Ohio Boy's USA Gymnastics

State Newsletter

Volume XIX Number 4 - September 30,1998



1998 - 1999 Competitive Calendar

USA Gymnastics Boy's Calendar

The following meet dates were developed at the August 30th, 1998 meeting:

October 1998

18 Future Stars Regional Evaluation at BGC in Illinois

30 Region V Mini Congress in Chicago, Ill.

November 1998

1 Judges Course at OSU in Columbus

7 Judges Course at UofM in Ann Arbor

12 - 15 Future Stars Clinic at OTC in Colorado

15 Sunrise Open at SGA in Toledo

22 USAGym Safety Certification Course at WSG in Copley, Ohio - phone 330-666-9401

December 1998

5 JO Judges Course at GLG in Avon Lake

6 Ohio Boys Invitational at GLG in Avon Lake

12 - 13 Hocking Valley Invitational at HVG in Lancaster

13 Holiday Classic at OGI in Youngstown

January 1999

9 - 10 West Side Ohio Invitational at WS in Copley

10 Gym World Cup at GW in Broadview Heights

16 - 17 Windy City Invitational in Chicago

23 - 24 Jason Whitfield Invitational at UofM in Ann Arbor

23 - 24 Hyde Park Invitational at HP in Cincinnati

30 - 31 GTCO Invitational at GTCO in Franklin

31 Olympic Dreams Invitational at ODG in Youngstown

February 1999

6 - 7 Winter Cup at YGC in Youngstown

6 - 7 Go For it Classic in Las Vegas

6 - 7 Peachtree Invitational in Atlanta

11 - 14 Black Jack Invitational in Las Vegas

13 - 14 Pittsburgh North Stars Invitational in Pittsburgh Pa.

19 - 21 Cereal City Invitational in Battle Creek, Michigan

20 - 21 Winterfest at QCG in Cincinnati

27 - 28 CGA Open at CGA in Columbus

March 1999

6 - 7 Sunrise Gymfest at SGA in Toledo

6 - 7 Indy Open at ISG in Indianapolis

6 - 7 Midwest Invitational at MG in Dublin

13 - 14 GLG Invitational at GLG in Avon Lake

13 - 14 Spring Fling at HVG in Lancaster

21 - 21 YGC Open at YGC in Youngstown

27 - 28 USAGym Ohio State Championships at HVG in Lancaster

April 1999

8 - 10 NCAA Regional Championships

17 - 18 USAGym Regional Championships at MSU in East Lansing, Michigan

22 - 25 NCAA National Championships at Lincoln, Nebraska

May 1999

7 - 9 USAGym JO National Championships at UofH in Houston, Texas

23 LEAAU Championships at OGI in Youngstown

August 1999

1 - 7 AAU Junior Olympic National Championships in Cleveland, Ohio

26 - 30 USAGym National Congress in Sacramento, California

Minutes of Fall Meeting - 8/30/98

Attendees

- Kenny Kawanishi - Gem City Gymnastics: GCG

- Don Sellman - Gymnastics Training Center of Ohio: GTCO

- Mike Serra - Hocking Valley Gymnastics Center: HV

- Jeff Green - Columbus Gymnastics Academy: CGA

- Mike Hoffman - Hyde Park Gymnastics: HPG

- Norm Sturz - Queen City Gymnastics: QCG

- Bob Witmer - Region V Director

- Keith Pettit - QCG

- Garth Plyer - Lake Erie Gymnastics: LEGS

- Tim Bosick - Youngstown Gymnastics Center: YGC

- Steve Glenn - West Side: WS

- Ron Ferris - Ohio Gymnastics Institute: OGI

- Nugzar Gviniashvili - OGI

- Dave Forister - Gymnastics World: GW

II. Minutes

Dave Forister - acting State Chairman - called the meeting to order at 3:15pm. The minutes from the spring meeting - entrusted to Josh O'Toole were not available and it was decided to table approval of the minutes until the next meeting.

The financial report was submitted by acting chairman Forister and a motion to accept was made by Mike Serra and seconded by Keith Pettit - motion approved. A copy of the report is on the back of Appendix B - the Qualifying Score Chart.

Notification was given that all coaches and judges at any sanctioned USAG meet would need to be a safety certified member of USA Gymnastics

Judges courses were announced for Nov. 1 at OSU, Nov. 7th at U of Mich and a JO only on Dec. 5th at Great Lakes Gymnastics. The judging assigner was tentatively named as Larry Byerly. A rate of $50.00 per competition was suggested and a motion so made by Don Sellman, seconded by Mike Serra - motion approved.

The national office established maximum fees for state, regional and national competitions at $40.00, $60.00 and $100.00 respectively. Keith Pettit brought a motion to establish the state championship entry fee at $35.00, seconded by Tim Bosick - motion approved.

