gymn Digest                 Wed, 23 Mar 94       Volume 2 : Issue  91

Today's Topics:
                        Drug Testing  (3 msgs)
                        Gymn is for Gymnastics
                             Kerri Strug
                             Kerri Strugg
           reinstatement, Harding, and gymnastics (3 msgs)
                       Who is going to worlds?
                                Worlds
                         Worlds Poll (2 msgs)

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

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Date: Wed, 23 Mar 94 10:17:40 PST
From: ***@eworld.com
Subject: Drug testing

As a dyed in the wool Libertarian, I am strongly against any form drug
testing in the workplace. However, in athletic competition, I make an
exception.

The nature of competition is to take people of comparable backgrounds and
attributes, give them all as objective a set of standards as possible, and
see who is better. This is why gymnastics competition is divided among so
many levels, between age groups, and between men and women.

The introduction of performance enhancement chemicals into the system of a
gymnast means that a new factor has been introduced into the competition that
the rules do not account for, thereby artificially changing the results.

A more fair solution for those who object to testing would be to  introduce a
open class, where athletes are NOT tested for performance enhancing drugs,
and they are all free to steroid-up at will. But lets keep them separate from
those who choose to develop their skills without the use of such substances.

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Date: Wed, 23 Mar 94 15:49:33 EST
From: ***@QUCDN.QueensU.CA
Subject: Drug Testing

Just another note on Drug Testing. The implications of legalized drug in sport
, not just gymnastics would be phenomenal. Competitions would be degraded down
to who has the best biochemist/ chemist. Drug testing should be mandatory. I do
 not think that having a competition for drug users only would be productive. T
his would serve to degrade the athletes in that competition as second-rate comp
etitors. Besides, the athletes themselves would have to live with the feeling t
hat their performances were not their own, but made possible with the aid of so
me drug. Maybe I'm being naive.

Bryan 8)

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Date: Wed, 23 Mar 94 16:15:15 EST
From: ***@MIT.EDU
Subject: Drug Testing

Bryan says:
>Just another note on Drug Testing. The implications of legalized drug in sport
>not just gymnastics would be phenomenal.
>[......]

Not to mention the ethics of encouraging dangerous drug use in a sport
where most of the competitors are children!

--Robyn

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Date: Wed, 23 Mar 1994 00:17:16 -0600 (CST)
From: ***@owlnet.rice.edu
Subject: Gymn is for Gymnastics

Hey everyone,

Just a friendly reminder that we are here to talk about gymnastics...
let's not get too excited about Harding or legal matters.  There's a
lot of that talk in rec.skate and rec.sport.olympics, so we don't need
to duplicate it here on Gymn...

While a lot of gymnastics fans on Gymn are also skating fans, it's
also true that a lot of gymnastics fans *aren't* skating fans, and
since this group is specifically for gymnastics, we should try to keep
on the topics of our chosen sport.

Digressing has not really a problem yet, but I sense a huge Harding
discussion in the near future, and we really don't need to waste Gymn
msgs on Tonya Harding...

Thanks,
Rachele

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Date: Wed, 23 Mar 1994 00:11:47 -0600 (CST)
From: ***@owlnet.rice.edu
Subject: Kerri Strug

Jayeson Howell:
|     I was woundering if anyone out there knows where Kerri Strugg is
| now practing.  I know that she used to be with Dymno, but she left there
| this summer and I have photos that I told her I would send her.  I know
| everybody at Dymno, as I work for them, but no one knows where she landed

This info is probably good for anyone:

If you want to send any mail to any gymnast, you can mail it to the US
Gymnastics Federation:

USA Gymnastics
Attn: <insert name>
201 S. Capitol Ave., Suite 300
Indianapolis, IN  46225

They forward all mail to the appropriate gymnast very promptly.  In
fact, you can even mail foreign gymnasts at the USGF, as they will in
turn mail the letter to the appropriate foreign federation who will
then give it to the gymnast.

Rachele

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Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 22:55:09 -0500 (EST)
From: ***@db.erau.edu
Subject: Kerri Strugg

      I was woundering if anyone out there knows where Kerri Strugg is
now practing.  I know that she used to be with Dymno, but she left there
this summer and I have photos that I told her I would send her.  I know
everybody at Dymno, as I work for them, but no one knows where she landed

Thanks in advance
Jimmy

no sig yet.  (still under construction)

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Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 23:11:26 -0500 (EST)
From: ***@db.erau.edu
Subject: reinstatement, Harding, and gymnastics

On Tue, 22 Mar 1994, Chops wrote:

> We'll probably never know whether Harding is actually guilty of all this.
> The only way to be certain would be if she admitted being guilty of
> everything. 
As a jourlnist, I agreee with you on the fact that we wil ever know what
she did.  I also think that the media blew the whole out of perspective.
I recived almost 4000 pecies of e-mail after I defended her right to
compeat as she had not been found guilty and the USFA had decided to wait
until after the Olympics.

> An athlete ought to be entitled to be as obnoxious at they want, and even
> break the law (as long as no one gets hurt) as part of their private life.
> It might make them a jerk, but it shouldn't prevent them from being an
> athlete.
 
An athlete is just someone who particaptes in a sport, not a god-like
person who does not have faults.  So therefore they should not have to be
perfect.

Jimmy

no sig yet.  (under construction)

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Date: Wed, 23 Mar 1994 00:39:23 +0800
From: ***@Eng.Sun.COM
Subject: reinstatement, Harding, and gymnastics

Well, before we get carried away with this thread, we should remember that
Tonya Harding probably doesn't have the body type to be a very successful
gymnast (hint hint ;^).
 
