gymn Digest Sun, 19 Jun 94 Volume 2 : Issue 137

Today's Topics:
"slip-grip" (5 msgs)
"slip grip"
*Scott Keswick's inconsistency* (2 msgs)
1987 World Championships
1987 WORLDS PART2
Canadian Nationals (3 msgs)
CHRIS WALLER WILL RESUME TRAINING
Karolyi/Zmeskal
Letter to a Senator, Rep, Governor
Mary Lou Just Keeps Going and Going and Going and Going...
men gym programs by state
NCAA championships
notes
Rusan injured
The Coolest P-bar Trick (2 msgs)
USA v Romania - after the meet (2 msgs)
USA vs ROM press conference

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

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Date: Wed, 15 Jun 1994 17:03:17 -0400 (EDT)
From: ***@ocvaxa.cc.oberlin.edu
Subject: "slip-grip"

Sorry about that.
A so-called "slip-grip" is where the gymnast is in a handstand with a
normal overgrip, then swings over the handstand maintaining the same overgrip.
This would be a front giant swing with a normal giant grip.
Stacy swung it all the way around to finish in another handstand.
Did I get the grip terminology correct on this one, gymn folks?
Cara

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

Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 15:29:53 PDT
From: ***@cisco.com
Subject: "slip-grip"

Also known as "wrong way giants" ?!

Chops

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

Date: Wed, 15 Jun 1994 16:20:41 +0800
From: ***@Eng.Sun.COM
Subject: "slip-grip"

What makes them kind of scary is that it's really easy to peel off. The
motion of travel tends to open your hand, while the *normal* way the motion
tends to give you a stronger grip on the bar. It looks to me like the way
gymnasts keep from peeling off is by placing their hands in discrete
positions as they swing around, as opposed to sliding their hands with
the motion of the swing.

Maybe someone that's actually done them can give a clearer indication of
the actual technique. The only time I've really done the slip grip
thing is when I've inadvertently gone over on a cast to handstand. You
have to wrap to keep from peeling off on the way down. I assume it's
the same thing on the way up.

-George

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

Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 16:38:19 PDT
From: ***@geoworks.com
Subject: "slip-grip"

Basically as you shift your hands around the bar as you are
swinging down before you get to a point where any weight is on them. By
shifting them (flexing your forearm) you place your hand back on top of the
bar (well, your fingers are on top of the bar, not really your entire
palm), and this allows you to keep your grip. If you don't shift your grip
you won't have any of your hand on top of the bar, and so when you swing
through the bottom you will peel off and fly backward like a horribly low
reverse flyaway.

Even more scary (and rare) than this type of swing is a reverse
undergrip, where you don normal giants in the reverse grip, requiring you
to switch your wrists on the down swing (usally requiring an elbow bend).
The only person I've seen do these was Steve Runyon of Cal from a few years
back. They weren't the most pretty of swing, but they earn lots of respect
with me (I believe he did a gienger out of his second reverse undergrip
giant...)

Dave

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

Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 22:18:53 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: "slip-grip"

>What makes them kind of scary is that it's really easy to peel off.

Wasn't this the move that caused Michelle Campi's injury?

Mara

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

Date: Thu, 16 Jun 94 09:38:33 -0400
From: ***@riscee.bxb.dec.com
Subject: "slip grip"

A guy on our team used to do these at the start of his set. A problem turned
out that the judges weren't sure if he meant to do it or not, so at times he
had deductions taken. What we had to do was be very vocal as he was doing it
to let the judges know that he *meant* to do it.

As an aside, there was talk of flying off the high bar during giants. In our
high school gym, we had those big partitions that closed off the gym into
different sections. One day, a guy on our team was doing giants (not wrong-way,
but regular way) and he slipped off, hit the partition wall vertically upside
down and then slid down the wall. A bunch of us from our high school team got
together a week or so ago, and this came up, and we had the biggest laugh. Of
course, laughing the hardest was the guy who did it.

Okay, back to 1994...

