Silje Hildebrand cartwheels. Photo by Justin Cox.
Fans of UAA Gymnastics showed up to the Alaska Airlines Center on Jan. 4 to watch Women’s Gymnastics compete in their first event of the season.
The meet was held in the practice gym — where the team normally practices their routines — equipped with balance beams, bars, vaults and blue mats.
In an interview with The Northern Light, Head Coach Marie-Sohpie Boggasch said that this year’s Green and Gold Intrasquad meet was treated more as a practice session that gave the women an opportunity to show off their routines and receive feedback from actual judges.
There weren't any other teams competing, so it was just UAA team members competing against each other.
Boggasch said that it was helpful to have a fresh set of eyes watching the routine, catching mistakes the team might be overlooking. She said that the scores would be used to make improvements and determine their lineup for their first competitive meet of the season.
The meet started with the vault and uneven bars, moving to the balance beam and floor routine.
There wasn’t a lot of space for spectators, so seats were lined up on the edge of the mat where the gymnasts performed their floor routine.
There was a warm-up period before gymnasts would step up to do a scored routine.
As the gymnasts performed, the crowd would cheer whenever one of the women stuck a landing or successfully performed a handstand on the bars.
Boggasch said that the team was a little behind in their training going into the new year, so doing the meet in the practice gym allowed them to make accommodations by using softer mats and other equipment.
She said that these options meant more of the women were willing to participate.
Looking forward, the next meets are on Jan. 19 and 21 against UC Davis. They will again be in the Alaska Airlines Center.
And those are the only home meets of the season for Women’s Gymnastics.
Boggasch said that this time, they will be in the main arena. And she encouraged people to attend.
“Our meets are so fun. A lot of people don’t know because they haven’t been. We try to do a lot of fun promos. We try to make the game an experience … It’s tons of fun.”
The meet against UC Davis starts at 7 p.m. on the 19th and 2 p.m. on the 21st.
For more information and updates about Women’s Gymnastics, visit goseawolves.com.
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