Growing Masters Gymnastics, One Meet at a Time

Nate Sharpe shares his path to competing at Turnfest for the first time, and where he sees Masters Gymnastics going in the future.

I first started gymnastics at the “ripe old age” of 24. My wife Julia was getting bored winning NAIGC championships and decided to start training and competing the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics (MAG) events after 20+ years of high level Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) training and competition, and convinced me to try out the sport with her. I started with just rings but quickly became hooked and was doing all six MAG events within a couple of years. When Julia spearheaded the creation of the “Gymnastics Decathlon” in 2017 (a competition combining all ten MAG and WAG events) she of course convinced me to try it out. Now I train and compete in all ten MAG and WAG events!

Picture: Nate competing on balance beam at the 2024 NAIGC National Championships.

Competing as an adult brought a unique blend of challenge, camaraderie, and personal achievement. While adult gymnastics communities thrive locally (I train and compete with the MIT Gymnastics Club) and nationally (the NAIGC helps run regionals and a national championship every year), the idea of an international stage felt like a distant dream until the summer of 2023. That's when my teammate from the MIT club team, Bernd Schoner, reached out with an intriguing opportunity. Bernd, originally from Germany, had just placed second in the German National Masters Gymnastics Championships in his age group. The winners were forming a German Masters team for an upcoming "Masters World Cup" in Einbeck, Germany. As a dual citizen, Bernd saw a chance to help start a US team, broaden the competition, and potentially secure his spot!

Picture: Julia and I did up our “hair” all special for the meet.

Having helped run the NAIGC in various capacities since 2017, I was thrilled at the prospect of helping bring US adult gymnastics to the international stage. I worked closely with Jens Krüger, the founder of the Masters World Cup events, to assemble a US team, understand the rules, and attend the competition in October 2023. We competed alongside full MAG and WAG teams from Germany, Japan, and Great Britain and were amazed at the skill, friendliness, and shared passion we saw from the other teams. A highlight was demonstrating the idea of gender-flexible competition, with Julia competing on the US MAG team to amazed applause from the German audience and international competitors alike.

Picture: The US Team at the Masters World Cup in Einbeck, Germany in October 2023.

We all had such an amazing time in Einbeck that I offered to help organize the next year’s meet and host it in Boston at my home gym at MIT. Working alongside leaders from each country, we updated the competition rules and format based on our learnings from the previous year. The result was an awesome competition in 2024 with 132 participants, including a new WAG team from Ireland and individuals from Brazil, Australia, Canada, Puerto Rico, and New Zealand. The growth was already evident!

Picture: The top three MAG teams at the 2024 Masters World Cup in Boston.

Now entering its fourth year (the first competition in 2022 was just German and Japanese MAG teams in Tokyo), the 2025 Masters World Cup is being held in conjunction with the massive gymnastics festival that is Turnfest. Joining the competition as teams for the first time this year (in addition to previous teams) will be teams from Canada, Ireland, Brazil, and Italy! With over 100 gymnasts expected, participants will span an incredible age range, from 30 years old to over 70. The reigning team champs from Boston were the American WAG team and the Japanese MAG team, we’ll have to see if the Germans are able to capitalize on their home turf advantage to retake the top spots! Many team members are also participating in the all-comers individual events at the festival. Julia and I are particularly excited to compete in our first ever “mixed pairs” gymnastics competition – a format we've never seen before!

Picture: The team podium at the 2024 Masters World Cup in Boston.

Looking ahead, the momentum in Masters Gymnastics is palpable. My hope is that events like the Masters World Cup and the visibility gained at festivals like Turnfest will inspire more adults globally to start or return to gymnastics. I also hope national federations will increasingly support Masters programs, encouraging a shift in mentality to view gymnastics as a lifelong sport, rather than one people must retire from after high school or college. Following this year's event, the Masters World Cup will move to an every-other-year schedule, with the next competition planned for Tokyo in 2027. To bridge the gap between World Cups, I plan to host another individual Masters event next summer at MIT, offering an opportunity for those eager to compete annually. The community is growing, and the future looks bright for adult gymnasts worldwide! There are a growing number of adult gymnastics opportunities around the US, from adult classes and open gyms to fully fledged adult competitive clubs. If anyone is struggling to find an opportunity near them, email info@naigc.org or check out the “Just Like a Fine Wine: Adult Gymnastics” group on Facebook.