'She belongs': Belgian foreign exchange student in West Allis blocked from competing on varsity gymnastics team

’She belongs’: Belgian foreign exchange student in West Allis blocked from competing on varsity gymnastics team
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WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Anaëlle 'Ana' Glineur of Belgium has dreamed of visiting the United States of America since her older sister studied abroad in Wisconsin around 15 years ago. 

So, when the newly turned 18-year-old received an opportunity to study at Nathan Hale High School in West Allis, the same school her sister attended, she knew she couldn't pass it up. 

"I've been planning to do this trip for three years now I think," Glineur said. "To live the American experience and that's all I wanted to do here."

Ana's sister had reached out to Amanda King in West Allis -- a girl she had met back when she was a student -- to see if King knew anyone who could host. 

Although King said she was hesitant at first due to being a single mother, she ended up saying yes. 

When Ana arrived, she quickly decided she wanted to join the school's varsity gymnastics team.

"I started competing at six-years-old," Glineur said. “Gymnastics is everything to me. I can’t do anything if I don’t do that.”

She then competed in three meets over the winter.

“That was Dec. 2, and that was amazing. That was the day before my birthday, actually, and it was the best day of my life here," Glineur said, recalling the first competition.

King said she was filled with pride while watching her host daughter compete in the meet.

"She's been doing really, really, good," King said. "First all around and placing on floor, bars, vault and beam.”

But then on Jan. 3, an upsetting turn of events.

"We got kind of devastating news that she’s no longer allowed to compete on a varsity level," King remembered. “She was obviously devastated and as any parent would be, I think you’re devastated on behalf of your kids.”

In the list of foreign student eligibility rules from the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA), one note reads:

The foreign exchange program must assign students to host families by a method that ensures that no student, school or other interested party may influence the assignment for athletic or other purposes. The foreign exchange student may not be selected or placed on any basis related to his/her athletic interests or abilities.

Serafina Scholl, the area representative with ASSE International, the organization in charge of placing foreign exchange students, said she was excited to place Glineur with King because they were running out of time to find someone.

"I'm the one who decided to place Ana with Amanda on the last possible day," Scholl said. 

In her letter to the school and potential host families, Glineur wrote that she loved practicing gymnastics, but she was most excited to come and learn English. 

"It didn't pop in my head like, 'oh, she's so good at gymnastics, I'm going to try to get her at the West Allis Hale gymnastics team,' no that thought never occurred," Scholl said. "We did not place her because of her athletic ability. We had to get her in. Dreams were going to be lost and when somebody stepped up, that happened to be Amanda King."

Now forced to compete on the junior varsity level, Glineur and King have retained legal counsel to try and appeal the WIAA's decision.

“Hard to watch something that she loves kind of being taken away from her," King said. 

Even some of Glineur's teammates have stepped up to try and get her back on the team, creating a Change.org petition titled "Foreign exchange West-Allis gymnast unfairly prohibited from competition."

As of this publication, the petition has reached over 2.1k signatures

“I am really impressed with the amount of just girl power behind the whole support system," King said. "They want to do everything they can to see her compete on varsity again.”

Glineur said she was overcome by the amount of love and support from friends and strangers alike.

"They wanted to do something for me, and it makes me feel really happy," Glineur said. “I’m not allowed to compete now because of a reason that I don’t really understand.”

A statement on the WIAA's page regarding contact instructions reads:

The structure of governance embraced by the WIAA extends the interests of its members to the local level. Because it is the membership--all 500+ high schools--that develops and applies the rules, attempts to contact someone with concerns or questions regarding the member’s rules and interpretations should first be directed to local school administration.

CBS 58 has reached out to officials and at this time of publication, has not heard back. 

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