CMU D1 Gymnastics

Women’s gymnastics first came to Central Michigan University over 50 years ago, winning the Mid American Conference Championships 20 times as a team as of March, 2026. Gymnastics has several categories with the main ones being men’s and women’s. The women’s side of the sport consists of four events: vault, bars, beam, and floor. On top of the events, each one has their own set of requirements for different levels, whether club, elite, collegiate, or professional. In 2023 Luciana Alvarado-Reid joined the Chippewas coming from San Jose, Costa Rica. From starting gymnastics at 2 years old to going to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to being a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division one gymnast. Alvarado-Reid competes in all four events and was awarded the Mid American Conference Gymnast of the Year in 2025 and 2026, playing a vital part in CMU bringing home the MAC championship for the second year in a row. Alvarado-Reid is not sure her plan for after college gymnastics wise, but is excited for the future and to see what happens next. "I haven't totally said no to going back to elite, but I have not said yes. I don't know what I'm gonna do," said Alvarado-Reid. While the regular season is over for the Chippewas, they will head to Lexington Kentucky to compete in the NCAA championships with the end goal of making it to being the National Champions. 

REFLECTION

This assignment was very fun to do. Especially considering I know the sport very well from being on the club team I went in knowing how the events work. Even though I knew what I wanted to get footage wise, working with the lighting in McGuirk is always difficult. Furthermore, when the team is wearing any sort of sparkling leotard. I lucked out with Heather Parker being in our class because she was able to help me get a quick sit down interview with my subject. It was honestly really nice to sit down with her and hear more about her perspective on the sport especially with her background in it. I was only able to go to one meet to get footage, but I am satisfied with what I got. I tried to get a lot of her competing but also her on the sidelines and just in the environment when she is not actively touching an apparatus/ event. I had a lot of fun filming and editing this because it genuinely is something I am interested in and for me that made it more enjoyable especially considering I spent so much time working on it. I also learned a lot about video while doing this. Recording somebody going upside down and high off the ground is a lot harder than I thought.