The Terrace Peaks Gymnastics Club is well into its new season with a new head coach, Ambra Marak, leading the team.
Marak is joined by Levi Brousseau and Kaylyn Mailloux as they coach three divisions of competitive gymnasts, along with recreational and adult classes.
Marak moved here from Manitoba three years ago to manage the Peaks’ gym, and took over the role as head coach last January. She says she hopes to build the competitive branch of the club by offering a long-term coaching presence.
Marak pointed out that compared to Kitimat and Smithers, the Terrace competitive group seems quite small at 19 gymnasts – something that may be the result of a turnover of coaches in recent years.
Along with offering the stability of a constant coach, Marak said she wants to keep things fun in the gym, incorporating some lighter game-type activities into classes.
“Gymnastics is a hard sport, but I think making it fun and challenging is also important,” she explained.
As a coach, Marak has gone as far as she can in certification without an invitation from Gymnastics Canada, which would only happen if she competed in a national event or took one of her students to compete.
“Which I could see possibly happening in the next five years hopefully,” Marak said, adding the last time Terrace sent a gymnast to a national competition was in 1995. “So its been a while.” she said.
And Marak is feeling positive in the abilities of her athletes this year, saying when she watched a video of the gymnasts this time last year there were improvements.
“I noticed such a huge difference, and it was really neat to see that,” she said.
For anyone looking to get involved in gymnastics, Peaks offers classes for those still crawling to adults.
Basically there is something for every age in our gym, Marak said.