The airline company that Vicki Stinson dealt with during her trans-Pacific journey probably oversold their plane by one seat. She quite possibly could have floated on air all the way to the “Land of the Rising Sun” and back again.
The local rhythmic gymnastics coach accompanied International Falls gymnast Scott Roberts, along with two other gymnasts and two other coaches from Vancouver, to Omiya, Japan for the first-ever international martial gym meet.
“It was absolutely amazing—easily the best experience of my life,” said Stinson, 19. “It was so great to experience the culture and use the Japanese language right there in the country itself.
“Most people spoke English, though, so if I didn’t know a word in Japanese, I could just say it in English and most people could understand,” she added.
The five-team competition included squads from Malaysia, South Korea, and the U.S., as well as Canada and the host nation. It was organized by the Japanese Gymnastics Federation, which went so far as to cover all costs of the trip for all the participating teams.
Martial gym—which combines martial arts-type apparatuses such as stick, rope, and clubs with the basic floor routine used in artistic gymnastics—has been popular in Japan for quite some time.
But now it is crossing borders and oceans in terms of its popularity, although the event also had the streets of Omiya abuzz with excitement.
“The enormity of the event to these people was breathtaking,” said Stinson. “They had signs up everywhere, on every street.
“The city was so proud of it, and they combined the event with the girls’ national rhythmic championships, which decided who goes on to compete in the Olympics next summer.”
As for Roberts, Stinson said her 13-year-old protégé exhibited exceptional poise in finishing eighth out of 10 in the clubs event—an all-ages category as all of them were at the competition.
“He was a little awestruck, but not psyched out,” said a proud Stinson. “All the Canadian boys were pretty young compared to the other athletes.
“Malaysia had 16-21 year olds there, and the U.S. had a 26-year-old,” she noted.
“The reason for this is, unlike in other countries which build this sport from the top down by first training elite instructors and then have them show others, Canada is focusing on doing things at the grassroots level first.
“But I told him to just do his best and have fun, as I always do,” Stinson added. “He performed for the crowd and for the judges, and they just loved him.”
Stinson also marvelled at how the meet itself was unusual by North American standards in that it was scheduled right down to the second.
“Usually over here, you’re either over or ahead of time during a meet,” she explained. “But there, if someone scratches themselves from an event or chooses not to do a certain routine, they play music during that spare time to fill the space until the next routine is supposed to begin.”
Stinson’s multi-lingual talents even provided her the chance to rub shoulders with the most powerful person anywhere in her sport.
“I got to talk several times with the world president of rhythmic gymnastics, Egle Abruzzini, because I was one of the few people around who could speak French, and that’s what she spoke,” said Stinson.
“[To meet her] was pretty amazing in itself.”
Stinson hopes this is only the beginning, with the target now being the creation of a world martial gym championship in 2005. But for now, she’ll be content with fondly recalling her time in the Far East—including a visit to a primary school and sampling the authentic Oriental cuisine.
“We got to meet these Kindergarten to Grade 4 children, and they were all so adorable,” said Stinson. “And as for the food, unlike in Canada where the Japanese food is all steamed or boiled, over there they’re more into gelatinizing things.
“But it tastes very good.”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
