Photo courtesy of Grambling State University/ Instagram.
Grambling State University could be the first HBCU with a women’s gymnastics program. The university is considering a women’s gymnastics program, according to the Associated Press.
The school was host to the Brown Girls Do Gymnastics annual conference over the weekend of July 23. The Brown Girls Do Gymnastics organization was created by Derrin Moore in 2015.
The organization’s goal is to provide coaching, training and scholarships to aspiring athletes in marginalized communities. The organization also offers workshops for parents to learn how to support competitive athletes.
Raven Thissel from Grambling State’s The Doug Williams Center said that the university wants to help Black and brown gymnasts succeed.
“Our university leadership is looking at young gymnasts in our community and realizing and understanding the path from toddler gymnastics tumbling to the Olympics for a Black and brown gymnast is arduous,” she said. “How can we make it a smoother one?”
Despite gymnastics being a white-dominated sport, the demographics are beginning to change. Little Black girls have been inspired by Biles and Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas, the first Black woman to win the all-around competition. Half of the women invited to the Olympic trials were Black, and half of the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Olympic team were either Black or brown.
One of Simone Biles’ coaches, Cecile Landi, said that Biles is
changing the sport’s demographics.“Simone has opened the eyes to so many women of color saying, ‘Hey, you can do this, too.’ It’s not just little skinny white girls that can do it. Anyone can do it,” Landi said.