CHARLOTTETOWN, 5:58 p.m.: The best of Canadian gymnastics's bright future are about to take the floor in the High Performance Novice Division. At stake tonight is Provincial pride -- this first night is the team competition.
Gymnasts to watch include Quebec's Brianna Clark and Ivy Lu, who have already represented Canada internationally, as well as Rose Woo, Haven Latimer and of course, the supertalented Shallon Olsen of British Columbia.
Rotation one:
Sarah McLean, floor: Double tuck, OOB. Drum music. Switch, Tourjete half. Front layout, front tuck second pass. Cool move where she spins on her back. Double full to end, a tad underrotated.
Quebec is on beam, and boy do they have good form!
Paige Romano, floor: Double tuck, big hop forward but legs glued together. Punch front to full twist. Switch ring. Fast paced music. 1.5 twist to end.
Madison Copiac, floor: Great high double tuck to open. Side aerial. Switch, switch side. Terrific 2.5 twist to end.
Brianna Clark, beam: Swing through mount. Side somie with legs straight, great. Bhs, layout, smallest of checks. Double turn, small wobble but controls it. Almost comes off on side aerial but saves it again. Switch, scissone. Side somie. Moving well...Punch front, tiny wobble. A very mature routine here...roundoff, double full with a large step back, but very impressive for a novice!
Rose Woo, beam: Still only a head higher than the beam itself. Getting some last minute instruction from her coach. Then she prepares. Judge waves the green flag, and she doesn't see it. Now she's on...Punch front. Straight legged side somie, nice. Much improved presentation wise. What a difference a year can make! Bhs, layout, windmills her arms several times trying to save it but her shoulders are too far back and she can't. Shame. Sheep. Roundoff, high double tuck to great landing.
Kelly Hanasyk, Alberta, floor: Double tuck with a few little hops back. Front through to 1.5.
Shallon Olsen, bars: Inbar stalderto toe stalder to stalder to hecht to high, full turn to blind to front giant to half turn to full twisting double tuck with a hop. Whew! She swings quickly. Nice routine.
Rotation two:
Paige Romano, vault: Yurchenko pike, a few steps back.
Syndey Townsend, bars: Toe stalder, clear hip, toe hecht to high, half turn, giant to giant full, giant half and a stuck dismount!
Kendra Hromek, beam: Check after switch leap. Back tuck. Bhs, layout, unsure and flails a bit but stays on. Switch side, little wobble again. Comes off on side aerial. Little hesitations all the way through.
Emilie Dumont, floor: Double tuck, OOB. Tourjete half. Punch front to layout half. Kind of a jazzy yet soft piece with violins. Turn with leg at head. Didn't see her last pass, but a hit routine aside from the OOB.
Sara McLean, vault: Tsuk pike, step forward.
Sydney Davidson, bars: Clear hip to toe stalder to toe hecht to high, full turn to giant to full twisting double tuck with a step back. Nice!
Taylor Chan, beam: Front walkover. Comes off on back pike.
Sophie Quindon, floor: Lovely double tuck with legs together. All the Quebec girls tumble this skill very well, very cleanly. Switch side. Switch half. Didn't see second pass. Nice double turn with leg at head! Dancing to an orchaestral arrangement. Good 1.5 to end this routine. Well done.
Brittany Morin, vault: Tsuk pike.
Heaven Latimer, bars: Clear hip to straddle sole circle to high, Tkatchev, blidn to half turn, full turn, overrotates full in tuck dismount and takes several steps back. Believe her bottom hit the floor at some point there in that struggle.
Ashlynn Skulstad, beam: Switch side. Bhs, layout. Side somie, fights to stay on and does.
Samantha Poirier, floor: Good double pike to open. Switch, switch wolf, a skill we don't see too often..1.5? to front tuck, a little rushed. Double full with a step back to end.
Carissa Sebelius, vault: Tsuk tuck.
Tara Mauchel, bars: Terrific double layout dismount to end her routine! Nearly stuck too.
Angel Zhong, beam: Comes off, but did not see on what. Switch side.
