Gymnastics programs dropped from B.C. schools: coaches, students upset
Global News
The governing body for sport in BC schools is dropping gymnastics from it's list of sactioned sports. Coaches and athletes are shocked and disappointed.
The governing body for sport for the province’s primary and secondary schools has dropped gymnastics as a sanctioned sport.
BC School Sports (BCSS) said the rationale was based on low enrollment numbers and gymnastics typically not taking place within the school itself.
In the 2022-23 season, there were only 453 athletes across B.C. enrolled in school gymnastics, according to the BCSS.
The BCSS went on to justify the decision citing a disproportionate number of athletes in school gymnastics come from the Lower Mainland and Sea to Sky Country.
“67 per cent (298) of the 453 athletes came from the Lower Mainland,” BCSS said in its annual Statement of Operations.
“Gymnastics has moved away from being a school-based sport to a community-based sport. In the Okanagan Valley Athletic Association there is not a single school that runs gymnastics in their building.”
Now, what this means for students who participate in their schools’ gymnastics programs is that they can no longer compete at provincial championships in their sport.
In addition, students will no longer be eligible for an athletic scholarship in gymnastics.