Notebook : Prior Violation Proved Costly to Foster

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--Hugh Foster, the former Newport Harbor High volleyball star who Tuesday was suspended from U.S. Olympic Festival competition and sent home, was disciplined more severely than three other players because of a rules violation in a previous Festival, said Carl Henkel, one of three players who were suspended but allowed to stay.

“He had a previous record,” said Henkel of Redondo Beach Thursday as he watched his North club receive gold medals. “He did something last year--I don’t know what--and then they just slapped his hand.”

Foster competed in the 1985 and ’86 Festivals.

Foster, Henkel, Samantha Shaver of Mountain View and Cheri Boyer of Poway were suspended by the U.S. Volleyball Assn. for violating dorm regulations, apparently breaking a 12 p.m. curfew by less than an hour.

“The punishment was harsh for what we did, but we did it and we knew the rules,” said Henkel, adding that the players were in the dorm but not in their rooms.

Foster’s East team finished fourth in the competition, losing the bronze-medal game Thursday to the South.

“With Hugh here, we would have been in the gold medal match,” said Robert Pierce of Eden, N.Y., the East team captain.

Organizers and competitors were ready to begin the boardsailing competition at Kerr Lake Thursday, but found themselves missing one ingredient: Wind.

“To have a race, you have to be able to move,” said Major Hall, coach of all 15 competitors here as he surveyed still conditions on Kerr Lake.

Minimum sailing conditions are three to eight knots; Thursday’s reading was zero.

“I’m disappointed we didn’t get to sail today, because now we have only two days to get in all of our races,” said Jayne Fenner, 15, of San Juan Capistrano. Lanee Butler, 17, of Dana Point is the other female competing against 13 males.

Bev Oden, a 16-year-old Irvine High student and a member of the silver-medalist East volleyball team, drew a special duty as the youngest member of her team--washing the team uniforms.