We’ve never been to a gymnastics meet, but we’ve watched gymnastics a lot during the Olympics. When we found out that we could go to a BYU gymnastics meet for free with our Pass of All Passes, we knew it was time. We weren’t sure how the boys would take it, as they are serious about being boys right now, but they were more excited than we were!
The meet took about two hours, and it was really exciting. We weren’t even sure how a gymnastics meet was organized, but it flowed really nicely. First, BYU started on the vault with their opponent, SUU on the uneven bars. The two teams went back and forth for about 8 turns, and then they switched and BYU did the bars while SUU vaulted. Because of the way it was organized, there was very little time between competitors. Next, there was sort of a half time while the teams moved to two new events, the floor and the balance beam.
After a brief pause to let the gymnasts warm up, we watched with fingers in our mouths as BYU did the balance beam. It is by far the scariest event, and we saw 3 falls, but luckily the athletes climbed right back on and finished their routines. One gymnast even earned a perfect 10!
The other event going on at the same time as the balance beam was the floor routine. The gymnasts are great performers and we were constantly amazed at how high they can bounce in their routines. We do have a little advice about where to sit. We love to sit in the “balcony” which is on the north and south sides of the Smith Fieldhouse. We were sitting on the side closest to the floor and balance beam (the north side), which was great for the balance beam, but bad for the floor. The railing blocked much of our view of the routines. We recommend sitting on the South side closer to the vault, or the east side, so that you will be able to see all of the events! The second time we went, they competed in the Marriot Center and all the seats are great there.
We love BYU sports (see our basketball, football, and volleyball links) because it is such a clean environment, the crowd is always rocking, and they keep it fun. The boys were super excited because they got on the Dance Cam, and they really wanted to catch a t-shirt, which they throw out for every 9.8+ that BYU gymnasts earn. The boys didn’t any have any t-shirts thrown in their direction, but Dad reached over the railing and caught one that hit a banner. It was just the right size for our 7 year-old.
If you get a chance, you can’t go wrong with taking you kids to a sporting event. BYU gymnastics was a fun event and we will definitely go again. We are excited to try other sports at BYU, too. For ticket info, visit their website. There is a deal where families families (up to 8) get in for $20.
