Pittsburgh Announces Plans to Add New Gymnastics Training Facility
9/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
Pittsburgh Announces Plans to Add New Gymnastics Training Facility
9/30/2002
PITTSBURGH ?
"It is incredible what this new facility will mean for our program. From a recruiting standpoint we will be competitive with any program in the nation," Yohman said. "From a training standpoint we will now be able to train athletes at the highest level."
"In addition to the obvious benefit to our basketball teams, the move to the Petersen Events Center has created many great opportunities for other sports as well," Pederson said. "We have had a goal for many years to provide a top-notch facility for our women?s gymnastics team. Today that dream becomes a reality with the designated opening of the new gymnastics facility in Trees Hall. We have always provided our gymnasts with the finest equipment available and now the facility matches that commitment. We are anxious to take this program to another level."
The new training facility will be comparable to some of the top teams in the nation in size. At almost 12,000 square feet, it will be the second largest training facility in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League and one of the largest in the Northeast Region. There will be two complete vaulting set-ups, one of which lands into a resipit and one into foam block. Three sets of uneven bars will be used at the new facility including one over a resipit. There is also a single bar over a foam block/resipit and a trench bar system.
Also housed in the new facility will be five balance beams, complete with mount and dismount areas, with space for low beams, stacked beams and beam dismounts into pits. A full floor exercise will be included with tumbling pits off the end and space for a rod floor/tumble trac into a resipit. Next to the resipit will be an in-ground trampoline and added features to the facility include space for lockers, bench seating, cardio equipment and music center as well as mirrors and record boards.
"The addition of resi and foam pits at all of the events will allow us to train at higher levels of difficulty and safely maintain that level throughout the season," Yohman said.
"A gymnastics training facility of this caliber shows an enormous amount of commitment and support from the Athletic Department as well as the University ? the kind of commitment that is prevalent in the efforts of all the Panthers? athletes, coaches and administrators. We will be proud to put the Panthers logo on the wall of this new gymnastics facility in the not-too-distant future."