Letter: Gymnastics Parents Thank Board of Ed and Mamary

The parents of the WHS gymnastics team would like this opportunity to thank the Westfield Board of Education and Sandy Mamary, the WHS Athletic Director, for the installation of the new Spring Floor, a state-of-the-art piece of equipment that contributes to the safety of our gymnasts. A spring floor allows gymnasts to increase the difficulty of their tumbling with less impact on their knees, ankles and backs. Having to practice and compete on a matted wood floor for the past several years has resulted in season-ending injuries for many of our best gymnasts and a significant deterioration in our competiveness in the county. The team’s record of six straight county championships was jeopardized last year as half our team was coming back from injuries.

As high school gymnastics become more competitive and knowledge about injuries grows, spring floors have become a standard safety item. Many top NJ gymnastics teams will not even travel to a high school lacking a spring floor.

We commend our administration and district for responding to our needs as to why this piece of equipment is so important. We would like the residents of Westfield to know that Athletic Director, Sandy Mamary and the Board of Education, particularly Jane Clancy, the Facilities committee chair, take our student-athletes’ safety very seriously. They have shown that all high school sports, no matter how big or small, male or female, deserve equal attention and safe, updated equipment. Not only will this floor help our team stay competitive against other high schools in New Jersey, but most importantly, it will allow our young women to practice/compete in the safest environment possible.

WHS Gymnastic Team Parents