Excalibur Cup - February 17 - 20 2012 Virginia Beach

So last Friday it was off to Virginia Beach for the Excalibur Cup for some of the Optional Team.  We had a range of weather during this world-wind weekend.  Friday was foggy which resulted in Karen and Ellie spending about 17 hours of their day in airports. Yuck!!  Saturday was around 65 degrees which made for a beautiful day to play on the beach for the brave (Ellie) to dip their toes in the ocean.  Sunday was raw and rainy, but didn’t cause any issues with travel for those flying out of Norfolk, but those flying out of Richmond did have snow to contend with.  We were glad there was no school on Monday so we could catch up on our sleep!

The meet was held at the Virginia Beach Convention Center which is an absolutely gorgeous, unique, and huge building - it’s over 500,000 square feet of space enclosed in glass and steel walls!  From the outside the first thing that catches your eye is a soaring 147 foot glass and steel tower tapered from base to apex like the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse.  The rooftop observation deck is lit at night to form a glowing beacon that can be seen for miles.  As you enter the building an energy-saving glass curtain wall that curves around the entrance grabs your eye followed by the reflecting pools full of plants that tolerate draughts and conserve water.  The lobby has a really cool panoramic video screen that displays digital artwork and information about the Convention Center. 

The Convention Center is the first center in the country to achieve LEED Gold certification for Existing Buildings.  The LEED rating system for existing buildings measures operations, improvements, and maintenance on a consistent scale with the goal of maximizing operational efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts.  The Convention Center was built on the location of the original Pavilion Convention Center using recycled materials from the Pavilion such as steel, copper, aluminum, and concrete and reused asphalt from the original Pavilion. It has lots of green features - even the lighting and HVAC systems are programmed to conserve electricity during off hours and the energy-efficient windows limit UV penetration.  Cool huh?  In the big picture it is part of Virginia’s 40 year master plan to reinvigorate and “green” Virginia Beach.  Gotta love that!

As you work your way through the building there are abstract references to the beach, ocean, and ship masts, and rigging.  Even the carpet had an abstract geometric pattern that looked like towels laid out on the beach!  Among the grand ballroom, meeting rooms, exhibit halls and suites, there was a Starbucks which made me a very happy woman at Nicole’s 8:00 A.M. report time.  There were  gun and knife, coin, and bridal shows all going on at the same time, but they were on different floors with separate entrances and exits so it really seemed like the gymnastics meets were the only thing going on – which was amazing!  There was plenty of parking, plenty of seating, and everything was clean and bright. 

The meet was held in Exhibit Halls A – D which can be reconfigured for any type of event.  For the meet they were configured as one large room with 4 meets being held simultaneously.  That was cool because we could watch a wide range of gymnastics from Level 3 to Level 5, to Level 8, to a Men’s meet all at the same time.  The music resonating from 3 floors was a little crazy at times, but it kept things interesting!  The halls have 40 foot ceilings and a 240 foot clear span roof. The roof is one of the largest column-free spans in the U.S.   Now that is a significant feat of engineering!! 

The second floor where awards were held looked like a ship’s hull!   Separate rooms were used for each level so we didn’t have to sit through awards for the other sessions – thank heavens! 

Being an international meet there was tons of competition, but each of the OTW competitors made it to the podium.  The results are:  

LEVEL 7 

Ellie Sr A Division

Vault 8.9 7th    

Bars 8.875 5th

Beam 9.025 5th

Floor 8.90 7th

AA    35.70 4th

LEVEL 8  

Jacqualyn Sr B Division      

Vault8.50 3rd

Bars 9.425 1st   

Beam 9.075 3rd   

Floor 9.025 1st  

AA 36.025 1st

Nicole Jr Division     

Vault 8.45  7th  

Bars 8.925 8th

Beam 9.10  8th

Floor 8.85 8th   

AA 35.325 7th




LEVEL 10   
Allison Sr A Division  
Bars 8.00 7th    

 