Steve

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

Date: Sat, 18 Jun 94 15:33:02 18000
From: ***@freenet.scri.fsu.edu
Subject: *Scott Keswick's inconsistency*

This subject has been bothering me for quite some time.I've been
criticized in the past for my views on Scott's gymnastics and would like to know if
I'm the only one who feels this way.Here goes...

*********************************************************************************
************/
Has anyone ever counted the number of falls that Scott Keswick has had
in a worlds or olympic competition?I just did.

1989 worlds-2 falls
1992 olympics-4 falls
1993 worlds-5 falls
1994 world-4 falls

Average # of falls-3.75(!)

I don't have time to count his major breaks at dual meets,USA
championships,Winter Nationals,etc. but from what i recall he hardly ever hit six for six
routines!

I think it's VERY unfair that he is put either second to last or last
in the lineup.The scores tend to start low for the first gymnast competing and
gradually build up from there.If you're put at the end of the lineup,you're likely
to get the highest score of the team whether you deserve it or not.He IS our best
gymnast when he hits,but the coaches should know by now that he chokes at
international competitions.In exchange for putting him last on event,he's potentially
preventing his teammates from earning a spot in all around or event finals.Even if
he falls he'll get a good score.The person who goes first or earlier in the
lineup and HITS will most likely get an equal or lesser score to Scott's missed
routine.Am I making any sense?

I read an article on Scott right before '94 world and he said that he
was going to add some more difficulty to his routine.MORE DIFFICULTY?!He can't
even hit some of the routines he has now!It just doesn't make sense to me.

This isn't an article blasting Scott Keswick as a person.I just think
it isn't fair to the other gymnasts who work just as hard (and in some cases
harder) as he does and come up with the short end of the stick.The media seems to
forget about the "other "guys who work their asses off for hours day after day and
get shafted when a worlds or olympic championships comes up.I'd better stop
here,I'm starting to get pretty worked up over this.

Bottom line...Scott Keswick is inconsistent.The coaches that select
the lineup need to be fair to the other gymnasts.Scott has been given the chance to
anchor the team on 4 occasions and totaled more falls than anyone who preceded
him
.
Thanx for listening,

Mcbilly

--

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

Date: Sat, 18 Jun 94 20:47:31 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: *Scott Keswick's inconsistency*

>I think it's VERY unfair that he is put either second to last or last
in the lineup.The

Considering that Billy's statistics have verified something I have noticed in
the past (that it is a longstanding situation), I have to agree with him
completely. Can you imagine the Russians or any top team keeping someone
with the same history last?

I'm not saying this to be mean, either, but if defense of the *other* US
guys.

Mara

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

Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 20:42:43 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: 1987 World Championships

>The
Sovs choked in optionals and it was OO's beam fall (all the others were
dropped scores) that kept her from the '88 Olympic team (IMHO)

What was the real story behind the "broken grip" anyway...

Mara

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

Date: Tue, 14 Jun 94 14:06:02 18000
From: ***@freenet.scri.fsu.edu
Subject: 1987 WORLDS PART2

Finishing my report from the other day.

The American women were pretty damn awful.They lookeed very unprepared
for the meet.Kelly Garrison fell off bars(twice!),beam and went out of
on every pass of floor.Phoebe Mills fell on beam and floor.Melissa
Marlowe had a major wobbleAND fell on beam.She also bit it on her
double back dismount on floor.Kristie Phillips(after a HORRIBLE
compulsory competition),Sabrina Mar,and Rhonda Faehn hit all their
optional routines.The tape didn't show compulsories,but I can imagine.

Dobre winning all around.Once again I thought the title was given to
the wrong competitor.I'm not really a Shushunova fan,but she was the
clear winner.Dobre had that bent leg reverse hect on bars and took two
steps on beam.They both had VERY different styles,so it was hard to
say who was actually the best gymnast.Shushunova(from what I
recall)rocked all of her sets even though the scores didn't reflect it.

