gymn Digest Mon, 10 Jan 94 Volume 2 : Issue 56

Today's Topics:
_Sports Illustrated_
Brown's / Cincinatti
Calendar
Gymn spectators
I'm back and confused.... (3 msgs)
IG sub
introduction
NC State's Coach
Reeses Duh !
Skating Championships (2 msgs)
Some News from Russia
Trivia Set #7, topic
UF's Team (2 msgs)

This is a digest of the gymn@athena.mit.edu mailing list.
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Date: Sun, 9 Jan 1994 23:13:04 -0600 (CST)
From: <***@owlnet.rice.edu>
Subject: _Sports Illustrated_

When you're at a newstand, check out this week's _SI_. There is a
letter to the editor in there from Mark Williams, Oklahoma's asst.
coach. It's about the declining men's gymnastics program in the NCAA.

So nice to be home!

Rachele

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

Date: Fri, 07 Jan 1994 02:56:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: ***@delphi.com
Subject: Brown's / Cincinatti

Kevin and Rita Brown are divorced. Rita Brown got the club. Kevin
went to Cincinatti Gymnastics Academy. He started there in July.

Rachele

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Date: Thu, 06 Jan 1994 13:14:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: ***@delphi.com
Subject: Calendar

The calendar will be published sometime soon after January 10th, when
Efton returns to school.

Congrats to George who swung his first regular giant without a spot
the other day!

Rachele

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

Date: Fri, 7 Jan 94 18:59:08 PST
From: <***@us.oracle.com>
Subject: Gymn spectators
To: gymn@MIT.EDU


I was pleased *** NOT *** to hear of the ice skater who was assaulted
yesterday. Seems some guy who had been watching her skate at Joe Louis
skating arena many times and had even videotaped her, nailed her pretty bad
with a crowbar last night.

I am pretty fond of going to watch gymnastics workouts, when I have the time
and when I am on the injured list. Helps keep me in touch with the sport
and helps give me new ideas for new routines.

I hope this mishap will not cause sports practice sessions to be closed to
the public. Im also concerned about her Olympic chances with this injury.
(SKating is one of my other sports but hands down, gymnastics is my favorite!)

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

Date: Thu, 06 Jan 1994 14:18:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: ***@ocvaxa.cc.oberlin.edu
Subject: I'm back and confused....

Okay, so Kerri's at Brown's now - but why when I watched the rerun of
nationals in late August was Kevin Brown helping Amanda Borden's coaching in
Cincinnati? Does anyone know the address (snail mail) for that gym? I sort of
know Kerri through her sister Lisa, perhaps she would be willing to give a
short statement about her move.
But what's the deal with Kevin Brown?
Robert - Texas is a nice place to spend the holidays, but I have to
make a case for Arizona. When I left on Wednesday, we had the high temperature
in the nation - 84 degrees. Yum. And Arizona gymnastics isn't too shabby
either, with two top ten women's college teams, and Desert Devils gym (Kim
Arnold, Juliet Bangerter, Sandy Woolsey, etc.) and Dennis and Dan Hayden and
Kerri all trained in Tucson.
Tucson also started our own real trolley system. Yay!
Can you tell I'm already homesick?
Where's my IG subscription? I sent off the check 8 weeks ago!
Lottery people - your prizes are coming soon. I don't have all of your
addresses, so please send them! I'm here at sct3226@ocvaxa.cc.oberlin.edu
I'm counting the days until Reese's World Gymnastics Cup? Are Kim and
Gutsu still planning to compete? I'm very, very excited!!!!
Thanks for reading my ramblings - it's good to be back in conversation
with y'all. Toby - congrats to your daughter!! I'm very impressed.
Cara

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

Date: Thu, 6 Jan 94 15:11:47 EST
From: ***@aluxpo.att.com
Subject: I'm back and confused....

The deal is that Kevin Brown is "involved" with Amanda Borden's coach. That's
why he's in Cincinnati instead of Florida. (BTW, I still don't understand
why Amanda Borden is so highly rated.)

I'm with you Cara - Arizona is wonderful. The Fiesta Bowl is coming up Feb.4-6
in Phoenix - that's a fun meet...last year some of the big gyms that were there
were Parkettes, Cincinnati, Desert Devils.

Thanks to all of you who congratulated Sara. She should have a great time.

