gymn Digest Mon, 27 Jun 94 Volume 2 : Issue 140

Today's Topics:
'96 Gym Gala
Comebacks
Commonwealth Games (3 msgs)
Dortmund Qualifier
Dortmund Worlds (3 msgs)
Ghimpu Bio
Gymnastics Electronic Services (Long)
help open a gym
I'm baaaack...
IG article (3 msgs)
Neatest P-Bar Trick
Olympic Tickets (and prices) (2 msgs)
Puerto Rico Nationals
Stella Umeh
Technical Requirements
Wendy & Brandy Returning...???

This is a digest of the gymn@athena.mit.edu mailing list.

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Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 21:29:00 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: '96 Gym Gala

> There also is a gymnastics gala (anybody know what this is?), and it
costs $100 for the cheap seats, $125 for the better seats and $250 for the
>best seats.

I was wondering when they would get around to this in the Olympics. I would
assume it is the same as the figure skating gala at the winter games, an
exhibition of champions (as well as another day that tv is able to show the
women gymnasts).

Mara

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 18:07:32 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Comebacks

To All:
I, for one, am happy to hear about Brandy Johnson, Wendy Bruce and Kim
Zmeskal attempting to make comebacks. I think its good for them and for the
sport.
For them, personally, it's a good thing because if they didn't try,
they'd have to live the rest of their lives, saying to themselves, "If only I
had tried," and, "What if?" Other than a crippling injury (which can happen
to any gymnast at anytime), what is the worst that can come out of their
comebacks?
The worst would be that they fail miserably. But so what? They tried.
They did something that many people don't even attempt. And what's the best
thing that could happen? Heck, they might stun us and one of them might make
the Olympic team. Or they simply might do well and place on various events at
certain competitions. Wouldn't that be a joyous thing to see?
And as far as the sport goes, their comeback generates publicity, and a
minor sport like gymnastics needs all the publicity it can get. The more
hype, the better. Little boys and girls across the country get more exposure
to the sport, and more exposure produces more participants.
Look at soccer. The world championships are causing a surge in the number
of soccer enrollments in cities and rural towns across the United States.
I'll be cheering for Kim, Wendy and Brandy. And if even if they fail
physically, they'll win on all other levels. We can pat them on the back and
say, "Thank you for memories and the thrills."
--- Ron in Fla.



------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 19:33:25 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Commonwealth Games

Excerpts From: "COMMONWEALTH GAMES OFFER SOME GREAT MOMENTS

By SUSAN GILMORE
Seattle Times

IF YOU missed the Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, there's still a chance to
see world-class athletes in action in Victoria.
The Commonwealth Games, begun 60 years ago, don't hold the prestige of the
Olympics, but they have had their electrifying moments.

This summer's games, operating with a $160 million budget, will showcase
athletes in 10 sports: aquatics, track and field, badminton, lawn bowling,
boxing, cycling, gymnastics, shooting, weightlifting and wrestling."


The Commonwealth Games are from 18th-28th of August and will be held in
Victoria, BC. Countries such as Canada, Great Britian, Nigeria, and others
compete. Stella Umeh of CAN has said that this will be her final competition.

Susan

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 22:52:56 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Commonwealth Games

>Stella Umeh of CAN has said that this will be her final competition.

After the way she was treated at Canadian Worlds qualifying, I can see why
she might not want to continue.

Darn! Well, maybe she'll do a Bogie '90 on us...(I hope so).

Mara

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 27 Jun 94 08:56:08 BST
From: ***@axion.bt.co.uk
Subject: Commonwealth Games

>The Commonwealth Games are from 18th-28th of August
and will be held in
>Victoria, BC. Countries such as Canada, Great
Britian, Nigeria, and others
>compete.

Sorry to contradict the "Seattle Times" I am sure they
do a fine job but
Great Britain does not compete as one nation, instead
it competes as
England & Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

Clive

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 25 Jun 94 19:36:55 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Dortmund Qualifier

>The US has its slot, so the competition for
the remaining four will be Canada, Cuba


How come the US already has a slot?

Mara

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 18:39:34 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Dortmund Worlds

Apparently the prelims finals format will be thusly...

All 24 teams compete compulsories and optionals and then then the top 6
*START FROM ZERO* and compete optionals only. Is it just me or has the FIG
totally lost their minds? This makes about as much sense as say...new life,
or worlds every year.

