Athletes from around the province will arrive in Powell River this week to compete in 2013 BC Secondary School Gymnastics Championships.
The event will begin at 8 am on Thursday, March 7 and run to the afternoon of Saturday, March 9 inside the gymnasium at Brooks Secondary School. All competitions will take place during school hours.
Cathy Fisher, who has been involved as a gymnastics teacher-sponsor for the past seven years, is helping to organize the event with Joyce Percey, who is the executive director for Powell River Gymnastics Society.
BC is divided into eight zones. Both public and private schools from around the province are sending teams. All teams coming to the provincials participated in trials and won berths in their zone. A group of Prince George students is travelling to the event, but most competitors come from the Lower Mainland. Powell River has a team of 20 competing.
Both boys and girls of various abilities will compete. “It’s not just a petite girl thing,” said Fisher.
High school gymnastics is divided up from level one to level five. Because there are many more athletes competing as beginners, level one is broken into junior and senior levels. Juniors are grades eight and nine. Seniors are grades 10 to 12.
“It just allows more kids to come because there are only a certain number you can take at each level,” said Fisher. “You can actually start gymnastics in grade 12 for the first time ever and qualify for level one. Or you could be in gymnastics since you were three years old and competing on the national level and compete at level five. There’s a huge range.”
Boys at all levels will compete on Thursday morning after the opening ceremonies. Girls’ events will start after lunch on Thursday.
Level four and five girls will compete on Thursday afternoon.
A banquet at Dwight Hall is planned for Thursday evening with a masquerade ball theme. After the dinner, organizers have planned for a deejay to play music to accompany a dance. Gymnasts are invited to bring thrift-store formal attire to wear to the event.
Friday night, coaches and teacher-sponsors will gather for a general meeting of the BC Sports Gymnastics Association. Gymnasts will have a pool party at Powell River Recreation Complex.
Gymnastics equipment for the competition is being trucked to Powell River and will be set up today, Wednesday, March 6.
The gymnasium will be transformed to host the event. The floor will have large jigsaw-like pieces of mat with springs placed over top. Equipment, such as balance beams, vaults, uneven bars and a pommel horse, will be set up around the gym.
“It won’t even look like the Brooks gym,” said Fisher.
With just over 200 students competing and more than 50 judges and coaches coming to Powell River, hotels and motels will be busy.
“We’ve got rooms booked across town,” she said. “It’s quite a lot of people we have coming to town for a few days.”
The event is open to the public and because it is a school event, Brooks students are encouraged to cheer for their classmates who are competing. The Powell River Twisters cheer team will be performing between events.
Fisher is happy Powell River is hosting the championships. “It’s such a great experience because we don’t often get this kind of opportunity to see this level of competition here,” she said.
For more information about the event readers can contact Fisher at 604.485.5212.
