Two members of Kingston’s Trillium Gymnastics Club will represent their province next month at a prestigious gymnastics competition.
Daley Clarke, Alex Duggan and their coach Kelli Gregory are headed to Anaheim for the California Grand Invitational. Both Clarke and Duggan caught the attention of Team Ontario officials at a provincial qualifying meet last month in Orangeville, Ont.
“This is such a great opportunity,” said Clarke.
The 13-year-old student at Vanier Public School was pleased with her overall performance at the qualifying meet.
“We started with bars and I had a clean performance,” Clarke said.
“That gave me a lot of confidence going forward. I felt pretty good about my showing on the beam and on the floor and my vault was pretty good as well. I was surprised I made the team but I’m so excited about going to California. It’s going to be a great experience.”
Qualifying for Team Ontario was not easy. There were 90 gymnasts from across the province trying out and only eight were selected.
“I can’t wait to get there,” said Alex Duggan, who is headed to the American west coast for the second year in a row.
“It was such a wonderful experience,” the 14-year-old Duggan said.
“I had so much fun and the weather was beautiful. I competed against some of the top young gymnasts from the United States and Canada. I made a lot of new friends and learned a lot from different coaches and judges. I look forward to doing it all over again.”
Both girls are coached by Gregory, a longtime mentor at the Trillium Gymnastics Club.
She, too, was named to the Team Ontario staff for the competition in January, and both ladies are thrilled that their coach will be joining them on this gymnastics adventure.
“Kelli is such a great coach,” Clarke said.
“She helps me to step out of my comfort zone. Without her, I don’t know if I would be the gymnast that I am today.”
The California Grand Invitational will be held from Jan 2-6, 2020 at the Anaheim Convention Center.