'Elevating' excellence: Red Rocks take next step with upgraded gymnastics facility

SALT LAKE CITY — Before Tom Farden took over as the head coach of the Utah gymnastics program, he had a vision — much like Greg and Megan Marsden before him — of making the Red Rocks the preeminent collegiate gymnastics program in the country.

To Farden, it was always about "elevating" the program — not just when the gymnasts perform, but everything that goes into it.

His gymnasts continue to win at a high level — in the arena and in the classroom — and he's raised the bar of the recruiting landscape for Utah gymnastics, which includes bringing on the No. 1 gymnast in the country and several Olympians. But on Thursday, Farden saw an eight-year project finally come to fruition as the upgrade to the Dumke Gymnastics Center was completed.

"It's just a total team effort, and it's very gratifying to know that Utah gymnastics, facility-wise, isn't a box that any recruit will walk into and go, 'You know what? I can't check that,'" Farden told media after hosting several donors at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. "Facility-wise, they have to check it now; there's no other alternative, it is one of the finest in the world."

The facility is about bringing the entire gymnastics family under one roof and giving all who are involved an "intentional" spot dedicated solely to them. In a collegiate landscape where men's sports often dominate the resources from an athletic department, having a dedicated facility — especially for women — goes a long way to show how much the Red Rocks mean to the University of Utah.

"It might not be the biggest footprint, but it's well-appointed, it's thought through, and it's got timeless touches," Farden said. "And so, what I think it's going to do is stand out. ... Everything from the intentionality and the original part of the building to the second part of the building, that theme was carried on. And so, when recruits come in here — whichever next top-level recruit comes in and takes a look at this thing — they're gonna see the intentionality and the nice touches and the classic look."

It's intentionality that supports women's gymnastics at the only school that's particiapted in every national championship meet in NCAA history.

The Dumke Gymnastics Center features several new upgrades that include dedicated areas for training, rest and recovery, a place for activities, and offices for the coaching staff. Even the coaches having an office in the building sends a message about the investment the university has made on one of it's top athletic programs.

Previously, Farden and his coaching staff had offices in the Huntsman Center. Those offices, which were across campus, made it difficult for gymnasts to easily communicate with their coaches.

"I've always had an open-door policy, but it's hard to have an open-door policy when you're here, he classroom's over there, and oh, by the way, coach is over there," Farden said. "It's just going to make it more accessible."

"I think it will be really nice to have them here, just because if you ever have a question, you can just walk right upstairs," gymnast Grace McCallum said. "Sometimes they wouldn't get to practice until like right before, so if you have a question right before practice, or a little earlier, they'll be here for easy access, which is nice."

More importantly, though, the new facility had the input from the gymnasts in the design. For Farden, it's the gymnasts' facility, so it was important for them to have a say in some of the design — the tile on the floor, the locker room design, the lighting, the areas to relax — and allow them to make it their own.

"We did that so the investment would be even higher for the girls and they would even be able to carry that out. ... That was intentional," Farden said. "I'm not the one living in it, they are. And if they love it that much more on a next level of love, they're going to take care of it and they're going to tell the stories for the next generation to carry on."

For gymnast Maile O'Keefe, it was a statement to the team that Farden and those involved in the process cared about them as individuals and not just as the next athlete to use the facility while they're in school.

"I mean, I wouldn't think that a lot of head coaches would let athletes have a say in things like that, just because it is a big deal. ... I think it was really cool that we had the opportunity to help pick out stuff for our locker rooms and such," O'Keefe said.

"We were very involved with it, which is really cool, because it feels like we got a little part of the process and helped out. ... I think it'll just make the new recruits feel more at home," McCallum added. "It's a very nice facility, and coming in and walking in and seeing a nice facility, it's just that much more appealing to the eye. So not only do we have an amazing gymnasium, but we also have everything you could need for recovery."

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