Gymnastics club, an FGCU registered student organization since 2012, has made the transition into becoming an official sports club. With assistance from the sports club council, the organization can now enjoy the perks that come with being a sports club, including participating in competitions.
“The process of becoming a sports club went by smoothly,” said Elizaveta Mack, the club’s president. “In the spring of 2015, we proposed to make the RSO club a sports club. In our proposition, we included the goals we had for the upcoming year.”
Club officers sat in on a sports club council meeting in order to introduce themselves and to present their goals and the main focus of the club. Representatives from each sports club on campus then voted on whether or not they believed that the organization should become a sports club.
“Each representative and council member voted yes, which was extremely exciting,” Mack said.
The sports club representatives were a vital part in the RSO’s transition.
“The sports club council members were extremely helpful along the way,” Mack said. “They made sure that we had the correct information and constantly made sure we were on the right path to success.”
Council members gave the club officers tips on marketing, ways to fundraise for their organization as well as how to promote themselves on campus. This year will hold several changes for the newly inducted sports club.
“The biggest change is that now instead of just recreationally practicing gymnastics, we are now giving our members the opportunity to compete in trampoline and tumbling,” Mack said. “Our members are very excited for us to introduce a competitive team to the club.”
Trampoline and tumbling is a specific form of gymnastics that focuses on the gymnast spending most of the time performing acrobatic moves, both on the floor and on a trampoline. There are six levels to this form of gymnastics, ranging from four to 10. Members who wish to compete in this form of gymnastics are able to do so through the various levels.
“We have members who are at different skill levels and one member who is at the highest level and is a great contender for nationals,” Mack said.
The organization, which has 43 registered members on EagleLink, “promotes a safe environment for individuals interested in gymnastics … to create a fun team atmosphere for the members.”
The club plans on promoting themselves heavily throughout the rest of the semester.
“We are planning on plenty of tabling on campus to recruit new members and market our club,” Mack said. “We are also planning car washes at various locations.”
Gymnastics sports club is also planning a unique event called Flips for Tips, where members will set up a space on campus to showcase their skills for any tips that passersby want to donate to the club.
The organization will begin to compete starting in January 2016, with their first competition being held Jan. 23 to 24 in Tampa  and the next from Feb. 5 to 7 in Punta Gorda. The national competition hosted by United States of America Gymnastics will be held from June 8 to 13 in Providence, Rhode Island.