Last weekend, the Whistler Gymnastics Club welcomed nearly 300 gymnasts from across the province to its facility in Cheakamus Crossing for the club's year-end Whistler Invitational meet.
What makes the Whistler Invitational such a popular event for gymnastics clubs across the province is the unique indoor-outdoor format with multiple events taking place outside in the space between buildings, said head coach Karin Jarrett.
"It's Whistler so we have birds, we have dogs running through sometimes, wind because we are between buildings, but the clubs all know that so we send the disclaimer saying you are outside so sometimes its' hot, sometimes it's a little bit cooler, so come prepared," Jarrett said.
The event was held over three days and saw multiple strong performances from the local club, leading to eight top-10 all-around performances by Whistler athletes.
Leading the way for the club was 15-year-old Kirra Douglas, who won the gold medal in floor on her way to a fifth-place finish in the all-around.
Other podium finishes included Avery Lang with her third-place floor routine and Ruby McLatchie, who came third on bars. McLatchie also added a fourth-place floor routine.
Maya Langdale and Sienna Osborn also narrowly missed the podium with fourth-place vault and floor routines, respectively. Osborn also earned the highest mark among Whistler athletes in the all-around with her fourth-place finish.
With the season coming to an end for most athletes, all that is left is the Trampoline Canadian Championships in Calgary in July for some of the club's older members like Sofia Wright, Max Oughtred and Matthew Susko.
Creekbread is acting as a sponsor for the athletes heading to nationals, and will be donating a portion of the profits from every pizza ordered for takeout on Tuesdays from now until the athletes head off to the competition.
