Thursday, May 2, 2013
A lack of rules by the national gymnastics body was a main reason the MIAA said it would not sanction the sport next season.
The state body in charge of sanctioning high school sports voted Wednesday to revisit its earlier decision to drop boys gymnastics from its official roster next season. Richard Ellis, coach of the Braintree High School boys gymnastics team, one of only seven in Massachusetts, and Braintree Athletic Director Michael Denise, presented evidence in support of the sport to the MIAA Executive Board. In an email, Ellis said both "gave compelling reasons to secure the recognition in the Commonwealth." The board will reconvene June 12 for a final decision. A lack of activity – the sport has lost dozens of participating schools in recent decades – and a decision by the National Federation of State High School Associations not to write rules for next…
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
USA Gymnastics may write rules for the sport in Massachusetts for next year. The lack of rules was a main reason the MIAA said it would not sanction the sport.
After a meeting earlier this month was cancelled because of weather, Braintree High School Boys Gymnastics Coach Richard Ellis said his visit to the MIAA Board of Directors has now been rescheduled. Ellis said in an email that he will speak to the board about its decision to drop the sport during its Wednesday, May 1 meeting at 11 a.m. The BHS coach is among many supporters, including Braintree Athletic Director Michael Denise, who have been working to reinstate boys gymnastics as a championship sport for next year. They have also vowed to keep the sport alive regardless of the board's final stance. "Gymnastics has been practiced as a form of physical exercise since the time of the ancient Greeks. Since 1896, the quadrennial meeting of …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
USA Gymnastics may write rules for the sport in Massachusetts for next year. The lack of rules was a main reason the MIAA said it would not sanction the sport.
Earlier this month, Braintree High School gymnast Nick Van Alfen was an individual award winner in the all-around competition at the MIAA Boys State Gymnastics Meet. If a decision this January by the MIAA Board of Directors to drop the sport stands, next year there will be no championship for Braintree student athletes or those who compete for six other Massachusetts schools. A lack of activity – the sport has lost dozens of participating schools in recent decades – and a decision by the National Federation of State High School Associations not to write rules for next year prompted the 10-2 vote by directors, an MIAA spokesman told the Boston Globe. One of spokesman Paul Wetzel's comments, calling gymnastics a "girls sport," rallied a wide…
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Olympian gymnast Aly Raisman, disappointed at dropping of boys' gymnastics official competitions in Massachusetts, tweets: "There is absolutely no such thing as a 'girl sport.' Is she right?
Aly Raisman had heard about plans to drop competitive boys' gymnastics in Massachusetts and she was not pleased. "Extremely disappointing that boys gymnastics is being dropped by MIAA. This quote upsets me," the gold-medaling gymnast from Needham tweeted on Sunday. Then she posted the quote from the Boston Globe story from Massachusetts interscholastic Athletic Association spokesman Paul Wetzel to which she was referring: "It’s a girls’ sport," said Wetzel, referring to the lopsided [gymnastics] participation rates. "When was the last time you watched boys’ gymnastics? They don’t get on the cover of the Wheaties box. They don’t get the endorsements." Raisman's next tweet: There is absolutely no such thing as a "girl sport" #ridiculous The…
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The MIAA announced its decision to drop the sport last week, catching coaches and players off guard.
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Tuesday, January 22
THE MIAA DOES IT AGAIN Last week the Massachusetts High School community was informed that the MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) has decided not to recognize Boys Gymnastics after this year season. This decision came to light last week when the Massachusetts coaches were notified half way through the 2013 winter season. The MIAA Board of Directors has no understanding of the impact of this decision. This decision came as a surprise to Coaches, Athletes, Parents and Alumni. I was personally notified 1 hour prior to competing in our fourth completion with no explanation. Gymnastics has been practiced as a form of physical exercise since the time of the ancient Greeks. Since 1896, the quadrennial meeting of athletes …
Sunday, January 13, 2013
The boys compete next at home on Thursday evening.
