Fisk University Gymnastic Team Will Host Historic Black Women Gymnast Meet

Fisk gymnasts will face off against five other teams headed by Black women coaches in a historic meet on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Fisk University’s gymnastics team is looking to make history again as the program’s second competition season will start with a meet against teams coached by Black women.

As the Fisk gymnasts continue to diversify the predominately white sport, the all-Black team will bring together five other squads led by history-making coaches to host the 2024 meet on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. NewsChannel 5 reported that a woman of color coaches each team.

“It is going to be historic,” head coach Corrinne Tarver told the outlet. “It’s something that’s never been done before.”

Fisk’s Athletic Director Valencia Jordan said the one event “could have the potential just to have a ripple effect that a lot of other institutions that may have thought about it, now I think they’ll think about it a little bit more.”

Jordan believes the Fisk gymnasts have opened the door for other Black girls who dream of practicing the sport. “To know that they are a part of the group that was some of the first, I think it’s something that they’ll hold in their hearts forever,” she said.

“Fisk had an amazing year last year and showed HBCUs how, basically, Black girl magic can work,” Tarver added.

As previously covered by BLACK ENTERPRISE, Fisk entered its inaugural season in January with Tarver as a first-time head coach. Tarver’s goal for the gymnasts was to give them the best opportunities and expose them to a balance of high-ranked and middle-ranked competitors. Most of the young ladies had never competed before, but the team got to work on building its confidence and skill set.

The university became the first ever HBCU to have a gymnastics team after it launched its inaugural squad in February 2022, BE reported. The gymnasts became known after a video of their practice went viral on social media.

The historic meet will be hosted on Jan. 15, 2024, at Vanderbilt University’s Memorial Gym. Visit the Fisk athletics page to purchase tickets to the event.