1964 - 1965 All Conference Boys Gynamstics

1964 - 1965 State Championship

Bruce Bolnick joined the gymnastics team in 1961 under Coach John Kress and got hooked on the sport. Bolnick won 1st place at the 1965 Conference
championship on parallel bars and placed 2nd in all-around and the 1965 state championship, he took 1st on side horse, 2nd on parallel bars and 4th in all-around.

Bolnick was later admitted to Michigan and Yale University. During his time at Michigan the gymnastics team was a national powerhouse. He then got to work closely with former Olympian, Don Tonry, during his time at Yale University.

At Yale, Bolnick won Ivy League championships in side horse and parallel bars in 1968 and again in 1969, while placing 10th in the NCAA championships on side horse. Unfortunately, he missed qualifying for nationals his senior year due to a nagging shoulder problem. That ended his gymnastics career.

After graduating, he stayed at Yale for a Ph.D. in economics. His first academic job was teaching at the University of Nairobi. After two fascinating years in Africa he went on to teach at Duke University and Northeastern University, specializing in international development economics, and then joined the Harvard Institute for International Development. With HIID he served overseas as a resident economic advisor to governments in Indonesia, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. In 2003 he moved into the private sector as Chief Economist for the International Group at Nathan Associates, an economics consulting company in northern Virginia. After a two-year posting to Zimbabwe, Bolnick retired in 2013 and moved back to the Boston area, where he lives with his wonderful wife and best friend, Doreen. In a few months they will be celebrating our 50th anniversary.

Even after all these years, he still cherishes the memories of his days at gymnastics practice at Niles West – with grateful thanks to Coach Burkel and Coach Armour!