After two long years, I finally made it back to FlipFest Gymnastics Camp at Lake Frances in Crossville, Tennessee.
If you don’t know, FlipFest is a three-day adult gymnastics retreat that follows the end of the kids’ summer camp season, sanctioned by NAIGC. You can read more about my first experience in 2024 .
Tammy and I made the 12-hour trek together in another fantastic girls’ road trip. My brain was all abuzz with anticipation of what skills I’d have the cojones to try.
While I didn’t have any major expectations, there were a few new things I thought I’d be able to try. With plenty of foam to hurtle my body into, surely I could quiet Mr. Lizard for the weekend. I was hoping to start building some new movement patterns. My main goals were:
- Flyaways
- Back tuck dismount on beam
- Some sort of twisting development
So here it is, the daily play-by-play. At the end, I’ll include my must-haves for camp.
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Friday
As older adults do, we arrived in Crossville a few hours early.
We made a stop at Buc’ees to grab some provisions before heading to camp.
On our way out, we got stuck in a monsoon. We hung out in the car for a bit, then got bored. Tammy decided she’d rather drive through the rain.
We arrived at Lake Frances to find a closed gate. That’s the problem with being early birds. The young’uns aren’t ever ready for us.
We waited for someone to leave so we could get through the gate and waited in the parking lot until the check in time.
Once we were able to get through the closed gate, we checked in, set up our living space in the Hummingbird cabin.
We headed to the gym for orientation, which was filled with a sea of “kids” from our perspective, a bunch of 20 and 30-somethings all ready to chuck all sorts of crazy skills, then party until 2 am. In fact, one of the house rules was “don’t do three shots then attempt a triple back flip” (noted).
From orientation, we went to the mess hall and had our first pre-workout meal (Dominoes pizza and salad bar). We caught up with our new roommates, as well as Leilah and Patrick who flew in from California.
Go Hummingbirds!! Meg, Tammy, Carrie and me :)
We were the “elder women” of the lot.
My cabinmate Carrie, it turns out, was the person from the NAIGC rules committee who counseled me on my competition floor routine! (I wrote about it in February 2025.) She gave me the idea to include a roundoff-half-roundoff to fulfill the aerial connection component for Xcel Silver. Talk about a small world.
Meg was our other roommate who reached out to me after seeing one of my posts about coming to FlipFest. She lives an hour from camp and was coming for the first time in her 60s. She competed as a kid and had just started a “train like a gymnast” program near her. She figured that camp was so close, she could come, check it out, and maybe try a few new skills.
At 6:30, Tammy and I went back to the cabin to securely tape our ankles and wrists in preparation for our first 2-hour workout.
At warmup, a few younger women recognized me from Instagram and we chatted for a bit. Lily shared that my blog had inspired her to come to FlipFest last year. 😊 That was a very cool moment.
Lily, Danielle, Brianne, Hailey, and Liz from A-Town Upside Down :)
I even ran into Mia, my healing heroine, who recovered from breaking both of her ankles at FlipFest the same month that I broke my foot on the TumblTrak in 2023.
She’s my beastly spirit animal goddess.
You can find her on IG @thebossiraptor
When I first saw Mia on Friday night, she and her Jurassic crew were chucking all sorts of amazing stuff off of the high bar into the pit. It energized me and gave me some inspiration to make some progress on my newly acquired flyaways that I started to crack open at Paradigm.
After shaking of the cobwebs landing the first two into the foam, I decided to turn it around and land on the mat.
Lo and behold, I stuck the very first one. In front of Mia. I stood there, stunned, because I couldn’t believe I was actually standing on my feet. Lots of supportive applause, then Tammy yelled, “that’s the first one she ever landed on a mat!!” Mia said “really?” And I got a high five. I felt like a kid getting a that high five, even though I’m certain I’ve got many years on her. It’s all about perspective, I suppose.
I chucked two more, over-rotating one (not a problem) and sticking the next, Tammy and I decided to quit while we were ahead and go to beam to flop ourselves into the pit a bit more. After all, this was the first of four long workouts in three days. No sense overdoing things on the first night.
We put our grips away and headed over to the beam facility. SO MANY BEAMS. Lots of pit landing options. I climbed on the high beam and chucked a couple of front tucks, and landed them on the mat in the pit! On my feet! That felt amazing. I wasn’t ready to try back tucks yet – I’d save them for Saturday.
Tammy was working on Barani full twist dismounts. A Barani is basically a no hands roundoff. It’s something I’ve tried to do on trampoline, but since my twisting skills are pretty non-existent, I’ve never successfully done them. But maybe, just maybe, I could hurtle myself into the pit from the beam and see what happens.
I started with the skill that I already knew: front tucks.
Then, I got on the low beam, kissed it up to god, and hurtled away in an attempt at a Barani dismount. I can’t tell you exactly how I landed, but I was underneath the foam. But I survived to try another one.
On the second attempt, I actually brought my feet together mid-air and landed feet first in the pit (that’s a good thing)! Something clicked for the first time. For the rest of the night, I kept visualizing the process in hopes that on Saturday, I’d be able to connect it again.
