MIT gets gymnastics back

Gymnastics is making a comeback at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Last April, MIT cut men's and women's gymnastics and six other sports teams in an attempt to streamline its budget. Today, MIT's student newspaper The Tech reported that the school would reinstate six of those eight sports -- including both gymnastics teams -- as Division III club teams.

But there will be some changes.

Gymnasts can no longer practice whenever they want, said team member Garrett A. Hemann ’11. As a club sport, men’s gymnastics will have restricted time to access to their gym facility. And, DAPER is now requiring that a trained staff member be present when the gymnasts practice. “This year,” Hemann said, “we will only be able to practice about eight hours a week. Last year, we did fifteen.”

...in order for DAPER to reconsider a team for varsity status, the team must raise $1 million for an endowment account that would be used to pay the team’s expenses. The team must also improve on metrics that were determined in a Health and Vitality Study conducted several years ago and were used last spring in determining which sports would be cut, said MIT Athletic Director Julie Soriero.

It isn't easy being a serious club team. A couple years ago I wrote a feature for The Seattle Post-Intelligencer about men's club gymnastics at the University of Washington. At the time, the team featured one Jeff Crockett, who performed a double twisting Jaeger on high bar.

Jeff Crockett, double twisting Jaeger on high bar:

The men worked out at a local gym and raised money to cover their travel expenses by setting up and tearing down equpiment at the UW women's meets. Their accomplishments, including Crockett's all around win at the 2006 National Collegiate Championships, went largely unnoticed. So it can go for university club teams.

MIT's alpine skiing, golf, men’s ice hockey, and pistol shooting have also been reinstated. Women's ice hockey and wrestling have not. MIT presently has 33 varsity sports, more than any other D-III school.