Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa and the Girl, Glow Up Leadership and Mentoring Nonprofit Organization are celebrating Women’s History Month by honoring the Phenomenal Women of West Alabama.

92.9 WTUG, Praise 93.3, 95.3 The Bear, ME-TV 97.5, Catfish 100.1, Tide 100.9, ALT 101.7, 105.1 The Block and our free digital news outlet the Tuscaloosa Thread is excited to recognize the empowered women of  Bibb, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, and Walker counties.

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Alabama gymnastics head coach Dana Duckworth is a fierce presence. She radiates confidence, power, and strength. She has a passion and love for the sport so special, that you can feel it while around her. She demonstrates every quality a powerful woman has. 

Duckworth’s Tuscaloosa roots are planted deep. She was a gymnastics student-athlete at UA from 1989-1993, and graduated well decorated. Some of her achievements include: winning a national title in 1991, and won two balance beam titles in 1992-93, just to name a few.

According to rolltide.com, Duckworth “earned eight All-America accolades and finished her career in 1993 by winning her second consecutive NCAA balance beam title with a perfect 10.0. She was named NCAA Woman of the Year for the State of Alabama in 1993.”

 

“As a student, Duckworth was a three-year Scholastic All-American and a two-time CoSIDA at-large Academic All-American, an award that spans several sports. She was inducted into Mortar Board as an undergraduate and earned both an NCAA and SEC Postgraduate Scholarship, utilizing them to attend graduate school at Alabama and obtain her Master of Business Administration in 1998.”


Coach Duckworth worked as an assistant from 2000-2014, nine seasons as a volunteer and the rest as the assistant coach before being named the new head coach at Alabama in July of 2014.

It isn’t just her gymnastics success that makes her so incredible, though. Coach Duckworth has given back to the communities around her multiple times. 

In 2016, she helped a Northport donation drive to send to Louisiana, after the state experienced major flooding. 

"What we found after the April 2011 tornadoes, is that after the initial round of aid comes through, the needs of those affected change as they move into the recovery and rebuilding stage. We're trying to meet those needs with this drive,” said Duckworth in an interview with WBRC.

The former Alabama gymnast is also a part of the ReadBamaRead Foundation, an organization that donates books to elementary schools destroyed in the April 27, 2011, tornadoes. 

According to the website,Duckworth is a co-founder and past president of the ReadBAMARead Foundation, which is dedicated to restocking the libraries of the three elementary schools destroyed by the 2011 tornados, as well as having an overarching mission of increasing literacy across West Alabama. For her work in the community, she was honored with the Crimson Tide’s 2012 David DeSantis Community Service Award.”

Coach Duckworth has used her love for gymnastics to give back as well. In 2019, she launched multiple gymnastics camps, along with her staff, in: Tuscaloosa, Atlanta, and New York City, to help aspiring gymnasts around the country. 

"Our entire staff has a passion for giving back. These clinics are in line with our mission to impact the incredible sport of gymnastics in a unique and uplifting way,” said Duckworth. 

The Alabama gymnastics camp has four upcoming sessions set for the summer of 2022. 

Coach Duckworth’s love for gymnastics, Alabama, and her community is what makes her one of our Phenomenal Women of West Alabama. 

West Alabama is a thriving area of the Yellowhammer State with women creating history at every step. If you know of a woman that deserved to be highlighted for her accomplishments please email maryk@townsquaremedia.com

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