gymn
Digest
Tue, 13 Dec 94 Volume 3 :
Issue 45
Today's
Topics:
Atkins @ Sun Corp, we need your help
Cheers for the USA Women ... (2 msgs)
Coaches ask GYMN for help! (8 msgs)
December Calendar
FTP update
German Publications (2 msgs)
Gymn Star
Jenny Thompson (2 msgs)
Letter
Template - Athlete
Letter Template - Fan
Letter Template - General #1
Letter Template - General #2
Shannon
smiling Romanians
Ultracool Stella
unsubscribe
This is a digest of the
gymn@athena.mit.edu mailing list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date:
Sat, 3 Dec 1994 15:41:58 -0500 (EST)
From: ***@epix.net
Subject:
There,s a rumor that a judge at
worlds lost his or her credentials for 1
year for
cheating. I don't know from what country or what exactly
happened . Anyone know the details?
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 1994 20:49:13 -0800 (PST)
From: ***@netcom.com
Subject:
Atkins @ Sun Corp, we need your help
ACK !
I
dont have time because I am snowed under up here in
the North Bay.
Would Mr Atkins @ Sun or
SOMEONE PLEASE contact Calif Sports Centre
in San Jose, and get them involved in the campagn.
I would but Im too
snowed under.
(I have my parents house up on timbers while I rebuild the
foundations.
LONG story, but WurliTzer forever !)
Somebody get that gym mobilized
!
After all, they are right in the middle of the Silicon
Valley...
I will be lucky to be able to participate in the e-mail
attack.
Sorry Im blasting this to all of
you, but I dont remember his address!
California
SPorts Centre is on Blackford Rd in San Jose.
Dave
Peterson runs the place, if you cant reach him then go after Linda.
I dont know her lastname but shes like #2 in charge.
Thanx !
-texx
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 1994 00:50:03 -0500
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Cheers for
the USA Women ...
Thank you Mara.
This is what I was trying to point out. The jeering and
whistling
towards a high score is most definetly pointed at the
score but,
when people discredit something that
you received, you can't help but get
hurt by it
(i.e. Zmeskal in 91 worlds. She really didn't deserve the AA
title but, did the Soviet coaches need to say that in front
of her face? She
was hurt by the fact that she had to defend herself and the
title she had
won.)---Brian
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 02 Dec 1994 14:57:42 -0700 (MST)
From: ***@asu.edu
Subject: Cheers
for the USA Women ...
> Thank you Mara. This is what I was trying to point
out. The jeering and
> whistling towards a high score is most definetly
pointed at the score but,
> when people
discredit something that you received, you can't help but get
> hurt by it (i.e. Zmeskal in 91
worlds. She really didn't deserve
the AA
> title but, did the Soviet coaches need
to say that in front of her face?
She
> was hurt by the fact that she had
to defend herself and the title she had
> won.)---Brian
>
Well, if she didn't deserve it (as even you, a Zmeskal
fan admit), why
pretend she did? Who is crying for Boginskaya,
whose feelings may have
been "hurt" when
Karolyi said she her time was over? Does gymnastics, a
sunjective sport, really have
enough time and patience to worry about hurt
feelings? The crowd in Dortmund wasn't being
malicious: they were upset
by cheating by the
judges. I would have booed the
loudest.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Dec
1994 09:06:39 -0700 (MST)
From: ***@rmii.com
Subject: Coaches ask GYMN
for help!
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# for gymnastics. ======
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Dear
Gymn Members,
In just one month, the NCAA is
expected to vote AGAINST men's
gymnastics. The National Association of College
Gymnastics Coaches
(NACGC) is asking GYMN to spearhead an electronic letter
campaign to
let the NCAA know that we do NOT
approve of this action.
Participation in this campaign has been made
extremely easy because it
is *CRITICAL* that EVERY
GYMN MEMBER participates. This is
all you
need to do:
1. In the following
messages are template letters.
Choose one and
either use the letter as-is
OR use it as a basis to write your own
letter.
2.
At the end of the letter, replace "YourName"
and "YourAddress" with
the appropriate information.
