GYMNASTICS : Dimas Leads Compulsory Competition
The problem with compulsory maneuvers in gymnastics competition is that for most gymnasts, well, they’re a real problem.
Maybe even hated.
“Hated would be fair to say, “ said David St. Pierre, a former UCLA gymnast who placed second in the U.S. Gymnastic Federation men’s compulsory competition Saturday at the John Wooden Center.
“You have to do them, and you cannot deviate from them. They incorporate skills you overlook in training for optionals, so you have to learn more skills. But they prepare you for international competition, and there, compulsories are big. They are what make the difference.”
St. Pierre, a member of the U.S. national team, held the lead after three events, but was edged on the final event by Trent Dimas, a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Nebraska. Dimas scored a 9.65 on the parallel bars to finish with a total of 56.85 points, followed by St. Pierre at 56.80 and Conrad Voorsanger of Stanford at 56.65.
This is one of three qualifying regionals being held this weekend by the USGF. The top 72 scorers from all three meets will advance to the U.S. National Championships in Denver, June 8-10.
The compulsory score will be combined with that of the optional competition, which will be held today at 2 p.m. at John Wooden Center. This should provide welcome relief for the crowd of about 100--mostly family members and friends of the gymnasts--who patiently watched Saturday as all 36 gymnasts performed the same routine in all six events.
Well, almost the same routine. Scores as low as 3.05 and 5.0 indicated problems. Rarely are scores that low at elite meets.
“You have some gymnasts here who are trying to make the jump from a junior team member to seniors, so you may get some low scores,” explained Art Shurlock, UCLA’s gymnastics coach who headed this event for the USGF.
The USGF relies heavily on the college program for its national team members. Thus USGF officials were not happy a few years back when the NCAA took compulsory competition out of its program. The NCAA reinstated compulsories in 1987, but the scores only count towards all-around competition and not toward team scores.
Still, it has helped. “Since the NCAA put compulsories back in, we have turned a corner in the men’s program,” USGF official Robert Cowan said recently.
St. Pierre said the USGF has also held two- and three-week camps solely for compulsory practice.
“Stressing compulsories has been good,” St. Pierre said. “Some of the moves you have to do in compulsories are not considered difficult, so you wouldn’t even practice them otherwise. An example would be the Veronia release move on the high bar. It’s not difficult. So, in optional competition you would never use it. You would perform a much tougher move.”
Other gymnasts scoring well Saturday were UCLA’s Chris Waller, who placed fourth with 56.55 points, and UCLA’s Terry Notary, who finished seventh at 55.30. Charles Lakes, a 1988 Olympian, scored 51.95.