Terrace Peaks gymnastics club is once again offering competitive training to boys.Club administrator Chad Bullock estimates the club has not had a competitive boys group in around 15 years.“I think they are a great group.” Bullock said. The group is coached by Lorraine Tomaz, who has been a part of Terrace Peaks for five years as a member on the board of directors, judge and coach.Currently, nine gymnasts meet with Tomaz twice a week for three-hour training sessions at the Peaks home base in the Thornhill Community centre.Ages in the group run from six to 14.Tomaz said the idea for the group came from the boys themselves, some of whom had already been participating in the club non-competitively and wanted to take their training to the next level. She said there was also an increase in interest from kids in the community.According to Tomaz, some of the changes involved in moving to competitive gymnastics are etiquette, form and style – all things the boys are now learning.“They love it, and they have come a long way,” Tomaz said.“The little ones get a little more tired, but they usually don’t want to leave,” she added. Tomaz is aided in her training by assistant coaches, and brothers, Levi and Ezra Brousseau.They are both working towards getting their Level 1 coaching certificates in gymnastics. At the peaks invitational competition in January, athletes from the new boys division competed in the men’s artistic gymnastics Level 1.“They did awesome,” Tomaz said.Of the five who competed, four took an all-around silver and one took an all-around bronze finish.Tomaz said recently two members of the group travelled to Smithers to receive additional training from a Level 4 coach.Currently, six of the nine gymnasts are working in Level 1, and the other three are in pre-competitive training.Adrian Babcock is 14-years-old and is in his first year of gymnastics. He joined the program at the urging of a friend who had participated last year and said he is really enjoying it so far.“It’s a lot of fun to learn new things like flips, that’s really cool,” Babcock said.Tomaz is happy with the direction the new boys group has taken, and said four of her Level 1 competitors are even looking to advance to Level 2.“Gymnasts are very dedicated athletes – if they have the passion for it, it is very difficult to get them out of the gym,” Tomaz said.Bullock said the new group is a benefit as it will contribute to breaking some of the negative stigma that surrounds the sport, in regards to having male competitors. “I know all the boys on our team strive to be the best they can be every day, and that’s what makes them so great at what they do,” Bullock said, adding he expects to see great results from them.