postage pa id at Sonto Monica. Colif. Published monthlv except bi-monthly June. July. August. and Septembe r. Price $6.00 per year, 60c a single copy: Subscription correlpondence. The MODERN GYMNAST. P.O. Box 6 11. Santa Monica. California 9O~O6. CoPVright 1969© all rights relerved by SUNDBY PUBLICATIONS, 410 Broodwov. Santo Monico. Calif. All photos a nd manuscripts submitted become the property of The MODERN GYMNAST unless a return request and sufficient postage a re included.

Page 5: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

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Page 6: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

ilK

6

DR. LEOPOLD F. SWARG Before Coach Patterson's untimely passing

a year ago he had prepared several articles for publication in the MG. Recently his wife came across this one among his papers and sent it on to us.

Your editor has long been an admirer of Dr. Zwarg, the wonderful books he has written (his Apparatus & Tumbling Exercises published

in 1928 is a Gymnastic classic and still used in many a PE dept.) , and the many productive years of dedication to the sport of gymnastics in the Philadelphia area that have had thell' ef­fect on Gymnastics throughout our nation. To Dr. Zwarg we count it an honor to publish this article and wish him many happy and healthy years to come.

LEOPOLD F. ZWARG - The Father of Philadelphia Public High School Gymnastics

A. Carl Patterson

Leopold F. Zwarg was born in Germany on January I, 1886. He graduated from a Manual Training High School in Germany and received his gymnastic training at the Turn­verein . As a youth he participated in gymnastics and Turnfests in Kiel and Hamburg. He was an outstanding performer and won many titles in gymnastics and track and field. He main­tained a high level of performing ability on apparatus work until he was nearly sixty years old.

At the age of twenty-four Leo came to the United States and went to work in Detroit as a carpenter and cabinet maker. Two years later he enrolled at the Normal College of the Amer­ican Gymnastic Union. He graduated in 1913 and began his career as a Physical Educator at the Baltimore Turners in Baltimore , Maryland. While there he continued his education at Mt. Vernon Collegiate Institute and at John Hopkins. He met , courted and married Ella Ockelmann of Baltimore before he moved to Philadelphia in 1915 . He taught at the Philadelphia Turnegemeinde for a year before beginning teaching in the Philadelphia Public Schools in 1916, the same year he became a citizen and the same year his first son was born. His second son was born six years later in 1921, the year Leo was appoint­ed to the faculty of Northeast High School. He later taught at Gratz High and Germantown High Schools. He was Depart­ment Head of Physical and Health Education at Germantown High where he taught and coached until his retirement in June, 1952. He received his Masters and Doctors Degrees in Educa­tion at Temple University , Philadelphia.

While at Northeast High School "Doc" devised and or­ganized the public high school gymnastic league of Philadel­phia. The first championship meet' was held in 1923 making this league the oldest high school gymnastic league in the United States. Under " Doc's" coaching Harry Nelson , now a Collegiate Judge and AA U Judge, won the first all-around title, in 1923. The league , because of its growth , was divided into two sections in 1966 and dual meets were held instead of triangular meets. Dual meets are run similar to intercollegiate meets , each team allowed to enter two all-around competitors and all other competitors work a maximum of three events. Doc Zwarg still officiates at junior high and high school meets.

Dr. Zwarg has made many contributions to the league for over forty -six years and Philadelphia is proud he settled here.

Page 7: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

record was set by Munson of Cornell at 4:25.2. Since 1909 when Paull of Princeton ran it in 4: 17.8 , the record has been easily traceable. The top track stars at the turn of the century could barely win today 's high school meets .

Nor has track been the only field in which such improvement has been made. One only need look at the pole vault , the high jump, the jave lin or the discus for other exa mples. Swim­ming times have plummeted as have those in crew.

Sundby Planche 6 x 1 3 inches, solid mohogony

Wh y harke n to the achievements of yes ter­year? It is obvious that coaches in track and field , in swi mming and in crew, just to na me three examples, wei'e not satisfied with the old techniques and methods of training. Science and sys tematic analyses were employed to deve lop new tools (t he fiber glass pole, the lighter shell , the videotape), to detect flaws and defects (in timing of passing a baton , in the angle of push-off from the blocks, in balancing a crew) and to perfect form , endurance, and efficiency. The results have been gratifying.

The Side Horse Worker, 10 inches high, Honduras mahogany, plywood and walnut .

GYMNASTICS IN MAHOGANY The MG Editor was recentl y gifted with a solid mahogany wood craving of himself doing a planche (shown in pas t issue). The carving is the work of Martin Hesch . Martin resides in Philadelphia and carving these pieces is a hobby . As you can see Mort 's interest in gymnastics and wood carving has produced some beautiful work. Incidently, if you are wondering how long it takes to produce one of these, would you believe some 40 ·hours for the " planche"? I n case you are interested Mr. Hesch can be reached at: 7600 Lumeklin Pike , Philadelphia, Pa. 19150.

THE TRAMPOLINE IN HIGH SCHOOL GYMNASTICS

With the evolution of international trampoline competition and the in­creased emphasis which the NCAA has placed on the sport, it is of interest to note the trampolining programs of 4 states known to be outstanding in other gymnastic areas. In California, some of the sections work this event while others do not (the same situation prevails for rope and tumbling), In Illinois and Colo­r~do it is part of the regular competi­tlOn and the event is particularly strong III Colorado, Pennsylvania high schools do not work the trampoline. (For other notes on high school gymnastics ab­stracted from Murray: A Comparison of Interscholastic Gymnastics on the High School Level, see previous issues of Chalk Talk.)

VIEWpoints

HAS YOUR PROGRAM KEPT PACE WITH CHANCE?

By Uick Criley

In 1877 , the mile run record slood at 5:33 : it dropped to 5:]4.6 in 1879 and never go t below 4:40 in the ne xt decade. By 1905 the

Where does gy mn as ti cs fit into this pic­ture? Have coaches and athletes kept pace with the new developments ? Are the new inno­vation s (films, videotapes , mechanical improve­ments, and application of ph ys ical principle s to move ment ) finding a place in the deve lop­ment of our gymnasts ? Is the coach knowledge­able enough to make use of these innovat ions?

If the answers to the above questions are " NO! ", is it nO! high time that we put our brai ns in geaF and make use of our modern technology to improve our gymnas ts and gym­nastic programs ~

Tour del Norte Americanos en Sud America (or A Good Time Was Had by All)

by RI C K TUCKER, SIU After the second Olympic trial at Penn

State, five gym nasts who were eliminated at that point were chosen to represent the U.S.A. on an A.A. U. tour of South America. Those selected were Mike Kimball (U. of Utah), Ri ch ·Grigsby (San Fernando Valley State) , John Elias (N .W. Louisiana State), Rick Tucker (So. III. U ni v.). and Fred Turoff (Templ e Univ .) Mike was elected as Captain-Manager because of his knowledge of the Spanish language.

We reported to New York for outfitting and briefing by a State Department official on the 4th and 5th of Sept. Those two days we re probably as busy as we ever were during our entire tour. We spent hours securing travel cards , air tickets, immuni zation cards , travelers checks and photos. Since the trip was not or­ganized until the last moment, a great burden was placed on those people who had to get the information out to us and make the prepara­tions .-Col. Jesses Liscomb, at the AAU office

in New York C it y , de served a round of applause for his aid. It would have taken us weeks to do what he did in two days.

We finally left for the ai rport to catch an II :45 p.m. flight on the 6th. As fate wou ld have it all of our ru shing around in New York was counterbalanced by a fi ve hour wait while our plane had an engine transpla nt. When we finally did leave , it was 3 :00 a.m. the following morning.

As the sun came up we landed in Pana ma. That's when it finally dawned on us tha t we we re reall y 6n our way. As we approached the runway we could see that this certainly wasn't any kind of land we 'd ever seen before , except maybe in films of deepest, darkest Africa! We jumped out of the pl ane , took some film s and pictures and jumped back on board for Quito , Equador, our first South American adventure.

Continued on page 30

7

Page 8: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

The United States Gymnastics Federation P.O. Box 4699 Tucson, Arizona

USGF DIRECTORS REPORT FRANK L. BARE Executive Director

The USGF has been hard at work arra,""]ing the final format and content of the First WORLD CUP competition at the beau­tiful Long Beach Arena for late April. By the time this reaches you the first and largest of such events ever held in this part of the world will be history. Subsequent issues of the MG will carry complete results, photo coverage and announce­ments concerning next year's event.

* * * Schedule to appear in the World Cup are CERAR (Yugoslavia), Nakayama (Japan), Kenmotsu (Japan), Nissenen (Finland), Thor (USA) and one other American to be selected. The wom­en's section of the meet will feature Banfai (Hungary), Oda (Japan) and Hartley (Canada) along with Rigby (USA) and an­other American girl to be selected at the USGF Nationals on the preceding day.

* * * THE USGF PRESS has completed printing of the compulsory routines for the World 's Championships in Gymnastique Mod­erne (Fall 1969 in Bulgaria). Copies, including information about teamwork and detailed breakdown of parts, are avail­able in booklet form for SOc each.

* * * USGF PRESS also has completed the women's committee pub­lication on Conducting Competition (for girls). Includes infor­mation, guidelines, materials needed for the conduct of girls' gymnastic events ... $1.00.

* * * BUD MARQUETTE's great young squad of girls, known across

the U.S.A. as the SCATS (Southern California Acro Team) is hard at work finalizing the routines for their appearance in Switzerland at the Gymnaestrada this summer (July 2-5). Bud's squad includes two Olympians from 1968 and a num­ber of other promising and very hard-working youngsters. Their tour should be a great one. Watch the MG for coverage on this trip.

* * * The UNIVERSITY OF IOWA won the NCAA team title, Penn. State Univ. was a close second . . . it was a great meet. Nis­sen en of Univ. of Washington handily won the all-around and really looked great in so doing. MG will cover this event in the next issue.

* * * NATIONAL OFFICIALS ASSOCIATION .. . a longtime dream of many gymnastics officials is moving rapidly towards becom­ing a reality. The USGF is encouraging and offering aid to the individuals interested in forming this group ... and the day will soon come when in order to judge a top-level meet one must have qualified through a certification course for that level of judging and further be a bona-fide member of the National Gymnastics Officials Association as well.

* * * THE USGF 1972 OLYMPIC TOUR ... is just about ready to form ... and the timing is great. This time ... we offer a deposit system . .. pay before you go. The USGF will accept regular deposits of any amount for up to approximately 150 people .. . all of which will be fully refundable up until January 1, 1972 . . . and if the deposits are regularly made, the tour will guarantee the gymnastics tickets . .. hotels and round-trip jet fare from Chicago or perhaps Denver ... and any deposits that exceed the necessary amount for the trip will, of course, receive a refund of overpayments. In this way, many of you can begin now to save for the trip and have a pre-paid Olym­pic journey to MUNICH, GERMANY, in 1972. Remember, fully refundable any time up until January 1972 (before which we will announce firm price, dates, etc.), limited by space available to the first 150 individuals to so apply for a seat .. . . write USGF OLYMPIC TOUR . . . P.O. Box 4699 ... Tucson, Arizona 85717 ....

