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.