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P.A. gymnasts test their strength at training camp

May 1, 2016 | 3:54 PM

Gymnasts spent the weekend tumbling, flipping and stretching- all in pursuit of the perfect routine.

Gymnastics Saskatchewan hosted two training camps this weekend, one in Prince Albert for provincial-level athletes and another in Saskatoon for national-level athletes.

“It’s exciting to be able to have a training camp here in Prince Albert. Typically P.A. athletes have to go to Saskatoon and Regina, so we are very lucky to be able to host this event and have a high-performance coach come out and coach our beginning-level provincial athletes,” said Prince Albert Aerials Gymnastics Club coach Kara Thorpe.

She said the high-performance coach spent Saturday observing drills by the athletes and Sunday giving them pointers on how to fix common issues and fine-tune their routines.

The training camp came at a good time for the club’s athletes, who will be competing in the Provincial Championships in May. Six of them have also qualified for the Western Canada Cup in May and one has qualified for the Canadian Championships in June.

Dilynn Bell, 13, qualified for Westerns and said the intensive training she received was worthwhile. “It’s kind of a good warmup, good drills, it’s amazing.”

Brent Ertman, who qualified for nationals for the trampoline program, was really happy he was getting a chance to compete.

“It’s really fun because they don’t always put the artistic, the rhythmic and the tumbling and trampoline groups together in one big nationals, but they are this year…It’s really exciting to go with all different types of gymnasts and make new friends from different levels and categories,” he said.

He said the training camp is the perfect way to prepare before a major competition.  

“They are super important (training camps) just to get feedback from different coaches,… to train with different perspectives because one coach might say something different from another coach that might help you through something that you have been working on for a long time.

The training camp took place on Saturday April 30 and Sunday May 1, at the Prince Albert Aerials Gymnastics Club.

 

jkadzviti@panow.com

Twitter: @julietkadzviti