The soviet men BLEW away the rest of the competition.China lost Li
Ning on vault(twisted ankle,) but I don''t think they would have
challenged the sovs anyway.

THE US MEN ACTUALLY HIT MOST OF THEIR SETS.Pretty scary I know.It's a
good thing Mr."American finalist on HB in 93" wasn't there ay
Susan?Tim Daggett injured himself on vault,so they lost a few tenths
on the remaining events.Scott Johnson was working with a sprained
ankle,and skipped floor and vault.The only falls i recall are Tom
Schlesinger on pommels and Charles Lakes on HB.He really had an awsome
set.

That's all I can think of now.One thing i noticed is that those
routines in 87 were that there were a wide variety of skills being
shown.In recent years,you can usually predict what skills they will be
doing.I think I liked the o'85-88 code better than the ones that
followed.

Billy
--

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

Date: Wed, 15 Jun 1994 12:46:34 -0400 (EDT)
From: ***@ocvaxa.cc.oberlin.edu
Subject: Canadian Nationals

Bet y'all thought I was dead or something. Actually no - just
recovering from an icky sunburn in Florida because Cara forgot how pale and
sensitive her skin got during the loooooong northern Ohio winter.
Well, like an idiot, I didn't know that along with the L'eggs
mini-marathon was the tri-meet, but this past weekend the CBC showed an hour of
the Canadian Nationals. It was the same type of coverage as their worlds
coverage, with one routine on one event and several on another.
Stacy Galloway looked interesting, but didn't thrill me. Her floor
style has potential, but pointless choreography took over. She does have an
original trick on bars that's now named after her - a "slip-grip" front giant.
I was impressed.
Karen was asking where Stella Umeh was - the announcers mentioned that
she is not able to train vault, beam and floor throughout the year because of a
bad ankle - that's why she is very good at bars. Perhaps that was a factor.
Saw lots of 2 1/2 twists on floor and dismounts from beam. Some front
tumbling. Beam wasn't that impressive except for a girl who's from Russia and
moved with her parents/coaches to Canada. Was stupid and can't remember her
name.
Richard Iketani's coach is to-die-for. Susan, do you have any info on
him?
Reason number 1001 why Cara gets annoyed with Elfi Schlegel as a
commentator - calling the toss-full on bars a "Miller" and saying how Shannon
was the first to compete it.

Rachele - I loved your "Mad Libs" example of Bela's speech at US-ROM
dual meet.
Does anyone know who is planning to compete at Olymmpic Festival this
year?
Cara

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

Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 14:53:13 EDT
From: ***@MIT.EDU
Subject: Canadian Nationals

Cara said:
> Stacy Galloway looked interesting, but didn't thrill me. Her floor
>style has potential, but pointless choreography took over. She does have an
>original trick on bars that's now named after her - a "slip-grip" front giant.
>I was impressed.

Could someone explain what the "Slip-grip" looks like?

Thanks,
--Robyn

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

Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 14:43:32 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Canadian Nationals

> Richard Iketani's coach is to-die-for. Susan, do you have any info on
him?

First off I think you mean Richard IKEDA right? Unless YUKIO IKETONI of
Japan has some illegitmate brothers in Canada I don't know about. :-) I
actually don't know too much about him (and nothing at all about his coach
sorry)...I first saw him at the '93 Worlds and I think he trains part of the
time (or did) at the same gym as Stacey Galloway and Stella Umeh (or at least
nearby) since Patsy (Stella's mom) was very insistant that we cheer him on
(and seemed to know him quite well)...Shouting things like "All the girls are
watching Richard don't mess up now!". Later that day I was siting with some
of the British gymnasts (simply by coincidence) and Richard came over and
chatted with the guy next to me for over an hour. I being the pushy, bossy,
girl that I am joined their conversation at several points. I never
understood whether Richard had trained in England or this other guy (whose
name I never did discover but whom I sat next and talked to a bit for about 3
days...he was 6th on the Brit. team at the time...he told me that since he
was quite miffed this wasn't a "team" worlds so he could finally compete) had
trained in Canada. I would suspect the latter...but don't quote me on it.
The only thing I learned is that we all agreed that Kharkov should have won
prelims, Pagen (sp?) was totally insane, and what the hell was Vladimir
Gogolodaze doing competing again away? Also that he (Richard) was *real*
embarrassed by Patsy's antics. Oh yeah, we also all made fun of Scherbo when
he walked by wearing sunglasses inside the arena with Kan carrying all of his
stuff like he was the grand pubahh (sp?) or something.

