The School Committee Tuesday approved the establishment of a cooperative girls’ gymnastics team for this winter based at Wilmington High School.
The approval did not have a financial component, as Director of Athletics Keith Mangan is exploring possible revenue sources.
Mangan said that a one-time user fee of no more than $400 per student-athlete may be necessary to cover unbudgeted costs. School Superintendent Philip Conrad said the program will be part of the fiscal 2023 budget planning.
Mangan said there are five expected BHS participants; seventh and eighth graders have expressed interest for the future.
The cooperative program is not unprecedented. Bedford plays girls’ hockey along with Shawsheen Valley Technical, and the wrestling team is composed of Bedford and Acton-Boxborough, Mangan said.
Each arrangement has a host and visitor. Wilmington, which approached Mangan with the idea, will be the host in gymnastics. The meets will be against other teams in the Middlesex League.
“There’s obviously a cost that goes with starting anything,” Mangan told the committee, such as transportation, officials, and rental of a facility in Wilmington.
“A lot of times when you start a new team, the first year is cobbled together financially,” Conrad observed. Any resulting user fee will be this season only; “we will build this into the next budget. Otherwise, we would not want to go forward with it.”
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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let me know how to contribute ! my 3 daughters were HS gymnasts and I would like to encourage the sport!