President’s Message
Membership in USA Gymnastics continues to grow. As of December 1997 we had enrolled 63,500 Team members, a 4% increase over December 1996. Professional Membership is up 6%, now standing at 12,226. We have 950 Instructor Members, 732 Member Clubs and 3,700 General Members. The Member Services Department is processing sanctions and merchandise orders in addition to membership applications.
Please remember that by the start of the 1998-99 season you must be safety certified to be a professional member. This requirement was adopted by the Board in 1995 and will be enforced this fall. Please plan now to get your safety certification if you are a professional member and are not safety certified.
Jackie Fie and Jay Ashmore attended the December FIG Executive Committee meeting in Moutier, Switzerland. The United States submitted a bid for the 2003 World Championships. (As of this writing it is the only bid received by the FIG). The decision on the bid will be made at the FIG Congress in May, so let’s keep our fingers crossed that this bid is successful. The event will be conducted in Indianapolis in the fall.
The Men’s Future Stars competition was held November 13-14, at the Olympic Training Center along with the 1997 Men’s Coaches Workshop. This event attracted more than 100 talented junior gymnasts. About the same number of coaches and parents participated in the Workshop, which was very well received.
The Women’s Program held a High Performance Coaches Summit at Karolyi’s Ranch in December. The agenda was to review all aspects of the women’s international program, and to analyze what works and what doesn’t. The National Team coaches discussed our strengths, weaknesses and renewed their dedication to excellence.
The Women’s Junior Olympic Committee has decided to allow Team Member registration for Level 2 and Level 3 athletes to accommodate those states that are hosting competitions at this level. Please see the minutes of the Junior Olympic Committee meeting for more details on this change in policy.
Legendary coach Charlie Pond continues to lecture on twisting. (In fact I recently received a note from him about some lectures he is giving in Australia.) He coached Olympian Abie Grossfeld, who in turn coached Olympian Peter Kormann, who in turn coached Olympians Blaine Wilson and Kip Simons. We will look forward to seeing who Blaine and/or Kip wind up coaching.
With the incorporation of the Hall of Fame into USA Gymnastics in 1995 our organization has paid more attention to the history of the sport. A new book on the History of USA Gymnastics by Brian Schenck is now available through our Merchandise Department.
I hope you all have a chance to read the inspiring article in this issue by Dr. Louis Profeta, entitled “Can What You Say and Do Make a Difference,” about his encounter with Ron Galimore. It serves as a great reminder of how much impact coaches, judges and athletes have on people. You may not know until years later, or you may never know, but as a coach you have a tremendous affect on a young person’s life and on his/her self-esteem. Ron continues to serve the gymnastics community as the Director of the Men’s Program and inspires us all with his dedication to the sport.
This article appears in the February 1998 issue of Technique, Vol. 18, No. 2.
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