Haul From Hartford

In some ways, this year's Northeast Invite was a tough meet, yet a good meet too. The layout at Trinity College's Memorial Hall was the same Blue Gym / Red Gym as last year. The scoring was much tougher this year. Scores in the 6s and 7s were common on some events. More than a few 5s were seen. On others, 8s were the norm. 9s were rare. The competition was sharp. But, OTW's girls put out a strong effort. They have the medals, banners and prizes to prove it.

The Level 5 Team brought home the 3rd Place Team banner. Since there were just five of them, every score of every girl counted. They all earned that banner. Each of the 5s also took home at least two medals. Emily scored her best on Vault and Floor. Sarah scored her best on Vault. Paige did her best on Floor. For Tess, her best event was Beam. Caitlin too the bronze for Beam.

The Level 6 Team did not have enough gymnasts to score as a team. Five were needed. We had four. But each of the four went home with a medal. Ellie scored her highest on Beam. Maddy scored her best on Bars, but won a medal for her Vault. Allie did her best score on Bars. Jordan took home a medal for all four events.

The Level 8 Team won the Joan Hicks award for team spirit. The prize for this award was a carpeted practice beam. Since there were only four Level 8 girls, they didn't qualify for a team placement. Yet each of the four placed on all four events and the All Around. Nicole took two 4th place medals for Vault and Floor. Jackie took a gold for Floor (a 9.20) and 2 silvers for Beam (a 9.125) and All Around. Ali took three bronze medals for Bars, Floor (a 9.00) and the All Around. Jamie took three 4ths for Vault, Bars and Beam.

The Level 9 Team took home the 2nd Place Team banner. Only three gymnasts were required for a Level 9 team. Alyssa took home silver for Beam (9.05) and Bronze for the All Around. She and Allison were usually beside each other on the platform in the 14-15 age group. Allison took the bronze for Vault with a 9.15. Kayla took the gold on Vault with a 9.35 and Floor with a 9.20. She also secured the silver on Beam. LaNaya took the silver on Floor. Originally, they won 3rd as a team. They posed with the 3rd Place banner. Later, it was learned that the 2nd place team was somehow disqualified as a team, so the OTW 9s will get the 2nd place banner.

It was great to see the OTW girls in action at this first "away" meet of the year.

Working for Nationals Workout

On Saturday and Sunday, Level 9 and 10 gymnasts from around the Region 6 area met in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, despite the snowy highways. They came to sharpen their skills. 32 gymnasts were on hand at the Aim High gym. Among them were OTW's four Level 9 gymnasts. The conditioning was as tough as they had heard about. There were regional directors on hand and several judges to critique every move. They also pushed the girls to expand their skill sets. A professional dance instructor and choreographer worked with the girls to help put more expression and life into their dance elements.

At the end of the first day, the girls were exhausted. Back at the hotel, there was no talk of swimming or looking for fun things to do. They all wanted just three things: supper, a shower, and sleep.

The next day, they started off tired and sore, but the pace was just as tough. They went through several new conditioning drills, and did rotations through all four events. The last rotation was to do their complete floor routines in front of two judges. The judges then discussed with the gymnasts, the routine's weak points and recommended areas to improve.

At the end of the session, all four girls were more than ready to go home and rest. Amid all the sweat, aches and exhaustion, progress and improvements were made.