Woodward Camps announced Thursday that it has made the “difficult decision” to “discontinue” its gymnastics and cheerleading programs at all of its camp locations.
The camp has offered gymnastics training for much of its 52-year history.
“We are grateful to have had the opportunity to work with many of the best athletes, coaches and ambassadors in the world of gymnastics and cheer and to have served as a vehicle of growth and empowerment for individuals in both sports. We are humbled by the years of support from each community and remain steadfast champions of the next generation of athletes in all sports across the globe.” the camp said in a statement on its website.
The camp did not announce the specific reason for the closure of the programs
“Woodward has made significant investments to expand and evolve the brand in recent years including the addition of Woodward Mountain Parks at Copper, Tahoe, Killington, Eldora and Mt. Bachelor, as well as the development of its newest property at Woodward Park City and the designation of Woodward Copper and Woodward Park City facilities as Official Training Centers for U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes. These expansions have created alignment across the Woodward brand and furthered our vision of being the global leader in action sports. Now we are on the verge of announcing a significant investment in the future of Woodward focused entirely on action sports. Unfortunately, we have determined that in order for this investment in – and focus on – becoming the global leader in action sports to be successful, it is necessary to move away from a few sports that are not as complementary to the core of action sports. Specifically, gymnastics and cheer programs, which we will be transitioning out of effective immediately at Woodward PA and Woodward West.”
Woodward Camp has been the subject of multiple lawsuits after one of its coaches was accused of sexual misconduct against two gymnasts.