Well another great year has come and gone! Before we attempt to tackle our new ambitions and goals, we thought we should take a quick stroll down memory lane and remember all the great moments this year had to offer!
The pre-competitive program was very successful over the last 12 months. Our athlete's got to compete in 3 invitationals meets and most got medals to reward their great effort in the gym. We finished 2008 with every athlete in the program capable of doing back handsprings! Way go to our little ones!
Our provincial program continued it's uphill climb on the Ontario scene. 8 of our athlete's qualified to Provincial Championships which were held at Seneca College. Most athlete's turned in top 10 finishes including a silver medal by Michael Zeuner! We also had 3 participants in the Eastern Canadian Championships, all of which were in the top 8! We finished the year with amazing performances at the Tour Selection meet. On top of our great competitions, the staff is very excited that all athletes moved up the Difficulty chart in the gym. A true sign of their hard work paying off! Congratulations Provincial Team on being little champions.
The National Team was tremendously successful yet again. They dominated all the qualifiers with so many amazing performances it's difficult to remember them all! We also had 15 qualify to Provincial Championships - 10 of them coming home with medals, including 2 golds! 13 athletes went on to compete at the National Championships in Calgary where 3 of them earned the prestigious National Title -Emily Smith, Meghan Hefford and Carolynne Wong. 5 other athletes earned medals! We concluded the season with a great Tour Selection meet where our athletes once again dominated the rankings!
On the International scene, we were once again very busy! Emily Smith competed in 3 world Cup competitions earning top 6 finishes every time, including a Bronze in the World Cup Final in Russia in September. Teja Durante and Catherine McNutt finished our international season with a bang with a 2-3 finish at the Pan American Championships!
With those results it is safe to say that the National Program met our expectations. Congratulations athletes, you truly are the class of the field in the province, country and world!
2008 also saw some great additions to our coaching staff! David Findlay started working with the Provincial Athletes in the winter months and has continued to do so through this season. We also had Holly Mousseau join us from the Great White North aka. Sault Ste Marie in September. Holly replaced Emily in the Provincial program (who chose to go back to school to finish her degree and we are so proud of her for it), and she is being trained by Chris and I to fulfill a major roll in the national program in the coming years, The fit has been absolutely perfect! Both coaches have been a great addition to the program.
2008 can really only be described in 1 word...
PHENOMENAL!
Now let's top it in 2009!
All the best to all athletes in the new year!
Denis, Chris, Holly, David and Nick
