ItB次元官网网址檚 a long bus ride to Vernon, and VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 athletes headed to the B.C. Winter Games are invited to stand up and stretch it out along the way.
Luckily for Natalie Louis and Emily Bolink, stretching is their kind of thing.
The pair of gymnasts, along with Coral Strugnell, will represent Greater Victoria at the B.C. Winter Games, Feb. 23 to 26.
Athletes taking the bus, however, wonB次元官网网址檛 arrive until 2 a.m., late Wednesday (Feb. 22) or early Thursday, depending on how you see it.
In the words of one organizer, that means banking as much sleep as possible prior to the marathon bus ride today.
"ItB次元官网网址檚 the farthest IB次元官网网址檝e ever gone to compete," said Louis, a 12-year-old from View Royal. B次元官网网址淚've never really travelled with a whole team. ItB次元官网网址檚 a pretty big deal.B次元官网网址�
Louis trains at Lions Pride Gymnastics in Langford and is excited about getting together with all 15 Island (Zone 6) gymnast athletes. Most of all, Louis is hoping to match B次元官网网址� and improve on B次元官网网址� her second-place finish on the uneven bars in the tyro division (age 10 to 11) of last yearB次元官网网址檚 B.C. championships.
Bolink, 13, also finished second on the bars at last yearB次元官网网址檚 provincials. She competed in the novice division (age 12 to 13), which is the level Bolink and Louis will compete at in Vernon.
B次元官网网址淢eeting new people and competing in a new place are the (biggest things) that come to mind,B次元官网网址� said Bolink, a Central Saanich resident who trains with Falcon Artistic Gymnastics Centre in Saanich.
B次元官网网址淭raining and competing with a new coach is exciting but IB次元官网网址檓 also a bit nervous about it,B次元官网网址� Bolink said. B次元官网网址淎ctually we both are nervous because we havenB次元官网网址檛 had the coach [one of four with the team] before.B次元官网网址�
With gymnastics broken into a series of disciplines, athletes have a chance to win multiple medals for their team.
Uneven bars is the strength of Bolink and Louis, who will also compete in the floor exercise, the vault and the balance beam.
Each discipline gets its own medal, with an overall ranking for the athlete who has the all-around highest total score.
Zone 6 (Island-Central Coast) finished third at the 2010 B.C. Winter Games in Terrace in the gymnastics overall team standings, with Musa Niwa-Heinin and Alyssa Leblond representing Victoria.
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