North Dakota High School Drops Gymnastics, Raising Statewide Viability Concerns

Fargo Public Schools has discontinued its high school gymnastics program, adding pressure to a statewide sport that North Dakota High School Activities Association Executive Director Matthew Fetsch has formally designated as "at-risk" — a label with real consequences for every remaining team in the state, including Jamestown.

Fetsch notified gymnastics coaches before the 2024-25 season of the at-risk classification. Under NDHSAA rules, the Board of Directors can choose to stop sponsoring a state tournament for any activity that falls below 12 participating teams for three consecutive years. Fargo Public Schools' exit tightens that math considerably.

The 2026-27 season and state championship are currently safe, Fetsch has said, but the program's future beyond that depends on whether existing teams hold steady and new programs emerge. Without demonstrated growth, high school gymnastics in North Dakota faces the possibility of losing its NDHSAA-sanctioned status altogether.

The stakes are immediate for Jamestown. The Blue Jays placed third at the 2026 NDHSAA Gymnastics State Tournament, held Feb. 27 at Dickinson High School. Sutton Van Gilder was Jamestown's highest finisher in the all-around at the individual day, placing fourth overall with a 36.583 score and finishing fourth on vault with a 9.333. Brooklyn Waldie added a ninth-place all-around finish with 35.483 points. Jamestown's program trains out of the Jamestown Gymnastics Club and the Midco Gymnasium at the Starion Sports Complex.

A central driver of the statewide decline is the growing pull of club gymnastics over high school programs. Fetsch noted that hockey and soccer face a similar tension between club and scholastic competition, but not nearly to the degree gymnastics does. In Dickinson, the club and high school programs have operated as a unified structure since at least the 1970s — a model that has helped Dickinson sustain its program through 11 consecutive state team titles, including its 20th overall championship claimed at this year's tournament.

Fargo Public Schools announced in February that it would cut a program without initially identifying which one, before gymnastics was confirmed as the sport affected. The loss of Fargo, one of the state's largest school districts, carries weight beyond just the numbers: it signals that even well-resourced urban districts are finding the sport difficult to sustain at the high school level.

For Jamestown's gymnasts, who competed on one of the state's stronger programs just weeks ago, the concern is no longer abstract. The sport they train for year-round may lose its state-level home within a few seasons if the roster of competing schools does not stabilize.