Susan

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 21:29:12 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Dortmund Worlds

>All 24 teams compete compulsories and optionals and then then the top 6
*START FROM ZERO* and compete optionals only. Is it just me or has the FIG
totally lost their minds? This makes about as much sense as say...new life,
or worlds every >year.

I figured they would try this (either qualifying or finals optionals only) to
fit the meet into 5 days. Well, if nothing else, it will probably go down to
the wire.

Will they determine finals start order the same way the NCAA Championship
does, or by blind draw?

Mara

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 08:43:08 +1000
From: ***@pharm.med.upenn.edu
Subject: Dortmund Worlds

>>All 24 teams compete compulsories and optionals and then then the top 6
>*START FROM ZERO* and compete optionals only. Is it just me or has the FIG
>totally lost their minds? This makes about as much sense as say...new life,
>or worlds every >year.
>
>I figured they would try this (either qualifying or finals optionals only) to
>fit the meet into 5 days. Well, if nothing else, it will probably go down to
>the wire.
>
>Will they determine finals start order the same way the NCAA Championship
>does, or by blind draw?
>
>Mara

NCAA finals (men's) is determined by a random draw - the finalist group of
8 or more if there are ties are broken in half (the top half is always made
up of 4 and the bottom half is 4 or more. Each person is then assigned a
random number (all of this is done by a computer). The only thing that is
double checked is to make sure that a person going last on one event is not
first on the next. There need to be at least 3 routines before a person
can go up on a piece of apparatus again.

Women's was done the same way through 1992 - As of then I stopped working
on the program used by the women, and therefore don't know if the rules
have changed.

Mayland

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 25 Jun 94 19:37:17 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Ghimpu Bio

As Angela Ghimpu seems to have generated a lot of interest, thought I would
post her bio from USA-ROM.

Angela Ghimpu

Date of Birth: Jan 24, 1978
Place of Birth: Marasest, Romania
Home Club: CSS Focsani
Coaches: Octavian Belu, Mariana Bitang
Height: 1.46m
Weight: 39 kilos
School: High School Deva, Year 10
Began Gymnastics: 1983
Favorite event: FX
Hobbies: Music
Results: 1st place team Balkan Chmps. Ankara Turkey (hard to read year but
think 1993), 2nd AA Grand Prix Rome 1994

Mara

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 18:06:56 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Gymnastics Electronic Services (Long)

