Mitchell gymnastics reaches goal for second straight year

For the second year in a row, the Mitchell High School gymnastics program raised the $7,500 it needed to compete.

The program’s biggest fundraiser concluded Friday with a raffle at Endorf Lurken Olson & Co. in Mitchell.

The raffle was for a Browning Citori 12-gauge shotgun from Cabelas valued at $1,500, which was won by Barry Jungwirth, of Benson, Minn.

Mitchell gymnastics coach Audra Rew said the raffle raised $5,100 for the program.

The program also raised $1,000 in a raffle with the Lions club and it had jars at gas stations around town.

“The girls did such a good job and the parents really pulled together,” Rew said. “We really are one big family and everyone just pitches in and does what they need to do.

“The community is very supportive and when they hear that we are doing something, they want to help and want to find a way to help us out to continue the program.”

This is the second year the MHS gymnastics program had to fundraise in order to compete.

In March 2010, Mitchell school officials proposed eliminating gymnastics in order to add cheer as an official sport, with the goal of raising female participation rates. Instead, a gymnastics parent group proposed paying for half of the sport’s budget to keep it school-sanctioned. Before last season, the group raised $8,000 and the Mitchell gymnastics program stayed intact, while cheer was added.

This year, the amount was $7,500, and Rew said that amount was paid to the Mitchell High School on Friday.

The gymnastics’ parent group has agreed to contribute the same amount of money each year to keep the sport.

Rew said she was concerned about raising the money for the second year more than the first year, but the community stepped up.

“We do know we have a lot of supporters … so we were going to take it one year at a time and tackle the program as it came,” she said. “Fortunately, everyone has been supportive. So I can’t be more thankful to the parents, the community and all of the different organizations that help us keep gymnastics in the Mitchell school system.”

Rew said the businesses that helped with the fundraiser were Hampton Inn, Steak N’ More, Comfort Inn, Days Inn, Granite Spring Lounge and County Fair Food & Fuel.

“There were a lot of businesses that were very supportive and let us sell tickets,” she said.

Tags: high school, sports, updates, gymnastics, kernels