DonB次元官网网址檛 let the name fool you. FridayB次元官网网址檚 (May 29) Vancouver Island Championships offer just as much challenge for LionB次元官网网址檚 Pride Gymnastics athletes as the provincial competition they attended earlier this year.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a competition, so IB次元官网网址檒l be trying my best,B次元官网网址� says Kalei Marchak, 12, whose specialties are floor exercise and vault.
She and the teammates who will compete at the Langford gym look forward to having more familiar faces among the spectators, not to mention sleeping in their own beds.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 excited to have more friends and family come. Most of our competitions are a lot farther away,B次元官网网址� Marchak says.
Anika Stephens, 10, says having a meet like this at home is important, B次元官网网址渂ecause we all have pride in what we do.B次元官网网址�
Teammate Madeline Sim, at age 12, an eight-year veteran of the sport who won the overall title and was first on bars at a recent meet in Duncan, also doesn't plan to relax for this home meet. She continues to practise new skills for next season and spends five days a week in the gym.
"I like having to learn new things and being able to teach (younger athletes)," she says.
As the only one of the six Lion's Pride team members who can do a move on the bars called a "free hip" B次元官网网址� the rest are working hard on achieving that skill by Friday B次元官网网址� Sim has a leg up on her competitors.
Teammates Acacia Klak, 11, and Brooklyn Massey, 9, call the floor exercise their best event, while Hannah Iles, 9, says she does her best work on the balance beam.
The Islands are a mid-level competition for athletes between level 3 and 6, with the six LionB次元官网网址檚 Pride athletes all at Junior Olympics 5.
Starting this season, B.C. shifted to the U.S. model of 10 competitive levels, up from four. The change, while taking some getting used to, has worked out well, says LionB次元官网网址檚 Pride gym owner and coach Jackie Wiebe.
B次元官网网址淔or athletes it was a big jump before from level 1 to 4,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淭his allows for a more graduated set of achievements.B次元官网网址�
More than 100 athletes are expected to compete Friday. The public is welcome to attend the event, which starts at 9 a.m. at 1060 Henry Eng Pl. Admission is $5 with a family rate of $12.
