It was a successful weekend in and away from the gym July 27-30 for the Airdrie Edge Gymnastics Club. The club had a group of 12 athletes participate in the Canada Cup trampoline and tumbling competition.
“We did exceptionally well,” said Jamie Atkin, the club’s coach. “There was a mixture of ‘wows’ and ‘phenomenals’ and ‘averages,’ but the group as a whole did absolutely great. Every athlete had a personal best where they stepped up to a new level.”
For Corissa Boychuk and Janelle Desmarais-Moen, the club’s two senior athletes, the competition was a stepping stone to the Trampoline and Tumbling World Championships, which will be held in November in Birmingham, England. Boychuk took the gold medal in the double mini trampoline event while Moen came in fifth. The next step for the two is a pre-worlds evaluation in Spain.
“Everything went according to plan,” said Boychuk of the Canada Cup event. “I worked really hard and I feel good going into Spain, but I’m definitely not ready yet. I need more training.”
“My goal was just to finish the skills and make them all count,” said Moen. “Having everyone here to support me was nice and competing with the different countries was a blast.”
While Atkin says that expecting to perform at a level to be considered for the national team is the norm for the senior athletes, he also said that there were a few surprises over the weekend.
Bianca Pye was among the athletes who qualified for the sport’s equivalent of the Canadian junior team, winning gold in the Women’s Open double mini trampoline event and silver in the tumbling event.
“It was kind of a surprise,” said Atkin of Pye’s achievement. “It definitely wasn’t a main focus of what we were trying to do. We moved her up to a new level and she did new routines that are a step up for her. She did them so well and they ranked her top four in the country.”
The competition was also the swan song for Brie Yep, a long time Edge member. Twenty-year-old Yep has been with the club for nine years and is going on to university in Rhode Island. Despite battling a knee injury, Yep finished fourth in the double mini trampoline open finals and won silver in the trampoline open finals.
“It was her final kick at competing and she had a great meet,” said Atkin. “She hurt her knee, but she toughed it out and performed an exceptional routine. I’m happy that she finished off in a way that she was proud of.”
Apart from their medal haul and personal achievements, the club’s other success of the weekend was hosting the event itself, which has earned rave reviews from the other teams.
“It was a little bit over the top how complimentary the teams were. They commented on our training facility and how fantastic it is and the quality of the Genesis Place facility as a whole,” said Atkin.
According to Atkin, Gymnastics Canada has given the club the go-ahead to host a similar event next spring and will exercise the possibility of Airdrie hosting a larger event in the future.
