Gym Rev Team Challenge - L8 & L10 February 18 - 20, 2011

This week the gym parents, gymnasts, and their families and friends get a gold medal for supporting the girls in their efforts to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation.  Thanks to Audrey's gold ribbons we could easily identify the OTW donation stars hanging among the hundreds of others at the Team Challenge.  Thanks so much to all of you that helped the girls raise money for this wonderful cause.

It was a bitter cold, windy, and snowy weekend in Danbury, CT however the Team Challenge kicked off without a hitch on Friday, February 18, 2011 at the Western Connecticut State University O'Neill Center. With over 1400 athletes this was the largest meet in the history of the Team Challenge! The host gym despite the loss of their own gym space to a snow related structural problem did a great job of hosting this meet.


The Level 10s kicked off the meet Friday evening. The O'Neill Center was split down the middle. The left side was the Blue Gym and the right side the Red Gym. The Level 9s and 10s began their open stretch at 7:00. Exactly 20 minutes after open stretch began, the teams reported to the vaulting runway at the back of the gym. There they collected their team sign and alphabetically, each team marched into the arena. The lights were out and the music was fast and loud! The spotlights rotated and shined on the athletes as they marched right down the center of the gym, up onto the podium in the front of the arena, and presented to the crowd. They truly looked like stars and were greeted that way by the audience. At the end of the march in, each team was lined up, side by side, facing the crowd. As is customary at this meet, the teams waved, posed, and used their creativity while up on the podium to greet the crowd and add to the excitement. After the National Anthem the Level 9s exited to the Blue Gym and the Level 10s exited to the Red Gym. Then it was off to their first event.

Allison and Alyssa had a great meet racking up 5 scores of 9+ between them along with several high 8s. Both finished the meet with AAs above 36! Their scores are summarized below:

Allison: Vault 9.4, Bars 8.85, Beam 9.3 and Floor 8.85

Alyssa: Vault 9.225, Bars 9.175, Beam 8.85 and Floor 9.0

The Level 8s competed on Sunday afternoon. Their march in was full of fanfare and excitement similar to the Level 10s. Jackie had a fantastic meet scoring 9+ in every event! Her awesome bar routine was awarded a 9.625 (2nd)!! She followed this up by earning a whopping 9.6 (2nd) on beam . She earned 9.0s on both vault (11th) and floor (6th) and finished the meet with her highest AA of the season (37.225, 2nd)! Nicole struggled on beam (8.1) falling twice, but bounced back to earn an 8.95 on floor. She landed her second tsuk low, but standing (wooohooo!) for a 9.05 (5th). She received a 9.1 (8th) on bars and finished the meet with a 35.250 AA.

With over 1400 gymnasts competing there were several layers of competition available to gymnasts and Teams - thus the name "Team Challenge". For the Level 9s and 10s there was Event Finals. The top 5 scorers on any (or all) events during the Friday competition were invited to participate Saturday evening in Event Finals on their qualified event(s). During Event Finals only one athlete performs at a time in order to showcase their skills - and there was definitely some phenomenal gymnastics and gymnasts to be seen. One standout was elite gymnast Georgia Dabritz (Massachusetts) who competed (and placed 7th on bars) in the August 2010 Visa Cup with Olympic All Around Champion Nastia Liukin and Olympic medalists Samantha Peszek, Bridget Sloan and Chelsie Memmel!!!! During the Event Finals scores are not flashed and score inquiries are not permitted. This allows you to concentrate fully on the athlete and enjoy the "show". It builds excitement for both the athletes and the crowd, and of course for when the evening's competition comes to a close and the scores are revealed and the awards (flat screen TVs, IPOD docking stations, etc) are presented!!! Georgia performed a jam packed bar routine with skills and release moves I can't even begin to identify and she did it without grips!!! Get this she says she tried grips when she was a Level 4 and she didn't like them and then she tried them again a couple of years ago and peeled right off the bar so she didn't bother to try them again.....and she also said she hardly ever rips! Now that is one tough competitor! Georgia qualified to Event Finals for both bars and vault. She placed first on bars with a 9.75 and second on vault with a 9.7. The first place vaulter, Jaida Lawrence (Connecticut), scored a 9.9! Can you imagine that? Georgia is a High School Senior and has committed to Utah in 2012. Go Utes! Jaida is a Junior and is currently uncommitted.

