After placing sixth on the beam at the Sudbury District Secondary School Athletics Association (SDSSAA) and the Northern Ontario Secondary School Athleticcs (NOSSA) meet at the same venue two weeks ago, Chantal Labelle of Collège Notre-Dame (Level 4) climbed right to the top of the heap at OFSAA, earning a score of 9.25 and edging out Jamie Pardo of General Amherst (9.20).
"I was really nervous at NOSSA, I was freaking out," the Grade 11 student said. "Today, I was more confident."
Boasting easily the largest single school delegation, Chantal said Notre-Dame's team spirit really pays dividends.
"You see everybody else training, so you want to do what they are doing," she said. "You just improve with that."
A wrist injury didn't stop Maissie Gionest from earning a Level 4 silver medal for her floor routine for her school, Champlain.
"I lost a lot of my flexibility, and being able to do some moves," the Grade 9 student said. "But on floor, I didn't really lose as much."
In the end, the young gymnast was as surprised as anyone in reaching the podium at the all-Ontario competition.
"I just didn't think that second place was even possible for me," Maissie said.
Like so many other competitors, 16-year-old Taylor Emery enjoyed gymnastics in her youth, but gave it up as she entered high school. Now she's back and competing for St. Benedict — and earning a bronze medal on the beam.
"I think I just wanted to do everything, do my best, and manage to stay on the beam," she said.
These stories come as little surprise to Notre-Dame coach Danielle Gauthier, blessed with some 35 years of coaching experience in total, including 26 years in the high school setting.
"Those kids think that they've lost everything," stated Gauthier. "They don't realize the muscle memory that you build in gymnastics, and that you can get it back. It's just a matter of making them confident enough to try it again."
Gauthier was ecstatic to note the performance of the Level 3 Alouette girls, as four teenagers from CND swept the top four spots on the floor routines. "I'm very, very passionate about the floor," admitted Gauthier.
"The four girls, their routines were made up by four different coaches. I found that it gave four different styles of routines, and the Level three girls are extremely precise. It was a really good match."
After 35 years of coaching, Notre-Dame's Danielle Gauthier appreciates the elevated skills of Level 5 and 6 competitors, bit her real joy comes with working with the newcomers to the sport, the Level 1 and 2 competitors, the bulk of whom are in action today.
"For high school, it's a lot about building confidence," said Gauthier. "It's about helping them succeed, making them believe that they can do something that they never thought was possible."
Following is a complete breakdown of the local athletes who captured medals on Day 1 of the OFSAA Gymnastics Championships:
Level Three
Taylor Bodson (Notre-Dame): gold on floorMarie-Michelle Croteau (Notre-Dame): silver on floor
Alexandra Tanner (Notre-Dame): silver on bars
Alexandra Tanner (Notre-Dame): silver on beam
Serena Luttrell (Marymount): bronze on bars
Sarah Bonin (Notre-Dame): bronze on floor
Level Four
Chantal Labelle (Notre-Dame): gold on beamMaissie Gionest (Champlain): silver on floor
Level Five
Melissa Roussel (Champlain): gold on vaultTaylor Emery (St Benedict): bronze on beam
Level Six
Jennifer Drane (Lockerby): gold on beamBrooklyn Lavallee (Confederation): silver on beam
Jennifer Drane (Lockerby): silver on vault
Jennifer Drane (Lockerby): bronze on bars
Danika Blais (Notre-Dame): bronze on bars.
Stay tuned to NorthernLife.ca for the results from Day 2 of the competition.
