Elevate the Stage to Provide Good Practice on Podium
2/22/2018 3:29:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics, Features
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- This week's Elevate the Stage meet in Toledo, Ohio, will give the No. 6 University of Michigan women's gymnastics team a chance to compete on podium ahead of the postseason.
The Wolverines will get two days of work on the podium as they will hold practice at the Sea Gate Centre on Thursday (Feb. 22) before competing alongside No. 12 Denver, No. 37 Utah State and No. 38 Bowling Green at 7 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 23).
Podium is when equipment is placed on staging several feet off the ground so the gymnast is elevated from the rest of the individuals on the floor. The idea is to showcase the gymnast competing without the team, coaches and judges being around the event.Â
"We are all very excited to compete on the podium," said senior Brianna Brown. "It is definitely different than competing down on the floor because there is a bounce."
The extra bounce is something gymnasts need to get used to when the postseason comes around as Nationals, and some conference championships, are held on podium. The extra bounce makes competing less taxing on the body but has a different feel when competitors are accustomed to performing down on the floor most of the season.
"Most athletes love being on a podium because it is more forgiving on your body," said head coach Bev Plocki. "The opportunity to have a practice day and compete on it will be great for our team. It is something, as we go forward, we need to have meets like this more and more with as many opportunities as we can get."
Michigan competed on podium twice last year when it won the Big Ten Championships at Rutgers with a score of 197.300 and finished fifth at the NCAA Semifinal in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Wolverines are excited to get in a podium meet this year ahead of the NCAA Championships, as they will not get the podium experience at the Big Ten Championships at Illinois like last year.
"Competing on podium is fun," said sophomore Lexi Funk. "It gives you a bigger stage to compete on and makes it feel like a bigger deal. Adjusting to the equipment is a big thing. It is nice to have the practice day to get used to it."
U-M's campus is less than an hour away from the Sea Gate Centre, so Plocki and her team are hopeful a strong Michigan contingent will be on hand to cheer them on.
"I am really hopeful our Michigan fans are willing to make a short 45-minute drive to come see us," said Plocki. "Also, our Michigan fans down in the Toledo area who don't typically come to our meets can get exposed to the sport and our team and then want to make the drive up here to see us."
The Toledo Elevate the Stage meet is the second of four collegiate meets in the Elevate the Stage series in 2018. Utah, UCLA, Washington and Stanford competed in Reno, Nevada, on Jan. 14. Georgia, Stanford, Nebraska and Illinois will compete in Augusta, Georgia, on March 2. The final meet will take place in Huntsville, Alabama, with Auburn and Alabama competing in a dual on March 9.
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