Toby

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

Date: Thu, 6 Jan 94 16:11:48 EST
From: ***@aluxpo.att.com
Subject: I'm back and confused....

Re: Amanda Borden

It's not just TV - it's any meet she's in - she doesn't seem to be able
not to fall. I don't mean to get a discussion going here, but what you
see is a prime example of politics in action.

Toby

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

Date: Thu, 06 Jan 94 18:29 CDT
From: <***@macc.wisc.edu>
Subject: IG sub


> make a case for Arizona. When I left on Wednesday, we had the high temperature
> in the nation - 84 degrees.

Aack... the high temperature here in Wisconsin is averaging in the lower
20s.

> Where's my IG subscription? I sent off the check 8 weeks ago!

I'm told IG takes forever and a day to get the subscriptions processed.
I haven't sent in my subscription yet, but I will be soon.

--Tim

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

Date: Thu, 06 Jan 94 18:27 CDT
From: <***@macc.wisc.edu>
Subject: introduction


Hi everyone!

I'm new to the mailing list - the messages just started coming in today.
However, I've been checking out the FTP site and reading the digests and
Gymn Reporter for about a week, and I've enjoyed that.

I'm from Madison, Wisconsin, where I'm a junior in high school (I'll be
17 years old on January 23rd). I don't have much gymnastics experience at
all, but I've been a fan for a few years. I spend a fair amount of time
at one of the local gyms visiting with the people and watching;
unfortunately, there isn't a major club near here. I still have fun,
though.

Aside from gymnastics, I'm waiting for my technician-class amateur
radio license to arrive from the FCC, and I'm a theater - the stage
variety - lighting technician (that's the formal description - the real
name of the job is "that guy up there in the little room/on the
ladder/on the stage") at the student union at the University of Wisconsin.
They let me have an internet account on their computer cluster, which
I'm using to read Gymn.

Anyway, I hope to get to know you all. See you later!
--Tim

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Date: Sun, 09 Jan 94 20:06:10 EST
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: NC State's Coach

To All:
Folks, here's a copy of a story I wrote for The Gator Scale, which is the
newsletter of the UF women's collegiate gymnastics team. The story is about
the North Carolina State women's gymnastics
coach. NC State will be competing against Florida this Saturday.
-----------
If the "National Coach of the Year" award was given for the coach who gets
the best bang for the buck, then North Caro
lina State's head coach, Mark Stevenson, would be the hands-down winner.
Virtually every team in last season's top 20 final rankings, and even in the
top 30 rankings, had 10 scholarships to use for th
eir team. But Stevenson, whose team finished 16th in the country, had no such
luxury.
He didn't
have 10 scholarships, or even 5, for that matter. No, Stevenson had only 2.
That's right. With just 2 scholarship gymnasts and 8 or more walk-ons, North
Carolina State almost made it to the national championships. Even more
spectacular is the fact that the team had more difficulty on floor than every
team i
n the SEC except Georgia.
This year, Stevenson's team has 5 scholarships (to go up to 7 next year),
and Florida will get to see this much-improved team as part of the season
opener on Jan. 15. Stevenson said he fully expects his team to lose (because
one of their top all-arounders is sick) but expec
ts to have a shot at making it to nationals at year's end.
How good is this team? By year's end, barring injury, the team will have
almost nothing but 10.00 vaults, will have 5 beam routines with a 3-flight
series (a new difficult requirement many teams are having trouble meeting),
and will have a floor line-up that includes a double-layout and 3 full-ins
(one of the most difficult floor line-ups in t
he country).
And Stevenson is assembling this talent with half as many scholarships as
most of the teams he'll meet.
"Technically, we're a better team than last year," Stevenson said. "But I
don't think you'll see that at our first meet at Florida. We're going to be
trying a lot of new things. We were weak on bars last year, and we had to
really upgrade them...We're going to be doing okay (at Flo
rida) but missing (catches on bars)."
Just like his team, Stevenson also may be the best bang for the buck. He's
only paid for 9 months of work and must find other jobs during his off-time
to mak
e enough money. But the jobs he has found has firmly established his
reputation.
Perhaps one of the best technical coaches in the country, Stevenson ran the
the gymnastics portion of the Olympic Festi
val when it was held in North Carolina. At that festival, gymnastics
attracted 58,000 people - far more than the number of those who went to see
men's basketball. That was an incredible feat, particula
rly in North Carolina, where basketball is king.
Stevenson also is a summer coach at the Woodwar
d Gymnastics Camp, considered by many to be the best summer gymnastics camp
in the world.
When North Carolina State comes to Florida, they will be led, in part, by
Christy Newton of Jacksonville, Florida. Newton, whom the University of
Florida would have recruited if there were scholarships available the year
she was eligible, is throwing a double-layout in her first pass and a
full-twisting double-back in her last (although she won't do this at the
Florida meet). If Newton does successfully throw those tumbling passes in
later meets, she will be one of only a handful of gymnasts in the world to
pull of such a feat and only the second gymnast in college to do so; the
great Hope Spivey of Georgia was the first one t
o do it.
Getting gymnasts such as Newton to go to North Carolina State is not that
difficult, Stevenson said. While other schools look for gymnasts who have all
the tricks, he looks for gymnasts (like Newton) who have talent and can be
taught the skills. Yes, he concedes, that means he must spend a
year or so teaching them, but that's what he has to do to compete against the
bigger teams.