USGF USGF 1968 Women's

OLYMPIC GYMNASTIC FILM 1968 Men's OLYMPIC GYMNASTIC FILM

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All the top final routines of the individual Championships from the 1968 Olympic Gomes in Mexico City. ORDER FROM :

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200 ft. 8mm (black & white) The top routines of the In­dividual event Championships from the 1968 Olympic Gomes in Mexico City. ORDER FROM:

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

FIG CODE OF POINTS men .. . all the "A-B-C parts" included. Order from the U.S.GJ., P.O. Box 4699, Tucson. Arizona 85717. $3.50 per copy.

The F.I.G. Code of Points for Men .. . 96 pages of the International Rules for

Page 9: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

CANADIAN

• REPORT

CANADIAN NATIONAL COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIPS - 1969

An excellent meet was convened by Digby Sale this year at McMaster U niversity at Ham­ilton, Ont. With tremendous organization and floor control , and using excellent new equip­ment , the meet showed how far gymnastics has come in Canada. Ten teams competed in the men 's division and seven in the women·s . Nearly a ll the co mpetitors went All -around. Geoff Elliot 's tea m from the Un iversity of Alberta in the men's di vision showed rea l promise. He has two excellent boys in Daniel­son and Meikle. Gil Larose coached runner-up University of Montreal , led by Lallier and Lagere. Third place U niversi ty of Toronto , coached by Julian Roncon was third , wi th McVey outstanding. S H was the weakest event, FX and Vault the strongest. Thejudging was very consistent. T he U. of Alberta team had best deportment and attitude and deserved to win.

The girls ' competition was of a high e r standard than the boys'. U. B.C. and its stars, Sandy Hartley and Lesli e Bird, won for coach Sev Hieberg. I be lieve the college girls will make the National team earlier than the boys.

Jack C harteris of Guelph U ni versit y was elected president of the new co llege coaches' association, with Di!by*Sal; V.P.

Women's Team Standings: U.B.c., York, Univ. of West· ern Canada. AA: Hartley (U.B.C), Thompson (York), Bird (U.B.C). FX: Hartley, Thompson, Bird. Vault: Hortlet, Th ompson, Bird. B.B.: Hortlet, Thompson, Bird. Unevens: Thompson, Hartley, Bird.

Men's Team Standings : Univ. of Alberto, Univ. of Montreal, Univ. of Toronto. AA: Danielson (UA), Lallie r (UM), Meikle (UA). SH: Meikle, Lall ier, McVey (Un LH : McVey, King (UOnt) Lallier. Rings: Legere (UM), Danielson, Meikle. PB: Danielson, Meikle, Lallier. FX: McVey. Kinsman (York), King. HB: Danielson, Lallier, Meikle.

YUGOSLAV COACH JOINS YORK Yugoslavian O lympic Gymnastics Coach

Bori s Bajin will join the staff of York U ni ­versity. Baji n will be at York at least one year. assisting Tom Ziv ic, former Yugoslav national gy mnast in developing York 's ambitious gy m­nast ic program.

Ontario High Schools Grade Team Championships

George Harlow of York Memori al hosted about 200 Grade 9 and 10 gymnasts. T he G rade 9 team trophy was won by Central Technical School, Toronto, the Grade 10 trophy by York Memoria l c. 1. Thirt y- three school s were represented.

Alberta Report (by G. Elliot)

Gy mnast ic competition carried on in earn est thi s month in the Province. The U niversity at Edmonton hosted the Western Collegiate C hampionships for both men and women and the standard of performance was high. The U. of A. sent a tea m to the National Interco ll egiate Championships March 8, showing the expan .. sion of inte rest in the West fo r gy mnas tics. Roy McMahan is now president of the Calgary Gymnastic C lub.

Sondra Hartley Canadian Nationbl Collegiate AA winner

Un iversity of Alberto Canadian Notional Collegiate teom winners. R. Dan ielsen, (f irst row, second from left) men's AA Chomp.

It see ms to be a N ational trait to ignore entry dead lines - frustrating for the promoters of competitions who never know how many gy m­nas ts are goin g to arri ve. Gymnasts have to be taught responsibility. Ed ucate them'

Report on Provincial Compulsory Clinic By E D NI C HOLSON

Thi s year's clinic was in some ways an ex­ceptional one. F irst of all. the setting was ideal. The Memorial Gy mnas ium at U. B.C. is hard to beat and is centra ll y located as we ll. Second , new blood with new ideas - notably in spotting and lead-up techniques - gave a boost. Men like 5ev Heiberg and George Fudge intro­duced a fresh fl ow of ideas in their respective areas. Even vete ran coaches picked up new ideas and more creative ways of look ing at things. One important point was made: the need for as king modern dance and movement inst ructors for assistance in gymnast ic clubs. All in a ll I was much impressed, and impati ent to get back to our c lub and try some of the innovations out. Bouquets to the organizers of thi s year's Provincial cl in ic.

1969 Western Canadian Intercollegiate Championships

Team Standings: Alberta Univ. (A) 11885. Saska t che­wan Un iv. (S) 109.40, Bri ti sh Columbia Univ. (BO 90.30, Calqary Univ. (C) 44.50. AA Scores: R. Danielson (A) 44.05, T. Sedgewick (S) 43.70, D. Meikle (A) 41.75. M. Boyd (S) 37.45, P. Cooper (A) 33.05.

Manitoba Men's Championships Report From R. Shore

The Second Annual Men 's Manitoba C losed Gymnas ti c C hampionships were he ld Jan. 3 I. at the 5t. Vita l Fa mil y Y.M.C.A. E ight gy m­nast ic clubs entered the meet , with a tot a l of 7 1 gymnasts officia lly regi stering. T he 20U people in attendance enjoyed the competition thorough ly.

* * :;: Argo: (12 yrs. and under) AA : Roy Anderson (Central Y). Tyro : (14 yrs and under) AA: Randy Rogers (B ra ndon Y). Team Trophy: St. Vital YMCA. Novice (16 yrs and under): AA: Ron Broun (Cent ra l Y). Novice Team Trophy : Centra l YMCA. Junior (20 yrs. and under): AA: Rick Shore (U. of M.), Junior Team Trophy : Centroy YMCA.

9

Page 10: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

1 1969 NCAA

GYMNASTIC CHAMPIONSHIPS cr 1 r ( .1 () J (J .....

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY STATE

Team Champions, First. San Fernondo Volley State; Second. Southern Connecticut; t hird, Springfield College~

1969 NCAA COLLEGE DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS The second an nua l NCAA College-Division

Gymnastics C ha mpions hips (so met imes known as A Weekend in the Life of Ric hard Grigsby) is over. a nd host San Fernando Val ley State Col lege successfull y defended the crown it won last year.

The Matadors. who have won seven con­secuti ve league titles (CCAA) and six of seven State College c ha mpionships since the sport began at Va lley State in 1963 . waltzed off with the c rown in an easy fas hi on. I n fact . the team compet itio n was a lmost a n anti -c limax follow ­ing th e e normous lead built by coach Bill Vin­cent 's charges.

Va ll ey State ta lli ed 15 1.8 0 points to win the national tit le. w hile Southe rn Connecticut (145.575) and Springfie ld College (Mass.) ( 145.4 75) batt led for second place.

Vincent. the young. likable college me nto r who has met nothing but success si nce initiat­ing the program at VSC , was named Co llege­Di vis io n Coach of the Yea r for the second time in a row.

But, G rigsby, Valley St ate 's trul y outstand­ing su pe rstar, nea rl y had the entire show to himse lf a nd the crowd that packed the gy m­nas ium for the indi vidual final s reli s hed every mome nt he was up.

T he modes t senior greatl y aided hi s team during team competition, but when the spot­light s were turned on for indi vidua l honors. the former Canoga Pa rk High School s ta r rea ll y put o n an ex hi bitio n.

He won the fl oor exercise (8.775) . side-horse (8.75). long-horse (8.8 625) . ti ed for first o n parall el ba rs w ith John Elias of orthwes t Louis iana State (8.85) a nd wa lked off wi th high-bar, hi s favorite a pparatus (9.3).

Grigsby dec ided to fo rego rings. o n whic h he qua lified second a t 8.8 in the preliminaries , in order to save stre ngth for para ll e l bars and high-bar. Otherwise . he might have won a ll s ix events .

10

By J ue Buttitta

As it turned o ut. Jim A merine of Southern Con nectic ut. a compact , s trong· louking man . captured th e rings a t 8.75.

It s hould be noted that jUdging was based o n O ly mpic standa rds thereby lowering scores.

E lias and A merine waged a fierce battle for the a ll-around tit le w ith the former winning with 99. 175 points to 98 .80 for A merine. The two were tied after the compulsori es , but E li as pulled away during optiona l routines with s trong show ings on side-horse . para ll e l bars and high-bar. Third place in the a ll -a round was captured by C hico State 's Buckey Mackey.

Valley State's event breakdown by points during the tea m competition was as fo llows: floor exercise 26.55: side-ho rse 25.20: rings 25.60: long-horse 26.65: parallel bars 23.80: high-ba r 24.00.

The Matadors were so far in front by the time high-bar ca me up that G rigsby decided not to do his routine. saving himse lf for the a ll­important indi vidua ls in the eve ning sess ion. Hundreds of fans were di sappointed s ince they had co me to watch him pe lform hi s favorit e event. He gave th e m a thrill la te r. though. winning it w ith an average o f 9.3. highest of the meet in a ny event.

Last yea r' s nationa l ba nner whic h ha ngs cons picuous ly above the gy m floo r was the ta lk of severa l out-of-state teams during tlie mee t. The addition of a second banner left most of them speechless .

Additional highlights of th e meet were pro­vided by J o hn E li as. an exci ting new pelformer fru m Northweste rn Louisiana. and Jua n San­c hez of San Ferna ndo Va ll ey.

Jim Fi sher of Sacramento Sta te pelformed a highl y unique fl oor exerc ise routine that in ­c luded a front sa ito with !hi turn to immedia te split s.

Sacramento State (Fa r Wes te rn Co nfe rence cha mpions the pas t fi ve yea rs in a row) was a c lose winner in a fi ve-way batt le fo r fourth

place in th e tea m race. as they defeated Man­kato Sta te. Illinois State . Colo radu State a nd Cal Sta te-F ullerto n. Springfie ld 's J oe Cenni s pelformed ve ry we ll in floor exercise . cas ting some duubts o n th e acc uracy of the .iudging. as did Rich Martin and Byron Fish on the paralle l bars and Run G rant on 'the H B.

.lim Yearwood of So. Conn . ac tua ll y a p­peared to be. a lu ng wi th Grigsby o n the H B. the most skilled performer in the meet in a ny o ne eve nt as he rea ll y wowed everyone in warm­up o n the S H . But he co uld not co mplete hi s ve ry difficult rOLitine in the fin als a nd had to se ttl e for third pl ace.

NCAA COLLEGE DIVISION GYMNASTIC CHAMPIONSHIPS SFVSC March 27-29, 1969

Team Standings 1 . Son Fernando Volley Stote 1 51.80 2. Southern Connecticut 145.575 3. Springfield College 145.475 4. Sacramenlo State, 132.075; Mankato State College, 129.925; Illinois State, 126.95; Colo rado State; California State·Fullerton ; Son Fernando State College; Northwestern Louisiana State College.