Ivy Lu, floor: Great 2.5 twist. Layout half to punch front. Switch, switch wolf. 1.5 twist. Double turn, stumbles out of it a little. Has a good 20 seconds of dance between her last pass and the end of her routine, which is nice to see.
Madison Copiak, vault: Yurchenko pike, step back.
Sasha Yermolchuk, bars: Stalder to half turn to front stalder sequence on low bar to begin her routine...had a little bit of trouble with the front stalder and hesitated, but she has excellent lines and form for this event. Did not see the rest of the routine, alas.
Clair Kaji, beam: Cool chest pose early on in her routine, but comes off on her flight series (bhs, layout). Nice form too. Front aerial, wobble. Side aerial. Full turn with leg not quite at horizontal. Falls again, didn't see on what. Step back on double full dismount.
Brianna Clark, floor: One of the favorites here...good high double tuck, small step back. Front layout full. Switch, switch wolf. Violins piece, very classy. 1.5 to front pike to a kind of scissone that could also be construed as a very large step. 2.5 twist to end, large step to the side.
Kelly Hanasyk, vault: Stuck Tsuk pike.
Aleeza Yu, bars: She's had a loooooong wait to go...hit routine.
Shallon Olsen, beam: All eyes on Shallon. During warmup she did two bhs to a double and it was so springy I thought she might even be capable of a triple! Never seen spring like that into a double tuck off beam. Ever. What a talent. Anyways, swing through mount, a similar pose to Kaji's from a chest roll. Onodi, wobble. Sheep. Front aerial, bhs, layout, great. Side somie, quick and excellent. Full turn. She moves so fast...Switch ring, good. Bhs, bhs, double tuck with a step back. Wow.
Rose Woo, floor: "Blue" by Eiffel 65...not sure what she opened with, but it was landed well. 2.5, very good, small hop forward. Double full to single stag jump a la Sandra Izbasa! Double pike to end.
Rotation three:
Samantha Poirier, vault: Tsuk pike.
Sara McLean, bars: Missed it.
Sydney Davison, beam: Saves her bhs, layout. Switch, wolf. Side aerial. Off on a back tuck in combination, it looks like. Side somie, a little wild but stayed on. Full turn. Front tuck full off.
Kendra Hromek, floor: Falls on 2.5 twist to open. Front layout full to single stag jump. Switch half. Switch. Did not see last pass.
Sophie Quindon, vault: Overrotates Yurchenko pike and rolls backwards out of it.
Brittany Morin, bars: Great stuck double tuck dismount.
Sasha Yermolchuk, beam: Nice extension on switch, back tuck. Switch half, wobble. Side aerial. Split, wolf jumps. As a Novice, she's already taller than most of the juniors. However, everything she does is so correct! Handstand, step down to immediate layout full -- very interesting dismount.
Angel Zhang, floor: A tango! Double tuck, bounced back and had to put her hand down. 1.5 twist second pass. Double turn.
Emilie Dumont, vault: Yurchenko tuck, if I'm not mistaken.
Kelly Hanasyk, bars: Missed it.
Sydney Townsend, beam: Press handstand to full twisting swing down. Switch half. Front tuck, step forward. Scissone, wolf. Switch, back pike, solid. Very small and muscled, this one. Bhs, back tuck. Roundoff, bhs, 2.5 twist. Nice.
Clair Kaji, floor: Double tuck to mount, good.
Ivy Lu, vault: Tsuk tuck. Second vault is a Yurchenko pike, it appears.
Paige Romano, bars: Dismounts with a front layout half twist.
Tara Mauchel, beam: She does have a fairly long wait, though...Jump to middle splits. Switch, back tuck, super solid. Bhs, layout, layout, way off on the first one and lands the second layout on the ground with her shoulder on the beam, ouch. Switch half. Jumps. Off on side aerial.
Ashlynn Skulstad, floor: Double pike to open. "All that Jazz." And an energetic performance as well. Nice double tuck to close. One to watch for the future for sure.
Rose Woo, vault: Handspring front tuck. Yurchenko layout second effort.
Carissa Sebelius, bars: Toe stalder, toe hecht to high. Full turn to giant to blind to front giant, double tuck.
