High school girls’ gymnastics in Montgomery County, Maryland, will continue for one more school year after school officials said the athletics department failed to include its student athletes and coaches in the process leading to the program’s cancellation.
Montgomery County Public Schools decided to cut girls’ gymnastics in February, sparking backlash from its gymnastics community and a petition to keep the program going. The seven participating high schools started the 2025-26 season with 119 gymnasts and had 79 remaining on the rosters by the county championships.
Director of Athletics Jeffery Sullivan told the Montgomery County Board of Education during its work session Thursday that the athletics department did not offer the opportunity to provide feedback on the data leading to the decision.
“As a result, we will continue gymnastics for the 2026-27 school year,” Sullivan said.
The county athletics department has a seven-step decision-making process which includes data collection, a program review and approval from various school leaders. Two steps, requiring feedback from coaches and the affected community, were never followed.
Sullivan said he addressed coaches during a postseason meeting last spring but didn’t return to the coaches or seek the gymnasts’ input. He said it was clear that the coaches and the gymnast wanted the program to stay.
“We were doing a data analysis of the program, and I will own the fact that we did not go back in that process to the gymnasts and to the gymnastics coaches again and ask through that process,” Sullivan said. “We ran through the checkpoints of that process without going back and getting additional stakeholder feedback.”
Sullivan told school board members that participation in gymnastics has declined by 20% nationwide, and that the school system has struggled to find qualified coaches to fill vacancies. He highlighted Springbrook High School, which had only three student athletes competing and a coaching vacancy.
While it is not in the school district’s “DNA to cancel or take away,” Sullivan said the data collected and the voting support from area principals, athletic directors and its student-athlete leadership council showed it had the support to end the program.
“All of the other districts have discontinued gymnastics, and no district that we’ve checked with has said they are considering any expansion of gymnastics,” Sullivan said. “We are the last county offering.”
While Sullivan said protocol was followed, he added that the athletic department plans to create a standalone process for eliminating or discontinuing a sport that will give everyone involved a chance to provide feedback.
School board member Rita Montoya pushed back, arguing that athletics already had a decision-making process, which Sullivan presented at the start of the session.
“We don’t need to establish a process,” she said. “We have one, we just didn’t follow it.”
Montoya added that the department failed to speak with those who participated in the sport daily and instead relied solely on data and votes from people not in gymnastics to make its decision.
“I’m not a gymnast, so I don’t know. So, yes, I need to hear from them,” she said. “And with all due respect, Mr. Sullivan, I don’t think you’re a gymnast either.”
Anuva Maloo, the county board of education’s student member, questioned the composition of the student-athlete leadership council and asked whether there were any gymnasts on the committee. Sullivan said he could not confirm but would provide a roster in the future.
Maloo said it would not be fair for athletes playing different sports to decide the future for affected athletes.
“From an equity lens standpoint, if there were not any gymnastic representatives on that council, or any other sports, for example, that are not represented on that council, then we need to move forward and look into at least ensuring that there’s one representative from each sport attending these meetings,” Maloo said.
School board president Grace Rivera-Oven said while the vote from other school leaders was very clear, the school system needs to listen to its students. She thanked those who spoke at previous school board meetings and advocated for the program.
Gymnastics’ future outside of the 2026-27 school year remains unclear. In a letter provided to WTOP, Sullivan said the athletics department will work with parents, coaches and student athletes to “establish clear and transparent metrics and processes” for the upcoming season.
In a county that is home to three-time Olympian Dominique Dawes, Rivera-Oven said she hopes Montgomery County schools can find a solution to keep the program alive for years to come.
“I will hope that we can find a way … that we can transition some of that passion and love that we have for gymnastics and that little community,” Rivera-Oven said. “And see (if) we can work with those, maybe outside the school system, that might be willing to work with our young athletes who love the sport.”
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