As Arthur Gander said during the technical committee meeting, “Finally, gentlemen, a gymnast who shows a routine with none of the elements of risk, originality, and difficulty should never win a world championship.”
Let’s dive into the 1966 World Championships and see if Gander’s words came true.
If you’re reading this website, you probably have an affinity for compulsory routines. Heck, if you’re like me, you might even want to learn these old routines.
Well, I have good news for you: I have the written text for the women’s compulsories at the 1966 World Championships in Dortmund.
Here ya go…
In preparation for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, let’s look back at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, starting with the women’s competition.
In the “Chalk Talk” section of the 1963 September issue of Modern Gymnast, Kurt Bächler, who became known as the “Father of Trampolining,” wrote an entire plan for the Americans to succeed in Tokyo.
One of the items: “They develop the compulsory routines to 9.5 average (which in my opinion is definitely possible
9.5 average? Simple enough, right?
Umm… Have you seen the 1964 compulsories? They were called “perhaps the most difficult ever.” (Modern Gymnast, March 1964)
(To be fair, if you asked any elite gymnast who competed compulsories, they would tell you that their quad’s compulsories were the most challenging.)
We’ve already discussed the men’s performances at the 1962 World Championships. It’s now time to discuss the women’s.