More than 500 young gymnasts from across Ontario will be in Kingston this weekend for the 20th annual Trillium Blooms competition.
The meet scheduled for April 27-29 is a mandatory qualifier for the level 3-5 provincial championships. The Ontario Gymnastics Association organizes provincial championships depending on age and talent levels with one being the lowest. The event is also an invitational meet for up-and-coming gymnasts.
“It’s a huge event,” says Shelley Lee, the head coach at the Trillium Gymnastics Club.
“We’re expecting hundreds of talented athletes from across the province and we have a great group of parents who support their children and the gym club,” continued Lee. “In order for this type of competition to be successful, we rely on our volunteer parents and every year, they come through for us.”
One of the local athletes expected to do well at the invitational meet is 11-year-old Lola Kenney. She won the level-6 provincial championship on April 9, in Windsor.
“I did very well on the bars, beam and floor and my mom said if I win, I could get a phone,” said the Grade 6 student from Storrington Public School. “She kept her word and ordered it for me.”
The Trillium club is a not-for-profit, volunteer-operated gymnastics club on Fortune Crescent in Kingston.
They offer recreational and children’s programs as well as those for competitive and non-competitive athletes.
Coach Lee says this weekend is focused on their competitive gymnasts.
“There’s a tremendous amount of work ethic involved in being a competitive athlete,” added the club’s longtime coach.
“It’s a real balancing act between school, friends and training, but a competitive athlete learns some valuable life skills that will carry on with them when their gymnastic days are over.”
Comments