To:
Several months ago, I asked members of Gymn and member of the Prodigy
gymnastics bulletin board to answer questions for an article I was planning
to freelance to International Gymnast about electronic services featuring
gymnastics.
Well, after months of calls, International Gymnast has told me they are
no longer interested in running such a story.
Soooooo, in an effort to make my efforts feel a little bit useful, I've
reprinted the article below. Keep in mind that it was written 4 months ago,
so some of the figures in there might be out of date.
-----
For Portugal citizen Alfredo Domingues, learning what's going on in the
world of gymnastics is difficult in his country. There's no gymnastics news
in the newspapers, little if anything on television or in the area magazines.
Fortunately for Domingues, though, he has more than 100 coaches, gymnasts and
fans worldwide whom he can contact without leaving work and without running
up a single long-distance phone bill.
When Level 9 Judge Kathleen Elbasani of California, USA began studying for
her Level 10 gymnastics judging test, she asked for some of her friends to
throw tough questions at her so she could prepare. In the span of two weeks,
dozens of questions from people in Florida, North Carolina, Texas, New Jersey
and numerous other states poured in. Elbasani never left her home, never
dialed long-distance and never licked one stamp.
Kim Zobbe-Hogdal of Minnesota, USA is the mother of four gymnasts, and when
her Level 8 daughter was injured last year, Zobbe-Hogdal was worried. Would
her daughter fully recover? How long would it take? As a parent, should she
push, or sit back and let the healing take its course? And how should she
react to all the emotions her daughter was experiencing during recovery?
Don't worry, gymnastics mothers across the United States told Zobbe-Hogdal.
Without a single telephone call or a written letter, Zobbe-Hogdal was able to
hear from dozens of others who had gone through similar incidents.
Zobbe-Hogdal, Elbasani and Domingues are among a fast-growing number of
coaches, gymnasts and fans who are discovering gymnastics news on their
computers through worldwide hook-ups that allow them to send and receive
messages in a matter of seconds. For as little as $10 a month, children as
young as 5 years old and adults who know little about computers are able to
converse with fellow gymnastics friends in far-away countries.
For gymnastics fans who often have been discouraged by the scarcity and
long wait for gymnastics news, the computer bulletin boards and computer
mailing lists have enabled them to:
*Get results of meets on the far corners of the Earth within an hour or so
of the meet's finish;
*Swap computer pictures of various gymnasts in a matter of seconds;
*Ask for advice on a subject and literally get dozens of replies from as
close as down the road to as far away as other countries in just one day;
*Hear first-hand from gymnasts their experiences, joys and
accomplishments;
*Hear from other coaches and club owners how to run a gym or start a
booster club and make it profitable;
*Learn results of college gymnastics meets the same day they're held, and
receive weekly rankings and advice on what hotels to stay in when traveling
to a meet;
*And get the addresses of gymnasts, clubs and publications, from the
well-known to the obscure.
"How often does someone get to discuss their sport with scores of others
around the country?" said Dave Litwin of California.
Litwin is a member of "Gymn," the fastest-growing electronic gymnastics
service in the world. Each day, Litwin and others across the planet who
subscribe to the free service get meet results, news, personal insights and
in-depth discussions sent to their computers, whether it's at home or at
work. The mechanics behind Gymn are similar to being put on a normal mailing
list. Those subscribing to Gymn send their name to the Gymn forum's
administrator through a computer modem, and their name is put on the
electronic mailing list. Then, whenever anybody sends news or comments to
that list, every subscriber gets a personal copy of the news sent to their
computer through telephone lines and a modem. In turn, whenever a subscriber
has news and sends it to the list, everybody else gets a copy of it.
Gymn was the idea of Rachele Harless and Robyn Kozierok, who each noticed
how many gymnastics fans and coaches were conversing on a computer forum for
recreational sports. They decided to start a gymnastics electronic forum, and
the response was overwhelming. In one year, the list grew to 115 people -
with people from the USA, Germany, Britain, Australia, Portugal and Canada -
and is on pace to triple its growth each year. Gymn now uses a host of
volunteers to coordinate the list and has reporters covering meets; the
results can be posted and transmitted literally within minutes after a
competition ends. Gymn also publishes a calendar, magazine subscription cards
(that a person can print out on their computer printer), magazine reviews
written by members and even a computer digest, where subscribers who don't
want to get computer mail every day can simply read a compilation of all the
mail at anytime they wish. One of Gymn's most popular features has been its
in-depth interviews with various gymnasts.
"My goal in moderating Gymn is simply to promote gymnastics through
discussion," Harless said. "I have been following the sport for seven years
now, and moderating Gymn makes me feel like I am finally adding my own
contribution to gymnastics. What has made me happiest in moderating the forum
is receiving notes from Gymn members, saying how much they are enjoying the
forum, how much they are learning, and best yet, 'as long as Gymn is around,
I'll always be a fan of gymnastics.'"
Those who subscribe to Gymn are fiercely loyal, most reading it every day,
others as many as three times a day. "Gymn is absolutely fantastic," said
Efton Fuch of Illinois, USA. "It is a unique environment where people
interested in gymnastics can openly converse with each other from all over
the world."
Gymn, however, is not the only electronic gymnastics service. Although it
is the fastest-growing, the largest service for the time being is the
gymnastics bulletin board on Prodigy. Anywhere from 100 to 300 messages are
posted each week, and members of both the men's and women's U.S. national
teams have posted messages, too. In fact, just recently, Dominique Dawes
posted a message, asking for advice on how to improve her reverse-hecht and
for information about various colleges she was considering attending.
Because a bulletin board allows people to post messages by topics, Prodigy
enables different types of gymnastics friends to find one another. For
example, college fans have one topic, mothers another and gymnasts yet
another.
"I learn much from the bulletin boards," said Level 10 gymnast Elise Di
Vincenzo of the Arena club in Connecticut, USA. "It is easy to meet people
who have the same struggles that you do, for as you know, gymnastics is a
very difficult sport. There are people here who can relate to your physical
and mental pain."
The Prodigy bulletin board also has become a warehouse of sorts for the
exchanging of gymnastics tapes, autographs and photos. Need a tape of World
Championships from a few years ago? Well, just post a note and say you'll
gladly send a blank tape and pay for postage. Within a day, the offers pour
in from across the country. Many of the Prodigy members have met up at
competitions, even had friends they never met in person over to their homes
for dinner after major meets.
"The people here are so nice and are so willing to let you know anything
they can about the sport," said Heather Heenan, a former member of the SCATS
club and a Prodigy member. "I have learned so much about gymnastics, I'm
almost ashamed to admit it."
Parents regularly exchange pictures, friends reserve hotel rooms or buy
tickets and yet others become pen pals and exchange phone numbers. And the
friendship generated on both Gymn and Prodigy is genuine.
"I have made some great friends," said Brian Roberts of Alabama, USA. "Some
of them are friends whom I will definitely keep in touch with long after my
days on the computer are finished."

