Lots of people only watch gymnastics during the Summer Olympics because of the highly ranked U.S. women’s team. However, there is much more to the sport than just the Olympics.

Many gymnasts begin training at a very young age and need to practice very often to improve their skills. I know multiple people, including my sister, Addi Lawrence, who, when they were in high school, had to leave school early every single day for gymnastics practice. I know, for Addi at least, she had to take a lot of online and summer classes to make up for the smaller number of in-person classes she took. Between practicing for 32+ hours a week during the school year, 35+ hours a week during summer and being a high school student, her schedule was always packed, and she had very little time to rest.

Gymnastics requires a lot of dedication and determination, firstly because of the practice schedule, and also due to the sheer difficulty and intensity of the sport. Not many people can physically do what gymnasts do, as they have to contort their bodies, flip through the air and overcome intense mental blocks, all while performing for judges and an audience with a smile on their face. I, personally, consider myself a pretty coordinated person, but even doing one cartwheel can sometimes throw me off balance. I can’t even do a handstand, whereas gymnasts are literally launching themselves into the air, twisting and flipping numerous times, and landing perfectly on their feet. If you think about the physics of it all, it shouldn’t even be possible to do so, yet gymnasts accomplish it anyway.

Whenever I watch a gymnastics meet on TV or in person, I am amazed at the sheer beauty of the sport, as well as all of the athletes’ strength and artistry, and I think more people should appreciate it too, not just during Olympic season, but every single year. Olympic gymnastics is always a spectacle, but so is collegiate gymnastics. College meets are usually between two teams, one home team and one away, but there are some occasions where three-four teams compete at one meet. Each team competes in four events: vault, balance beam, floor exercise and uneven bars, with six gymnasts competing in each event. Each individual gymnast’s score contributes to the total team’s score for the meet, so everyone needs to be at their best in order for the team to win. 

This ultimately puts gymnasts in high-stress situations, as one singular person’s routine could be the reason a team wins or loses to their opponent. On top of the mental stress of the sport, teams compete nearly every single weekend during the regular season, putting a lot of physical stress on their bodies. So, the gymnasts have to be physically and mentally tough and resilient to be successful.

The collegiate gymnastics season is just coming to a close, as the national final competition is this weekend. College gymnastics is already a relatively large program, as there are 84 NCAA women’s teams with approximately 3,500 gymnasts total. However, it often isn’t given the same amount of recognition as other collegiate sports, like football and basketball. That needs to change. I encourage all of you to tune in to the national final, as the best teams and athletes in the nation will be competing to win the ultimate title of national champion. It is basically the Super Bowl of college gymnastics. Please watch it, as you will be amazed by the high levels of talent, artistry and strength of the athletes and the sport as a whole.