Fitness trial for gymnasts

Press, 24 June 1978, Page 6

Fitness trial for gymnasts

t: By KEVIN TUTTY ( f The three members of the J j! Commonwealth Games women s 1 gymnastics team resident in New ( | Zealand and the first non- i "itravelling reserve will have their; : fitness trial for Edmonton at 1 Cowles Stadium this afternoon. 1 The team members, Rowena : Davis, Deborah Richards (both t 1 Otago), and Lynette Brake 1 - (Waikato >, and the reserve, Carol s f Armitage (Auckland), will perform their optional routines in I ! all four exercises. t The team’s selectors have said that to pass the fitness test the \ .'girls must get 34 points oi i 5 better. ’ Last week-end at a special com- i 3 petition in Wellington. Miss j Brake -failed to make the 34 c point standard but that will not « ’ be considered by the selectors t iShe acored 33 5 points. v

What must have been a shock for the selectors, the Gymnast.es Association, was to see Miss Armitage fill second place with 35.75 points, rekindling criticism of her selection only as a reserve. Miss Davis had the top score last week-end with 36.75 points, bettering nine in each exercise. Miss Richards, who has recovered from injuriei that hampered her Games triads, scored 35.5 points. Miss Davis was ranked secona by the selectors. Miss Brake third, and Miss Richards fourth. The top-ranked New Zeaiand woman. Kirsty Durward, is at university in California She has been supplying result* of recent competitions and easily passes the fitness standard. Tn one recent competition she scored a high 9.8 on the vault in what she called the best performance of her career.