gymn Digest Sun, 1 Jan 95 Volume 3 : Issue 55

Today's Topics:
Gymnasts and Smiles
Jan. Ziert Alert
January Calendar
Li Ning in a TV series (2 msgs)
Meet Info Needed
More GIFs
Neil Thomas MBE (2 msgs)
New user
Shannon Speculation
switch to regular list
World's: Questions and comments (4 msgs)

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

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Date: Fri, 30 Dec 1994 07:37:21 -0700 (MST)
From: ***@rmii.com
Subject: Gymnasts and Smiles

On the topic of "why don't gymnasts smile" and "aren't they having
fun", I must agree that due to the intense concentration, a gymnast
"forgets" to smile. I am always really impressed when a gymnast does
smile -- when I took ballet (don't ask about it, grin), there was only
one of us who ever could remember to smile.

I think that gymnasts are expected to smile because of the showy
nature of the sport, very presentation oriented. We think of it as a
performance, which it is. However, it's easy to forget that this is a
sport, particularly at the level that we see on TV -- do we expect
divers, runners, and soccer players to smile? We do expect figure
skaters to smile -- because again, it is a showy presentation sport.
More so than gymnastics, I'd say. But anyways, if a table tennis
player (what a frightening game) isn't smiling during a match, it's
because the sport requires intense concentration -- as does
gymnastics.

On a ridiculous extreme -- I like work a lot, but it requires a lot of
concentration, and I'm *rarely* smiling. But yet I do have fun at work.

Rachele

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

Date: Fri, 30 Dec 1994 08:14:31 -0700 (MST)
From: ***@rmii.com
Subject: Jan. Ziert Alert

Regarding Paul Ziert's editorial this month in _IG_ titled "Sleeping
or Cheating: American judge Sharon Weber caught red-handed":

First off, to make it clear, I have no facts on either side of the
situation and so am not agreeing or disagreeing with Ziert's
accusations of Weber. However, these thoughts came to mind when
reading the editorial...

I was really surprised with the paragraph noting the scores for
Miller's bars. Again, the scores were: 9.4-ROM, 9.6-BUL, 9.5-JPN,
9.6-USA, 9.6 FRA, 9.35-ESP. The first thing that occurred to me was
that if I was given these scores, I'd say "What's up with Spain and
Romania?," not "What's up with the US score?" So anyways, Ziert goes
on to explain it by saying "OK, so the Bulgarian judge thought she had
been assigned the World Rhythmic CHampionships, and the French are
just eclectic enouhg to see her mistake as a unique interpretation."
Yeah right, Paul, those are ridiculous excuses to discounting those
scores as flukes. If Paul holds Weber responsible for her 9.6 (as I
most *certainly* think that one should do as I would naturally hold
all judges responsible for all their scores), then why is Paul
discounting the Bulgarian and French scores? They should be just as
resposnible for their 9.6's as Sharon Weber is for hers.

And then second, I really question his selection of the second set of
scores. Those six scores prove nothing to me. Why did he pick
*those* six? Are they the scores that best illustrated his point?
When there are hundreds of scores, a random sample of six doesn't
prove anything. If he had made a statement that "the average
deviation for Weber's scores on all gymnasts was this. The average
deviation for Weber's scores on American gymnasts was this" -- and
then threw in his examples -- *then* he'd have something worthwhile
(if they supported the averages, that is).

I'll certainly grant him that from the *limited* sample he provided,
that the evidence appears incriminating. But looking at the scores,
you'll also notice that the ROM judge always gave her gymnast the
highest score, as is true with the FRA judge. Granted, the deviation
of Weber's score is more significant than that of the ROM and FRA
judges. Also interesting to note is that the FRA judge generally
scored the ROM gymnasts high and the ROM judge scored Lussac well, and
both scored Dawes poorly. Does that mean that they were cheating? --
I don't know, but I know I am not prepared to make any accusations of
cheating just from the limited set of scores that I have to look at
because, as I've said before, six scores out of hundreds with no
statistics whatsoever on the averages and/or means of the data is just
meaningless.

