Throughout the month of March, athletes and coaches submitted videos of their routines at their home gyms as concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic persist. Athletes competed in the Vault, Uneven Bars, Beam, and Floor routines for this competition. The results were based on the combined totals of 2 days of competition.
Ellie Black (Halifax Alta, NS) continues to dominate domestic women’s artistic gymnastics competitions, following her third appearance in the Olympic games this past summer in Tokyo. In the 2022 virtual Elite Canada competition series, she finished 1st All-Around with a total score of 102.050.
“Elite Canada was a good starting point for our team as we kick off the competition season. It was a nice introduction back into competing and I am looking forward to slowly building back my routines,” shared Ellie Black. “It’s been great to see the girls back in action and starting in person competitions. We have a lot of new faces on our team this year and I am excited to see what they bring in 2022.”
Rounding out the podium in the senior category for All-Around was Cassie Lee (East York, ON) with a total score of 100.450 for silver and Sydney Turner (TAG, BC) with a total score of 100.250 for the bronze. In addition to the All-Around scores, the following athletes finished first in the senior events:
- Vault: Shallon Olsen (Flicka, BC) with a score of 28.600
- Uneven Bars: Ellie Black (Halifax Alta, NS) with a score of 27.450
- Beam (Tie): Cassie Lee (East York) and Sydney Turner (TAG, BC) with scores of 25.750
- Floor: Cassie Lee (East York, ON) with a score of 25.850
Among the senior competitions was Crystal Gilmore (Halifax Alta, NS) who competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics Games, and has returned to the Elite competitions at the age of 38. Her appearance in the 2022 Elite Canada competition comes 27 years after her first Elite Canada competition in 1995. Gilmore finished sixteenth All-Around at the 2022 Elite Canada virtual competition series. Prior to competing in 2022, her last appearance at the Elite Canada event was in 2006.
“I was excited to prepare for this Elite Canada and see what skills I was capable of putting together in routines. There were a few obstacles that popped up along the way, but I was really proud of myself for persevering and committing to this event,” shared Gilmore. “I had some great moments in competition that I’m really proud of and it was fun to compete alongside Ellie [Black] and Denelle [Pedrick]. I hope that I was able to inspire others to push your limits and go after your goals despite the obstacles you are faced with. Age is just a number. Do what you love and challenge yourself every day. Gymnastics is fun!”
Tegan Shaver (UniGym, QC) finished 1st All-Around in the junior category at the 2022 virtual Elite Canada competition series in WAG with a score of 99.200. Silver was awarded to Maddison Hajjar (WIMGYM, QC) as she finished with a score of 98.600, while bronze was awarded to Zoe Tsaprailis (WIMGYM, QC) with a score of 98.150.
“It means the world to me [to have finished 1st All-Around], and it’s really exciting. It gives me the confidence and motivation to keep working hard,” shared Tegan Shaver. “I look forward to adding more difficulty and to push myself to represent Canada, and make Canada proud.”
In the individual junior events, the following athletes finished first:
- Vault: Tegan Shaver (UniGym, QC) with a score of 26.950
- Uneven Bars: Tegan Shaver (UniGym, QC) with a score of 24.500
- Beam: Cristella Brunetti-Burns (WIMGYM, QC) with a score of 25.800
- Floor: Zoe Tsaprailis (WIMGYM, QC) with a score of 25.750
“It was great to see the gymnasts back in competition to start 2022. There were some strong performances from many athletes despite the obvious challenges we have faced. We were able to nominate some new great athletes to the junior national team and future of the program continues to be very promising,” shared David Kikuchi, NTHC, “The Provinces, Clubs, Coaches, and athletes have all worked so hard through these trying times and I am so proud of how everyone worked together and adapted to make the most of this situation. We very much look forward to seeing everyone back in person this May at Nationals.”
Complete results for the 2022 Virtual Elite Canada competition in WAG can be found here: http://www.gymcan.org/events-results/elite-canada-wag/overview
Next up for the domestic women’s artistic program is Canadian Championships being held in Richmond, BC at the Richmond Oval from May 26-31. More information on the upcoming Artistic Canadian Championships can be found here: http://www.gymcan.org/events-results/canadian-championships-magwag/overview
ABOUT GYMNASTICS CANADA
First established in 1969, Gymnastics Canada has been supporting the mastery of movement in Canada for five decades as the national governing body for the sport of gymnastics in Canada. We work closely with the twelve provincial federations and 700 local clubs to provide a broad range of programs and services to meet the needs of all participants. From athlete development to coach and judge education, Gymnastics Canada sets the operating standards and practices for the sport in Canada. Our mandate is to promote and provide positive and diverse gymnastics experiences through the delivery of quality and safe gymnastics programming. Visit www.gymcan.org for more information or follow us @gymcan1. From here, we soar.
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For more information, contact:
Taylor Matthews
Communications
Gymnastics Canada
comms@gymcan.org