1962 - 1963

Director: George F. Kramer

Officer Body

1961-62

• President: Bill Riley   
• Vice President: Phil Reed
• Secretary: Jean Nichols
• Treasurer: Bob Walker
• Historian: Gary Klein

Award Recipients

• Best Act: “Galaxy of Movement”Men's Triples Balancing - Bill Riley, Bob Walker, and George Kramer
• Best Female Trouper: Jean Nichols
• Best Male Trouper: Bob Walker

Gyrations in Space

“Mr. Kramer warned new members the first day of practice, "If you do not plan to work, this is not the club for you -- there will be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun along with it!" 

Diamondback    10/11/62 

Work they did, and they had a lot of fun as well.  The Gymkana Troupe that year sported one of the largest memberships up until that time approximately fifty people.  

During their road show season, the troupers were able to take along a new piece of equipment - a portable ring and high bar combination rig.  Now they no longer had to depend on whether or not the facility they were visiting had men's apparatus in order to perform their routines. 

The road show season took the Troupe throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, as well as a trip to Oakcrest High School in Mays Landing near Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the troupers put on three shows in one day.  

Space exploration was all the rage at that time.   The Mercury space program, America’s first manned venture into space was just about completed.  The Gymkana Troupe reflected the country’s excitement about space exploration in their Home Show with the theme "Gyrations in Space".  The show, reportedly performed before as many as 6000 people, featured everything from Vaulting as "Intersecting Comets", to the men of rings as “Saturn Ringmen”,  to Balance Beam as "Walk on the Milky Way".   

As one of the last acts of the show, Bill Riley, Bob Walker, and George Kramer, as “Galaxy of Movement”, outdid their Best Act Award winning Men's triples routine from the previous year by performing skills, including a triple high with a handstand (see the picture on the next page), on top of a 20 foot high platform.  This move has not been repeated by members of Gymkana since 1963.