 "Photo: Riannon Rowley")
Students with a passion for flipping, tumbling and doing tricks that defy all laws of gravity meet throughout the week to raise money in preparation for their upcoming season.
“We have signs and scream really loud to get peoples’ attention and they’ll pay us whatever they think our flips are worth,” said Rachel Glaser, vice president of Tech gymnastics. “We’ll do running rumbling and standing tumbling or whatever people want us to do. We do our best to hit every tail gating lot.”
Averaging $400 or $500 each time, the team makes enough money for competition in just a few hours and still gets to go to the games.
Depending on the weather, the team plans to flip before the last home game of the season at the AT&T Jones Stadium against University of Oklahoma.
The team has six meets in the spring against University of Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Texas State, Oklahoma University and Hardin-Simmons University. Since the team does not compete against another school in West Texas, it must travel for its meets. The team raises money for hotels, gas and meet expenses such as team leotards and entry fees. In private clubs, these costs can add up quickly since they are all out of pocket, Glaser said.
The student recreational center helps support gymnastics and other teams on campus with some of the funding needed to make this work, but the team still must fundraise to keep its dues and personal expenses low when it comes to competition season.
Flips for tips, the team’s annual fundraiser at all tailgates during football season, raises money so team members don’t have to pay for anything other than food when they compete.
“I’m looking forward to competition for the first time at the college level,” said Kelsey Rangel, a freshman pre-nursing major from Austin. “The money we raise at Flips for Tips will help us because being a college student isn’t cheap.”
Collegiate teams compete through Texas Gymnastics Conference rather than through USA Gymnastics like other club teams.
Michael Zebron, team president and a senior industrial engineering major from Fort Worth, said the main difference between the two groups is the level at which the teams and individuals compete.
“We’re in it to compete for our university,” Horne said.
Requiring all gymnasts to perform on a particular level presents challenges and advantages for the team.
Since there are no requirements to join the team except for the love of gymnastics and the desire to learn and participate, Glaser said, members on the team vary in skill levels.
An elite level gymnast is considered to be on the Olympic level. Having members on the team who compete or have competed at such high levels before only helps the team in its meets; they can do the skills required in hopes of receiving a higher score, but others must compete on a more difficult level than they normally would.
“It’s harder to compete at a different skill level because it takes a different technique and more training to be able to acquire the higher skills,” Rangel said.
All members of the gymnastics team competed prior to coming to Tech. The team gave its members a chance to continue competing in a sport they love.
“I’ve done gymnastics since I was 9 years old, I quit when I was 17 and thought that I was done,” Glaser said. “I was at orientation for Tech and they had a booth set up and told me they had a team here. I figured that it’d be a good way to find friends and meet people with my common interests.”
Glaser said the team not only practices and works out together, but they meet for Sunday dinners to hang out.
“We’re a very close-knit group,” said Tova Horne, a junior psychology major from Abilene. “We support each other in workouts and help each other get through. It’s important and we need each other.”
Be the first to comment on this article!