The Jasper Gymnastics Club is getting ready for their biggest event yet – and it’s happening right at home. 

The club is hosting the Northern Zones from March 18 to 20 at the Jasper Activity Centre, when 250 gymnasts will compete to qualify for the provincial championships. It is the biggest competition the club has hosted to date, and things are starting to get organized for the big weekend. 

“We’re getting there,” said head coach Nadia Wassef. “Things are coming together.”

The club received  new equipment they required for the competition just in time for a performance for Jasper Elementary School and École Desrochers on Feb. 18 – exactly a month ahead of the competition. 

The 250 gymnasts that will be coming won’t be alone either. Most of the competitors will bring their families, coaches and other supporters. Wassef said the town will be packed with families. 

“It’s going to be hopping in the restaurants,” she said. “People may be wanting to bring their families and spend an extra day or so.”

Wassef says the competition may even coincide with Edmonton schools’ spring break, which could keep families here even longer. There has been a lot of excitement about Jasper hosting the event so far. 

Parks Canada will be helping out to support the families with park gate passes, and Marmot Basin is offering the athletes lift passes so they can hit the hill if they have a day off from the competition. 

The zones will see gymnasts from level one all the way to national level athletes. Wassef said it’s a great opportunity for the local athletes to see great talent right at home, and will be very inspirational for the girls.

“They’re pretty excited,” Wassef said.

The competition will be a try out for the provincial championships. The girls have been working hard so that they can qualify backed by a home crowd. The top 12 competitors in Jasper will qualify to move onto provincials. 

The girls have the advantage of a home crowd and familiar equipment, but Wassef says they are used to travelling to compete, and using other equipment. 

There will be spectator space available, and Wassef hopes Jasper will come out and support their athletes. There will be space beside the equipment and also upstairs overlooking the entire room. That weekend the activity centre will also be hosting a curling bonspiel, which is sure to have the building packed. 

The girls recently returned from a great meet in St. Albert, where each athlete brought back at least a medal or two. The meet was called the Sweetheart of a Meet to coincide with Valentine’s Day, and was hosted by the Dynamyx Gymnastic Club. Wassef said she was extremely proud of the girls. 

“They were calm and confident,” she said. 

The girls were competing against some of the western Canadian gymnastic scene’s toughest clubs, but the pressure didn’t get to Jasper’s athletes. 

The girls’ top finishes were as follows: Caitlin Zaniol was first all around, Kiersten Polard placed seventh all around, Casey Salanski was second all around, Madelaine Britt was first on vault and third all around, Lauren Nissen was first on floor and Anastasia Gorontzy-Slack placed fifth on floor. 

Wassef said the experience will help them when they host their competition at home. Before that, however, the girls will head off to Calgary in the next few weeks for one last meet before they get to perform at home. 

At the Feb. 18 performance for École Desrochers and Jasper Elementary School, the girls got to show off their skills for their peers to celebrate National Gymnastics Day, which was actually held in January. The girl’s busy competition schedule put off the performance until last week. The club hosts the two schools each year, and the girls always enjoy showing their friends what they work so hard at. 

The Northern Zone and Trials to Westerns will be held in Jasper at the activity centre from March 18 to 20. Wassef said volunteers are needed to help make the event a success. 

“The more volunteers we have the easier it is for us to run this,” she said. “People are pretty excited to be involved.”

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Wassef at wassef1@telus.net