Apollo Gymnasts at provincials

Three athletes from the Apollo Gymnastics Club competed at the prestigious Provincial Championships held in Grimsby over the weekend.

Alison Fung, 12, performed a dynamic handspring vault and placed 10th on the event. She was also 12th on floor and finished 28th all-round.

In the level 6, age 12 and 13 category, the top 45 athletes from across Ontario had qualified for the event. Fung worked hard not only to attain the skills necessary to move up a full level from last year, but also to obtain the demanding score to attend Provincial Championships.

Victoria Ryman, 15, and Samantha McParland, 16 competed in the level 6 age 14 and up division, in a field of 35 competitors.

Ryman performed a cleanly executed bar routine and received a 5th place ribbon for her efforts. She missed the gold medal by less than 0.15 points. Ryman danced and tumbled through her floor exercise, and finished 11th on the event, despite the technical difficulties experienced from the sound system. Ryman finished the day 17th in the all-around competition.

McParland demonstrated some amazing tumbling during her floor routine and placed 9th on the event. She was also 10th on vault and 12th on the uneven bars. McParland had an uncharacteristic fall, which dropped her from 6th to 15th on the balance beam. The unfortunate mistake also dropped her over-all ranking from 12th position to 20th over-all.

“All 3 of the girls moved up from level 5 last year, and they did extremely well considering they added more difficult elements and connections to their routines,” said Apollo’s Women’s Coach Jen Lavigne.

“I am very pleased with their progress and their accomplishments.”

Apollo’s provincial and interclub athletes will now prepare for the upcoming Gymtrix invitational competition, and the much anticipated year-end Performance Night held in June.

Submitted to BayToday.ca