"As long as the Floridas, Utahs and Georgias keep ignoring (such gymnasts),
we'll keep taking them,"
he said.
Stevenson's already boasting about getting Lisa Donaldson from Michigan. She
is recovering from an illness and won't be seen at the Florida meet, but
Stevenson says she's can score a 38.00 o
r higher in the all-around - which will be a high score under the new scoring
rules. He also prai
sed Liz Bernstein from Pennsylvania, calling her "a real sleeper."
Last year was a hallmark year in many ways for Stevenson. His team now
regularly attracts 3,000 people to meets and has become the predominant
women's sport on campus, out-dueling women's basketball, which attracts 500
or so a game. Further, he learned that his scholarships were being increased,
and, then, at the season's end, his team finishe
d 16th in the country.
Gator gymnasts and Gator fans were with the North Carolina State team in a
restaurant after regionals when the North Carolina State team learned how
well it did. The North Carolina State team cheered wildly, and some gymnasts
cried. For them, with just two scholarships, it was
as if they had won a national championship.
"I can tell you, there were a lot of happy kids and a happy coaching staff,"
Stevenson said.

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

Date: Thu, 6 Jan 94 14:45:29 PST
From: <***@us.oracle.com>
Subject: Reeses Duh !

I just realized that the Reese's World Gymnastics Cup is also known as
"The Reeses Cup" which is easily confused with their famous confectionary
product "The Reese's Peanutbutter Cup"

MMMMFFFFFGGGGHHHHH!!!!

(How do I get chocolate stains off my mouse ?!?! )

Cue: Maniacal laughter

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Date: Sun, 09 Jan 1994 23:45:56 -0400 (EDT)
From: ***@ocvaxa.cc.oberlin.edu
Subject: Skating Championships

Hey, were any of you watching on Saturday? They showed that Jessica
Mills (sister of Phoebe, '88 beam medalist tied w/ Boginskaya) got sixth place!
Yay! But they didn't show her skate because she wasn't in the final long
program group. Drat.
Cara

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

Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 06:41:18 -0500
From: ***@cykick.jvnc.net
Subject: Skating Championships

Cara writes (in part):
> Hey, were any of you watching on Saturday? They showed that Jessica
>Mills (sister of Phoebe, '88 beam medalist tied w/ Boginskaya) got sixth place!
>Yay! But they didn't show her skate because she wasn't in the final long
>program group. Drat.

Yes, I noticed... However, I can't help but wonder how the Mills family
divided up its support last week. Nathaniel Mills was participating in the
speedskating trials in West Allis, Wisconsin.

Helena

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

Date: Sat, 8 Jan 94 20:16:00 BST
From: ***@genie.geis.com
Subject: Some News from Russia

The December 10th issue of _Sovetskii Sport_ reported on two gymnastics
competitions. The first was the Moscow Cup, the second was the Aleksandra
Naipak Cup. Here are the translated reports:

Moscow Cup
----------
The Moscow Cup competitions were completed at the Dynamo gymnastics hall.
Seven male gymnasts attempted to perform the new Olympic compulsory
exercises. There were also another 19 men competing in the Master of Sport
category. The winner was A. Nazarov (DYuS-SHOR Club) with 104 points,
followed by K. Gulyaev (Dynamo) with 99.5 points, and D. Kalinin (CSKA) with
98.2 points. The women performed somewhat better. The Olympic program was
performed by 30 girls, and more than 20 others competed as Master of Sport
candidates. Yu. Korosteleva (DYuS-SHOR Club) won the Cup with 74.7 points,
in 2nd was I. Lyskovtseva (Akademiya) with 74.5 points, and in 3rd was E.
Sedova (CSKA) with 74.1 points.

