Docksiders Gymnasts Compete at US Challenge Competition
Docksiders Gymnasts Stephanie Ouellette and Krystal Welsh made their Elite debut at the US Challenge Competition this past weekend in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a great weekend with an incredibly high level of gymnastics.
Krystal Welsh, who was coming back from an
injury that kept her out of competition for the last part of the past season,
put together an awesome performance that earned her 5th All Around at
the end of the two-day
competition. The girls competed in both Compulsory and Optional sessions, and
under the new FIG (Federation of International Gymnastics) scoring system
Krystal was able to earn points through skill value and execution that pushed
her from the back of the group on the Compulsory day to near the front of the
line after the Optional day. Krystal performed a new vault, a Yurchenko laid
out full, for the first time and placed 2nd on Vault. She also
placed 6th for a clean Uneven Bars routine as well as 7th
on a solid Balance Beam set. She did not seem rattled by the high level of
competition and had an outstanding meet that received attention from several
members of the USAG Elite Program who did not get a chance to see her at JO
Nationals due to her injury. Krystal summed up her favorite parts of the
weekend as, "Meeting Marta Karolyi and talking with her, being able to compete
in the US Classic competition, and winning 4 medals.
Stephanie Ouellette, who had a near
perfect season in 2006 winning 4 major competitions throughout the year and
placing 6th at JO Nationals in May, did not have her best competition
at the Challenge
meet. She put several new skills into each routine and had a
few misses that cost her an opportunity for an All Around place. She had this
to say about her weekend, "Even though competing at the US Challenge meet was both exciting and fun, introducing myself to Martha (Karolyi) was the highlight
of my weekend. I couldn't wait to get home and tell everyone about it." This
competitive season has been especially long for Stephanie, who has been doing
full routines since late November. She is most excited about taking a little
break from intense training now that her season is officially over.
A break in intensity does not mean a break from practice though, just a break from full routines. Both girls are already back in the gym planning for next season. Learning new skills and perfecting old ones will be their goal for the next six months. Both of the girls are hoping for an invitation to the Karolyi Training Camp in November. If they get an invitation they will go to Texas for five days to train with the National Team Coaching Staff. Invitations for the camps are sent out in September. Coach Bob Ouellette was extremely proud of how the girls handled the new level of competition. “They have both shown that they have what it takes to be competitive at the Elite level, and that is what the US Challenge competition is all about. They looked like they belonged there.”
For more information about Docksiders Gymnastics and the programs offered please go to www.docksidersgymnastics.com. Docksiders has started Registration for their Fall Class program and will host an Open House on Saturday August 5th 2-5pm on National Gymnastics Day. Come on over to see what we have to offer!!!
