By Isabella Disley
Silvia Yu of the co-host Kanata Rhythmic Sportive Gymnastics Club made her debut in the junior high-performance division at the June 6-9 Canadian Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships and savoured a top-10 performance made extra sweet by a home crowd at Algonquin College.
“It feels great,” said Silvia Yu, who placed 10th all-around in the second segment of junior high-performance competition after qualifying 13th. “I don’t have to travel anymore, and then spend money. I like how we get to only travel like 30 minutes for the competition, and represent our club for the biggest competition of the year.”
Yu’s main goal for this season was to qualify for the high-performance level, which she did in the junior division for athletes born in 2010 and 2011. Yu earned a fifth-place finish for her ball routine and was also third-best overall among the younger 2011-born gymnasts.
Yu has been with KRSG ever since she started gymnastics at the age of six, and the sparkle of the sport never grows old for her.
“My favourite thing is how we get to dress in custom suits and perform, enjoy the routine, and everything, and express ourselves,” illustrated Yu. “In kindergarten, when we were playing, I remember doing cartwheels and forward rolls, and then my mom just started me in a summer camp.”
Yu was one of three athletes competing at the nationals from the Kanata club, which co-hosted the meet alongside Pirouette Rhythmic.
At first, KRSG’s Evangelia Sarlis was unsure about the idea of competing at home, but she quickly realized how perfectly fitting it was.
“I was worried it might take me out of competition mode. But it gave me the calm and confidence I needed – helping me hold onto the feeling that it was just like training,” explained Sarlis, a KRSG gymnast of 10 years.
“The atmosphere was calm and focused, but I mostly felt very comfortable as it was all familiar. The crowd was super supportive with lots of friends, family, and younger gymnasts too that came to watch, which made it feel encouraging and comfortable to compete in.”
Sarlis placed sixth all-around in the senior open division and had a second-place ball routine. Her eyes are now set on making it to the high-performance level in the future, having fallen shy of that benchmark by 3.7 points with her total score of 81.9.
“I performed better than I have in past competitions,” Sarlis indicated. “It’s a great step toward a bigger goal.”
Sarlis, who transitioned from dance and soccer to gymnastics at age 9, said what she appreciates most about rhythmic gymnastics is the discipline and work ethic that it’s taught her.
“My mom told me about a friend of mine who had started rhythmic gymnastics, so she put me in KRSG, and I stuck with it ever since,” Sarlis recalled.
Victoria Wang was the other Kanata competitor at nationals. She placed 11th in the junior open category.
Playing host to the Canadian Championships was a special occasion already, but Kanata Rhythmic head coach Yuliana Korolyova found it particularly meaningful to have several athletes she’s worked with from a very young age competing there, having moved to Ottawa to lead the club eight years ago.
“There’s a lot of preparation just to help them solidify their technical along with the mental. That’s kind of my priority. Slowly, but surely,” Korolyova highlighted, noting she prioritizes long-term development and skills that will stick with the gymnasts throughout their entire career.
“Continuous growth, continuous work,” she underlined. “We kind of measure our success, where we are today, and we’re continuing to make new goals and striving.”
Rhythmic gymnastics dazzles in capital
With batons, balls, hoops and ribbons in hand, the nation’s best rhythmic gymnasts leaped, twisted and turned with elegance at the four-day event.
Fresh off her medal-winning performance at the Pan American Championships, Suzanna Shahbazian of Montreal captured the senior high-performance division title.
Local athletes revelled in the chance to compete at home, although that hadn’t been the initial plan. Calgary was set to host the rhythmic competition alongside the trampoline and artistic gymnastics nationals from May 26-30, but when the Pan Am event switched its dates to the same time, a new location was needed, and Ottawa took the hosting reins.
Also representing the nation’s capital was Ellisif Fredrika Stephenson of the Ottawa Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, who placed 22nd in the pre-junior event.
In group competition, Ottawa’s Stella Li, Claire Sun, Kaili Cheng, Anna Chen, Lucy Sun and Viky Lin were second in the senior development category, while the Barrhaven Rhythmic Gymnastics Club team of Katelyn Situ, Ella Tien, Amber Kwan, Selina Xiang and Mikayla Zhu was third in the junior development division.
Numerous Ottawa athletes collect medals at Calgary’s gymnastics nationals
At the artistic nationals in Calgary, Paris 2024 Olympian Sam Zakutney of Ottawa earned a fifth-place finish in the senior men’s all-around standings but was not among the five men selected to represent Canada at the Pan American Championships, currently underway in Panama. The 27-year-old’s best event was the parallel bars, where he placed second.
Tumblers’ Samantha Couture was the balance beam champion and all-around bronze medallist in the junior women’s high-performance division, while Edge’s Mackenzie Grant was third on vault and fifth overall in the same category. In the women’s Level 9, Age 15+ competition, Ottawa’s Dalia Weisz placed second on balance beam and was 16th all-around.
Rideau’s Oliver Fong earned vault bronze and was seventh all-around in men’s age 13-14, while Ottawa’s Connor Nguyen and pommel horse silver medallist Yasir El Sakka were eighth and ninth in age 15-16, and Elliot Choi won silver for floor and bronze for parallel bars en route to a seventh-place performance all-around in age 17-18.
In trampoline, Tumblers’ Alex Don placed sixth in men’s competition, Lily Kurtz was eighth in junior women’s, Lara Fainstaint was seventh in women’s Level 5 and Julien Fedor was ninth in men’s Level 5, while Lauryn Sabbagh won a gold medal in women’s Level 5 tumbling and Rideau’s Victoria Beaudin earned a silver in women’s Level 5.
Congratulations to Silvia on this incredible achievement! A heartfelt thank you to her coach, Yuliana, and all the coaches at the club for their invaluable support and guidance