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| January 12, 1978 Shelton Mason County Journal |  |
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January 12, 1978 |
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ho's to judge?
as Clim-ber gymna
STEVE PATCH
In the wake of last month's
officiating controversy in
;he Minidome, a spirit of
indignation seems to
lave descended upon Shelton
gymnastics program.
While few seem willing to
aake their feelings known
many of the girls on
he Climbers' defending
ue-champion team have
an earnest belief that
indeed were "robbed" when
Capital High Cougars came
town December 14.
The Cougars, you see, left
more than a 109.31-98.63
victory. They also left
three of the racers four
judges.
Now, obviously, the first
posed by sports fails
ldeed, by most of the variously
dulous to livid Climber
in attendance - was
"What is even one Capital
School student - much less
- doing in the capacity of
edge at a Capital High School
And: "Whatever happened to
ambitions the likes of
and objectivity?"
Although Climber Coach Lee
Johnson withheld public
eminent on the judges'
objectivity or lack of
I, she did voice sharp criticism
the situation that would find
or anyone with such
- judging their own
in an athletic event.
"A lot of the parents in the
that night came up to me
and said they just
uldn't believe it," said
Climber Athletic . Director
Willis, who saw the meet,
lid last week he did not
feel there had been
show of bias on the part of
judges.
"But I certainly didn't like
situation of having Capital
people judging the meet,"
said. "It inevitably left things
open for charges of bias, whether
they were justified or not."
So, how is it three Capital
High students got stuck with
such an unenviable job in the
first place?
According to the head of the
Black Hills League Gymnastics
Commission, the first-year,
"trial-basis" organization from
which Shelton and the loop's
other schools get their
gymnastics judges this season,
the situation was unfortunate
but unavoidable.
"Nobody else in the judging
pool was willing to come to
Shelton ," explained
Commissioner Priscilla Hickey,
who is not at all keen on the
situation. "The three girls from
Capit.al were, and still are, the
only ones willing to go - and
after the public humiliation they
suffered at that meet in Shelton
I would be surprised if they'd
ever want to go back there
again."
Hickey said she regretted the
unwillingness of the other six
judges - all adults - but added
she has no means of forcing
them to go to Shelton. And she
also pointed out that Mason
County supporters really have
little basis for complaint
inasmuch as Shelton was the
only BHL member that did not
contribute judges to the pool
when the commission was being
formed last year.
This fact troubles both Willis
and Johnson, who are familiar
with the problems Shelton has
had rounding up willing bodies
to act as gymnastics judges. In
years past, in fact - prior to
inception of the judging
' commission - the school had to
recruit its own judges from
around the greater Olympia area,
and often with considerable
difficulty.
And now, despite the
theoretical simplicity of the
commission, the problem seems
to remain. When Commissioner
ltickey offered judging classes
last fall for those wishing to
tiers shift i
Four Shelton High wrestlers
third.place honors in the
Ongview Invitational last
thus setting the stage
the season's most intense and
itical period of dual-meet
Taking the honors in the
tourney were Climbers
lark Taylor (108), Jerry
(115), Matt Kamin
.22) and Rick Haskell (148).
The tourney experience may
particularly important in
it gives the Climbers, if not
advantage over their
BHL foes, at least a
of additional mental and
conditioning that could
them well down the
That stretch drive began in
this week, with matches
Timberline and Chehalis
The SHS girls' gymnastics
still smarting from their
loss to Capital, won
honors in every event last
and easily defeated host
101.56-89.44.
Shelton got victories from
Wheeler in the floor
and balance beam events,
brn Scotti Seljestad in vaulting
all-around and from Cathy
on the parallel bars.
Shelton 101.56,
Chehalis 89.44
Floor exercise --
qualify for the commission, jl,,i,lUl
Shelton Coach Johnson could ='-
ti ti rred up 'bad vibes'?
come up with no one. displeasure over the way the
The Climber mentor sees it Shelton coach and audience
as more than just a reacted to the judgments,
problem, however. "The classes Commissioner Hickey reminded
were at Evergreen State College," that the proper recourse in the
said Johnson. event of disagreement is a
school kids wanted to attend and written protest.
qualify to judge in the league, "1 can tell you up front that
IOOilillinOllllOllliOllOlllllllOnll°lilll°llil it didn't." Climber Coach Johnson said
Confessing to extreme she had no doubts as to the
qualifications and integrity of
local
asses
ge,"
"Now, if high
a .r I and
:h ! ague,
t them CATHY
Is in high RUDDELL it
their own and her ttt
mnis mates are said
fall smiling
, now, but
there
n to
High have been
Commissioner Hickey as a judge
but did suggest that some sort of
on-the-spot justification should
be provided each competitor at
the time of scoring.
"This year the judges no
longer write on the score sheet
was a very poor to indicate why the deductions
public-relations sort of thing," were made," said Johnson.
