Acro and Tumbling History from 1981 Nationals Program
By the editor of the USSAF/USTA National Championships, June 5-7, 1981 program held at Arizona State University, Tempe Arizona
The first organized competition in Sports Acrobatics was introduced in Russia in 1939. Since that time, almost twenty national federations have been formed to help organize this exciting new sport on an international basis. IFSA (The International Federation of Sports Acrobatics) was created in 1953. Its international headquarters at the present is located in Sofia, Bulgaria. The United States has three delegates on the IFSA Board. George Nissen of Cedar Rapids, Paula Boelsems of Santa Monica, and Joe Schabacker of Arizona State University.
In 1975, the United States Sports Acrobatics Federation was accepted by IFSA as the official sanctioning body for this sport in the United States. World Championships are held every other year, with a World Invitational Cup offered during the alternate years. Sites for the World Championships have been Moscow, Saarbrucken Germany, Sofia Bulgaria and Poznan Poland 1974, 1976, 1978, 1980. A World Cup will be presented in Widnau Switzerland in September this year. The United States will serve as a World Cup host at Cedar Rapids, October 20-22, 1983. It is the hope of the IFSA leaders that our new sport will be introduced as an official event at the 1984 Olympiad in Los Angeles.
Over the years the Russian, Polish and Bulgarian teams have dominated the sport in many events which have been held in various cities in Europe. They are fantastic. Some of you will have thrilled at their phenomenal performances on television and on tours of the United States in the past few years. ABC televised a portion of the 1978 and 1980 championships from Bulgaria and Poland. Our national championships were first covered in 1980 by CBS Sports Spectacular. They are with us once again to cover the events you are enjoying this weekend. Media coverage such as these will help promote an interest in Sports Acrobatics across the nation and around the world.
We have listed for your information on page 16 of this program the senior all-around national champions who have earned these honors since we first organized the sport six years ago. Several of these fine athletes have gone on to represent the United States in World-wide competition, and have come back with victory medals. For example, Steve Elliott (University of Nebraska), Dickie Bivins (Newark), Igor Ashkinazi and Stacey Tutton (New Orleans), and Jan Hagen with Robin O'Bannon (New Orleans) have won several medals on the international scene. You will see all of these outstanding athletes perform at this National Championship.
There are seven events in which championships medals are awarded. For the spring-supported platform tumbling event, three passes are required. In other events two routines will be performed, a Tempo, and a Balance exercise. Individual awards are given for each of these. In addition, a combined score (All-Around) is used to crown the seven national champions. At the end of the preliminary day of competition, the all-around junior and team champions are determined. On the final day of competition, medals are awarded to those from among the top six qualifiers in each event who have amassed the highest total scores over the two days for each event. These events are Men's Platform Tumbling, Women's Platform Tumbling, Women's Pairs, Men's Pairs, Women's Trios, Mixed Pairs, and Men's Fours. As a special event, we have added mixed groups. As yet however the Mixed Trios you will see are not a part of the international competitions.
From among the performers in the 1981 National Championships, the USSAF Board of Directors will select a team to represent the United States at the Fifth World Cup to be held in Widnau Switzerland September 1-6.
Although the names of many fine coaches and supporters of Sports Acrobatics in the United States could be listed and applauded, there are two people who stand out for the major roles they have played in the development of this sport in America. George Nissen of Cedar Rapids, and Glenn Sundby of Santa Monica can without question be called the founders of our new sport in the United States. George for the many ways in which he has supported athletes and coaches over the years, and for the internationally-respected image he has created for Sports Acrobatics around the world. And Glenn for his creative contributions over the years in publishing ACROSPORTS magazine, the widely read publication of the USSAF. For their efforts in bringing this embryo sport into a reality, they have been named as Honorary Lifetime Members of the USSAF Board.
The major areas of influence in Sports Acrobatics in the United States at the present time are New Orleans, Newark New Jersey, Ohio, and Illinois. Great strides are also being made in New York, Utah, Hawaii and California. Through the efforts which are being put forth by various clubs and associations, we see the areas of growth spreading other states and regions. A good deal has been accomplished in the first six years of history of Sports Acrobatics in the United States. The future holds even greater promise.
USTA, the United States Trampoline & Tumbling Association, has been active in developing tumbling and trampoline events in the United States since it was organized in 1970. For the past year, USSAF and USTA have been cooperating to jointly promote the interests of the many athletes who are involved in the acrobatics, trampoline and tumbling events.
Tumbling Through The Ages
Tumbling, often called acrobatics, is one of the world's oldest sports. There are records of ancient Chinese acrobats, royal Egyptian contortionists, Greek and Cretian athletes who threw somies off the horns of bulls, and strolling tumblers who performed throughout the countrysides in Rome at the height of its glory and in European cities during the middle ages. During the 18th century, the tumblers grew in stature as they became court performers and finally found a home with the European circuses. At the same time, tumbling moved into the gymnastic field but never really achieved success as an individual sport in any but the European countries until the tenth Olympic Games which were held in Los Angeles in 1932. There it made its one and only Olympic debut.
However, tumbling took off in the U.S. during the 30's as a recognized collegiate sport with men using double backs, double twists, and punch fronts in their routines. They even tumbled out of triple twists and double fronts during the 50s. Women were not to be left behind as they also performed double backs in their routines as well as twists to the right and left. Not bad at all.
But it all came to an abrupt halt in 1964 when tumbling's role in the U.S. gymnastic field was replaced by the present floor exercise. The sport lay dormant until the USTA in 1972 agreed to include tumbling with its trampoline program. With a national organization, the sport began once again to prosper as dance and gymnastic studies showed a renewed interest in the activity. Nine years later, U.S. athletes are competing at their nationals in two different styles of tumbling—platform and power. Basically, platform is the big trick—one powerful and difficult skill per pass; power is the continuous, flowing series of somies on 84 feet of mat.
Tumbling is here to stay, but will it move towards the platform which the Russians and Soviet Bloc countries seem to dominate, or will it continue strong in the power area where the U.S. holds a healthy spot among the top national teams? Maybe the 1984 Nationals will hold the key.