A trio of Glacier Gymnastics athletes vaulted over the competition last weekend in Kelowna.
Eden Bellman, Dafni van Hellemond and Brianne Stefani sparkled among a field of gymnasts from Kelowna, Kamloops and Vernon, bringing home 12 medals and prompting outstanding comments from the competition judges.
“You know you are on the right track when judges make the effort to talk to you after the competition to tell you how remarkable your gymnasts performances were,” said head coach Sandra Long. “Judges and other coaches are always surprised when our small town club shows up with amazing technical and polished gymnasts.”
In the Junior Olympic Level 7 category, 13-year-old, Van Hellemond won the gold all-around medal and also claimed gold in the vault and floor events and the silver medal on bars. Bellman, 11, was close behind her teammate, earning the silver all-around medal as well as taking silver on the beam and floor events and a bronze on vault.
Brianne Stefani, 13, was just as successful in the Junior Olympic Level 8 category. She captured the gold in the floor event, silver on vault and bronze in the all-around on the beam event.
These are great results to have under their belts while they continue to prepare for the B.C. Winter Games Trials taking place in Cranbrook on Dec. 16, said Long.
“The girls have been working very hard physically and mentally to prepare for the trials and these results confirm that their effort is paying off.”
Long said that earning a spot on the B.C. Games team is very challenging since only the top-three Level 7s and top-three Level 8s in the entire Kootenay Zone qualify for the team.
The rest of the Glacier competitive team starts their competition season Jan. 13 in Spokane.