Three Wyoming high schools could be dropping their gymnastics programs this year, including both Kelly Walsh and Natrona County, putting the sport's state sanctioning at risk.

The activities directors at the Casper schools, Glen Legler at Natrona County and Ralph Obray at Kelly Walsh, have made the recommendation to the Natrona County school board to drop the programs at their respective schools. The board will vote Monday whether to accept those recommendations.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the district's Central Services Facility, 970 N. Glenn Road.

The closing of the Wyoming Gymnastics Center - where both NC and KW had practiced - was the biggest blow to the Casper programs. A lack of a coach and declining participation have also hurt both programs.

In recent years, both programs have shared one head coach.

Obray said Saturday only two girls at Kelly Walsh have voiced an interest in gymnastics. Legler, in a letter to the Natrona County school board, said he had no one interested in the program this year and only one athlete who might be interested in the program the next year.

Obray said the gymnastics community has struggled to keep interest going in the sport. In the spring of 2007, the Natrona County school board recommended cutting both gymnastics and alpine skiing, but both programs survived because of promises of renewed interest and involvement.

"Nobody's really stepped up," Obray said. "When this came up two years ago, both the alpine and gymnastics communities were asked to help and step in. … The alpine has really stepped up. There will be close to 20 members on the Kelly Walsh program and 12 to 15 on the Natrona (program).

"Gymnastics has not. Currently Natrona has zero that will participate and KW, at most, we had two junior varsity competitors last year that may or may not go out this year."

In his letter to the school board, Legler said the board needed to do four things to keep the program going:

- Provide a dedicated place to practice, a place large enough to allow the safe set-up of equipment.

- Purchase a gymnastics floor.

- Purchase a vaulting table.

- Find and hire a coach.

Legler was in Indianapolis this weekend and could not be reached on his cell phone on Saturday.

Worland has already dropped its program for this winter, a move that, independent of the Natrona County school board's decision on Monday, puts the sport's sanctioning through the Wyoming High School Activities Association in jeopardy.

Only three schools - Gillette, Douglas and Rock Springs - are anticipated to have gymnastics programs this winter. At least six schools need to sponsor the sport for it to keep its WHSAA sanctioning.

The WHSAA will continue to sanction a sport with fewer than six programs for two years. If, in those two years, the sport remains with fewer than six programs, it will lose its sanctioning.

"If there's only three teams, we'll leave it up to those three teams to see if they want to continue or not, but by rule we can continue it for two years," WHSAA Commissioner Ron Laird said.

Laird said if only three schools field teams this fall, the state gymnastics meet could be reduced to a one-day event.

Worland AD Bruce Miller could not be reached at either his home phone number or on his cell phone on Saturday.

As recently as 2005, there were 13 girls out for gymnastics at Natrona and 10 at Kelly Walsh. Last year, KW had two participants, while NC had five. All five NC participants last year were seniors.

The last sports programs cut in Natrona County were the boys gymnastics programs in 1993.