By JESSICA SCHIEBER
There has been some shocking news that hit the world of gymnastics recently, and that is the news of Iowa State University closing their gymnastics team.
I am not a fan of gymastics and I couldn’t tell you if something was good or bad, but my sister is and I have had a lot of conversations with her about this situation.
She is the one who brought this to my attention.
This team has had multiple issues throughout recent years and as the team gets cancelled there are some people who have thoughts about it.
One of these people who have thoughts about it is KJ Kindler, the Oklahoma gymnastics head coach and former Iowa State gymnast spoke to Inside Gymnastics and said “What is most disturbing is the attempt to place blame on the sport of gymnastics itself. That narrative is not just inaccurate-it is unjust.”
This comes after the athletics director said that the sport is the reason they closed and not the fact that they were negligent when it came to the sport.
Many ISU gymnasts have reported about how they did not take proper care of their gym.
The girls on the team showed up and found out their season was cancelled then a few days after they announced they were shutting down the ISU gymnastics.
It has already been shown how female athletes and sports don’t get the same sort of recognition as male athletes and sports, and this is just more proof of that.
The Associate Head Coach Ryan Snider posted on her Instagram “Sad day for this sprot. Shame on that entire ISU athletic department. All you had to do was take accountability for hiring the wrong person. How many athletes, coaches and parents went to administration and told you about Ashley? You have issues in every sport, its college athletics. You’re dealing with young humans in the most influential part of their lives. The issue recently with gymnastics? You hired a used car salesman to lead a storied Division 1 program. In what other sprot or professional does hiring someone with zero experience make sense?”
Ashley was a gymnast, but she had no experience in coaching.
That is like hiring a high school football player to coach college football, or worse an NHL team.
How is it the fault of gymnastics for the administration hiring someone with no experience?
Former Iowa State gymnast, and sister of Oklahoma gymnast Dani Sievers, Meaghan Sievers shared with planetofgymnastics “The heat went out in the entire building, and we were told it would not be fixed for another week. Outdoor temperatures were below zero, and we had to train in full sweatshirts, leggings, and slippers just to stay warm.”
And for those who say that gymnastics doesn’t bring anyone in, all it takes is the right marketing to get it done. Arkansas gymnastics just recently had 15,512 gymnastics attendance.
Marketing something is how you bring people in, and ISU clearly did not market thier team all that well. It is a sad day when the athletic director is blaming a sport rather than the short comings of thierselves on why something is shutting down.
US Glove is going to supply Iowa State Gymnasts with grips and provide chalk to club gyms.
They are going to provide every gymnast on the team with grips, Tiger Paws, wristbands, and grip bags. And any gym willing to open its doors for these girls will recieve chalk.