Vaillancourt wins Bronze at Provincial Qualifier

OTTAWA, ON - Two members of the Apollo Gymnastics Club travelled to the Ottawa Gymnastics Centre to attend their 1st Provincial Qualifying Meet held over the weekend. This was their first competitive experience of the season.

Taylor Vaillancourt, 10, won a bronze medal for her dynamic handspring vault. She also finished 7th on floor and 8th on the uneven bars. With an accumulative score of 44.0, she placed 6th in the Level 5 all-around.

“This is Taylor’s second year as a provincial athlete, and already she has shown vast improvement since last season. Her skills are more refined and she looks more confident during her routines” said Head Coach Jen Lavigne. “She should be very pleased with her results.”

Alison Fung had a spectacular floor routine, receiving only 1.15 points in deductions for her performance. She finished 4th on floor and was the recipient of the Judge’s Award on the event. Fung was selected out of more than 30 athletes as having the “most amplitude in her tumbling elements.” Fung also finished 8th on vault, 6th on the uneven bars and all-around in the level 7, 14 and up category.

“Alison has worked hard to increase her level of difficulty this year” said Lavigne. “She had 4 new elements added to her existing routines, including a new handspring vault with a full twist. With 7 weeks to go before the next event, I’m confident that she will be well prepared.”

This competition marked the first of three provincial qualifying meets used to determine which athletes will attend Ontario Cup (a semi-final competition used to advance athletes to Provincial Championships held in April). Qualified athletes will be determined based on rank after all gymnasts have had an opportunity to compete at 3 meets.

The provincial and invitational women’s team will travel to Nepean for the 2nd Qualifier and Invitational Competition held January 29th, 30th and 31st.

Submitted to BayToday.ca