Submitted by Glacier Gymnastics
Nelson’s Glacier Gymnastics hosted the 2024 Kootenay Zone Championships on May 4-5. Three hundred gymnasts from Trail, Castlegar, Nelson, Fernie, Cranbrook, Invermere and Penticton participated in the event vying for individual all-around and event titles.
The Glacier team won 99 medals, 16 of which were podium All Around Championship medals.
Glacier Gymnastics’ recent provincial championships participants continued their winning streak in the Canadian Competitive Program (CCP) Level 6 and 7 categories.
The CCP Level 7 gymnasts, just off of a stellar performance at provincials where they won the first-place team trophy, swept the podium in the all around, with Rebecka van Hellemond taking the gold, Molly Anderson the silver and Jersey Skolka the bronze. Anika Denkovski claimed the silver on bars and Emerson Mandseth won bronze on vault.
In the CCP Level 6, 13-and-under category, Lillianna Mucha won the bronze all around, gold on floor and silver on beam. In the 14-and-over age group, Elsa Troutet, won the all around bronze medal, capturing gold on floor and bronze on vault and beam.
Head coach Sandra Long said that the momentum of the CCP Glacier Team is still building.
“The success of the team this season has been surprising and very motivating. They have an ongoing positive outlook and energy and continue to be persistent in their goals to perfect skills and polish routines.”
In the Xcel Diamond category, Anouk Prud’homme captured gold in the all around, as well as on vault, bars, beam and floor.
Glacier dominated the podium in Xcel Gold under-12 category. Starting on top, Lia Keely with the all around gold, Juri Hirano with the all around silver and rounding out the podium, and Paisley Jarvis won the all around bronze medal. In the 13-and-over category, Adelaide Maley won the bronze all around, silver on beam and floor and bronze on vault.
The Xcel Silver category saw some other podium finishes. Highlights include: in the 9-10 age category, Paisley Martin won all around gold, Micah Anderson, all around bronze, Gemma Pauly, gold on beam, Mirah Benrabha, bronze on beam and Madeleine Grypma, bronze on floor.
In the age 10 category, Tui Melville captured all around bronze. In the ages 10-11 category, Lilyanna Hynes won silver on beam and Lily Tschan had the bronze on vault. In the age 11 category, Liv Campbell had the all around bronze and Thora Suomi won bronze on beam.
In age 12 category, Azuli Encisco Irwin took silver all around followed by teammate Leau Lassard with the silver all around, Mazzi Leblanc won silver on bars. In the 12-13 age group, Olive Kutcher was on top of the podium with an all around gold medal. In the 13-14 age category, Oveya Jordan won silver on floor.
The Glacier coaching team is delighted with the success of the Xcel team.
“Their dedicated training has paid off for them,” says Long. “If our new competitors continue their progress we will see a bigger and more successful team attending the B.C. Championships next season.”
The team is finishing the season strong and looking forward to preparing new skills for the next season.
Watch for Glacier’s fundraising promotions this spring as they try to offset the facility closure losses. Fundraising includes corporate sponsorship, tax refundable donations and an online 50-50 where one lucky community member can win $10,000!