Understood. Accessibility and costs are definitely an issue, however I’ve talked to coaches in predominantly black areas with reasonable prices and the interest really isn’t there since it’s viewed as a 4-year sport by the general population.

The path for a competitive gymnasts is very different than other sports and the ROI is small since only an extremely small percentage make it big compared to sports like football, basketball, baseball, soccer, and hockey.

While costs and accessibility prohibit more blacks from taking up the sport, the general consensus is that people of all backgrounds really don’t understand the sport and the expectations needed for a child who wants to do it competitively with the hopes of getting a D1 scholarship, competing internationally, being professional, etc.

I copied a few tweets from a black gymnastics coach who owns a gym in Atlanta who offered some insights about his experience with parents.