3a. Email the letter
to "cmartin@rainbow.uchicago.edu" with the subject
"VOTE
YES: <insert YourName>". Your letter will then be mass
E-mailed
to the following groups:
The
NCAA President's Council
All
NCAA University Presidents and Athletic Directors that are
online
President Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore
All
members of Congress that are online
Various magazines, newspapers, and television stations
USA
Gymnastics
-- and for record keeping purposes:
Rachele
3b. If you wish to send the letters
yourself, you may obtain the
E-mail addresses from
cmartin@rainbow.uchicago.edu, or Rachele (just
reply to this message).
We will shortly put all of the E-mail
addresses
on the Gymn gopher.
4. Show the letter you
send to your friends, family, teammates,
coaches,
and co-workers. Ask them if they will sign the letter or if
they want to draft a new one. Follow steps two and three to
submit a
letter for them through your email
account. The potential for this is
great. If just
50 members of Gymn participate and can average about
20
"extras" per person (which is easily
possible) -- that's 1000 already.
You can call up gyms in your neighborhood
and ask to meet with the
owner or a coach -- then
go show them the letter and ask if you can
put up
a list in their gym to obtain more names and addresses.
Following is
more information about the situation and Gymn's
requested
participation. Please take a few minutes
to send in a letter! Over
the next month, we hope that Gymn
will dedicate itself 100% to
supporting this
effort to save men's gymnastics.
If you have any questions, feel free to email Rachele (just reply to
this
message).
Rachele Harless
Forum
Manager, Gymn
Chuck Martin
Gymn Subscriber
President, Gymnastics Club
University of Chicago
Yoshi Hayasaki
Director of Men's and Women's Gymnastics,
University of
Illinois, Champaign-Urbana
Member and Chairperson, NCAA Rules Committee on Gymnastics
Member,
National Association of College Gymnastics Coaches (NACGC)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.
WHO
A. ALL University Presidents (not just Division I) have a vote in
January.
Q. WHAT
A. The University Presidents will vote on
Proposal 1-87. If this
proposal passes, the NCAA Championships for Men's Gymnastics
will
be guaranteed through 1997. In this time
work can be done to
increase the number of men's programs to meet the NCAA
rules.
Currently,
the upcoming championships (1995) is scheduled to be
THE
LAST ONE!
Q. WHEN
A. The vote will be in the first week of the
New Year (January 1995).
Q. WHERE
A. The vote will happen at the
NCAA National Convention in San Diego, CA.
Q. WHY should you
participate in the letter campaign?
A. Hundreds of people that are
involved with men's gymnastics will
lose their
jobs. Athletes will lose scholarships. This will all lead
to less participation in gymnastics at the lower levels. The
current
numbers of 32,000 boys in the US that do
gymnastics will be
drastically reduced.
Gymnasts
are the model student-athlete, regularly recording the
highest
GPA's in athletic programs around the country. Supporting the
student-athlete is supposed to be the goal of the NCAA. What kind of
message
are they sending when they no longer support the athlete that
demonstrates the strongest academics?
This is NOT
about men's gymnastics versus women's gymnastics, or
politics,
or about collegiate versus USGF programs, or even about your
opinion of the US men's program. This IS about gymnastics as
a whole,
the sport that we all love. This IS about thousands of people who
are
involved in men's gymnastics. This IS about supporting the people
who
were once the supporters.
If you have
any questions about the effect that dropping NCAA
sponsorship
of men's gymnastics championships would mean, please post
to Gymn. Several people are available to answer
questions that you
might have.
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 02 Dec 94 16:33:20 GMT
From: ***@axion.bt.co.uk
Subject: Coaches
ask GYMN for help!
Erm minor question, wont
NCAA get a bit confused by people sending in
letters from countries other than the US, since they could
quite rightly
argue its none of our business since
what ever is chosen for the NCAA thing
wont affect
us at all. Infact one could argue it would be in
another
countries benefit for the NCAA program to
cease but thats beside the point.
Clive
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 1994 10:02:06 -0700 (MST)
From: ***@rmii.com
Subject:
Coaches ask GYMN for help!
Only have time for a quick answer, but I
thought I'd point out that
there are quite a few
foreign gymnasts in the NCAA...
Rachele
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 94 9:12:30 PST
From: ***@sol.metaware.com
Subject: Coaches
ask GYMN for help!