Rachele

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Date: Sun, 1 Jan 1995 21:05:12 +0600
From: ***@scoter.cdev.com
Subject: January Calendar

###################################################################
# #
# ________ 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. -- 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
17 BROADCAST Dortmund World Champs/ NBC, 1:30-3:30 EST
24 BROADCAST Exhibition from Mexico City/ ESPN, 9:00-10:00 EST
27-30 Florida Workout/ Naples, FL
31 BROADCAST USA World Team Trials (W)/ ESPN2, 3:30-5:00 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 / 2-124
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
24-26 Blackjack Invitational/ Las Vegas, NV
-----

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

2, 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
8-11 Messe Cup/ Hannover, Germany
11 BROADCAST Reese's Gymn. Cup/ ABC, 4:30-6:00PM EST
TBA BROADCAST U.S. Winter Cup Challenge (M)/ TBA
18 BROADCAST International Mixed Pairs/ NBC, 2:30-4:00PM EST
18-19 British Sports Acrobatics Championships/ King's Lynn
25-26 British Rhythmic Championships/ Bletchley
-----

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 USAG 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
TBA NCAA Championships (M) (W)/ TBA
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
11-13 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
15-22 Junior World Sports Acrobatics Championships/ Germany
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
24 BROADCAST European Cup (M)/ ABC, 4:30-6:00PM EST
24-25 Rhythmic European Cup/ Telford, Great Britain
25 BROADCAST/Budget Rent-A-Car Invit./ NBC, 3:00-5:00PM EST
16-18 USAG Rhythmic National Championships/ TBA
TBA BROADCAST/USAG Rhythmic National Champ./ CBS, TBA
-----

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
1 BROADCAST European Cup (W)/ ABC, 4:30-6:00PM EST
9-12 YMCA Nationals/ Savannah, GA
9-15 10th World Gymnaestrada/ Berlin, Germany
21-30 U.S. Olympic Festival (M/W/R)/ Denver, CO
TBA BROADCAST U.S. Olympic Fest. (M/W/R)/ TBA
-----

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 USA Championships (M/W)/ New Orleans, LA
19 BROADCAST Coca-Cola USA Champ. (M/W)/NBC, 8:00PM EST
20 BROADCAST Coca-Cola USA Champ. (M/W)/NBC, 7:00PM EST
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
8 BROADCAST World Champs/ ABC, TBD
15 BROADCAST World Champs/ ABC, TBD
-----

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: Sat, 31 Dec 94 01:20:12 GMT
From: ***@ic.ac.uk
Subject: Li Ning in a TV series

Just saw an advert on "The Chinese Channel" here in UK saying there'll
soon be a "Kung Fu" type TV series starring Li Ning. It was produced by
a Hong Kong TV company, I think. Don't know whether this series was old
or new though, David might know something more...?

Sherwin

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

Date: Fri, 30 Dec 94 22:50:54 PST
From: ***@eworld.com
Subject: Li Ning in a TV series

The mini-series, called "Heroes of the Shaolin" in English, was shot in June
and July 1993 and originally aired on HK-TVB's Chinese channel in August and
September of 1993. It is a series of independent stories about different
Shaolin priests who set forth to right wrongs throughout history. Li Ning
plays one of those heroes, and his episode is close to the beginning of the
show.

It's worth the watch, if nothing else just to laugh. There's some obligitory
gymnastics stuff, but not much of interest to gymn'ers, even if it wasn't in
Cantonese. Li Ning loved making it--said he had a great time.

David

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

Date: Fri, 30 Dec 1994 18:05:05 -0500
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Meet Info Needed

Our club (Bama Bounders) is looking for a meet in mid-February to take our
Level 8 and 9 optionals to compete in. Because the Buckeye Classic moved to
early January this year, we have a big hole in our schedule.

If anyone out there has info on any optional meets, please E-Mail me at
MikeyHo@aol.com.

