Spotlight- Renee Bulda

1. Why did you start doing gymnastics?

“I started when I was really young so it was mostly my parents [that encouraged me to do gymnastics]. They wanted me to do a sport that was kind of different from other sports and we didn’t want to fall in the whole ‘soccer mom’ trap with the tournaments every Saturday. And, we also didn’t want something that was very competitive and there were a lot of options for non-competitive gymnastics.”

2. Do you have any role model/idol gymnasts?

“There was one girl a few years ago who graduated when I was a sophomore. Her name was Sara. She was in gymnastics and in general she was just a really happy, funny person. She really knew how to laugh at herself and when she would have problems in gymnastics she would always push through it and keep going and she would never really let anything get her down; and, I tried to emulate her in what she does during gymnastics and then during everything else, too.”

4. Where do you plan on taking your gymnastic career?

“I don’t think I’m going to do it in college just because the level in college is so high and I haven’t been at that high level for very long so it would be really hard for me to continue. But I do want to do it recreationally and try and keep up my skills. I also think I’m also going to try diving over the summer and in college because gymnastics translates very well and is not as hard on your body as gymnastics is.”

5. Do you specialize in any particular area of gymnastics?

“I do all around gymnastics but just this past year I moved up a level. Instead of competing varsity compulsory, I had competed varsity optional which is a step up so I did have to train for that over this past year and kind of learn all these new skills”

7. Why do you like doing gymnastics?

“I like gymnastics because it seems kind of impossible, all the things that gymnasts do, but it’s amazing to know my body can do that, I can do that. There’s a total adrenaline rush and the thrill of it every time you get up on the different events.”

8. How is the atmosphere of this sport?

“We try to keep it really positive and […] support each other a lot so every time someone gets up on an event, we’re always standing there cheering for them and helping them out if they need it, giving them corrections and making sure we’re just always there for each other.”

9. How long do you have to practice for? How much overall work is put in?

“I usually do two days a week for two hours, but for a while I did three days a week for two hours in gymnastics in the off season.”

10. How do you think MC Gymnastics did overall at CIFs last weekend?

“We did really well. We tied for third place and we knew that the two teams that beat us were going to beat us just because they’ve been really good. But, considering our level and where we started and where we ended, we jumped so many points. We improved so much and we did have a really good last meet. I’m really proud of all the improvements and all the progress we’ve made.”

12. What was different about this season than previous ones?

“The main thing is that I think the varsity team was closer to each other than we’ve been before and there wasn’t a lot of drama or cattiness. We would hang out with each other outside of gymnastics all the time which I thought was really cool. We bonded a lot.”

13. How has Coach L-T helped you?

“This is a really long answer because I’ve known her all four years and just the impact she’s had. I really admire the way that she lives her life and the values and beliefs that she has, so I try to incorporate those into my own life and really hold myself to her standards because she has really high standards. And just the things she’s taught me have really stuck with me and have changed the way I see the world.”

14. Do you have any pre-meet rituals or superstitions?

“Before we get out there, we always do this little like cheer thing before waiting to walk in. It’s really obnoxious and makes everybody look at us, but it’s really fun.”

15. If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?

“There’s a song called ‘Leave All the Lights On’ by A Day to Remember that I really like that I could listen to forever.”