The sport of acrobatics and tumbling combines several forms of gymnastics and cheerleading. It is similar to acrobatic gymnastics. There are six events that are completed during the meet. These events include compulsories, acro, pyramid, toss, tumbling and team event. The skills in acrobatics and tumbling require immense amounts of strength, balance, flexibility and power.
A&T has been a college sport since the Spring of 2011 and is steadily growing. Each team usually competes around 6-8 times a year with team sizes of around 28-40 athletes. The current Baylor acrobatic and tumbling coach and former University of Oregon A&T coach, Felecia Mulkey, explains the sport well in her article “Meet the newest sport for women: acrobatics and tumbling.” She explains that “each meet consists of six events broken down into 20 different heats of competition” and “depending on the heat, there can be from one to 24 athletes on the competition floor at any given time.” At the end of each meet, scores are given based on execution.
My suitemate recently joined the Baylor Acrobatics and Tumbling team. I had previously heard of it but didn’t really know what it was. She invited me to their first meet, and I am so glad I went. It was the perfect way to spend a couple hours of my weekend.
My first reaction when watching the Baylor A&T compete was "WOW." I really encourage anyone to go to a meet if they can. It is incredible what these women can do, and I am so thankful that I was invited. My mouth was probably gaping open in awe for at least half of the meet. I really was blown away by what they could do. The bases are amazingly strong and the tops are outstandingly athletic.
After gaping in awe, I kept asking myself how this is even possible. How are they strong enough to hold another human being over their head? How are they agile enough to flip in the air like that? How are they balanced enough to hold a handstand while balancing on another girl's hand? Or how are they balanced enough to stand on one girl and hold another girl up? I was left awe-struck and in wonder at the skill and talent of the women competing in the meet.
This then led me to the conclusion that these women have a lot more skill than I will ever have. I couldn’t imagine doing even half of what they did. Many of them have competed in similar sports, such as gymnastics, all their lives. Their training over the many years has allowed them to do things that would be all but impossible for a large majority of people to do.
After attending a meet, I have so much respect for the women competing in A&T. They are able to do all of this because they are dedicated athletes who practice and train for incredible amounts of time, all while going to school. This is a very under-appreciated sport. It is incredible what they are able to do. I really hope that A&T gains the recognition and respect it deserves in the future. Go to a Baylor Acrobatics and Tumbling meet; you won’t regret it.