Heaven Latimer, beam: This should be exciting...she had some great skills in warmup, and took advantage of her one touch to do at least three of each of her TWO flight series...Here we go...Bhs, bhs to two feet, layout to two feet. Wow. Bhs, layout, layout, excellent! Lots of applause from the sidelines. Bhs, bhs, double tuck.
Taylor Chan, floor: Double pike to open, good. Jazzy music. Double tuck, small hop. Switch, switch side. 1.5 to front layout half, very clean.
Brianna Clark, vault: Very nice handspring front tuck.
Madison Copiak, bars: Missed it.
Shallon Olsen, floor: Full in pike. Wow. Whip to double tuck. Easy stuff. Really showing off her athletic ability in this routine too. Switch ring to the corner for her third pass, which is a double full (or was that a triple?) Easy double pike to end, as well. Shallon has grown as a gymnast and as an artist since last year.
Rotation four:
Angel Zhong, vault: Yurchenko tuck.
Sophie Quindon, bars: HIt routine with double layout dismount, nearly stuck. Nice swing and some stalderwork as well.
Carissa Sebelius, beam: Switch, scissone. Falls on her flight series (I think it was bhs, back tuck).
Sasha Yermolchuk, floor: Rudi, nice. Switch ring, switch half. Lovely work so far...Punch front to double full. Front layout full.
Kendra Hromek, vault: Yurchenko pike. More laid out position on the second vault.
Samantha Poirier, bars: Didn't see it.
Brittany Morin, beam: Front aerial, bhs, really well connected. Needs to work a bit of flexibility, really hitting those splits in her leaps and jumps. Stuck double twist dismount, though.
Aleeza Yu, floor: Didn't see it.
Clair Kaji, vault: Yurchenko tuck.
Ivy Lu, bars: Terrific routine. Hecht to high bar, pike Jaeger I believe, and some stalderwork. Great dismount too. Hug from the coach afterward.
Sara McLean, beam: Off on full turn. Whoops. Comes off again later in the routine, didn't see on what.
Tara Mauchel, floor: Switch half. Open double tuck, which gets bonus. Big step forward, a trifle underrotated though. Full twist. 1.5 to punch front, large step forward, a bit overrotated. Double pike.
Ashlynn Skulstad, vault: Yurchenko layout.
Emilie Dumont, bars: Stalder, toe stalder,hecht to high. Front stalde rto Weiler, great work! Double pike dismount. Excellent routine.
Paige Romano, beam: Her coach is putting a clip in her hair as she stands waiting to salute the judges...Stuck 1.5 twisting layout off
Sydney Townsend, floor: Very nice double tuck to open. Double full. Switch, switch side half. WOW double pike to close. Great tumbling in this routine.
Taylor Chan, vault: Yurchenko tuck full.
Rose Woo, bars: Double front dismount. Nice routine! She's so tiny, and swings well.
Kelly Hanasyk, beam: Hit routine with bhs, layout, front aerial and 1.5 twist dismount.
Sydney Davison, floor: A miniature Shawn Johnson...and using Johnson's 2007 music to boot. Double pike to open. Front layout full? to immediate single stag jump.
Shallon Olsen, vault: FTY. And a DTY! Beautifully done. Just beautiful.
Brianna Clark, bars: Hecht to high, clear hip, clear half to bail to stalder to toe hecht to high, toe stalder to stalder half, double front dismount with a step to the side. Excellent routine. Watch for her the next few years.
Madison Copiak, beam: Jump to sclae. Switch, back tuck. Competes with a bandage on her right knee...Bhs, layout. Switch side. Wolf. Roundoff, 1.5 with a tiny hop. Big applause from her coaches and teammates.
Heaven Latimer, floor: Arabian double front, very well done! Drum music, Indian if I'm not mistaken... Full in, stuck. Well well well...Latimer was near the top last year in this division...triple full! Wow! And a double pike to end. A tumbler to rival Olsen. Nice!
Gymnastics Examiner Blythe Lawrence will be at the Canadian Championships this week in Charlottetown, PEI. Stay tuned for notes, quick hits from the competition floor, videos and interviews more from the Canadian Championships all week, and/or follow The Gymnastics Examiner on Facebook or Twitter.
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