> Only have time for a quick answer, but I
thought I'd point out that
> there are quite a
few foreign gymnasts in the NCAA...
And a strong program in the US
promotes the desire to strengthen programs
in
other coutries for better competition. If another big gymnastics
country was going to drop a big program, I'm sure many of us
in the US would
be concerned.
--Robin
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 02 Dec 94 17:38:19 GMT
From: ***@axion.bt.co.uk
Subject: Coaches
ask GYMN for help!
>Only have time for a quick answer, but I
thought I'd point out that
>there are quite a
few foreign gymnasts in the NCAA...
nono your missing my point, Im
not saying there arent foreign
gymnasts
in the NCAA program Im saying that the NCAA program
is internal
to the United States of America,
therefore the NCAA can quite
legitimately say that
it doesnt affect me or anyone in a foreign
country
and that my opinion on the matter is therefore
irrelevant. Thats all Im
asking surely the NCAA wont
appreciate people outside of the US sending
letters
to them.
Clive
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 02 Dec 94 17:40:50 GMT
From: ***@axion.bt.co.uk
Subject: Coaches
ask GYMN for help!
>And a strong program in the US promotes the
desire to strengthen programs
>in other coutries for better competition. If another big gymnastics
>country was going to drop a big program, I'm sure many of us
in the US would
>be concerned.
As I
said before that isnt neccesarily
what another competing nation would
want though is
it, a weak US program would suit alot of other
countries own
goals. Not that this is my opinion
though, Im just stating the fact.
Clive
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 1994 12:53:07 -0600 (CST)
From: ***@rainbow.uchicago.edu
Subject:
Coaches ask GYMN for help!
Clive writes,
>
> nono your missing my point, Im not saying there arent
foreign
> gymnasts in the NCAA program Im saying that the NCAA program is internal
> to the United States of America, therefore the NCAA can
quite
> legitimately say that it doesnt affect me or anyone in a foreign country
> and that my opinion on the matter is therefore irrelevant. Thats all Im
>
asking surely the NCAA wont appreciate people outside
of the US sending
> letters to them.
>
On the
other hand, the NCAA University President's and Athletic
Directors might think: ``Wow! This issue is so important that
individuals from other countries see this as a blow to the
whole
world of gymnastics. If I vote NO proposition 1-87 I really
will hurt
American gymnastics permanently and irreversibly, thus
preventing America
from participating in the
Olympic games and other world competitions.
My vote will propagate the devasting stereotype that the U.S.
is
no longer the culturally diverse society we claim to be,
and American Universities in fact are nothing more than greedy
businesses
interested only in exploiting young
athletes for their athletic abilities.''
I
do acknowledge, however, that none of the four sample letters
appropriately illuminate the viewpoint of the international
gymnastic
enthusiast. I will have a more suitable letter
drafted and will post
it in a few days.
Dr. Charles
Martin
The
University of Chicago
President,
Gymnastics Club
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 1994 14:40:47 -0500 (EST)
From: ***@minerva.cis.yale.edu
Subject:
Coaches ask GYMN for help!
> to the United
States of America, therefore the NCAA can quite
> legitimately
say that it doesnt affect me or anyone in a foreign
country
Except that they can't say that legitimately, because a number
of athletes
from other countries do continue
their development and improve as
gymnasts through
the NCAA at the same time that they continue to compete
internationally,
so the NCAA has a quite direct impact on those
individuals
and on the quality of teams in other countries.
I think it might make
a nice statement for the NCAA to see even people
outside
the US are concerned, and anyway, what mail is sent to them
should hardly depend on who they'll appreciate getting mail
from.
:)
Adriana
------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 4 Dec 1994 12:11:05 +0600
From: ***@scoter.cdev.com
Subject:
December Calendar
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# for gymnastics. ======
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The
Gymn Calendar
Anyone that has any events to
add to this calendar, please mail them
to me.
