gymn Digest                 Sat,  4 Jun 94       Volume 2 : Issue 133

Today's Topics:
                             <deep sigh>
                      C'mon Guys!  I need Trivia
                   Comaneci, Romania, and 100 grand
                       falling on bar (9 msgs)
                        forcing kids (2 msgs)
                                Gogean
                      Gymnastics in commercials
                Hilton Challenge-TV Schedule Change???
                          ibuprofen (3 msgs)
                        injuries/pharmacology
                       mass vs. weight (2 msgs)
                       Men's Europeans results
                             Men's Euros
                   Minimum Weight Limits  (2 msgs)
                             Mitch Again
                          Trivia Answers #15
                            USA v Romania

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

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

Date: Fri, 03 Jun 94 15:57:35 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: <deep sigh>

Everyone:

To my *deep* dismay, I'm going to have to unsubscribe from Gymn for the
summer or until I find a cheap way to stay on from Puerto Rico.  As it turns
out, the phone company's surcharge for connecting to AOL from here  is
$0.20/minute.  I use 300-360 minutes/month, so between AOL's regular charges
and the surcharge, I'm looking at $70-$85/month.  Ack!  Even if traffic is
slower over the summer and I stop giving you all my opinion on *everything*
:) it'll still be more than I can/ought to spend.  I'm keeping AOL, though,
for private e-mail, so you can still find me here.  I just need to reduce the
volume drastically.  If anything interesting happens here, like the PR Cup,
I'll post about it (I assume that's ok even if I'm not subscribed?).

So stay in touch (just not *too* much ;-)), and I'll be back in the fall (or
maybe sooner if something pans out).
:-)  :-(
Adriana

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

Date: Thu, 02 Jun 94 23:13:51 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: C'mon Guys!  I need Trivia

Trivia Questions still needed!

Topic:  US Dual Meets (including tri and quad meets)

Mara

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

Date: Thu, 02 Jun 94 16:56:51 EST
From: ***@email.cfr.org
Subject: Comaneci, Romania, and 100 grand

Since it seems quiet out there, a question-

Does anyone have any thoughts about N. Comaneci pledging $100,000 to the
Romanian Gymnastics Federation?  I read it in several newspapers.
Seems odd to me, given her unpleasant history with them (and the same
people may be in charge).

Connie

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

Date: Wed, 1 Jun 1994 11:34:17 +0800
From: ***@Eng.Sun.COM
Subject: falling on bar

Mayland's post about Bill Roth falling on highbar on his back (ouch!)
was a perfect lead in for something I wanted to post about injuries.
I remember Andreas Wecker did something similar during the practice
session of the '93 American Cup (they televised this.  He screwed up on
a Kovaks, I believe.)  He went on to compete and gritted his teeth a lot.

Well, let me tell you, not only does such an injury hurt like the dickens,
it can take *forever* and a day to heal!  I fell on the bar almost three
weeks ago (didn't make it around on a giant and let my arms buckle. 
Banged my thigh on the bar.)  Not even a bad fall.  No real height.  Took
some of the force on my arms before my leg hit.  Three weeks later, after
regular icing, slow stretching, etc, I can *almost* bend it past the 90
degree point.

Since I'm just a weekend gymnast it's no big deal.  I can take it easy
until it gets better enough to work out without pain.  (Or go into
the gym and bug Dave while *he's* trying to work out.)  But you got to
hand it to those gymnasts who are working out 6 hours a day and training
through those injuries.  A turned ankle here or there, banged up shins,
rips, deep bruises.

-George

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

Date: Wed, 1 Jun 94 14:04:50 PDT
From: ***@cisco.com
Subject: falling on bar

    Well, let me tell you, not only does such an injury hurt like the dickens,
    it can take *forever* and a day to heal!  I fell on the bar almost three
    weeks ago. ...  Three weeks later, after regular icing, slow stretching,
    etc, I can *almost* bend it past the 90 degree point.

Well, George, part of that is because you are OLD.  heh heh.  Part of that
is because you aren't treating it quite right.  "Regular" icing generally
ends after the first day or two...

For a moderately serious injury (say, a badly sprained ankle) on a
collegiate gymnast who "must compete" and has "trainers" at their disposal,
treatment goes something like this:

First 24 hours or so:

Ice: 10 to 20 minutes, on and off (eg 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off)
Asprin: 2 every 4-6 hours (for a total of 8 a day.)


For the next week or so:

Walk on it.
Hot & Cold: 5 minutes in ice water, 5 minutes in a hot whirlpool, for
      30-60 minutes.  (This hurts like !@^#)
Asprin: continue 8 a day.