Other competitions included Team Awards (which our Level 8 and 10 Teams were not eligible for), Super Team (20 or fewer gymnasts, 7 scores count), Ultra Team (21 - 40 gymnasts, 14 scores count), and Mega Team (41+ gymnasts, 21 scores count)!

If you are ever in Danbury check out Rosy Tomorrow's.  Back in the day when weary soldiers returned home from the war in Europe, Rosy organized a group of patriotic women to greet these heroes at the local railway station and present them with an overflowing wicker basket of roast chicken, crusty breads, homemade soups, local cheeses, fresh baked apple pies, and of course, a couple of cold bottles of frosty beer! Rosy is recalled as a great example of a woman of her time who overcame the difficulties of real life and truly believed in a Rosy Tomorrow.

And........you can't go to Danbury and not go to Stew Leonards (trust me, Audrey won't let you! LOL!).  With the likes of Martha Stewart and Chef Bobby Flay cooking in the aisles along with old fashioned machines turning rice in rice cakes like magic,  and diversions including a petting zoo, robotic singing milk cartons, and employees dressed as farm animals dancing with customers in the aisles, Stew Leonard's, which bills itself as "the world's largest dairy store," is definately a fun place to visit! Ask Alyssa, Jackie, and Nicole about their pal the cow.

Level 7 Sectional #1, February 2011

It was a very busy weekend with half the Optional Team competing in Dover, NH at Sectional #1 and the other half competing in Danbury, CT at the Gymnastics Revolution Team Challenge.

The Level 7s had a good meet with lots of 9+ scores and lots of first and second place finishes.  Great job girls!  Thanks to Cheryl and Mary for providing the  scores.



L4 - 6 Sectional #1, February 2011

The Level 4 – 6 Spring Sectional #1 was held Sunday, February 6, 2011 in Bow, NH. Maddy and Nicole were on hand to support their teammates. The Level 4s had another great showing on vault with all scores ranging from the high 8s to an incredible 9.7 awarded to Siera for her awesome vaults. The team had mixed results on bars and beam. Olivia achieved the team’s highest bar score (8.95) and floor score (9.05). The beam scores ranged from a high 7 to 9.25 awarded to Hannah for her beautiful routine.

The Level 5s struggled on vault and just couldn’t seem to demonstrate that tight body position and pop off they strive for during practice. The team had mixed results on bars with scores ranging from 7.1 to 8.975 achieved by Sarah. Sarah also placed 1st on beam with a beautiful 9.4 routine. Krystiana achieved the team’s highest floor score (8.975).

The Level 6s best event was vault. Caitlin received an 8.6 and Jordan received an 8.95. Jordan also received the team’s highest score on bars (8.4) and floor (8.45). Caitlin received the team’s highest score on beam (8.775).

 The good news is 83% of the girls that competed qualified for the State Meet scheduled for early April. Congratulations! The L4 – 6 Sectional # 2 is scheduled for mid March. Bring your shamrocks!

Special thanks to Guy for the pictures!

Tim Daggett National Invitational - February 2011

The Level 10s kicked off the Tim Daggett National Invitational Friday evening February 3, 2011 at the Mount Holyoke Sports Complex in South Hadley, MA. Olympian Tim Daggett was on hand to welcome the gymnasts and the spectators. Jackie and Nicole were on hand to cheer on Allison and Alyssa. The gym was split into both Mens and Womens competition areas. Both sides were awesome to watch! The Mens high bar was a particular favorite among our team girls and parents. The Mens routines jammed packed with high level skills and release moves looked like an Olympic competition at times! Really incredible gymnastics – so fun to watch!

Allison competing with a sore ankle and Alyssa competing with a sore elbow struggled a little throughout the meet, but finished strong.  Allison placed 3rd AA with a 33.850.  She placed 1st on both vault (9.350) and floor (9.2) and received a 7.3 on beam and an 8.0 on bars.  Alyssa placed 2nd AA with a 35.9.  She placed 3rd on vault (9.225), bars (9.05), beam (8.4) and floor (9.225). Together the L10s achieved 5 9+ scores!  Awesome job!  

