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Off to see the Wizard By Chris Miller Ashland Daily Tidings He's leapt over barriers to hug Mary Lou Retton; he's carried an injured Kerry Strug to the podium to receive her gold medal, and now he going to help gymnastic hopefuls from Ashland. Bela Karolyi, who has been considered the most influential gymnastic coach since he led Nadia Comaneci to her perfect 10 gold medal in 1976, now holds camps on his property in Huntsville, Texas. 12 local girls from age eight to 15 that train with Tammy Johnson at the Ashland Family YMCA are going to the two-week-long Karolyi's Gymnastics World Camp starting July 7. Each of the girls had to raise about $384 for the instruction and $395 for airfare to attend according to Johnson. "All of the kids have raised money on their own, doing odd jobs for their parents," Johnson said while supervising the last fundraiser - a car wash on Friday at Ashland's Oil Stop. "We are going an extra day, so we needed to raise an extra $50 per kid." The gymnastics will take center stage, but it is a real "summer camp" full of other recreational activities like a pool, lakes to play in and peacocks to chase. This is an all-girls situation, with the kids sleeping in cabins with female counselors, while in other shelters, some of the best male and female gymnastics coaches in the world reside. Karolyi has been dubbed the David Koresh of the gymnastics world by some sports writers and has taken flac for his treatment of athletes, reportedly calling young, slim girls "fat cows" and "pregnant goats." But that is not the way he is according to campers who have met Karolyi before. Paulina Belsky is making her fourth trip to the south, and said she hasn't seen anything but good from Karolyi. "He's there like everyday," Belsky said. "He's fun for the camp and he doesn't make me nervous." Even first timers didn't give the impression that they were apprehensive to be meeting such a famous figure. Some, like 11-year-old Emily Hand, weren't even frightened to be leaving Oregon for the first time. "I am not really scared," Hand said while washing an old, brown, American sedan. "My mom is nervous that I am going away." Hand said that her favorite events are the floor exercise and the balance beam, and she is looking forward to her trip. "This will be a new place to go and meet new friends and stuff and have fun." LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -