Gymnastics coach leaves legacy of strength

Strong.

It’s the one word that sums up Cristina Roque.

Strong mind. Strong body. Strong spirit.

On March 5, Roque passed away, following a four-year battle with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She was 29.

From the time she was two years old, Roque was in the gym, practising and sharing her passion for rhythmic gymnastics. She spent most of her free time there, developing through the ranks as a recreational gymnast, to a competitive gymnast, and eventually a coach with the Sampo Rhythmic Gymnastics Club.

“She was undergoing treatment and planning kids’ camps,” Liija Cassidy Eskola, Roque’s close friend and fellow gymnast, said. “She was sick, but she was in the gym always, as often as she could be. For whatever reason, she was here, 100 per cent, up until she physically couldn’t do it anymore.”

That was in January, less than two months before she succumbed to cancer.

“I think somebody who is that strong and that resilient, and had such, not only physical strength, but strength of character — those are lasting life lessons that she has left us all with,” Liija added.

On May 14, those whose lives she touched most deeply paid special tribute to their friend, coach and fellow gymnast at the club’s 42nd annual Spring Spirit recital.
“These are girls Cristina’s been coaching since they were five and six years old and they’re now 20,” Seija Cassidy Eskola, Liija’s sister and Roque’s close friend, said. “They’ve grown up with Cristina.

“It’s really nice for everybody to be able to express their love and gratitude to her tonight through a few routines that have different focuses, either on being strong or continuing to grow together, and also just remembering and reflecting on what we had and how she’s still here with us.”
 

Sampo Gymnastics coach, Cristina Roque, passed away March 5 at the age of 29. Supplied photo.

A graduate of Marymount College and Laurentian University, Roque went on to earn her Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Ottawa. She taught for the Rainbow District School Board before moving west to teach French Immersion in British Columbia. She also coached soccer and skating and instructed yoga.

Both Liija and Seija developed close friendships with Roque over the years.

“Cristina was here from the time she was two years old and I was shortly thereafter joining, so she was always a presence in the gym,” Seija said. “We’ve travelled together and grown together. I don’t know what happens in the gym, but all of a sudden (a friendship) just blossoms, and then you’ve got these lifelong friends.”

By the time Liija joined the competitive group in 2000, she said Roque “was a staple of the club.”

“By then, she had been performing with my sister and then we travelled to Portugal together in 2003,” Liija said. “Beyond that ... we coached together, performed together, did choreography together, did courses together — we did everything together.”

That included impromptu gymnastics practices, whenever and wherever.

“She and I would get together in Ottawa — she had a lot of treatments there — and we would have our own little gymnastics practices, in whatever empty space we could find,” Liija said. “We just made it work.”

That was a virtue by which Roque lived her life.

While she was a full-time student at Laurentian, Roque was also a full-time coach.

“She was dragging her equipment on the bus from Laurentian and all over the city,” Liija said. “It speaks volumes to her dedication and what these kids meant to her. There was nothing she wouldn’t do, there was no amount of equipment she was unwilling to drag around the city so her kids could have the best experience they could.”

Liija recalled a practice in early winter when Roque had all her young gymnasts write “Strong” on their hands.

“That’s something I know means something to them,” she said. “It’s because she was so strong and they’re all the stronger for it.”

Seija said Roque’s strength and determination was unwavering, even in her toughest days.

“The thing I’ve been reflecting on the most is even though it was really hard when she was sick, her energy was always still the same, the passion and love for the sport and for all of us was still there. But we were really mindful of how special the relationship that we all had was. It’s a real gift.”

For the past eight years, Carli O’Hara and Alissa Peura had the opportunity to be coached by Roque. It’s a time of their life that will forever influence them.

“Cristina was very inspirational,” O’Hara said. “Whenever I was down or feeling upset, she’d always make me feel at home and happy and ready to do gymnastics. She was more like family to me.

“The biggest lesson Cristina taught me was not giving up on anything you try to do.”

Peura echoed those sentiments.

“Cristina inspired everyone to always try their best and to always work their hardest at everything they did ... (She taught me) to never give up, to never quit fighting and to always be strong.”

Roque leaves behind her parents, Joaquim and Fran, and siblings Julian and Adriana, as well as partner Glen Frank of British Columbia.

Posted by Laurel Myers