Skiers and gymnasts are combining forces in preparation for the upcoming season.

Although that’s been the scene the last few weeks at the Jasper Gymnastics Club, it has been working out well as the Jasper freestyle ski team has been training at the gymnastics club in preparation for their upcoming season that starts this week.

The freestyle ski team, along with a snowboarder and some ski racers have been doing core strength training at the club, including using some of the new equipment like a trampoline that was recently purchased thanks to fundraising efforts and the Jasper Legion.

“These are the competitive ski team members. So we’ve been doing core strength, flexibility, and also, we have a new trampoline in our gym, so we’ve been doing some trampoline work also, so that’s been really fun,” said Jasper Gymnastics Club coach Nadia Wassef. “It’s kind of nice to see two sports organizations work hand in hand, because often I know in these kinds of small towns people like to keep themselves kind of in one little zone.”

Freestyle ski coach Chris Peel says they are lucky they’ve got some small town connections to make this collaboration work.

“We’re lucky that Nadia’s nephew is involved with the program. So we have that small town connection, so that’s how we got in no problem.”

Peel says it’s quite common for freestyle teams to train in gyms, especially at higher levels, and emphasized that the core strength that they are gaining and air sense will help them once the season starts.

“Anything to make them aware in the air, being on a trampoline or diving boards or water ramps, whatever it is, it all makes a difference to these guys,” he said of the team being able to use the trampoline.

While the skiers have been training in preparation for the upcoming season - which most will start practising on the hill on Friday - the gymnastics club has some girls training for trials at the Alberta Winter Games coming up in December.

“I’m taking four girls from our team to go try out. It will be a long shot because there are six spots to make a team per zone in Alberta, so it’s not an easy task, but they’ve been working really hard to see if any of them can get on the team,” Wassef said.

The Alberta Winter Games teams are divided up into zones, with Jasper landing in the Spruce Grove, St. Alberta, Sherwood Park zone. Gymnasts from these areas will compete in a trials competition on Dec. 13 in Cold Lake where the winners will compete later on the same team at the Alberta Winter Games.

As for the young girls mixing with the older boys in the gym, Magda Mahler, who has two sons on the ski team, said the first day shook things up a bit, but now they are used to it.

“I think it’s a bit of a change for the gymnastics club to have big boys in the room as opposed to just girls,” she said. “I think the first day, even the little kids, the little girls were like, whoa (who are these guys). Now they are used to being together. I think these guys, they needed all the concentration to do the exercises, they didn’t notice anything about the little girls (watching them).”