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TOPs Invitational & Clinic

Elena Brodnikova and Brevet Judge and National Staff Lucy Fox are clinicians at this event hosted by JFJ Elite, Friday, November 14, 2008. This clinic is geared to the coach/athlete that is new or wanting to be involved in the USA TOPs program. The cost is $25.00 per athlete and you pay at the door.
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Be Aware: Background Check verification forms no longer being issued!

Effective December 1st, 2008 USA Gymnastics will no longer be providing background check verification forms to those Professional members who are in a pending status for the background check requirement.

Professional members will NOT be released from pending, and therefore no membership benefits will be released until the final result of the background check screening has been received by USA Gymnastics from the National Center for Safety Initiatives (NCSI).

Mandatory background check screening went into effect on December 1st, 2007. The verification forms were implemented to allow Professional members to become acclimated with the new membership requirement. The verification forms were only issued to those Professional members who had started the background check process, but the final result had not yet been received by USA Gymnastics.

It is vitally important for those Professional members who have not yet begun the background check process to start immediately. In addition, any new/expired/or lapsed Professional member should begin the process of paying for membership and attaining membership requirements (background check and safety/risk management certification) as soon as possible so that they will not be prevented from participation at USA Gymnastics sanctioned events.

If a current Professional member has not completed the background check requirement by December 1st, 2008, meet directors are directed to not allow these individuals onto the floor at USA Gymnastics sanctioned events.

Any new Professional member will remain in a pending status and therefore be ineligible for participation in USA Gymnastics sanctioned events until the background check has been fully completed.

Please note the normal processing time required for the background check is 3 to 4 weeks. Rush processing is not available.

For more information regarding the background check requirement please visit the USA Gymnastics website.

If you have started the background check and have not yet received the results please contact NCSI at 866-833-7100 to inquire of the status of your background check.

2008 Region 8 Rules and Regulations

The 2008 Rules and Regulations are posted here.

Did You Know?

RSS Feeds are used to publish frequently updated works on the Internet. At Region 8 we use a RSS variant called ATOM to allow our readers to obtain updates to the website by using a RSS feed reader. Most people have a reader and may not know it. All of the modern browsers (Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera, and many others) come with a feed reader built in. Also, many email clients such as Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, Apple Mail have the ability to subscribe to feeds as well.

All of the feeds here at Region 8 contain the Article title, date created/updated, an excerpt of the article, and a link to view the full article. The feeds we offer are listed below:

• Main Feed - All Articles posted on the Region 8 site.
• General Info - Articles posted in the General Page on the website found in the Links menu item.
• JO - Articles posted in the JO section of the website found in the Programs menu item.
• Elite-Tops - Articles posted in the Elite-Tops section of the website also found in the Programs menu item.
• Technical - Articles Posted in the Technical Section of the website the Technical menu item.
• Newsletter - Articles pulled from all sections of the website but only the ones that will appear in the Newsletter.

Thank you,

Debby Kornegay
Region 8 Administrative Committee Chairman

Gym Owners, Program Managers and Team Coaches:

Each coach attending a sanctioned competition MUST PRESENT their current proof of membership to sign in personnel before they can legally be on the floor to coach if requested. Please make sure your coaches have their membership with them In order to avoid meet interruption by having the Meet Director go on line and search for same. In fact, please ask your coaches to show you their credentials before you send them to a meet. Some may think they have it when in fact they don't. Credentials are easily misplaced. Please make sure you have made additional copies of all credentials in case you receive a call from your coach stating they don't have their credentials. You can then fax it to the meet director, but understand, they will NOT be allowed on the floor until the meet director has received that copy. It is a courtesy for the Meet Director to look up a membership, but it NOT their responsibility at the meet. Be sure you have put the correct names of all coaches attending a competition on the meet entry form.

A personal thought: I will start attaching proof of membership of all coaches I send on the meet entry form. The Meet Director would at least have documentation available, but it does not take the place of presenting your credentials when requested.

Thank you,

Steps Clarification

Question:

On tumbling passes that are worded in the Compulsory Book, "1-3 steps and hurdle" prior to a tumbling pass on floor. Can the gymnast take 3 steps and the 4th step lead to the hurdle or is the third step the hurdle step?