Alyssa Sr B Division

Vault 8.70 7th
Bars 8.65 4th    
Beam 8.325 10th
Floor 8.875 5th
AA 34.55 3rd 

L4 - 10 Team Challenge Feb 3 - 5 2012

So I found Danbury, CT a little chilly this year.  It was particularly frosty when we went to check into the host hotel and found out they didn't have a room for us because they underestimated the size of their renovation.  They were smart though, they didn't bother to call or provide any other advanced warning because they knew that we were with a large group and they wanted to grab all the business they could before they ran out of rooms,  and before people found out their group was being split up.  They could learn a lot from Stew Leonard's customer policy!  Fortunately, there were no hitches when we checked into our second hotel. We are eternally grateful to all the Level 4 Moms who offered us space in their rooms when they heard what happened at the Plaza. You guys are awesome TEAM members and we really appreciate you! We had a lot of fun poolside and in the Palen Party Room. Thank heavens the kids were in the Lanouette Lounge!    

There was a minor problem with the Make-A-Wish Foundation stars.  Last year the whole back wall where the concessions are located was covered in stars and we could  easily identify ours because Audrey had tied gold ribbons to them and they were neatly hung by those ribbons.  This year Nicole and I added ribbons in our team colors and decorated several of them with glow in the dark paint. The idea being when they turned out the lights for march-in our stars would look awesome.

Wellllllll.....this year there was one small strip of maybe 18 stars on the back wall.... so I chatted up the Make-A-Wish volunteer and found they ran out of tape to hang the stars.  Funny, but the volunteer had nothing to do but hang the stars.  The meet volunteers collected the stars and the money and gave them to the Make-A-Wish volunteer to hang. She had huge piles of them on her table, but no tape.......hummmmmm. Not the best planning.   Later when were apparel shopping the volunteer and her Supervisor told me they had tape and they loved our stars so much they were going to hang them on the top of the bleacher and rehang them in their office after the weekend.  So I thought ok good and went on my merry way.  Later back in the stands I looked over and saw our stars hung in 3 bunches instead of spread out nicely so we could see them glow.  Well... they were at the top,  unfortunately on top of each other as well, but oh wellll... the important thing is that we helped make the Make-A-Wish Foundation the biggest winner of all. Together, the Team Challenge gymnasts collected $11,400, and they we're still counting at the end of the weekend! Congratulations, to everyone who helped make this possible!  

Things warmed up when our Level 4s racked up 15 9+ scores and get this this........7 of them were on beam!  Great job girls!  Congrats to Alana who scored 9+ on each event and finished the meet 3rd AA with a whopping 36.7.  Alana scored the Team's only 9 (2nd) on floor which was articularly awesome because the Floor Judges definitely were not giving anything away at this meet!  Hannah E. followed closely with an 8.9 (4th).   Hannah E. and Hannah B. were the Team Beam Queens each scoring a whopping 9.375 for their beautiful routines and tying for 5th. Alana and Grace placed 3rd and 4th with 9.2+ scores and Katie followed closely with 9.175.  Madi (5th)  and Tatyana both scored 9.05.  Hannah E. received the Team's highest bar score...a whopping 9.6 (1st) and finished the meet with a 36.725 AA!  Alana placed 4th  on bars with a 9.25.  Grace received a whopping 9.625 (2nd) for her awesome vault. Alana and Hanah B. received 9.1+ s and Tatyana and Katie received 9+ scores. 

 The Level 5s chalked up 7 9+ scores.  3 of those were awarded to Rachel for vault (9.05), beam (9.05), and floor (9.0).  Sarah M. tied Rachel with 9.05 on vault.  She received a 9.075 on beam as well.  Sarah Casey earned the Team's remaining 9+ scores on beam (9.0) and floor (9.0). Rachel (35.65) and Sarah M. (35.3) earned the Team's top AA scores.

For the Level 6s Emily received a 9.3 on beam. 

