By Dan Plouffe & Keiran Gorsky
Melanie Li has many passions in her life. She’s a professional musician, playing violin with the Kingston Symphony. She’s a medical school student at the University of Toronto, studying to become a doctor. And she’s been involved in just about every aspect of rhythmic gymnastics there is – athlete, coach, choreographer, administrator, judge and now first aid trainer.
For Li, rhythmic gymnastics in the pursuit that ties all her passions together.
“It’s a really beautiful sport,” underlines the 24-year-old Ottawa Rhythmic Gymnastics Club product. “I love dance, I love music, and I find that it’s the perfect combination of all.”
Li, who first joined Ottawa Rhythmic at age 3, trained up to 20 hours a week as a teenager as she rose up the ranks. At the 2018 Ontario Championships, the Elmwood School graduate swept each event en route to the all-around gold medal in the highest level of provincial competition (6C).
Li took up coaching in Grade 9 and became known for cultivating a positive and trusting culture, building confidence and treating all her gymnasts with respect. Among the athletes she coached were Ottawa Rhythmic’s Special Olympics program athletes (who recently excelled at the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games).
A high-level pianist and violinist, Li found that choreography very much matched her talents, as it satisfied both her musical ear, and her athletic and artistic interests.
“I think it gives me a unique perspective to create a routine that’s not just in time with the music, but also highlights the music and highlights the gymnast,” signals Li, noting that it also helps her as a judge since they are asked to evaluate artistry.
Li has been a Special Olympics judge for seven years, with Gymnastics Ontario for four years and has served as a judge for Canada at an international event in Spain. While she’s very busy with her studying at U of T, she often attends weekend meets nearby in Markham, acting either as a judge or medical officer.
“I try to keep that part of my life as much as I can,” underlines Li, who often coaches whenever she’s home in Ottawa. “I just feel very lucky. I love rhythmic gymnastics. I think not a lot of people actually know what it is outside of the community, but I just think it’s a very beautiful sport and I feel very privileged to be a part of this community.”
Mesh all of Li’s contributions together and the end product is the Cameron Namek Coach Excellence Award, which Li accepted on Aug. 22 at Gymnastics Ontario’s 55th Annual Awards Banquet in Milton.
“I was pretty shocked. I was very happy, obviously, for getting an award,” Li says of her reaction to learning about the honour. “It’s amazing. I’ve been a part of the rhythmic gymnastics community for such a long time, my entire life, and it’s something that I’m really passionate about.
“And I’m very lucky to have such an amazing coach, Xinhong. I’ve been very very well supported during my entire life.”
Ottawa Rhythmic head coach Xinhong Jin, herself a past winner of a Lifetime Achievement Coaching Award from the Ottawa Sports Awards, was “very proud” to see Li recognized.
“For young people, she’s a very big role model,” highlights Xin, noting Li’s success in school, in sport and in community involvement. “It’s not just that you’re competing to get medals. We want to try to develop an all-around person. To see what she’s achieved in life is that much more meaningful.”
Ottawa Sports Pages wins Gymnastics Ontario Media Award
The Ottawa Sports Pages were among the winners at the banquet as well, earning the Media Award for outstanding coverage of Ontario gymnastics in the preceding 12 months.
OSP was saluted for “helping to foster community pride, athlete motivation, and greater public awareness of gymnastics as a sport requiring tremendous dedication, discipline, and resilience,” read the event program.
“What makes their contribution especially meaningful is their genuine effort to include athletes and organizations at all levels, not only elite performers, but also developing athletes, local clubs, and community initiatives that might otherwise receive little public recognition,” it adds. “Their coverage helps bring visibility, appreciation, and encouragement to the many individuals who dedicate themselves to sport.”
Among OSP’s stories during the 2025-2026 gymnastics season, Keiran Gorsky covered Ontario titles won by gymnasts who’d suffered strange injuries from volleyball and the school cafeteria and Kanata rhythmic gymnast Evangelia Sarlis’s road to a breakthrough Eastern Canadian title following several letdowns on big stages, Dan Plouffe wrote about Sarlis matching Ottawa’s best-ever rhythmic gymnastics nationals finish and Ottawa Gymnastics Centre athletes overcoming a flu bug that ripped through their gym just before their provincial qualifying meet, while Plouffe and Gorsky combined to write about national championships medallists as well as Edge Gymnastics shutting down due to a massive flood, and Martin Cleary reported on Lauren Mooney/Mackenzie Grant receiving a Petro-Canada Fuelling Athlete and Coaching Excellence award as well as the launch of the Battle Royale pro gymnastics league and Ottawa athletes’ results at several international competitions.
“I was definitely feeling a bit choked up hearing how appreciated our coverage is,” recounts OSP executive director Dan Plouffe, while thanking OGC women’s program director Nausikaa Muresan for making OSP’s efforts known.
“Gymnastics is the exact kind of sport that matches our mission,” he adds. “It’s got huge participation, super passionate and dedicated people involved with it, and such great stories to tell, but it gets little to no attention in mainstream media at all, especially at the community level.
“So this means a lot to us and I’m really proud of our team’s work.”
Gymnastics Ontario counts over 85,000 registered gymnasts annually among nearly 200 clubs across the province.
Several other Ottawa figures were among the award winners who were unable to attend the banquet.
Muresan accepted the Lil Babineau Club Builder Award on behalf of Celeste Fung, a member of OGC’s board of directors who “stepped forward selflessly to help support the organization at a critical time,” reads her award biography.
“Celeste has played an important role in helping improve the financial position and overall management of the Centre while supporting stability, collaboration, and forward planning for the future of the program,” it continues. “Her calm presence, professionalism, generosity, and unwavering commitment to the athletes, families, and staff have made a lasting impact on the club and everyone around her.”
Among those receiving Long Service Awards for milestone years of involvement in gymnastics were Ottawa’s Laurie Loh and Jocelyne Legault.
Loh, who was one of three individuals honoured for 40 years of service, has served as program director, judge and general jack-of-all-gymnastics trades for numerous local clubs, while Legault is the long-time head coach of Les Sittelles in Orleans.
They will be given Blue Gold Sapphire Crystal and Diamond lapel pins respectively.
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