Great News From City Hall!

Mayor and City Council to Honor 20 Years of Saratoga Gymnastics Excellence on May 3

The Saratoga Springs Board of Education honored Saratoga Gymnastics on March 8 – On Tuesday, May 3, the Saratoga Springs City Council will have its turn. Photos by Jessica Troisi

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Now, given recent events, it is entirely likely that many people (including, at times, myself) would regard today’s headline as an oxymoron….

Nonetheless, when you advocate publicly that someone should do the right thing, and then they do it, good manners alone would indicate that it is proper to acknowledge it just as publicly.

And so, I am delighted to report that Mayor Ron Kim has agreed to honor the Saratoga Gymnastics Squad and their 20-year run of Section 2 championship excellence. The date has been set: one month from today, at the beginning of the Tuesday, May 3, City Council Meeting, which begins at 7 pm.

The purpose of this post is to help spread the word. All members of the current squad, coaches and parents; as well as any alumni members of the previous championship teams, are cordially invited to attend to receive some long-overdue acknowledgement from the City.

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While I have certainly been an advocate to see this recognition happen – some would say to the point of being pedantic about it, as my latest POST on this subject would indicate, I really want to note that I received a great deal of help from parents, coaches, and even just regular citizens like myself who lobbied City Hall in a much more diplomatic fashion.

I want to acknowledge the assistance of Kerry Huyben, Executive Assistant to the Mayor, for helping this process along at City Hall and securing a date for this dynasty to be recognized. IMHO she deserves a raise, Mayor – just for dealing with me! But one battle at a time…

As I wrote in my February 19, 2022 POST:

“I have no dog in this hunt, no daughter on any of the 20 championship squads. But I’m tired of seeing these young ladies work so hard, do so well, and end up as poster children for the phrase ‘long overdue.’”

So, today is a great day – and , having come this far, I now take a back seat to allow teammates, coaches, parents and gymnastic alums to work the grapevine and let everyone connected with this that they are invited, or at least, if they cannot attend, to tune into the City Council’s webcast feed.

But I know I have plans for the evening of May 3rd – those plans are to loudly applaud, and join my fellow Citizens in celebrating local athletic excellence.

And to see “long overdue” become no more.

Arthur Gonick – April 3, 2022