Discovering the New and Exclusive University of Mauritius Gymnastics Club

Flexibility flips, somersault, tumbling are terms that may create some excitement in a person but still, you may not have the necessary skills to perform it. The University of Mauritius (UoM) Gymnastics Club launched this gym in 2010 to give a new fly to the dreams of many students who wanted to learn gymnastics and for some reasons could not do so. This week we make you discover the UOM Gymnastics Club.

UoM Gymnastics Club, a newly-established gym at the University of Mauritius, aims at targeting students who are interested in developing their gymnastic skills. Even seasoned sportaholics can learn and master some dream moves there. Studies have shown that gymnastic helps to keep major diseases at bay; it is one of the key disciplines to keep the body healthy, to strengthen bones, to revamp self-esteem, and to increase coordination. In addition, Bhrij Lutchmun, coach and founder of the UoM Gymnastics Club, claims that gymnastics helps to develop learning, listening, and understanding as well as endurance skills through routines like vault, tumbling and floor performance. News on Sunday invites readers to take a trip to discover this new place at the University.

Down memory lane

Motivated by his coaches when he was younger, Azagen Mardaymootoo and Suraj Greedharry, Bhrij Lutchmun took the initiative of founding the UoM Gymnastics Club in 2010, partly due to his dedication to coaching and partly because of his passion for the sport. “With the guidance of the Students Union, I launched this club and the sport unit also gave me the opportunity to introduce it at UoM,” Bhrij  Lutchmun avers. He also adds that the person behind the founding club was Sarvesh Lutchmun as at that time, he wanted to create a federation; he was on his way on setting clubs in different regions in Mauritius. UoM Gymnastics Club is one among those achievements.

Today, the club is a blessing for UoM students who want to learn gymnastics for free but the activities are restricted for enrolled university students only. The club’s president is Rughoobur Ashitosh. Being elected by the former president Steven Footing and some members of the executive, Rughoobur Ashitosh’s responsibility lies in helping fellow members in achieving their goals, improving the club’s basic facilities and having the necessary equipment. Still a student at UoM himself, he is in charge of the club’s running for one academic year.

Who can be a gymnast?

Gymnastics is a sport which requires mental focus, determination, strength, flexibility and most importantly, self-confidence. It also contributes to strengthen the basic muscles in the body. As president Rughoobur Ashitosh states: “Gymnastics in itself helps to develop the personality but to be able to do certain flips, the person has build some confidence. In addition, peer reliance is crucial.”

Coach Lutchmun declares that the starting age for gymnastics is as from the age of three. While the UoM Gymnastic Club president Rughoobur Ashitosh invites everyone, irrespective of size, age and sex to learn gymnastics, coach Lutchmun disagrees. He holds that it depends on the individual, as not all students can respond positively to gymnastics.

“Some students find it difficult, as they are unable to develop the required flexibility and strength but others are very motivated to take it as a challenge. At the start of the year, classes are full, up to 30 to 35 students but gradually, the number decreases to 20 students by the end of the year. But on average, we are left with 15-20 students per session.”
Alluding to diet, coach Lutchmun highlights that there is no specific diet to follow for a gymnast other than abstaining from fat and consuming food rich in protein and calcium to keep muscles and bones strong.  

A basic training session

Before diving into the sea, the coach will first make sure we know how to swim. Metaphorically, before attempting flips, the coach will teach some body conditioning to strengthen basic muscles and to make a learner flexible enough to be able to do basic flips. 

“Beyond everything, safety is found in warming up, stretching and joint mobility to prevent injury. This is followed by learning and performing with the appropriate techniques and finally learning with safety equipment like floor and crash mats, vault and barrels,” explains coach Lutchmun.

This discipline also includes parkour flips. Flips for beginners include forward and backward roll, cartwheel, among others. For more advanced gymnasts, there are front and back flips, round off backhand spring, hand stand, and so on. Both young men and women train together and help each other. For outfits, coach Lutchmun recommends the young men to wear t-shirts, shorts or track suits while t-shirts, tops and leggings are suggested for the young women so as to be at ease during training. 

Usually, there are two sessions, one on Monday and another one on Saturday. Both starts at 13:00 and ends at 15:30. During university holidays, training is at 12:30. Coaching is 5/5 exceptionally during induction week.

Gymnastic contests

There are gymnastic competitions organized by the club, one in November or December and the other one is in February. It can be either a national contest or a regional one. It involves both young men and women but the contest is conducted separately for each gender. It involves different levels of competitors consisting of 20-25 participants. It includes tumbling, acrobatics and artistic championships. As president Rughoobur Ashitosh says:  “It all depends on the skills of what the competitor can do.

There are two categories, namely artistic (floor) and tumbling (airtrack). Concerning the artistic category, there is a routine which all competitors need to do, then they can perform different skills which will eventually demarcate them, like maintaining coordination, balance and flexibility. Now for the tumbling part, it involves any four skills which the competitor wants to perform, like round off back flips, front flips, skills mainly about speed. We have our national or regional contests, and most of our members do participate in our UoM contests. It is a competition among the members of UoM gymnastics, held in November/December, once per semester habitually, while there is one contest nationally or regionally in February.”  

The top three best competitors are awarded gold, silver or bronze medals, depending on their ranks. The others obtain some certificates.