Hickey. "Shelton's coach "They just write down the score
was very upset - unduly upset - and that's it. 1 feel they should
and she confronted the judges have to justify the scores - if
right in front of everyone. That's for no other reason to benefit
not the way it's handled." the athletes, so the girls can
who was supposed to get them
over there? Most kids in high
school don't have
transportation, and I had tennis
(Climber girls' tennis) in the fall
and couldn't take them ..."
In justifying her decision to
claimed she does not have the
background to understand what
has prompted her adult judges to judges, as was her responsibility, own marks for competitors of
"boycott" Shelton as in effect That's the only thing I can think two of the three events - only
they have. of that could explain the current the balance-beam competition
"But there is apparently feelings of unwillingness." lacked her supportive judgment
more to it than just the travel As for the charges of were not appreciably different
time and expense," she said. prejudicial judging at the from those assigned by the
"There seems to be some bad December 14 meet, which students judging the very same
vibes among them about going to incidentally marked Shelton's events.
Shelton. For some reason or first gynmastics loss of the year, 'Tve judged nine years and I
another they are not too happy Commissioner ltickey said she have a national rating," said
about things that have gone on regards them as totally Ilickey. "1 know what I'm doing
there in the past." unfounded, and I know that I wasn't
Neither Willis nor Johnson "The girls from Capital were biased. So if the students had
could remember any indelicacies c o m p ! e t e I y p r o fe s s i o n a I been, it would have shown up in
in the past, but the Climber throughout the meet," she said. the difference in scoring -which
coach did speculate that, prior to "In fact, ! am inclined to
her taking over the team last believe, knowing the situation :
year, there may have been sonic they were in, they probably
hitches in the travei-reimburs- judged Capital harder than if
ement procedure here. they weren't going to that
"I'm not certain," she said, school."
"but I understand that my Hickey said the most reliahle
predecessor may have overlooked indication that there w:ls tie
paying some of the non-area prejudice is the fact that her
bring the three Capital clouds One of the more open learn what they're doing wrong."
School students to the aplenty i controversies came in the As far as Shelton's AD is
Cougar-Climber meet, in Climber uneven,-bars event, where concerned, the Climbers and
Commissioner Hickey Country Shelton s Cathy Ruddell got their fans are just going to have
reemphasized the fact that the of late. edged out of first place by to put up with the situation -
three were not merely the only Cougar Carol Carbone - despite even if it is outwardly indelicate
available students but the only the fact that her opponent had - for the rest of the season. The
available judges, period. She had fallen twice during her routine, school agreed to use the
no choice - a situation she said "If the audience had known commission, Willis pointed out,
she regrets immensely. a little more about the sport it and there is no reason now to
"It's certainly something you wouldn'!, have questioned the pull the rug out from under it.
try to avoid at all costs," she decision, said Hickey. "True, "Such situations are not new
said, "but there just wasn't any the Shelton girl had no falls and to sports," said Willis. "Every
choice, therefore appeared to the sport when it's justgettinggoing
Having come into the i unexperienced observer to have has had troubles with officiating.
.ffi
position just this year, Hickey [ ==
n|lllllllllllnllll u|onn|
nto high gear
finally well a heavyweight
match.
Shelton's Mike Jones did the
honors, pinning his Aberdeen foe
at the 2:24 mark. But a Clinlbel
forfeit at 190 and pins suffered
at 168 and 178 proved barely
insurmountable for the hosts.
Tonight's inatchul) against
Chehalis is in Chehalis, but next
Tuesday it's back in the
Minidome for the Climbers,
who'll host the Capital Cougars.
Aberdeen 29,
Shelton 28
101 -- Dave Fleetwood (A)
d. Tom Kamin 8-4; 108 -- Mark
Taylor (S) by forfeit; 115
erry Newcomb (S) d. Jerry
Harris 7-0; 122 -- Matt Kamin
([S d. Joe Hansen 12-11; 129 --
J.R. Streifel (A) d Rex Morrison
3-0; 135 -- Dan'Truini (S) d.
Lockman 5-0; 141 -- Brian Willis
S) d. Randy Glerup 13-0; 148 --
rock Haskell (S/ and Scott
VanDinter 5-5. 1,8 -- Kevin
Darst (A) d Dal'e Smith 7-0; 168
Fred Flines (A) p Mike
Bueehel 3.45; 178 --" Marty
White (A) p Brad Dunbar 3:19;
f190_..-- Ooug White tat by
;'rnHY2. Mike Jones (.5)p.,
Jayvee: Shelton 45,
Aberdeen 10.
down with the flu and not
expected to be competitive at all
this week. And 135-pounder
Stan Goodburn incurred a knee
injury last week and will be out
for an undetermined length of
time.
