Gymnastics can be a dangerous sport. So often when a gymnast works on gaining a new skill, the first step is learning it over a pit. A loose foam pit creates the perfect safety barrier to train new skills with minimal fear from both gymnasts and coaches alike. When looking for a gym, parents and gymnasts tend to prioritize gyms that have a foam pit. So it might come as a surprise that there are a few college gymnastics facilities that lack an in-house foam pit. Until this past summer, Kent State was one of those schools.
When asked, Kent State senior, Kyndall Gilbert, raved about the loose foam pit behind the vault table which was added during the facility upgrade over the summer. She is excited for her Yurchenko one and a half on vault, adding “I don’t think I would have been able to get it as quickly if we didn’t have the pit.” Before the addition of their own foam pit, the team would have to drive to a nearby club gym. “It was inconvenient and it took a lot of time,” said graduate student Karlie Franz. “For freshmen, they’re comfortable in our pit space and they feel like they can learn new skills without holding back.”
Not only are foam pits useful for learning new skills, but they are also helpful in minimizing the load on athletes’…