Susan

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

Date: Tue, 14 Jun 94 21:05:32 18000
From: ***@freenet.scri.fsu.edu
Subject: CHRIS WALLER WILL RESUME TRAINING

I just heard that Chris Waller will probably be training at Gold Cup
in Albuquerque,NM soon.Also making the move(I think) is Robby Keifer
from Houston.

mcbilly

--

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

Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 20:42:48 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Karolyi/Zmeskal

>How about this one? Doesn't it seem strange that Bela announces his coming
out of retirement two days before hosting the jr. elite training camp at
his ranch?

Was Bela actually THERE, though?

Mara

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

Date: Fri, 17 Jun 1994 16:14:41 +1000
From: ***@pharm.med.upenn.edu
Subject: Letter to a Senator, Rep, Governor

Below you will find a letter written to senators, representatives &
governors. Please fill in the blank with your representatives name and the
stars with the names of the schools that are in your state that are at
risk. I have sent them to all of the people in PA, and Dick Aronson (the
author) has sent them to every state official that has a school represented
in the NCAA. Please, send this out if you can. All addresses of
representatives are listed in the phone book. You may only get a cursory
answer, but at least it won't just be Dick writing to these officials.

Thank you for taking the time to do this.

Mayland

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

Senator _________________
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator __________:

I'm writing to alert you that the student-athletes attending ************
********************** will soon lose any chance to participate in the
men's NCAA gymnastic championship.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) guidelines state there
must be 40 participating teams in order to sponsor a championship. This
rule was written to ensure that new sports gain a minimum level of support
before a championship is organized.

Unfortunately, due to both increasing costs and legislation demanding
minimum gender equity programs, the number of colleges sponsoring men's
gymnastic teams has dropped from 1398 in 1976 to 35 today. Nonetheless,
the sport retains its international appeal and some 32,000 young American
men currently participate in gymnastic clubs.

Unless action is taken soon these young men will be denied the opportunity
to compete in a national championship and America will lose an athletic
tradition dating back to 1938 and most likely end any international or
Olympic hopes we might have.

I remind you that as an educational body, the NCAA was chartered "to
initiate, stimulate and improve intercollegiate athletics" and "to maintain
a vial component of the educational program." Yet, nowhere in the NCAA
statement of purpose does it start that its mission only applies to certain
sports. The NCAA should postpone its plans to end the championship after
1995 to allow the athletic directors, coaches, athletes and NCAA to find an
alternative. A temporary injunction will not impede any party but it will
give our sport a last chance.

If you support our looking for an alternative to termination, then I urge
you to call or write to the athletic director at
************************************
***************************************************************, and to the
NCAA itself (6201 College Blvd. Overland Park, KS 66211 (913) 339-1906 in
support of continuing this opportunity for these young athletes.

Sincerely yours,

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

Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 19:22:01 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Mary Lou Just Keeps Going and Going and Going and Going...

Excerpts From and article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazzette (June 15)...

-Her perkiness keeps going and going and going. Mary Lou Retton, America's
favorite gymnastic pixie, is still churning out commercials 10 years after
she back-flipped her way to mega-stardom.

-The 4-foot-9, 95-pounder who gave new meaning to "perky" has come out with a
new batch of Revco commercials, touting the advantages of its computerized
pharmacy system.

-It took figure skater Nancy Kerrigan about two days to lose her halo. But
Retton has parlayed her Olympic gold into one of the longest advertising
winning streaks for an ex-athlete.

