Six members from the North Bay Gymtrix Gymnastics team traveled to Orlando Florida this past weekend to compete in one of the largest Invitational gymnastics competitions held in the U.S. The Presidential Classic, held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports venue on the Disney property, attracted over 3,000 gymnasts of all ages and levels from twenty seven countries.
Twelve-year-old Emily Mah brought home three medals after competing in the Level 5 division. Mah was the Silver medalist on Vault and the Bronze winner on Beam. She was also the Bronze medalist All Around (all four event scores combined).
In the Level 6 division –ages 13 and 14 years, Tihana Draves won the Silver medal for her Uneven Bar routine while team mate Katie Robertson won the Silver medal for Vault. Draves and Robertson were 6th and 7th respectively in the All Around group standings. Kate Mah was 6th place on Vault and finished 8th All Around.
Eleven-year-old Emma Robertson was 5th place on Vault and finished in 8th place All Around in the Level 5 category.
Ten-year-old Jack Mah, competing for the first time in a competition of this caliber, narrowly missed a top three finish on Floor Exercise by only a few tenths. His score of 9.65 in the Level 5 group landed him in 4th place on Floor among a group of experienced competitors. Mah was also 9th place on Vault.
There were many highlights from the competition including the presence of legendary Russian gymnast Svetlana Boginskaya who was the medal presenter at the Level 6 Awards Ceremony. Famously known as the “Goddess of Gymnastics” in the late eighties, Boginskaya was a three-time Olympic Champion, winning an individual Gold medal in Vault at the 1988, and team Golds in 1988 and 1992.
The various Gymtrix teams are looking forward to the next round of competitions including those in Ottawa, Sudbury, Vaughan and Burlington. The season will round up at the club’s own Sunshine Classic Invitational which will be held at Nipissing University at the end of May. Gymtrix teams are coached by Tara Alger, Robyn Grigg, Marc Pilon, Erin Grigg, Nicki Chretien and Bill Rhoads.
Photo of (Left to right): Nicki Chretien, Emma Robertson, Katie Robertson, Tihana Draves, Kate Mah, Jack Mah, Emily Mah, Bill Rhoads
