Support Baby Biles: Help a Young Gymnast Reach New Heights

Backflips off the bed. Front tucks onto the couch. Handsprings in the hallway. My 7-year-old daughter’s life has been thoroughly overtaken by gymnastics and her hero, Olympian g.o.a.t,, Simone Biles.

Three years ago, I first realized that Zuri had potential as a gymnast. After spending most of her ballet classes doing cartwheels, we traded in her tutu for a gymnastic leotard, and during her first formal class, the coach asked me if she’d be interested in moving up to a more advanced level. Before I knew it, we’d joined a gymnastics club in Atlanta and I was promptly informed by the coach that her skills were “exceptional.”

Soon, my friends had a nickname for her, “Baby Biles,” and she ended her first competition season winning first place in vault and floor exercise at a national competition.

“I get really distracted easily, but gymnastics helps me focus,” my daughter told me when I asked her about the similar attention challenges she and Biles may face. “Whenever I do my dance-throughs or my tumbling, my mind is thinking of how tight I should be. I also have to listen to my coaches. But when I don’t go to gymnastics, I’m all over the place.”

She now calls gymnastics her “gift,” and I have to keep reminding myself that she’s just 7. The work ethic required to get good at a gravity-defying sport is no small thing — for both the young athlete and their parents. There are the daily practices, the drives to and from the gym, the daily emails from her gymnastics club, the travel to meets across the country.

However, the financial costs involved have been significant enough to make me reconsider whether it’s worth it. There are endless fees: monthly tuition, thousands to cover the costs for meets, travel and lodging, organizational dues, leotard and warm-up costs, coaches salaries and more. In just one year of competing, we’ve dipped into our savings more times than I care to admit. But the pride she has for the 30-plus medals that are displayed on the walls of her room and the smile on her face when I pick her up from practice let me know that we can quit on her dreams to be a future Olympian.

So, that's where you come in. Village, we need your help to get Zuri through this year of gymnastics. She's been promoted to Xcel Gold and yesterday's price is not today's price! Anything would be appreciated.

You can check out more of her story here: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/what-its-like-to-watch-simone-biles-make-history-with-her-biggest-fan--my-7-year-old-daughter-060028449.html

Thank you in advance,

Chanelle, Tré, Zuri, Haven and Nalah