We sat in a big circle to stretch on the rough, blue carpet

And talked about our day and which events we hoped we went to first

Bars was always my favorite event

My teammates and I put on our grips and started chalking up

It was different now with covid

We all had our own Tupperware containers with chalk and no longer gathered around a big bucket together, accidentally (or sometimes purposefully) spraying each other with the spray bottle of water that we used on our grips

The spray bottle was always leaking on the floor, and we all complained about the thick paste that came from the mixture of chalk and water on the floor and got on our feet

We were allowed to take our masks off when we were at an event for safety reasons

All that really accomplished on bars was getting chalk inside our masks as we used our chalky hands to take our masks on and off

But we were all used to it anyway

Chalk was always everywhere in the gym

You could see the chalk dust floating in the air

It would get in our eyes as we jumped to the bar and the powder bounced off of it

And now we could taste it

The bars squeaked as I swung on them and the mat clapped against the ground as landed on it

I could hear the thud from the beam as my teammates and I stuck skills on it

The dismount mat for the beam always slid, so one of us had to stand on the edge of it to stop it from moving

If we didn’t stick our skills on the beam, it was likely that we ended up with a beam burn

Which is like a rug burn, but worse

When you fall on beam and the beam hits you on the way down, you get a beam burn

Your skin turns red and you’re left with a stinging feeling for the rest of the day

But it really motivates you to stick your beam routines

And you get a sense of accomplishment when you do 

The floor is the event that really makes it feel like a team sport

We all learn everyone’s floor routines so it never really feels like you’re doing your routine alone

Even people practicing different events stop what they’re doing to dance along

Throughout the gym, at different events, people look around while they’re waiting in line and cheer each other on

I can always hear someone yelling, “You’ve got this!” when I’m going and clapping for me when I stick the landing

There are always people working together to set mats up so that each person feels comfortable when doing their skills

I stand in corners and move mats throughout floor routines for people so that it’s there when they need it

My teammates move the springboard for me after I mount bars and put the dismount mat back in 

And even though I never see them do that, I always hear the springboard’s rough screech against the floor as they move it and hear my teammates rustling the mat so that it’s perfectly straight for me

When covid wasn’t a thing we all gave high fives 

And fist bumps on bars with our grips on

At the end of floor routines, we would all stand in a line as the person who just went would run through and get high-fived

To the sport that gave me everything from beam burns and an eye infection due to chalk to the teammates who have become my family and my biggest supporters

Thank you