All
events on this calendar are subject to change. -- John
---------------------------------------------------------------------
December 1994
S M Tu W Th F
S
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19
20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
1-4
T.O.P. Training Camp (W)/ Tulsa, OK
2-4
DTB Cup/ Stuttgart, Germany
10-11
Chunichi Cup/ Nagoya City, Japan
15-21
Pacific Alliance Championships/ Auckland, New Zealand
27-30
Florida Workout/ Naples, FL
31
BROADCAST Dortmund World Champs/ NBC, TBA EST
-----
January 1995
S M Tu W Th F
S
1 2 3
4 5 6
7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18
19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
2 (approx.)
University Presidents' vote on NCAA Proposal 1-87
5-7
First Elite Regional (W)/ various sites
7-8
Tim Daggett National Invitational/ Springfield, MA
13-15
Buckeye Classic/ Columbus, OH
21
Reese's World Gymnastics Cup/ Portland, OR
27-28
USAG Winter Cup Challenge (M)/ Colorado Springs, CO
27-29
Second Elite Regional (W)/ various sites
-----
February 1995
S M Tu W Th F
S
1 2 3
4
5 6 7
8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16
17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28
3-5
Peachtree Classic/ Atlanta, GA
10-11 Rhythmic
Challenge (R)/ Colorado Springs, CO
16-18
American Classic/ Pan Am Trials (W)/ Oakland, CA
24-26
Gymcarolina Classic/ Raleigh, NC
-----
March 1995
S M Tu W Th F
S
1 2 3
4
5 6 7
8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16
17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31
3-4
McDonald's American Cup (M/W)/ Seattle, WA
4
BROADCAST McD's Am. Cup/ NBC 4-6:00PM EST
4-19
Pan American Games/ Mar Del Plata & Buenos Aires,
Argentina
5 International
Mixed Pairs/ Seattle, WA
or
7
International Mixed Pairs/ Indianapolis, IN
8-11
Messe Cup/ Hannover, Germany
11
BROADCAST Reese's Gymn. Cup/ ABC, 4:30-6:00PM
EST
18
BROADCAST International Mixed Pairs/ NBC, TBA
-----
April 1995
S M Tu W Th F
S
1
2 3 4
5 6 7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14
15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30
8
NCAA Regionals (W)/ (West) Oregon St. U./
(Midwest)
U. of Nebraska/ (Central) U. of Michigan/
(Southeast) Towson St. U./ (Northeast) Kent St.
U.
8
NCAA Regionals (M)/ (West) U. of Oklahoma/ (East) Penn St. U.
11-15
USAG Collegiate Championships/ Denton, TX
15
USAIGC National Inv. Tournament/ Cape Girardeau, MO
20-22
NCAA National Champs (W)/ Athens, GA
20-22
NCAA National Champs (M)/ Columbia, OH
27-28
VISA Challenge: USA vs. Romania (M/W)/ Fairfax, VA
29
BROADCAST VISA Challenge (W)/ ABC, 4:30-6:00PM EST
-----
May 1995
S M Tu W Th F
S
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19
20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31
5-7
J.O. Championships (R)/ TBA
11-14
Boys' J.O. Nationals/ Oakland, CA
11-14
Junior J.O. Nationals (W)/ West Palm Beach, FL
13
BROADCAST VISA Challenge (M)/ ABC, 4:30-6:00PM EST
13-14
Western Rhythmic Open/ TBA
18-21
Senior J.O. Nationals (W)/ Lincoln, NE
20-21
Eastern Rhythmic Open/ TBA
29-7/2
National Gym Fest/ ?
-----
June 1995
S M Tu W Th F
S
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19
20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30
9-11
Elite Regionals (W)/
TBA
16-18
USAG Rhythmic National Championships/ TBA
17-18
Budget Rent-A-Car Invitational/ San Jose, CA
-----
July 1995
S M Tu W Th F
S
1
2 3 4
5 6 7
8
9 10 11 12 13 14
15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31
1-9
Special Olympics Summer Games/ New Haven, CT
9-12
YMCA Nationals/ Savannah, GA
9-15
10th World Gymnaestrada/ Frankfurt,
Germany
21-30
U.S. Olympic Festival (M/W/R)/ Boulder, Colorado Springs,
and Denver, CO
-----
August 1995
S M Tu W Th F
S
1 2 3
4 5
6 7 8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28
29 30 31
12
Gymn's Third Anniversary
16-19
Coca-Cola National Championships (M/W)/ New Orleans, LA
17-20
USA Gymnastics National Congress/ New Orleans, LA
24-9/8
World University Games (M/W/R)/ Fukuoka, Japan
-----
September 1995
S M Tu W Th F
S
1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28
29 30
19-24
Rhythmic World Championships/ Vienna, Austria
-----
October 1995
S M Tu W Th F
S
1 2 3
4 5 6
7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18
19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
1-10
Artistic World Championships/ Sabae,
Japan
4-7
Olympic Congress of the USA/ Atlanta, GA
-----
July
1996
19-8/4
Games of the XVIth Olympiad/ Atlanta, GA
-----
August
1996
12
Gymn's Fourth Anniversary
-----
Summer
1997
TBD
World University Games, Sicily, ITA
-----
July 1998
25-8/9
Goodwill Games, New York, N.Y.