-Some TV viewers groan when they still see the gymnast who preceded the bunny
on Energizer battery ads, and who once bubbled over the airwaves like an elf
on speed.

-"There was a time when she was cute and all, but give me a break," says John
Dymun, chairman and creative director of Dymun-Nelson & Co. in Pittsburgh.
"Someone should take her batteries out."

-Revco, based in Twinsburg, Ohio, was smart enough to tone down Retton's
trademark bubbliness - "de-perk her," if you will.

-An earlier Revco campaign showed a perkier Mary Lou, but "research showed
there was a little bit of an irritability factor," says Brian Keir,

-account supervisor at Meldrum & Fewsmith, the chain's Cleveland advertising
agency. "It's very hard for her to be un-perky, but she takes direction
well."

-"If they don't want perky, I don't give them perky," Retton says during a
telephone interview from her home in Houston, Texas.

-Donna Belajac, a Pittsburgh casting director, says Retton is cast well for
Revco because "she looks like an adult now rather than a teenie bopper. She
looks like she might have a kid or two. (She's married but has no kids).
She's attractive and homespun, but not gorgeous. You wouldn't cast a gorgeous
person for a drugstore." "

-Retton, by the way, hates the word "perky." She prefers to describe herself
as "high-energy."

-"Perky is like a doll you can't turn off," says Retton. She's extremely
pleasant, but not sugary, on the phone.

-Some people wondered whether you could turn Retton off after she became the
first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics and then made
millions starring in ads for Wheaties, Energizer battery and Vidal Sassoon.

-But Retton says she turned down a lot of endorsements. "Some people were
sick of me," she says. "But I learned you can't please everybody."

-Now Retton only does ads for Revco and Naturistics cosmetics. Even Retton,
who also does motivational speaking for corporations, is surprised by her
advertising longevity. Maybe people keep gravitating to that all-American
wholesomeness in an era when baseball players whine about the millions they
make and sell autographs to kids. Retton says she loves signing autographs -
and you believe her.

-"Whether people think she's too perky or not," Keir says, "she's genuinely
nice and that comes across."

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

Date: Fri, 17 Jun 1994 16:25:15 +1000
From: ***@pharm.med.upenn.edu
Subject: men gym programs by state

I am making this list of the programs by state so, that you can fill in the
name of the school(s) in your state at the asterisks in the letter to an
official representative in your state (those of you in the USA) - These are
NOT in alphabetical order!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mayland

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

NY
Army, Cornell University, Cortland State University, Syracuse University

UT
Brigham Young University

VA
College of William & Mary, Radford University, Stanford University,

CA
Cal State Fullerton, San Jose State University, University of California -
Berkley, UC of Los Angeles (dropped this year), Santa Barbara, Davis

IA
Iowa State University (dropped this year),University of Iowa

OH
Kent State University (dropped this year), Ohio State University,

MI
Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Western Michigan University

MD
Navy - Annapolis

IL
Northern Illinois University, University of Illinois, University of
Illinois at Chicago

PA
Penn State University, Temple University, University of Pittsburgh

NJ
Princeton University

CT
Southern Conneticut State University

MA
Springfield College, UMASS - Amherst

VT
University of Vermont

CO
United States Air Force Academy

MN
University of Minnesota

NE
University of Nebraska

NM
University of New Mexico

OK
University of Oklahoma

Wi
University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh

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

Date: Thu, 16 Jun 1994 14:00:20 +1000
From: ***@pharm.med.upenn.edu
Subject: NCAA championships

What follows is a form letter put out by the NCAA regarding the process
they have used to establish the present guidelines for a NCAA championship.

Men's gymnastics, as is noted in the letter, does not meet the
requirements. At this time they are working to solicit senators,
governors, and the president to provide support for schools that keep up
the athletic - scholarship successes that Men's gym has provided over the
years. (since 1938)

If you know anyone, or have the inclination to write a letter to a
government official or someone at a university that has a program it would
be very helpful. Every additional voice that is heard helps the people who
think no one cares, realize that someone cares. It could make a
difference.

