Becca’s Place Gymnastics hosts annual Beach Party meet

A Radcliff High School opened its doors for an annual meet where young gymnasts show the community what they can do.

Becca’s Beach Party, Hardin County’s only USA Gymnastics-sanctioned meet, was Saturday and Sunday at North Hardin High School.

According to Jenn Ryan, co-owner of Becca’s Place, the beach-themed competition had teams from across Kentucky and Ohio coming to compete.

“My two favorite things about the meet are celebrating our athletes’ success at home while honoring our sister, who the gym is named after, at the same time,” Ryan said.

Ryan said it’s good to see the community come out and support the gymnasts who compete.

“It’s not something that everybody gets to see, so when we have this home meet, it’s important for the community to come watch them perform,” Ryan said. “This is the first year we’ve had a title sponsor in Radcliff/Fort Knox Tourism, and they and North Hardin have been great.”

The girls competing were all very excited to show their gymnastic abilities to the crowd cheering them on.

Brooklynne Perry was very enthusiastic to compete on the beam at the meet, calling it a good time and a great opportunity to do what she’s practiced so much.

“I’m most excited to be able to be here with my fellow teammates, have a good time, and watch them do great,” Perry said.

Brynna Fouts said she enjoys seeing what scores she gets while also having a lot of fun.

“Bars are my favorite event to compete in because I’ve got new skills,” Fouds said.

Shannon Eklund, competitive coach at Becca’s Place, said it’s great to see the girls’ hard work during the season pay off.

“I know that gymnastics is a very tough sport both mentally and physically,” Eklund said. “They know that even if they have bad days, we’re going to be here and work through it with them no matter what.”

According to Becca’s Place volunteer Nicole Coogle, it’s wonderful to have a competition that’s centered around the community.

“Local businesses have rallied around the competition,” Coogle said. “While volunteering you get to see all the teams rather than just your own child’s, and spread the word about our awesome community.”