For the Level 7s Jordan and Ellie each racked up 3 9+ scores.  Jordan scored 9.250 on vault, 9.025 on bars and 9.150 on beam.  Ellie scored

9.250 on vault, 9.350 on bars and 9.200 on floor.  Great job girls!   
 

For the Level 8s, Kadianne and Jackie continued their winning streak achieving high 9s in every event.   Kadianne received a whopping 9.45 on vault, bars, and beam and 9.125 on floor.  She finished the meet with an awesome AA of 37.475.  Jackie received a 9.1 on floor, a whopping 9.475 on bars, 9.225 on beam, and a 9.05 on floor.  She finished the meet with a 36.9 AA.  Nicole a 9.1 on beam and placed 5th on vault with a score of 8.8.  The team was thrilled to have Sarah back competing with them.  She competed both bars(8.1) and beam (8.55).  Yippeee! 

 

Kaylee (Level 9) chalked up a 9.05 on vault and a 9.15 on beam.  She finished the meet with a 35.825 AA.

Congratulations to Alyssa (Level 10) who received a 9.3 on vault and 9.175 on bars and qualified to Event Finals for both of these events. She placed 2nd on bars at Event finals and received a lovely Coach bag. Just prior to Alyssa's bar routine at the Event Finals another gymnast fell on bars and after quite some time was imobolized by paramedics and wheeled out on a stretcher.  Alyssa did an incredible job of maintaining her focus during the 20 to 30 minutes she was left standing at the bars waiting her turn, knowing the last gymnast on the same event suffered a bad fall. She placed 2nd on bars.  Now that is focus and determination!  Her reward was a large Coach bag.  Event final awards are always great gifts!   

Since Nicole's meet and Event Finals were back to back we decided to get a couple of cheeseburgers at that snack bar so that wouldn't miss any of

the Finals.   The woman took our money and gave us our cheeseburgers and told us they were cheeseburgers with no cheese.  Nicole and I kind of giggled thinking it was a lame joke, but she didn't smile and repeated it.  There was something of a language barrier, but I did a couple rounds of...... I don't understand how can a cheeseburger have no cheese and if it doesn't have any cheese why did I get charged for cheeseburgers instead of the lower price for hamburgers........mind you the volunteer at the Make-A-Wish table is getting a big kick out of this conversation.....after about three go arounds of this silly conversation we got our cheeseburgers.   We were afraid to eat them, but we got them! LOL!

On the way home from CT we stopped at Stew Leonards which was completely packed with Giants fans picking up their Super Bowl snacks.   I had my camera, but was told by the Police Officer at the door that pictures weren't allowed.  What a bummer!  Kind of like a cheeseburger without cheese! But the customer is always right - right?

 

Northeast Invitational Jan 13-15 2012

The Northeast Invitational was held January 13th – 15th 2012 in Hartford, CT. Although it was cold, the temperature this year was at least on the positive side and the snow banks were small, taking up much less of the limited parking than usual. All in all, a slight improvement in the typical frigid weather conditions. As for the tough CT judging….well suffice it to say this seemed to be the same as previous years. LOL! The good news is our Level 4 – 10 Teams were able to rack up 20 9+ scores.

For the Level 4s Rya and Tatyana both received 9.1 on vault and on floor. Hannah E. received a whopping 9.45 on floor and Hannah B. received a 9.2

For the Level 5s Sierra placed 1st AA in the 9 year old age group with a 32.95.
 
Krystiana received the highest AA for the Level 6s. She placed 7th with a 31.9.

The 4 Level 7s (Ellie, Jordan, Leah, and Isabel) all scored 9+  on vault.

The 3 Level 8s (we are still missing Sarah) also all scored 9+ on vault. Jackie scored 9+ on bars, floor, and beam as well. Kadianne racked up a whopping 9.5 on bars plus another 9+ score on beam. Jackie placed 1st AA in the 13 – 14 age group with a whopping 36.9 AA. Kadianne placed 2nd in the 15+ age group with a whopping 36.5.

