Special Olympics Gymnastics: A 50 Year History1991 - International Summer Games

1991 International Summer S O GamesJuly 19-27, 1991Minneapolis/St. PaulPosterArtistic Gymnastics was held at the St. Paul Civic Center and Rhythmic Gymnastics was at the Wilkens Arena. There were a total of 350 gymnasts from 40 nations and 47 US states. For the 1st time we had all 6 men’s events in competition & 4 events for women’s rhythmic competition. Level 3 gymnasts could perform additional optional routines.Artistic gymnastics included:

Level 1 - 57 female, 50 male gymnasts

Level 2 - 59 female, 43 male gymnasts

Level 3 - 30 female, 18 male gymnasts

Rhythmic gymnastics included:

Level 1 - 32 gymnasts

Level 2 - 10 gymnasts

Level 3 - 3 gymnasts (1 gymnast did optionals)

Highlights of the competition included the first salto performed by a woman, 21 year old Penny Barnett of Indiana while 23 year old Derrick Collins of Pennsylvania performed a handspring, full twisting vault, a layout double full on floor ex and a myriad of skills on the equipment that had never before been seen in SOI competition.The Civitan International volunteers sponsored gymnastics and volunteered. The head men’s referee was John Burkel while the women’s was Mary Ann Case. The Rhythmic Head judge was Elizabeth Evans. Julia Thompson Aretz was the gymnastic commissioner & I was the Technical Delegate and Director of Gymnastics.We had a Gym Show on Highlight Night. We held 10 clinics and demonstrations. 8 were on site (4 for athletes, 3 for coaches & 3 demonstrations, with 2 off site. Bart Connor and Nadia Comenicki did some clinics with Paul Ziert.The United States Gymnastic Federation both supported and endorsed our competition.International Gymnast Magazine did an article on our meet.PinBadge

Newspaper article

Gymnastics 50 CoverDocument NavigationAcknowledgementsContentsForeword and MissionSpecial Olympics Gymnastics MilestonesSpecial Olympics Gymnastics Sport DirectorGymnastic Sport PlansGymnastics Sports Rules Sub CommitteesRole of the Coach in Special Olympics GymnasticsRole of Officials and Parents in Special Olympics Gymnastics50 Years of Competitions and Events1983 - International Special Olympics Summer Games1987 - International Summer Games - Notre Dame, Indiana1991 - International Summer Games - Minneapolis/St. Paul1993 - US Olympic Festival1995 - World Summer Games - New Haven, Connecticut1995 - European Regional Training School - Rome, Italy1999 - World Summer Games - North Carolina2003 - World Summer Games - Dublin, Ireland2006 - USA Games - Ames, Iowa2007 - World Summer Games, Shanghai, China2010 - USA Games, Nebraska2011 - Inaugural USA Gymnastics/SO Championships2011 - World Summer Games, Athens, Greece2014 – USA Games, Trenton, New Jersey2015 - World Summer Games, Los Angeles, California2018 – USA Games, Seattle, Washington2018 - 50th Anniversary of Special Olympics2019 - World Summer Games - Abu Dhabi2022 - USA Games - Orlando, FloridaFinal Word