Sign up for the battlefordsNOW newsletter

Youth show skills in artistic gymnastics on first day of Games

Feb 19, 2018 | 2:00 PM

Youth from across Saskatchewan showed their talents in the artistic gymnastics competition Monday, the first day of the 2018 Saskatchewan Winter Games in North Battleford.

The event took place in the Fieldhouse, with many parents filling the stands.

Cheryl Russell with Gymnastics Saskatchewan said everything went well.

“The facility is wonderful,” Russell said. “We have a great turnout. Lots of parents are turning out to watch. And at this age level, the kids are so happy to be here. They are just having a ball.”

For the artistic competition, the girls show their skills on the floor, vault and balance beam, while the boys took to the high bar, vault and floor. Eight districts took part in the event.

“For the women especially on the floor they are looking for artistry, grace and execution style,” Russell said of the judges’ task. “For the boys, they are looking for strength and straight bodies (in the performance).”

The youth competing ranged in age from 9 to 13 years old. 

 

 

Head coach of Battlefords Gymnastics Club Danielle Clark is the district coach for Team Rivers West, with youth Kristina Hansen from Unity and Safia Carter from the Battlefords taking part in the artistic competition.

“Overall, I’m happy. We didn’t have any major falls on the beam,” Clark said of her team’s performance, adding the youth did “a really good job on floor (skills).

“I think the crowd was excited,” she said, as parents in the stands cheered the youth on.

Clark said while there are two athletes in Rivers West competing in artistic gymnastics, other local athletes with the local team taking part in other gymnastics competitions include Zara Carter, Jaden Miller, Evangeline Sieben, and Zadee Chapman.

The results for all competing teams will be available later today.

The team awards take place at 5 p.m. on Monday. Individual all-around results come Tuesday, and the finals take place Wednesday.

 

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @battlefordsNOW