February 21st, 2005 - e-Newsletter No. 1

Greetings to all....

Well, it has been a crazy year so far for the NCGA and that partly explains the great delay for this first e-newsletter.  It all started in January of 2004 when the NCAA Division III membership decided to eliminate the Safety Exception which allowed the coaches to be present and provide safety instruction to the athletes during off-season practices.  The elimination of the Safety Exception meant that all gymnastics facilities in Division III schools were closed to the athletes outside of the official 19-week season.  Some schools were able to open their facilities on a very limited basis and without coaching contact, but overall, the athletes were not able to train.  We spent a considerable amount of time fighting to get this Exception reinstated.  Ultimately, our proposal to get it reinstated was voted down, but we feel that a new interpretation will allow us to work within the current NCAA rules and provide a safe opportunity for our athletes to train outside of their official season.  As we all know, gymnastics is a year-round sport.  To learn more about this battle, please sign on to www.votesafetyback.com - you'll find a lot of information there as well as a video collage of still photos from last year's NCGA nationals which I hope you like.

The second major change that is affecting the NCGA is a new national random assignment of officials.  This system will become mandatory for all institutions in 2005-06, but most schools began using it this year.  It is a much needed move by the NCAA as a whole to attempt to arrive at more consistent scoring from one meet to another, from one region to another.  The officials have been given encouraged to take the standard deductions that exist in the Junior Olympic program and judge consistently based on that.  The results so far have been mixed.  Some officials have gone to the extremes while others continue to judge as they have in the past.  It's been somewhat common for scores to fluctuate anywhere from 3-6 points from one meet to the next, not entirely based on performance but on the scoring on that particular day.  The rankings are less indicative of a team and individual's strength this year than in years past, but ultimately, we believe that the scoring will settle down into a consistent evaluation of the athlete's routines once we work out all of the kinks in the system.

Having said that, it is important to note that the NCGA has moved to a 100% regional qualification for teams to get to nationals.  The new qualification process calls for the top three finishers at each regional advance to the national tournament.  So, only six teams will qualify this year, along with 4 all-arounders and 6 event specialists per event from each region.  The individual qualification to nationals remains the same as years past, in which 60% of the qualifying score is the score attained at the regional meet, and 40% is the Seasonal Average Score which consists of the average of the top 2 away scores plus 2 more optional scores (home or away).

If I haven't confused you enough so far, I'll try to give you a brief synopsis of what is going on in the NCGA so far....

Division II Winona State has become a full-fledged member under the direction of former UW-Stout coach Jeff Richards.  Winona is only competing with 4 athletes on most events though, and that is why their team scores have been low.  The balance of power in the MIDWEST is pretty much the same, with UW-La Crosse leading the pack, but UW-Eau Claire keeping pace led by senior Alison Eagles.  La Crosse graduated a very strong senior class, but has apparently not lost a step as they prepare to host nationals this year and go for an unprecedented 5th consecutive title.  UW-Oshkosh has overtaken both Hamline University and Gustavus Adolphus in the rankings with UW-Whitewater and UW-Stout at their heels.  The Warhawks at Whitewater have been enjoying one of their best seasons ever and the Gusties of Gustavus Adolphus had the good fortune of attending the Cancun Classic in January.  Noteworthy is Gustie Amanda Parker's absence from the all-around rankings.  She has been a top ranked all-arounder for all of her three years so far, and it would seem that injuries have prevented her from competing floor and vault on a consistent basis this year.

In the East we've seen a couple of first-year students make a big splash onto the scene.  Brittany Wiesner is a SUNY-Cortland Red Dragon, and Aubree Lewis an Ithaca Bomber who have put up some big scores and seem to be enjoying a great first season in collegiate gymnastics.  Defending NCGA all-around champion and 5th year senior Carrie Santore from SUNY-Brockport is not just back to defend her title, but doing so by leading the rankings in AA, VT and FX.  Carrie has upgraded her vault to a full-twisting layout tsukahara.  Golden Eagle teammate Sarah Bulka has also been having a great season.  So far, Ithaca has made the early statement that they are, once again, the team to beat in the region, but SUNY-Brockport is not about to concede anything, and neither is SUNY-Cortland.  The Ursinus Bears cannot be discounted either, with solid all-around performers in Megan Hollern, Kristen Grimmel and Jessica Furman, this team has the talent to finish in the top three.  Springfield College has 9 first-year students on their roster, but they also have a solid core of upperclass students who could lead this team into contention.  MIT has talent on their roster, but only 6 healthy gymnasts most of the year, which puts them at a disadvantage in the team competition.  Wilson College won their first ever dual meet and a couple of their individuals are highly ranked at the mid-season point.  Last, but certainly not least, the Anchorwomen of Rhode Island College just put up a 181.125 at MIT this past weekend, so even though they started off slow, they cannot be forgotten as senior Caren Normandin has been a very consistent performer throughout her career.

There are 4 weeks left prior to the Regional Championships.  With the new qualification format, anything can happen, and it should be very interesting to watch it unfold.  Get out and watch a meet, and I promise to keep you updated more often.

Stay tuned,

Eduardo

"No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship
of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth."
Robert Southey