AII·Around 1 John Elias, NW Louisiana 2. Jim Amerine, So. Connecticut 3. Buckey Mackey. Chico

Optionals Only 4. Rich Grigsby, Son Fernando Volley 5. Steve Radomski, Son Fer. Valley 6. Tim McWirk, Sacramento State

99.175 98.80 80.00

54.10 47.575 44.175

Floor Exercise, I . Rich Grigsby, 2. Jim Fisher, 3. Juan Son· chez, 4. Joe Cenis, 5. Ed Dotti, 6. Steve Radomski. Side Horse, 1. Rich Grigsby, 2. Bob Medina, 3. Jim Year· wood, 4. John Elias, 5. Dove Ellis, 6. Tom Bell Rings, I. Jim Amerine, 2. Steve Radomski, 3. Bob Hughes. 4. John Elias, 5. Anton Copi tao, 6. Rich Grigsby Long Horse, 1 Rich Grigshy, 2. Juan Sanchez, 3. Buckey Mackey, 4. Steve Radomski & Tim McWirk, 6. Jim Amerine. Parallel Bars, 1 John Elias & Rich Grigsby, 3. Jim Amerine, 4. Juan Sanchez, 5. Rich Mar tin, 6. Byron Fish. Horizontal Bar , 1 Rich Grigsby, 2. John Elias, 3. Ron Grant, 4. Jim Amerine 5. Buckey Mackey, 6. Juan Son chez.

Page 11: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

ALL·AROUNO

COll fC,f Dr.., <"0"

I SAN FERNANDO VALLEY STATE

FREE EXERCISE

LONG HORSE

1 2 1969 NCAA 3

GYMNASTIC CHAMPIONSHIPS CO LL EGE DIVISI ON

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY STATE

SIDE HORSE

MARCH 27 - 29 I 1969

ALL AROUND

.... IIt" 71 l'l,1969

P"PAlt£l e,ws

PARALLEL BARS

. A SANF~~~~~'~;~~~YSTATE 5 ~. !

J W' "al'O<27Ll,1969 J .. _ _ _ J\HCS _ _ '\;,.; _ _ ~

RINGS

HORIZONTAL BAR

11

Page 12: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

Jim Amerine, So. Connecticut. 1 st Rings

Rich Grigsby, SFVS, five firsts! (FX,SH.LH,PB&HB)

This is what you get for being coach of the year Steve Radomski, SFV, 2nd Rings

12

Page 13: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

Another winner tramBSe .. .

tha naw SOFLIII 4 .. . .... .•

lor competition usa

Breather fabric­sides and bottom

Nylon based plastic (POWER HYDE) cover

1" closed cell Vinyl foam (NY-a-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 finn -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'x lO' Soflan Competition Mat

M-SG612 - 6'x 12' Soflan Competition Mat

TEAM

95,00

140.00

195,00

Page 14: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

( Coach Rusty Mitchell ] (MG editor Glenn Sundby interviewed Rusty M itchell at the Western Gymnastics Clinic held ill Tucsol1 , Arizona inillte December of 1968. Rusty Mitchell, past Olympian alld past National Cham­pion is now the C ymnastic Coach at the Un iversity of New Mexico.)

Rusty, when did you start to compete? I sta rted gymnastics in 1956 at Baldwin Park

H.S. (Ca lifornia) under coach John Dragi, then went on to college at Southern Illinois where Bill Meade was coach.

Was it just the idea of getting away from the West Coast that appealed to you?

Yes. I had competed for four years in high school in Southern California and I looked forward to going out on my own. I wanted to find ou t what it was like being away f rom home and to see if I cou ld handle college life and gymnastics away from home.

Did you consider other colleges? I considered the University of California with

coach Hal Fry and the University of Washington with Eric Hughes among other schools. I believe the reason I chose Southern Illinois was because it hod not only Mr. Meade but Fred Orlefsky, who at the time was Notional AAU Champion and a member of the 1960 Olympic team. At the t ime I was considered strictly a tumbler but my goal was set to become on Olympian and to work the AA.

How would you advise a boy to select a college? What should he look for?

There are several things to consider. The first is how the school is ranked academically among colleges and universities across the country. The gymnastic program is very important if the gym­nast has ideas about becoming an Olympian. You have to cons ider the coach _. what type of person he is and what he knows about gymnastics.

I th ink It boils down to what kind of gymnast you want to be when you choose a school. If you wont to be a mediocre gymnast it really doesn't matter. The desire to be a top gymnast has to be there before you go to college. The coach is im­portant, but the desire must be present. The gym­nast must be aware of the strict demands on him. His training schedule, his food, his health, all these are very important.

Is there a way to evaluate what to look for in a coach? Do you look for the type of gymnast he has produced before, or his team record?

I think a gymnast should have the opportunity to meet a coach before he goes to college, while the boy is still in high school. He should have some idea of what type of teacher the man is, as well as what type of coach. He should have the opportunity to work with a particular coach, possibly at a clinic, to get some idea of how the coach relates to the gymnast. You can tell a boy something, but if you don't get through to him it doesn't do much good.

1 4

You 're saying that one of the big things for gymnasts of all ages is to go to clinics?

Definitely. We' re talking at a clinic right now. Was the first clinic you went to in Sarasota? Yes si r. I hod been to several clinics while I was

in high school, through the YMCA and other groups, all in Southern California, but the first National Clin ic I went to was in Sarasota in 1960. I haven't missed a notional clinic since at Christmas time.

How did you develop from being a tumbler into all around? What was the pattern or plan?

Mr. Meade always used to tell me - (and I agree with him) - you are doing nothing more than tumbling an the apparatus, and if you learn to tumble with farm, execution and extension, you 've done quite a bit. Since I could tumble pretty well I knew I wanted to be on all-around gymnast. In high school I did work in FX, LH , HB and PB. I never worked SH or rings in high school. In my freshman year at Southern Illinois I was strictly a tumbler' and floor exercise man. I com peted in several area meets in Illinois _. the Mid-West Open and so on. I tumbled every day; that means double backs and double fulls, my whole four sequences. As I progressed through four yea rs of co llege I tumbled less and less. Mr. Meade had something in mind when he had me tumble every day in prac­t ice as a freshman. The more I worked the AA the better form I had, so I hod to tumble less. But I seemed to get better in meets because my form was better, because of the tumbling.

What is the natura l progression for a tumbler or trampolinist into apparatus gymnastics?

Long horse vau lting, PB, HB and rings, and Floor EX would be the very first after tumbling. One ather thi ng about progression I want to say. When I was a freshman, every day at the end of practice the event I worked the most was SH. You don't often find a tumbler who can become a SH man. That's all I worked on for that whole yea r. Circles, circles and more circles, until I felt as much at home up there as I did on the ground.

One other th ing. When I was in high school I was very big in the legs but small on top. You might say I hod no physique. Coach John Dragi told me I should do more exercises for strength. I started religiously every night to do 50 push-ups in the planche position with my feet on a chair. By my senior year I was doing 80 to 100 every night. This was not in the gym, but in my bedroom at home, before I went to bed. Then, when the push-ups be­came easy I started doing handstand dips. I really extended myself to get strong. And it certainly

helped me with my endurance and strength at the end of on exercise. For example, at the end of my exercise on the rings I always had a hollow back and I didn't have to strain to get up in that hollow back handstand. It's very important for the young gymnast to find hi s weaknesses and try to develop from them.

I think another big weakness I had was that I didn't learn enough extensions on the skills I learned when I was young. I think the first stunt I learned on the PBs was a front over-bar catch, and this was wrong. When my boys come to college I sta rt them right at the beginning. They have to learn f ront uprises and goad handstands before they learn these more advanced stunts. When we go back to basics the advanced stunts come that much more quick ly.

What was the highlight of your college career? I think winning the national championships after

being on a second place team for three years. Personally, a big paint was ~n '64 when the national championsh ips were held in California. I was run­ning down for the LH and just before I came to the beat board I hit a piece of chalk, slipped and ran ri ght on past the horse. I received a zero for the vault. I thought I had let Mr. Meade and the boys an the team dawn, and I didn't want to finish sec­ond again. I wanted to win and I ca me back. Up to that time I hadn't ever done a 9 an the LH in college and here I ended up with a 9.5 average. I had a 9.4 and fifth in the nation on the rings, came back from tehth place to second an the pa rallel bars. It was all due to the fact that I ran past that long horse and let everyone down, and I wasn't about to do it again. Messing up the long horse made me a gym­nast. I was either going to be poor after that or great. I wonted it bad enough to feel I was going to be the best gymnast going. That was my attitude from then on; I wanted to be the bes t . In the Na­tional AAU championship then I worked my way from 12th or 13th in the first trials to 3rd in the final trial s, and from then on it was all uphill.

looking back to Tokyo in '64, do you think if you had been better known internationally you'd have done even better?

To be very honest, yes. I was just another Amer­ican gymnast; no one knew me and they could care less.

There were a couple of other thi ngs. My w ife was pregnant and due to have the baby. Also, I was bitten by an insect two days before the finals and had one eye completely closed. I'm not complaining. I was just happy to be there at the time. I didn 't feel

Page 15: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

we hod a team when we went to Tokyo - we were too many individuals not working together.

As a competitor and a coach, what suggestions do you have for the training program in America?

Three main things: One, it's very important to have clinics. Two, we need a compulsory program, not on ly in the colleges, like we have now in the NCAA championships, but also on the high school level. Third is getting a notional coach for the United States. I think the USDF is considering it. I don 't know who it would be- I don't feel I'm quali ­fied in that I don't know that much about gym­nastics. I learn with my boys - better techniques to use, a foster progression to get boys to learn the right way, to extend, to stretch everything they do and to learn it with form.

How long have you been coaching at New Mexico? Three years. How many boys did you start with? I hod six boys. How did you do your first year? The first year they were a mediocre team. I think

they scored in the low one thirties. My first year they scored around 175, 179. We lost one meet to the University of Arizona, took second in the West­ern Ath letic Conference, and I took three boys to the Notional Championships. My second yea r we were undefeated in the Western Athletic Confer­ence and took fifth in the notion. And I think I have a finer team this year. I'm working against some­thing of a problem. Before I got to New Mexico they allowed f reshmen to compete. Now they don't and I will lose two boys for the Notional Champi­onships this year, two very outstanding gymnasts, Tom Gol lianae and Rich ie McConnell. Both have scored in the side horse and severa l other events.

Obviously, the drive you had as a competitor has carry-over values into coaching. I noticed your boys are sharp in their carriage on the floor. Do you have comments on things like that?

Yes, I th ink there are a lot of things - litt le things - in gymnastics that the boys don't really toke into consideration. The coach, particularly the high school coach, should st ress not on ly form but appearance. When the boy sto rts on exercise and after the exercise he should look good. He should be proud of what he has done, I mentioned appear­ance. I know there's a big trend right now for boys wearing moustaches and sidebu rns. I don't have that problem with my boys. They know I wouldn 't approve of it and they therefore don't wear them. They respect me enough not to wear them.

In general, I see nothing wrong wi th sideburns or moustaches. It's a fashion, a trend. If the boys who wear them look neat and clean it is accepted. But, personally, on my team, no. I mean I'm not democratic about it. It's MY way or no way.

You have certain things that you have carried over from Coach Meade,

Right, things I learned from Mr. Meade, plus my own thoughts. I've picked up some new things that I think are important. I don't make rules for my team. I have a few th ings that the boys know they're supposed to do, and some ideas how they're supposed to look. They are representing me as well as the university and therefore should oct accord­ingly.