-----30-----

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Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 10:02:27 -0400 (EDT)
From: ***@delphi.com
Subject: help open a gym

Hi All,
I need your help! A potentail investor has approached me about opening a gym.
I'm just a coach, I double majored Econ\Acc so I'm not dumb when it comes to
money, but I don't know all the costs that would be incurred in opening a gym.
I'm hoping some of you can write me and tell me of costs I would not think of.
I also need to come up with a buisness plan and potental revenue charts all
that stuff. Anything anyone can think of would be helpful.

PS. This investor said he could potentially have 325,000 to invest by Jan. of
1996. So there are NO HOLD BARRED. Help me spend his money.
Call if necessary
(***)742-0075
Jordan

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 1994 20:39:21 -0400 (EDT)
From: ***@cap.gwu.edu
Subject: I'm baaaack...

Hi everyone. I just returned from two weeks at Woodward Gymnastics Camp
in Woodward, Pennsylvania. A lot of famous people came week 3 (last week,
June 19-25), so I thought I'd tell you a little about them and what
they're doing.

Svetlana Boguinskaia arrived on Saturday and left on Tuesday. She doesn't
seem to have gone the way of many former Olympians (Kim Zmeskal comes to
mind); she is still very trim. I didn't see her doing much gymnastics,
but she was very friendly, although a little shy. Her English is very
good. I heard she's living in the Boston area and is planning to move
near Woodward. She's supposed to return in July and August. If anyone is
interested in pictures, I could probably come up with some. Just e-mail me.

Many kids from Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy came on Sunday, including
their elites. They started the week with 6 elites, but I heard that one
got bumped down to a lower group. Their seniors are Amanda Borden,
Samantha Muhlman, and Karin Lichey. Their juniors are Kristi Lichey and
Jaycee Phelps (I'm not at all sure about that spelling). Watch Muhlman
and Phelps at Nationals in August. Muhlman has *big* tricks (she tumbles
back handspring-Onodi [like an Arabian except with a front handspring
instead of a front tuck] on beam) and she was *very* consistent. From
what I saw of Phelps, she has good tricks and good form. She tumbles back
handspring-3 layouts on beam (as does Kristi Lichey) and her compulsory
bar routine was gorgeous. If anyone wants more detail on what the
Cincinnati kids were working on, I took notes. Also, I have some pictures
of Amanda Borden I can send people. Once again, e-mail me.

Yefim Furman and a bunch of (I assume) UCLA gymnasts (or former ones) also
showed up. I recognized Scott Keswick, but no one else. I can't tell you
much about what they were working on, because I know next to nothing about
men's gymnastics. Yefim is pretty cool; we saw him doing chin-ups on the
high bar after practice one day and he dressed much the same as his
gymnasts for workout--just a pair of gym shorts.

Also of note was the staff tumbling exhibition. Two of the best tumblers
were Steve Elliot (8 time world tumbling champion, NCAA floor champ in
1980 and 1982) and Alexander Kolivanov (3 time Junior European champion,
1990 American Cup champion). Both did triple backs and both were
sky-high. It was incredible. The first week, Kolivanov *overrotated* his
triple back. It looked more like a quadrupule timer. Elliot also did a
triple twisting double back. Not bad for a guy in his 30's! By the way,
does anyone know why Kolivanov never made it onto the world stage as a senior?

Well, that's about all. Sorry about the lengthy post.

Lisa

Lisa Cozzens * Age 14 * Sidwell Friends School, Washington, DC
lcozzens@cap.gwu.edu, lcozzens@sidwell.edu, bccymca@aol.com
"If gymnastics was easy, they'd call it football."

