Peyton Barnes embraces a sport made by women, for women

Peyton Barnes, a former acrobatics and tumbling student-athlete at Fairmont State, is proud to have participated in a sport made by women, for women. 

As a member of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women Program — developed in 1994 to help schools provide more athletics opportunities for women and more sport-sponsorship options for institutions — acrobatics and tumbling has witnessed exponential growth in recent years. According to NCAA sport sponsorship and participation rates data, there were 37 teams across divisions during the 2022-23 academic year, and this number has continued to grow. Forty-four schools indicated they were going to sponsor the sport in the 2023-24 academic year. 

"I always promote acrobatics and tumbling as a sport created by women for women," Barnes said. "The sport is emerging and growing exponentially. These girls are so talented and exude excellence, and it's really inspiring. I'm honored to be surrounded by women who are just as strong as me." 

The 2023 Mountain East Specialist of the Year initially discovered the sport through her older sister, Alex Barnes, who served as a role model during her acrobatics and tumbling career at Quinnipiac. 

"When I saw my sister compete in her first competition, I knew I needed to be part of this sport," Barnes said. "Little did I know it would bring me so much more than I ever could have imagined." 

This joy became clear as Barnes made her presence known on the mat throughout her college career, earning three 450 salto toss, three synchronized pyramid and two 6 element acro Mountain East titles with her Fairmont State team. She was a member of Mountain East regular-season and tournament championship teams in 2021 and 2022, and consistently improved throughout her career. Having only participated in two events during her freshman year, Barnes slowly worked her way up to maxing out on events during her senior year. 

While Fairmont State was a great fit for Barnes as an athlete, it also provided a unique opportunity for her as a student. As one of the only four schools in the country offering a national security and intelligence major, Barnes believes that this is one of the factors that allowed her to land her current role as a full-time program analyst at the FBI. Graduating with a 3.97 GPA, Barnes triple majored in national security and intelligence, political science and criminal justice with concentrations in homeland security, law enforcement and firefighting and related protective services. She was a three-time National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association All-Academic Selection Team honoree and spent four straight years on the NCATA and Mountain East Academic Honor Roll.

Her journey as a high-achieving student-athlete ignited other passions along the way, including serving her campus and local community. As a two-year president of her school's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a Mountain East Conference SAAC representative, Barnes focused on championing community outreach in her roles. 

"The determination and selflessness of being a student-athlete has inspired me in my life off the mat," she said. "I have prioritized and created so many opportunities for community outreach and engagement and have encouraged all representatives to volunteer in the community to show that athletes are much more than their sport."

Barnes also served as a three-year president of Fairmont State's Black Student Union and dedicated her time to creating inclusive spaces on campus.

"Being in Fairmont, a small town in West Virginia, not a lot of people look like me," she said. "I wanted to bring some diversity into Fairmont State and create a space for Black student-athletes and Black students on campus to have somewhere where they could feel welcome, safe and be around people that look like them." 

This impactful work earned Barnes the 2023 NCATA Colleen Kausrud Leadership Award, which recognizes a senior student-athlete who exemplified servant leadership throughout her career. Barnes was also named a 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year finalist. These awards serve as a testament to the effort Barnes has put into serving others and laying the foundation for future growth and development. She says that her work in this space has been motivated by the tireless efforts of those who have come before her. 

"The women that have come before me are a true embodiment of service, selflessness, determination and gratitude, and have left a legacy on this entire community of women in sports," Barnes said. "I can only hope that I have done the same in my time as a student-athlete." 

As she now pursues a master's degree while working full-time, Barnes continues to find time to give back to the sport that gave so much to her. She serves as a volunteer coach for the Fairmont State acrobatics and tumbling team and is an advocate for all young women who participate in the sport. She continues to believe in the power of a female-driven sport that has allowed her to find growth and success throughout all walks of life.   

"I am thankful for this platform, for a sport created by women and for women, for the chance to create more spaces for female athletics and the opportunity to show that women can move mountains," Barnes said. "While I move on with life, I am excited to see continued growth and remember what it was like to make history."