Outstanding gymnast

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32119, 15 October 1969, Page 13

Outstanding gymnast

yrriTH the New Zealand ’’ crown and three provincial titles to her credit, 17-year-old Katrina Macintosh, of Christchurch, is on the verge of completing a national “grand slam” in women’s modern gymnastics this year. Miss Macintosh, a pupil of St Margaret's College, has won top points at the Canterbury, Otago and Wellington championships and if successful at Auckland next month will have made a clean-sweep of major events in the sport. Her feats are even more meritorious when it Is taken into account that she is in her first year of women's A grade competition and is younger than the majority of her rivals. Modern gymnasties comprises four event*—a compulsory ball exercise, a voluntary rope exercise, n voluntary hoop exercise and voluntary free exercises. Two minutes are allowed for each event All movements are done to music and the competitors are their own choreegraphers. Miss Macintosh learnt ballet for nine years and this training has proved of great assistance to her in modern gymnastics. Five years ago, Miss McIntosh took up Olympic gymnastics, In which the emphasis is on vaulting, bar and beam exercises and floor agilities such as hand-stands. Two years

later she was introduced to modern gymnastics and now concentrates on this branch of the sport. Miss P. Mangos, her physical education instructor at school, and Mrs M. Duncan, an instructor at a Christchurch gymnastic school, have been Miss Macintosh’s mentors in development of her gymnastic talents. She obtains most of her competition through interschool events, although she believes modern gymnastics is rapidly gaining

popularity away from the schools, as well as in them. Miss Macintosh is also a talented sprinter and at the last Christchurch girls’ inter-secondary school sports her time of 9sec for the 75 yards set a new record.

She will be leaving school at the end of this year and hopes to be accepted for the Dunedin physical education training school. Whether successful or not she plans to continue us a competitor in modern gymnastics.