gymn Digest Fri, 14 Jan 94 Volume 2 : Issue 58

Today's Topics:
[COL] UGa Sneak Preview (3 msgs)
Calendar notes (2 msgs)
cartwheeling survey
college meet schedules
current tidbits
Gymnastics
January Calendar (finally)
Mary Lou and the Reeses Cup strike again !
Trivia Set #7, questions

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

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Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 02:41:59 -0500 (EST)
From: ***@marie.stat.uga.edu
Subject: [COL] UGa Sneak Preview

Hello everyone! Since I haven't blabbered my mouth on the
list for several months (I'm sure several of you were hoping I'd
dropped off the planet!), let me quickly introduce myself. My name's
Randy, and I recently graduated from the University of Georgia
with a degree in Computer Science. Last year I had a lot of fun
trying to bring the excitement of Georgia women's collegiate
gymnastics to the list. With a bit of luck, I'll be able to do it
again this season. I wish I could take credit for most of what I
write, but I gratefully rely on the University of Georgia's Sports
Information Office and Kevin Best (Assistant SID - women's gymnastics)
for massive amounts of information. Our own Raul Arocho and Ron
DuPont also go to great lengths to ensure that I don't put my foot in
my mouth too often, although I still defy their best efforts from time
to time.

The University of Georgia's women's gymnastics program --
ranked number one in the pre-season as a result of their capturing the
national championship last year -- declared a "Code Red" alert to
5,818 of their fans this past Sunday. This sneak preview was free to
the public.
The team and head coach Suzanne Yoculan worked very hard to
make this meet an educational experience as well as entertaining.
Coach Yoculan realized that the substantial changes to the Code of
Points would bring a very different look to the average gymnastics
fan. The meet was billed as the Red versus the Black. In reality, it
was an opportunity to show the fans just how hard the new Code will
make it for a gymnast to receive scores similar to what they received
last year. Coach Yoculan gave commentary on some of the moves that
Georgia will be using this year and the girls provided the
demonstrations. There were mistakes and falls, but these served to
illustrate the level of difficulty that has been the hallmark of
Georgia gymnastics.
Coach Yoculan came up with an additional method of softening
the impact of the new Code on the scores. Raul Arocho has been
supporting the team with his judging skills to help the girls come up
with routines that both contain the required skills and that they feel
comfortable with. He recently passed his exam for Level 10 judging
and has also been made an official member of the coaching staff. It
was his job on Sunday to judge the girls' routines and score them
using the new Code. Coach Yoculan announced to the crowd that they
would be allowed to express their opinion of the new scores to the
judge. No judge has ever suffered such hostility with such grace!
The University was also fortunate enough to have Paul Hunt
weave his magic. Paul performed on the balance beam and the uneven
bars before giving the crowd a special treat. As a junior last year,
Hope Spivey- Sheeley wowed spectators with a very dynamic floor
routine that earned her at least six of her season total eleven
perfect 10s. Paul gave the Georgia crowd his own special rendition of
her floor routine. Hope doubled over laughing and could barely stand
by the end of the routine. "I've known Paul since I was in gymnastics
at the local YMCA. He's great," she said. "I'm really flattered that
he took the time to watch my routine and learn it."
Georgia fans also got to take a look at some of the elements
that their gymnasts will rely on. For the seniors, Kelly Macy has a
new mount on beam -- free jump to cross sit split; a "C" move -- and
is working bars very solidly. It may not seem possible, but Hope
Spivey-Sheeley has added even more dynamics to her floor routine. "I
don't even have time to catch my breath in the corner," she laments.
In a clever bit of choreography, she tumbles forward half way out of
the corner, then runs the music backwards as she tumbles back into the
same corner.
Juniors Andrea Dewey, Nneka "Nikki" Logan, and Agina Simpkins
(pronounced uh-GEE-nah, hard 'g' as in 'girl') make up an extremely
stable group of gymnasts. These girls performed better as freshmen
than their more experienced counterparts at nationals two years ago.
With the additional experience in their corner, they'll be a tough
group to shake mentally. Particularly impressive is Agina's new "E"
move on the bars. She'll be the first collegiate woman to perform the
trick, known in the Code of Points as a Tchusovitina (2.503). The
move is a back giant to a no-hands pirouette!
The sophomores embody the good news - bad news syndrome. The
bad news is that Courtney Snyder, out last season with mononucleosis,
sprained her ankle three days before the preview and looks to be out
of competition for about a month. "It's frustrating, but I'm starting
physical therapy and keeping my chin up and supporting the team," she
says after the meet, signing posters for young and not-so-young fans.
"Suzanne and the rest of the team have been very supportive to me and
that's helped alot." She pointed out that before the season, she'd
given the media guide the title to her autobiography: Life is
Character Building.
Lori Strong will be back, but without her signature move on
bars. She says she is much happier with her bar routine this year,
however, because there aren't five different versions of it like there
were last year. While the new code only requires ten elements, Lori
is attempting to bring new meaning to her surname with a routine of
fifteen elements. With powerful vaulting, rock-solid beam work, and
beautiful lines on floor, Lori may steal a few all-around titles from
gymnasts such as Hope or Kentucky's Jenny Hanson if they're not
careful.
Georgia's newest gymnasts are finding out what being a Bulldog
is really all about. Assistant Coaches Doug McAvinn and Jay Clark are
working with each girl to find her strengths and develop them. Watch
for Leslie Angeles to twist into your heart. This young lady is
already throwing a triple full on floor consistently. Lisa Kurc
(pronounced like the famed starship captain) exudes power in her vault
and on the floor. And you can't miss the only Elite level gymnast in
the state of Georgia, "Downtown" Leah Brown. At 5'8", you might think
she'd have some difficulty in getting amplitude for her tricks. Her
vault is probably the highest of the team, truly booming. And when
she's on bars, you can't help but wince on her release move; you're
afraid she'll hit her head on the rafters. Watch her if you can!
The Lady Bulldogs know that there are a lot of good gymnasts
standing between them and another national title. Everybody takes aim
at the number one team. And the new Code will provide its own
challenges. But the tradition in Georgia gymnastics has been to
develop each girl to her potential, regardless of the requirements of
the Code or the competition. That tradition will help smooth the way
into a new era of women's gymnastics for the Georgia team and perhaps
another national championship. See you in Salt Lake City!


