Gymnasts make large, rewarding commitment to sport

Check out our photo gallery from Sunday’s competition on SportsOttawa.com’s Facebook page.


By Anne Duggan

­­­Balance, power, determination, and most of all, confidence. Each participant, whether an athlete, coach, judge or volunteer, brought their own unique notion of “girl power” – the theme of this year’s first Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Provincial Qualifier – to the event held Dec. 3-4 at Ottawa Gymnastics Centre.

What everyone agreed on is that it is an important and natural outcome of gymnastics – a sport where those traits are achieved through participants’ tremendous dedication.

“The focus was to get the girls to celebrate their efforts. To find strength in their sport,” explains Tobie Gorman, OGC women’s program head coach.

Carrying the theme of girl power were the featured role models in the programme, including Mother Theresa and Harriet Tubman, while video clips of participating athletes describing their version of girl power appeared on the centre’s new giant screen, and the music played between flights featured female pop stars such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna.

While all of the athletes displayed girl power, none did more so than OGC athlete Nathalie Joanette, says Gorman. Last week, her 20-year old brother died of complications related to cerebal palsy, yet both Joanette and her mother found the strength to attend the weekend’s competition.

“We couldn’t be more proud for her and her mother. And she had great results as she has just moved up a level and an age category,” Gorman says of Joanette, who earned a gold medal on beam and silver in all three other events to place second all-around in the Level 7, Age 14+ category.
Road to provincials starts & ends in Ottawa
The event was the first opportunity for athletes to post qualifying scores in an attempt to earn one of the top-24 positions that gain entry into the Ontario championships, which will be held at the Nepean Corona club in April.

Karl Balisch, general manager of the Tumblers Gymnastics Centre in Orleans, had just one objective for his 11 athletes at the competition.

“Our goal was for them to come out and show their confidence,” Balisch explains. “They have worked very hard for this.”

For Sophie Paquin, the reward for the hard work came in the form of five medals in the Level 7 Age 10/11 division.

“I really liked my beam – the back walk-over handspring, I’ve been working all summer on it,” exclaims the 11-year-old Tumblers athlete.

Not every moment of the 23.5 hours of practice each week is enjoyable, admit the Tumblers athletes, who aren’t the biggest fans of conditioning and ballet exercises.

“It’s stuff that’s not fun,” says 11-year-old Beth Webster, who nevertheless recognizes the benefits of those chores.

What helps push through less enjoyable moments is having fun teammates to hang out with at the gym.

“We’ve known each other since we were two,” Paquin highlights. “We have better friends at the gym than at school.”
Dedication and sacrifices
The older athletes are even more aware of the sacrifices they make in order to thrive in the world of competitive gymnastics. Kelsey Won, 17, has been competing since she was nine.

“I moved up a level and it’s also my last year of school so it has been a tough year so far,” notes the OGC gymnast who finds the sport helps take her mind off school pressures and teaches life lessons such as perseverance – even if that means her social life can often be impeded, especially with Friday night training.

“I miss a lot of social events, shopping and movies,” echoes 15-year-old OGC teammate Bella St George, who produced the highest point total of any athlete in winning the Level 9 Age 12-14+ all-around competition.

Brielle Johnson, 13, and Lubina Nayak, 15, of OGC recognize that their sport takes away important family time.

“I get home and go straight to bed,” Nayak notes.

Johnson quickly adds that the girls form important ties in their gymnastics world.

“But, our coach is also family,” she points out.More Girl Power
Martin Monderie, coach of Les Sittelles, is in his first year instructing girls rather than boys, has noticed a difference.

“Their attitude is different,” he explains. “They are focused. They think about everything. Sometimes you don’t have to think, just do. That’s what I work on with the girls when they are competing.”

Monderie observes that injury becomes more prominent with the older age categories.

“Because girls are growing, so are their bodies getting taller and wider,” he adds. “There is more pressure on the bones and the skill level is higher.”

Another difference for female gymnasts, compared to their male counterparts, are the judging criteria, says Monderie.

“Even if a bra strap is showing, the girls will lose marks,” notes the former Cirque du Soleil performer. “This is different than the boys competition. It is all about the artistry. They must sell their routine to the four judges.”

Yet another job for girl power.
Podium placers
Other local all-around champions included Julina Benjamin from Les Sittelles and OGC athletes Lauren Rado, Adrianka Forrest, and Taylor Pyefinch, while Christie Boswell-Patterson, Sarah Hu, Rebecca Richardson, Johnson, Mackenzie Cox, Sofia Baggio, Bradey Rosettani and Catarina Musca of OGC all achieved podium results along with Caroline Beland of Les Sittelles.

See full results from the host OGC’s athletes here.