Heavy tape job before practices and meets.  (actually, the tainers will say
"don't work out for a while", and then sigh and tape your ankle when you
insist.)

After that:
Whirlpool, excercises (eg while in whirlpool - A girl on our team with more
experience than me suggests tracing the alphabet with your toes)
Ultrasound treatments.
Asprin.
Tape before workouts.

This continues "until healed", which is to say, until the season is over and
you stop working out.  A lot of the point of all the above is to increase
circulation through the injury.  In theory, this removes waste (eg clotted
blood) more quickly, as well as providing more nutrients for supporting new
growth, and promoting healing.

This does mean that the average collegiate gymnast takes 8 asprin a day
and gets something taped before every workout.

This treatment regime is from 1980, and things may have been changed.
WARNING: for one thing, I believe it is now recomended that those under 18
NOT be given asprin, because of the possibility of reyes syndrome, or some
such.

Chops (who may look like a short, blond, Weird Al, but that's because he
       needs a haircut.  And Texx looks like he's much more likely to be
       able to do those cartwheels down the hall without requiring any
       of the above treatments...)

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

Date: Wed, 1 Jun 1994 16:45:45 -0600 (EST)
From: ***@indiana.edu
Subject: falling on bar

another good treatment for injuries along with the hot and cold is
ibuprofen (sp?)  When my daughter broke her toe, sprained her ankle,
and all her other interesting injuries occured, the people at the
sports medicine clinic told her to take 4 advil a day.  Plus the hot
and cold biz.

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

Date: Wed, 1 Jun 94 15:12:22 PDT
From: ***@cisco.com
Subject: falling on bar

      Ibuprofen

Ahh.  A good example.  In 1980, ibuprofen was only available by perscription,
and the only people on the team who took it were, ah, children of doctors...

Nowdays, I'd expect it to large replace the use of asprin.  4 per day for
a young girl is a similar dosage to 8 asprin/day for college males...

Chops

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

Date: Wed, 1 Jun 1994 19:20:27 -0400 (EDT)
From: ***@gateway.us.sidwell.edu
Subject: falling on bar

> another good treatment for injuries along with the hot and cold is
> ibuprofen (sp?)  When my daughter broke her toe, sprained her ankle,
> and all her other interesting injuries occured, the people at the
> sports medicine clinic told her to take 4 advil a day.  Plus the hot
> and cold biz.

Ibuprofen is very similar to aspirin but is supposed to be safer and less
likely to upset your stomach.

One other word about ibuprofen/aspirin/painkillers in general...I've been
told that you never should take painkillers during practice or during a
meet or soon before, because it will kill all pain, even the pain that
should be telling you "Whoa, you're going a little too far with this!" or
"Wait, something else is hurting here!" Kids on my team often get
headaches and the like during practice and my coach always says "Don't
take aspirin or anything," because someone could take aspirin to kill a
headache and get up and twist her ankle, but not notice because the
aspirin is killing the pain.  So you have to be careful.  Of course, this
goes for all sports, not just gymnastics.

Lisa
------------------------------

Date: Wed, 1 Jun 1994 17:01:28 +0800
From: ***@Eng.Sun.COM
Subject: falling on bar

Thanks, guys, for the training tips.

Re: Aspirin/Ibuprofen

Is this more for helping the gymnast to workout without pain, or does it
actually help the healing process?  I heard that it does some of the
latter, but I couldn't say for certain where I heard this.

Just wondering, since it looks like so many gymnasts (and athletes in
general) tend to use this.

-George

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

Date: Wed, 1 Jun 94 20:42:47 EDT
From: ***@aluxpo.att.com
Subject: falling on bar

Ibuprofen does more than just relieve the pain - otherwise you could
take Tylenol. We've also been told that taking two in the morning
is the best time to get it going - then two more before work-out. When
things are really bad, Sara will take up to 6 a day.

A couple of other things for any holistic type folks out there...
Arnica is good for bruises and muscle soreness. And Chondroitin Complex
is an anti-inflamatory, anti-oxidant which is supposedly gaining favor in
some people's treatment.  There's also ultra-sonic and electronic types
of treatments (the TENZ machine is a good one!)

Of course, resting the injury is the best medicine of all. And unfortunately
there is no real end of season for young gymnasts - this causes many
conflicts.

