It's unfortunate that gymnastics has slipped back to the just four teams again but that just seems to be the way this sport ebbs and flows.
We just had one of the best seasons in the sport with Kasey Fillmore and Justine Basley creating excitement in Killingly ( a town that needed some perking up when it comes to athletics). Fillmore walked away with the New England title, the Redgals finished second as a team in the New Englands and won the Class S state title.
Unfortunately, as most local coaches of the sport were quick to point out, the Fillmores and Basleys of the world don't come along that often. The two nearest to them in the talent, Kerry and Kim Robitaille, performed for Killingly when Robin Deary-Fillmore just started coaching, 22 years ago. It's been over a decade since Joey Kochanski was part of the NFA team and no other squad really has seen that level of gymnast.
Will we again?
That seems to be a large question when you have gymnastics schools like Flip City closing its doors.
But one never knows because Fitch/Waterford, which dropped from the ECC as a team this season, could be back as a team as early as next season. The numbers are still strong at NFA and Stonington and Deary-Fillmore said she has some young gymnasts in the lower grades who are looking pretty strong.