The Whistler Gymnastics Club kicked off its competitive season last weekend at a Zone 5 Beam and Vault meet in Vancouver. The meet was for Interclub athletes, a new recreational program in its second year for athletes who enjoy gymnastics but don’t have the time to dedicate to a competitive program. The athletes, who train an average of two-and-a-half to three hours a week, also have more freedom to use traditional and non-traditional equipment in their routines.
The athletes are also graded differently, with judges awarding medals based on an athlete’s performance rather than their scores and rankings.
Emily Cankovic, Tyece Fairweather, Taylor Kelly, Jenya Dudley, Jocelyn Day and Lizzy McIsaac earned gold medals in both the beam and vault events.
Meg Halliwell and Jamie Roote won gold for the beam and silver for the vault.
Nicole Murdoch won gold for the beam and bronze on the vault.
Marina Featherstone won bronze on beam and silver on vault. Alisha Longstaff won silver on beam and bronze on the vault respectively.
Two athletes competed at the competitive Zone level for the first time, training only six hours a week. Shannon McDonald placed second on the beam and sixth on the vault and Bianca Duval placed eighth in both events.
The Whistler Gymnastics Club LEAP athletes and provincial level 1, 2 and 3 gymnasts will compete this weekend, Feb. 13 to 15, in the Delta Invitational.