Toby

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

Date: Wed, 1 Jun 94 18:00:24 PDT
From: ***@geoworks.com
Subject: falling on bar

      In larger than the normal doses (somewhere around 800mg I believe)
Ibuprofen is an anti-inflamitory (is that the medical term?), so it helps
with swelling.  As usual, this doesn't mean you should go out and guzzle
Advil next time you sprain an ankle, always consult your doctor before
taking any advice you hear over email.

      Dave


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

Date: Wed, 1 Jun 94 23:57:32 PDT
From: ***@cisco.com
Subject: falling on bar
    One other word about ibuprofen/aspirin/painkillers in general...I've
    been told that you never should take painkillers during practice or
    during a meet or soon before, because it will kill all pain, even the
    pain that should be telling you "Whoa, you're going a little too far
    with this!" or "Wait, something else is hurting here!"

Well, personally, I've never found asprin, tylenol, or ibuprofen to be
such effective painkillers that this would really be a problem, though
such advice would certainly apply local anesthetics commonly used in
professional sports (or on olympic ice skaters if they happen to have
sliced open their shin recently.)  Also, they are not strictly
painkillers, and actually do aid in the healing process.

Furthermore, this can go the other way as well.  In favoring a good
ankle just because the other one hurts too much, you can open yourself
up for additional and possibly more serious injury.


    Kids on my team often get headaches and the like during practice and
    my coach always says "Don't take aspirin or anything," because someone
    could take aspirin to kill a headache and get up and twist her ankle,
    but not notice because the aspirin is killing the pain.

There are a couple of things that come into play when we are talking
about "kids".

1) One hopes "Kids" are still getting at least yearly checkups, have a
   local physician that can be referred to for coach-contradicting
   advice, and so on.  Not to mention the parents.  Such "luxuries"
   tend to fade away about the time you move off to college...

2) Coaches in general have to be very careful about appearing to give
   medical advice.  With kids and todays "just say no" campaigns, that
   applies in spades when we're talking about recomending "medication."

3) Only parents get to give drugs to their children.  Wouldn't want
   the gym to be where they get to take drugs behind their parents
   backs, would we?

Chops

 

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

Date: Thu, 2 Jun 1994 12:23:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: ***@netcom.com
Subject: forcing kids

ABC Nightline was interesting last night as they discussed pushing kids too fast
in tennis.  The whole Jennifer Capriotti thing was dragged out.

Fortunately we dont make enought in gymn for parents to live off their kids
winnings.

Toby's description of the coaches attitude bothered me.
My friend Leo worked his way up to #1 in powerlifting in his weightclass
in the statewides a few years back.  Suddenly he became diabetic and landed
in the hospital.  Do you think ANYONE from the gym came to see him ?
NO !
Over the next year he managed to defy the doctors and managed to wean himself
off of insulin and control it by diet.  He returned to the gym and the general
reaction was not "Welcome back" but rather "What the hell are you doing here?"
I was disgusted by the way they treated Leo and by the way no one wanted to help
him "Get back in the swing" again.

Toby's daughters coaches reminded me of the same attitude.

I dont know if it would turn the cioaches against her daughter worse if Toby
were to make it clear to them that they were not to EVER treat her kid that way
again.  I dont know if it would be better for her daughter to tell the coaches
"Hey!  This is MY body, and I want it FIXED before you guys break it again!"
Coaches are funny.  Some resent people disagreeing with them.

I suppose last resort, most cars still have a "Coach adjustment tool" in the
trunk.  Its also called a tire iron...

-texx

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

Date: Thu, 2 Jun 94 21:56:45 EDT
From: ***@aluxpo.att.com
Subject: forcing kids

I didn't mean to make it sound quite as bad as Texx is taking it. And I
hope other people don't take my comments in the wrong way either, although
I will admit that at times, life at/around a gym is frustrating. And Sara's
past year has been very frustrating for both her and her coaches. (I do
know that if anyone ever ended up in the hospital, loads of gym people would
be there in support!)

I made it a point to watch Nightline last night - sounded like discussions
we've had over the last two years, especially back at the Olympics. I found
it interesting that the tennis association is also thinking about raising
the age to go pro to 16 from 14. (BTW, in gymnastics come 1997, is it 16
as of Jan. 1 or by Dec. 31 ?)

Toby

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

Date: Thu, 02 Jun 1994 00:18:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: ***@delphi.com
Subject: Gogean

All this talk about Gogean's personality (or lack there of) has been very
interesting.  I remember watching her perform for the first time at the
1990 Goodwill Games.  She nailed most of her routines (I really like her
floor ex) and even at a young age she showed no signs of excitement or
enjoyment of the sport.  If there is a problem, it has been going on for
a long time.

