A gymnast suspends himself in a handstand on the rings, eight feet off the ground, arms rigid and unwavering. But the fate of the Dartmouth gymnastics team may not be so steady, despite the interest of many students and the competitive presence of the team.
Although Dartmouth gymnastics is a coed club sport, Coach Keith Van Winkle said about 10 men have participated regularly this season, while only three or four women have practiced occasionally. None of the women competed this year.
The gymnastics team had its fifth and final meet of the year, the New England Men's Gymnastics Championships, on Sunday at Springfield College against five other schools.
Sophomore Seth Pevnick scored seventh in the all-around category and placed sixth on the rings. Overall, the team came in sixth.
"We haven't won any meets, but they have gone well," Van Winkle said. "Our men have improved, and I'd say they have been a success."
"Our team has never been one to win a lot of competitions," team Captain Cabell King '97 said. "But we're not being left in the dust," he added. Last year, the team beat the University of Vermont, a Division I school, and they are neck-and-neck with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
One of the most unique aspects of Dartmouth gymnastics is that many of the team members didn't start tumbling until they came to Dartmouth. This year there are only three or four team members with previous experience, Van Winkle said.
"We're certainly not going to win any meets," Van Winkle added. "But they certainly can get good enough to feel a sense of accomplishment."
At each meet, team members take rotations on each of the six events -- floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bars. Up to six people can perform each event, but only the top four scores count towards the team score.
King and Pevnick have both performed well in the all-around competition at this season's meets. Pevnick placed first in both meets against MIT and second in a tri-meet against UVM and MIT.
A men's varsity sport for over 30 years, this is the fourth year gymnastics has been a coed club sport.
The gymnastics team is funded solely through endowment interest and donations through an annual fund-raising letter sent to former Dartmouth gymnasts.
Van Winkle said the demotion from varsity to club status changed nothing about the team financially, because gymnastics had been a non-funded varsity sport for 11 years. He said the level of participation stayed the same after the change, and "participants don't know the difference."
But King said the club status of the team makes members take it less seriously and doesn't encourage fans.
"People are up there working out just as hard with not as much recognition," King said. "Support is a big thing, and there is a lot of pressure on us now. The school is not sure they want us around."
He said Athletic Director Dick Jaeger called a meeting with interested students today to discuss the future of gymnastics at Dartmouth.
"Last time they called a meeting like this they demoted us" to club status, King said.
"We're in a position where we could, with investment, have a great program," King said. "It could also be cut and it wouldn't make a difference to most people."
Pevnick said the loss of Dartmouth's gymnastics team would also affect the teams it has meets with.
"That takes all the teams we compete against one step closer to losing their teams, too," he said.