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 1994 20:32:33 -0400
From: ***@wam.umd.edu
Subject: IG article

Ron,

Just wanted to point out that there was a slight flaw in the article that you
wrote for IG and I wanted to clear it up for you. You wrote the following
paragraph on how GYMN works:


" Then, whenever anybody sends news or comments to
that list, every subscriber gets a personal copy of the news sent to their
computer through telephone lines and a modem."

I'm not sure how much you know about computers and the services which
are out there but let me fill you in.

First of all lets take the case of Prodigy or even America On Line.
You stated that subscribers will get a copy of the news sent to their
computer throught the telephone lines, this is not the case. Subscribers
first access Prodigy or AOL servers. On these servers a persons account
is stored. So in actuallity the subsriber uses his/her phone only to
access the server which has all his account info (mail) on it. The messages
are not retrieved throught the telephone line.

Hey I just thought of something...perhaps you were referring to users
who directly download their message from the servers to their PC's to
read the messages off line...in this case you are absolutly correct.
I think a more accurate description would be the statement that users
use the computer's modem to access the servers as opposed to saying that
the messages are transmitted via the telephone lines....like I said
this is only the case for downloading.

Another item which you overlooked (or perhaps you are not aware of)
is that a modem is NOT necessary to subcribe to GYMN. Have you heard
of Ethernet cards? Universities and large corporations use this approach
to have internet access. As opposed to using a modem fiber optic cables
are used to connect the networks to a hub and it is then possible to have
full internet access. So subscribers to gymn do not have to have a modem.
My access to GYMN is via the computer network at my university via
Ethernet and workstations.

I just wanted to point out that having a modem is not a requirement. It
is only a requirement for Prodigy and AOL members because these services
are not directly connected to the internet. If they were I could log
in to Prodigy via my school network without ever having to use a modem.

If you have any questions about my comments let me know.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 22:02:55 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: IG Article

To All:
In reference to my IG article, that was a good point about not always
needing a modem to access Gymn and that, technically, your computer accesses
server points and doesn't get information "sent" to it through telephone
lines (not unless you download).
These are both good points.
I was aware of both of these when writing the article, but as is usually
the case, as a journalist you try to make the stories simple enough for most
readers to understand. And in the case of IG, I'd guess most of the readers
are children.
I used the generalization to give the reader a general idea of how it
works. If I were to start talking about using fiber optics and accessing
server points, eyes would glaze over un-computerized readers would turn the
page, saying, "This is not for me."
I hope I didn't insult anybody with the generalization. It was the only
way for me to keep the average reader's interest without intimidating them.
And I think that it gave the reader a general idea of the system without
going into technical aspects.
--- Ron

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 23:38:55 PDT
From: ***@cisco.com
Subject: IG article

" Then, whenever anybody sends news or comments to that list,
every subscriber gets a personal copy of the news sent to their
computer through telephone lines and a modem."

I'm not sure how much you know about computers and the services
which are out there but let me fill you in.

(In real life, Chops is a "networking expert".)

Ron's description of Gymn mail distribution is rather similar to describing
a modern tumbling pass as "you run and turn around and flip over a few
times and land at the opposite end of the mat without taking any steps."

But it's "close enough" for the intended audience.

Chops

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 18:07:11 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Neatest P-Bar Trick

To All:
I noticed the other day that people were talking about neat P-Bar tricks.
The neatest one I ever saw was at the World Championships in 1991 in
Indianoplis.
I saw one gymnast do a Gienger on p-bars. It actually shocked me. He
started in a handstand sideways on one bar, swung under, did the flip and
regrasped on the other bar.
Wow!
-- Ron in Florida

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 18:07:47 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Olympic Tickets (and prices)

To All:
The Atlanta Olympic Organizing Committee has announced ticket prices for
the 1996 Olympics, and they're pretty good.
For a ticket that covers both the opening and closing ceremonies, $200
will get you the cheap seats, $400 the better seats and $600 the best seats.
For a ticket to artistic gymnastics, $75 gets you the cheap seats, $100
the better seats and $200 the best. For tickets to rhythmic gymnastics and
podium training, there is only one type of ticket, and it cost $50.
There also is a gymnastics gala (anybody know what this is?), and it
costs $100 for the cheap seats, $125 for the better seats and $250 for the
best seats.
Tickets go on sale in the spring of 1995, first by direct mail and later
by phone.
--- Ron in Florida

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 27 Jun 1994 08:26:18 +1000
From: ***@pharm.med.upenn.edu
Subject: Olympic Tickets (and prices)

> There also is a gymnastics gala (anybody know what this is?),


FINALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


and it
>costs $100 for the cheap seats, $125 for the better seats and $250 for the
>best seats.
>--- Ron in Florida

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 12:17:34 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Puerto Rico Nationals

Hi again!

