See Vare Gymnastics team receive $21 million recreation center facelift in new ‘Underdogs’ documentary

Inside ‘Underdogs,’ documentary about Vare Gymnastics team in Philly

From the vault to the big screen, the Vare Recreation Center girls gymnastics team from Southwest Philly is the subject of a new documentary, ‘Underdogs,’ being released this week at Philly Film Festival. FOX 29’s Chris O’Connell has more.

PHILADELPHIA - The girls of the Vare Gymnastics team had a lot more bounce in their roundoffs Monday night.

That’s because the South Philadelphia gym where they are practicing and all the equipment is brand new. Every mat, vault, beam and bar. Something this inner city gymnastics team never had before in it’s 27-year history.

The inner city youth gymnastics team is the subject of a new documentary film "Underdogs" being released at the Philadelphia Film Festival this week.

The movie’s debut also coincides with the grand re-opening of the Vare Recreation Center, where the team calls home.

"Our building was falling apart for sure. Our equipment was kind of falling apart too. And we kind of made it work. We kind of had what we had" said Vare Gymnastics Coach Kristin Smerker.

Back in 2017, a roof collapse forced the closure of the Gray’s Ferry center. It also forced the team to re-locate to other practice gyms.

Their story of grit and determination caught the attention of local filmmakers.

"Underdogs" was produced in conjunction with former Philadelphia Eagle Conor Barwins’ non-profit "Make the World a Better Place".

"The name of the film encapsulates the Philly grit that a team like the Vare Gymnastics team had to go through in order to get to where we are today" said Executive Producer Kris Mendoza of Maestro Filmworks.

The 26-minute film premiering Tuesday highlights the underfunded team and documents the reconstruction of their new $21 million center on 2600 Morris Street.

Among the new gymnastics gym, the 18,500 square acre center will feature indoor and outdoor basketball courts, a multipurpose room, turf fields and a spray ground.

Most of the funds for the center came from the city’s soda tax revenue.

"Now that we have this new gym, it gives more girls the opportunity to be the gymnasts they’ve been wanting to be" said 18-year-old gymnast Cherokee Guido, who has been with the Vare Gymnastics since she was 12.

Filmmakers saw the project as a way to showcase the reconstruction project by telling the story through the eyes of those who it will benefit.

"There is a small window of people that really see the impact that recreation centers have and meeting this team, meeting the coaches, meeting the gymnasts, I realized this program means the world to them" said the film's director, Maria Vattimo.

So, after traveling from gym to gym for years, these girls now have a place they can call home and in the process may have learned a thing or two about life.

"If you stick with it stick with your team and fight through it there usually is something beautiful on the other side and it took a village to get this building up and running this program and this documentary. Now our girls are being seen" said coach Karin Smerker.

Here is a link to the trailer for "Underdogs."