StickItMedia recently had the pleasure of interviewing Team Gattaca’s Diego Garcia. Diego is an Account Executive, and is responsible for marketing Team Gattaca’s camps and events and assisting with general athlete needs. Team Gattaca was founded by Manuel Galarza in 2003 as a means to give back to the gymnastics community. Galarza is the CEO of Gattaca, Inc., a web publishing company that caters to web advertising-based clients.

SiM: Briefly provide our readers with a history of Team Gattaca.

Garcia: The CEO of Gattaca, Inc. started Team Gattaca in 2003 as a response to the growing need for corporate sponsorship in elite men’s gymnastics.

Initially it was planned to have Team Gattaca function only as an athlete sponsor. By the 2004 Olympics, Team Gattaca was sponsoring five men on the national team (Taqiy Abdullah, Steve McCain, Dan Gill, Sean Townsend and David Durante). Of these five, McCain was on the Olympic team. In 2004 we began sponsoring junior athletes as well. The first junior group included Taqiy Abdullah, Wes Haggenson, Tim McNeill, Sho Nakamori, DJ Bucher and Sasha Artemev. In 2005 Sean Golden, as a member of Team Gattaca, made the men’s World Team.

In 2006 the Gattaca Combine was born and Team Gattaca hosted two weekend camps which were a huge success. In 2006 Team Gattaca began sponsoring elite women with the sponsorship of Courtni Beers, who is now at Utah. The 2007 Winter Cup Nationals saw Sean Townsend bring home the all-around gold and establish Team Gattaca leading up to the Olympic year. Sean Golden, again as a member of Team Gattaca, made the world team again in 2007.

From 2007-08 Team Gattaca produced more than 20 weekend camps employing hundreds of coaches and athletes from around the world. Team Gattaca experienced a lot of success on the junior level this year with national team honors going to Jake Dastrup (Level 9), Darling Hill (Elite) and Tim McNeil (Elite). Tim Pittman was 3rd AA at JO Nationals (Level 10). Our top elite finishers for 2008 were Tim McNeil and Darling Hill, who both participated at the 2008 Olympic Trials.

SiM: Team Gattaca sponsors gymnasts throughout the country. How does Team Gattaca identify which gymnasts to sponsor?

Garcia: It is a first come, first served type of situation. As one of two corporate sponsors over the past seven years, we’ve experienced some interesting political posturing that has significantly impacted our ability to sign top male gymnasts. We’ve had the opportunity to work with some amazing athletes in our short history, but we’ve been unable to work with a select few due to political pressure. It is a reality not unique to USAG or athletics. Politics and the pressure to be with the “in crowd” will always have an influence. Our role in the sport at Team Gattaca is to be available when an athlete or coach does call upon us. Notably, Team Chevron is not going to be around after the 2008 season so we’re curious to see how this influences our sponsorship of athletes at the elite level.

SiM: Are the gymnastics sponsorships based strictly on talent or need?

Garcia: It is much more based on need than anything else. We’ve been delighted to work with some very talented athletes, but talent is hardly a factor when we’re evaluating a potential athlete or club. Heart and sincerity are what we look for. One of my favorite Team Gattaca athletes of all time is Clint Gyory. Clint never came close to making a junior national team or a VISA Championships. While he completed his senior year of high school, he admitted to us that he didn’t plan to continue gymnastics in college. This wasn’t a factor for us and we enjoyed every minute working with that young man.

SiM: Who are some of Team Gattaca’s sponsors?

Garcia: Team Gattaca has always been solely funded by Team Gattaca, Inc. and Gattaca, Inc. Though we are grateful for partnerships with several companies that provide us with goods, we do not receive financial support from any outside companies. The Gattaca Camps produce a healthy revenue stream to help offset the sponsorship costs.

SiM: What specific activities is Team Gattaca involved in to help the sport and the gymnastics community?

Garcia: Our individual sponsorships have helped keep top athletes in the sport longer. Steve McCain went on to make the Olympic Team after contemplating retirement before signing with Team Gattaca. Thus, we see our direct sponsorship of athletes as our biggest impact for helping the sport. Many of the athletes we sponsor don’t have the financial means to afford what they need to pursue their dreams. We’re proud to assist those athletes however we can.

A handful of spots (about 40) to every Gattaca Combine is put aside to accommodate athletes who might not be able to afford the camp. These spots include overnight accommodations, food and training for two days. The implementation of the Gattaca Youth Program (GYP) in Philadelphia, PA last year impacted the lives of many young people who attended the weekly free tumbling class that was sponsored and organized by Team Gattaca. That program has now been shifted to Charlotte, NC, where we’re in the final stages of planning the new Gattaca Youth Program. In 2008 we sponsored the Gattaca Training Center (GTC) at LVSA in Allentown, PA. That project sponsored six elite athletes who trained year-round. Their sponsorship included housing, food, full travel, meet fees, all coaching expenses and uniforms. These athletes had to adhere to a strict schedule, college class requirements, drug testing and community service. The concept of the GTC and the GYP have now been moved to Charlotte, where we’re receiving more community support than Allentown and Philadelphia combined.

The GTC in Allentown last year produced the first ever triple back on floor by a junior gymnast (Eddie Crane). Tim Pittman earned a 3rd place AA finish at the 2008 JO Nationals and was offered a full scholarship to Nebraska. Josh Dilworth signed a half scholarship to Nebraska. Every level 9 and level 10 athlete in the LVSA program qualified for JO Nationals. Kerry Adderly competed at both the Winter Cup and Visa Championships after not competing in either meet for over three years. We won several team championships, including the 2008 West Point Open.

SiM: What are the future plans for relocating the Gattaca Training Center?

Garcia: The termination of the project in Allentown, PA was strictly a business decision. We’re extremely appreciative of the relationship we had with LVSA. In exchange, we feel that we did a great job of elevating the LVSA program and leaving them with a tremendous group of athletes and coaches that they did not have prior to working with Team Gattaca.

Charlotte offers us a tremendous support system which includes funding from the city of Charlotte. What we established last year in Allentown was nothing short of amazing, but Charlotte offers us the next level for where we want to be with the Gattaca Training Center.

We strongly considered San Diego, CA, and even prematurely pulled the trigger on the project. The Charlotte project is completely unrelated to San Diego. Ron Howard, the head coach we were expecting to have there, simply couldn’t relocate to San Diego as soon as we had expected. Thus the project is on pause for now and may be picked up at a later date. We hope to establish multiple GTCs around the country some day. First, we must establish a long-term GTC that is consistently producing top athletes.

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