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The Polarettes travelled to the Ed Vincent meet from Feb. 7-9. It was the club鈥檚 first time travelling Outside this season.

鈥淭his was a big one because it was kind of our season opener,鈥� said head coach Kimberly Jones. 鈥淚t was our first out of territory meet of the season.鈥�

Eight gymnasts: Camille Belanger, Mackenzie Tonner, Amelie Guilbeault, Sascha Nelson, Jenna Henderson, Sabrina Hartland, Emma Duncan, and Gracie Sands made the trip.

The gymnasts were either JO (Junior Olympic) 6 or JO 3. Jones said the meet was open to any gymnast, however, it was mandatory for the Arctic Winter Games athletes.

Jones said the group who travelled was a mix of veterans to JO 6 and newcomers.

鈥淔or some of the kids its their second year of JO 6 and were hoping to get some results and some it was there first ever JO 6 competition or JO 3 competition outside of the territory,鈥� said Jones.

鈥淭hat gives them a different perspective on where they are at. As a first-year, you don鈥檛 really know where you stand. It鈥檚 very easy in a small club like ours to think you are doing high-quality gymnastics based on your surroundings.鈥�

Jones said for all the gymnasts, it was important to go out and compete and see other athletes in their level.

鈥淵ou learn a lot by watching others,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淭o get them out and see some incredible kids in JO 6 was inspiring for them and made them realize there is still some work they can do in the level.鈥�

Before travelling to Ed Vincent, the last competition was the trials for Arctic Winter Games. Jones said this meet was great because it re-lit the 鈥渃ompetitive fire.鈥�

For the JO 3s Jones said it was nice to see them compete because during training she doesn鈥檛 get to see them perform.

鈥淥n a whole, it was nice to see because I rarely see those kids train,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淎s head coach, it was nice to see those kids one-on-one and see where they were at. On top of that, they both medalled.

鈥淚t was nice to see in terms of program consistency. It was exciting to see they鈥檙e working hard and the message is getting delivered across the board that we are out to show strong gymnastics.鈥�

When the season began, Jones said the club made a concerted effort to improve their floor routines.

鈥淥ur highest scores across the boards were on floor so that was exciting for us as a club developmentally,鈥� said Jones.

To improve on floor, Jones said they took time from training vault, so improving there will be the next project.

鈥淲e took some vault training time and put it toward floor and that showed,鈥� said Jones. I think it will be OK in the future because we can catch back up on it.鈥� Jones said at the JO 3 and JO 6 levels, results don鈥檛 mean as much as learning to compete.

鈥淚n JO 3-JO 6 they are all in the learning to compete stage,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淕ymnastics can be hard because so many kids get medals and ribbons so often because they narrow down the categories so small.

鈥淚t can be hard to get the kids to not focus on that and just see it as a developmental step. For me, it鈥檚 a developmental step. The results are bonus. I want to go out and show good gymnastics but it鈥檚 not about the podium at this level.

鈥淭he kids are starting to learn the more we go out and compete that they can just go out and do their gymnastics and the results will come to them as long as they are trying their best.鈥� Jones said Ed Vincent has no impact on future meets, but competitions like Nationals, Canada Games or Arctics are the meets to compete to win.

鈥淭o get to that point you need to have a process and you need to have failure and success.

That鈥檚 what this meet was about, it鈥檚 a stepping stone.鈥�

After Ed Vincent was over, the Arctic Winter Games team stayed in Alberta to train at the Altadore Gymnastics Club.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been wanting to do a training camp with them for a while and the head coach there is also a judge for Arctics. She was also an athlete at the Fort McMurray Games,鈥� said Jones.

鈥淚t was the perfect situation. We did two trainings a day, each day. On the last day, they were judged. We hired two judges to give them personal feedback to take that back with them to the gym.鈥�

Jones said it was important for the girls to get a different perspective on their routines from different coaches.

鈥淚t鈥檚 different eyes,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淲e are so secluded here and sometimes you need to hear it from someone else. It鈥檚 nice to get a different perspective from other coaches.

鈥淚t鈥檚 also nice to get the kids around other kids who have different goals and different intensity levels and who they aren鈥檛 used to training with every day. That was very motivating for the kids.

鈥淵ou show up to camp and want to show off a little bit so they pushed themselves to new limits. You are challenged by them in a different way. It all makes it easier to take, it鈥檚 a hard sport. The more community they feel the better.鈥�

Jones said the training was part of the process of having the Arctics team peak for March.

鈥淲e have a strong team going into Arctics,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淲e are trying to keep them healthy and give them as many opportunities along the way for them to develop a sense of focus on their gymnastics.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 need to worry about scores, or medals or anything. Those things will happen if they focus on their training.鈥�

The Polarettes, including the Arctics team, will next compete at Gymnix in Quebec at the beginning of March.