Hopefuls take first steps toward Team Canada
With almost 500 eager competitors vaulting, spinning and jumping through the air, the expectation is the gym floor at the Synergy Gym Centre will soon be littered with glitter and sequins, while the gymnastic excellence levels will be soaring as high as some of the competitors.
Hopeful young athletes will descend this month on Kelowna for a little-known event that means a great deal to the gymnastics’ community across the province.
The Kelowna Invitational is the testing ground for advancement through the Canadian competitive program.
From Feb. 10-13, artistic gymnastics athletes from Kamloops to Penticton will descend on Kelowna to strut their stuff at Synergy Gym Centre, with hopes of advancing to the competitions in the Lower Mainland in May.
For some, it might even lead to securing a spot on Team Canada and competition in the Winter Games.
“We are a competitive-based gymnastics centre, and not that many people are aware we are here,” said owner and coach Cindy Rost. “Our programs focus on excellence in the sport. We are an all-girl centre, and that makes us somewhat special as well.”
The girls-only focus also accounts for the blatantly pink décor and glitter splatter here and there. There’s a a welcoming attitude overall, but with a strong emphasis on gymnastic training and safety.
“The competition is very focused,” Rost explained. “All levels of the sport are represented, from levels one to 10, as well as novice, junior and senior. Top level (Xcel) is also included.”
The centre on Windsor Road, is aptly called Synergy. Rost’s students focus on artistic gymnastics, which includes work on the balance beam, vault, floor and bars. They often enter the program around the age of five or six. The gym also offers a recreational gymnastics program.
The centre actually signs them up on a contractual basis September through June, she explained.
One of her students, Alexa Martin, is among those competing at the national level.
“The gym is a fabulous place,” said her mother Brenda, adding her daughter has won at the provincial level 8 and is now in level 9. “It’s an incredible gym for young girls and women.”
Alexa, who competes in all four categories – balance beam, vault, floor and bars – said the gym and coaches are “very supportive, very encouraging and positive.”
Her future in the sport might include coaching, although Rost noted that the opportunities for university scholarships in Canada, unlike the United States, are limited.
At the gym centre, a team of coach professionals guide the budding athletes through the many phases of gymnastics, with focus on strength, proper gymnastic execution and injury prevention.
The program is augmented with two kinesiologists on staff, though Rost said that when injuries happen,“it’s usually [from] doing handsprings at school, not here”.
The sport itself, Rost added “has potential [for] burnout” and if a gymnast wants to pursue that path, “the U.S. is probably where she’ll end up.”
“We can definitely help to design a longterm goal plan,” she said.
“Artistic gymnastics is a sport where you compete against yourself. It’s not about the other girls, it’s the girls on your team and your goal.”
The competition is an all-day event, but because of the size of the gym, spectator spaces are limited.
The next large event will take place at the Lower Mainland in May.
“That’s worth a trip. It’s like you see on TV – cameras, spectators, both women and men, filling the floor of the space. It’s really big and very exciting for the girls,” she added.