School Age Program meets Comenci, Conner Published June 26, 2007 By 2nd Lt. Agneta Murnan 71 FTW/PA VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Eleven children from Vance Air Force Base's School Age Program traveled to the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in Norman, Okla. June 18 to meet former Olympians Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner and to learn about their careers and their academy. The children were able to hold real Olympic torches, learn about the couple's Olympic experiences, tour a factory where custom gymnastic clothing is produced and even play on the academy's equipment. The overwhelmingly favorite feature was "the pit" of foam blocks at the end of some of the equipment. Jasmine Butler, one of the children participating in the School Age Program, talked about how gymnasts were able to do dismount tricks without the pit. "Maybe they think about happy things to help them to do it the first time. Then they get used to it." The children practiced different movements, such as mimicking a bird and an alligator on a balance beam, and received goody bags at the end of their visit. Some of the kids couldn't stop talking about it on the way back, said Kim Winfield, School Age Coordinator for the base.