By Ottawa Sports Pages, for Kanata Rhythmic Gymnastics Club
Emily Zhang and Fiona Tong have won many medals and made a mark in international rhythmic gymnastics while travelling together to new countries. They’ve created memories to last a lifetime, but their favourite part of their rhythmic gymnastics journey is simple – the friendships.
“Our club is not only just a community, we’ve become like a family,” Fiona underlines. “I consider all my teammates like my sisters. Personally, I only have brothers, so it’s really nice having these sisters growing up alongside me.”
Emily and Fiona have known each other since they were eight years old when Fiona joined Emily at the Kanata Rhythmic Gymnastics Club. They fell in love with the sport and often spent up to 20 hours a week together as teenagers for their own training and coaching younger athletes.
Emily remembers being immediately captivated by the colourful sport when she started at age four.
“What especially drew my eye was the ribbon,” she recalls. “I just loved how it flowed and how it looked with all the movements together.”
As she progressed through the various programs and levels at Kanata Rhythmic, Emily came to appreciate the opportunity to express a wide range of feelings and emotions through different genres of music.
Fiona has always loved moving and bending her body to perform unique tricks with the rhythmic gymnastics equipment.
“When people think of gymnastics, most of the time they think of artistic gymnastics, where they’re on the beam or on the floor, but rhythmic gymnastics is performed on the carpet,” outlines the Grade 12 Merivale High School student. “You have different apparatuses, for example, ball, ribbon, hoop. Not only is it like a combination of acro, ballet, dance, there’s also a lot of apparatus handling, so it takes a lot of coordination.
“Mixing all of those things, along with the musicality and the artistry that comes with the music and choreography, it’s a really complex and difficult sport, but it’s really beautiful how everything flows together.”
Emily and Fiona are now among the more experienced athletes at Kanata Rhythmic. They’ve enjoyed the opportunity to introduce the sport to new athletes and step into leadership roles, much like inspiring older athletes and coaches did for them earlier in their careers.
“You do need a ton of resilience in order to be successful in rhythmic gymnastics,” Emily reflects. “Ultimately you are going to be facing tremendous challenges throughout your journey, and it’s really important that you bounce back and learn from your mistakes and adapt so that you can become stronger the next time.”
It’s the life lessons gained through rhythmic gymnastics – such as discipline, perseverance, time management, goal-setting and resilience – that Kanata Rhythmic values above all else. Instead of MVP honours at season’s end, the club gives out Character Awards, with the top prize named in honour of Kanata Rhythmic founder Dasa Lelli, who established rhythmic gymnastics in Ottawa in 1975.
“Athletes learn how to handle both success and disappointment, and how to stay committed to something even when progress can be slow,” says former Kanata Rhythmic head coach Yuliana Korolyova, who led the club for the past decade before recently becoming Rhythmic Gymnastics Program Coordinator for Gymnastics Canada. “The life skills are a huge part of what we hope our athletes take away from the sport.”
There are a number of ways for athletes to get involved at Kanata Rhythmic based on an athlete’s age, experience and goals. Recreational programs are often a great starting point. There are fall and winter/spring sessions, with trial classes offered throughout the season.
Summer camps, pre-competitive/interclub and competitive programs for the provincial and national streams are also available at Kanata Rhythmic, which is home to one of Canada’s very best athletes.
There’s also aesthetic group gymnastics (AGG) – a striking discipline that Emily and Fiona have embraced. The past provincial medallists savour the team aspect of AGG – combining everyone’s skills and strengths to create a breathtaking visual display, with teammates providing motivation, support and social connection.
“That’s probably my favourite part – you’re constantly working with your friends,” highlights Fiona. “We work through different challenges, and then we also triumph through this work together.”
Emily and Fiona’s Kanata Charms are coming off an exceptional season where they reached the final round at a competition in Los Angeles and outperformed powerhouses like Ukraine, Finland, Kazakhstan and Estonia to finish ninth out of 30 teams at an Aesthetic Group Gymnastics World Cup event in France.
Seeing their hard work pay off was an exceptional experience already, amplified further by the chance for the team to bond as they explored new parts of the world. Japan will be the next stop in November when the Charms represent Canada at the 2026 World Championships.
“It’s so special growing up with everyone, and just seeing everyone grow together,” Emily indicates. “It’s so encouraging having so many people by your side and it’s just really amazing building these really deep connections with everyone in the gym.”
Now a Merivale High School grad, Emily is starting her first year of health sciences studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, but she plans to come back to Ottawa every weekend “just to be with my team and continue this amazing sport.”
“It has become such an important part of me,” she adds.
Friendships like Emily and Fiona’s “are such a big part of the experience at Kanata Rhythmic,” emphasizes Coach Yuliana. “They celebrate each other’s successes, support each other through difficult moments and create memories together that go well beyond their time in the gym. Seeing those relationships develop over the years is really wonderful.”
Learn more about the Kanata Rhythmic Gymnastics Club at KRSG.org and register for programs here.