--
randy

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Date: Fri, 14 Jan 94 14:48:34 PST
From: <***@us.oracle.com>
Subject: [COL] UGa Sneak Preview

Randy tells us about some guy named Paul who does beam and uneven bars ?!?

In public ?

Pardon me, but arent those events "girl stuff" ?

One time my coach "Carrot Top" was trying to teach beam to some girls
and I slipped up behind him and proceeded to do a cartwheel on beam to
his shock, surprise, and amazement. Man the other guys in the locker
room were "wolfwhistling" at me for a month!

I also tried uneven bars once for the ducks of it. I had heard why
unevens are not a mans sport. Now I know why ... (OWWWWWWWWWW....!)
(Trustme, guys, dont do this at home or ANYWHERE)

-texx Tongue planted firmly in cheek...


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Date: Fri, 14 Jan 94 15:00:32 PST

From: <***@cisco.com>

Subject: [COL] UGa Sneak Preview

Beam is an interesting challange.

Unevens is fun. Even in the 70's when the bars were thick and close
together, it was possible for a man to do a reasonable unevens routine
without needing a change in hip structure or other organs. But it was
more fun to put the bars closer-than-normal and "wrap" on your stomache
instead of hips. I'd do that (carefully), hook my toes on the top bar
between my hands (flexibilitty to the rescue!) and do sorta the worlds
slowest cast-wrap... Couldn't pop off the bars for eagles or a hecht
at all, though...

Chops

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 23:29:15 -0600
From: <***@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>
Subject: Calendar notes

Well better late than never. Sorry about the delay, I got locked out
of the school's net for some reason over break.

Please notice that I added TV dates to this calendar. The Reese's Cup
is coming up on the 23rd. Last I heard, Kim Zmeskal, Boginskaia,
Gutsu, Onodie, Lysenko, Galieva, Okino, and maybe Miller were going to
be there. (By no means a definite list of competitors and I forget
*all* the men. We'll Scherbo will be there I think)

The Reese's cup is televised on the 29th on ABC.

Finally check out what a hot place Florida is in March (No pun
intended)

Efton

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Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 02:06:53 -0600 (CST)
From: <***@owlnet.rice.edu>
Subject: Calendar notes

Efton says:
|Please notice that I added TV dates to this calendar. The Reese's Cup
|is coming up on the 23rd. Last I heard, Kim Zmeskal, Boginskaia, Gutsu, Onodi,
|Lysenko, Galieva, Okino, and maybe Miller were going to be there. (By no means

Miller, barring an unfortunate incident of injury, is confirmed for
the Reese's Cup.

