Local gymnasts will have a unique opportunity next week.

Alpena Gymnasts will host a three-day camp beginning next Thursday and the camp will feature two college gymnasts, Risa Perez and Hub Humphrey. This is the sixth year that college gymnasts have come to Alpena to volunteer with the camp.

For youth gymnasts, the chance to learn from college gymnasts can be an invaluable experience.

“It’s pretty exciting having the gymnasts come to Alpena. I think the main benefit is inspiration,” Alpena Gymnastics director Buffy Storey said. “It’s so exciting for our gymnasts because in their eyes, these are Olympic athletes, here in Alpena.”

Perez and Humphrey along with Storey and her coaches will spent the three days of camp teaching gymnasts the finer points of the sport on various pieces of apparatus including balance beam, uneven bars and vault. While many of the campers practice their skills on a regular basis, the camp often provides an opportunity to fine-tune those skills or master others they might have trouble with.

“It’s skill based and they can work on that skill they’ve been trying to get (right),” Storey said. “Camp, because it’s three days in a row, that’s nine hours of gymnastics in a row for them to be focused.”

Humphrey is a recent University of Michigan graduate who saw action in several events with the Wolverines. In his senior season in 2015, Humphrey competed in still rings and floor exercise, setting career highs in both during an NCAA qualifier. As a junior he represented the Wolverines at the NCAA Championships.

For the last two years, Humphrey has worked at the camp and Storey said he can other gymnasts who have volunteered are great at breaking down exercises to their most basic level for campers and making them easy to understand.

“He can take a skill and break it down to small pieces,” Storey said. “Having such perfection demonstrated with every skill, it’s a great opportunity to learn.”

Perez competed for Oregon State this season after transferring from Arizona State. In her first season with the Beavers, Perez became a Pac 12 conference champion on the balance beam and qualified for the NCAA Championships. She competed in all 12 of Oregon State’s meets this season and won five event titles including four on the balance beam. She has been incredibly consistent in her career on the beam, hitting 102 out of 110 routines in her career.

Having gymnasts, particularly Michigan gymnasts volunteer with the camp has been influential to helping Alpena’s gymnastics program grow and Storey said the program has Kurt Golder to thank for that.

Golder, an Alpena High alumnus, has coached Michigan’s men’s gymnastics team for 21 seasons and has guided the Wolverines during a period of great success. In 21 seasons, Golder has led Michigan to four national championships and coached 103 All-Americans and 12 NCAA individual champions.

In the past, Golder has passed on equipment to Alpena Gymnastics to use or found equipment for them to use. One of those recent purchases was a new-full size spring floor in 2014.

“Kurt has always been supportive, being an Alpena native and has encouraged other gymnastics to love the sport,” Storey said.

One of the biggest benefits of the camp, aside from being an inspiration, for the college gymnasts is it allows them to pass on their knowledge to younger gymnasts and helps keep them interested in the sport.

“They (the kids) love to see the (college) gymnasts. They’re new, they’re fresh and they bring new ideas, including new gym games,” Storey said.

James Andersen can be reached via email at sports@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5694. Follow James on Twitter @ja_alpenanews.