Courtesy of Geneiveve Hardy

Despite numerous sports options, sophomore Geneiveve Hardy knew that Lyra was for her ever since she began practicing in fifth grade. Entering Lyra was an exciting experience for Hardy which brought her happiness that she still receives today as her favorite sport.

Lyra is a sport that uses a metal hoop that hangs from the ceiling, focusing on control and strength while balancing. Over the years, she has gained more passion and love for the sport. 

“Lyra as an art form is an aerial art utilizing a hoop,” Hardy said. “In a physical sense, the Lyra itself is said to be a hoop apparatus which hangs from the ceiling. It is fairly common in circus performances, and was even featured in ‘The Greatest Showman.’”

 Lyra provides a challenge and there is always something new to learn no matter your proficiency, according to Hardy.  This makes it fun for Hardy as she is still learning new tips and tricks to improve and learn more. 

“Being five years in I’m very confident in a whole textbook of moves, and my strength has improved tremendously,” Hardy said. “But I still find myself learning all sorts of tricks that I’ve never seen in my life.” 

Within Lyra there are so many fun and intense aspects, such as performing skills for others and continuing to learn new ways to improve your abilities, yet Hardy’s favorite part of Lyra is showing her capabilities to others. 

“I love to randomly bust out complicated moves and strength intensive mounts for absolutely no reason,” Hardy said. “In addition to the class content, I just like being able to do it, and love it whenever the other people in my class are in awe of me. It boosts my ego, and lets me know that my hard work is paying off.”  

Although Hardy was obligated to do a sport by her parents, before she knew it, Lyra became a part of her everyday life and one of her favorite hobbies.  

“When I was in fifth grade, my dad asked me, ‘Hey, is there a sport or extracurricular that you want to do this year?’” Hardy said. “But after my first class I was pretty much hooked on it.”