Not only will all of the above be there (unless they cancel, entirely
possible), but so will many Gymn members! I look forward to hearing
about it.

Rachele

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Date: 13 Jan 94 17:19 -0800
From: <***@cs.ubc.ca>
Subject: cartwheeling survey

Hi everyone,

Back at the beginning of December I offered to take a survey on
cartwheeling and handedness to see if there was any correlation
between which leg a person uses to start off a cartwheel and whether
he/she is left- or right-handed. (I've appended the initial message
at the end of this one.) I didn't get very many responses, but I've
summarized the results. From some comments supplied, it appears that
"leggedness" rather than handedness may be the determining factor and
that some people have opposite handedness and leggedness.

Results
-------
________________________________________________________________
|Start with: | Right leg & hand | Left leg & hand |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|
|Right-handed | 0 | 1 |
|Left-handed | 3 | 1 |
----------------------------------------------------------------

I seem to have gotten a disproportionate number of left-handed
people replying, but I have heard that the percentage of left-handed
people in computer science is higher than that of the general
population. Maybe this extends to people with email access as well
:-) If anyone else is interested in submitting data, please email me.
If I get enough additional responses I'll send a new summary out to
the list.

Karen

====

Original Message:

Send-date: Thu, 9 Dec 1993 22:01:59 UTC-0800
To: <gymn@mit.edu>
Subject: cartwheeling and handedness

Toby mentioned in her post that she is right-handed and starts a
leap or cartwheel on the right side. From my memory of when I was
involved in gymnastics, I was always the odd one out starting a
cartwheel with my right foot and hand. I'm left-handed and thought
that everyone else started with their left foot and hand because they
were right-handed. So, the question is, do people generally start a
cartwheel with their handed foot and arm or the opposite pair?
Rather than flood the list with people saying "I'm X handed and
start my cartwheel with my X/Y hand", I'm willing to collect such
responses (and comments about this) and then send a summary of the
statistics and comments to the list once the replies stop coming in.

Karen

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 94 17:44:39 PST
From: <***@us.oracle.com>
Subject: college meet schedules

This is not goimg to sound good, but please take it in the benign
manner it was intended.

We made an error here in waiting until 1/2 past Jan to request college
schedules.

Many schools start their meets the first week of Jan. In the case of
the schools here in the bay area (& undoubtedly other places), the
season will be 1/2 over before we get the schedules.

I respectfully suggest that we learn from this error and send out our
request letters in Dec.

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 19:16:08 -0600 (CST)
From: <***@owlnet.rice.edu>
Subject: current tidbits

In the annual NCAA convention, this year held in San Antonio, the NCAA
voted to defer until next year the consideration to increase the limit
of women's gymnastics scholarships from ten to twelve.

Miller was a finalist for two prestigious awards: USOC Athlete of the
Year, and the Jesse Owens international award. She lost the USOC
award to Gail Devers (T&F), in a vote of 538-526 (I believe the votes
are certain members of the USOC and the press, or something along
those lines). The USOC male athlete of the year was Michael Johnson
(also T&F). Miller lost the Jesse Owens to a Chinese T&F athlete.

It is of course an incredible achievement to even be nominated for
these awards!

Vitaly Scherbo won the Jesse Owens last year. The only gymnast ever
to win the USOC athlete of the year (male or female) is Kim Zmeskal in
1991.

Rachele

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Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 20:25:46 -0400 (EDT)
From: <***@unix1.circ.gwu.edu>
Subject: Gymnastics

Hi,
I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Alanna
and I am a past gymnast in Connecticut (Class II). During college and
after I coached at the local YMCA and high schools in the Washington,
DC area. After college I took a full time coaching position at a
prestigious Maryland gym but unfortunately that didn't work out. Also
for the past seven years I have been judging both highschool and USGF
and am currently a level 9 judge. I hope to move up to level 10 but
am awaiting the test results.

In my "spare" time, I work full time for a doctor and am
completing a masters of health administration at the George Washington
University.

I hope to take an active role in this discussion group and may
be able to add insight from the "other" side.

See ya all soon!

