At a Tuesday session of the Cardinal Kids Gymnastics Camp, three elementary-aged girls carefully emulate the moves of their teacher, a member of the Ball State gymnastics team, on the balance beam. After a few minutes of walking forward and backward on the balls of her feet, a redhead with pigtails loses her footing and stumbles off her beam onto the ground. She cautiously looks up at her instructor, who reminds her, "You fell, that's three pushups."
She quietly obeys, then resumes her exercises. A few minutes later, a blonde next to her falls and immediately drops to do her pushups. The girls seem to be the picture of discipline, until their instructor leads them to mats next to a giant trampoline. As they walk by, the blonde suddenly flops onto the trampoline dramatically. The girls break into giggles and follow suit, rolling around until their instructor can gently steer them back in the right direction.
According to head gymnastics coach Mary Roth, that is what she wanted to see from the Cardinal Kids Gymnastics Camp.
"This camp is more about fun and just giving the kids experience than it is about competition," she said.
Roth and the Ball State gymnastics team run the camp through the Office of Recreation Services, which requested that she start the program last year after a previous gymnastics class fizzled.
"We thought it would be something different," said Jason Adamowicz, Assistant Director of Recreation Programs. "We wanted to add another program for the youth and families in the Ball State community."
Roth said that East Central Indiana has a large gymnastics following, so many parents also expressed interest in her starting the program.
Pam Martin, whose daughter Adriene attends the camp, was one of those parents. As a gymnastics coach in Anderson, Martin appreciates the skill of the team members who instruct the children.
"They teach them well and Adriene really likes it," Martin said. "She loves to get to work on the big equipment."
Adriene has been involved in gymnastics for three years, so she is hardly a beginner, but the camp caters to all ages and experience levels.
"The preschoolers learn basic body parts and positions," Roth said. "The older kids learn basic gymnastics, and the more advanced kids come to us for more individual attention and to refine their skill."
Adamowicz said the community response to the camp, now in its second year, has been positive. He and Roth both noted that enrollment for this year's camp nearly doubled that of last year, and parents and children alike seem pleased with the program. Adamowicz also added that Recreation Services will conduct an evaluation of the camp after its completion, which he anticipated will provide ideas for improving the program next year.
The gymnastics team will no doubt look forward to improvements as well. The camp serves not only as a fund-raiser for the team, but also as a publicity generator.
"We feel it is a good way to get the community interested in the gymnastics program," Roth said.
Adamowicz agreed, "This has been a great partnership with Mary and with the community."
The camp runs for nine weeks in the fall, ending this year on Nov. 14. Sessions are offered Tuesday and Thursday nights in the gymnastics gym - located in Irving Gym, and parents can enroll their children in either one or two sessions per week. The cost is $65 for one class per week or $120 for both.
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