Thanks for taking the time to read this -- I hope that it will help you to
take an action in saving this sport at the collegiate level.

FYI There are 32,000 male gymnasts between the ages of 8 and 17.

Mayland
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



March 21, 1994

Dear:

This is in response to your concern regarding the NCAA National Collegiate
Men's Gymnastics Championships. Below is a summary of actions take to
date.

First, the merits of men's gymnastics as a sport are not in question.
However, the NCAA is an organization designed to serve the needs of its
membership. And each year, fewer and fewer of its members hoose to sponsor
men's gymnastics.

And as you may know, all NCAA bylaws are adopted and/or amended by vote of
NCAA member institutions at the annual NCAA Convention; neither of the
Executive Committee, the Association nor any one individual is in a
position to grant continuation of a championship.

Before January 1994, NCAA bylaws stated that a National Collegiate
Championship may be continued or established if at least seven percent of
all active members of the Association sponsor the sport on a varsity
intercollegiate basis, and that a championship that falls below the minimum
sponsorship for two consecutive years shall be discontinued. For the
National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics championships, the minimum required
sponsorship was 60 institutions (seven percent of the 864 member
institutions in all three divisions. However, sponsorship of men's
gymnastics fell from 45 institutions in 1989-1990 to 36 in 1993-94.

It should be noted that men's gymnastics is not the only sport that has
suffered a decline in sponsorship. NCAA championships in water polo,
rifle, skiing ad fencing were also in jeopardy.

In May 1992, the Executive Committee determined that a comprehensive review
of the championships program was in order. So that no championship would
be discontinued during this review, the membership passed a moratorium
which specified that during the 1992-93, 1993-94, and 1994-95 academic
years, an existing National Collegiate Championship shall not be eliminated
due to the championship's failure to meet minimum, sponsorship
requirements. Upon expiration of the legislation, the championships would
be subject to the current regulations regarding minimum sponsorship
requirements.

A questionnaire was mailed to the chief executive officer, faculty
athletics representative, director of athletics and senior woman
administrator at every member institution and conference. This survey
solicited information on a variety of subjects, including minimum
sponsorship requirements of establishment and continuation of NCAA
championships.

The majority of survey respondents favored discontinuation of a
championship that falls below the minimum sponsorship level. Based on this
study, in-person meetings with sports committee chairs and follow-up
feedback from the membership, the NCAA Council was asked to draft a
proposal to establish 40 as the minimum number of institutions that must
sponsor a sport in order for the NCAA to conduct a championship in that
sport. This proposal was adopted at the 1994 NCAA Convention by a vote of
member institutions.

At the 1993 Convention, a legislative proposal was submitted which would
allow championships to continue provided receipts covered game expenses and
further, that individual institutions cover transportation and per diem
costs. Ten institutions sponsored the proposal (eight are required for
consideration); but, there was not sufficient support at the Convention and
the proposal was not adopted. An attempt was made to submit the proposal
again for consideration at the 1994 Convention; however, only three
institutions agreed to sponsor it.

The membership has demonstrated sensitivity to the plight of those sports
declining in sponsorship and has responded by establishing the moratorium
and lowering the minimum sponsoring requirement. Many attempts have been
made to afford men's gymnastics the opportunity to continue under the
auspices of the NCAA while at the same time maintaining established
standards and principles applicable to all NCAA championships.

I hope this explains the current status of the men's gymnastics
championships. Thank you for your interest.

Sincerely;

NCAA Championships

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

Date: Sat, 18 Jun 94 20:47:38 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: notes

A couple of unconfirmed items from Prodigy (originally from something called
Access Atlanta - is that the USOC bb?).

1-Tanya Maiers has left Steve Nunno to train at Colorado Aeriels (home of
Doni Thompson and Kristy Powell). According to that post, Steve says he
asked her to leave after he found out her family was checking out other gyms.
He blamed her parents for not supporting him

(can't say I'm surprised...)

