Chimo Gymnastics' talented 9-17-year-old competitive gymnasts have enjoyed personal bests and podium finishes aplenty after five competitions this year.

The first meet of the competitive season was Chimo's own PJ Party Invitational. "The support of the community, the volunteers and the sponsors made the 11th annual event a rousing success," said Chimo gym manager Kelly Barnie. The organizational success was furthered by the achievements of the 21 Chimo athletes competing in nine categories.

Podium finishes included a silver medal for Lauren Carr on vault and silver medals on beam for Cassidy Barna and Sawyer Sturam. Two Chimo athletes who are also club coaches enjoyed great success. Amber Mearns won bronze on vault, silver on bars and beam, gold on floor and silver all around. Katie Symonds had a particularly exceptional meet. She placed first on all four events, and won the all around gold in the Provincial Level 4 Open category. With a 50.55, Symonds had the highest all around score in the entire competition.

Two of Chimo's Level 3 gymnasts and one Level 4 gymnast attended the North Shore Invitational in North Vancouver.  Although she had just returned to training after being off with pneumonia, Ally Olson's commitment and hard work paid off as she topped the podium with a gold medal in the Level 3 Novice Bars.

Level 3 Open Amber Mearns and Level 4 Open Katie Symonds both took home a neck full of hardware. Both girls had podium finishes on all the events and both were awarded all around gold.

The weekend of March 11-13 was particularly busy for Chimo athletes.  After qualifying at the trials meet in Nanaimo in Feb. 9 high school aged girls attended the B.C. Secondary School Provincial Championships in Delta. Teammates attended pool parties and banquets together and had a wonderful time cheering on classmates and gymnastics friends alike.

Stephanie Clements, Jessica Kerr and Amber Mearns represented G.P. Vanier. This team did particularly well on floor exercise with Clements earning bronze and Mearns silver.

Krista Kleeman, Sandi Matthews, Somer McNeil-Folks and Katie Symonds made up the team from Highland Secondary. Symonds continued her winning streak with a first on floor exercise. Lindsay Pettis and Marni Murphy attended for Mark Isfeld Secondary, with Pettis placing first on bars and third on floor.

"Chimo would like to thank Shelly Kleeman for supporting this great program by being the teacher representative for the entire weekend," Barnie said.

That same weekend, competitive team members Cassidy Barna, Lauren Carr, Sabine Carruthers-Rankin, Kaylee Guignard, Claire Knowles, Autumn Lewis, Sophia Mossie, Maiah Tanner, Caitlin Tatham and Toni Smith represented Chimo at the Mt. Arrowsmith Invitational in Port Alberni.

Carruthers-Rankin won silver on bars and Carr had an outstanding meet placing first on vault and third on bars, beam, floor and all around.

"The real victories came in the form of great teamwork at this competition," Barnie said. "Not only did all the Chimo girls do an exceptional job supporting each other and cheering on each other's efforts, but Maiah, Claire and Autumn won the third place team award for the Level 1 Argo category and Lauren, Sabine and Cassidy received the first place team trophy for Level 1 Novice," Barnie said.

Amber Mearns, Ally Olson, Sawyer Sturam and Katie Sturam are now busily preparing for the B.C. Championships April 8-10 in Langley. Chimo girls will also be attending competitions in Victoria, Delta and Duncan before the year is done.

"We're sure they will make themselves and everyone watching them and supporting them very proud," said Barnie. "Chimo Gymnastics would like to thank all of the athletes for their hard work, the coaches for their dedication and expertise, and the parents of the athletes for their unwavering support," Barnie added.

– Chimo Gymnastics