PISCATAWAY, NJ—The Rutgers Club Gymnastics Team will be having a free car wash on Saturday, August 15 from 9am-2pm at the Applebees located on 1282 Centennial Ave in Piscataway.
The Rutgers Club Gymnastics team is a student-run organization that represents Rutgers in competitions without the same financial benefit of being a varsity team.
“We also have various fundraisers throughout the year through meets that the team members work and other public events,” said Caela Lenhardt, a member of the team.
The car wash is a free event, but donations will be collected to support the team’s trip to California in 2016.
“We are having these car washes to raise money for our team to go to nationals in California next spring. It is really important for our team to fundraise to give as many girls as we can the opportunity to compete at nationals!”
The team consists of many talented athletes and they recently had an impressive showing at the 2015 National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs national tournament.
According to the organization’s website, “The purpose of the NAIGC is to expand opportunities for participation in the sport of gymnastics and to promote interaction among collegiate gymnastics clubs by providing structure for competition on local, regional, and national levels; facilitating communication; and building a community of support and camaraderie that encourages sportsmanship, leadership, teamwork, and fun.”
RU Club Gymnastics made history at the NAIGC‬ Nationals held in Philadepelphia this past April as many of the previous team and individual records were surpassed.
Gymnasts compete at different program levels based on the Junior Olympics system.
To compete in level 8 and 9 gymnastics a gymnast must be able to complete certain skills on each of the four events(vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor). If a gymnast’s routine doesn’t have all of the requirements, deductions will be applied. The Junior Olympic levels are from 1-10 so this club team is competing at a very high level.
The level 9 team score from prelims of 139.075 was the highest team score in program history, and their team score from team finals at 136.575 was the 2nd highest team score in program history. Their final 8th place team ranking was the highest RU Club Gymnastics  has ever finished at nationals.
Additionally, the level 8 team posted a team score of 131.675, ranking them 12th and tying the club’s 2nd highest team finish ever.
The level 9 team bar score from prelims of 34.275 was the highest team bar score in program history. Their team floor score from prelims of 36.4 was the 2nd highest floor total in program history.
RU Club Gymnastics has a website, gymnastics.sportsclubs.rutgers.edu, as well as a presence on Facebook, Instagram (@ruclubgym), and Twitter (@RUClubGym).