The other skill I was trying to visualize is a kip. Since I was getting a stronger tap swing, I started to think that maybe I could try the kip on the high bar. More swing=more momentum. Something to think about.
Once we finished the session, we walked slowly in the dark back to our cabin. I downed a protein shake with some creatine powder, praying that whatever muscle ouchies I’d inevitably feel might get magically repaired overnight (ha). I took a hot/cold shower and crawled (literally) into bed. Visions of twists and kips danced in my head in between REM sleep cycles.
Saturday
The wooden camp cabin beds didn’t provide the best sleep I’d ever had, but I got a few hours in. I wound up waking around 5 am and couldn’t get the visions of long swing kips out of my head. So, I wrote for a bit, then headed outside to take a look around.
Someone was sitting by the lake meditating. A few others were sitting having coffee outside the cafeteria. I walked down to the lake for a few minutes, then joined the group for coffee, which happened to be Tammy and Tim (who we met at FlipFest two years before). We ate breakfast (French toast sticks and sausage) at 8 a.m. and headed back to the cabin to tape up and get ready for workout #2.
My hips were already talking to me and needing of more recovery time, but the beauty of gymnastics is that once you warm up, all the aches and pains seem to fade to the background. You’re having so much fun trying all the new skills you’re hoping to acquire that the joints and muscles forget (for a time) that they’re overworked. Back to that later.
Morning workout
We went into workout #2 both energized and sore. It’s hard to pull back and save energy when there’s so much you want to accomplish and so much opportunity to get it done. Having plenty of foam landing pits made it much easier to try new things. You can literally fling yourself in awkward angles that you’d never do on just a landing mat. So experimenting is much easier and you can slay Mr. Lizard with more confidence.
The only caveat is that the more you experiment, the more sore you’ll be later. Saturday morning’s workout was a slow start. But, we had 3 hours to spread everything out.
I started on TumblTrak and floor to get the blood flowing. I wanted to see how my Achilles tendons would stand up to floor impacts.
I chucked a few back tucks from the floor into the pit: felt good. This was a good sign for beam back tuck dismounts.
Then switched to running punch fronts, first onto a Resi mat in the pit, then switching to floor landings.
It took a while, but I did eventually land a couple squarely on my feet. WIN.
After floor time, I went to the beam gym and shook off the nerves with the familiarity of the front tuck. Then, I thought I’d see if the Barani skill would work better from the high beam.
It didn’t. I just randomly flung myself into the foam.
I didn’t want to spend all my confidence capital on Baranis, so I got right to the back tucks. Just standing on the beam backwards was enough to rattle Mr. Lizard.
Fortunately, he wasn’t fully awake yet and I managed to chuck one into the pit and two onto a mat. And, I landed on my feet. WIN.
Back tuck goal achieved. ✅
After beam, it was decision time: go back to bars or walk into the vault gym.
Initially, I was going to avoid vault. I always get anxious with new vault setups. It takes so long to shake out the nerves and I’m so afraid of hitting the springboard poorly or slamming body first into the vault table.
My cabin mate Carrie was in there, working on the one low table. I figured, I’ll start with a short run and do a couple of dive rolls. Go slow and build up.
As I got more comfortable, I started to lengthen the run and make it more powerful. Eventually, I started to feel the anxiety melt away and I “whole assed” the effort.
After about a dozen turns, I saw someone do a roundoff up a cheese mat and flopping into the pit. Intrigued, I took a look at the setup. Seemed like something I could actually do with little issue.
Lo and behold, I could. Flopping into the pit: piece of cake. Getting out was an ordeal. I dragged a pit pillow over just to prevent excessive effort to extricate myself from the sea of foam blocks and had a ball.
Turns out, that was called a Tsuk drill, which trains you to pop the shoulder from the roundoff and back tuck into the landing. Not something I ever see in my future, but the drill was great for core control and shoulder strength. Ah, if only we had a pit at home…
The end of the second workout met us with a torrential downpour that we had to get through to get to the lunch cabin. 100+ of us entered the mess hall drenched and hungry.
After eating some chicken, rice, roasted veggies and salad, we hightailed it back to the cabin, getting a little more drenched, and cozied up for an old-person restorative nap. Sadly, I missed out on the rope swing and new ropes course. That will have to wait until next year.
After the nap, I changed my leotard, headed back for dinner (pasta and meatballs), then back to the cabin for taping. I now have this down to a science. I prepare myself for impact landings and now know just how much tension I need on the tape for dorsiflexion support (but not strangling the blood flow). I covered the tape with my compression sleeves and we headed back for workout #3.
Evening workout
Saturday night was a bit of a slog. Despite all of my attempts to fuel and pace myself, there’s just so much these muscles can make. While the 20-year-olds were still going strong, we Gen Xers were dragging ourselves through the warmup. And we had 3 hours to go.
Eventually, I decided it was time to head back to bars. I really wanted to try the cast underswing that I had been incessantly visualizing and figured I had a few more attempts left before my shoulders waved the white flag.
I started with a few tap swings into a flyaway. No problem. Then it was time. I climbed into a front support and stared into the pit below. Cast, push away from the bar, swing through. I did it, needed to re-grip on the front swing because it felt like the grips were a little off. Then I re-gripped on the back swing, missed, and face planted into the pit. Mmmm that tasted good. Sadly, there’s no video of that.