In other words, you don't give them free rein. Oh, no, not completely. Here's the way I look at it.

I don't core what time they go to bed, but they hod better not mess up the next day. There are a couple of things that I feel are most important for the young gymnast to learn, things I learned down in Florida when I went to the training camp they hod prior to '63 . That was in West Palm Beach and they stressed some of these important things: how to co rry yourself, better breathing, using you r dia­phragm, taking a deep breath and throwing out your rib cage. Things like recoil and how to punch. Not only on the ground but with tremendous effects on the long horse.

They st ressed this fundamental about being proud to be proud. If you wont to be good, you have to be proud.

There is a way of being effective and proud without being arrogant.

Yes, this is t rue, this is what I hod in mind.

You represent yourself, the work you 've done and the coach, the training given you ,

Yes, and th is is what I try to stress to my boys and what I wish more coaches would stress to their young gymnasts.

There's another thing, too. I went through it in high school. I felt I was good, but I was a little hesitant about doing things because I was afraid my classmates wer-e going to call me a showoff. We hod a tendency to hold bock a little bit. How good could we really have been if we went all out without worrying about anyone coll ing us show­offs?

If you play the piano , guitar, do a card trick, sing or tell jokes, everyone applauds, But if you do any­thing physical you 're a showoll, The boys must realize this and forget about it.

Exactly right, forget about it. WE wont them to go out and put everythi ng into it. Everything,

There's been a lot of talk about the lack of coaches in America, Is there a lack or is it that they're not the best, or is it programming?

There's something very important here, that I th ink Sakamoto stressed in his article. We don't have gymnastic coaches who know technique. I don't feel that I am the greatest coach as for as technique goes. I've learned more in the lost three years than I ever thought I would. Teaching tricks, and extension, th ings like that.

But, as a gymnast, you don't realize that the coach has to think of the team, and the matter of winning if you wont to yet the money. You 've got to have a winner to get the backing. The coach has to toke all these things into consideration.

Yes, we wont to train gymnasts to become world compet itors. I myself want to have several Olympic gymnasts in my coaching ca reer and I'd like to be on Olympic coach. Th is is something I will work for. But to get there I have to have a program, establi sh gymnastics.

At New Mexico I think they averaged about fifty people at a dual meet before I got there. Now we are up to about three thousand or thirty -five hun­dred people at a meet, which is, I think, an indica­tion that we've established a winning program at New Mexico.

Is this because of the way you present gymn~stics , as well as the fact that they're winning?

Everybody likes a winner, and if you' r'e winning, people are going to come to see you. Now, this is important. You have to get people into your gym, you 've got to make money for you r athletic deport­ment. This is something that the gymnast, when he is competing in college, doesn't realize. I know I didn't. I didn't know what Mr. Meade was fighting for.

What I'm trying to stress is that the college coach has many factors to consider. If I didn't have scholarships I couldn't go out and recruit a Steve Hug or a Dove Repp. If I didn't have the money I couldn't get them to my university, because there ore too many other schools who have the money for scholarships to bring in these good kids.

The coach has to establish the main program first. If I hod picked one all-a round gymnast the first few years I wouldn't have had a team, I wouldn't have developed some of these young men who are possibly never going to be Olympic gymnasts but who are going to go out and coach in high school and do a fine iob.

But, are you pushing toward all around? Yes, I am, very much so, I think it is very im­

portant that we head toward the al l-around program.

Does this have to come through the high school program? Do you have any comment on high schools feeding the colleges?

The high school coach has to get the kids into the gym. We didn't help them by throwing out the tram poline in college competition. I think trampo­line invi tes the kids into the gym, and then they see that high bar or the parallel bar or the rings and soy ''I'm gonna try that" and they get interested in gymnastics. Every once in a while you find the kid who, once he's invited into the gym or sees the trampoline he knows he wonts to be a gymnast. I didn't though. I was playing football in high school

and the coach come out to the tield one day and asked would I like to get into gymnastics. So, I started wo rking out every day after footbal l practice.

Do you think gymnasts are a special breed? There's a saying that gymnasts are better than

people. But, yes, I thi nk they are a special breed.

Do you feel that, no matter what sport a champion is a champion? That there is a kinship between all these men in all these sports?

Yes, there's this thing, the competitive drive. You can see it in a top performer. He goes in there and looks for the tight situation, the clutch. He knows he's gonna go in there and do his best. He has that feeling of butterflies inside. I know he has because I got them when I was competing. But I knew that I hod worked so hard, and that one rou­tine was so important to me that I was confident in myself. I wonted to do it better than I can rmog ine or tell you.

What about the kid just starting in high school. He 's scared and he goofs and just can't seem to get started,

I think you find that the competitor is the one who covers up without anyone knowing that he messed up. He can bomb out completely, but the competitor will come through and try to cover. He won't make facial expressions, or curse coming off the floor, or stomp his feet. One thing the young competitor in high school must learn. It's a proven fact that a iudge gets on irnpression of someone the first three fi fths of a second he looks at him. So if, when you walk out on the floor, you look sloppy, whether it be your clothes, your beard, long hair, what have you, the iudge subconscious ly says " ... show me." You're going to have to be awful darn good to get a score. I tell my kids, sure you can wear a beard; iust score me a 9.9.

Looking forward to '72 do you have any suggestions for the gymnasts who will be trying for the team?

It's up to the co llege coaches to try to prepa re these boys as much as possible. On a notional level, I think our best gymnasts should come to more clinics. I don't know whe re Hug and Thor went ...

Hug went to Berkeley and Thor went to Florida, This is good. They went to clin ics and these tap

gymnasts are going to help the younger gymnasts. I believe it is important tha t they try to relate their knowledge of gymnastics to the younger kids, like the things they learned in Mexico City. It will give the younger gymnasts something to shoot for.

This is one very important thing that can be done on the national level.

Getting back to the national coach, Any other ideas about what he should do and be?

It should be a permanent place. The coach should be hired twelve months a yea r. He should not only run the program in the United States, he shou ld go to Europe to work with the finer coaches in Russia and Sweden, to As ia to work with the Japanese, all over the world. He should have orr opportunity to see their meets, to work out with them and possibly take some of our finer gymnasts with him and give them the chance to work out as wel l.

One man couldn 't do all this, You 'd have to have an assistant.

A very good point. Not only one assistant, I think you'd need two or three.

We have a problem in the United States in that we ~on't subsidize our athletes. I personally feel if I could have trained for another four years and gone to Mexico City I could have done well. I don't think I have the techniques on a lot of stunt s. I have the desire and the ability to win and the explosion that you need to go out there and give them a rou­tine that they're not expecting. So if I cou ld have tra ined for another four years - but I have a fam­ily, I had to have a iob. I was hired by New Mexico and I was therefore considered a professiona l. The Japanese and Russians are not, and yet we're competing against them.

There 's no need for a subsidy at a low~r level , however, is there?

No, no. I was iust thinking of something else here. This has to be done now. Getting ready for 72 should have started before '68 was over.

15

Page 16: Modern Gymnast - April 1969
Page 17: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

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Page 18: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

RESEARCH AND FITNESS IN GYMNASTICS

BY JAl\IES S. Bosco, PHD

SAN JOSE STATE COLLEGE

SAN JOSE. C.~LIFOR!\IA 95114

STERLlNG ,* LEROY F . and ROGER W. WEBB ,* * " Scoring Behavior of Gymnas­tics Judges"

In recem years , competitive gymnastics in the United States has been subject to an in­creasing interest by professional and lay per­sons. National, World and Olympic champion­ships have been televised and presented to the American public. High schools, colleges and universities continue to add gymnastics to the physical education curriculum. Increasingly, high school and collegiate leagues have been formed to facilitate and govern competition.

The caliber of the pert'orming gymnasts has improved at all levels of competition. There is little question concerning the improvement in facilities, equipment , number and quality of coaches availab le and opportunities for com­petition. However, as is true with many other sports, questions arise concerning the com­petencies of gymnastic judges. I t would seem then that a study in this area would be justi­fied.

Gymnastic routines are scored o n the basis of execution , difficulty and combination. Four or five judges independently arrive a t a score for the performer's routine using cri teria estab­li shed by the International Gymnastics Federa­tion. The performer's official score is usua ll y determined by excluding the extreme high and low scores and averaging the remaining scores.

For the purposes of the present s tudy , it was assumed that agreement by the judges in rank­ing the gymnas ts ' routines might give insight into one phase of judging behavior. This some­what distorts the official scoring procedure in that the scores of all the judges were consid­ered, and ranking tends to be less accurate in placing the performers relat ive to one another.

Two rank-difference correlation methods were applied to the data in this study. Spear­man 's rho (4:305-308) was used to determine ag reements between pa irs of judges ; a nd Ken­dall' s coefficient of concordance, W (8:94-106) , was used to determine the communality of scores reported by a ll the judges.

The scoring forms from the 1966 and 1967 Sout hern Interco llegiate Gymnastic League C hampionships provided the data for this in­vestigation. I n both meets , the services of four judges were utilized .

Review of the Literature Hunsicker and Loken (7) inves tigated the

scores of the 1950 National Coll egiate Gym­nastic Champions hip Finals. They found one paired judge correlat ion below 0.80. nine cor-

*Dr. Sterling is from the Department of Physi­cal Education , U niversi ty of Florida, Gai nes­ville , F lorida.

'*Mr. Webb is from Orangeburg, South Caro­lina.

18

re la tions between 0.80 and 0.849 , and 50 paired judge correlations of 0.85 or higher. Thejudges were in greatest agreement on the horizontal bar event.

Hughes (6) ana lyzed judges' scores from sev­eral University of Washington dua l meet s. His ass umption was that a "true" score existed for each exercise and thus accepted the difference between extreme scores as a meas ure of the judges ' agreement. The smaller the difference between the high and low scores , the better the quality of jUdging. The ave rage difference for the several meets studied ranged from 6.7 to 9.0 points per event.

Faulkner and Loken (2) examined the re­su lts of the 1961 Western Conference and Na­tional Collegiate Athletic Association Gymnas­tic Meets. They correlated the individua ljudges' scores with the official, or net , scores for each event and concluded that the judges were in good agreement in ranking the gymnasts , even though a judge would occasionally score the pelformers on a highe r or lower scale.

Results The present s tudy was concerned with one

phase of the behavior of gymnastic judges -their agreement in ra nking pert'o rme rs in cham­pions hip meets. T ab les I and II show the paired judge correlations for the finals of these meets. In the 1966 SI G L meet , there we re 25 instances where the judges demonstrated extremely high ag reement (r=0.85-0.99, s ignifican t beyond the .0 I level); in 14 instances there was high agree­ment (r=O. 7 1-0. 93 , signiticant beyond the .05 level), a nd in nine instances there was not a sufficiently high corre lation to be cons idered significant. The overlap of ,ignificance level s noted in the pa renthes is above is due to the va rying number of peti'ormers in the different events.