-----
Summer 1999
TBD
World University Games, Palma de Mallorca, ESP
-----
September
2000
16-10/1
Games of the XXVIIth Olympiad, Sydney,
AUS
-----
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Dec
1994 09:21:18 -0700 (MST)
From: ***@rmii.com
Subject: FTP update
Updates
to the ftp.cac.psu.edu Gymn Archives:
1. A
new directory, "-MENS-GYM" has been created. In this directory
are
letters and articles from magazines, newspapers, etc
that give
information about the situation of men's
collegiate gymnastics. If
you have any information to contribute to this directory,
please send
it via email to rachele@rmii.com.
2.
All of the latest digests are now available.
3. The trivia directory
has been removed. Since the trivia
sets
already are archived in the digests, I
thought it was redundant to
separate them.
4.
We are adding a second ftp site.
This will be, I believe,
ftp.netcom.com. Debbie will manage this site. There are
currently
over 100 photos on this site. Note
that this is a marked
change in Gymn policy as previously we chose not to offer photos
because of the ppotential
copyright problems. However, all of
the
photos on this site are original. We plan to move the
Gymnastics-Results
directory on the current ftp site to Debbie's site
sometime
soon. You'll see a notice about
that later.
That's all!
Rachele
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 1994 03:12:16 -0500
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: German
Publications
While in Germany I picked up some information that Gymn-ers might be
interested
in ...
The new address and price for _Olympisches
Turnen Aktuell_ the
official
magazine of the DTB (the German
Gymnastics Federation):
_Olympisches Turnen Aktuell_
Armselweg 5
57290
Neunkirchen
GERMANY
tel/fax
02735/6978
the price is 48 DM for German
delivery, 52 DM for "Ausland" (Australia
I
think), & 60 DM (about $49 US) for all other
"Overseas"
To pay from the US you *must* get a money order
in DM. I think there are 6
issues per year and
they have lots and lots of rather obscure results. It is,
of course, in German.
Also available from the
publisher of _OTA_, Jurgen Uhr, in conjunction
with
Eberhard Gienger
and Andreas Gotze is a new book call "Mondsalto"
(Moonsalto).
It
has profiles of historically important gymnasts from the early twenties to
Ivankov & Miller (it's recent enough to include photos
of Brisbane) along
with lists of when moves were
first performed and by whom (worth it for that
segment
alone IMHO) as well as a general history of the sport. Very
reminiscent of the book "Flick Flack" though most
of the pictures here are
B&W (and some are of so-so quality). It is
also, obviously, in German.
"Eberhard Gienger presents: Mondsalto"
Druckerei & Verlag Steinmeier
Reutheweg 29-31
86720
Nordlingen
GERMANY
phone
09081/4001
fax 09081/6944
The price as
listed is 44.8 DM (about $29 US) but that doesn't include any
sort of postage or handling so you should probably write -
in German - for
further info or keep your eyes open for an American
Distributor.
-Susan
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 02 Dec 1994 08:11:14 PST
From: ***@electriciti.com
Subject:
German Publications
re Olympisches
Turnen Aktuell:
>the price is 48 DM for German delivery, 52 DM for "Ausland" (Australia I
>think),
& 60 DM (about $49 US) for all other "Overseas"
"Ausland" should mean the rest of Europe in this
context, so we're looking
at 60 DM for
overseas.