Tasha

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

Date: Fri, 3 Jun 94 19:45:29 EDT
From: ***@BBN.COM
Subject: Gymnastics in commercials

Last night, we saw two different commercials featuring gymnastics
done by stunt doubles.  One was a commercial for a shampoo (Suave?)
showing a woman doing balance beam, the other a commercial for
Rold Gold Pretzels featuring a high bar (a Kovacs, I think; I
wasn't paying too much attention at first, since it was an ad).
Anyone have any idea who might be doing the stunting?

>>Kathy

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

Date: Wed, 01 Jun 94 16:29:01 EST
From: ***@email.cfr.org
Subject: Hilton Challenge-TV Schedule Change???

This week's TV Guide lists the Hilton (both Men and Women) as being part of
this Saturday's Wide World of Sports telecast at 4:30pm Eastern. 

I am under the impression that this is a change from the original scheduled
broadcast date of June 25th.

>Mara-
 I've seen promos on T.V. recently showing this to be true.  Originally I
 read a Phoenix newspaper mentioning a broadcast date of July and August.
 Oh well, we have to keep on our toes when it comes to any gymnastics
 on T.V. (whatever minutes given....;-( )

Connie

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

Date: Thu, 2 Jun 1994 00:43:29 -0400 (edt)
From: ***@dorsai.dorsai.org
Subject: ibuprofen

Ibuprofen is not a harmless analgesic as might be implied by some of the
posts which indicated some gymnasts might be taking this medicine on a
regular basis,almost as a preventive.

Ibuprofen will reduce the prostaglandins in the joints and elsewhere,
thereby reducing the swelling and associated pain.  However,
prostaglandins are part of the necessary protective coating of the
stomach, etc.  By continually taking Ibuprofen on a regular basis, an
individual could create a drug induced ulcer, by wearing away the
protective coating in the stomach.  This could even be potentially
lethal, by causing internal bleeding.

It's late (my time) and this is not meant as a complete medical
explanation, but a warning: please treat all medications with care -
misuse of any drug can get you quite sick.

Ken

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

Date: Thu, 2 Jun 94 09:37:39 EDT
From: ***@aluxpo.att.com
Subject: ibuprofen

Just want to clarify - by my saying Sara took 2 Advil (ibuprofen) in the
morning and then 2 before practice, it was not a preventative measure.
It was meant to reduce swelling and ease the pain of working out with
4 stress fractures. Although the real prescription from the orthopedic
doctor was 4-6 weeks rest, this was impossible because she was preparing
for nationals. This isn't something she does on a daily basis just for so.
We were also told by her pediatrician that any negative effects of ibuprofen
were reversible - like stop taking it and the stomach problem would go
away, unlike aspirin.

Someone once talked about how much influence a parent has on the career
of a gymnast. I'd have to say that it's almost none...but the gymnast
does have a say. Sara and her coach were counting down the days till
nationals hoping she'd get through it. She was looking forward to having
the time afterward to heal. Many people think that stress fractures are no
big deal - just something a gymnast has to get used to. I would
suspect that ones on her legs feel like major shin splints (they're on
her fibulas though, not on her shins) - and I can't imagine how she can
deal with the one on the arch of the foot (the one she jumps, turns and
lands on). Well, to make a long story shorter - she goes to her first
practice after nationals - and she's told she's going to elite zones in
June - which means she's got to get back all the difficulty she's left
out of her routines for the past 6 weeks plus learn new tricks. After
a week of misery, she told them flat out she didn't want to go to zones
until she had time to heal and could work out properly. She can't
understand why they'd push her when she's got so many years still ahead
of her.  In any case, she's been "resting" for two weeks now (that means
she does bars over the pit, a little beam, and a little tumble track)...
she's extremely happy although it ticks her off that some of the coaches
won't give her the time of day - they think she's being a baby. We'll
see what happens when we see the orth. dr. again in another week.

On another note, the sports therapists associated with the orth. dr. have
this machine where they attach electrodes on both ends of your body
to measure body fat and muscle mass. Much better than skin fold
tests, but I'm not sure how reliable the results are, compared to the water
test.

