Gymnasts excel at Lakehead

The Fort Frances Gymnastics’ Academy had a strong showing at its first artistic gymnastics competition of the season this past weekend in Thunder Bay.
Sixteen of the club’s gymnasts, ranging in age from seven-12, competed in a variety of disciplines.
“Overall, I was very impressed with the way the kids performed,” head coach Mirel Bica said. “We had eight kids who had never competed before so they were very young and very ‘green.’
“I was expecting them to make some mistakes, not because they weren’t ready for the competition but due to a lack of experience.
“There were at least 100 people watching the competition so for the new kids it was a bit uncomfortable, but they did very well,” Bica added. “They made very few mistakes.”
Bica was hesitant to single out any of his gymnasts for individual recognition, noting they all performed to the best of their abilities. However, when questioned further, he did allow the following:
“I would be tempted to talk about the provincial qualifiers, Hailey Boustead and Anika Alexander,” he said.
“They still have to improve a little bit on their routines, and they need to learn one or two more skills in order to have the full requirement, but they’re on the right track and they did absolutely amazing,” he added.
“It’s just a matter of time before they achieve their dreams and qualify for provincials.”
In order to qualify for the provincial championships, a gymnast must attend three qualifying events. Their best two scores then are averaged to determine whether they’ve met the required standards.
Despite the strong showing in Thunder Bay, Bica said there’s still a lot of work to be done prior to the club’s next competition Feb. 17-18 in Red Lake.
“Now we have to look back and see where the mistakes were, and what we can do in the short time we have before the next competition to fix them,” he remarked.
In other gymnastics news, the local club’s rhythmic gymnasts will be competing at the Crocus Cup this weekend (Jan. 19-21) at the University of Manitoba.
Here are the individual results from last weekend’s meet in Thunder Bay:
Level 2
age 7/8)
•Claire Herzig finished first overall, taking first in beam, second in vault and bars, and third in floor;
•Gabrielle Peters ranked second overall, taking first in floor, second in beam, third in bars, and fifth in vault;
•Nikki Skifstrom placed fourth overall, taking second in floor, third in vault, fourth in bars, and fifth in beam;
•Lauren Rautio ranked fifth overall, taking first in bars, third in floor, and fourth in vault and beam; and
•Talyssa Kellar finished sixth overall, taking fifth in floor and sixth in the vault, bars, and beam
Level 2
(age 9)
•Kate Parson finished second overall, taking third in vault, beam, and floor, and fourth in bars; and
•Nicole Lepine finished sixth overall, taking first in beam and sixth in vault, bars, and floor
Level 2
(age 11/12)
•Alyxandra Barnard ranked fifth overall, taking first in floor, second in vault, fifth in beam, and sixth in bars; and
•Megan Hell ranked sixth overall, taking first in bars, third in beam, and sixth in floor and vault
Level 3
(age 7/8)
•Kendra Moen finished fourth overall, taking second in vault, third in bars, sixth in beam, and seventh in floor
Level 3
(age 10)
•Katie Sinclair ranked second overall, taking second in vault, bars, and beam, and third in floor
Level 3
(age 11/12)
•Elizabeth Tucker ranked fourth overall, taking third in vault, fourth in beam and floor, and fifth in bars
Level 4
(age 11)
•Shauna Moen ranked third overall, taking second in vault, bars, and beam, and fourth in floor; and
•Stacey Cridland ranked fourth overall, taking first in bars, second in floor, and fourth in vault and beam
Level 5
(age 9)
•Hailey Boustead finished third overall, taking second in bars and floor, and third in vault and beam; and
•Anika Alexander finished fourth overall, taking third in bars and fourth in vault, beam, and floor