Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center

Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center or "Parkettes" for short, is a gymnastics club located in Allentown, Pennsylvania that had its beginnings in the early 1960s with a middle school gymnastics program in Allentown that gradually grew into an intramural program and then into a facility that has produced several teams and individual gymnasts representing the United States, the Czech Republic, and Canada in international meets. [http://www.parkettes.com/]

The husband and wife team Bill and Donna Strauss have served as the head coaches at Parkettes since its inception.

History

In 1986, Parkettes gymnasts took the 1st (Jennifer Sey), 2nd (Hope Spivey) and 4th (Alyssa Solomon) places at the United States National Gymnastics Championships.

At the 1988 Olympic Games, Parkettes-trained gymnast Hope Spivey represented the United States.

In 1992, Parkettes gymnast Kim Kelly caused a considerable controversy in that after she was selected for the 1992 Olympic gymnastics training squad, she was then not selected for the competition team extremely close to the opening of the games.

In 1998, Kristen Maloney won the United States National senior All-Around gold. In 2000, she competed at the Olympics

Kristal Uzelac won the United States Junior National All-Around gold in 1999, 2000, and 2001.

In 2002, Vanessa Meloche, a Canadian gymnast at Parkettes, finished third at the Canadian championships and first on the uneven bars.

In 2003 (date)?, CNN produced a documentary, Pursuing the Perfect 10, critical of Parkettes and elite gymnastics. [fill in ref]

In 2008, Jennifer Sey, the 1986 National Champion from Parkettes, published, Chalked Up, a book critical of Parkettes and elite gymnastics. [ISBN (fill in)]

References