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Whistler tumblers bring home the hardware

Hardly a neck could be seen as the Whistler Gymastics Club returned from the KATTS gymnastic club meet in Kamloops last weekend, so many medals had piled up. They also had their hands full with a couple of trophies.

Hardly a neck could be seen as the Whistler Gymastics Club returned from the KATTS gymnastic club meet in Kamloops last weekend, so many medals had piled up.

They also had their hands full with a couple of trophies.

A total of 32 of Whistler’s 36 competitive gymnasts attended the meet, which included teams from as far away as Victoria. From the youngest KIPs (Kids in Progress) to Whistler’s top Level 2 and Level 3 tumblers, just about everyone earned a medal or ribbon for something.

"It’s great for the girls to get out of town for competition so that they can gain experience," says club program director and coach Tami Ross. "Not only to see other gymnastics clubs, but to go out and represent our community and at the same time meet other girls with similar interests."

Most competitions take place in the Lower Mainland, and for many of the competitors the third annual KATTS meet was their first chance to see some of the strong clubs from the Interior.

"The girls found out just how well they can do against clubs with a lot more money and equipment than we have," Ross says. "Look at our youngest competitors – they train six hours a week, and came home with a lot of medals competing against teams with full-time facilities, and who get to train between 12 and 16 hours a week.

"Congratulations go out to all the coaches, athletes and parents for the effort. You have to wonder how well we could go with a permanent facility of our own."

In the KIP level, where all the competitors are awarded either gold, silver or bronze medals based on how well they performed, the Whistler team placed third overall.

Ashlen Coombs was a standout, winning a gold on the floor and bars, silver in vault, and bronze on the beam. Rachel Belch won gold on the floor, silver in vault, silver on the bars and a bronze on the beam. Hilary Carreell won a gold on the bars, silver on the vault, and bronze on floor and beam. Sonya D’Artois and Amy Frances won silver on the vault, floor and bars, and bronze on the beam. Nicole Halliwell won four silver medals, and Shannon MacDonald won four bronze.

The Level 1 Argos team won first place overall with its efforts.

Makinna Coombs was third on the bars, third on the beam, fifth on the floor and sixth on the vault to finish third all around.

Close behind, Riley McSkimming was third on the vault, fourth on the bars, and sixth on the floor and beam to finish fourth.

Annik Tetreault was eighth all around, but won gold on the beam. She was fifth on the bars, seventh on floor and eighth on vault.

The Level 1 Tyro team missed second place in their contest by 0.05 points.

Christine Brett won silver on the bars, floor and vault, and was third on the beam to finish first place all around against 24 competitors.

Michaela D’Artois was sixth all around with a fourth on the bars, a sixth off the vault, a seventh on beam, and a ninth on the floor. Samantha Depatie was eighth with a bronze on the beam, a fifth on the floor, and eighth on the vault and a ninth on the bars.

The rest of the team was solid. Beck Boese won gold on the beam, and finished 11 th in vault and floor. Abigail Cameron was seventh on the vault and ninth on the beam. Jenny Higgins was sixth on the floor, 11 th on the beam, and fifth on the bars. Angelina Manuel was eighth on the beam and 10 th on the floor.

"They’ve been working so hard, and this was the best meet we’ve seen from the girls," says Kerry McArthur, one of the Level 1 coaches. "Their work ethic in the gym is unreal right now, and it’s been paying off. They deserved some good results."

Only two Whistler gymnasts competed in the smaller Level 1 Novice category. Megan McSkimming won silver medals on the floor and beam, was third on the vault and fourth on the bars to finish second all around. Holly Hetherington was third all around with a gold on the beam, bronze medals on floor and bars, and a fifth on the vault.

Among the Level 2 Argos, Frances Moody won silver on floor and bars and bronze on vault and beam to finish third.

In the Level 2 Tyro competition, Niki Sadler won silver on the beam, was fourth on vault and floor and was fifth on bars to finish third all around. Stephanie Moody was seventh, finishing fifth on the vault, sixth on the floor, and seventh on beam and bars. Kristi Poole-Adler won silver on the beam, fourth on bars and third on floor, but did not compete in the vault. Nevertheless, the Level 2 Tyros brought home the second place team award.

Nicola Bennett, who came down a level to compete in the Level 2 Novice/Open category, was first all around with gold medals on floor and bars, a silver on the vault and a bronze on the beam.

Natasha Quinn was fourth all around, finishing second on the floor, third on the bars, fourth on the beam and fifth on the vault.

Melissa Manuel was sixth, winning the beam, finishing fifth on vault and bars and sixth on the floor.

Rachel Kleinman won bronze on floor and beam, was fourth on vault and seventh on bars to finish seventh.

The Whistler team was first overall in the category.

Alix Rusimovich was fourth all around in the Level 3 Tyro and Novice category, finishing second on floor and fourth in all the other events.

With the recreational kids representing Whistler at Gymnaestrada in Penticton this weekend, the competitive team will focus on the final meet of the season, an outdoor meet in Coquitlam in mid-June.