The girls gymnastics team has had three meets so far this season. The girls have 15 athletes on the team this year and are halfway through their season.
The girls have gone two and one so far in their season. They have 12 meets per season, they have only competed three in their conference so far due to cancellations and date changes. but out of the three they have competed at they have won two. The team values supporting their teammates and celebrating their victories together.
“We’ve built a really inclusive team that is very welcoming and loving,” senior captain Liberty Quast said.
There are four competitive events for women’s gymnastics. The four are vault, uneven bars, beam and floor. Vault consists of a gymnast running down a runway, to take off onto a vault board, then to land momentarily on their hands on a vault board, which propels them backward or forward off the platform to land on two feet. Uneven bars is when a gymnast performs a timed routine on two horizontal bars that are parallel and are at different heights. Balance beam is when a gymnast performs a routine up to 90 seconds in length comprised of acrobatic skills. Floor is a routine 90 seconds in length preformed on the floor, there are many different types of routines. Gymnasts will put skills into the routine to perform and be judged on.
Freshman Sadie Grecian said they practice two and a half hours, and they do about 30 minutes on each event.
Floor is one of the events and lasts around a minute and 30 seconds it starts when the gymnast first moves. Floor is performed on a floor with springs underneath. The surface provides extra bounce or spring when the gymnasts are performing their routine. On top of the spring board there is a layer of foam to help cushion the landings when the athletes are performing. The athletes are allowed to choose their routine music that has no words. There are skill requirements in the routines however the athletes get to choreograph their own routines.
Quast said her “ front full, front full on floor” is her hardest skill.
High school meets are judged on performance, difficulty and execution. The scoring can be impacted on many different things. With difficulty if the routine is not as difficult as it could be or the gymnast does simpler moves they will score lower than a gymnast with a more difficult routine. Execution is impacted by how well the gymnast performs the routine. any wobbles, falls, or landings could impact the gymnasts final score.
When asked about the hardest part of gymnastics Grecian said “All my stuff on beam just making sure I don’t wobble and stay on.”
The team is a close group of girls, they say their biggest strength is being positive and being there for each other. “As a team, we have very good energy,” Quast said. “We always find the positive in things.” The girls have had a successful season so far and can anticipate a good season down the road.