Juergen Uhr's
a nice guy, though he doesn't speak a word of English. Still,
gym's a universal language.
"Mondsalto" is worth a try, most definitely.
Nancy
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 1994 05:08:11 -0700
From: ***@cornell.edu
Subject: Gymn Star
I got some bad sectors on my disk and
some mail was lost; could someone
either repost
the information or email them to me?
Thanks,
Steve
------------------------------
Date:
Sat, 3 Dec
94 20:23:21 PST
From: ***@hicap.seanet.com>
Subject: Jenny
Thompson
Does anyone know if Jenny Thompson has switched gyms?
If
so, what was the reason?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michelle
Davis
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 3 Dec 1994
23:52:04 -0500 (EST)
From: ***@mhc.mtholyoke.edu
Subject: Jenny
Thompson
I read (I think on rec.sports.olympics)
that JENNIE Thompson had switched
back to Karolyi's accoring to
International Gymnast. As for JENNY
Thompson, isn't she still SWIMMING for
Stanford? :-)
-Emily
of Waco, RSI'93, MHC'98
David Koresh's Wife #26
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 1994 09:11:35 -0700 (MST)
From: ***@rmii.com
Subject:
Letter Template - Athlete
Dear Mr. or Ms. President and/or Athletic
Director:
Fired
by a deep concern for Americas future college male
gymnasts
and an unconstrained and exuberant passion for the sport and
its future, I call up you, loudly and clearly, to continue
the NCAA
gymnastics championships!
Whatever legal and bureaucratic infrastructures need
rebuilding, starting with a yes vote on the proposed NCAA
legislation
1-87 which calls upon extending the moratorium on the
discontinuation
of the NCAA championships, I
request most sincerely that you give them
your
enthusiastic support.
I am
confident that when you as the President of your
University and an
insightful and thoughtful acadamecian take a
long,
sober, scrupulous, and courageous look at
this horrendous championship
situation, I trust
you will develop an invaluable new perspective and
judgment
and subsequently seek to redress the wrong and change the
sporting landscape of the NCAA's position on the
championships.
I
implore you to not be institutionally inflexible and
maintain
student/athlete opportunities by supporting individuals, not
integers (18-2-10-1 with its forty team requirement is
reprehensible,
irresponsible, callous, and
egregious abuse of mathematics for policy
making)
by exhibiting intellectual honesty and courage above
innumeracy.
In
the final analysis, Mr./Mrs./Ms. President, you know that
your University will not consume enormous capital resources
on the
support of NCAA measure 1-87, but rather
spend wisely a valuable but
small sum of dollars
on deserving students and their athletic,
academic,
and personal lives will be made much richer when you vote
Yes on proposal
1-87 at the NCAA in San Diego in January, 1995.
Can I, my team members, and our gymnastics program count on
your support? We most sincerely hope so.
<YOUR
NAME>
<YOUR ADDRESS>
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 1994 09:13:24 -0700 (MST)
From: ***@rmii.com
Subject:
Letter Template - Fan
Dear Mr. or Ms. President and/or Athletic
Director:
I
write this as a long time supporter and friend of the NCAA,
who is deeply concerned that the NCAA's decision to end
its
sponsorship of the men's gymnastics
championships is a costly mistake,
which will
damage the organization for years to come.
The
correspondence and comments you have received already
should
alert you to the opposition that has formed. Right now, the
controversy is confined to a backwater of the sports scene,
but it
would be naive to think that it would stay
there. The situation is
certainly going to get
worse. There are 32,000 male gymnasts in the
U.S. That means there are
roughly 70,000 involved parents and coaches,
and
millions of fans and spectators, thanks to television.
Furthermore, this
regrettable decision comes at a moment when
gymnastics
has finally achieved media status, publicity, and its own
set of sports legends like Korbut,
Comaneci, and the historic U.S.
gold medal men's
team of 1984. When it becomes widely known that the
championships
are canceled, many people, and a probing media, are
going
to ask questions. I fear that the NCAA will not be able to stand
up to the scrutiny. For instance:
Why is the NCAA
betraying its traditions and principles?
