Members of the Terrace Peaks gymnastics club made a trip south to take part in the Abbotsford Twisters Invitational, March 23 – 25.
“I thought it was awesome,” said head coach of the Peaks Ambra Marak. “It was a big meet and you never know what to expect.”
Marak explained when competing locally often there is only three to five gymnasts in each category; at the Twisters Invitational, there were events hosting more than 30 gymnasts, something Marak said was a big jump in competition for the Terrace Peaks.
However, Terrace gymnasts showed they were up to the challenge as all seven who participated placed in at least one of their events.
For the two boys who competed, Ethan Dhaliwal took 3rd in floor, 6th in pommel horse, 4th in vault, 6th in high bar and 7th on rings. Shaun Hawkes took 6th in floor, 3rd in pommel horse, 5th in high bar and 6th in rings.
Marak said the competition level for the boys was an even bigger change, as they generally compete against just their own club in the north.
In the younger divisions, Ann Zettler and Maya Ebeling both received gold in skills and physical abilities in Gymstart 3.
A big accomplishment, said Marak, as they were the only Gymstart 3 competitors at the event to win gold in both events.
In the provincial 1 level, Eva Almgren placed 8th in floor, and Ashlee Munson placed 6th in vault.
“They were great,” Marak said about all of the younger competitors.
Shannon Schuster was the only veteran at the event, attending for her third year in a row.
“It was pretty awesome, there was more people,” Schuster said, explaining that each year she attends, the Twisters Invitational gets larger and larger.
The first year she attended, Schuster competed against six other gymnasts, this year it was 32.
And despite the growth in competition, she took home gold in the vault event, as well as 7th in bar, 8th in beam and 7th in floor.
Schuster added that she has a message to younger gymnasts.
“Never give up on your dreams, just keep trying. It gets hard sometimes, but just work hard and you will get through it.”