11th Annual 'I Have a Dream' Gymnastics Meet inspires athletes to dream big

The 11th annual Aim High Academy I Have a Dream Meet is at the Cox Business Convention Center Jan. 17-19. Executive Director Jennifer Bjornberg shares the inspiration behind the meet.

Q: What is the I Have a Dream Meet?

"We do it Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, this year I think we got about 860 athletes entered over a 3-day period of time," said Bjornberg, "it will bring about 2,500 spectators to the city of Tulsa and it's a gymnastics competition that celebrates the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr."

Q: How does gymnastics tie into Dr. King's vision and what he wanted for the future?

"Gymnastics is all about pursuing your dreams. Every little girl that starts gymnastics has high hopes of going to the Olympic Games some day and so, you know, they’re all dreaming," said Bjornberg. "And what I love is all of these coaches supporting their athletes' dreams. He had a dream that all kids would be able to do whatever they want to do if they had that opportunity to pursue their dreams”

Q: What do you hope the gymnasts learn about his life?

"Dr. King was all about overcoming whatever obstacles were in front of him. He faced all kinds of obstacles, I mean I can’t even imagine, but he persevered and really that is very similar to the sport of gymnastics," said Bjornberg "All of the girls see the new skills as mountains to them, and step by step, they learn to overcome and conquer those mountains and then it's on to the next thing and then they get better and better."

Q: How does Aim High Academy help young gymnasts achieve their dreams?

"Aim High Academy, we're a nonprofit, and this is one of our fundraisers for scholarships so that any kid in the Tulsa community that wants to pursue their dream in gymnastics has the opportunity to do so. Proceeds from the meet will help provide those scholarships so children from low-income families can take classes at Aim High Academy," said Bjornberg.

For more information on Aim High Academy's scholarships, click HERE.