Gator Gymnastics Harvest Food Drive a Hit Once Again with Area Youth
Sunday, November 20, 2011 | Gymnastics
By Mara Rudolph, UF Communications
The Ted Crom Gymnastics Studio in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center was bursting with brightly-colored leotards, sparkling smiles and community spirit Sunday as 55 young gymnasts turned out to tumble and twirl with the Florida Gymnastics team for the team's annual Harvest Food Drive.
| Check out the photo gallery from the 2011 Harvest Food Drive |
With an entrance fee of five non-perishable food items for each participant, the team gathered 119 pounds of food for the Bread of the Mighty food bank to help families in need celebrate Thanksgiving.
"Raising the food is a great help for the community because we know a lot of people can't afford to have a nice Thanksgiving dinner, and we're just thankful we can do something to help our community," said freshman gymnast Kytra Hunter.
The gymnasts were divided into groups and rotated between seven different stations, each conducted by a different Florida gymnast or coach. Each child spent 10 minutes at each station, where they learned and refined basic skills like tumbling and sticking landings. They also had the opportunity to use many of the studio's equipment, including the rope swing, balance beam and foam pit.
"It's just so fun right now," said 8-year-old Kylie Klinker, who giggled excitedly as she tried each station. "I love having fun with the gymnasts."
Kylie was excited to attend this year to practice on the uneven bars and meet her favorite gymnast, junior and 2011 NCAA Vault champion Marissa King.
Carsten Schmalfuss brought his 8-year-old daughter Veronika, who trains at Sun Country Sports Center in Gainesville, to inspire her.
"This is great fun for her. She loves hanging out with the Gators - it's the big girls," he said. "Obviously, this is a great cause too. It shows community support and shows the little and aspiring gymnasts where you can end up, but at the same time, how much effort it takes. I think this is a great window of opportunity for the little ones to see what you can achieve."
Veronika said her favorite part of the event was doing gymnastics with the Gator gymnasts because they helped her a lot.
For sophomore gymnast Mackenzie Caquatto, the feeling was mutual.
"It's for a great cause and I just love working with the kids and making them smile, seeing that they're having fun doing something that we love to do," Caquatto said.
Florida gymnastics Head Coach Rhonda Faehn said that like Caquatto, many of her gymnasts love working with the children as they play and learn in the team's facility.
"It's such a fun opportunity to give back and the team loves seeing the smiles on the kids' faces," Faehn said. "We absolutely love hosting this event every year, not only because it brings the community together here into our gym to work side-by-side with our student-athletes, but also because we're able to help one another raised canned goods for the local shelter. It's tremendously important, especially at this time of year, right before Thanksgiving. We wouldn't want it any other way."