Aleksandra Naipuk Cup
---------------------
The experts have confirmed that the Aleksandra Naipuk Cup, held in Kharkov,
has provided us with the debuts of young rhythmic gymnastics stars. At the
1st tournament in 1984, 12 year old Aleksandra Timoshenko came of age there.
Now we know her as a World and Olympic champion. The winner of the 4th Cup
was Oksana Kostina; Oksana Skaldina won the 6th Cup. They were also World
champions. This year's winner was Ekaterina Serebrianskaya with 39.25
points. Second was Elena Vitrichenko from Odessa, who was the leader coming
into the final rotation. Third was Elena Shumskaya from Kiev. A new star
could be the 12 year old Irina Kobets from Kiev (36.5) who showed beautiful
exercises, as did Asel Mustafina of Kazakhstan (37.35).

Debbie

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

Date: Sat, 08 Jan 1994 00:37:58 -0400 (EDT)
From: ***@delphi.com
Subject: Trivia Set #7, topic

The topic for Trivia Set #7 will be "1990, 1986, 1982..." ie, those
years that are exactly in between Olympics. This topic may seem a little
vague; what I am trying to do with this topic is generate some
questions about how this mid-year affects the Olympic cycle. For
example, questions concerning the World Cup or Goodwill Games or
other events typically held in these mid-Olympic years would be
appropriate. Let's try to keep these questions fairly simple
since the questions can get more specific as time comes for those
competitions.

Questions should be submitted to rachele@rice.edu. The TS will be
posted on Wednesday 12 Jan 1993.

Thanks!
Rachele

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

Date: Sun, 09 Jan 94 20:04:07 EST
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: UF's Team

To All:
Folks, this is a copy of the story about the University of Florida
women's gymnastics team that I wrote for the booster club's newsletter:
--------
In the world of gymnastics, likening a gymnast to an animal is considered
flattery. To call a competitor an "animal" or a "beast" is to say a gymnast
is powerful, fearless and willing to throw tumbling and release elements that
make other gymnasts c
ringe.
When Alabama took second to Georgia at least year's nationals, one of the
Alabama players said on national television: "We knew what to expect from
Georgia. They're beasts." The Georgia te
am smiled at the compliment.
This year, if you listen to the University of Florida coaching staff, you'd
think a veritable zoo is coming to workouts each day. This year's team is in
perhaps the finest physical shape of any Gator team in years, and the coaches
have now begun commenting on the sheer strength
some of the gymnasts are showing. Beasts and animals abound, they say.
To get an idea of the strength and shape of the gymnasts, you need to look
no further than vault, which has been UF's weakest event since cavemen roamed
the earth. This year, the team is armed with a variety of powerful, booming,
breathtaking vaults that have made that event one of the team's strengths.
And that physical toughness has been pushed along by a surging mental
toughness, the coaches said. Head Coach Judi Aven
er called it "almost a quiet simmering," a burning desire to push themselves
to do better.
"What
we need now is a meet," Avener said. "They want to compete. They need to
compete."
Assistant Coach
Brad Wunderlich said "there definitely is a different attitude."
"I've been very happy with the workouts because the gymnasts are working on
new, different skills," Wunderlich said. "Hey, if anything
, they're mad if they don't have enough time on an event (during practice)."
If Florida has a weakness right now, it lies in the team's depth. The team's
first five or six competitors on each event can go toe-to-toe with most teams
in the country. But if UF should suffer a single injury to one of those play
ers, there are no other big scorers - at least for now and the next month or
so - to put in their place. But those gymnasts in the 7th, 8th and 9th slots
on each event are working unusually ha
rd, and that will pay off down the road when they're called on, the coaches
said.
"Everyone in t
here wants to improve," Avener said. "They're serious."
As was the case last year, the team will not be throwing its most difficult
routines early in the year. Early meets will see the team throwing solid,
safer routines, and the scores won't be as high as normal. But as the season
progresses and the gymnasts perfect certain tricks in the training gym, those
tricks will be used in competition, and the scores
will climb - just as last year's did.
It should be noted, though, that because of new, more difficult judging
rules, scores across the country won't be as high as the scores were last
year.

