Gymnasts twirl to top-10 finishes
Yukon gymnasts cracked the top-10 in four individual events at the 2013 Western Canadian Championships in Winnipeg last week, leaving Polarettes head coach Cat O'Donovan satisfied with their showing.
Yukon gymnasts cracked the top-10 in four individual events at the 2013 Western Canadian Championships in Winnipeg last week, leaving Polarettes head coach Cat O'Donovan satisfied with their showing.
Level 4 gymnasts Caitlyn Venasse, 15, and 13-year-olds Fayne O'Donovan and Reena Coyne attended the high-profile meet 鈥� their first time at a tournament of that level.
Coach O'Donovan said the plan is to begin readying her top athletes for the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George, B.C.
"It was good,鈥� O'Donovan told the Star. "It was the biggest competition they've ever been to, and our goal was to see if we could hit any top-10's. I feel overall, we did pretty good. They definitely belonged there. Now we just need to add a few harder skills.鈥�
She added that attending the meet was a "great experience鈥� and an "amazing opportunity to compete with the top gymnasts in western Canada.鈥�
High nerves saw the girls struggle with their balance on the first event 鈥� the beam. But after receiving a pep talk from their coach, the girls managed to fare better in their final three events.
"The balance beam is a tough event to start on, because if you're jittery or nervous, it's going to show,鈥� said O'Donovan. "They kind of bombed the event, and I pulled them aside and got them to refocus.鈥�
Venasse managed two top-10 finishes in Level 4 Open, finishing tenth on both the bars and the vault. She would finish 16th overall.
Meanwhile, Fayne O'Donovan 鈥� Cat's daughter 鈥� also collected two top-10 finishes, on the floor and on the vault on her way to a 13th overall finish in the Level 4 Novice category.
Coyne also competed in Level 4 Novice, finishing 15th overall. Her top events were the bars and floor, where she finished 12th in each.
The Polarettes competed last Thursday night, then stayed to watch the national and elite-level athletes on Friday and Saturday.
"This was a great opportunity for the girls,鈥� said O'Donovan, citing inspirational and motivational elements.
"My goal was for them to sit there and see the skills, and see what girls are doing at their age and their level and be inspired.鈥�
The Polarettes will now focus on a gymnastics meet in Juneau on the May long weekend, as well as an invitational meet in Kelowna in early June.
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