She’s got the rhythm
Deruelle to compete in rhythmic gymnastics at the Special Olympics Canada 2018 Summer Games
(The following is the second of three stories profiling Cape Breton athletes to compete at the Special Olympics Canada 2018 Summer Games in Antigonish, July 31-Aug. 4.)
It only took Kellan Deruelle one try at rhythmic gymnastics for her to fall in love with the sport and it’s a love she can’t even explain.
“There’s lots of routine, lots of timing,” said the 20-yearold from New Waterford. “You have to have very specific arm and leg movements. It’s a very detailed sport.”
Deruelle joined Special Olympics Cape Breton when she was 10 years old and was mainly a swimmer. Four years ago, she started in rhythmic gymnastics and hasn’t looked back.
She’ll compete at the Special Olympics Canada 2018 Summer Games in Antigonish and admitted to being both excited and a little nervous. She qualified thanks to her results from last year’s provincial Games.
“I feel like they’re all going really well,” she said of her routines, which include ball, ribbon, rope and hoop. “I’m practising the ball, hoop, ribbon and rope for the last year or two, so I’m mainly focusing on those and also doing the group routine.”
Ursula Hynes of Glace Bay has been Deruelle’s coach for the past three years and said her athlete has been working hard over the past year to prepare for the upcoming national Games.
“We have several practices during the week. She takes the coaching well. We spend a lot of time together, so we’re practising a lot. We both kind of learn from each other,” she said. “She has the skills to perform all of the routines. She has no problem and picks them up really fast.
“It kind of mixes dance, ballet — there’s a lot of etiquette to it,” Hynes added. “She works really hard on doing those things.”