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The Jasper Gymnastics Club hosted the Northern Zones and Trials to Westerns from March 18 to 20, where all of the Jasper girls vying for a position at the upcoming provincials earned a spot.
The competition was held at the activity centre, which was a hive of activity that weekend, with a curling bonspiel and construction ongoing. Nadia Wassef, head coach for the Jasper club said there were a few hair-raising moments and computer glitches, but overall, everything went well.
“It had its moments where it was a bit stressful, other than that it went beautifully,” she said.
On the Friday evening, the equipment had to be cleared out of the gymnastics club spot to allow construction workers to work through the night on the roof. Wassef said it was a lot of work, but there was a lot of help to get everything done.
“Everybody made it work,” she said.
Many of the visiting athletes were surprised by the amazing facility the Jasper club has developed. New equipment arrived just weeks before the competition, giving the local girls a chance to familiarize themselves with it.
The weekend brought out spectators from Jasper to see the girls perform their various routines.
“That was nice to see,” Wassef said of the local support.
Many of the gymnasts stuck around after their turn on the bars, beam, vault and floor to watch the higher level gymnasts. Many families enjoyed spring break by staying a few extra days in town, and taking advantage of lift ticket deals for Marmot Basin. About 240 athletes participated all together.
The Jasper girls who earned a spot at provincials will head to that competition on April 15 to 17. They get little time to rest as they were back at it the weekend after hosting the zones in Edmonton at the Wild Rose International Invitational. There they got the chance to see the Chinese Olympic gymnastics team perform.
“We’re on a marathon run,” Wassef said of the busy schedule.
Wild Rose International Invitational results:
Lauren Nissen, tie for 6th
Anastasia Gorontzy-Slack, 4th
Breanne Tassoni, 9th
Caitlin Zaniol, 12th
Madelaine Britt, 5th
Tannis Potter, 5th
Casey Salanski, 2nd
Northern Zones and Trials to Westerns results:
Casey Salanski, 2nd
Caitlyn Zaniol, 4th
Madelaine Britt, 5th
Lauren Nissen, 4th
Anastasia Gorontzy-Slack, 7th
Breanne Tassoni, 15th
Kiersten Polard, 20th |