And, speaking of gymnastics, just finished up my first season as official
scorer for Cal's men's and women's teams.  Now before you all get too
excited and start thinking you know a real Mr. hot shot, let me tell you that
my official duties were typing in the scores from the judges into the
computer, aka grunt work.  A fringe benefit of this was that I got to see
*very* little of the actual meet! ("George!  We need those score sheets,
man, like quick!  Hurry! Hurry!)

But despite all the rush rush and the fact that I missed quite a bit of
the routines (and haven't gotten paid), I thought it was a blast.  You
get a very good sense of the *other side* of the sport:  The setup, the
coordination of the meets, the judge conferences, etc.  While trying to
make eye contact with the runners to bring over the score cards, you
often catch something interesting going on near the judge's table: The
trying to get the gymnast to salute after a fall, where the coaches stand
in relation to the judge and the apparatus, etc.  And when anything goes
wrong, many of the visiting coaches come to the scorer:  "Can we
substitute gymnast x for gymnast y?"  "Uh, huh huh, sure."

At any rate, if any of you get a chance to help out at a meet, I'd say
jump at the chance!  You'll meet a lot of interesting, knowledgeable
people, maybe even get a chance to eat pizza with the team after the meet.
And if you're *really* lucky, you might even get a free T-snirt!

-George

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Date: Wed, 23 Mar 94 10:57:00 EST
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: reinstatement, Harding, and gymnastics

>Already athletes put up with drug testing at a level considered
unconstitutional by the state of California, and obnoxious by anyone

Drug testing is no longer considered unconstitutional in CA, as that decision
was reversed recently by the CA Supreme Court.

As far as otherwise legal drug use which enhances performance, I think an
organization has every right in the world to prohibit it, although I concede
a problem of enforcement.  Maybe a better way can be found.

-- Gimnasta

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Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 23:00:06 -0500 (EST)
From: ***@db.erau.edu
Subject: Who is going to worlds?

Who is going to worlds?  I know that our team hasa not been determined yet
as that will be done this weekend in Orlando.  I any body knows who will
be representing the other countries?

Thanks in advance
Jimmy

no sig yet.  (under construction)

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Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 22:29:02 -0500 (EST)
From: ***@db.erau.edu
Subject: Worlds

On Tue, 22 Mar 1994 ***@aol.com wrote:

> With Worlds coming up in a couple of weeks, a bit of a poll for all gymn
> 1.  Who do YOU WANT to win AA, events, etc. and Why?

      I think and hope Shannon Miller will win the AA.  First, she has
been suffering from a pulled adomional mussles.  This forced her to
withdraw from the Americian Cup in early March. (if ya'll don't know the
results, I have all of them) I will find out more on her recovery this
weekend.
      Also we don't know who all will be representing the U.S. their, as that
will be determined in Orlando this weekend.
      The reason is it will help with some projects that I have been
working on.

> 2.  Who do you think will outperform expectations? By this I mean anyone -
> not just a medalist - performing better than anyone thought they could.

      I think that both Elena Piskun (BLR) and Elodie Lussac (FRA) both
have good chances of sneeking in to the top if some of the top contenders
do not performe well.

> 3.  Who do you think will "underperform" (based on 'general' expectations)?

      If Shannon is not back to health, I think she will disapppoint
many. Also I think that the entire former soviet team will not performe up
to expections.

 > 4.  Who do you think might introduce a new move? > Mara
      I have no clue.

Jimmy

no sig yet.  (under construction)

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Date: Wed, 23 Mar 94 10:57:42 EST
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Worlds Poll

On the question of who I *want* to win (there's a fine line between
want/should/think will  win):  I want to win it all!!

Ok, seriously (as a favorite professor of mine says, all opinions subject to
change without notice)
V: Podkopayeva and her monster pike front half, maybe Milosovici
UB:  ?  Maybe Miller, maybe Chusovitina, maybe a Chinese gymnast.  Oh, just
thought of something: is North Korea going to be there (might Kim GS still be
around)?
BB:  The Chinese who went overtime at Birmingham -- definitely!!  or Ludmila
Prince -- what a layout!
FX:  Dawes -- that first pass deserves it.
AA: Miller or Milosovici (if it's true she's a lot better than last year when
she was so blah)
FX:  Korobchinsky for getting reamed at Birmingham
PH:  the North Korean guy who's name has escaped me right at the moment
R: Chechi.  No contest.  Or maybe Paul O'Neill (wouldn't that be fun?)
V:  Scherbo if he does his Yurchenko full on-full off or anyone who does a
double front as beautiful as Misiuitin's (knees together etc)
PB:  ?
HB:  Sharipov and his monster Tkatchevs
AA:  Chechi.

New moves:  Well, not exactly new, but the so-called "Miller" isn't in the
Code yet, so I expect it will be after this meet.  There are a bunch of moves
submitted at Birmingham that didn't make it into the Code (I don't have the
list with me or I'd mention a few), so some of those.

: )
Gimnasta

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Date: Wed, 23 Mar 94 10:08:03 PST
From: ***@eworld.com
Subject: Worlds Poll

FYI I have it on pretty good authority that the Chinese women have some
interesting new moves to watch on bars. No specifics, but one of them
involves a pretty complicated transfer.

Will pass more on as I hear it.

David

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End of gymn Digest
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