For the past six weeks, Yorkton's Taryn Romanowich has been travelling to Regina in order to compete in the CrossFit Games Open Sectional competition. Over 26,000 athletes from around the world competed in the Open and the best ones move on to the Canada West Regionals. Thirty teams of three males and three females qualify for the Sectionals which will be held at the end of this month in Vancouver.
From there, there is a possibility that Romanowich could be headed to competition in Carson, California.
"This is the biggest one of my life," an excited-looking Romanowich told Yorkton This Week as she was getting ready to head to Regina for practice over the May 24 weekend.
"I'm leaving on Thursday for westerns," she said.
In terms of pressure facing her, she wasn't too sure what to expect but hinted that may change a little once she gets out there, at the westerns.
"Pressure? Yeah, I guess so," she said with a smile.
She said she and five others who will be practicing together for westerns are in for a total of six gruelling workouts, she anticipates.
"The top person gets one point for each event (they win)."
She said that going into westerns, her overall "chances are pretty good".
Romanowich said aside from the actual training she does, "nutrition is big".
It's challenging."
She's been working lately as a coach, too, she says, helping people get into shape through a number of vigorous workouts.
It's been a struggle finding a suitable place to continue workouts, but she seems to have struck gold in her new home on Broadway St., near Second Avenue.
"It's been challenging training in Yorkton since the gym burned down last summer. Without anywhere else for functional fitness training, I trained in an unheated garage over the winter. And I opened a functional fitness training facility (near Broadway) this spring where I could train properly as well as train clients," she explained.
Robin Maier, owner of CrossFit Regina said: "The top three females and males make up our team.
Taryn showed her athletic abilities and placed second at CrossFit Regina's tryouts for the team which will go to Vancouver this coming weekend. We are pleased to have her as part of our team."
Says Romanowich: "It's exciting to reach my goals and head into the biggest competition of my life! I look forward to representing Yorkton.
Part of her plans for the summer is to hold hockey and football training sessions for local athletes.
One of her recent clients was the Sacred Heart Saints senior boys' football team, who enjoyed one of their best seasons in school history this past season. They were the first SHHS football team to advance to Conference III playoffs and record a victory.
Another one of Romanowich's projects was Davis Vandane, a 19-year-old hockey player who moved quickly through the hockey ranks in the past year or two. Not long ago, he was skating for the Midget AAA Yorkton Harvest. Then he played a short stint with the Junior 'A' Yorkton Terriers. Then he was picked up by the Western Hockey League's Saskatoon Blades, from there he wound up two wins shy of playing in the league's final with the Spokane Chiefs.
He credits pretty much everything to Romanowich's training system.
"I wasn't working out to my full capacity," says Vandane of his exercise regime prior to getting going with Romanowich over at Function in Yorkton.
"With her, it's kind of upbeat. It definitely helps you."
Vandane, who's Chiefs lost 4-2 in a best-of-seven series to the Portland Winter Hawks, said anyone thinking of taking it up, should definitely test out the classes at Function.
"If you can do it, do it. It's the best way to advance your goals."
Vandane said Romanowich put him through functional fitness including "lots of squats, cardio and sprints".
When asked if he said he felt a difference when he put on his skates in Spokane this season, Vandane replied, "oh yeah!".
He added that he felt he didn't even need to work quite as hard to build up his stride because he said it came to him more naturally then it did before.
Vandane has been playing nearly all of his life and said the difference between training with Romanowich and his previous routine was "probably the intensity".
It was a really hard workout, really challenging," he closed.