2-Kim's knee injury from USA-ROM required arthroscopic surgery and will keep
her out for 8 to 10 weeks (don't know whether this means out of full training
of just some things - I would think she could still do bars).

Remember, this stuff is third hand and unconfirmed...

Mara

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

Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 20:42:55 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: Rusan injured

>little Romanian Claudia Rusan has a serious back injury and cannot
train. That is why she hadn't been competing recently. Let's hope
she gets well soon. IMHO, she's the best up and coming young
>Romanian star at the moment.

I think she'll have serious competition for that title from Bican and Ghimpu,
not to mention Hatagan

Mara

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

Date: Tue, 14 Jun 1994 13:52:12 +1000
From: ***@pharm.med.upenn.edu
Subject: The Coolest P-bar Trick

found this very old post from 4/14/94 And thought I might identify the
person who does this very cool p-bar trick as Trent Wells from UC Berkley -
coach is Barry Weiner and it is known (at this time) as the "FREAK"

Mayland

the description (just as a reminder)follows:

>
>At the San Jose Spartan Invite a few months ago, a Cal gymnast stepped
>up after the competition and swung in a support a few times on P's.
>Then he swung his body through the front swing position and dislocated
>to a handstand _while maintaining his grip on the bars_. It's kind of
>like when people show a manna on floor and then dislocate to a handstand,
>but on floor you don't have to have your thumbs turned competely in.
>Picture yourself in a handstand, hands positioned in front of you
>as if you were doing a regular handstand, but your shoulders have
>rotated a complete 360 degrees. yarrgh.
>
>Some of us judges were discussing it later, trying to figure out what
>we'd rate it, and the general consensus was that it was a back-toss to
>handstand without letting go. As such, it deserved a "D"--one grade
>up from a regular back-toss to handstand.
>
>Myself, I would have given it an "F"
>
>--Kubs

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

Date: Tue, 14 Jun 1994 15:20:35 -0500 (CDT)
From: ***@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu
Subject: The Coolest P-bar Trick

While we are on the topic, I should mention the coolest p-bar trick I
have seen. At the 1988 Chinese National Championships in Shenyang, a guy
did a cross arm giant on one rail. He started in a handstand on the end,
crossed his left hand over his right, aimed about 45 degrees off center,
and bailed into a very easy giant swing. His hip must have been an inch
from the T-bolt. Talk about trusting the four screws that hold the bar
to the post.

David

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

Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 20:41:07 EDT
From: ***@aol.com
Subject: USA v Romania - after the meet

>PS - Kim hurt her leg and ankel at the exhibition after the men's meet.

That's what I thought, too, but when I asked her how her ankle was the next
day, she said the injury was to her knee, but was much
better.......?..............

Mara

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

Date: Fri, 17 Jun 1994 10:14:18 +1000
From: ***@pharm.med.upenn.edu
Subject: USA v Romania - after the meet

>I notice you mention Ron Howard as coaching Mihai here. Is he Ed Burch's
>assistant coach?

Yes, Ron Howard is Ed Burch's Assistant - he was a gymnast at Cal
(fullerton) and from what others have said he was good. Personally I never
had a chance to see his work, but from the work of Mihai I would say he
makes a good coach.


>>Shannon did not come to the dance.
>
>Did the whole Dynamo crew skip it, or just Shannon?

No, everyone else was there, just Shannon didn't come.

Mayland (in response to Mara's questions)

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Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 14:31:13 EDT
From: ***@MIT.EDU
Subject: USA vs ROM press conference

Hi, I haven't forgot about reporting on the press conference, just haven't
managed to find any time! It was pretty boring and short though, so if you're
waiting for it with baited breath, don't bother. Also, I taped it but my
recording turned out really badly, especially when the girls were speaking
(so quitely) so I may nix the idea of trying to report the exact quotes, and
just tell what the general idea was. (Only Shannon, Larissa and Gina were
there, plus Steve Nunno and Octaviun (sp?) Belu)

--Robyn

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