A Letter to the College Gymnastics Community

Dear Gymternet,

To say we’re heartbroken would be an understatement—sad, a minimization. But we also understand, and we want what’s best for our community. This week may seem like one of the hardest you’ve ever experienced. Sports are supposed to be your escape from the realities of everyday life, so what do we do when even those small comforts are taken away? We join together as a community. We may have our differences—we support different teams, we love or hate nude mesh on leos, we disagree about whether all bar routines should have single bar releases—but in hard times we have to band together.

To the gymnasts:

We’re so sorry. You worked hard all year. You put your time and energy into building toward a postseason that was gone in an instant. We can’t imagine how that feels. You got no closure. Some of you were having the best seasons of your lives, and you didn’t get to see where that could lead. We empathize, and we support you in your sadness and frustration.

We also know that, as members of this community, it is our utmost duty to help protect you and remain a voice of reason. The gymnastics world has already been through so much. Your health and safety must come first. It feels (and is!) unfair, but it is also best. We know you know that, but it bears repeating. You’ve lost your postseasons, but that sacrifice is protecting not only you, but everyone who would travel and be in the arena with you. That is an honorable sacrifice, and we thank you.

2021 is on the horizon. We already look forward to the gymnastics you will bring us. What a pleasure it is to get to report on your athletic achievements.

To the seniors:

Thank you. 

We’ve had the privilege of watching your gymnastics for four—or maybe five—years. It wasn’t enough. You’ve worked your entire lives to be where you are. Every one of you deserved your conference meet and your postseason. We’re devastated for you. 

You left your mark on our sport. Your national recruiting class was one of the best of all time. You set records in every division. We won’t forget. 

Our wish for you is to bring everything you learned in the sport into the rest of your lives. You are strong, capable and dedicated women. You are our future leaders. Thank you for all you have done. We wish you nothing but the best. 

To the fans:

Your passion for the sport is unmatched. Gymnastics absolutely would not be what it is without you. We would not be what we are without you. We’re so honored to have found a community like the gymternet where we can laugh, cry and argue about some of our favorite things in the world.

Use this time away from the sport to repair your relationship with the sport and remember the things that first made you fall in love in the first place. Put aside the annoyances in scoring, teams you may not enjoy watching or skills you may hate and focus on the positives. Use it as fuel to become more invested and become even more excited for all the wonderful things to come.

We’re here for you in this unexpected time of need and after taking a short break to process the events of the past week, we’ll be back to working hard to bring you content and other exciting ways to spend the time.

This is not the end of the world, even though it may seem that way right now. There are people out there with worse problems, more dire situations, and it’s important to keep that in perspective. But it also doesn’t negate your feelings or the hurt you’re feeling right now. The chalk will settle, the world will start to heal, and before you know it we will have gymnastics again.

Be safe. Wash your hands. Protect your loved ones.

The countdown to 2021 begins!

The editors of College Gym News