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 1994 23:21:00 -0600
From: <***@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>
Subject: January Calendar (finally)

###################################################################
# #
# ________ G y m n ________ \ | ___ #
# o __o |o |o (o #
# An electronic forum !__ \! ! ! \. #
# for gymnastics. ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== #
# #
###################################################################

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. -- Efton
---------------------------------------------------------------------

January 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
21 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31

13-16 National Team Training Camp (W)/ Colorado Springs, CO
14-16 Maryland Classic/ Gaithersburg, MD
23 Reese's World Gymnastics Cup/ Baltimore, MD
26-30 TOPS Training Camp/ Birmingham, AL
28-30 American Twister Invitational/ Lake Worth, FL
29 Reese's World Gymnastics Cup/ TELEVISED ON ABC
-----

February 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

4-5 U.S. Winter Cup Challenge (M)/ Colorado Springs, CO
4-6 Fiesta Bowl/ Phoenix, AZ
5-12 Junior National Team Training Camp (M)/ Colordao Springs, CO
10-12 Parkette Invitational/ Allentown, PA
11-12 Rhythmic Challenge/ Colorado Springs, CO
11-13 Carolina's International/ Charlotte, NC
18-20 Buckeye Classic/ Columbus, OH
25-27 Peter Vidmar International Invitational/ Los Angeles, CA
26-27 Regional Elite Meets (W)/ Various Sites
-----

March 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

4-5 McDonald's American Cup/ Orlando, FL
5 McDonald's American Cup/ TELEVISED LIVE ON NBC
8 International Mixed Pairs/ West Palm Beach, FL
12 International Mixed Pairs/ TELEVISED LIVE ON NBC
18-19 NCGA (III) Championships/ Collegeville, PA
25-27 American Classic Nationals (W)/ Orlando, FL
-----

April 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

8-10 NCAA Regionals (W)/ Various Sites
9 NCAA Regionals (M)/ Various Sites
9-18 International Pacific Games (M/W/R)/ Cali, Columbia
14-17 USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships/ Austin, TX
15 USA Gymnastics NIT (W)/ Cape Girardeau, MO
16-17 J.O. Regional Meets (W)/ Various Sites
16-24 World Championships (AA & App)/ Brisbane, Australia
21-23 NCAA National Championships (W)/ Salt Lake City, UT
22-23 NCAA National Championships (M)/ Lincoln, NE
22-24 J.O. Championships/ TBA
23 World Championships (AA & App)/ TELEVISED ON ABC
24 World Championships (AA & App)/ TELEVISED ON ABC
29-5/1 J.O. Championships (R)/ TBA
30 World Championships (AA & App)/ TELEVISED ON ABC
TBA J.O. Regional Meets (M)/ TBA
-----

May 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

4-14 FIG Congress/ Geneva, Switzerland
5-7 Coca-Cola Rhythmic National Championships/ TBA
5-8 Level 10 Junior Nationals (W)/ Allentown, PA
6-8 J.O. Nationals (M)/ Augusta, GA
7 USA vs. Romania (W)/ Worcester, MA
8 USA vs. Japan (M)/ Worcester, MA
12-15 Level 10 Senior Nationals (W)/ Seattle, WA
20-22 Hilton Challenge Triangular Meet/ Phoenix, AZ
26-29 European Championships (RSG)/ Thesalonika, Greece
-----


June 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

2-5 European Championships (M)/ Prague, Czech Republic
5-11 USAIGC Nationals/ Greensboro, NC
8-12 International Elite Cup/ Monterrey N.L., Mexico
9-12 Four Continents Championships (R)/ Seoul, Korea
10-12 Budget Rent a Car Dual: USA vs. Romania/ Worcester, MA
18 Budget Rent a Car Dual: USA vs. Romania/ TELEVISED ON NBC
TBA Coca-Cola Rhythmic National Champs/ TBA
-----

July 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

1-10 U.S. Olympic Festival/ St. Louis, MO
16 Hilton Challenge Triangular Meet/ TELEVISED ON ABC
23-8/7 Goodwill Games/ St. Petersburg, Russia
TBA Rhythmic International Festival/ TBA
TBA National Gymnastics Festival (W)/ TBA
-----