Table I Interjudge Scoring Agreement - 1966 SIGl

Championship Finals EVENTS JUDGES

Coniestont s A& B A& C A&C B&C Floor Exercise 8 .74* .89** .93** Side Horse 8 .90** .86** .88" Trampoline 8 .83* .78* .50 High Bar 8 .80' . 96*' .89** Long Horse 1 7 .38 .81 * .42 Long Horse 2 7 .99" .95'* .9 5*' Parallel Bars 8 .95** .85** .75* Still Rings 8 .84** .90** .96**

'Significont beyond the .05 level *'Significont beyond the .01 level

.59

.72'

.77*

.87**

.55

.96**

.91 **

.58

B&D C& D .83 * .76* .98" .77* .85** .49 .80 ' .95 '* .58 .62 .92** .92'* .74* .91 *' .81 • .87**

In the 1967 SIG L meet , there were 16 in­s ta nces where the judges demonstrated ex­tremel y high agreemem (r=0 .85-0.99 , signifi­cant beyond the .0 I level) , in 13 instances there was high ag ree ment (r=O. 71-0. 93 , signifi­cant beyond the .05 le ve l) , and in 13 instances there was not a sufficient ly high correla tion to be considered significant.

Table II Interjudge Scoring Agreement - 1967

SIGl Championship Finals

EVENTS JUDGES

Contestants A & B A&C A&D B&C B&D C&D

Floor Exercise Side Horse 8 .99** .95** .98'* .93** .97** .98** Trampoline 7 .86* .79- .68 .86* . 77* .80* High Bar 7 .79 ' .65 .79* .56 .71- .78* Long Horse I 6 .50 .74 .93' .71 .60 .89* Long Horse 2 6 .74 .64 .61 .93* .67 .7 1 Parallel Bars 8 .90** .61 .90*' .85** .96*' .73' Still Rings 9 .95 ** .98** .94** .97** .98** .97*'

Note , Judges ' scores were .not available for the. floor exercise

- Significant beyond the .05 level -*Significont beyond the .01 level

The factor of the communality of all the judges in scoring each event remains unac­counted. Table III presents the Coefficient of Concordance , W , for the finals of both the 1966 a nd 1967 S IGL C hampionship meets. In 14 of the 15 situations studied , the judges showed extremely high agreement (W =O. 767-0. 975, s ignificant beyond the .0 I level), and in the one remaining instance the agreement was quite good (W=.670 , significan t beyond the .02 level) . The judges were most in agreement in scoring the 1967 Side Horse event and 1967 Still Rings event while they concurred least in the scoring of the 1966 Long Horse I event.

Table III Interjudge Scoring Agreement -

SIGl Championship Fina ls

EVENTS COEFFICIENT OF CO NCORDANCE

Contestants 1966 N 1967

Floor Exe rcise 8 .84** Side Horse 8 .89** 8 .97** Trampoline 8 .77** 7 .84** High Bar 8 .91 ** 7 .78** Long Horse 1 7 .67* 6 .78** Long Horse 2 7 .96** 6 .78** Parallel Bars 8 .89** 8 .87** Still Rings 8 .8r* 9 .9r*

Note, Judges' ,cores were not available for 1967 Floor Exercise.

·Sig nificant beyond the ,02 level ··Significont beyond the .01 level

T ab le I V shows the inteljudge concordance in scoring the prelimina ries of the 1967 S IG L C ha mpionships. The number of participa nts in the events ranged from a low of 22 in the Tram­poline event to a high of 29 in the Long Horse I. 1 t is important to note th at in a ll instances the judges showed extremely high agreement (W = 0.S25 -0.912 , significa nt beyond ' the .0 I level) . The judges were most in agree ment in scoring the Side Horse even t and concurred least in [he Long Horse I .

Table IV Interjudge Scoring Agreement - 1967

SIGl Championship Preliminaries

EVENTS CONTESTANTS Fl oor Exe rcise

COEFFICIENT OF CONCORDANCE 26 .83**

Side Horse 23 .91 ** Trampoline 22 ~O** High Bar 24 .86** Long Horse 1 29 .82** Long Horse 2 27 .83** Parallel Bars 26 .8r* Still Rings 26 .84**

*'Significant beyond the .01 level

Discussion Several interesting ques tions concerning the

reli a bility, objectivity a nd va lidity of judges' scoring were brought to light in the course of thi s in ves tigation. The va lidity of the judges' scores wou ld seem to be an elusive en tit y. It is supposed that expert judges, relying on exter­nal and objec tive criteria, would provide valid scores . However, methods for measuring this are not readily' availab le .

Brown , Mendenhall and Beaver ( I ) have investigated the reliab ility of observations of behavior. Their discuss ion of reliability shows it to be a tricky concept. It would seem that under meet conditions we can only spea k on the ag ree ment of judges in the specific s itua­tion. Reports by others concerning the relia­bilit y and objectivity of judges appear to be inappropriate application of the terms. Relia-

Page 19: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

bi lity calls for repeated observations, a si tua­tion not possible under meet conditions.

Objectivity in judging could be increased through the app lication of a different method of reporting scores. This method wou ld require that the judges not confer or show each other scores during the competit ion. Under the pres­ent method , the showing of scores after each performance serves as a feedback mechanism which reduces the objectivity of scoring but undoubted ly increases the agree ment among judges concerning the placement of rout ines in rank order.

Although it was assumed that agreement by judges in ranking gymnast 's rou tines might give insight into a phase of judging behavior, no value judgment was placed on level of agree­ment as a criterion for good judging. A high level of agreement might indicate that the judges were all right ~ or all wrong. All that can be said is that they agreed.

Fi lmed performances could provide answers concerning the reliability , objectivity and validity of judges' scoring under contro lled si tuations. These findings could be applied to

Pnolo:, : permission of Allyn and Bocon, Inc.. publishers

further research under competitive conditions. They also might offer information that would improve the cal iber and competence of judg­ing of gymnastic performances if such might be deemed advisable.

Conclusion

There was very good scoring agreeme nt be­tween the gymnastic judges in the 1966 and 1967 Southern I ntercollegiate Gymnastic League Championships.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Brown, Bob Bunon, William Mendenhall and Raben Beaver. " The Reliability of Observations of Teachers ' Classroom Behavior." Paper read at the American Educa· tional Research Association Annual Meeting, New York, February 1 6, 1967.

2. Faulkner, John A. and Newt Loken. " The Judging of the 1961 Western Conference and National Collegiate Athletic Association Gymnastic Meets," The Modern Gymnast, 4,26· 27, January, 1962.

3. Festa, Angelo. "A Better System of Judging Gymnas·

tics," The Modern Gymnast, 4 ,2B, Nbvember, 1962.

4. Guilford, Joy P. Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and Education. New York , McGraw·Hili Book Company, 1956. 5. Henry, Franklin M. "The Loss of Precision from Discard· ing, Discrepant Data," Research Quarterly, 21 ,145·152, May, 1950.

6. Hughes, Eric. "An Evaluation of Gymnastic Judging," The Modern Gymnast, 2,56-57, November-December, 1959.

7. Hunsicker, Paul and Newt Loken. "The Obiectivity of Judging at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Gymnastic Meet," Research Quarterly, 22A23-426, De­cember, 1951.

B. Kendal, Maurice G. Rank Correlation Methods. New York, Hafner Publishing Company, 1962.

9. Loken, Newt and John Faulkner. " A Funher Corrment on Gymnastic Scores," The Modern Gymnast, 4,25, March, 1962.

10. Patterson, A. Carl. " The Role of the Judge in Making the United States a World Power in Gymnastics," The Mod­ern Gymnast, 9 ,27, January, 1967.

11 . Stebbins, Cloy. " Letters," The Modern Gymnast, 4,29, December, 1962.

Cortoan used wllh permission of Ihe SOlu rdoy Evening Posl.

3. The front handspring, front somersault. (Pike or tuck somie, ( difficulty). The height possible in this move makes conceivable the loy-out front somersaul t ond the fu ll-twi sting front somersoult. Note particularly the head position of these two tumblers , both of whom achieve excellent height during the somersoult. Important ports are the high front hand-

spring which enobles the legs to be broug ht down almost underneath the tumble r's body, the body position during the time the feet are in contact with the floor, the total trajectory of the body from the toes to the head during lift-off. (ommon faults would be 0 bent-legged toke-off ond throw­ing the head down to initiate the somersa ult .

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Page 20: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

NAKAYAMA'S HORIZONTAL BAR ROUTINE From Mexico City 1968

Reprinted with permission from Burgess publishers.

20

Page 21: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

\ ~,/

2 1

Page 22: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

A SECOND LOOK AT SWING © By Gerald S. George

Va.rsity Gymnastic Ooaclt Louisiana. State University

INVERTED GIANT SWING The si ngle most important aspect of the I n­

locate Giant can be found in the "bottoming effect" of the swing realized in Illustrations o - E - F. Precise observation reveals that a lthough the hips lead through the lower ver­ticaL there is an immedi ate a nd pronounced hip extension on the initial aspec t of the up­ward circular swing. Such an ac tion serves not only as a timing cue for the oncoming hip angle decrement , but also as a stabilizer for maintaining full and complete rea rward ex ten­sion of the shoulder girdle. Thi s consideration will significantly enhance both the mechanical efficiency and the aesthetic a mplitude of the entire swing. Philosophers would call this con­cept. "a moment of truth ; ' psychologists would call it " the lunatic fringe:' yet the cham­pion gymnast would simply call it , " a firm grasp of the obvious'· ....

Inlocate Giant Swings can be great fun , especially if you're the kind of guy who really likes to " hang one on '· ... however don 't fail to take that second look at correct mechanical technique . or you may be "head-over-heels" behind the next guy.

Send in your reques ts to the M.G. for those skills you would like to see analyzed. They need not be limi ted to Horizontal Bar.

Ill ustration A depict s an inlocated ha ndstand pos iti on with an undergrip. The hip angle is totally decreased with refe ren ce to it s specific anatomical range of motion : the shou lder angle is exte nded rear­ward to its fullest ra nge wit hout as yet incu rring di s­locatiun: and the ent ire body unit is so positioned that its gravitat iona l line li es slightl y in front of the intended direction of move men t.

A vigo rous extension of the hip a ngle initi ates the In verted G iant Swing. Ca reful observation reveals that thi s angle increment. a lthough quite vigorous. is such th at the legs do not transce nd a direct stra ight ­line relationshi p with the trunk. The shoulder angle remains in the aforeme nti o ned full y extended posi­tio n of inloca ti on. A primary objective of extending the body line so that the greatest a natom ical radius of rot a tion re lative to the in located body pos ition can now be realized . Refer to Illustration B.

22

Just as a falling chimne y te nds to fold-in at it s weak­e r points. so too does th e body tend to fold-in at its weaker. or better sa id , articu la ted points. Since the shoulder region remains in a fully extended inlocated pos ition throughout the ski ll in its entirely. the above mentioned fold or decrease app li es solely to the hip a ngl e. Thi s ve ry slight hip pike. often refe rred to as "h ip lead ," is de monst rated in Ill ustrations C - D .

The fully extended inlocated shoulder angle a nd the sl ight ly decreased hip angle depicted in Illus trat ion E adva nce the hips downward. preparing the body for an oncoming and necessary beat. This beat ur " bot­tomi ng effect" extends the hip and lower back seg­ments. driving the body into a slightl y arc hed position. Illu st ration F emphasizes the resulting action of thi s " bottoming effect." The bod y is cocked as in a n arch­er's bow ready to release it s potential force in coor­dination with the upward circular swing.