Generations of student-athletes,
parents, schools, spectators, and the
media have
relied on the NCAA to honor its commitment to stimulate and
improve college athletics as a part of a well-rounded
education. There
is nothing in the NCAA
constitution that says only profitable,
commercial
sports are worthy of support. On the contrary, when the
seamier
aspects of big-time sports (recruiting scandals, drug use,
even criminal activity) are being uncovered almost daily, to
the
disgust of the public, the NCAA's dedication
to the traditional values
of hard work,
competition, and sportsmanship is a ray of hope that
sports
is not totally corrupted. To compromise those principles in
this instance would be an act of utter hypocrisy that will
tarnish the
NCAA immeasurably.
Why is the NCAA hypocritical?
The
hypocrisy would be glaringly evident when it comes out that cost
is not a legitimate factor. The NCAA, as you know, spends
about $8
million on championships, and has an
annual budget in excess of $185
million. The cost
of a gymnastics championship is only $100,000-- a
mere
0.0005 of the operating budget. Bitterness would certainly be
deepened when the public learns that the NCAA will
cheerfully waive
the 40-team requirement if the
championship is profitable. The message
this sends
to the people of America is that the NCAA puts cash above
character. Money in the till means more than principles and
promises.
In short--something I don' want to see--the public will put the
NCAA
in the same category as millionaire baseball
players, baseball owners,
hockey owners, athletes
who abuse drugs and break the law, along with
politicians
and hustlers of all stripes who have exasperated the
average
American. I am not overstating the case. Disaffection and
cynicism are so widespread in this country that there are
only a
few--a precious few--institutions that
still command respect. They are
still as good as
their word, not just another hustle for the specially
favored.
The NCAA has that prestige. Please don't throw it away for a
few bucks.
Why is the NCAA racist?
This is the ugliest and potentially most damaging question of all.
I
know that it isn't true. But there isn't the
smallest doubt in my mind
that critics will have
no trouble demonstrating that it appears to be
true.
Men's gymnastics is admittedly a minority sport--exactly the
kind that the NCAA promises to stimulate and encourage. I
haven't made
a scientific study, but observation
and common sense tells me that
there are more
Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians attracted to gymnastics
than
to, say, fencing, rifle, skiing, field hockey and water polo. Yet
these sports escaped the ax. Only men's gymnastics and its
minority
athletes were singled out. The effect
that has on the NCAA's
reputation is troubling to
me.
Finally, what value is there in men's gymnastics anyway?
Plenty.
It offers the opportunity of achievement and personal
fulfillment
to tensor thousands of competitors and enjoyment to
millions
of spectators. It is a living lesson in the value of
strength,
endurance, courage, self-control, devotion, and
sportsmanship...the
qualities you are in business to promote. NCAA
competition
is the breeding ground for practically every one our
Olympic gymnasts.
Gymnast student-athletes have gone to operate clubs
and
recreational gymnastics programs that serve more than a million
youngsters. For all of this, the NCAA deserves a large part
of the
credit, and it will reap a large part of
the disgrace if men's
gymnastics is harmed.
I
urge you to do all you can at the January, 1995, convention
to support Proposal 1-87, the moratorium on the cancellation
of
sponsorship which is embodied in 18.2.10.1 A
moratorium is a fair and
realistic way to avoid a
firestorm of criticism. And it is desperately
needed
to give universities and colleges time to re-evaluate their
athletics programs, adjust to the effects of the NCAA's
possible
withdrawal (steps are already being taken
to encourage universities to
reinstate their
programs), sort out gender equity issues and obtain a
more
reasonable interpretation of Title IX. The stakes to NCAA are
high enough to justify a slow, cautious approach.
<YOUR
NAME>
<YOUR ADDRESS>
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 1994 09:15:35 -0700 (MST)
From: ***@rmii.com
Subject:
Letter Template - General #1
Dear Mr. or Ms. President and/or Athletic
Director:
The
legislation that proposes a minimum requirement of 40 NCAA
men's gymnastics teams is nothing short of a travesty. Not
only is the
decision badly considered with regard
to proper and reasonable
representation, but it
fails to justify its position as any other than
a
weak show at cost cutting at the expense of freedom of choice. Such
a decision can only hope to augment that deplorable trend
toward sport
for money in our universities that
only neglects the true academic
purposes of these
institutions but demoralizes those athletes involved
in
non-commercial sports.
