Finding a family in the club gymnastics team

For fun on campus, I compete for Penn Club Gymnastics, or PCG. 

We at PCG take a unique view to a very competitive sport — it’s all about having fun and staying in shape. The gymnasts on the team range in skill from beginner to very advanced. Personally, my gymnastics experience is very limited. I took lessons as a child and was a cheerleader in high school. There is no tryout to be a member of the team, which is also co-ed and has both graduate and undergraduate members. The team even has current medical students who participated in the club as Penn undergraduates.

PCG practices three times a week on campus, traditionally Monday and Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons. We have no coach, but rather two team-elected captains who lead warm-ups and conditioning. The captains can provide more guidance for novices, but those with more skill are free to lead their own workouts.

We compete in overnight meets with other schools, like Boston, Cornell and Temple universities through the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics. We also host an annual home meet, affectionately dubbed “Flipadelphia”. Flipadelphia 2013 hosted eight different teams from across the country. 

Our biggest meet is in the spring for the NAIGC National Competition. This spring the team flew to Chattanooga, Tennessee for four days of gymnastics and socializing.

If competition makes you nervous, don’t worry. The NAIGC motto is “For the love of the sport.” It’s not uncommon for club teams to have a disparity in skill levels. Competitions are a fun opportunity to show off what you’ve learned, regardless of difficulty. I’ll never forget the first time I landed a front tuck during my routine — it was at a dual meet with Temple and I had bronchitis. 

Competition participation is encouraged but not mandatory. There is so much more to PCG. Throughout the year we have team dinners, mixers with other club teams and field trips to places like trampoline parks. We order tanks for Spring Fling, as well as a variety of other apparel items every semester. At the end of the year, we give out team superlatives. Last year I was awarded “Most Epic Falls” and “Most Likely to Take Selfies on the Team Camera."

There are also opportunities for leadership on PCG. In addition to a men’s and women’s captain, we have a full board of officers. Personally, I manage PCG’s presence on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Wordpress.

We like to think of PCG as a family, not just a team. If you’re interested in learning more, visit our website or look for us on any of our social media outlets. We’d love to have you. 

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