The Yorkton Rhythmic Gymnastics Club recently held its annual Christmas performance at the Gloria Hayden Community Centre, showcasing routines learned this season.
The youngsters were joined in the performance by guest gymnasts from Esterhazy.
Club head coach Carol Antony says the season has started on a promising note with the club's membership doubling in size. She points out that the club has cut down its competitive numbers and increased the number of non-competitive or recreational gymnasts. Currently seven youngsters take part in the recreational program. "It's nice. We haven't had rec for a couple of years," Antony adds.
The main differences between the competitive and recreational gymnastics include lower costs, less travel time and less training time for the recreational gymnasts, Antony lists.
The lone competitive gymnast this year is 12 year-old Tessa Datema who has been training with the club for six years. Datema competed at the Saskatchewan Winter Games last February as the lone representative of the Parkland zone.
As well the club has Kirsten Jason, a coach-in-training working with the youngsters. Jason trained and competed with the Yorkton Gymnastics Club until the end of last season.
This year Datema trains for three hours a session twice a week for a total of six hours a week. The recreational gymnasts train from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursdays for an hour and a half, Anthony reports. "It used to be only an hour but you get nothing done in an hour," Anthony explains.
Many of the young gymnasts are beginners who are learning basic movement, basic balance, and basic pivots. They haven't started any jumps at this stage in their training because they need to develop control of their bodies before they can control it in the air, Antony points out.
Rhythmic gymnastics teaches youngsters how to be more fluid in their movement. It helps them control their bodies and be more aware of what their bodies are doing. A lot of times the kids work with an apparatus such as a ball, scarf, ribbon, rope or hoop. The sport combines dance with gymnastics, Antony sums up.
Antony has been involved with rhythmics for a long time. She began coaching as a 16 year-old, coached for five years, took a break from coaching and returned to work for some 10 plus years.
Antony announces the club will accept new registrations for the beginner group which starts in January. Anyone interested in rhythmic gymnastics or who would like more information about the club or the sport should contact Antony at (306) 742-5901.
The club will resume training on Thursday, January 6 at 4 p. m. Anyone who would like to come out to try rhythmic gymnastics or to see the sport and talk to the coach is invited to come to the club's training facility at the Gloria Hayden Community Centre.