The " bottoming effect " of the bar se rves as a cue in releas ing the previously mentioned s lightly arched body pos ition. The gy mnast must immediately follow up this act ion by decreasing the hip angle in direct proportion to the upward c ircular swing while slill lIlain/ainin!! the aforeme ntioned fully extended in-

GYMNASTIC CLASSICS

Volume 1 - Horizontol Bor Section "A" - Bosic Giani Swings

Number 4 - - Inverted (Inlocated) GianI Swing

IT

A

located shoulder a ngle. Illu strations G - H -I progress into thi s " hip lead" position.

As the body approaches th e apex of the In verted (Inlocated) G iant Swing. the hip angle continu es its proportionate decrease. Such a n a ngle decrement , Illu stration I. yie lds a feeling of weightlessness. a lmost as if one were being pulled up above the bar. I t is during this feeling of we ightlessness that the s lip­grip action of the hands is realized. The wrist s are arched onto the top of the bar to provide support for the oncoming body weight. The body unit then re­turns to the inlocated handstand position a s originally depicted in Illu stration A.

Upon returning to Illustration A. the gymnast will se nse a "stall effect " in th at the circular velocity is negligible during the a pex of the swing. I n thi s skill. therefore. the body continues 10 and 1101 Ihrol/gh Illustrati on A. It is not until the hip a ngle begins again to increase that any appreciable movement becomes apparent.

The sa me procedure is followed for additional I n­verted (Inlocated ) Giant Swings. The return to Illu stration A places the gymnast in an ideal position for any of the sequ entially re lated s kill s.

c

© Copyright

Page 23: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

NATIONAL GYMNASTICS JUDGES

ASSOCIATION Report By JERRY WRIGHT

Concerning the new FI G Code of Points: I . Closed Scoring: The FI G feels that c losed scoring is the beller way to go but it sure s lows up the meet a nd it is felt by some that c losed scoring takes something from th e a udien ce by not lelling the m in on the scoring. The nex t competitor is usua ll y on before the score is posted. Most ./udges a nd Coaches prefer o pen scoring. 2. Only one spoiler : Thi s rule does not see m necessary for NCAA compe tition but F IG s ta tes very c lea rl y tha t a pena lty w ill be as­sessed for more th a n o ne s pott er.

A-parts

1-7 New

Mak

IV·4 New

~~l~$=~ IV· 7 New

!Wt~t~ VI-6 Wa, "8"

VI- 13 80th were " 8"

VI·19 Was "8"

VI II ·4 Pictures are in wrong place see 8·8

3. Good Posture o n Mount : Thi s applies to mounting the rings and /or horizonta l bar and means tha t o ne is to ma intain good form in jumping to the apparatus. O ne may adjus t one's grip to ge t false grip for example but one mu st have good form with legs and feet in the process. 4 . Swinging " C' Part : A very significant addi ­tion to th e Code is the requirement for swinging "C' part s. The Code states th at in the prelim­ina ries , or as the F IG refe rs to it. the " All Around Co mpetition:' gy mnas ts are required to have a swinging "C' pa rt in the ir parall e l bar rout ine. I n the fi na ls fo r fl oor exercise. Rings . and pa ra lle l bars o ne of the "C ' parts mu st be of the swing type . 5. Strength in FX : If you ha ppe n to have a copy of th e origina l U SG F ve rsion of the new code the stre ngth require me nt was omilled . The FIG ve rsion is correct. 6. Re peating Pa rt s: The code of points is quite clear in sta ting that if a part is performed three t imes the deduct ion is . 1-.2. There is more tha n o ne idea he re a bout what to do when the same move is r e rformed th e second time in a J'Olltine. Most offic ials are following thi s - if

B-parts

1·2 New

1·8 New

11 -8

IV·2 New ~

Jljs0:~

VI·14 Was "C"

sa me part is performed in exactly same manner there is no deduction but the part does not cou nt for difficulty but if the same part is per­formed the second time but in a different com­bi nation or different s tyle (such as tucked , layout , etc.) it counts for diffi cult y. A lso. for whe n part is pe rfo rmed third time Code does not say whether the difficult y is given - most judges are givi ng the difficult y if performed III

a different combination but not if the sa me part is performed in th e same manner and in the sa me comhinatio n. 7. VaU lt ing: The 1968 code indica tes that the va ulter is to indicate the e nd of the horse his ha nds will land on prio r to beginning his run. This can be done ve ry eas il y wi th the use of a drawing such as the following : N CAA Judges Meeting: At the 1969 NCAA meet the judges decided tha t if a gymnast does pre-R S to hand stand o n the floor he must ho ld it 2 sec. for full difficulty value and to sat isfy the stre ngth requirement. The gu ideline used here was one sec. If move he ld o ne sec. diffi cu lty give n and deduction onl y for duration of hold. Thi s was true for a ll events . listed below is the second in a series of articles concerning

changes in FIG A·D-C parts.

C-parts

1·3 New

t~ ,"\\ ~ 1·12

~M~ 11 ·9 New

tt~\ ~ 111 ·3 New

~~(t~i~t~~

IV·3

IV-6

IV·9

23

Page 24: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

24

VIII -25 New

r'}:~~ X-4 Was " 8"

~-

XI-1 New

l&~

X-14 New

XI-2 New

~?: dti C-parts

VII -15 New

VIII -21' New

IX-6 New

MG SUBSCRI BERS MAY SUBSCRIBE TO THE OLYMPISCHE TURN KUNST THROUGH OUR U.S.A. OFFICE, BOX 777 , SANTA MONICA, CALIF. 90406 FOR $5.00 PER YEAR ')

OLYMPISCHE TURNKUNST Box 777 Santa Monica, California 90406

VI-20 New

VIII -2 Nev

IX-5 New

XI-2 New

VIII -15 New

VIII -24 New

VI-6 New

VI-21 New

VI I-6 New

fft~~~~ X-5 Was "("

X-14 New

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

96 pages of the International Rules for men . .. all the "A-B-C parts" included. Order from the U.S.GJ., P.O. Box 4699, Tucson, Arizona 85717. $3.50 per copy.

VIII -1B New

VIII -27 New

m THE MODERN GYMNAST MAGAZINE

CG SUNDBY PUBLICATIONS

Page 25: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

NJCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS MIAMI, Fla. - The Facon gymnasts

of Miami-Dade Junior College North captu red the first NJC AA Gymnastics Championship held on March 7-8.

M iami-Dade Junior College North, host of the event. scored an impressive 134.875 points to cop the title. Close behind the Falcons was Odessa, Texas with 129.60 points. Third place went to Nassau, NY (73.5) and fourth place to Brevard, Florida (41 .45).

The deciding factor in the meet was the complete domination of the stil l ring event by Miami-Dade Junior College North. The Falcons swept the first three places in the still ring event while Odessa was only able t o secure a sixth place position. Leading the Falcons in thi s competition was Steve Albert (l st), Harold Bockhorn (2nd) and Roland Lopez (3rd).

Miami-Dade North took a first and third in the coveted all-around compe­tition with Roland Lopez (l st) and Fronk LeGrand (3rd). Ron Webb of Odessa took second in th at event.

Miami-Dade North also copped a firs t and second place in the long horse vault wi th Roland Lopez and Bob Spenser re­spectively.

Odessa took fi rst place honors in floor exercise (Pat Hamilton), parallel bars (Mike Torrez), side horse (Fred Carden­as) and high bar (Gary Heortsfield).

Odessa took first and second in the trampoline competition with Pat Hami l­ton and Richard Womack taking the honors. The trampoline event is not counted in team standings, however.

TEAM RESULTS COLLEGE POINTS I . Miami-Dade North, Florida (M) I 34.B75 2. Odessa, Texas (0) 129.60 3. Nassau, New York (N) 73.50 4. Brevard, Cocoa, Florida (B) 41 .45

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS AA: Roland Lopez (M) 44.60; Ron Web (0) 41 .08; Frank LeGrand (M) 38.53; Richard Womock (0) 3325; Gene Car­ney (N) 28.95; Joe Emmel (B) 25.60. R: StEve Albert (M) 8. 175; Harold Bock­horn (M) B.05; Roland Lopez (M) 7.75. FX : Pat Hami lton (0) 8.55; Roland Lopez (M) B.40; Ron Webb, (0) B.375. P8 : Mike Torrez (0) 8.175; Roland Lo­pez (M) 7.725; Ron Webb (0) 7.50. LH : Roland Lopez (M) 8.687; Bob Spen­ser (M) 8.625; Richard Womack (0) 8.575. SH: Fred Cardenas (0) 7.5; Don Hoech­erl (M) 7.35; Steve Snow (0) 6.3. H8: Gary Heartsfield (0) 8.575; Steve Albert (M) 7.5; Frank LeG rand (M) 7.25. TRAMP: Pat Hamilton (0 ) 8.65; Richard Womack (0) 7.8; Greg Wilcockson (M) 6.175.

SECOND IVY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS

The second annual Ivy League Cham­pionships were held at Carnell Universi ty in Ithaca, New York an March 8, 1969. This competition demonstrated the con­tinued growth of Ivy League gymnastics with the presence of representatives from six schools (The 1968 Championships at

MG HIGH SCHOOL REPORT! Don't forget the MG Annua l High School State and

District 1969 Gymnastic Championships will be pub­lished soon in the MG ... SEND IN YOUR REPORTS if you want to see your High School Championsh ips in this SPECIAL MG EDITION ... Do it NOW! ... Include fi rst 6 teams .. first 5 All-Around men and first 3 places in each event. .. same of the top routines and a photo of the top team and individual high point men (in action) Rush! Rush! Rush! Don't be left out.

the Universi ty of Pennsylvania were con­tested by three schools with on ly twenty­fi ve gymnasts). In 1969 the number has grown to 36 contestants with six schools repre sen t ed and six all -a round performers.

Unfortunately, the representatives from Harvard and Princeton did not have coaches or even adequate uniforms and therefore, must have suffered some embarrassment while performing. It's a pity that the phys ica l education and/or

NJCAA

the athletic associations of the se great univers ities cou ldn't demonstrate enough interest in their ded icated young gym­nasts to provide a small amount of financial aid. Appa rent ly, this country st ill suffers f rom popularity fever which tends to over-emphasize the al ready prosperous sports and hold back the growth of new activi ties. Fortunately, Cornell, Yale, Dartmouth and the Uni­versity of Pennsylvania have coaches and athletic departments that are eager

to promote gymnastics because of its inherent physical fi tness values, etc. and have not wai ted for someone else to lead the way.

The t eams marched in at 2:00 p.m. to a " star,ding room only" crowd of very enthusiastic spectators. Floor exercise and side horse were the first events of the afternoon. Cornell ' won first and second with a terrific display of tumbling by Mike Hammell. Bob Allstadt (Cornel l) and Tom Weig le (Dartmouth) and Phil Frost

Ivy League

NJCAA

and th ird respectively with very clean, well -executed routines.

The side horse competition was char­acterized by weak rout ines with the ex­ception of Bruce Boln ick (Yale) and Russ Wiggen (Cornell). Bolnick received the highest score of the meet wi th an 8.80. Unfortunately, that score does not reflect the exce llence of performance that Bruce demonstrated.

Lynn Williams (Cornell) won the still ring s with an 8.60 average and had a

routine that would place high in any league. Lynn displayed extremely fa st shoot work, good cross execution and finished wi th a well-controlled double back somersault. Following Lynn were Tom Weigle (Dartmoutn) and Phil Frost (Yale).

