By David Hamrick
Jessica Nowlin wasn’t a cheerleader — she was lifelong a gymnast. But when the University of Louisville cheerleading coaches recruited her as a tumbler, the southern Indiana native decided to take them up on their offer. U of L didn’t — and still doesn’t — have a gymnastics team, so Nowlin saw the offer as her only chance to continue developing her gymnastic ability.
“I had never cheered before, so the transition was a bit awkward. But I managed to get used to it, and had a wonderful time as a Cardinal cheerleader,” Nowlin said.
That was 10 years ago, when Nowlin was an undergraduate student. Now a graduate student at U of L and a level-10 gymnast (the highest level attainable), Nowlin is making a push to create a U of L gymnastics club.
Though she stayed with cheerleading, Nowlin said she always thought there would be a gymnastics team at U of L, and kept involved with gymnastics by becoming a coach at the Kentucky Gymnastics Academy during her undergraduate career.
“This past year, I had a student, Ashley Carol Stratton, who was still doing gymnastics even though she was a junior at U of L. I decided that if there was enough interest at the university, then we would start a club team.”
Sure enough, interest was there. In the last month, four other girls have decided to join the club that meets at the Kentucky Gymnastics Academy in Louisville. Although the university has not yet sanctioned the club, Nowlin is encouraged by what the administration has said to her about starting the club team.
“I have talked to David Rice, who is the person in charge of club sports, and he assured me that as long as the paperwork is in order and we get all of the girls’ release forms turned in, then we will be able to use the university’s name,” Nowlin said. “We are still in the process of getting everything in order, but we hope to have everything ready within the next couple of months.”
Nowlin wants everyone to know that you do not have to be an expert in gymnastics to join the club. Whether you have trained for competitive gymnastics or you remember rolling around as a kid, all levels of gymnasts are welcome to get involved.
“I would like you to have some type of athletic ability,” Nowlin joked about potential newcomers. “We are looking for anybody who thinks they might want to do gymnastics as a hobby and then maybe turn it into something else. I wanted to let everyone know that alumni are welcome to join as well. I would like for everyone who joins to be able to do a round-off back handspring. This is a basic move that we can work up from.”
Within the next couple of months, Nowlin said that students should expect to see a gymnastics calendar and gymnastics t-shirts for sale. But, in order to sell this merchandise and get the program started, the club must receive approval to use the university’s name.
“It’s frustrating, because we have to be official to use the Louisville name, so we can’t sell merchandise to get our club financially stable. It’s kind of a catch-22. We need money to get started but we have to wait for now,” Nowlin said.
As long as the paperwork goes through without a hitch, this year should be an interesting ride for all those involved. Perhaps Nowlin will lure some athletes from other sports to hers in much the same way she was lured from her sport when she started her college career.
“I am extremely excited about this chance to show the University of Louisville the sport of gymnastics and I cannot wait to get started,” Nowlin said.
For more information about the gymnastics club, contact Jessica Nowlin via e-mail at jlnowl01@louisville.edu, or by call the Kentucky Gymnastics Academy office phone number at (502) 254-1010 after 4:30 p.m.