I actually didn't get to see much of the meet b/c I was wanted for judging,
so all I saw was girls' V and BB (that's the worst thing about judging -- you
miss the meet). I will get to see more, though, b/c is the meet isn't
actually over yet. Believe it or not, and I can't say this with a straight
face, the meet was rained out. Yes, R-A-I-N (and the irony is, we're in the
middle of a drought). We had leaks in the roof when I was a gymnast, but I
couldn't believe the veritable waterfalls there are now, 4 or 5 of them, plus
countless smaller leaks. Fortunately, the gov't (the gym is theirs) has
finally decided to fix it. Or so they say. (For anyone who's worried, this
is *not* where Worlds in '96 is going to be held.) The junior girls did
manage to finish, though, since V was their last event and there are no major
leaks over it :) . The meet will be finished Monday (we hope).

So I didn't see the boys, though I'm told by my mom that things are pretty
much the same -- the same 3 guys are still pretty good and the rest are still
not too good but some are ok on this or that event. The senior girls
actually looked slightly better than last year. It looks like Aida Canovas
(who will be a junior at LSU and was All-American on BB this year), will win.
The problem is there are only 5 seniors and one was injured (and only 3,
including the injured one, are decent AA). Of the juniors (7 of them, one
injured), the one who won looks very good, but the others weren't all that
great, so there's not much to replace the seniors, few as they are, when they
retire. The biggest disappointment for me was that our best beam worker, who
really does do some beautiful work, fell 3 times.

Other tidbits: Jose Tejada and Roberto Aldazabal, who defected from Cuba
during the Central American and Caribbean Games here last year, are coaching
at a local gym. B/c I was busy judging, I didn't get any more info on the
Worlds qualifier.

That's all for now.
:)
Adriana

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 23:48:44 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Stella Umeh

Stella had announced after the '92 Olympics that the '94 Commonwealth Games
would be her final competition. She made her first internationl debut at the
Commonwealth Games and felt that it would be a fitting ending to her career.
She has been plagued since the '93 Worlds by serious ankle injuries. That
probably has more to do with her recent competition problems then her age. I
hope that she can go out on a high note as she has been under rated
internationally (IMHO) esp. on floor where her style and attitude is second
to none and her tumbling ain't too shabby either.

Susan

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 26 Jun 94 21:29:35 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Technical Requirements

I was reading through the June '94 issue of 'Technique" and came across some
interesting items:

(1) from '94 Brisbane Worlds - "The judges were told that there would be a
deduction of 0.1 for each of the stands on the bar that jump to the high bar
from the low bar...cast to a stand on the low bar is an "A" element; however,
they (sic) jump from the feet to regrasp the high bar is not an element of
value and will be deducted as a very weak connection."
(Sharon Weber, page 10)

If this was decided in Brisbane, why has it not been used in Brisbane and
since (the text implies the above was to be the standard for the
competition)? (I assume the deduction is not being used...and is certainly
not being commented upon in print or broadcast before this...)

(2) "WC and Olympic Team competition will include 6 athletes per team, 5
competing, 4 scores to count." (Roe Kreutzer, page 36 - XIII, subpoint 3)

Who at the FIG came up with this ridiculous decision? The current 7/6/5
method, or the traditional 6/5 method is more than adequate. Granted, $$$
are involved, but why rob one more girl from each team of her dream of
competing at Worlds or Olympics?

Thoughts?

Mara

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 25 Jun 94 19:37:11 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Wendy & Brandy Returning...???

>Wendy and Brandy were true assests to US Gymnastics. They were that very
rare quantity ... classy American gymnasts. It would be a shame to see them
humiliate themselves in unsuccessful comeback attempts that would only serve
>to tarnish the memory of their previous acheivements.

I must say I doubt their 'comebacks' will get far, but I do think there might
be an upside. It seems (in the last year or so) that we don't see the direct
competition and skill advancement (IMHO) between the younger girls as much as
might be expected. Some of them may think (at least for '94) that US depth
is lacking enough that they should have no trouble making the Dortmund team.
Seeing more and more former stars trying for the team may change their minds
(and the minds of their coaches)...

Opinions?

Mara

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