A former alternate has moved to the top of the class.
Mountain Shadows’ Aidan Doyle qualified for the Alberta Gymnastic Championships later this month by winning the P3 Novice category at the Southern Zone championships in Red Deer March 21-22.
“I was 13th last year, I was an alternate— I just barely missed,” said Doyle, a student a St. John Paul II Collegiate.
She didn’t leave any room for doubt this time.
With the top 12 in each division advancing to provincials in each category, Doyle finished no. 1 overall in P3 Novice by winning the bars and vault, finishing third on the floor and eighth on the balance beam.
“I worked super hard over the summer and I think I know most of my competition now,” Doyle said. “I tried to keep my routines nice and clean and take things one step at a time.
“I get really stressed out sometimes for competitions.”
She put some stress on her competitors by turning in a nearly flawless performance. However, she nearly went the wrong way during her first-place bar routine.
“I was so close on my handstand from going over the wrong way,” she said with a laugh. “I was up there for a while came down the right way though… Once I did my dismount I was really happy.”
She plans to follow a similar strategy at provincials on April 17-19 in Lethbridge.
“I just want to take one thing at a time and try to stay on all the events,” she said.
Ten-year-old Brooke Spurway is also going to provincials after winning the overall in the P2 Argo division.
She won the floor, and was second in the other three disciplines.
A slight change to her routine on the floor helped lead to her first-place finish.
“I do a tuck (a back-flip) now and I stuck my landing,” the Westmount School student said of her landing.
Spurway’s favourite event is the balance beam. She finished out of first-place in that discipline by .1 of a point.
“That is like missing a toe-point – it is so minimal,” said Mountain Shadows coach Michelle Bahr. “(Brooke’s) strength is she is so clean. Everything she does, there is not a lot of room for error. She was consistent and that is the key to doing well in gymnastics.”
Mountain Shadows’ Taylor Friesen also took the first-place route to qualify for provincials. The Calgary junior high school student was first overall in the P2 Novice division. She took spot in the bars and vault.
She finished first in bars and vault.
“For my bars I really focused on my kip-cast (for my dismount),” Friesen said.
“If you don’t get your cast, you lose .8 automatically.”
Her landing was as gentle as butterfly setting down onto a flower.
Consistency was the key to her overall performance.
Friesen scored over 12 in three of the four disciplines.
“My score was close to 50 and that is my highest overall score ever,” Friesen said. “I have been training very hard for zones.”
She worked out during the off-season to build up her strength for handstands, which helped her on the bars and beams.
Friesen finished sixth and eighth, respectively, in the floor and balance beam competition.
She is working on her beam routine for provincials.
“I’m hoping to do better at provincials,” she said.
This is the most members the Okotoks club has qualified for provincials in the last four years.
“The girls are working real hard and performing clean,” Bahr said.
The other Mountain Shadows provincial qualifiers were: P2 Argo —Brooke Spurway, Kate Ayotte; P2 Tyro —Rebecca Lane, Kamryn Felstad, Ashley Gillespie, Saveya Saravia, Ella Benson and Hannah Proctor; P2 Novice — Taylor Friesen, Emilie Dionne, Rachel Shortridge, Kaitlyn Hogan, Megan Petrie, Lily Dong; P3 Argo —Breckyn Bahr; P3 Tyro — Kiara Newhook, Lexie Zacharias, Allie Ayotte; P3 Novice — Aidan Doyle; P3 Open — Camille Hutka; P4 Novice — Callie Zacharias and Sydni Paish; P4 Open —Madison Chiasson; P5 Open — Jordyn Bahr, Victoria Paish and Kylee Rude.
Busy month
Things will be jumping for Mountain Shadows the next few weeks. After sending 20 competitors to provincials this weekend, the club is hosting its own Mountain Magic Meet on April 24-26 at the Pason Centennial Arena.
