Two young gymnasts from Tamarack Gymnastics share a love for the sport and the fun and friendships that come with it.
Thirteen-year-old Boe Brooks has been in gymnastics for eight years and 11-year-old Kyrie Harder for six years.
When it comes to how they discovered their passion for the sport, Brooks has a story to tell: “I'm pretty sure that I was in figure skating before and I did not like the cold. I would cry on the ice and so my mom took me out of figure skating and we tried gymnastics and I liked it,”
Both agree that their favourite part of gymnastics is performing flips and tricks. Aside from being in the air, setting goals and working towards achieving them is something that they love.
"A couple of years ago I broke my arm and I had to take a while off of gymnastics. And my goal was to finally get some skills that I lost because of it,” Brooks said.
For Harder, it’s learning difficult skills such as a kip.
“It's a skill on bars. It's a very hard skill and it was very, very good when I accomplished it,”
Moving forward, a goal both Brooks and Harder have is practicing their routines to make them flow more smoothly. Harder adds that she is hoping to improve and reach the next level.
This past weekend, they had their first competition in Brandon. Although there were nerves beforehand, they were as confident as ever after warming up. Harder says heading into her first event “felt like class, but there were just people.”
Both saw success as Harder placed second and Brooks placed third in their respective levels.
The friendships and love for gymnastics extend beyond the gymnasts themselves. Jessica Thompson, Brooks’ mom, says that this is their first year at Tamarack Gymnastics and have felt “welcomed” by everyone in the program.
“It's been amazing just seeing them all smile, and the gym atmosphere has been awesome,”
For Harder’s mom, Elaine, “It's been a good constant for the last number of years and just developing that and watching the girls grow,”
Brooks and Harder look forward to continuing to improve and compete in the coming months.
With files from Corny Rempel and Dave Anthony.