New Women's Collegiate Rules for 2011

OK, here's my opinion on the new rules which were voted on recently by the NCAA Gymnastics Committee....but first know that these rules must still be approved by the Championship Cabinet which meets in September in order for them to be implemented. Nothing is final yet and I would not be surprised if neither proposal were approved by the Cabinet. People are constantly working from behind the scenes to influence the vote and to get the changes delayed. To me, agree or not, the members spoke loud and clear on what they want so regardless of how I feel, I think the proposals should be implemented. The vote was 60 in favor and 3 against. This is still a democracy...i think!

Concerning eliminating the Super Six and making the NCAA Finals a Four on the Floor format; I am all for this. For the average gymnastics fan the new format will make this a better event. The run for the National Title will be more intense as the event will be shorter and it will be easier to compare the teams performances without the bye rotations. I have been for this format for many years. My persepective is a little different than some as Georgia has won the last two national titles while on a bye in the last rotation. Being on a bye took away some of the excitement for us as we could not celebrate our victory like other championship teams in other sports. We had to wait and wait and wait until the final rotation was completed. And when we did celebrate before the meet was totally concluded, we were labeled as "bad sports." This is not my main reason for being in support of this proposal. I am in support of anything that will increase our chances of having "live" television coverage of our finals.

Interesting to me that I keep hearing people say that this new proposal reduces opportunities for women. Sarah Patterson recently said in their local paper that "she has worked her whole life for women to have opportunities in sports." How is this new propsal eliminating women's opportunities? If 12 teams still qualify for the NCAA Championships then no opportunities have been reduced. Everyone gets to compete the first day to make it to the "Four on the Floor" for the finals. All 12 teams have a chance to win a National Title. It is no different than in any other sport. In basketball, there are 64 teams who have an opportunity to make it to the last game. Only two get to compete for the title but the opportunity is given to all 64 teams to advance.

By the way, to my knowledge, there has never been a team win the National Title who was not in the top four the first day of the championships. Even the year when Georgia was the 12th seed into the Championships, we won our session the first day of championships and then went on to win our 6th Title in the Super Six that year. (2005)


Now for the second proposal: 6 competors up and six scores count: I love that there will be no mulligans and that every score counts. I do not agree that this rule should be used only during the championships. It is similar to our vault rule now where all season our athletes are ranked on their performance of one vault but then in finals they are required to preform two different vaults. I do not believe it is a fair way to choose a champion. The regular season prepares us for the championships and I believe teams should compete under the same rules the entire season with no changes during the finals. Just think of all the upsets there would be during the season? This past year, if this rule was in place Arkansas would have beaten Georgia. PARITY WILL HELP THE LONGEVITY OF OUR SPORT. Sporting events are always more intense, more fun for the fans and more rewarding for the athletes when the competition is tight.

If it were a perfect gymnastics world for me, the proposal would have been for 5 athletes up and all five scores count. I understand why this was not voted for......it clearly cuts opportunities for women to compete......but heck what about the record book????? a 9.9 average would be a 237.6 heck, I would need a calculator

IT WAS A GREAT TIME TO RETIRE......HA

Congratulations to Head Coach of the Gymdogs, Jay Clark

This is my first official blog as the Ex- Head Coach for the Gymdogs. Weird! I packed up 26 years of coaching in six boxes. It was easy to pack as everything in my office is team related and remains behind. The success of the program shown in the office is the Georgia legacy which will continue with our new head coach, Jay Clark.

Funny.....I walked in one day, the middle of June, and said to Jay; " I have everything moved from the cabinets and all my personal files are gone so you can begin to put your stuff away. " Jay responded, "I have no time...with camp and recruiting going on, the move will have to wait." I came in the next day and not only had Jay moved his files but he had all his personal photos on the walls, family pictures on the shelves and his name plate front and center on the desk. I laughed, "Jay, I thought you didn't have time to move,", I said. He asked if I was mad which of course I was not....it was adorable....he was like a child in a candy store...anxious and excited !Who can blame him?

Jay has always wanted to be a head coach, but of course, Georgia is his dream job. If ever there was a man who bleeds red and black, it is Jay. I wish him well and have total confidence in his ability to keep the Gymdogs at the top. If I did not, i would not have retired....

So, Jay...GOOD LUCK.

write to me about your thoughts on Jay as our next Head Coach....

Welcome!

Hello Friends!

I will be using this new blog to keep you all posted on what I am up to after retirement from college coaching. Being in this sport for the last 43 years has given me lasting memories and defined who I am. I will share with you my coaching experiences…even the ones never written about…..my new perspective as a fan from the stands, and I will discuss controversial issues. ……I will be doing some consulting work at various schools, and speaking engagements around the country. In addition, I will be helping the committee “Funding our Future” where we will work to stabilize existing college programs and push to have new programs added. For leisure, if you want to call it that, I will be spending time on the golf course. I will be travelling to great places around the world with my love, Don, and plan to talk about everything and anything.

I welcome anyone who is passionate about gymnastics to blog with me.

Suzanne