Left to right: Kaelyn Prytula, Sarah L'Abbe, Cohen L'Abbe, Michelle DuRussel, Paige Lightle, and Kara Thorpe. (Submitted Photo/Kara Thorpe)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Intl Competition

Sask gymnastics team qualifies for international event in Amsterdam

Jul 16, 2022 | 2:56 PM

An interprovincial gymnastics team will be competing in the Netherlands next year.

The group, which features 80 members from across Saskatchewan and Alberta, recently qualified to compete at Gymnaestrada, the largest general gymnastics exhibition in the world.

“There’s typically more participation in Gymnaestrada than there is in the Olympics,” said provincial coach Kara Thorpe.

Around 65 countries will be sending roughly 20,000 people to the competition. It does differ quite a bit from the Olympics as the event is less about winning and more about promoting and expanding gymnastics.

The team recently took part in a national competition in Edmonton which featured over 800 athletes, earning their spot in next year’s competition.

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Among the interprovincial team are five people from Prince Albert: Kaelyn Prytula, Sarah L’Abbe, Cohen L’Abbe, Michelle DuRussel, and Paige Lightle.

Thorpe explained they really define the group as they enjoy different aspects of gymnastics such as dancing, trampoline, and fitness.

“It’s coming together and making everyone’s unique movements shine in a piece of choreography and to put it next to Cirque du Soleil is kind of the end goal,” she said.

Along with different skills, the age of each member is all over the place as the youngest is 13 years old while the oldest is over 70.

To say qualifying for Gymnaestrada was a wild ride for the team might actually be an understatement.

“When you start training camps over Zoom because you can’t have gatherings it seems like a surreal goal,” added Thorpe.

Gymnaestrada is set to take place between July 30 and Aug. 5, 2023, in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow