With exceptional results in competition this year, the Ottawa Gymnastics Centre is showing just how talented and hardworking some of the young athletes who train in the Kitchissippi area really are.
The Ottawa Gymnastics Centre is located in Westboro on Elmgrove Avenue, at Lion’s Park. The club’s facilities and staff attract gymnasts from across the capital region, but one of its medal-winning athletes lives right here in the area.
Adrianka Forrest, the only Kitchissippi resident, showed off her skills in competition this year.
Forrest, a recent grade eight graduate of Broadview Public School who will be attending Nepean High School in the fall, recently competed for the first time this year in the Canadian National Championships. The championships were held at Carleton University in May of this year.
She represented Ontario in the National Open category for 13 to 15-year-olds, and had strong results across a range of events.
Most notably, Forrest won a silver medal for beam. She also placed seventh, ninth, and 12th respectively on the bars, vault and floor events.
Overall, Forrest placed fourth in the competition, out of a total of 20 young female gymnasts.
Women’s head coach Tobie Gorman of the Ottawa Gymnastics Centre called these results “outstanding” in an email to the editor.
Gorman is also a Kitchissippi resident who, like Forrest, attended both Broadview Public School and Nepean High School.
Forrest’s Ottawa Gymnastics Centre teammate, Sofia Baggio of Kanata, was also successful at the championships. She won bronze medals on both beam and floor. She placed fourth on vault and 16th on bars, finishing in sixth place overall.
The Ottawa Gymnastics Centre can also boast success from the men’s events at the Canadian National Championships this year.
Carleton University student and club member Taylor Jackle-Springgs won team silver on pommel horse and vault, and bronze medals on floor and parallel bars. He placed fourth on high bars and second overall.
However Forrest, Baggio and Jackle-Spriggs are not the only sources of pride for the Ottawa Gymnastics Centre in recent months.
“This year was an exceptional one for the club as every athlete in our Provincial program qualified for the Provincial Championships,” said the Ottawa Gymnastics Centre’s executive director Kellie Hinnells.
The club also saw five of its young athletes qualify for the Eastern Canadian Championships. Of these, Sarah Stacey placed second overall, winning team gold and becoming the Eastern Canadian Champion on bars. Meanwhile, David Gorman placed third overall.
“I’m very proud of the programs we have,” said Hinnells.
“Not only are we able to get great results from our athletes but they are also tremendous human beings – involved in the community, great grades at school,” she said.
With these results, it’s clear that the Ottawa Gymnastics Centre, its athletes and their neighbours certainly have a lot to be proud of.