Thanks

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

Date: Fri, 30 Dec 1994 15:56:08 -0800 (PST)
From: ***@netcom.com
Subject: More GIFs

Another 40+ gymnastic photos have been uploaded to Netcom. European residents and insomniacs will have the
easiest time getting through to Netcom's overloaded server. :)

Happy New Year!

Debbie

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

Date: Sat, 31 Dec 94 12:21:05 GMT
From: ***@ic.ac.uk
Subject: Neil Thomas MBE

British gymnast Neil Thomas was awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year Honour
List announced on 30th December, to celebrate his achievement in his Worlds
Floor Silver medal and his All-Around title in the Commonwealth Games.

Excellent!

Sherwin

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

Date: Sat, 31 Dec 94 15:44:01 GMT
From: ***@ic.ac.uk
Subject: Neil Thomas MBE

Rachele asked what the MBE stands for, sorry I didn't mention it last time,
it actually means: "Member for the Order of the British Empire". It's a
title that our Queen awards to people who obtained achievement during the
course of the year. She gave this award to quite a number of people, not
only Sports persons but also normal people who had done something significant
for Britain in the past year. It's quite a prestitious award, especially for
recognition for "minor" sports such as gymnastics.

Sherwin

PS I know "British Empire" doesn't exist anymore, it's just an old title...

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

Date: Thu, 29 Dec 1994 11:04:16 -0500
From: ***@isscad.com
Subject: New user

Note : I was going to send this message to just to Chris, but I kind of liked
the content, and thought it might generate a few responses.


Chris,
Welcome aboard to the Gymn mailing list. If you're really interested
in learning more about gymnastics, then this is a good place to be. There are some
some really active posters here.
Where about in North Carolina are you? I'm in Wake Forest, and joined the
gymn mailing list about 3 months ago. I have two daughters who are both active in
gymnastics. I am also in the process of starting up a small gymnastics center.
In regards to your comment about the serious looks on the girls faces, I
understand what you are saying, as I have always noted it myself. However I also
know from experience that the reason for it is the intense concentration that is
required to succeed in this sport. With few exceptions (ie figure skating, platform
diving) most other sports are not set up to expose flaws in an athletes performance
to the same degree as in gymnastics. The girls really are enjoying themselves even
if they do not show it. Another factor is simply due to the age of the participants.
At the top levels most of the female gymnasts are younger then 19, with probably an
average age of 15-16. (top level male gymnast are generally in their low to mid 20's).
Emotional maturity speaks volumes.

Aside from above, (IMHO) if you want to see a female gymnast whose performance
absolutely lights up an audience, then keep an eye out for Amanda Borden. I had the
opportunity to see her at the world trials in Richmond, Va. this past October (as well
as several previous times on TV). She has what they refer to as a `stage presence`.
(This from my wife who is a dance choreographer).


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

Date: Thu, 29 Dec 1994 08:09:49 -0700 (MST)
From: ***@rmii.com
Subject: Shannon Speculation

I have been told that the attached post has been perceived as
condescending. I truly regret this as I made a point of trying not to
"attack" any one.

I'm somewhat surprised with all the things that have been said on Gymn
that my statement was condescending. I thought that the stuff that
everyone was saying about Shannon was more condescending than my post.

I am biased in my judgement of the following post, however, obviously,
because I wrote it. I just wanted to say publicly that if anyone on
Gymn also felt that the post was condescending, then I am truly sorry
and apologize.

