After five months off, just five gymnasts returned to the mats at Waltham’s Massachusetts Gymnastics Center on Monday, Sept. 22, to start a new season of rebuilding the Brandeis Gymnastics Club post-pandemic. 

While the club usually has a dozen regulars, there was an unexpectedly low turnout for the first practice back. “We’re building back up,” said President Summer Holmes ’28, in a Sept. 22 interview with The Justice, explaining that the club’s numbers have dwindled post-COVID-19 compared to before the pandemic hit. 

The main goal for Holmes is to continue last year’s momentum, when there were lots of beginners who joined the club and the sport for the first time. “It’s cool to see people get into the sport,” added Holmes, “because that doesn’t usually happen when you’re older in gymnastics.” 

For returning members, the club’s supportive community keeps bringing them back. “Being around people who want to see you progress and who you want to see progress” motivates club member Ivana Marinkovic ’29, in a Sept. 22 interview with The Justice. The dynamic in the gym reflects these sentiments, as seen by the president helping a new member learn a skill called a pullover on the bars, while cheers of “Nice!” were heard whenever another member executed a move well. 

We’re here “for the love of the sport,” said Marinkovic, quoting the United Club Gymnastics motto. For a sport that usually “has a lot of intensity around it,” as Holmes put it, the majority of gymnasts retire before reaching adulthood. But for the members who choose to compete, competitions are organized using the United Club Gymnastics’ system, which offers more flexibility for beginners than the traditional National Collegiate Athletic Association. 

Transport to practice is conveniently offered for Brandeis students. The club meets at Brandeis’ Gosman Athletic Center at 8:00 p.m., where Holmes picks up the team in a BranVan for the fifteen-minute drive to Massachusetts Gymnastics Center. 

The structure of the club’s practice also offers a lot of flexibility. While the center’s gymnasts finished up their practice, Brandeis gymnasts were free to put away their belongings and get ready. At about 8:30 p.m., practice started with warming up and stretching. Holmes led basic skills across the floor such as handstands, turns and leaps. After everyone warmed up together, people split off to work on whichever events they wanted, including vault, balance beam, uneven bars or rings. At 9:45 p.m., practice wrapped up when Holmes led group conditioning and another stretch. 

Unlike traditional college athletics, the club operates without coaches, instead relying on peer mentoring. This creates a relaxed atmosphere, which is unusually quiet for a gym, besides the sound of tumbling, chatter and music playing on a speaker. 

The welcoming environment seems to be paying off, as turnout was much higher for the second practice, with five additional new members, offering a mixture of beginners and experienced gymnasts. Ultimately, the club values introducing people to the sport and building a welcoming, inclusive community. 

If interested, students can join Brandeis Gymnastics Club’s page on Campus Groups for more information and find the club’s Instagram for the Slack group chat link to RSVP for practices. Gymnasts should also fill out the athletics waiver before attending their first practice.