At its core, gymnastics is about performing. Whether at the club, collegiate or even international level, the performance is all that matters.

And the top-ranked Georgia gymnastics team got just the chance to do that Saturday at its annual Sneak Peek meet in front of its Ten-0 booster club members.

“They love being in this and around their fans,” head coach Jay Clark said. “Its gives them a shot of adrenaline and they love performing. Gymnasts are performers by nature and they relish getting in front of people and showing people what they enjoy doing … performing is about showing off what you enjoy doing and they genuinely enjoy doing gymnastics and I think that comes through when they perform.”

Added senior Grace Taylor: “It’s so fun. This is why we do it. It’s for our fans, and we love performing. We really do. We train to perform.”

The event, held in the Suzanne Yoculan Gymnastics Center for the first time, gave the 2010 edition of the Gym Dogs an opportunity to compete in front of an audience, without risking themselves to injury.

“I feel like we are at about 85 percent and it was a starting point and it was a time to shake the rust off and get into a competitive mind set and to make mistakes in a controlled environment where there is a minimum potential for injuries,” Clark said. “We were excited for how it worked out.”

The Gym Dogs competed without two gymnasts who figure to be key contributors – sophomore Gina Nuccio and freshman Christa Tanella – and still would have scored a 196.4, had it been an actual meet.

While the team knows it has a lot of work to do – Clark called the handstands “brutal” – before they open the season at Stegeman Coliseum on Jan. 9 against Stanford, they feel they have taken a step forward.

“It went really well, I had a great time,” Taylor said. “We learned a lot about ourselves as a team, and I think it was definitely a success. In my opinion it was crucial at the end of our fall training to have the Sneak Peek go like this.”

Sophomore Kat Ding, who posted a meet-high 9.85 on the uneven bars, was glad the meet was held in their practice facility rather than the Coliseum.

“We aren’t emotionally ready to be out in the Coliseum yet,” Ding said. “The landings are softer and nicer and it is easy for us to be aggressive and go all out without having to worry about injury.

“We have to have a starting point, and our starting point is more comfortable when we are in here and when we go out [to Stegeman] against Stanford on Jan. 9, we are gonna rock their world.”

After the meet, the team entertained questions from its young fans before engaging them in a pizza party and autograph session.

“It’s a good opportunity to socialize with them and sign autographs since we are on the platform and it is a more intimate experience for them,” senior Marcia Newby said. “It helps us get to know them and to build appreciation for them. It allows us to build a connection and know their names and it is definitely a more one-on-one connection.”

Junior Cassidy McComb tweaked her ankle during her beam routine, but Clark doesn’t think it was very serious or will keep her from competition.