On Deck

Suzanne Metzel has been taking photographs of rhythmic gymnasts for over 15 years. In 2012 she began a project to capture these gymnasts as they embarked upon a 4-year journey to qualify for the 2016 Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro. The rules allow a maximum of 2 gymnasts per country and only 20 gymnasts in the world will qualify. The U.S. has not had a rhythmic gymnast qualify to the Olympics since 2004. In June 2015 the top gymnasts competed at the U.S. Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships. The top 5 gymnasts were invited to a camp where, based upon the performance, they would be chosen to compete at the World Championships in September. At the U.S. Championships, Suzanne was afforded a unique vantage point. She was positioned between the competition floor and the small area known as the “deck,” where each gymnast waits her turn to perform four, 90-second routines. The arena, which was also host to tumbling, trampoline and acrobatic events, was abuzz with sounds from cheering crowds, loud music as well as crazy games and t-shirt cannons designed to keep the crowd amped up. On deck the gymnast must steel herself against the noise and distractions to focus upon the task at hand. Some coaches encourage calm and focus by gently stroking their gymnast’s ear lobes or allowing simply standing back while the gymnasts goes through while others bark last minute instructions that seem only to heighten the level of anxiety. The best gymnasts take it in stride and turn the space on deck into a meditative moment to visualize a perfect performance.