Over 400 gymnasts from 13 different clubs poured into the gymnasium at the Yorkton Regional High School this past weekend for three days of flippin鈥� good times as the Yorkton Springers Gymnastics Club held their annual Invitational meet from March 27-29.
The Invitational 鈥� a provincially sanctioned event - provided many a Saskatchewan gymnast their final opportunity to qualify for the upcoming provincial meet in Moose Jaw April 10-12.
In addition the Yorkton meet also provided those that had already qualified a chance to practice their abilities in front of spectators without the added pressure of provincial qualification. 鈥淭his is the last invitational in the province before provincials so this is the last opportunity for some of these girls to qualify,鈥� mentioned Jessica Ronn, head coach at Springers Gymnastics, adding that all but one of the Yorkton girls had already qualified prior to the Springers Invitational. 鈥淣ine of the ten Springers girls have qualified before this invitational so we were just waiting for one more and she qualified this weekend.鈥�
Ronn then suggested that the Invitational also serves a different purpose for the Springers Gymnastics Club.
In addition to being the final qualification opportunity for athletes, the Springers Invitational is also the number one fundraiser for the club and without it, Ronn says the club would cease to exist. 鈥淭his is one of our major fundraisers for the club for the year,鈥� offered Ronn, adding, 鈥淲e raise money to run the club and buy new equipment but it鈥檚 a lot of work too, because we have to move our whole gym.
鈥淲e鈥檙e one of the only clubs in the province that has to move the whole gym to a different facility to host a competition so it鈥檚 a lot of work for our club.鈥�
That being said, the head coach also believes that the girls don鈥檛 mind the work simply because of the enjoyment of hosting their own event. 鈥淭hey love hosting their invitational. It鈥檚 a chance for them to have their family and friends come and watch them and they absolutely love that.鈥�
