Professional members will NOT be released from pending, and therefore no membership benefits will be released until the final result of the background check screening has been received by USA Gymnastics from the National Center for Safety Initiatives (NCSI).

Mandatory background check screening went into effect on December 1st, 2007. The verification forms were implemented to allow Professional members to become acclimated with the new membership requirement. The verification forms were only issued to those Professional members who had started the background check process, but the final result had not yet been received by USA Gymnastics.

It is vitally important for those Professional members who have not yet begun the background check process to start immediately. In addition any new/expired/or lapsed Professional member should begin the process of paying for membership and attaining membership requirements (background check and safety/risk management certification) as soon as possible so that they will not be prevented from participation at USA Gymnastics sanctioned events.

If a current Professional member has not completed the background check requirement by December 1st, 2008, meet directors are directed to not allow these individuals onto the floor at USA Gymnastics sanctioned events.

Any new Professional member will remain in a pending status and therefore, be ineligible for participation in USA Gymnastics sanctioned events until the background check has been fully completed.

Please note the normal processing time required for the background check is 3 to 4 weeks. Rush processing is not available.

For more information regarding the background check requirement please visit the USA Gymnastics website at: http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/Story.aspx?tabid=496

If you have started the background check and have not yet received the results please contact NCSI at 866-833-7100 to inquire of the status of your background check.

 RSS Feeds are used to publish frequently updated works on the Internet. At Region 8 we use a RSS variant called ATOM to allow our readers to obtain updates to the website by using a RSS feed reader. Most people have a reader and may not know it. All of the modern browsers (Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera, and many others) come with a feed reader built in. Also, many email clients such as Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, Apple Mail have the ability to subscribe to feeds as well.

All of the feeds here at Region 8 contain the Article title, date created/updated, an excerpt of the article, and a link to view the full article. The feeds we offer are listed below:

Main Feed - All Articles posted on the Region 8 site.
General Info - Articles posted in the General Page on the website found in the Links menu item.
JO - Articles posted in the JO section of the website found in the Programs menu item.
Elite-Tops - Articles posted in the Elite-Tops section of the website also found in the Programs menu item.
Technical - Articles Posted in the Technical Section of the website the Technical menu item.
Newsletter - Articles pulled from all sections of the website but only the ones that will appear in the Newsletter.

Each time the Region 8 Web Page is updated you will receive an e-mail. What an easy way to stay informed!  Just look for the orange RSS button on the right side of the NEW Region 8 Web page to sign up.

The Region 8 USAG Committee will continue to make regional assignments in the summer. The USAG Region 8 Committee at their summer meeting made assignments for both 2009 regional championships. These assignments can be found in the minutes posted on-line. If you are a judge interested in being considered for a regional meet, you will find the regional availability form as well as the in gym card experience form on the Region 8 Web site. While no judge is guaranteed an assignment, meeting all of the criteria year after year is noticed.

 In-gym experience cards for regionals 2010 will only be on line. These cards can be completed using in gym experiences from June 1, 2008 - June 1, 2009. This June 1 due date is a date received. Please be sure you meet this firm deadline. Any Level 10 or higher judge must complete this card to be eligible for consideration by the Region 8 Board for assignment to a regional meet in 2010.

Remember, you will not receive an individual mailing. Completed forms and in-gym cards must be printed off of the website and returned to Marian Dykes with copies to Sheila Ragle and received by June 1, 2009.

All optional judges are required to re-certify in 2009.
 

- The Committee determined that the “philosophy” of the J.O. Program is that the level system should be truly “linear.” The wording and breakdown of each level will be published at a later date. For example however L 7 = Novice, L 8 = Beginner, L 9 = Intermediate and L 10 = Advanced >>Optional Competitive levels. The compulsory levels will be similar.

The restructuring of L’s 7-10 and allowable difficulty:

- L 7’s = A’s and B’s + selected C’s on Bars (1/2 piro, clear-hip, clear-hip ½)
- L 8’s = A’s, B’s + C* dance elements and selected C’s on Bars (1/2 piro, clear-hip, clear-hip ½)
- L 9’s = A’s, B’s, C’s + 1 D* element per event that receives C credit (no bonus for D’s)
* Unallowable elements that are performed (additional C’s in L 8 and D’s/E’s in L 9) will receive no value part credit and will be given a .5 deduction each.
- L 10’s = unrestricted difficulty

On a different note, the summer of 2008 was a great one for Region 8. In July we were in South Carolina for the first annual “Regional Team” Training camp and it was great. The camp was comprised of the top “up and comers” in the Region and the talent was hot. The focus of the camp was basics and core skill development. The kids and volunteer coaches worked extremely hard and everyone was very happy with the results.

In August we once again returned to Myrtle Beach for the second annual Region 8 “All-Star” trip. The team was made up of the level 9 & 10 athletes that represented Region 8 the best at 2008 Easterns and Nationals. This year’s team was as follows:

Level 9
Nicole Bindewald of Ocean Flippers
Kayla Carlsen of Douglasville
Kaitlin Green of LaFleurs of Largo
Christina Pheil of Tampa Bay Turners
Charley Santagado of Kitty’s All-Stars
Sara Shipley of American Twisters
Kacie Trojanowski of MEGA

Level 10
Haley Bodenheimer of Southeastern
Ashanee Dickerson of Gymnastics Unlimited
Pauline Hanset of Premier
Kailyn Hawkins of Southeastern
Briana Melander of LaFleurs of Largo
Haley Watts of Southeastern

The athletes and coaches took part in three very intense training sessions at Gym and More with head staff Brad Harris, David Parraga, Louie Ligouri, Ludmilla Shobe and Lisa Music. Everyone involved really enjoyed the workouts but enjoyed even more the relationships that were created and the true feeing of camaraderie. It is our hope that this trip has been and will continue to be a great source of motivation within the Region.

I would like to personally thank Louie, Rebecca, Janice, Sue and the Gym and More staff for their incredible hospitality on the trip and to all of our Region 8 Training Camp hosts. Without your dedication to the athletes of our Region, a lot of the great experiences that we are able to provide would not be possible.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who is involved and is supporting our new three training camp system. Although we are moving in the right direction we still do not have 100% participation. I have asked and will continue to ask that every club that qualifies athletes to Level 8-10 Regional Championships be a part of at least one of the three camps. Being a part can mean: sending athletes, volunteering to coach or both. Please understand that all of the funds raised go directly back to our athletes and coaches for apparel and our “All-Star” trip. Please do your part.

Thanks a lot and GO Region 8 –

Brad Harris

Region 8 Junior Olympic Committee Chairman
2301 26th Street North
St. Petersburg, FL 33713
Phone: (727) 328-8500
E-Mail: Tbayturnrs@AOL.Com