Toby

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

Date: Thu, 02 Jun 94 11:10:41 EDT
From: ***@MIT.EDU
Subject: ibuprofen

>Many people think that stress fractures are no
>big deal - just something a gymnast has to get used to. I w>ould
>suspect that ones on her legs feel like major shin splints (they're on
>her fibulas though, not on her shins) - and I can't imagine how she can
>deal with the one on the arch of the foot (the one she jumps, turns and
>lands on). Well, to make a long story shorter - she goes to her first
>practice after nationals - and she's told she's going to elite zones in
>June - which means she's got to get back all the difficulty she's left
>out of her routines for the past 6 weeks plus learn new tricks. After
>a week of misery, she told them flat out she didn't want to go to zones
>until she had time to heal and could work out properly. She can't
>understand why they'd push her when she's got so many years still ahead
>of her. 

I think that it is coaching behavior like this -- pushing her to train
hard instead of taking the time she needs to recover from her injuries --
that gives "women's" gymnastics a bad name.  No one should be forcing
or even encouraging a girl whose body needs the rest to train!

--Robyn

Gymnastics should be Fun!

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

Date: Wed, 1 Jun 1994 20:02:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: ***@netcom.com
Subject: injuries/pharmacology

I cant agree with Lisa's advice about not masking pain when working out.
Not heeding this advice can have DISASTEROUS results.
Ever hear about those kids who are born with abnormally high pain thresholds
and the incredible damage they do to themselves because they dont know when
to stop ?

After about 3 days, ice usually loses its effectivness.
Ice is used to drop the swelling.
It also helps to clot the blood that has escaped from the broken vessels.
(You wondered what a bruise was anyway, didnt you?)

Aspirin, tylenol, ibuprofen et al all cause dilation of the vessels.
Caffeine is a natural analgesic, which it why they put it in aspirin.
Decaf aspirin sounds like a joke to me....

The Reyes syndrome risk is from high fever mixed with aspirin in suseptible
teenagers.  Usually a year or two after puberty is complete, the risk starts
fading quickly.  Not all kids are at risk, but you cant be too careful when it
comes to family.

Tylenol comes with its own risks that escape my at present.

Ibuprofen is kinda wierd stuff.  Like Chops says, its only real recently you
could get it in "non-scrip" form.  So all you kids out there, thank those
idiots at the FDA for doing something right.

Since I got the wrong plumbing, I dont read "Mydol" boxes too much.
Would one of the nice ladies from the list post the contents of this product
to the list?  I know a few people who have had good results with it as a
pain reliever for minor injuries.  I presume there is som sort of
anti-inflamatory in it.

Anyway, all these compounds dilate your circulation to help heal
(someone else was quite right about the waste flushing, healing/nutrition etc)

I recall ibuprofen over the counter grade being near 700mg.
I was kinda messing around with the stuff toward the end of the weekend,
when my codene prescription ran out and I was chugging advils and ethanol
in obscene amounts....
(Loong story why but im back on codeine and life is beautiful again)

Backflips, y'all

-texx

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

Date: Wed, 1 Jun 1994 11:17:35 +0800
From: ***@Eng.Sun.COM
Subject: mass vs. weight


 Someone will
 be heavier if they are weighed in a valley (closer to the center of the
 earth than if they are weighed in the mountains.  It is a slight
 difference, but a few ounces (anyone who knows wrestlers will agree) can
 make the difference in competition.

Actually, this would only be true when using a bathroom scale or similar
device.  A doctor's scale would register the same in both situations, since
such a scale really measures mass, but is calibrated in units of weight
(some read out in both weight - pounds and mass - kilograms.)  A doctor's
scale really measures mass since it compares the mass of a person
being measured with a standard, as opposed to using a spring, which
applies a force independent of how close it is to the earth's surface.

(I've used my one allowable nongym-related token per year on this post.
How did I do? ;^)

-George

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

Date: Wed, 1 Jun 1994 20:14:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: ***@netcom.com
Subject: mass vs. weight

George got concerned we were gonna "stone" him for posting on non gymn
topics.

I would like to suggest that the differences in weighing machinery may well
be within the scope of this list, although likely the very edge.

Seriously, I always wondered about the topic.

Thanks for posting, dude !

Now go bug Dave at practice !

-texx

PS:

Rachele asked about the water tank method.

They dunk you in a full tank and then weight the amount of water you displace
to determine your mass.  The reason a boat floats is that it weighs less than
the water IT displaces.  This is why daffy folk like my sister build concrete
canoes and race them every February for "Engineers Week".
The *&^%$#@ things actually float !

Weight vs mass is a wierd question that confuses all but physics majors...
Weight is the effect of mass against a resistance (the spring in your scale)
You dont have weight in space without gravity.
You ALWAYS have mass

(well almost always... there are a few places where you can
actually lose mass or even end up with negative mass, but take this topic to
somewhere like alt.physics where it belongs !)


