Polarettes gymnasts are trying to raise the bar for their performance on the uneven bars. It appears to be working.
Three members of the Whitehorse gymnastics club scored their best finishes on the uneven bars at the 2017 B.C. Gymnastics Championships in Port Coquitlam, April 7-9.
“Last year when I first got here we recognized bars as a weakness for Polarettes and we’re starting to see those results turn around now, which is great,” said Polarettes head coach Kimberly Jones.
“A couple of years ago there were a lot of older athletes who on vault tend to have a little more success because their bodies are a little more powerful as they get older. So I’m hoping to see our vault scores go up as our athletes mature and get a little bit older and more experienced in their careers.”
Polarettes Emily King, Maude Molgat and Lily Witten notched their highest finishes on bars at their first B.C. championships.
King, who was competing in Junior Olympic 8, placed fifth all-around out of 19 gymnasts with a score of 35.465.
She placed fourth on bars, missing the bronze by just 0.083. King also took seventh on beam, and 10th on vault and floor.
“We’re excited about it because she actually didn’t have the best day,” said Jones. “That shows us that when she is having her best day, she’s probably able to medal in the future. She came fifth all-around with a vault she really wasn’t happy with.
“It’s out of character for Emily — she fell on beam…. I think this is the first fall she’s had this season on beam.”
Molgat placed 27th all-around in Junior Olympic 7. She finished 11th on bars and 22nd on vault.
Witten posted a ninth place result on the bars to place 21st all-around in the Aspire One division. She also took 17th on the floor.
“Aspire One is a national fast-tracking program for young gymnasts who we think could achieve national level in their future,” said Jones. “Lily is competing in that and she’s the Yukon’s first Aspire (gymnast).
“This is only her second Aspire competition,” she added. “To come ninth on bars is a pretty big feat. Last year we made a goal to improve our bars scores and we seem to be doing that because all our best scores this weekend were on bars.”
Polaretttes’ Bianca Berko-Malvasio was also slated to compete but withdrew due to an ankle injury sustained during warm-up at a Calgary competition three weeks earlier.
King and Witten will next compete at the Western Canadian Gymnastics Championships at the end of the month in Brandon, Man.
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com