Buckeye Classic Gymnastics Meet

Like most other booster organizations, BGB Club, Inc. was formed to support the competition expenses of the Buckeye Gymnastics team. The Buckeye Classic was born, and grew steadily into what is now one of the world's largest women's gymnastics meet. The Boosters are very proud to host this event, which so many young ladies can attend each year. We strive to make the Classic something they will remember fondly for years to come. It is not just a fund-raiser, but an event that represents "all that gymnastics can be" - fun, demanding, exciting. Don't be fooled, it may look like this weekend just happens like magic, but it takes a group of parents that have a belief that this is something worthwhile, regardless of any money it might make. The BGB Club, Inc is a group of very dedicated parents, showing their daughters that what they do in the gym everyday is important and something they can all be very proud of. We strive to reach our goals of supporting our gymnasts financially, while making great memories for over 1,800 gymnasts at the same time.

The Buckeye Classic began like most other fundraising efforts, from the need to financially support our athletes. The Buckeye Gymnastics team program was formed from the remains of many other team programs, therefore, the club had competitors at all levels in its first year. If this new competition was to earn the support of all the booster families, it had to include all competitive levels.

The first Classic (1984) was held in a private club, and even though over 200 gymnasts had registered, a blizzard kept many from attending. The Boosters lost their shirts, but everyone who showed up agreed that it was a great idea to bring all of their gymnasts to the same competition. Others in the gymnastics community agreed and clubs started hiring buses to haul in every gymnast they had in their competitive program; 30, 40, even 50 gymnasts would pile off those buses. The competition soon attracted over 1,000 competitors and we had to set up another gym. Over 2,000 young ladies participated in this year's competition.

Who has competed in the Buckeye Classic? The list reads like a "who's who" of US gymnastics: Amanda Borden, Kerri Strug, Dominique Dawes, Kim Zmeskal, Kristy Powell, Marline Stephens, Carly Patterson, Liz Tricase and many others have graced the Classic as well as the Olympic Games and World Championships with their fine performances.

It is possible, even likely, that future Olympians and National Champions will be competing in the Classic. They may be found in the Open competition or they might be found in the Level 4 competition. We may not know for several years. What we do know is that we are glad that they are here. We hope that the Classic continues to earn the right to serve as the birth place of Olympic dreams and the bragging rights to proclaim itself as one of the premier gymnastics competitions in the world.