By Bryan Eneas

P.A. gymnasts continue to fly high

Mar 21, 2017 | 3:28 PM

In December, a Prince Albert gymnast qualified for an event few athletes from Saskatchewan have ever attended, Elite Canada.

Fourteen-year-old Serra Gillis was able to come away from her most recent meet, Gymnix International in Montreal with some impressive results to show for her effort.

Gillis placed seventh on bars, sixth on the vault event, third on the floor events and she placed seventh overall in a competition which featured gymnasts from around the world.

“It went surprisingly well cause I was a bit nervous for it, but I just decided to have fun with it,” Gillis said.

She said at last year’s competition she was competing in a different gym which had less pressure, but she was in a new venue.

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Gymnix presented Gillis with a unique challenge; performing solo on a raised platform.

“That was a little bit more stressful, but it was more fun,” Gillis said. “All the events are higher up.”

Being in a different gym put her further from her coach Mike Amouri which made things a bit different for him.

“It’s a little nerve-wracking also as a coach… usually I can be very close to her,” Amouri said. “Really, I give her a final word and then she walks up the stairs and she’s up out about 20 feet away from me.”

According to Amouri, Gillis still has tons of room to grow as an athlete.

“Her potential is only at like 55 [to] 60 per cent, there’s still a lot more she can be learning,” he said. “She just needs to trust herself and be a bit more of a lion and go for it.”

Based on Gillis’ score at Gymnix, she qualified automatically for the Western Canadian Championships in Brandon at the end of April according to Amouri.

Her coach of seven years, Amouri said she did so well at Gymnix he treated her to a Quebec novelty.

“He bought me a poutine,” Gillis said with a laugh. “It was really good, I’m never going to be able to eat another poutine that’s not from Quebec, it’s not going to be the same.”

Gillis has two competitions left this year outside of the Western Canadian Championships. She’ll be in Montreal again at the end of May for Nationals which take place after the Saskatchewan provincial meet in the middle of May.

Aerials gymnast returns from first Sask First Gymnastics

Fourteen-year-old Dilynn Bell has been doing gymnastics for the last decade. She’s putting in nine hours a week training to perfect her routine.  

Recently Bell qualified for Sask First Gymnastics, a team of gymnasts from around the province. She recently returned to Prince Albert after her first competition with the team.

“It was really nerve-wracking; I kinda didn’t know what to expect because it was my first gym Sask comp[etition],” Bell said. “Afterwards it wasn’t that bad, it was just more like a job and I did it. I was proud I didn’t fall or anything.”

She walked away from the meet with a first place in her favourite event, the double mini, a trampoline event.

“It was really motivating, just to keep trying harder and harder, trying to get harder routines so I can get more first place[s],” Bell said.

Bell said she wants to compete to have fun; she aspires to attend World Gymnaestrada, the world’s largest gymnastics showcase. At a competitive level, she hopes to reach Nationals next year.

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas