The AFA organized in 1993 a cup-style (elimination) tournament named "Copa Centenario" ("Centennial Cup"), to celebrate its hundredth anniversary. Each first division team played its derby rival in two rounds in a double elimination system. Gimnasia eliminated its classic rival Estudiantes 1–0 with a goal by Guillermo Barros Schelotto, and qualified for the next round after a 0–0 tie in the return match. Then, Gimnasia successively eliminated Newell's Old Boys, Argentinos Juniors and Belgrano de Córdoba to win the "round of winners". River Plate won the "round of losers" and qualified for the final, with Gimnasia having home court advantage.
Gimnasia won the final 3–1 with goals by Hugo Romeo Guerra, Fernández and Guillermo Barros Schelotto. River's goal was scored by Villalba. Gimnasia's winning team included Lavallén; Sanguinetti, Morant, Ortiz, Dopazo, Fernández, Bianco, Talarico, Gustavo Barros Schelotto, Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Guerra.
After winning this cup, Gimnasia was invited to participate on the Sanwa Bank Cup in 1994.
With veteran coach Carlos Timoteo Griguol at the helm, Gimnasia took second place in the 1995 "Clausura" tournament, repeating the performance in 1996 and 1998. Also took second place in 2002 (coached by Ramaciotti).
Gimnasia also obtained second place in 2005 under Pedro Troglio's management, after an excellent campaign that had them fighting neck to neck with Boca Juniors until the very end of the championship.
These strong showings allowed Gimnasia to take part in the top club-level competitions in South America: the Copa Sudamericana during the 2006 and 2007 editions of the Copa Libertadores.
On September 10, 2006, during the halftime of a match against Boca Juniors, club president Juan José Muñoz confronted (and allegedly threatened) referee Daniel Giménez, who called off the match immediately, with Gimnasia leading 1–0. Muñoz was reprimanded by the football association and temporarily removed from its executive committee, although he was confirmed as Gimnasia's President by the club's board. A few days later, Gimnasia was eliminated from the Copa Sudamericana by the Chilean champions Colo Colo, following a quarter final match where a player of Gimnasia was injured by a cement piece thrown by Chilean supporters. Due to Gimnasia's physical play in the second leg of the quarter finals in Argentina, Argentine Football Association's president Julio Grondona wrote a personal letter to the president of the ANFP (the Chilean football federation) apologizing for the "roughness" of the Gimnasia players.
The pending second half against Boca Juniors was played on November 8, 2006. Boca Juniors scored four goals and won the match. After the match, Troglio and some of the players hinted that the team had received death threats from some supporters, who wanted to benefit Boca in its championship bid against Gimnasia's archrivals Estudiantes. Nevertheless, Estudiantes obtained the title in the end.
La Plata District Attorney Marcelo Romero opened an investigation and cited some players and club officers to testify, but the entire affair was soon dismissed. Player Marcelo Goux refused to participate in the next match and quit the team soon afterwards, as did fellow players Martín Cardetti and Ariel Franco. Many articles condemned Muñoz's handling of the situation, accusing him of lying to the press, and of treating violent fans as his protégés.
After a string of losses in the local championship and the Copa Libertadores, there were renewed calls for Muñoz to resign. Coach Troglio felt the burden of responsibility and quit his post on April 2, 2007. Gimnasia hired first famed Colombian trainer Francisco Maturana, and then Julio César Falcioni, both with limited success.
In the December 2007 election, Muñoz did not run, and the candidate he supported lost to the opposition. New club president Walter Gisande hired former player Guillermo Sanguinetti as team coach and tried to convince former players, notably Diego Alonso and Guillermo Barros Schelotto, to return to Gimnasia. Only Alonso, who was playing in China, made the leap.
Sanguinetti quit after a string of bad results that left Gimnasia in serious danger of relegation. Under new coach Leonardo Madelón, team results improved markedly, and as of the beginning of the 2009 Clausura tournament, Gimnasia is better positioned to stay in the "Primera" level.
The new management also campaigned for a return to its traditional ground at "El Bosque". Starting April 2008, the stadium underwent a structural engineering evaluation after all security measures requested by authorities were put in place. On June 2008, Gimnasia was allowed to play again at "El Bosque"; the return took place in a match against Lanús, the last game of the Clausura 2008 championship. Mayor Pablo Bruera has indicated that the city will let Gimnasia buy or lease some city-owned lands for erecting a sports complex.
The shield of the Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata is a wreath in which top part is outlined a helmet with a heraldic crest. At the center, on enamel and with the colors of the club (white and navy blue), the club monogram appears in relief. In the top cantons, like a guard, there appear the hilts of a saber and a foil, with their sharp points emerging at lower part of the shield. To the sides of the center a rama of laurels spreads the helmet, for every side.
Since its inception, the club shield has undergone some modifications. From 1887 until 1928, the shield used was devised by Emilio Coutauret, and it was characterized by a handcrafted and adorned design. In 1964, following a reform of the foundational statute, Gimnasia's shield adopted a simpler form, while still keeping the essence of the original one. This is the logo in current use, and often displayed on the team's jerseys.
There have been some minor changes introduced in the past few years. During Héctor Domínguez's presidency, the abbreviation at the center of the shield was changed, replacing the historical CGE (Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima), for the GELP (Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata), modification that persisted during the mandates of Gliemmo and Muñoz. Since the beginning of Walter Gisande's presidency, it was decided to return to the original abbreviation of 'CGE'.
The official historical uniform of Gimnasia y Esgrima is based on the colours displayed in the club shield, as established in the institutional statute.
In the first years of life of the institution, the colors adopted were the white and light blue, seeking of this form to highlight the fact that it was an Argentine club. The first vest used by the team had vertical white and light blue stripes.
Later, in 1905, it was decided to change the colors to make it distinct from Racing Club. This resulted in a vest with vertical stripes of white and navy-blue color.
Finally, from 1910, the design was modified, changing the vertical stripes into the horizontal band of navy-blue color over a white jersey, which has been used ever since.
The following table details chronologically the providing companies of apparel and the sponsors that it has had Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata from the years 1980 and 1990 respectively:
During the year 2009, the apparel of Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata will be provided by the company "Kappa", the one who will provide from uniform sports up to the extra-sports clothes. In turn, jersey will be supported by the company "La Nueva Seguros", of which it will take the name written in the principal band.
Within the city of La Plata and its environs, the Gimnasia fan base used to be identified with the working class, contrasting with the mostly middle class Estudiantes constituency. This characterization is no longer true. Most of Gimnasia y Esgrima fans are from the Greater La Plata area.