Bob Allstadt and Russ Wiggen of Cornell placed first and second in vaulting with Jeff Rogers of Dartmouth third.

Bruce Bolnick won the parallel bar event with on 8.15; Chris Cain (Dart­mouth) and Mike Hummel (Cornell) tied for second and Jeff Rogers (Dartmouth) was third .

Cornell swept the horizontal bar -Lynn Williams, Russ Wiggin, and Bob Allstod!.

Cornell won th e team title with 126.105; Yale was second with 108.435; and Dartmouth was third with 104.455.

The level of compet it ion in the Ivy League has increased tremendously in the last two years. The major problem that exists is that of manpower. Often the coaches cannot place more than the minimum th ree men in a pa rt icular event. The Ivy League schools will probably rever present a notional threat as a team, but we con continue to produce

NJCAA

Ivy League

individual greats such as Russell Mills and Bruce Bolnick.

THE E.I .G.l. TOURNAMENT The E.I. G.L. tournament was held at

West Point, New York, this yea r on March I 3-1 5. Eight teams, including perennial powerhouses Penn State, Temple and Springfield, were represented. Penn State took th e team title with a comfortable margin, and the Nittany Lions' Bob Emery

25

Page 26: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

won the All -a round, edging teommate Dick Swetmon.

Tea m Standings : Penn State (PS) 1 63.08, Temple (T) 157.69, U. of Moss. (M) 151.91, Springfield (SP) 148.73, Navy (N) 1 50.73, Army (A) 147.08, Pittsburgh (P) 52.68, Syracuse (SY) 33.30. AA: Bob Emery (PS) 109.00, Dick Swet· man (PS) 100.28, Barry Weiner (T) 99.43, Fred Turaff (T) 98.83, Joe Litow (PS) 95.68. FX: Weiner (T) 9.375, Clark (PS) 9.275, Emery (PS) 9.075. SH : Emery (PS) 8.77, Kindon (PS) 8.65, DiFurzo (T) 8.60. SR: Del Gallo (M) 9.47, Vexler (PS) 9.45, Sta l­ter (SY) 9.27. LH : Geist (T) 9.04, Swetman (PS) 8.98, Vexler (PS) 8.96. PB : Emery (PS) 9.05, Weiner (T) 8.70, Swetman (PS) 8.50. HS : Turoff (Y) 8.70, Swetman (PS) 7.45, Emery (PS) 7.40.

San Gabriel 14th Annual Gymnastic Invitational

Report by Paul E. Morquez This meet, first of its kind to be held

in me CIF, is now the oldest, biggest and best of Southern California High School gymnastic invitotionols. San Gabriel HS is unique in that it has separate gyms for boys and girls, one of which is used for warm-ups. This year 23 schools partici­pated in the event using San Gabriel's high calibre equipment. The crowd num­bered over 1400. They sow outstanding routines by Steve Diqqle of Lakewood High on the Rings and High Bar, and by Junior Jim Mcfaul of Westminster High in Free X, Tumbling and Long Horse.

Team Sta nd ings: Lakewood 21 Y2, Westminster 20, Milliken 14Y2, Wilson 14Y2. Outs t andi ng Routines: TU, Jim Mc­Faul, R, Steve Diggle. SH: Greg Williams (Pasadena). fill: Steve Ruprecht (South Hills). Free X: Bob Brumm (Lakewood). PS : Rudy Ginez (Baldwin Park). Rope, Paul Ra lston (Westminster). LH: Steve Gerlock (Milliken).

Report from G. Hutchinson

COLUMBUS INVITATIONAL The second Annual Columbus Invita­

tional Meet was held in the Downtown YMCA, December 1 5, 1968. Under Meet Director Jerry Baker, the Men's portion of the meet went smoothly. Outstanding events were Side Horse and Rings, and the outstanding routine was by Larry Weise on SH.

Team Standing: Cleveland Swiss Turners (Swiss) 108.65, Columbus Gymnastic Club (CGC) 107.65, Louisvi lle American Turners (LAT) 73. 10. AA: Bruce Trott (un ott) 52.20, Ray Gura (Swiss) 48.1 5, G. Hutchinson (CBC) 42.1 5. FX : Ray Gura (Swiss) 8.85, Mike Grimes (Swiss) 8.45, Bruce Trott (U natt) 8.35. SH: La r ry Wiess (Unatt) 9.0, Bruce Trott (Unatt) 8.85, Ray Gura (Swiss) 8.50. R: Jeff Zimmerman (Dayton Y) 8.75, Marty Bell (CGC) 8.55, Terry Phipps (Cedarville) 8.35. HB:. Bruce Trott (Unatt) 8:40, Joe Latella (CGC) 7.15, Gary Gammage (CGC) 6.95. PB: Bruce Trott (Unott) 9.0, Ray Gura (Swiss) 7.50, Gary Gammage (CGC) 7.15. LH : Bruce Trott (Unatt) 9.25, Ray Gura (Swiss) 8.80, Joe Latella (CGC) 8.60. Note, Men's team result was largely decided by competitors placing lower than third. TR : Joe Latella 8.05, Don Phil lips 8.0, Matt Littman 7. 1. TU: Joe Latella 8.2, John Sositro 7.85, Ken Huntsman 7.10.

First New York State Catholic High School Gymnastic Championships, March 15, 1969

Report by Norman Hoffman Tea m Resul ts: Bishop Reilly (B) 101 Y2,

Naza reth (N) 34, Power Memorial (P) 25, St. Raymond's (SR) 19, LaSalle (l) 1, St. Mary's (SM) 0. Indivi dua l Re sults: Ro pes: James Di Tuddi (B) 4.25, D. Quinn (B), R. Fa sano (B). HB : Don Corti lillo (N) 4.90, A. Velsmid (B), J. Di Tucci (B). SH : John Sweetland (SR) 7.30, R. Rugile (B),

26

R. Fasano (B). PB: John Sweetland (SR), R. Rug ile (B), R. Fasano (B). Free X: John Con lin (B), A. Velsmid (B), S. Moline (B). Vau lt : John Conlin (B) G. Horva th (B), G. Alexander (P). Rings : James Di Tucci (B) 7.40, J. Sweetland (SR), R. Fasano (B). TU : John Conlin (B) 6.80, S. Moline (B),

Son Gabriel H.S. Invito tiona I

M. Wash (P).

High lights: John Conlin from Bishop Reilly - Triple winner. James Di Tucci from Bishop Reilly - Double winner. John Sweet­land of St. Raymond's - Double winner.

1969 Great Britain AA Champions, Margaret Bell & Stan Wild (Photos by Alan E. Burrows)

Two In Row For Roosevel t Roosevelt School won its second

straight gym title, capturing the 4th annual Anoka-Hennepin Junior High crown in a meet held at Anoka, Minn. in late March. Bruce Bennett of Jackson won the al l-around.

Page 27: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

welcome to the world

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Page 28: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

LETTERS

EAST SIDE- WEST SIDE ALL ARDUND THE TOWN

Dear Editor: Th e entire I'arsity gymJUlstics team of Long

Island Uni! 'ersity comes from the Nell' York M etropolitan area. Brooklyn. Th e Bronx. West ­chester and Lon!? Island hll\'e all contributed. The Big City Blackbirds hape a tough nine meet schedule this year. Shown in picture are (L to R) Hyman. Rost . Higgins . Franqui. Hudon. De­More. Coach Robert Hess. Perrone. TOJ1wck. Keller. Albrecht. Schoen. and Simnowitz.

Sincerely. Bob G esslein Above, Varsity. Long Island University

Nell' York. N . Y.

MOST VALUABLE Dear Editor:

Thought you'd like to knoll' about Rick Schwarz. who is leading Montciair State College (N.1.) to its best yew' in gymnastics.

Rick. ji-OIl1 Morris Plains. N.J. is (' utstand­ing in fou r events: FX. LH. PB. and J B. Only 5'8" and 138 Ibs. Rick has practice f twelve months a year to achiel'e his prest 1t form. Coach Terry Orlick has hopes his star will qualify for the Nat ional NCAA Championsh ips.

Rick was selected as the Indians' 1I10st m luable gymnast fo r the past tIVd seasons. A t the moment Rick's aim is to better th e marks he set last season. when he captured 24 firsts in elel·enmeets.

28

Sincerely. Dick Stahlberger Montciair, N.1.

LET'S TEACH ROUTINES The complete " Let 's Teach Routines"

series by Dr . Wi lliam Vincent published in t he Modern Gymnast magazine has been compiled t ogether into one pam­phlet and is available for iust $ I .

Coaches and P.E. inst ructors should find this work very handy (with discounts up to 50 % for large orders) for use as a classroom text.

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Below, Rich Schwarz. Montclair State College

Shreveport Gymnastic Supply

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Page 29: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

OLYMPIC GAMES PHOTOS

By DON WILKINSON

Don Wilkinson whose photos have appeared in Modern Gymnast covered the Olympic Games p'hotographically in color and black and white. He has prod~ced a fully illustrated catalogue showing over 1,500 contact size black and white prints (with over 400 of Gymnastics) . Also listed are the color transparencies taken. This catalogue, price $1.00 is now available from - DON WILKINSON, 1013 8th AVENUE, GREELEY, COLORADO 1.10631.

Cost of Slides -1 to 9 slides 10 to 24 slides .. 25 to 49 slides

50c each 50 to 99 slides .. . ........ ...... . 40c each 47c each 100 to 249 slides .. . ......... 38c each 45c each 250 or more .. ........ ... .. ...... .. . 35c eaclt

Cost of Black and White Prints -5 x 7 - $1.00 each - set of 10 prints $ 900 - set of 25 prints $20.00 8 x 10 - $1.50 each - set of 10 prints $14.00 - set of 25 prints $32.50

11 x 14 - $4.25 each - .. t of 10 prints $39.25 - set of 25 (price availablt on request)

'CASH WITH ORDERS PLEASE

MG PIN (& Booster Button) Box 777

o Santa Monica, Ca . 90406

Enclosed please find one new subscription to The MODERN GYMNAST magazine . Pl ease se nd me my MG PIN and Booster Button. Make check payable to:

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29

Page 30: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

Continued from page 7

We arrived sleepy, but as excited as an y bunch of kids could be. We were greeted by a delegation of peopl e from the U .S. Embassy . loca l gymnasts and cit y offic ials. They realized how tired we were and showed us to our qua int . clean lodge in a q uiet part of town. After a little rest and lunch th ey took us to the down­town gym for a n exhibition with two Equa­dorian teams from Quito and Guayaquil. The crowd was quite responsive and e njoyed our performance. After the exhibition we we re mobbed by the folks as was typi cal of ma ny of our appearances. The people of S. A merica had never seen gymnastics before. so they were always quite excited a bout ta lking to us or just seeing us up c lose. When we occasionally pelformed before an unu sua ll y zea lo us crowd we so metimes had to be esco rted into the dress ing rooms to escape the mob. The Beatles never had it so good.

During our stay in Quito we made a TV appearance, da nced with the I ndians in the streets of Calderon , toured the city with our new gymnastic friend s a nd , generally , had a fabulou s time. Our re prese ntative , Andy Wil­kinson, naid us a grea t compliment as we dined at his home. He said that in the s ixteen years he had been in Quito he had never seen North Americans so well recei ved by all. He was trul y pleased and we were proud.

