For the first time in its history, Powell River Gymnastics Club has qualifiers for the BC Winter Games.
Gymnasts Clayton Kimball, Dylan Werner and Katya Senilova managed to secure three of only four spots available to athletes from Powell River and all of Vancouver Island, a privilege that will see the trio compete at the 2014 games in Mission, BC, February 20 to 23.
“They have to be so young for this event, but at such a high level of performance in order to qualify,” said head coach Joyce Percey. “Not only do you have to be under 13, but you have to be at the top of your game. It’s not typical to see such a high level of performance in kids so young. The gift was that we had boys who were good enough and young enough to make it onto the team. And Katya will be trying for her provincial level four soon. She’s healthy and strong. It’s a huge advantage.”
Percey said a number of factors combined to result in the recent success. The gymnasts who qualified have been working under head coach Michelle Dillon for almost six years. That, combined with the recent hiring of men’s head coach Kevin Corrigan, and Werner and Kimball were able to train with someone who had experience in men’s competition—a boost they hadn’t previously experienced.
“He was only with us for three months,” said Percey of Corrigan who competed for Ireland, “but it gave us a huge advantage that we needed. When Kevin came on board he was still a national team member and an experienced level three coach.”
A recent equipment upgrade at the gym provided further benefit in enabling students to practice on Olympic gear, a detail Percey said is a tremendous leg up when it comes to competition.
“It was honestly like the stars were lined up this year,” said Percey “Another tremendous advantage is all of the phenomenal support these kids get from their parents. We are a non-profit organization and there is simply not enough money to pay for all of the travel required to get back and forth to competitions. Often the kids live here at the gym more...than at home.”
In the days leading up to the final decision about who would compete at the upcoming games, Percey said the kids were worried. “The emotion behind it when we saw the results come in was intense,” she said. “Then we got the news that not just one, but that three of them had made it. The outpouring of emotion was just incredible. We were just laughing and crying and jumping around. It was absolutely incredible.”
Chris Trenholme, event manager at the BC Games since 2001, said that, in his opinion, it was truly amazing, considering the size of the town, this many athletes qualified from Powell River.