Answer:

They get 1-3 steps and a hurdle. This would mean for all most all the children (99% use the same hurdle technique resembling a step hop) if they were a "right" tumbler in order to take 3 steps and a hurdle, they would start with their left foot. This would have the gymnast step Left, Right, Left and the hurdle would initiate from that left foot. After initiating the hurdle from the left foot, she would return on the left foot, lunge forward onto her right foot and begin swinging her left leg upward and backward to initiate the tumbling skill.

Tom Koll

Notes from Deb

Hello everyone. I hope you had a chance to pass my earlier email on to your staff. We need to be prepared for the new USAG dress code for competitions and everyone you want to receive these emails should have their email address listed on your team page. If you can't find your password for your information on the club page on the web site, email me and I will have the web master forward it to you. I sent you the flyer What's New for the Women's Jr. Olympic Program in 2008-09 some time ago. In case you misplaced it, you can find it just below (a few articles down). Please read the Rules and Policies Changes, New Initiatives for the JO Program, 2009 Calendar, Chief Judge Fees, Compulsory Updates, and Optional Updates. All of these went into effect August 1, 2008. Remember, James Linderholm is offering a Safety Course, I sent you that info this morning, and it is also available just below.

I need your opinion. How would you feel about banners as team awards for this year's state meets? The ones at Judges Cup were beautiful, but we would make the state banners (for 1st, 2nd and 3rd a bit bigger because it is state championships). The other option is trophies, and they will be as beautiful as ever. I would love to hear from at least 25 of you by Thursday. All answers will be recorded with gym name and choice. The majority rules.

Thank you and please let me hear from you soon!!!!!!

Notes from Deb

It was great to see so many of you this past weekend. I am concerned that some of our coaches may have not received the information that was sent to your gym. Please make sure you pass the information on concerning the dress code ASAP. If you want a complete copy of the national minutes, you can VIEW them here.

Also, YOU MUST manage your team information on the web site. I do not have the password to do so. If you do not do so, you may not be receiving valuable information. Add all of the email addresses of your staff if you want them to receive these email blast. If a team is no longer competing, we will take their info off when their membership expires. Mega Gymnastics (Amazing Grace), All American Academy, Brown's Gymnastics, and Encore Gymnastics are not currently competing, but their info is still up until the time their membership expires.

Remember, the Compulsory State Meet is in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on the first weekend of December. Bama Bounders is hosting the meet at the Belk Center. This meet includes levels 2-6. Be prepared with enough coaches because two gyms will run concurrently.

AGAIN-THE DRESS CODE GOES INTO EFFECT AT THE COMPULSORY STATE MEET. MANY STATES VOTED TO APPLY THAT RULE IMMEDIATELY, SO IF YOU TRAVEL OUT OF STATE FOR MEETS BE PREPARED. IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO GET INTO THAT HABIT BEFORE STATE.

Please contact me if you have any questions, and please either pass this information on to your coaching staff and/or add their email addresses to your team information.

1. PROGRAM UPDATES
   1. RULES & POLICIES CHANGES
      1. Coaches must notify their RACC by fax or e-mail by the Monday following the State Meet of any athletes they intend to petition to Regionals.
      2. Member Misconduct (add to page 12): Any falsification of official documentation (scores, athlete DOB, athlete number, etc.) will result in the removal of the athlete from competition and may result in disciplinary action against the responsible professional member.
      3. Coaches/judges must produce their Membership card or credential at sign-in or in field-of-play if requested.
      4. Coaches attire at State and above competitions. State Committees may also implement at meets below State Championships: Shoes: closed toe athletic shoes, Pants: Athletic warm-ups or "Docker-style" pants (no jeans), Shorts: Athletic or tailored shorts that are a reasonable length (example-7" inseam) No shorts with tears, holes or short-shorts, Shirts: Collared shirts, business casual shirts, or T-shirts with gym logo. No spaghetti straps, low-cut tops or midriff revealing shirts, Hats: no hats or visors.

Saftey Course

I will be doing a live safety course at Huntsville Gymnastics on Saturday, September 20th at 2PM.

You can register for this course online by going to http://www2.usa-gymnastics.org/education/safety-schedule.html and clicking on the "2008 Face-to-Face Safety Course Registration" link in the shaded box near the bottom of the page. You can also register through the USAG office, but it will cost $5 more. The course is free if you are currently certified and looking to re-certify, but only if you register online.

Don't forget that they cut off the online registration a week before the course.

Don't call me to register - I can't register anyone!!!!

James Linderholm