Congratulations to all the Level 7s and 8s for scoring 9+ on vault.

Kaylee (Level 9) placed 7th AA with a 32.325. Alyssa (Level 10) placed 2nd AA with a 34.7. Her highest score was a 9.2 (2nd) on vault.

We are hoping Sarah H. (Level 8) and Allison (Level 10) will back competing soon.

Bay State Classic - January 6 - 8 2011

The Level 4 – 10 Teams competed in the Bay State Classic Friday January 6th through Sunday January 8th 2012 in Lowell, MA. The separate warm-up gym and awards room helped to keep the meet and the 550+ gymnasts from 22MA, NH, and RI gyms on track. A portion of the meet fees were donated Breast Cancer Research. 

Congratulations to our Level 7 and 8 Teams.  The Level 7s placed 3rd and the Level 8s brought home the 1st place banner.

The OTW gymnasts racked up 27 9+ scores at this meet. The Level 4 racked up 10 9+ scores; 5 on vault (Alana, Hannah E., Madi, Rya, and Tatyana), 1 on bars (Alana); 1 on beam (Hannah E.) and 3 on floor (Alana, Hannah E., and Tatyana). Hannah E. placed 1st AA in the 9 year old age group with a whopping 36.675. Alana placed 3rd in this age group with a 35.8 AA. Grace placed 3rd in the 7 yea old age group with a 33.675.

The Level 5s received 2 9+ scores. Sarah M. received hers on beam and Siera received hers on floor. Lexi placed 1st AA in the 10 year old age group with a 34.275 AA. Sarah M. placed 2nd in the Senior Division with a 33.725 AA. Olivia placed 3rd AA in the 8 year old age group with a 32.6 AA.

Krystiana racked up 2 9+ for the Level 6s – one on beam and one on floor.


Ellie, Isabel, and Jordan racked up 3 9+ scores for the Level 7s on vault. Ellie placed 3rd in the 12-13 age group with a 35.225 AA. Jordan placed 3rd in the 14 year old age group also with a 35.225 AA. The Level 7s brought home a huge trophy for their 3rd place finish. Great job girls!

For the Level 8s Jackie and Kadianne continued their streak of excellence and racked up 9+ scores in each event. Nicole racked up 2 more 9+ scores for the Level 8s on beam and floor bringing the Team’s total to 10 9+ scores for this meet. Jackie placed 1st AA in the 13-14 year old age group with a whopping 36.8 AA. Kadianne placed 1st AA in the 14+ age group with a whopping 36.35 AA. The Level 8s were proud to return home with the 1st place banner. Way to go!

Kaylee (Level 9) did an awesome job of racking up a 9.05 (2nd) on her stuck beam routine and so did Alyssa (Level 10) who placed 3rd with a 9.1.

Congratulations to the Level 8s, 9s, and 10s for sticking their beam routines and racking up all 9+ scores and 1st through 3rd placements for them! Awesome job!

Cape Cod New Year’s Classic - December 29 - 31 2011

The Cape Cod New Year’s Eve Classic is a great meet full of fun filled activities for the whole family including movies, magicians, bingo and a New Year’s Eve dance party with a DJ. The meet itself is held at the host hotel. I love that! And right outside the doors of the Grand Ballroom there are lots of vendors offering local seaside wares such as jewelry and artwork. This meet also offers great competition, awards, and gymnast prizes. It was nice to see our gymnasts and their families making full use of the facilities. The pool was a favorite, along with games in the lobby, and gatherings in some of the rooms. Adults on one end of the hotel – kids on the other. Lots of laughs all around. 

