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Battleford Gymnastics Club holds first ever rhythmic meet

Apr 24, 2017 | 12:00 PM

It was a first for many members of the Battleford Gymnastics Club (BGC) this past weekend, but already deemed a success.

The club, which has roughly 300 recreational members and 30 competitive members, just started a rhythmic program. On Saturday, six club members competed in front of family, friends, and judges at St. Vital School.

“I’ve seen them improve their skills and they’re hitting a lot of the harder skills that they weren’t able to do at the start of the year,” Battleford Gymnastics Club’s head coach Danielle Clark said. “[The competition] went very well. I’d say the girls definitely performed the best that they’ve performed all year.”

The BGC members who performed at the competition were Makenzie Gidych, Stephanie Jackson, Jaden Miller, Shaylin Knot, Ryann Short, and Kylie Cooke. The six combined to win six medals for the club: one gold, three silver, and two bronze.

Ross Gym and Fit from Wawota, Sask., and Prairie Ribbons Rhythmic Gymnastics Club from Warman also participated in the event.

Because the rhythmic aspect is new to BGC, Clark brought in Kelsee Douglas from Saskatoon this past December, who dances semi-professionally and has been doing rhythmic gymnastics for five years, to help get the girls up to speed.

While her athletes are progressing well, Clark admits the sport is a bit of a learning curve.

“They’re definitely not used to the apparatus handling,” she said. “So being able to throw an apparatus in the air and then have to do an acrobatic skill and then catch it again has been something new for them that I think they found very exciting.”

Douglas was also thoroughly impressed with how things went on Saturday.

“I think I was more nervous than the kids and for the competition than I think they were,” she joked. “But it went really well. It was mostly about them being able to show off their routines and perform in front of people and staying active and everything.”

“Our girls started in January. That was something that was tricky to do. We couldn’t fit in as many competitions or mock meets as we wanted to but I think they did a really good job. They all smiled and stayed positive so it was a really great experience I think for them.”

Douglas said the difference between rhythmic and artisitc, which is what the club began as and still runs, has a lot to do with the details.

“In artistic gymnastics, which is what BGC had before, and still does, it’s mostly strength and flexibility. The little tiny things don’t matter as much,” Douglas said. “But in rhythmic gymnastics, that straight knee and that pointed toe and the way you hold the ball or the way you catch the hoop or where you catch the hoop or the ribbon, is really important too. So focusing on those little things was really hard.”

“Just getting used to moving with the equipment was hard too, because it’s something that takes a while to get used to,” Douglas added.

For Douglas, coaching is a passion and she has quite enjoyed her time with BGC. 

“Through dance and then through gymnastics, I just love inspring kids,” she said. “For me, when I would get off-stage after a performance, to have your coach there being able to celeberate with you after a great perofrmance is amazing. Being able to be on the other side of that being able to give them high fives and hugs after their performance is just amazing. I want to do it for the rest of my life.”

The club will now shift from individual performances to group ones, which Douglas said may not be the easiest transition.

But just as they proved with implementing rhythmic for the first time, it will be extremely rewarding.

“Now we’re going to be working on group routines, which is a little tricky because timing is a little bit more of an issue and working together, which they haven’t been able to do yet,” Douglas said. “So I’m really excited to get that team bonding and all that fun experience.”

Two other club members, Hailey Dyck and Kyra Kolenosky, will also attend provincials championships in Saskatoon for artistic gymnastics from May 12 to 14. 

 

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11