Nanaimo Gymnastics club students had a strong showing at the recent provincial championships. Makayla White (L) qualified for Canadian nationals in the level nine category while Tihanna Wright (R) won provincial gold in her level six division. (Louise Demers)

By Dan Marshall

Mat Life

Elite Nanaimo gymnasts stand out in online competitions

May 7, 2021 | 4:47 PM

NANAIMO — Local athletes have performed well in three virtual gymnastics competitions in 2021.

At the BC Provincial Championships in April, seven students from the Nanaimo Gymnastics School had top six finishes. Twelve year old Makayla White finished fourth overall in the high performance level nine category which qualified her for the 2021 Canadian Championships in June.

Coach Tracy Welbourn said only eight athletes at the school are able to perform as level nines.

“She’s pretty young for that level of gymnastics, she trains 22 hours a week right now. Mikayla kept training through COVID. We also did online conditioning, flexibility and some basics with an air floor, mats and a bar she had at home.”

Tihanna Wright won provincials in her level six category.

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Welbourn said the Grade 12 Dover Bay student is an excellent role model as a competitor and also now a coach at the gymnastics school.

“Tihanna has been amazing in all her online competitions this year. Seeing her stay active all throughout high school is a testament to female athletes and girls in sport.”

Both Gymnastics BC and Gymnastics Canada have moved to virtual formats for competitions.

The athletes have a one week window to video their routines and get them submitted for judging.

“We try to emulate a real competition as much as possible,” Welbourn said. “In some cases it would have been possible to delete performances and re-film routines but as coaches we want to set the athletes up for a strong year next year when they get to hopefully compete in person.”

It took about a week to get results back from provincials which Welbourn admitted was anti-climactic compared to the more immediate results of normal competition.

Sessions at the gymnastics school have changed a lot over the past year.

Coaches aren’t allowed to spot, everyone has to be farther apart and Welbourn noted the athletes miss the usual social interactions.

“The kids are adapting quite well. I think just having the gym to come to has been really good for having them be really mentally and physically engaged. It’s probably more of a normal spot for them than anywhere else.”

Nanaimo Gymnastics Club Provincial Results:
Level 9:
Makayla White: 4th on Vault, Beam and All Around, Bronze on Bars
Mila Stjepanovic: 6th on Beam, 5th on Vault
Mylah Vanden-Elsen: Silver on Vault
Samantha Jones: 6th on Bars and Floor

Level 8:
Ella Husband: 6th on Vault and Floor

Level 6:
Tihanna Wright: Bronze on Bars and Beam, Silver on Vault, Gold on Floor and All Around
Ella Creed: 5th on Bars and Bronze on Floor

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dan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @danmarshall77