The
systematic reduction of college competitive events from a
diverse field to a critical few geared solely for the
purpose of
bringing revenue to the schools also
reduces academia to merely
avaricious financial
institutions with huge incomes coming from
popular
spectator sports.
It
is ludicrous that the requirement of amendment 18.2.10.1,
which states that there be a minimum of forty teams, be
forced on
collegiate gymnastics. I cannot but
assume that this decision is
merely a farce,
dissembled with all the trappings of legality and
fairness
but in reality a veritable charade designed by money managers
and those who would eliminate minority sports in order to
make room
for powerhouse events.
I
urgently ask you to vote to change amendment 18.2.10.1 by
supporting proposal 1-87, which will extend the current
moratorium.
<YOUR NAME>
<YOUR ADDRESS>
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 1994 09:20:39 -0700 (MST)
From: ***@rmii.com
Subject:
Letter Template - General #2
Dear Mr. or Ms. President and/or Athletic
Director:
With
regard to amendment 18.2.10.1, which proposes a minimum
of
forty teams for NCAA men's gymnastics championships, I view it not
only as an injustice, but as a blight on our cherished
athletic,
social, and cultural heritage, not to
extend the current moratorium
through 1997. It is
within your power to do this, and I ask you for
your
vote of yes on proposal 1-87 at the NCAA convention in San Diego
in January, 1995.
The
NCAA men's gymnastics program, culminating in its yearly
NCAA championship,
is the cornerstone of America's international
gymnastics
team, and at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, not fewer than
4 of the 6 team members were NCAA athletes. Moreover, of the 54
male
gymnasts who have competed in Olympic gymnastics
since 1960, 49 were
students participating on
NCAA-sponsored college gymnastics teams.
Clearly, the NCAA gymnastics
program is essential to American
international
prestige and performance. Without the continuation of
the
overall NCAA program in gymnastics concluding with the yearly
championships, America's international gymnasts will no
longer be able
to train, and our national program
will be destroyed.
Additionally, many college gymnasts go on to open their
own
gymnastics facilities, which provide
opportunities for children in our
communities to
participate in the sport. Valid research and studies
have
shown that there are over 32,000 young American male adolescents
and teenagers training in the sport today. It is these young
aspiring
athletes, America's hope for the future,
who will suffer if the NCAA
eliminates its college
gymnastics championship--a termination that
will
certainly result in the elimination of vigorous and vital
collegiate programs in gymnastics. Destruction of these
programs will
also destroy the long-term goal that
these youth have, in their early
and middle
childhood, of competing at the collegiate level in the
sport
they love.
The
cultural, social, and academic benefits that gymnastics
brings
to our nation must be considered when you cast your vote at the
1995 NCAA convention in San Diego. Please vote yes on
proposal 1-87,
which extends the moratorium on
amendment 18.2.10.1.
<YOUR NAME>
<YOUR ADDRESS>
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 2 Dec 94 8:51:50 CST
From: ***@admin.stedwards.edu
Subject:
Shannon
Brian asked about Shannon's plans for the near future. I don't know what she
plans to do but I HOPE she learns a new floor routine. The one she's been using
since Barcelona is TIRED!!
Cole
------------------------------
Date:
Sat, 3 Dec 1994 00:37:07 -0500
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: smiling
Romanians
>>Did they look happy winning the team gold? (Did
Gina
>>smile??)
>Yes, the girls
did smile. Didn't notice anything
in particular about Gina
>and smiling at the competitiion.
I don't know about Gina, but German
tv ended their broadcast
with a great
shot of Milo and Maranduca
on the podium with *huge* grins on their faces.
Mara
------------------------------
Date:
Fri, 02 Dec 94 18:12 PST
From: ***@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU
Subject: Ultracool Stella
Earlier this year I saw Stella
sending something UPS so I knew she was
here.. obviously... Mara just sent me a note about her leaving
UCLA
but I really dont
know much about that as I really dont keep up
too
much with her whereabouts or anything.. but as soon as I know something
one
way or the other.. I'll
post it...
I don't even know when the season starts, thats how uptodate I am...
-Brett
End
of gymn Digest
******************************