Our Level 4s had the honor of kicking off the meet on Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 1:00 P.M. Most of the team members averaged a 35+ AA. Alana led the team with a 36.15 which was earned her 2nd place in the Jr. Division. She received a whopping 9.55 on bars! This awesome score earned her 3rd place – so you can see what type of competition this meet provides. Alana placed 3rd on floor with a 8.85 on beam and 4th on floor with a 9.1. Hannah B. racked up two 9+ scores ( 9.0 (7th) on bars and 9.4 (4th) on beam) competing in the Sr. Division. Hannah placed 7th AA with a score of 35.55. Madi competing in the Team’s Jr. Division was 3rd team member to rack up a 9+ at this meet. She placed 5th on beam with a 9.0 and 7th AA with a score of 35.25. The Level 4s placed 3rd as a Team and were thrilled to receive their first banner. Congratulations girl and have fun signing that banner!

The Level 7s had the early call on Friday, December 30th . I think they should have brought coffee for the Judges because they were definitely not in a generous mood starting with this morning meet and lasting late into the evening through the Level 10 meet! Ellie’s awesome vault was the only 9.0 awarded to the Team during this session. The remaining scores were mostly between 8.6 and 8.8. Tough judging! But, even so with only 3 Team members competing the Level 7s placed 5th as a Team. Ellie competing in the Jr. Division placed 3rd on beam with an 8.7 and 1st on bars (8.775) and AA (34.625). Isabel competing in the Sr. Division placed on bars with an 8.7 and 4th on beam (8.4) and AA (34. 5). After a bite to eat the Level 7s were recharged and right back in the gym front and center cheering on their Level 8 teammates.

Jackie competing in the Jr. Division led the Level 8 Team throughout the day. She racked up 3 9+ scores and finished the meet with an awesome 36.3 AA (3rd)! Jackie scored 9.0 on vault (3rd), a whopping 9.425 (1st) for her gorgeous bar routine and 9.075 (5th) on beam. Kadianne competing in the Sr. Division racked up a pair of 9+s on bars (9.3) and beam (9.175) and placed 2nd (8.85) on vault. She placed 1st AA with a 35.825. Nicole competing in the Child Division racked up a 9.0 (6th) on floor. She placed 7th AA with a 34.5. The 8s placed 3rd as a Team. Happy banner signing! The Team is still missing Sarah who is sidelined due to an injury.

The Level 9 meet kicked off next with most of the Level 7s and 8s on hand to cheer the lone Team member, Kaylee, on. Kaylee had an awesome meet finishing 2nd AA with a 34.125. She scored 8.15 (7th) on vault, 8.3 (1st) on bar, 9.05 (1st) on beam, and 8.625 (2nd) on floor.

By the time the Level 10 meet kicked off most of the Optional Team including Allison who was unable to compete due to an injury and several members of the Compulsory Team were on hand to cheer Alyssa on. Alyssa had a great meet finishing 3rd AA with a 34.0. She placed 2nd on bars (8.75), 4th on beam (8.1) and 3rd on vault (8.95) and floor (8.2).

The Level 5 and 6 meets kicked off on New Year’s Eve. The Level 5 meet kicked off around 10:30 and suffice to say it seemed like another day the Judges could have used another cup of coffee. Alexi and Sarah M. competing in the Sr. Division and Rachel competing in the Jr. Division racked up the Team’s only 9+ scores in this session. All 3 scores were awarded for beam – very impressive! Lexi received a 9.075 (3rd). Sarah received a 9.025 (4th). Rachel received a 9.1 (3rd). The Level 5s placed 4th as a Team. Great job girls!

The Level 6 meet kicked off around noon with Krystiana as the lone Level 6 competing. She hung tough and finished 12th AA with a 33.45. Her best event was floor. She place 8th with an 8.85.

Krystiana also did quite well at Bingo.  Her folks better keep a close eye on her when we compete at Twin Rivers Casino. LOL! 

Congratulations to everyone who competed in this meet. There was a lot of tough competition and tough judging. Our Teams definitely were there to support each other and they held their own! They came home with the banners, tropheys, and medals to prove it and better yet the memories of the fun they had!

A couple of candid moments caught some of the Optional girls really getting into stretching (not) in the warm-up room and sporting their yoga pants in an interesting style while hanging out.