Simple, huh ?

("Eeeeww !  Black star go down da' hole... Eeeewww!")

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

Date: Thu, 02 Jun 94 18:44:25 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Men's Europeans results

Results from the Thursday at the Men's European gymnastics championships in
Prague, Czech Republic, at the Sportovni Hala, as reported by the AP.  

 Team
   1. Belarus, 170.286 points.
   2. Russia, 169.848.
   3. Germany, 168.911.
   4. Ukraine, 169.911.  (these scores are a bit fishy -- I don't know
                          what's up.  I tend to believe the rank is
                          right and the scores have a typo somewhere.)
   5. Bulgaria, 168.911.
   6. Hungary, 166.824.
   7. Romania, 166.037.
   8. Italy, 165.875.
   9. France, 165.700.
   10. Czech Republic, 163.762.

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

Date: Thu, 02 Jun 94 19:30:18 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Men's Euros

If any happens to know who is on the men's teams...particularly the fomer Sov
republics and Germany.  Please *PLEASE* post or e-mail me ASAP.

Thanks Ever So!

Susan

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

Date: Thu, 2 Jun 1994 08:13:46 +1000
From: ***@pharm.med.upenn.edu
Subject: Minimum Weight Limits

>>Body fat is easily measured, and a lot of gymnasts do have that done. 
>
>Measured or estimated?  A lot of people have their body fat estimated by
>having fat caliper measurements taken of various parts of their bodies.
>But my understanding was that having your body fat actually measured involved
>total immersion in water.  I'm not sure how that works.
>
>--Robyn


Estimated is faily accurate (less than a percent off) Measured does involve
total immersion, and it is done at most universities for athletes.  The
procedure involves having a very large tank of water, and the mass and
weight being measured of the person, they are then submerged and the
displacement of the water is calculated.  Remember your mass never changes,
but your weight always changes.  So a person who weighs 100 pounds on land
may only weigh 1.2 in water.  The more mass you have (i.e. muscle, bones
and not fat) the more water you displace - or the more likely you are to
sink. 

It would probably be a good idea for everyone to get measured at least once
every 4-5 years, but an estimation 2-3 times/year would be very good for a
gymnast - especially women.  For the female body to function as a woman she
should stay around 10% once you go under the chances of sterility are high.
 Men should stay around 3% when competing - otherwise the muscles can
starve. 

That is the extent of my knowledge on this topic, anyone else have
experience with it and it would be interesting to hear.

Mayland

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

Date: Thu, 02 Jun 94 11:05:37 EDT
From: ***@MIT.EDU
Subject: Minimum Weight Limits

> For the female body to function as a woman she
>should stay around 10% once you go under the chances of sterility are high.

Sterility is a harsh word here.  A woman without enough body fat to support
a baby will stop ovulating and mentruating (or not start) but this is (in my
understanding) temporary, and menstruation and fertility return when the body
gains more fat.

We are getting a bit off topic here, though!

--Robyn

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

Date: Fri, 03 Jun 94 19:18:14 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Mitch Again

Hey Gaylord is gonna' be on "Entertainment Tonight" this evening (Friday) to
talk about his new soft porn movie.  One small step backward for Mitch one
giant step backward for the rep. of American gymnastics.

Susan

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

Date: Wed, 01 Jun 94 20:12:25 PDT
From: ***@eworld.com
Subject: Trivia Answers #15

>3.  Name the most successful (in terms of # of overall medals) >male gymnast
>at the 1984 Olympics.

>Li Ning, 5(?) medals (David please verify)

Mara, this is mostly accurate. Li Ning as an individual won 3 golds, a
silver, and a bronze. In addition, he took home a silver for the Chinese Mens
team. In total, therefore, he was wearing six medals during the closing
ceremonies.

And thank you so much for asking.

BTW, GYMNers, I was just telling Li Ning about our online parlay here, and he
said to say hi to everyone. :-)  (BTW, he carries a Mac PB180 just about
everywhere he goes. No email address yet, but we are working on that by
getting a domain of our own.)

David

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Date: Fri, 03 Jun 94 00:04:12 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: USA v Romania

Hi everyone -

I heard on the radio today that Kim Zmeskal will be doing a special
performance at the meet. I also saw the same ad in the newspaper, so I
presume it's true.
Since it is only a week after she's begun her "intense conditioning" I don't
expect much at all, but it should still be interesting.
Later,
Lee  :)Hi KHi

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