Also, after a freak collision
in one of his matches last
Saturday in Longview, Climber
178-pound sophomore Brad
Dunbar reportedly is "improving
all the time" and should be
ready. Dunbar was pulled from
further competition Saturday for
precautionary reasons after he
caught an elbow in the head
during his match with Centralia's
Greg Martin.
'Brad came up with a lump
on his noggin but seems to have
suffered no attendant maladies.
As for Centralia's Martin, he
dislocated his elbow and appears
to be lost for the season.
In other action last week, the
Climbers dropped a 29-28
nonleague decision to visiting
Aberdeen Thursday night, doing
so despite the fact that, after
forfeiting it away all year, they
Sports twenty-five years ago
TALL TALE
A capacity crowd saw 7'1" Gary Nelson lead
the Elma Eagles to an easy 64-31 win over
Shelton Highclimbers in basketball play Friday
night. Shelton SCoring was led by Leroy Shelton
and Virg Manke with 9 each. Elma's Nelson
scored 26 points in less than 3 quarters of play.
The Shelton Ants, Shelton women's rifle
team, held a match with Raymond last ',
wee,..
Scoring were E. Peacher, 358; M. Bednarski, 311;
N. Aggas, 304; G. Tratnick, 283; C. Duckham,
275.
First & Cote, Shelton 426 8104 , . ."
last Tuesday and tonight to be
followed by another twin bill
next week.
Climber Coach Dick Wentz
figures all that has come before,
even given Shelton's 0-3 record
before Tuesday's match in
Timberline, means relatively little
with regard to eventual seeding
or placement at the upcoming
district, regional and - hopefully
- state tournaments.
"That's why what we do the
next couple of weeks is .so very,
very important," he observed last
week. "We're really right now
getting into the meat of the
season ."
Going into the Timberline
match, the results of which will
be given in next week's Journal,
the Climbers were at full
strength with the exception of
two regulars. Matt Kamin was
s back on beam
Denise
Wh.e.eler iS) 8.4, 2. Carol
Studeman (CI .75. "' 4. Kim
Vault --Scotti Seliestad iS)
6.2, 2. Mary Gordon (g} 5 65/3:
Denise Wheeler (S) 5 2, 4 Jeri
Huisingh (S) 5.1. " "
Bars -- Cathy Ruddell (S)
8.25, 2. Robin W nne (S) 5.65,
3. Carla Bell ((3)4 85, 4 Scotti
Seljestad (S) 4.85. "
• Balance beam -- Denise
Wheeler (S) 8.9, 2. Lee Amrine
(C) 6.45, 3. Mary Gordon (S)
5.15 4. tie Lori Ticknor ((),
sil Walker (C), Scotti Seljes'tad
6.0.
All around Scotti Seljestad
{S) 5.71, 2. Lori Ticknor (C)
5.21.
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had the better routine.
"But in fact she had had a
major error - an 'extra cast: or
an extra beat of her legs for
momentum - plus she had hit
the floor with her foot on her
high-low kick move near the end
of her routine.
"The audience doesn't
recognize them as easily as it
does something like a fall,"
added the commissioner, "but in
fact an extra cast is worth as
much as a fall and the other
error very nearly as much. The
Capital girl just happened to win
on the basis of the rest of the
routine."
But as the program grows the
problems tend to be eliminated
-just as they have in wrestling,
for instance, and in basketball
before that."
Willis observed that a
problem bigger even than having
students as judges in their own
schools' meets has been one
where officials turn out to be
ex-coaches or junior-high coaches
in one of the competing teams'
districts.
Commissioner Hickey,
previously an official in the King
County League, said such things
are commonplace in developing
programs.
Unfortunately, Hickey's own
optimism for improvement in the
BHL gymnastics judging pool is
tenipered by the sobering truth,
apparently, that many Black
Hills athletic directors simply do
not want anybody but local
people judging their meets.
"I've had three athletic
directors come up to me and
actually say they didn't want
non-area judges - because they
didn't want to have to pay for
the transportation," said Hickey.
"If that isn't a burn I don't
know what is. I'm afraid there's
a real cliquish problem around
here."
Willis said in response that
his own position has always been
supportive of outside judges. "I'd
much rather pay the $5.28 per
car (from Olympia) to bring in
good, qualified judges," he said.
"I don't really care so much
where they re from as long as
they re qualified. ,
The Climbers next home
match isnt until January 23,
when Centralia's Tigers come to
town, so the whole controversy
may have time to burn itself out
before more fuel is added.
But it seems there is no
avoiding the fact that it will be
added.
"I don't have any other
choice but to ask the three girls
from Capital to judge the meet,"
said Commissioner Hickey. "The
other judges have made it clear
they won't go.
"And, as far as those kids
from Capital are concerned, I'm
going to have to go back to
them and persuade them to go,
and it's not going to be easy,
because they were really shaken
up by the whole experience. It
was really traumatic for them."
Ch
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Thursday, January 12, 1978 - Shelton-Mason County Journal . Iage 21