Beauty And The Beast: Collaboration For A Good Cause

On Thursday, January 25th, the Long Beach Varsity Gymnastics and Wrestling teams hosted their annual Beauty and the Beast meet in the gymnasium against Oceanside, Hewlett, Bethpage and Syosset.

Beauty and the Beast started when Jessica Tull, coach of the Varsity Gymnastics team, proposed it five years ago. “It was an idea that I brought to school when I was hired to help bring awareness and raise money for pediatric cancer.” But Tull wanted to expand this wonderful opportunity to that of the Varsity Wrestling team, Coach Raymond Adams adds on. “We have hosted Beauty and the Beast for a couple of years now. Mrs. Tull had this great idea and the wrestling program was honored to be included in the event.” Ever since, the occasion has been a smashing success, both athletically and charitably but of course any event as grand as Beauty and the Beast requires excessive preparation.

“There is so much that goes into the planning,” says Tull. “My senior captain Lauren Clune has been so instrumental in planning the event for the last 4 years…We set up a website every year with MSK Kids for people to make donations. We also put together raffle baskets and sell t-shirts to raise money for the cause.” Since its debut in 2019, Beauty and the Beast has raised over $20,000; $7,000 of that sum was donated this year alone and the proceeds from this event were in honor of Lia Esposito.

Kirsten Lilly, one of LB’s Varsity Gymnastics captains who has been on the team for four years now, explains the attention to detail and involvement surrounding Beauty and the Beast as well. “We work really hard to fundraise… While sometimes organizing everything can get a little stressful, we just remind ourselves to work together and how much we all care about our cause.” Adding on to the successes of the night, Lilly describes her experience and the significance of Beauty and the Beast to both her and fellow teammates. “The Beauty and the Beast meet is probably one of our favorites because not only are we sharing our love for the sport in honor of a good cause, but it also brings a great community together!” She says, “There's always more energy and adrenaline in the gym when we compete at this meet because there are more teams and a larger audience present.” Overall, the night was a major success as Coach Adams recalls, “The wrestling team had a great time competing and raising money for a great cause .”

In the end, Beauty and the Beast was a hit for the fifth year in a row! “The wrestling team defeated a tough Hewlett team 30-27. It was a great effort,” says Adams and the gymnastics team placed third overall. Congratulations to everyone who was a part of coordinating this year’s Beauty and the Beast meet as well as the athletes and coaches themselves.