Upon. de parting, we felt that we could never have a better time than we had in Quito.

Our next stop was in Guayaquil, Equador, where , aga in , we were well received at our exhibitions. Guayaquil happened to be the pl ace where our bu sy, on-the-go life see med to catch up with us. Grigsby came down with the first case of " Montezuma's Revenge" (M R-diarrhea) , J ohn Elias hurt his bac k, Kimba ll hi s wrist. All of us were just not ad­justed to the heavy schedules.

When we left for Lima, Peru we were all exhausted and didn 't think we were go ing to ma ke it through the rest of the tour. Luckily our first day in Lima was a day of rest. T hat day we attended a luncheon-press conference be­fore TV cameras and radio mikes while re­porters fired questions at Kimba ll. We a ll felt quite important.

During our stay in Lima we became good friends with the Minister of Education for Peru, Sr. Carlos Rojas Rojas. He went out of hi s way e very five minutes to make our stay pleasant by tak ing us to steam-baths , luxurious meal s, souvenir shopping and even arranged a party in our honor our las t night there (con chiquitas bonitas .)

A mong the array of dinners, parties , horse­races, teas and interviews there was some work on our part. We averaged about one exhibition or clinic per day which always made us feel that we were ea rning our keep. With Mike along we didn't have too much of a pro blem with the communication , but it was a problem after the ex hibitions when the rest of us feit a little inadequate with the langu age. Grigsby kept as king, "Mike' What's she saying, what 's she saying?"

After the good life in Lima we were all about ten pounds ha ppi e r a nd rea d y to move on. Our fancy farewe ll party moved down to the airport and after ma ny sad a nd happy good-byes we depa rted for Rio de Janeiro. Braz il. Again , we said to each other that we couldn ' t pos sibl y have a better time than we had in Lima!

Early on Sept. 16th we a rri ved in Rio a nd were gree ted by N ancy Kincade, a U .S. Embassy representative. Grigsby , our geo­grapher, had told us about how beautiful the area was going to be : the fabulous beac:hes, Sugar-Loaf Mountain, the Corcovado and the peaceful bays. We di scovered that his ex­planations were inadequate. Rio is just a down­right beautiful sy nthes is of Miami , San Fran-

30

cisco, and New York with a World 's Fair Ar­chitec ture . We stayed at a Brasilian Army training base located at th e foot of Sugar Loaf a nd 50 ya rds from the bay. We unpacked a nd fell asleep, some on the beach and so me in the dormitory.

During our six-day stay we we re take n sight -see ing a lmos t eve ry day to the beac hes of Copacaba na, Sao Corado . Leblan a nd Ipa nima, to the top of the enormous s tatue of C hri st. Corcovado, and up the tram-way to the top of Sugar Loaf. Grigsby and I shot about five or six roll s of movie film ap iece and wished we had more . Our guides were English-speaking officers of age 25 which made our touring a rea l blast. They kept us in stitches . Our exhibitions were a little easier be­cause of a few local gy mnasts who backed us up. Some of the gy mnasts in Rio we re quite good on some events. We performed in front of great crowds a t YM CA's , sport s clubs . Universities a nd the Army Base.

Our guides always had something exciting for us to do before or after our pelformances, so we were never at a loss for something to do. Busy hav ing fun is abo ut the best way I can describe our s tory in Rio.

While in Rio we side-trac ked for four days to Porto Alegre , Santa Maria a nd Belo Hori ­zonte . We met a great numbe r of e nthu sias tic peopl e w ho a lways made our qui c k stops memorable. tired as we might have been. Once , in a very sad condition we trave led by van over dirt roads fro m Porto Alegre to the little town of Santa Maria . The entire town was ve ry quie t and desolate: we were put up in dormi­tories at a pa rti a ll y built uni ve rs ity that was cold and mosquito-ridde n. Most of us had been afflict ed with MR. Thi s see med to make us a little pessimistic a bout the ex hibition we had to do that night. We prepared to do our thing very unenerge tically, hardl y speak ing a word as we drove to the sports arena in town. Wh en we finally dressed and walked onto the floor we were greeted by a resounding cheer from 5,300 e nthu siasti c people (\4 of the e ntire town). We ju s t cou ldn ' t believe it l The adrenalin began to pump agai n, a nd we turned on for the crowd like never before I

It was events like thi s that kept our morale boiling when our bodies didn ' t want to move.

A ll in a ll I think we had the most MR , pineapples, fun , exhibitions . confusion, sur­prises and me t the most people and gy mnas ts in Bras il. We never knew what was going to happen next, but it usually ended up in good times for a ll of us.

We hated to leave o ur sunshine paradi se and new friends . but we had to move on. We left for Caracas , Venezuela , on the 27t h with sad hea rt s once aga in. It took a bout five hours over jungle, equator a nd Amazon River before our a rri va l. We loved the non-s top nap and were glad for the second day of rest.

We rounded out our tour with Fred trying to study during free time , John nurs ing his MR and fighting with his girl by phone , Mike kee ping the books and Grigsby a nd I swimming as often as we could.

The equipme nt in Venezuela we found to be exce lle nt as we re all athleti c facilities . One gym in whic h we did two pe rforma nces had a Reuthe r F loor Ex. sys te m like the one used in Mexico C ity . The gymnasts from that area were ve ry good floor ex. men because of it.

During a side-trip to Maracaibo we ran into C rod C hin (ex-U. of Cal. gymnast) who is in the Peace Corps there. H e a rra nged a fine ex hibition for us with the addi tion of hi s gY lJlnas ti c products from that c it y. A couple of his stude nts were doing very good tumbling for only one year in the sport.

Each exhibition in Venezuela took place in sport s cente rs which seemed to be ve ry popular. Caracas had five huge , ultra- modern centers that accommodated nearly every sport imag inab le.

On Oct. I s t we bid our fin a l good-byes to So uth America: hap py to ge t back to the U .S., but sad we couldn 't see a ll of our new ac­quaintances before we depa rted , A lthough that wasn't poss ible we did spend a lot of time re m­ini sc ing ove r th e fant as tic ex perie nces th at few peop le will ever have in a lifetime. I think we ' re a ll luck y to be gy mnas ts. With a lot of work a nd a little lu ck gymnastics has proven to me to be much more th an just the greatest sport ­as k a ny of the fe llows who made the trip .

SUMMER GYMNASTIC CAMPS & CLINICS Eastern Gymnastic Clinic: Session 1; June 22·29, Session: 2 August 24·31. Comp Skymount, Greenlone, Po. For further tn fo: Eastern Gym Clinic, 8009 Rugby St., Philo., Po. 19150. Rusty Mitchell GymnastiC Camp: Las Vegas, New Mexico. Session 1 - June 14·21. Session 2-August 23·30th. For furthe r info. write: "Camp of Champions" P.O. Box 11 11 , Las Vegas, New Mexico, 87701 12th Annual Summer GymnastiC Clinic: Michigan State Univ. East Lansing, M ichigan. Aug ust 10·15, 1969 . For. further info. write: George Szypula, Clinic Director NSGC Michigan State Univ., East Lan si ng, Mich. 48823. Northern California Gymnastic Camp: Camp Gualala, Calif. , August, 1969. For further Info. write: Ernie Marinoni, Phy. Dir. YMCA, Berkeley, Calif. Sokol Gymnastic School: 6 one week sessions, July and August. For further Info. write: Sokol Woodlands, Barry­ville, New York 12719. Southern Calif. Gymnastic Camp: Camp Arbalata, Mt. Gorgonio. August 25-31 st, 1969. For further info. write: Gordie Maddux, Cal State L.A., 5151 State College Drive, Las Angeles, Cali f. 90032.

Institute in Advanced Gymnastics: Indiana State University. For informat ion write: Roger Counsil, dir. Sch. of H. P.E.&R. Indiana State Univ. Terre Haute, Indiana 47809. West Penn Gymnastic Clinic: Sakal Comp, New Kensington, Po., July 27-August 23. 1 st week for 4th, 5th & 6th grade students. Last three weeks for high school gymnasts and coaches. For further info: Steve Baniak, 348 New Castle St., Slippery Rock, Po. 1 6057.

MG CLASSIFIED SECTION

Wood Rings , Olympic style, Nylon Boat straps, Tool Room made Thrust Bearings pillow blocks, wire cable guy wi re, misc. parts, all new, never used. $40.00 takes all. H. L. Weber, 11 48 S. Fairfield, Lombard, III. 601 48.

COMP LETE HANDBOOK: of lesson plans, Teachers Gym­nastic Workshop, Newark (N.J.) State College. All even ts. Send $1..00 plus 25 cents postage to : Marvin Speidel, 708 Dianne Ct., Rahway, N.J 07065. Limited supply.

Page 31: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

Summer Camo I Clinics

Ru sty Mitchell Boys'

Gym na stic Camp "THE CAMP OF CHAM PIONS"

Affi l ia ted with Western Lif e Camp

l a s Ve g a s, New Mexico June 14th-June 21st - First Session

August 23rd -August 30th - Se cond Sessi on For a dditi o na l informa ti o n , wri te: Rusty M itchell , Gymna stic Coach , University of New Mexico , Alb uq uerque , N ew Mexico .

DATES:

INDIA NA STATE UNIVERSITY presents

The Third Annual IN STITUTE IN GYM NASTICS

August 4-1 5, 1969 COLLEGE CREDIT: Three semester hours graduate credi t H.P.E.R. 534 STA FF : Linda Metheny - Member 1 968 Women's Olym­

pic Gymnastics Team Dick Mulvihill - 1968 Women 's Olympic Gym­

nastics Team Manager Abe Grossfeld - former U.S. Olympic Team Mem­

ber Rusty Mitchell - former U.S. Olympic Team Mem­

ber Charles Pond - Head Gymnast ics Coach, Uni­

versi ty of Il linois Grete Trieber - Women's Gymnastics Coach,

Indiana State Univers ity Roger Counsil - Head Gymnastics Coach, Indiana

State University Herb Vogel - Women's Gymnastics Coach, South­

ern Illinois Sam Baillie - Former Nat ional Side Horse Cham­

pion' and Coach at Iowa University Muriel Grossfeld - 1968 Women 's Olympic Gym­

nastic Team Coach and other leading coaches and teachers of gymnasts from several uni­versit ies who will demonstra te skills.

COURSE CONTENT: Sessions will be conducted on all skill levels for both men 's and women's gymnastics events. No Insti tute participan t will be requi red to perform skills ; howeve r, several practicol sessions will be in tegra ted wi t h the lectu re - demonstrat ion for either observation or optional participation. Em­phasis will be placed upon skill progressions for selected beginning th rough advanced skills on both men's and women's apporat us and in t um· bling, off iciati ng competi t ive events f or men and women, analys is of ski ll mechanics, and other phases of gymnastics. TUITION COST: Indiana residents - $39.00 for the ent ire Inst i­tute tuition cost. Out·of·s tate stu dents - $60.00 - total t uition. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Roger Counsi l Gymnas tics Coach Indiana Sta te Universi ty Terre Haute, Indiana 47809

SO WHAI'S A COACH

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And Gym Master Equipment is worth waiting for!

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31

Page 32: Modern Gymnast - April 1969

Introducing the New System Nissen RING STAND

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