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Sunday, January 13
The Braintree High School Boys Gymnastics Team was defeated Friday night (1/11) by a strong Lowell Red Raider Team 132.1 to 108. Braintree (0-1) is coming into the 2013 season with three returning members from last year’s squad. “I know this is a cliché, however, this is certainly a rebuilding year for the BHS Team," says Coach Rich Ellis. Most of these boys have done little gymnastics prior to the season. Nick VanElfen, Evan Abreu and Mathew Ford are Braintree’s All-Around competitors (performing on all six events). Senior Nick Bean did outstanding on Horizontal bar and pommel horse for the home team. Akira Watanabe, Howie Nguyen, Quan Bui, Nick DiMicco and Steve Madden added very impressive routines for the start to the new season. More …
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The Wamps compete next in the Massachusetts Boys State Gymnastics Championships at BHS on Wednesday.
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Wednesday, February 15, 2012
This update was provided by head coach Rich Ellis. The Massachusetts Boys Gymnastics Coaches Invitational was held at Andover High School Monday night. This was an evening to celebrate gymnastics and give all the talented boys in the competition a chance to shine on their favorite event. It was a non-team competition with each athlete choosing only 2 out of the 6 events to compete on. This opened up the field to many gymnasts that would traditional not get a chance to receive a medal and salute on top of the victory stand. Each high school team selected one performer to compete in the All-Around event (all six apparatus)and Braintree’s senior and tri captain, Tim Lebbossiere came in first with an outstanding 46.7 score. Senior Brett Ellis …
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Wamps compete next against Burlington on Tuesday night.
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Tuesday, February 7, 2012
This update was provided by head coach Rich Ellis. The Braintree High School Boys Gymnastics team defeated Lowell High School 150.9 to 114.6 Friday evening. Lowell High school boys were the second place finisher in the Massachusetts Boy State Finals last year. Like Braintree, they graduated many seniors and are competing with many underclassmen. The highlight of this competition was a performance by senior co-captain Tim Lebbossiere. Tim competes in all the events for the Wamps. A specialty of his is called the Tsukahara vault. One of the six men’s gymnastics events is known as the vaulting table. A gymnast runs as fast as he can on a 80 foot run way, hurdles to a spring board, jumps onto a padded table (called a table) with only his hands…
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Wamps compete next against Attleboro away on Wednesday.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
This update was provided by head coach Rich Ellis. The Braintree High School boys gymnastics team was defeated by arch-rival Burlington High School on Friday, Jan. 20 by a score of 162.9 to 154.5. Burlington’s depth was too much for the Wamps young squad. Senior’s Tim Lebbossiere and Brett Ellis did their usual solid and exciting stuff but the Red Devils Freshman sensation, Mark Girouard and many others, lead their team to the victory stand. There is a very interesting history between these two teams dating back to the 1970s. The first and second place MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) Team State Championship has been flip flopped between Braintree and Burlington. Each team has had a little help from the private …
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The Wamps next compete against Burlington on Friday, Jan. 20.
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
This update was provided by head coach Rich Ellis. The Braintree High School boys gymnastics team defeated the Newton North High School squad by a score of 157.6 to 92.3 on Tuesday, Jan. 17. This was the first home meet for the Wamps (1-1). There were very good gymnastics performances by Senior Captains Tim Lebbossiere, Peter MacLellan and Brett Ellis. Tim took first place on Floor Exercise with a score of 9.2. The home crowd showed much enthusiasm when he performed a high flying back somersault with two twists among some other terrific tumbling skills. Pete performed a unique layed-out side somersault on floor exercise that thrilled the fans. Brett Ellis was clearly the best on pommel horse scoring an 8.0. He completed an outstanding …
Joe Cody
7:48 am on Wednesday, May 22, 2013
In the words of Henry Ford, "Don't find fault, find a remedy." Thank your to Mike Denise & Rich Ellis for continuing to push for the gymnastics program in Massachusetts. more ›