Gymnastics club springs onto campus
Emily Mead - April 24th, 2008Every Tuesday and Thursday beginning at 8 p.m. in the Rolle Activity Center, the newly formed gymnastics club can be found stretching, conditioning and practicing their gymnastics skills.
The gymnastics club was founded by Kaitlin Mulcahy, a freshman biology and zoology major. With the help of Kevin Fucella, a freshman psychology major, and other invested members, the club was up and running in the beginning of spring.
Mulcahy said she got the idea to start the club on campus early in the year because of her love for gymnastics. She held the first meeting on Oct. 10.
“I missed the sport and thought it would be a good idea to start a club here,” Mulcahy said. “I [also] have a friend that goes to Purdue [in Indiana] and participates on their team, and she always told me how much fun it was and what an awesome experience it was, so that definitely influenced me.”
Once the club was headed in the right direction, Mulcahy and Fucella, with the help of the university administration, set up biweekly meeting times and began promoting the club, trying to get new members of all experience levels.
Holly Merrow, a freshman exercise science major has little experience in gymnastics, but was happy to hear about the club coming to campus.
“I’ve always been interested in it,” Merrow said. “I think I might go to a meeting just to see what it’s all about.”
Now, with about 40 members, the club prides itself on accepting all skill levels of gymnasts.
Mulcahy, Fucella and Evonne Corrales are all trained and qualified coaches who can work with gymnasts of any skill level safely and properly.
The coaches work with members of the club on specific areas they may need assistance in. On average, each practice has about 10 members present to learn new skills without injuring themselves.
Though the small club does not currently compete, as they are still trying to raise money and get publicity on campus, they plan on going to a few meets next fall and spring.
Until then, each practice is focused on keeping members motivated and in shape for when the competitions and various meets begin.
“We have not begun competing yet, but hope to be competing by next spring,” Fucella said. “Once we are a competitive team, we will be affiliated with the USA Gymnastics Associations, but until then we are a recreational NAU club.”
Currently, practices begin with a good warm-up and stretch. The three coaches then help individual members as needed. Each practice ends with strength conditioning, in which members work on all muscle groups in an effort to stay in shape.
“Our goal for practice is to provide a fun and friendly environment for students to enjoy the sport of gymnastics, learn new things and get a great workout,” Mulcahy said.
Mulcahy said for now the club is working to build a strong base before attempting to polish off any routines.
“Next year, when we have members who wish to compete and be a part of the team, practices will be more focused on getting routines down and working on new skills,” Mulcahy said.
The club is an affiliated member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs (NAIGC). The NAIGC is the largest national student-run gymnastics organization.
According to www.naigc.net, NAIGC is open to any affiliate of a participating school regardless of the participants’ experience or ability.
This organization allows the NAU Gymnastics Club to compete with other gymnastics clubs at their same level across the nation.
“This club is not about competing,” Mulcahy said. “It is about having fun with friends and enjoying the sport of gymnastics and getting a great workout while they’re at it.”
Anyone interested in more information about the NAU Gymnastic Club can contact naugymnastics@yahoo.com.