The aroma of freshly popped popcorn mixed with hairspray and self-tanner consumes the air of LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center, affectionately called the PMAC. The lights shine bright, the thousands of fans start to fill the arena, and the adrenaline starts to build. Going up to the first event, KJ Johnson notices her heart beating faster, her body tensing up, and her nerves elevating. That is the moment when it clicks that it is competition time, and what happens on the apparatus is going to be scored. In that moment before saluting, the noise produced by the crowd injects a shot of adrenaline into the competitor, helping each gymnast to compete at their best. It might not be the most expected in such an individual sport, but the crowd influences the performances in competition.
These crowds come in all shapes and sizes, and they all have influences on the experience of the gymnasts on the competition floor. Utah consistently boasts some of the highest attendance numbers for gymnastics meets, if not the highest. You can expect to see 15,000 fans in attendance at Utah home meets, with the attendees at LSU following close behind. The environments produced by schools, especially those in the SEC, are noted by gymnasts around the country. Is bigger always better?…
