Dina Amoroso Is One Elite Gymnast Who Stayed

KIPS, the Kids in Perfect Shape gymnastics club in Anaheim, was once Orange County’s premier team.

But then came the 1972 Olympic Games and Cathy Rigby, a product of the Southern California Acro Team (SCATS) from Huntington Beach.

KIPS suddenly had competition, and soon was replaced as the county’s top club. Though the program flourished in the mid ‘70s, KIPS lost many athletes to SCATS, which eventually produced 1984 Olympians Michelle Dusserre and Pam Byleck among other world-class competitors.

The dilemma was simple. KIPS would train gymnasts at the lower levels, but once an athlete became good enough to qualify for the Elite level--the best of club competition--she would inevitably transfer to SCATS, which had developed a national reputation.

KIPS, however, is on the rebound. After adding three Elite-level athletes last year, Coach Dennis Mailly expects the program to grow.

“We were in a slump, and it took us a while to re-establish the Elite program at all,” he said. “SCATS produced a couple of Olympic Team members and pulled in some Elites from across the United States and we’ve been trying to catch them ever since.”

Mailly, from Stanton, became owner and head coach of KIPS in January, 1983, with the idea of rebuilding the once-strong Elite program. The program reached a low point in 1981 when the club’s only Elite gymnast--Lisa Mitzel--left to attend the University of Utah. She was a 1980 Class 1 Senior All-Around champion.

“Being so close to SCATS makes it hard to build up a program,” Mailly said. “We’ve dominated the Class 3, Class 2, and Class 1 levels, but every time we started getting somebody good enough to go Elite, they went to SCATS.”

Mailly said a breakthrough came last April when KIPS’ Dina Amoroso, 18, of Placentia, gained Elite status at regional qualifying meet. In May, Amoroso qualified for the national championships at a meet at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

“I was really surprised that I qualified for the championships because it was my first year, and everything was new to me,” Amoroso said. “The rest of the year was hard, too, because I wasn’t used to the level of competition. It’s so much different.”

The highlight of her year came last August when she placed fifth at the National Sports Festival in Baton Rouge, La. Mailly says that Amoroso’s loyalty to KIPS has helped him establish the program. Amoroso said she never thought of leaving.

“Even though SCATS had the reputation, I knew I would get more individual attention here,” Amoroso said. “My coaches understand me and I’ve done very well.”

Now, she and Mailly are hoping others join their ranks.