August 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

6-9 U.S. Classic Nationals (W)/ TBA
12 Gymn's Second Anniversary
18-28 Commonwealth Games/ Victoria, B.C., Canada
20 Hilton Challenge Triangular Meet/ TELEVISED ON ABC
24-28 Coca-Cola USA National Championships/ Nashville, TN
24-28 USA Gymnastics National Congress/ Nashville, TN
27 Coca-Cola USA National Championships/ TELEVISED ON NBC
28 Coca-Cola USA National Championships/ TELEVISED ON NBC
29-9/3 XII Olympic Congress/ Paris, France
-----

October 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

2-16 Asian Games (M/W)/ Hiroshima, Japan
21-21 World Championship Team Trials/ TBA
27-28 Rhythmic World Championships/ Paris, France
TBA Gymnaestrada/ TBA
-----

November 1994
9-12 Olympic Congress of the USA/ Nashville, TN
21-27 Team World Championships/ Dortmund, Germany
TBA Chunichi Cup/ Nagoya City, Japan
TBA Catania (W)/ Catania, Italy
-----

December 1994
3 Team World Championships/ TELEVISED ON NBC
15-21 Pacific Alliance Championships/ Auckland, New Zealand
TBA DTB Cup/ Stuttgart, Germany
-----

March 1995
4-19 Pan American Games/ Mar Del Plata, Argentina
25 NCAA Regionals (M)/ TBA
-----

April 1995
7-8 NCAA National Champs (M)/ TBA
-----

July 1995
9-15 10th World Gymnaestrada/ Frankfurt, Germany
TBA U.S. Olympic Festival (M/W/R)/ Denver, CO
-----

August 1995
10-13 Coca-Cola National Championships/ TBA
12 Gymn's Third Anniversary
17-20 USA Gymnastics National Congress/ New Orleans, LA
24-9/8 World University Games (M/W/R)/ Fukuoka, Japan
-----

October 1995
1-10 Artistic World Championships/ Sabae, Japan
4-7 Olympic Congress of the USA/ Atlanta, GA
4-8 Rhythmic World Champs/ Vienna, Austria
-----

July 1996
19-8/4 Games of the XVIth Olympiad/ Atlanta, GA
-----

August 1996
12 Gymn's Fourth Anniversary
-----

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Date: Wed, 12 Jan 94 22:18:05 PST
From: <***@us.oracle.com>
Subject: Mary Lou and the Reeses Cup strike again !

With all the talk about Reeses Cup,

I forgot to tell you the best part of Mary-Lou's appearance on the
Vicki Lawrence show. After Vicki fell over, Mary Lou awarded her with
a "medal" which was a Reeses package on a string around her neck !

Definitely worth being late to work !

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Date: Thu, 13 Jan 1994 09:31:31 -0600 (CST)
From: <***@owlnet.rice.edu>
Subject: Trivia Set #7, questions

###################################################################
# #
# ________ G y m n ________ \ | ___ #
# o __o |o |o (o #
# An electronic forum !__ \! ! ! \. #
# for gymnastics. ====== ====== ====== ====== ====== #
# #
###################################################################

o o o o o o o Gymn Trivia Set #7 o o o o o o o o o o

TOPIC: mid-Olympic years (1990, 1986, 1982...) and how they factor
into the Olympic cycle

Thanks to Cara for #1 and Debbie for #3-6!

--Q1. In 1984, Ecaterina Szabo (ROM) faltered in the Olympic
all-around, taking second, but claimed three gold medals in event
finals. In 1988, Daniela Siliva (ROM) repeated that pattern. The same
pattern also happened in between those Olympics in 1986-which gymnast,
which competition?

--Q2. The World Cup is a very presitigious event held every four
years, between the Olympics. However, it didn't always follow that
pattern. what years have the World Cup been held in?

--Q3. Vera Kolesnikova's (URS) biggest victory came at the '86
Goodwill Games. Which two world champs. did she beat to take the
title?

--Q4. Who was the only US gymnast to win a medal at the '86 Goodwill
Games? For which event?

--Q5. Which two world champions tied for the '82 World Cup AA title?

--Q6. Svetlana Boginskaya (URS) and Alexander Kolyvanov (URS) won
which two junior competitons in '86?

--Q7. Why were the Goodwill Games started?

--Q8. Svetlana Boguinskaya did very well at the 1990 European
Championships. How many golds did she win?

--Q9. Who won the 1990 World Cup?

--Q10. How did the 1992 USA Olympians rank nationally in 1990?

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End of gymn Digest
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