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Sports

After Five Years, Ridge Gymnastics Team to Host First-Ever Home Meet on Sept. 15

Red Devils Gymnastics Team finally raises funds to obtain needed equipment to host home meets.

There's no place like home. Nobody can attest to that cliche like the Ridge High School gymnastics team. Heading into their fifth year of existence, the Red Devils gymnasts finally will be able to host home meets after a lack of equipment required the team to travel for each and every meet for their previous four seasons. 

During the 2010 season the team no longer will need to worry about long bus rides and losing out on a home advantage, since the Red Devils gymnasts now will compete at Ridge High School.

"It definitely means a lot to have home meets," said assistant coach Lauren McManus. "It was always away, so it's definitely exciting."

After years of fund raising, the team recently raised the last of the $30,000 needed to purchase the final of the four pieces of equipment, the balance beam, uneven bars, vaults and mats, to host official NJSIAA (N.J. Interscholastic Athletic Association) gymnastics meets.

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"In the last week we've finally been able to buy the last bit of equipment we need," said Quentin Wright, the team's co-manager. The hard-won funding, along with some financial help from the Ridge Booster Club, now have given the Red Devils a venue to call their own, the coaches said.

"What haven't we done?" asked Wright. "We've done loads and loads of concession stands. We did a yard sale, we've done Charter Day and the girls are going to be doing celebrity bagging at King's (supermarket), where the girls bag up groceries and take them out to the customers' cars for tips. We had a pierogi-making session, which was very successful in making $5,000, and there's numerous other things we've done."

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"The booster club has been awesome," Wright said. "They actually bought us the beam to start up." He said the club donated another $2,500 this year.

The team and first-year head coach Kyla Mendes hope the home meets will change some of the luck the team has had in previous years. The Red Devils, who started out with two girls in their inaugural season and now have expanded to 17 girls, won one meet during the past two seasons.

The Red Devils kick off their season at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 15 -- at home.

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