This fall, five students – junior Virginia Brooks, sophomores Emily Jackson, Chyanne Couturier and MaryEmma Holloway, and freshman Evie Hallmets – represented the Pirates in local and state competitions. The team competed this season against schools in the Triangle such as Northern, Panther Creek, Jordan and Green Hope.
Riverside actually had a team last year, too, and Jackson is excited about the progress the girls have made since 2017.
“I feel like this season was a huge improvement from last season,” she said. “We were able to improve our skills, so I feel like we were able to get our scores higher as a team. We just worked better this year.”
The team practices every Wednesday year-round from 5-8 p.m., at the Acrosport gymnastics facility on Rose of Sharon Road, less than one mile from Riverside.
Riverside had a team more than 4 years ago, but the program ended up leaving riverside when daughter of the former coach graduated, before it was re-established in 2018. Jackson is surprised so many people don’t know about the team and doesn’t feel the gymnasts receive the same respect and recognition as other varsity sports.
“I kinda felt left out from the other sports,” said Jackson, “especially because we weren’t represented at the pep rally this year.”
Jackson hopes that the team can become a more consistent part of the school’s athletics. Anyone interested in learning more should contact head coach Cindy Cotten at a_.
“The gymnasts on team really want to be recognized as a competitive sport at Riverside just as basketball, football, and soccer is recognized.”