Rachele

| I think we owe Shannon a lot more respect than we're giving her. All
| these questions about when will she stand up to Steve, why is she
| being pulled around on a leash, etc... these criticisms are all made
| on assumptions. Sure, there is a good chance that they are true
| assumptions, but that's why they are assumptions, because we don't
| know. "According to several reports?" I.e.: "I heard it from someone
| else (who probably heard it from someone else who probably heard it
| from someone else)." In my mind, the only way in which one would be
| qualified to make the judgements of Shannon that have been made would
| be to actually speak to her on a direct and personal level (ie press
| conferences and that three minute chat in the hotel lobby don't
| count).
|
| What's more, I would hope that if you were able to speak to Shannon on
| a direct level, where one could truly claim to know what she's all
| about, that you certainly wouldn't come running to Gymn to blab your
| "inside secret."
|
| Assumptions at this point are that (1) she was unhappy to leave
| [fairly good assumption -- but did she ever say this?] and (2) Steve
| was the one who made her leave [she definitely hasn't said this].
| Assuming that #1 is true, there are so many many other possibilities
| as to why she did leave that we certainly can't start criticizing her
| (assumed) lack of independence.
|
| Here are just some sample possibilities (ranging from absurd to possible):
| 1- Maybe she was injured and didn't want to tell anyone.
| 2- Maybe she really is tired.
| 3- Maybe her parents wanted her to come home -- maybe they made that
| decision with Steve.
| 4- Maybe she had a hot date.
| 5- Maybe she wants time to train new tricks so that she wins worlds again.
| 6- Maybe she trusts Steve's judgement as he has gotten her where she
| is today, and she's investing her future by trusting he can
| also get her where she wants to be tomorrow.
|
| Now, I made all of these up, obviously. I'm just trying to make the
| point that we don't KNOW about the situation, and so we shouldn't be
| making posts to hundreds of people about her perceived lack of
| independence. It just looks foolish to the people who do know Shannon
| and unfairly builds up an image of her with the people who don't.
|
| Rachele
|
|
|
|
|

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

Date: Thu, 29 Dec 94 03:09:02 CST
From: ***@prairienet.org
Subject: switch to regular list

I am currently receiving the digest version of Gymn. I would like to
switch to the regular mailing list.

--
Allen

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

Date: Fri, 30 Dec 1994 18:33:21 -0500
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: World's: Questions and comments

To Greg et al,

While I know this is "old news" I've been out of town so here goes ...

>>Is there a general trend among the Russians and Romanians to "hone" down
their beam tumbling down to flip flop-layouts and front tucks? Or were the
examples shown on TV just isolated examples? Has the new code caused
three/four skill series to be trimmed out?<<

Actually more (as in "a greater number of") skills on beam are well rewarded
by the code but they don't have to be the most difficult skills in combo with
ea. other. For example a pass of FF to 3 consecutive LO's is worth the same
(provided the sets are equal in other respects of course) as a "simpler" pass
of FF LO FF LO. It's the number of skills - 4 vs the traditional 3 - that
are rewarded more so then the actual skills that are done in combination.

The front flip on BB is a *very* popular element and an "easy" C (I'm 99%
sure it's a "C" but I don't have a code at my fingertips so go ahead and
correct me if I'm wrong). Since elements may be repeated once and many girls
mount with a front it's a popular "side pass" to rack up some easy credit.

You also see a lot of very *very* cheesey "mixed series" just so that they
make damn sure that they fufill that combination. The most popular, and to my
mind most annoying, is the split or switch to back handspring. Ooohhhhh the
excitement and daring! <g>

>>During the men's competition, did the US hit "72 for 72" (comp/opt) or were
there major errors?<<

There were errors and some of them were quite silly (eg. Billy and Scott's
compo HB falls , Scott's FX flair fiasco in finals, etc.) but for the most
part the skills they missed are skills they can't really do anyway (eg. Steve
McCain's Makuts into all his bonus stuff on PB which even *he* says he hits
less then 50% of the time).

Overall this was a better team effort then we've seen from the US guys in a
long *long* while and I was impressed.

Having said that ... Scott's (and others) whiney comments take away from the
fact that quite frankly they finished exactly where they should have in the
world order (to my mind anyhow). The teams above them contain better gymnasts
and the teams below them have worse gymnasts. On a great day if they all hit
and had a fab draw they could reasonabley be 8th but that's about it. 9th in
the entire world is an Olympic qualifying berth and *nothing* to be ashamed
of. Of the many countires in the FIG most would kill to be 19th let along
9th!

It's simply a shame that the US guys seem to feel that anything less then a
medal is failure and feel compelled to make lame excuses and/or outrageous &
sadly bitter comments to compensate for what was really a decent meet. A
world medal, or even a top 6 finish, is just not a realistic goal at this
point. So what's the big deal?