The Level 7 meet kicked off at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. As a team the Level 7s really shined on floor. Their scores ranged from 9.025 to a whopping 9.5 awarded to Isabel for her beautiful routine. Isabel placed 2nd on floor and in the AA. The team was also impressive on beam. Their scores ranged from high 8s to an awesome 9.25 achieved by Maddy. Each team member scored in the high 8s on vault as well! Together the L7s achieved 6 9+ scores! The individual scores are listed in the grid below (thank you Cheryl).

The Level 8s competed in the last session on Saturday. Nicole competed in the Child division and Jackie competed in the Jr. division. Both girls started the meet with awesome floor routines. Jackie’s gorgeous routine received a whopping 9.625 and a 1st place medal. Nicole followed closely with a whopping 9.5 (2nd). Both girls scored an 8.75 on vault. Jackie placed 2nd and Nicole placed 3rd. Jackie had an outstanding bar routine which was rewarded with an incredibly high 9.7 which took 1st place easily! Nicole followed with a solid 9.350 (3rd) routine. Jackie placed 2nd on beam with a beautiful 9.3 routine. Nicole followed closely with a 9.175 (3rd). Both Jackie and Nicole placed 1st AA! Congratulations girls – that is awesome! Together the L8s achieved 6 9+ scores, bringing the meet total to 17 9+ scores! Great job girls! Can’t wait to see all the new stars on the gym walls!

Boston Classic January 22, 2010

The Level 7s kicked off the Boston Classic in the early morning session on Saturday January 22, 2011. Fortunately the roads were clear from the snowy weather on Thursday and Friday. The meet was held at the Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, MA. Being a High School gym with limited bleacher seating the venue was crowded. But, unlike most meets this year the parking was more than ample and the awards area was a large and comfortable auditorium with graduated seating for easy viewing.

Ellie, Allie, and Isabel competed for the level 7s. Ellie finished the meet with a 33.320 AA. She scored 8.45 on vault, 8.670 on bars (6th), 7.9 on beam and 8.3 on floor. Allie placed 7th (9.15) on beam, 8th (8.95) on bars and 10th AA (35.5). She scored an 8.85 on vault and an 8.55 on floor. Isabel placed 2nd (9.1) on bars, and 10th on both vault and floor with an 8.7. She scored 8.4 on beam and placed 5th (34.9) AA.

The Level 8 Session kicked off mid morning. Jackie and Nicole both competed in the Child age division. Jackie started the meet with a whopping 9.55 (1st) on bars! Nicole followed with a 9.2 (5th) on bars and received another 9.2 on beam (4th) beam. Jackie followed with an 8.95 (8th). Jackie placed 3rd on vault with an 8.9 and received an 8.5 on floor. Nicole placed 7th on vault with an 8.7 and placed 9th on floor with an 8.775. Jackie placed 4th AA 35.9 - just a tenth shy of a 36! Nicole placed 5th AA with 35.875. Awesome job girls! As a team of 2, Jackie and Nicole were not eligible for a team award which was probably a good thing because there was a scoring snafu that resulted in banners being awarded to the top 3 teams and then they were taken back and re-awarded in a different order and in one case to a different team! Then another change was announced and some more shuffling took place. At that point we thought all was well, but shortly after in the café there was a scramble to get the banners back due to another error. At least one team had left banner in hand. Hopefully, in the end, the banners will end up where they belong!

The Level 10s participated in the Saturday afternoon session. Having rolled her ankle Friday night Allison competed bars only.  She placed 4th with a 7.750.  Alyssa placed 3rd on bars, 4th on beam with a whopping 9.35 routine, and 8th on vault.  She placed 4th AA with a 34.8. 

So, we thought the Level 8 team award saga was bad, but the Level 10 awards topped even that! Having watched the Level 9s awards being divided into Jr. and Senior divisions we wondered why the Level 10 awards were limited to just a Jr. division. The medals were handed out and then it was discovered that the awards should have been broken into two divisions! To correct the error they told the gymnasts to keep the medals they were given (they were all the same regardless of place) and then they read off the list of winners by division. Still seems like some girls were shorted medals, but with all the confusion who knows? Team awards were just as confusing with several attempts to give banners to teams that didn’t have enough gymnasts to compete as a team! Again, hopefully the banners will end up where they belong!

In the end you couldn’t help but feel bad for the host gym and the people giving out the awards. It was obvious they had put a lot of effort into hosting a nice meet and it was unfortunate the awards spiraled out of control. They of course blamed “the computer” - so I had to take back a few sympathy points and re-award them to the computer user!!