But the team is adjusting to the new rules, and many routines will score
well. A look at the gymn
asts and their respective strengths is as follows:
Nicole Stocker, Senior - As has been the case for years, Stocker will be
queen of bars. Not only will she have the same high-powered tricks as la
st year, but she has added more tricks and has connected three "D" elements -
the 2nd-hardest ones y
ou can do - and has improved her dismount.
Kari Robidoux, Senior - Perhaps the gymnast who feeds the most off the
crowd's enthusiasm, Robidoux's floor routine is just as flashy as last
year's, and she could very well become the first Gator to throw a
double-layout (two flips in the air with the b
ody completely extended). Her vault has been upgraded, too, and her beam
packs difficulty.

Lisa Panzironi, Senior - She will again be an all-arounder, and her floor
routine this year has been upgraded to include a difficult layout-pike (two
flips, the first one stretched, the second one piked) and two double-backs
(two flips, both tucked). On bars, she is practicing connecting two release
moves, a
supremely difficult combination that no doubt will get standing ovations.
Colleen Johnson,
Junior - An all-arounder, Johnson will be a threat to score a 9.8 or higher
on every event she touches. She has upgraded the difficulty on her bars set,
and her floor routine will include more front-tumbl
ing, which the new rules encourage. Her beam routine also will include the
famous "Gator Scale."
Mary Jo Saliba, Sophomore - A walk-on who has consistently improved during
the past two years, Saliba could very well be seen on vault and floor by the
year's end. Her double-pikes on floor ar
e particularly exciting to watch because of the perfect form she uses.
Kristen Guise, Sophomore
- Quite simply, she's a beast. An all-arounder, Guise could very well be the
strongest gymnast, physically, on the team. Her vaults soar into the air, and
her bars routine is dizzying. Guise also has the t
alent to throw both difficult tumbling and twisting elements.
Amy Myerson, Sophomore -
If Guise is the beast of the team, Myerson is the "animal." An all-arounder,
she earned that nickname last year because of her difficult routines, and she
even jokingly made an animal "growl" noise at the end-of-the-year
get-together with the booster club. Her animal-like ways continue this year,
but perhaps the best news is that her ankles seem to have returned to
full-form. "I'm starting to see some pep in
her tumbling," Wunderlich said.
Jodi Jainchill, Freshman - A walk-on from the prestigious American Twisters
gym in South Florida, Jainchill is recovering from a hurt knee. But coaches
said Jainchill epitomizes the team's work ethic. Although injured, she is in
the gym virtually every day, practicing what she can and trying to get her
knee back in shape. When Jainchill is healthy enough to make the
line-up, she likely will be on vault.
Beth Raboin, Freshman - The coaches grin when they talk about Raboin. She is
extremely powerful, and she's now beginning to combine that strength with
proper form. That means Raboin will continue to improve as the year goes on.
Look for her on vault and flo
or, where her speed and strength shine.
Chrissy Vogel, Freshman - In the fall, Vogel had to undergo very minor knee
surgery to repair an old injury, so she was a little behind her teammates as
she recovered. But that lag-time certainly didn't stop her from catching up,
fast. Vogel will be an all-arounder and should be watched particularly on
floor (a layout-pike, two double-backs) and on bars, where she throws the
entire judging book. "She will throw anything," Wunderlich said. "She has no
conscienc e. She'll be up there giggling away while everybody watches."
Kristi Bluett, Freshman - Floor is Bluett's strength, but she'll be in other
line-ups before the season's end. On floor, she'll be throwing a layout-pike,
as well as a double-pike.


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

Date: Mon, 10 Jan 94 08:46:36 -0500
From: ***@riscee.bxb.dec.com
Subject: UF's Team

Speaking of Florida, I didn't realize that Judi Avener was the coach. How
long has she been there? Back in the the early 80s, she was coaching at Penn
State.

Thanks,
Steve

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End of gymn Digest
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