This winter season will not see the return of Boys Gymnastics as a sport at MHS. The Illinois High School Sports Association (IHSA) has discontinued support for the sport in all of Illinois, making this season the first in which there will be no State Series competition.
To many this comes as a surprise, although this decision comes after decades of debate regarding the waning participation in the sport. Since the late 1980’s, men’s gymnastics has seen a sharp decline in support at the collegiate level. According to USA Gymnastics, in 1980, there were over 200 gymnastics programs nationwide. Today, there are only 15, representing a decline of over 92% in 40 years.
The same trend has been seen in high schools, with only four states offering gymnastics as a high school sport in the nation (Illinois, Texas, New York, and Massachusetts). In Illinois, only a fraction of schools within the state host boys gymnastics teams, according to IHSA. A new policy by IHSA states that sports will not hold a State Series tournament if they have under 7% of schools in the state participating in the sport, of which boys gymnastics falls just under. Out of 817 member schools in the state, only 50 schools support teams.
In an announcement on the IHSA website stating the discontinuation of the state series for boys gymnastics, IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said “After years of decline in participation, boys gymnastics no longer meets the threshold required by IHSA Policy to conduct a State Series. Boys gymnastics dipped below seven percent several years ago, and to our Board of Directors credit, they provided a grace period in hopes that it might experience a rejuvenation after the pandemic, but unfortunately, that has not occurred at a level that allows either to meet the policy.”
This change in rule only discontinues the state competition, but still allows schools to run boys gymnastics as a sport and compete with other schools that host teams as well. MHS has made the decision independent of IHSA to discontinue the sport, primarily due to low participation. Social studies teacher and former boys gymnastics coach, Jesse Piland, has had experience both coaching and playing gymnastics at MHS, seeing numbers decline since he began. “When I started coaching, we probably had about 35, 40 guys on the team. And when I was a gymnast too, same thing.” said Piland, “Especially after the pandemic, the numbers on the sport really suffered, and we had about seven or eight guys on the team.”
While the future of the sport is unsure, boys gymnastics does not have to see a permanent end at MHS. If demand becomes high enough, MHS still has full capabilities to reinstate the sport and create a team to compete against other high schools. “We haven’t gotten rid of the equipment. The gym as far as we know is still designated for gymnastics and Adventure Ed, so there’s not really much going on there other than that.” said Piland.
