Setting goals
Revolution gymnasts bring home success from nationals
Three athletes from Revolution Gymnastics — Maya Zonneveld, Charlise Radencich and Annie Clarmo — have a lot to be proud of themselves after the 2018 Canadian Artistic Gymnastics Championships, held from May 24 to 27 at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.
Revolution Gymnastics was opened by Aaron and Angela Brokenshire in 2004.
Both of them were national level gymnasts and professional coaches.
When it first opened, Angela Brokenshire said they were more focused on recreational introductory level classes, but as the community became more interested in their programming, they ended up selecting athletes to move from the recreational program to a more competitive gymnastics program.
In 2010, the gym relocated to its present location and has about 750 athletes in the recreational program and about 150 in the competitive program.
Zonneveld, 13, competed in the high-performance novice category and was crowned the floor champion, obtained a bronze medal on vault and a silver medal in the all-around competition.
According to Aaron Brokenshire, she is the second-best gymnast in the country under 13 years old.
She started gymnastics when she was just 18-months-old at the Cambridge Kips Gymnastics Club and said what she loves most about the sport is the satisfaction she feels after doing a really good routine. She said her results at nationals made her feel really happy.
“I was still shocked and surprised because I didn’t think I did that well,” said Zonneveld.
She said she loves attending the gym because of how supportive everyone is and because her coaches — the Brokenshires and Sarah Fischer — have good techniques and say the right things in order to make her gymnastics better.
Radencich, 14, competed in the JO Level 10 (age 12-15) category and represented Team Ontario in her first nationals appearance. She had a sixth-place finish on uneven bars and beam, and took seventh place on vault and the all-around competition.
She said what keeps her successful is setting goals for herself.
“I set goals and then I try to get there,” said Radencich. “I like to work hard because I feel accomplished when I do.”
Radencich started when she was 17-months-old at Guelph Saultos Gymnastics and came to Revolution when she was 12.
“I came here because the other club was focusing more on the recreational program so I wasn’t going to be able to get to where I want to go,” said Radencich.
She said she wants to pursue the sport for a long time and wants to obtain an athletic scholarship to a university in the United States.
In fact, this is the goal of all three of these athletes, as they look up to the four gymnasts who trained at their gym — Stefanie Merkle, Casey Carvalho, Sydney Townsend and Kristen Peterman who received athletic scholarships to various universities in the U.S.
According to Angela Brokenshire, Peterman came back from college to help the girls out at nationals, which meant a lot to them.
“She kept them calm and told them ‘hey I have been here before and you guys are doing great,’” said Angela Brokenshire.
Clarmo, 14, started when she was 18-months-old at Base Borden Gymnastics Club in Borden, Ont., and came to Revolution when she was around 10.
Along with Radencich, she also competed in the JO Level 10 category and represented Team Ontario. She came eighth place on vault and 13th in the all-around competition.
Radencich and Clarmo helped Team Ontario earn a silver medal.
Clarmo said she was proud of her results. “All year I have fallen on beam and both days I stuck my beam routine, so that was a highlight for me,” she said.
Clarmo finished all eight of her routines with no mistakes, which she said is a great feeling.
“It’s what you have been training for the whole year and if you do it right you are so proud because it is so stressful up there and it is hard,” said Clarmo.
According to Angela Brokenshire, it was a special moment at nationals as each of the girls performed eight routines for a total of 24, and 23 of them were performed with no falls.
“This is what we strive to accomplish, to be able to show that they can overcome the stress and the pressure of the event and show what they have been working on,” said Angela Brokenshire.
She said there are many different reasons why these three gymnasts are successful.
“They are extremely hard workers, they have a passion to improve and to excel at their sport,” said Angela Brokenshire.
“They are determined and gritty, so they definitely don’t let things get in their way. They are more than willing to get an obstacle and move past it and that’s definitely something that sets them apart.”
All three gymnasts train for about 27 hours per week and are at the gym every day except for Saturday. While training, Aaron Brokenshire said he wants them to find rewards in their daily progress.
“We try to get them to enjoy the journey and be happy with their small bits of progress each day,” said Aaron Brokenshire. “Then, if everything culminates with a huge success like it did for them at nationals, then that is just icing on the cake.
He expressed his happiness toward the amount of hard work these gymnasts put forth.
“They are learning and understanding that if you want something in life you have to work very hard at it,” said Aaron Brokenshire. “That’s a huge source of pride for us that they have already learned this huge lesson at such a young age.”