Inducted: 2006
Born: Pittsburgh, Pennsysvania

Pam Bileck began her gymnastic career working through the multi-layered tiers of competitions that exist today. She was twice a Jr. National Team member and three-time Sr. National Team member, (1981-’85). When she made the U.S. Olympic Team in 1984, she became a genuine mustang, a military term for those who work themselves through the ranks to become officers and leaders. And since good officers lead from the front, so did Pamela Bileck as you will read.

Pamela Bileck-Flat, affectionately known as “Pammy”, started her gymnastics at age eight at West Valley Gymnastics with coaches Bruce, Diane Amos, and Nancy Kludt. This was also Amy Chow’s home gym. When the family moved to Mountain View in California-USA, she continued training and learning with coaches Kim and Nancy Kludt at Twisters. She finally matriculated to SCATS in Huntington Beach, California-USA and trained with coaches Don Peters, (USGHOF Inductee, 1989) and Mary Wright. Not all Olympians get to have their photo taken with the President of the U.S. and the first lady. Pamela and her Olympic teammates were in the right place at the right time, and that accounts for the Presidential photo. Cool! Olympic Games: Silver-Team, Los Angeles, California-USA, (1984). Pamela’s dedication, courage, and sacrifice surfaced in a profound manner before and during the ’84 Olympics. After the Trials, Pamela fractured a bone in her foot. The injury restricted her to vaulting and tumbling only once a week in the time before the competition. Despite the reduced training, she was able to compete and contributed well to the team’s score. As the American National Co-champion on the BB, Pamela may have been able to acquire a medal or at least reach the finals on the BB; however, she was assigned to be first up on the event, and she did a fine job. As gymnastic aficionados the world over know, being first to compete on an event in team competitions is highly unlikely to yield the best score possible regardless of how the Code of Points try to eliminate such injustices. In gymnastics, the first person to compete on an event has a job to accomplish. The job is to start the team scoring with a good, solid, routine that will allow those teammates who follow to get the highest scores possible for them and the team. It’s like leading off in baseball. The first hitter’s job is to get on base while the third and fourth hitters job is to send the ball into the parking lot. Maybe Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron would have hit more home runs had they been lead off hitters since they would have had more times at bat in the course of a season. It’s the same principle in gymnastics. It has been said that Pamela simply accepted the challenge and performed well, received a fine score, and helped the team knowing that she may have had a chance for the finals and possibly a medal had she been in peek shape and performed last. World Championships: Team member, Budapest, Hungary, (1983); Team member, Montreal, Canada, (1985). USAG National Championships: Gold-BB, (1984). Judge: Between 1994 and 1999, Pam achieved a Brevet level judge’s certification. She judged at the USAG National Championships as well as World and Olympic Trials and additional international competitions such as the Copa Gimnastica meet, Mexico City, Mexico, (1998). Service: During the last half of the ‘90’s, Pam contributed to the development and improvement of U.S. gymnastics by serving as a contributing coach at Elite and TOPS training camps alongside other Olympians such as Vladimir Artemov, Artur Akopian, Kim Zmeskal, and Michelle Dussere. In addition, she served as the USGA Region I Technical Chairman of the Women’s Technical Committee as well as a member of the Athlete’s Council and Grievance Committee. Education: B.S. at UCLA, graduating Magna Cum Laude and majoring in Communications and Business. Retirement: After her competition years, Pam has worked for the Zanuck Company and Disney Studios in TV production. Family: (m) Ronen Flat who is an airline Captain. Children: Jonathan, Ryan, and Alex.

Sources: Interviews with Pam and communication with her husband, Ronen, who graciously provided photos, plus the USAG 2006 Hall of Fame Induction Program that provided confirmation of some data. Introduction and formatting by Dr. Larry Banner, Web Manager.