The Kamloops Gymnastics and Trampoline Club held their invitational meet at the Tournament Capital Centre on the weekend of March 16.
Jasmine Tataryn competed in Junior Olympic Level 3. She placed fifth all around (34.7) with a silver medal on Bars (8.85), fourth on Vault (9.025), fifth on Floor (8.825), and sixth on Beam (8.00). Sarah Watson competed in Junior Olympic Level 5. She placed sixth all around (31.85) with fifth on Vault (7.825), fifth on Bars (8.55), sixth on Floor (7.55), and seventh on Beam (7.925).
The University of Calgary International Cup was held March 24 to 25 with teams from across the country including Men’s Team China and Team USA. The competition is in a large venue and the field is very deep. Reggie Watson competed Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Level 1 along with 80 other athletes. Reggie just missed the podium in the all around in fourth place (48.9). He won a silver medal for High Bar (5.3), a bronze medal for Rings (5.4), fourth on Vault (8.8), fourth on Parallel Bars (6.7), fifth on Floor (7.4), fifth on Physical Abilities (7.2), and seventh on Pommel Horse (8.1).
Sarah Watson competed in Junior Olympic Level 5. She ranked 16th all around (33.457) with a ninth place finish on Bars (9.166) and Beam (8.666) and 15th Place on Vault (8.0) and Floor (7.625). Kayla Sherriff competed in Junior Olympic Level 4. She ranked 12th all around with 10th on Floor (7.975) and Bars (7.866), 11th on Beam (7.683) and 12th on Vault (7.775). Saumya Kumar competed in Junior Olympic Level 4. She ranked 17th all around (34.132) with an eigth place ribbon for Vault (8.55), 13th Place on Bars (8.966), 15th on Floor (8.5), and 21st on Beam (8.116).
In the Junior Olympic Levels 1, 2, and 3, athletes are scored but not ranked receiving gold, silver or bronze based on individual performance. In Junior Olympic Level 3, Rainya Potvin received gold on Floor (9.0), gold on Vault (9.4) and silver on Beam (8.975) and Bars (8.5); Zoey Briggs received gold on Vault (9.75) and Beam (9.025) and silver on Floor (8.775) and bronze on Bars (7.15); Jasmine Wan received gold on Vault (9.65) and silver on Beam (8.975), Bars (8.375) and Floor (8.175); and Amara Schellenberg received gold on Vault (9.575), silver on Beam (8.45), Floor (8.35) and Bars (8.3). In Junior Olympic Level 2, Alanis Schellenberg received gold on Vault (9.1) and silver on Beam (8.8), Bars (8.75) and Floor (8.275).
Nine athletes will head to Nelson at the beginning of May to compete in the zone championships.
In recent news in USA Gymnastics and in Canada, a few high profile coaches and staff have been charged with sexually abusing athletes in their care. Gymnastics Canada Gymnastique (GCG), Gymnastics BC, and Gymnastics Coaches and Staff have been actively engaged over the last few months with creating safe environments for athletes. There are now online courses from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection in Winnipeg called Commit-to-Kids to help clubs, coaches, and parents identify and stop the potential abuse of young or vulnerable people.
There is a course specific to coaches and offers continuing education points for the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) coaches, the cost is $12. The training is preventative, proactive, and extraordinarily relevant. Parents can take a similar course and have the opportunity to learn ways to prevent their children from being abused. If you or your sporting organization would like more information about these courses and even to learn about creating effective ‘codes of conduct’ for working with children, please contact coach Christine Muise at khgym@hotmail.com.
Everyone who works with children and vulnerable people has the responsibility for due diligence in maintaining their innocence and protecting them from predatory behaviour. Other certifications that are foundational for any sport include Making Ethical Decisions (MED) and Respect in Sport. Knowing that your child’s coach is properly trained in these areas is as important, if not more, than the knowledge they have about the skills and drills in their sport.