A discussion arose regarding Regional Team Colors. Those who wish to have input should notify Bob Witmer before the regional meeting on 10/17/98.

A discussion arose regarding the regional competition session #'s and qualifying scores. A motion by Keith Pettit that the regional championship qualifying score for class IV gymnasts be set at 40.00. The motion was seconded - motion approved. The following scores were recommended as qualifying scores to Regional Championships:

Class III: 36.00

Class IV: 40.00

Class V: 47.00

A suggestion by Ron Ferris that "Capital Cup" format be used for class III gymnasts died for lack of a second.

The new USA Gym Foreign Athlete policy was presented as: Any athlete who has been a US resident for 6 months and is registered for school would be allowed to compete for all honors except status as a national team member.

The state championship meet was awarded to Hocking Valley Gymnastics and will be held on March 27 & 28, 1999.

A discussion arose regarding awards and it was decided not to act on the ribbons which were not available for last year's state championships.

The Jerry Thome Award balloting will be included with the February 15th newsletter. A motion was made by Ron Ferris, seconded by Mike Hoffman that the Ballots would be included with the Ohio State Championship information - motion passed.

Mike Serra and Steve Glen were both nominated as candidates for the Jerry Thome Award.

It was decided that Dave Forister would continue as Ohio Boy's State Chairman.

It was decided that Ron Ferris would reassume the duties of Ohio Boy's State Secretary.

Don Sellman made a point of congratulating to Mike Serra and Steve Glenn who qualified two gymnasts (Dick Huntworth and Brad Kenna respectively) to the Championships of the USA.

A motion from the floor was made by _____? to change the qualifying score to the state championships for class VI to 44.0, seconded by Norm Sturz - motion passed. **

** Ron Ferris offered to develop a poster which could be placed into each gym listing each club's class VI qualifiers, their score and the date it was achieved in order to help motivate gymnasts to hit the score and to help coaches track the scores of their class VI gymnasts.

Another item from the floor came in the question of whether the team entry fees for state championships were mandatory. It was determined that team entry fees are not mandatory.

Finally the decision was made that the publication dates for the newsletter, which were published in the August newsletter, would not be the best dates for the needs of the membership. The new dates were determined and are listed on the front of the newsletter.

Chairman Forister adjourned the meeting at approximately 6:15pm.

Updated Mailing List

Included with this newsletter is an updated mailing list - attached at appendix A - a separate document for reference. The list has been updated from a 1996 original list and includes over 180 gymnast, judges and coaches. Even though many may not still be active we hope that this newsletter will rekindle their interest. Please forward your current phone numbers (work, home and fax), your e-mail address and any corrections to your address as listed to the State Secretary

Score Chart for Class VI Gymnasts

As decided at the Fall Meeting - a score of 44.0 was established as the minimum score for entry in to Class VI State Championship Meets. Included with this newsletter is a score chart to assist in tracking dates of competitions and qualification. This score chart includes all the competitions on the USAGym calendar as of the date of publication and can be used as a generic sheet for all levels of competition. This chart is included as Appendix B.

State & Regional Web Sites

Keith Pettit has developed a Web Site for the State of Ohio. It can be accessed by going to the USA Gymnastics site and linking to the Region V site or directly to the following address: https://members.tripod.com/gymnst45/ohio.html . The site was very difficult for me to get to, but when I stumbled onto it I was very pleased - GREAT JOB KEITH!!

The Region V Web Site has not been updated in quite a while. The person who will be maintaining the site is Kevin Chope from the Chicago area. The Region V site can be accessed by it's link on the USA Gymnastics Men's program section on the web.

National Qualifying Scores

The Junior Olympic Program Committee (JOPC) met on August 20, 1998 in Indianapolis. Several changes were made - those minutes appear in Technique Magazine. The fees for JO National Championships were raised to $100.00 per gymnasts. The format for JO Nationals was to remain the same. The qualification scores have been changed to:

Jr. Elite I = 45.50

Jr. Elite II = 40.50

Jr. Elite III = 47.00

My Two Cents

Here we go on another "mission from god" - off to another competitive season. We will be testing our ability to train young people to perform complicated, difficult and risky skills everyday. What about testing our own abilities? Not just as coaches in a gymnastics environment, but also as professionals in a career which often accepts as standard mediocre and even bad administrative skills. Help our profession continue to grow and thrive by contributing your best efforts towards the professional end of our sport / career. Make yourself a part of the group which gets things done - contribute an article to the State Newsletter or to Technique Magazine. Be certain to get your entries in on time. Know and follow the rules for each level in which you have athletes participating. Go to a judging course and get certified. Most of us have at least a semblance of a formal education and can put some of the talents which we have towards making men's gymnastics a better sport.
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