>>What is holding Kerri's bars score down? Is she missing bonus or are we
missing execution errors due to the camera angle shown on TV<<

Well Kerri's bars are not as good as they could be and don't contain the
difficulty that the Chinese, Russian, and even some of the Romanian girls
have. The set is passable and contains execution errors here and there (the
Jaggaer could be higher, her legs straighter, toes pointed, handstands
cleaner, swing less labored, etc.). It's an overall "average" set amongst
the top teams.

I think that if you watch Kerri's bars from either '93 Nationals (or that
year's tri-meet in LA, the Mixed Pairs ... wherever '93 was a good bars year
for Strug) you'll see that they were *much* better then. Fairly wonderful in
fact. She was, IMHO, one of the best bar workers in the world at the time
though she was never recognized for it (piked Jaggear, 1 1/2 pir. clean
swing, totally crisp open half-in half-out). More difficulty, better swing,
superior amplitude, and just a better rhythm and flow to the set as a whole
made a world of difference.

>>Khorkina's floor does not remind me of Boginskaya<<

I would say that Khorkina, unlike Bogie, doesn't dance, per say. She simply
emotes attitude to music ... which is something else all together. Khorky's
flair lies in her amazing originality and difficulty ... while Bogie's lay in
her mature presentation, impeccable execution, and extraordinary ballet
skills (which carried over into every event not just floor). Bogie was
"classical" and Khorky is "outrageous" ... except for the language they
happen to speak, their first names, and their extra height they have little
in common gymnastically speaking.

-Susan

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

Date: Fri, 30 Dec 94 16:34:29 PST
From: ***@geoworks.com
Subject: World's: Questions and comments

> It's simply a shame that the US guys seem to feel that anything less then a
> medal is failure and feel compelled to make lame excuses and/or outrageous &
> sadly bitter comments to compensate for what was really a decent meet.

I didn't get the impression (from that interview, stunted as it
was) the US men felt they failed because they didn't get a medal. In fact
I got the impression Scott was saying they felt good about how they were
doing and felt they are doing a good job (the comment about "better than
the women" I didn't understand). I think they are annoyed (and rightly so)
that *other* people in the US think that not getting a medal is a failure.
>From the heat they get on gymn I get the impression many people don't have
respect for the team's accomplishments.

> 9th in the entire world is an Olympic qualifying berth and *nothing* to
> be ashamed of.

I agree. And yet many on gymn continue to post that the men's team
(or individual members) "suck". Go figure.

Dave
------------------------------

Date: Fri, 30 Dec 1994 17:56:45 -0700 (MST)
From: ***@rmii.com
Subject: World's: Questions and comments

Susan noted (re the USA men):
| world medal, or even a top 6 finish, is just not a realistic goal at this
| point. So what's the big deal?

I think that the guys feel a lot of pressure to win medals because the
women are doing so well. Whether or not it's stated or "understood"
(and I think it's stated), there is a goal in USA Gymnastics (both the
federation and American gymnasts as a whole) to win medals. I think
there is a common perception that the men are inferior to the girls
because they don't win as much. Regardless of whether they just
perceive that on their own, or whether that perception has been drawn
by other people, I think that they see international success as their
way out of the shadow.

Also, of course, a lot of things come with winning medals -- bigger
audiences, more TV time (at the Olympics, we saw only Trent really --
because of course he won the medal), more coverage in papers and mags,
more respect, more esteem, more recognition, etc etc. I think the men
are feeling distinctly UNpopular right now and so really want things
to start swinging in the other direction -- the sooner, the better.

Rachele

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

Date: Fri, 30 Dec 1994 23:55:36 -0500
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: World's: Questions and comments

>The most popular, and to my
mind most annoying, is the split or switch to back handspring. Ooohhhhh the
excitement and daring! <g>

It's better than the ro, split leap (or the ro, tuck jump for that matter).
<g>

Mara

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End of gymn Digest
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