By Sapna Pathak
Staff Writer

Observer/Sapna Pathak Dave Bosch shows off his skills on the parallel bars. Bosch has been on the team for 2 years and has been one of Ring’s most improved gymnasts.

Financial issues and stereotypes are two obstacles male gymnasts regularly encounter. But in New Hampshire high school athletics, a staggering lack of boys gymnastics teams serves as the biggest obstacle of all.

Throughout the Granite State, only Salem High has a boys gymnastics squad. According to Salem coach Steve Ring, keeping the Blue Devils' program alive hasn't been easy.

“In 1963, gymnastics, for girls and boys, was the first sport in the history of the school,” Ring said. “I came in 13 years ago and was told that if there were any less than 10 boys on the team, then there would be no boys gymnastics team. That's never been said to any other team here.”

Ring said he's jumped through many hoops during his days at Salem to keep the program afloat. The mission has been a one-man operation, he added.

A few years ago, after learning the school board didn't have enough money in the budget, Salem's coach said he single-handedly raised more than $10,000 from local businesses and private donors for a new floor and a pommel horse.

Ring said it's unfortunate when he sees football players with new helmets and pads each year, but there isn't enough room in the budget for boys gymnastics.

Bad for business?

Money is also the deciding factor for many local private gymnastics studios that don't offer programs for boys.

Dale Grant, owner of Flipz Gymnastics in Concord, said investing in a sport that generates so little income is unrealistic.

To host a male gymnastics program, studios need a high bar, parallel bars, rings and ring tower, and pommel horse, Grant said. The vault and floor are shared events in men's and women's gymnastics. Separate mats can range from $2,000 to $3,000, Grant added.

Brand new, the bar and ring equipment ranges between $10,000 and $12,000, Grant said, while used equipment ranges from $4,000 to $6,000. At least 1,000 extra square feet is also required to house men's equipment, which Grant said adds to the studio's expenses.

“Fifteen thousand bucks later you have the equipment to run a boys' program,” Grant said. “But now you have to pay another coach plus the extra rent because you need more space each month. It's a lot of work for a few kids. You just don't make your money's worth.”

Grant isn't the only owner shying away from making the sport available to male athletes.

Tumble Town gymnastics of Manchester is another studio that doesn't offer a boys program due to the cost.

However, Granite State Gymnastics Center in Bow is one of the few studios that supports a boys' competitive program. There are 16 to 20 boys on the team, ranging from 6 to 16 years old.

Diane Cote-Burk, owner of Granite State Gymnastics Center, said among private gymnastics clubs, there's one male gymnast for every three females.

GSGC has been around since 1978. Still, it wasn't until the United States won gold in the 1984 Olympics that men's gymnastics received a boost, Cote-Burk said. Around that time, she started a boys program.

The sport has received increased exposure since the mid-80s, she added, but not to the degree she hoped.

Seth and Jay Grimes currently compete for Cote-Burk's team. The boys' mother, Rebecca, said she saw a natural limberness in Seth when he was young and enrolled him in a recreation program at Gheorghe Ghita Gymnastics in Hooksett. Seth remained in the program for two years before leaving because a competitive team didn't exist at the studio.

Later, Seth enrolled at Gymnastics Village in Amherst where he spent another year in its recreation program. According to Rebecca, Seth left after being told his skill level didn't meet the studio's expectation. Gymnastics Village didn't invite Seth to try out for its team. As a result, he joined GSGC.

Rebecca said having two boys enrolled in private classes is a tremendous expense. Each year, the high cost of gymnastics forces her family to decide whether the boys should continue with the sport.

Stigma attached?

Schools and businesses, perhaps unintentionally, are creating a catch-22 scenario regarding boys gymnastics. Their reason for refusing to fund a boys' program is due to a lack of interest.

However, interest can't be generated if schools and businesses don't have the proper equipment to grasp boys' attention.

One of the biggest reasons Salem's gymnastics team doesn't have many members is because of peer pressure, Ring said. Other Salem High athletes could benefit physically from a gymnast's workout, Ring added, but the stigma attached to his sport prevents participation from those athletes.

Some male gymnasts even face skepticism at home. Dave Bosch said his father was, at least at first, stunned by his son's choice to join Ring's team.

In December, John and Peter Emerzian trained with Ring's team for three weeks. Salem juniors, the Emerzians play football for Blue Devils coach Jack Gati.

The twin brothers said when they told Gati of their workouts with Ring, he was upset.

“Coach [Gati] wanted us to be in the weight room,” John said. “He said that if we did gymnastics, we wouldn't get as big as we would need for football.”

Peter said he thought about working out with Ring for a while, but he held out since his friends didn't want to train with the gymnastics team. After his friends changed their minds, Peter spoke to Ring, who welcomed the boys.

“Coach (Gati) wasn't too happy and said we need to find time for both,” Peter said, “and not spend all our time doing gymnastics.”

John said he stopped because he wanted to focus on school work. Peter said he quit because his friends stopped training.

Gati said he supports his players interested in trying new things and would never put down another sport. However, he said when his boys forsake time in the weight room for gymnastics, he becomes concerned.

“I never tell them what to do or not to do,” Gati said. “It's just not common for footballers to do gymnastics and vice versa. Footballers are big and strong; gymnasts are usually smaller to be able to do the stunts they do.”

In 1996, Men's Fitness published an article titled “The World's Toughest Sport.” The story listed 40 sports and ranked them based on seven categories – skills, fitness, brains, pain, contact, venue and intangibles.

The findings showed gymnastics was the world's toughest sport; football was 10th.

“Male gymnasts may wear tights, but they score perfect 10's for fitness and athletic skills, and near-perfect marks for injury potential, mental toughness and difficult conditions,” the story said.

“You notice that male gymnasts are never over 25,” said Bow's Dylan Lucas, 14, a GSGC participant for 10 years. “Well, that's because your body takes such a beating training all the time.”

“It beat out the Ironman triathlon, it's that tough of a sport,” Ring said. “Unfortunately, it's a shame the guys just have so many things getting in their way when so many are so good.”