It was a special evening for the Saints’ gymnastics team on Tuesday as they hosted the Martin County Magic (Faimont/Martin County West) at Gustavus Adolphus College’s Sponberg Gymnastics Studio. In addition to the competition on the various apparatuses, the Saints marked their 50th year as a varsity program before the meet began.
A special exhibit was set up commemorating those five decades and former gymnasts and coaches were invited to attend free of charge. Included in the display were copies of every yearbook page from the SPHS Yearbook (Peterian) from 1976 to present.
Romaine Scharlemann was the first-ever head coach of the Saints’ girls gymnastics team during the 1975-76 season, and while she was unable to attend Tuesday’s event her legacy was still present five decades later.
(PICTURED ABOVE) The Saints' second-ever varsity gymnastics team, coached by Romaine Scharlemann (front row, far right) competed during the 1976-77 school year/season.
Scharlemann currently resides in Minneapolis with her husband, where they raised two adult sons, and recalls fondly about her time in the mid-to-late 1970s teaching and coaching here at Saint Peter Public Schools. She shared some thoughts about her time here at SPPS and recalled fondly her time as coach of the up-start Saints’ gymnastics program. Here are her words:
“Teaching at Saint Peter Schools was my first job after graduating from the University of Minnesota’s main campus in Minneapolis. In college I was on the women's Gopher track team and a judge for local gymnastics meets. I was hired to teach Physical Education in the St. Peter elementary schools and to coach the newly-formed girls’ gymnastic team at the high school.
It seems like ancient history now, but Title IX had just become law in 1972 to help equalize athletic and sports opportunities for women and girls. Four years later, athletic teams for girls were more prevalent, but it was still early days. Where they existed they were often understaffed and underfunded. The best opportunities were organized around clubs run by private groups. I remember thinking that St. Peter had really benefited from a good club-type system for girls interested in gymnastics so I was fortunate to have a few kids who had excellent training and skills.
I enjoyed my years coaching and teaching in St. Peter and was so proud of the girls gymnastics program at all levels. They competed hard, worked hard and thanks to the other PE elementary teacher (I'm sorry I can't remember his name!) who would show up to practice sometimes - they had a good spotter for safety. The girls enjoyed a lot of camaraderie and I remember our bus trips to other schools were always fun and filled with laughter. Competing well was our goal but having fun and supporting one another was the important backdrop that kept us grounded.”
Pictured below is Colleen (Conner) Hanson, a member of the first-ever Saints' gymnastics' team, looking at the special display set up for Tuesday's meet at Gustavus. Colleen's granddaughter, Kyla Yost, is a member of this year's Saints' squad.