Week 1 Summary- Canada Winter Games

#TeamSask Artistic Gymnastics | Week One Mission Staff Recap 

"Women's Artistic Gymnastics had one of their best Canada Gamesperformances in memory at the 2019 Canada Winter Games - Red Deer. Guided by the expertise of Chris Baraniuk, who is coaching in his 8th Canada Games, with the enthusiasm of Lisa Patterson coaching her first Canada Games Team, the dynamic duo complemented each other, and their athletes took notice! The Women’s team placed 5th overall in the team competition. In the individual all round competition, Emily Walker, Alix Pierce and Rya Weibe represented our province.

The Men's Artistic Gymnastics came so close to a medal for the overall team competition. The competition came down to the wire, protests included, but Nova Scotia slipped slightly ahead and took bronze. Coach Markos Baikas, in his 6th Canada Games as coach was steady and strong, supporting his athletes on every apparatus. Coach Baikas worked with Coach Bryce Elliot, who, although only in his 7th year of gymnastics, has successfully coached an athlete to the Canada Games level. For the individual all round representation, Davey Boschmann, Noah Royer and Ashton Kotlar represented Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan had an athlete in every one of the men's and women’s apparatus finals competition held Thursday, February 21. This is something to be proud of! Kristi Mandzuk, of Gym Sask, stayed on top of all competition details, stats, social media, and any other query or request that any of her team had. She handled details so the coaches could focus on coaching and the athletes could focus on competition. It definitely helped, and during the apparatus finals, WAG secured 2 medals for Saskatchewan! A heartfelt congratulations goes to Alix Pierce for her silver medal on floor, and Rya Weibe for her bronze medal on the uneven bars.

"I was so excited for the opportunity to be the mission staff for gymnastics. I already knew that I loved the sport, but what I didn’t expect was how much I would enjoy watching these professional, skilled, hardworking coaches support and encourage an amazing group of athletes to perform at their best. Gym Sask demonstrated a true team effort. It was an absolute joy to be a part of!"

- Daysha Shuya, Mission Staff

 

photos: Jody Bailey, Chelsea Bootsman, Corina Cowie, Peter Fuzessery

Full results | https://bit.ly/2STsGLj
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