My reward? My very first palm rip. Ever. Everyone was shocked that I had never ripped before and gave me a hearty “congratulations!!” Like it was a rite of passage on bars.
Fortunately, there was no blood. Tammy made me a tape grip to go in between my hand and the grips and I climbed back up to front support. Cast, a few tap swings, flyaway dismount to all fours. I was a little thrown by the previous faceplant, but at least I chucked it. I wanted one more chance to redeem myself and land the flyaway. Slight over rotation landed me half on the mat and half in the foam.
As I clambered out, I noticed I had ripped the other hand. Now I had two. Bars was officially done.
I washed the chalk off my hands (ouch that stings) and then made a twin tape grip for my left hand. There was still time to play and I wasn’t bleeding, so I spent some time in the last hour on trampoline. Tammy and I did a mini-synchronized tramp routine. You can catch that on the vlog at the end of this post.
I was still frustrated with my lack of twisting ability. I was really hoping to learn a better method of front twisting.
A few gymnasts from Ohio (the Cincinnati Dawgs) were working at the trampoline and I asked them what their special sauce was for front twisting. And what they shared changed everything:
Front tuck, kick out, twist.
All this time, I was starting my twist too soon and getting lost in the air. But I knew how to orient myself for the front tuck. Once I figured out the timing of the kickout, I could look to the side and land backwards in the pit. This was the game changer to get me started. It wasn’t perfect, but I was further along than ever before.
I figured I’d see if this was the key on Sunday, after some much-needed sleep.
Sunday
On Sunday morning, there wasn’t too much left in the tank for the last 2-hour workout. Warmup was long and slow. Seemed everyone took much longer to wake up after the party the night before. Some didn’t even bother to come to this workout. Fortunately, no one bothered to try chucking a triple after three shots.
I headed to TumblTrak with the express purpose of trying the twisting technique again.
Lo and behold, it stuck. I was consistently applying the technique, quickening up the moment of twist and landing in the pit facing the right way.
After a few turns, I headed back to the trampoline to try landing on a Resi mat in the pit. On the first two tries, I got my feet to touch the mat before losing my balance and falling into foam. But on the third one, I landed on the wobbly mat facing the right direction. That felt amazing.
Not sure I’ll be able to transfer the skill to Flipper’s at home, but I’m closer than I’ve ever been. That’s a win.
I finished the day in the beam gym working on some pirouettes. I couldn’t believe how many people were still going strong. I could barely stand up.
Tammy suggested we do a joint L-sit on rings. I looked at her like she was crazy, then did it anyway.
And then, I was DONE. Time to cool down, shower, and pack it all up.
We’d spend another 12 hours in the car, starting our recovery and basking in the glory of a job well done.
And of course, we were already planning our next workouts for the week.
The Geriatric Gymnast reflects on FlipFest
There’s a phenomenon in Geriatric Gymnastics that’s confounding. We can do all of these great flippy things in the gym. We can move with strength, agility and grace on the gym floor. We can do powerful, amazing things.
Then, as soon as we sit down, even for five minutes, all of a sudden it feels like we’re 90 years old and can’t get out of the chair. I can’t explain it, other than to say that once movement stops, the stiffness and soreness come to the forefront.
Which is why I live by the mantra movement heals. Once you lubricate the joints, stretch the muscles, and start jumping, the body remembers what it is capable of doing. It is a point of pride that I can breathe the same chalk dust-filled air and take up space as a gymnast at 54.
For me, FlipFest Gymnastics Camp is a gift that keeps on giving. As an adult, it connects me directly to that inner child who wants to play on the big-kid playground. It also connects me to those who, like me, want to continue to grow and learn. And we cheer each other on, bolster each other up, and watch starry-eyed at our peers.
I would be remiss if I didn’t take the opportunity to express my eternal gratitude to my flippy big sister Tammy for pulling me along so I can experiment and see what this body can still accomplish.
Her friendship means the world to me. She believes in me before I believe in myself. That has been the game-changer in my life.
So, if you are an older gymnast and have never heard of FlipFest in Crossville, Tennessee, go ahead and look it up. You’ll get to meet some of the most amazing people who all are there for one purpose: to find new ways to fly. Maybe I’ll see you there next year!!
Photo Gallery
See a little more on the Vlog 😁
The Geriatric Gymnast’s must-haves for camp
- Many rolls of athletic tape and pre-wrap: to secure my wonky ankles and wrists. Also to make tape grips if you rip.
- Scissors: to get that tape off more quickly
- Protein shakes and creatine powder: they definitely don’t provide enough protein for the workouts we do.
- Bars grips and balloons: Balloons apparently make good extra rip protection under the grips.
- Ibuprofen: lots of it. For pre- and post- workouts. Just take as directed.
- Large water bottle with hydration powder packets: Sometimes, you forget to drink, even when you really need it. The flavored packets remind you to take a few extra sips.
- Stretchy bands: for warming up the shoulders. They are always at risk at this age.
The Geriatric Gymnast 
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