For further information on the games check out the official games web site at www.albertagames.com or www.awg2010.ca

On January 21st clubs across Alberta gymnasts participated in a Province wide handstand contest. And on January 24th 209 gymnasts from 14 clubs participated in Mall demonstrations in Calgary and Edmonton. Thank you to all of the clubs, participants and coaches who participated in National Gymnastics Week this year. Special thanks to Sunridge Mall (Calgary), Londonderry Mall (Edmonton), Joanne McLay, Kari Binder, Dynamyx Gymnastics Club- Cat Fontaine, and Altadore Gymnastics Club-Katelyn Niro for helping us organized the National Gymnastic Week Mall demos. Contact AGF and find out how your club can be involved next year.

Our heartfelt sympathy is extended to family and friends.

The highlight results for Alberta at the World Championships were an individual bronze medal for Corissa Boychuk from Airdrie Edge (coach Jamie Atkin) on women’s DMT. Corissa then joined club-mate Julie Warnock for the Women’s DMT team Bronze medal. Julie also performed the world record degree of difficulty as one of her passes. Alex Seifert from CGC (coach Brett MacAulay) also made finals in men’s DMT.

The following week at the World Age Group Championships Lexi Giesbrecht of CGC (coach Brett MacAulay) won a bronze medal in the 13-14 Women’s DMT category. Keegan Soehn of Thunder Country (coach Ken Soehn) made finals in two events, men’s 17-18 trampoline and synchro tramp. Keegan was also presented with a F.I.G. Fairplay Medal. Congratulations to all Alberta Tumbling & Trampoline athletes and their coaches, job well done.

To see a compiled list of all the Alberta (only) results please click here

"I'm so happy, I never expected the medal at all," said Giesbrecht, 13, "I just went in to do my best. I stayed in the landing zone and nailed my second pass. I was really happy with that."

Lexi is coached by Brett MacAulay. Congratulations!

Check out the rest of the results here.

Posted: November 16, 2009

"I was very nervous for my first pass but on the second I was really excited and knew exactly what I needed to do”, said Boychuk, who won her first Canadian double-mini title last June. Corissa is coached by Jamie Atkin.

Julie Warnock of Calgary, coming back from a torn achilles tendon, was 5th.

In men’s double-mini trampoline, Alex Seifert of Calgary placed 7th.

Congratulations Team Canada! And good luck to our athletes at World Age Group Championships, also taking place in St. Petersberg, Russia!

Visit the website for complete results

Kristin scored an average 13.412, thus improving her score from qualification and finishing a mere .313 from a medal! "Kristin rose to the occasion and seized the opportunity. She competed her new vault for a second time and under much more pressure than qualification, making her performance that much more satisfying. She had been a little disappointed after Day #1, so she wasn't going to let this opportunity slide by." related Valérie.

"This is a very good step in the right direction for Kristin. Although I stayed back in Edmonton for this one, I can just picture Kristin's level of energy and adrenaline on this event, her favorite. It was a bad day for the beat-board! My other athletes had been on Facebook with Kristin and they told me that she was starting to feel better from that Flu and cold she had all last week. I am proud of her for seizing the opportunity and making her World Cup debut a good one." said Michel Arsenault from Edmonton. Kristin and Valerie fly back home on Monday and are back in the gym on Tuesday, preparing the upcoming Elite Canada at the beginning of December. Good job Kristin!

After qualifications, Julie Warnock of Airdrie Edge has rebounded amazingly well from her minimum 6-month break from training and competing because if an injury and is sitting in 4th place in DMT; Alex Seifert of the Calgary Gymnastics Centre is in 14th place in tumbling and 9th in DMT; Corissa Boychuk from Airdrie Edge is in 9th place in DMT moving into the finals; Kyle Soehn of Thunder Country is 13th on DMT, Gillian Bruce of the Calgary Gymnastics Centre is in 21st Place on DMT and Chris Melemenis of the Calgary Gymnastics Centre placed 34th on Tumbling.

Congratulations athletes and good luck in the finals!!

Visit the website for additional information

She sits as the first reserve for tomorrow's event finals and still has a chance to compete on vault in the event a gymnast placed ahead of her pulls out of the finals. "Kristin competed a new vault for the first time at this World Cup event, a new Yurchenko Layout-1/2, on top of her solid Front-Front Pike half and averaged 13.262, right behind Bruna Leal from Brazil (13.300). We were planning to train the new vault but not necessarily to compete it, but it was so good in training that we decided to compete it. It turned out to be the right decision." said Valérie Oudin, Kristin's coach at the World Cup.

"Kristin fell twice on beam, so this really hurt her score. She had never been in this situation, so she gained valuable experience and is sure to turn it around." related Valérie. On floor, Kristin had two out-of-bounds and three steps on her 4th tumbling line, for an uncharacteristic 11.975. "Kristin has to learn to control her power and that will be the theme in training for the next few weeks as she prepares Elite Canada." told Valerie.

"What the story doesn't tell is that Kristin was seriously ill with the flu for the whole week before she left. Her flu turned into a cold and she had trouble training properly. She met the challenge with a lot of character. This will serve her experience well for the future. She showed she belonged at that level and now she has to trust herself in these situations." related Valérie. For now, it's a matter of waiting to see if Kristin will be called in to compete in vault finals tomorrow.

The Men’s Program Coordinator will be responsible for the planning, budgeting, implementation, coordination and evaluation of the men’s artistic competitions and other events, coaching and officials’ development and various support of the technical committees/ subcommittees/ assemblies.

A detailed job description is available upon request.

The ideal candidate must possess proven skills in the areas of verbal and written communication, time management, organization and be multi-task oriented. Technical knowledge of the sport and previous experience with managing volunteers would also be an asset. The individual must be able to work independently and within a team setting. A relevant post secondary background and/or experience are also required.

The Alberta Gymnastics Federation offers a positive and flexible work environment, competitive salary, and an excellent benefits package.

Applications will be accepted until 4:00 pm, December 4, 2009. Start date is negotiable.
Please fax or email your resume with cover letter, expected salary and references in confidence to:
The Alberta Gymnastic Federation
#207, 5800 - 2nd Street S.W.
Calgary, Alberta
T2H 0H2
Or FAX: (403) 259-5588 or
Email: shayes@abgym.ab.ca
Attention: S.F. Hayes
No phone calls please

Posted: November 9, 2009

In men's gymanstcs, Ian Galvan of Calgary placed eighth in the event finals on both rings and vault.

Congratulations Anysia and Ian!!

Kristin Klarenbach of Edmonton, Alberta won three medals at the 2009 Rushmoor RoseBowl, which was held in Aldershot, England on the weekend of October 24-25. Canada was represented by National Team members Kristin Klarenbach, Miranda Meyer (Edmonton) and Emma Willis (Sarnia).

On Saturday October 24, the Individual title at the RoseBowl was won by Britt Greeley of Australia (53.45), followed by fellow aussie Emma Collister (53.40) and then by Canada's Kristin Klarenbach (51.90). Kristin qualified for all four event finals, one of only two gymnasts to do so (out of 81 athletes).

On Sunday, Kristin delivered a solid beam performance (13.05) and won gold over Britt Greeley (13.00). Kristin also won silver on vault with an average of 13.55, narrowly edged out by Emma Collister (13.65).

Miranda Meyer qualified first into beam finals with a solid score of 14.00 but a fall in finals kept her out of the medals. Emma Willis qualified for one event final (floor) and finished 7th (12.60).

"Kristin is representing Canada at the upcoming DTB World Cup in November, so this competition was really a warm-up event for Stuttgart. Winning two medals on vault and beam has boosted her confidence and we hope that this will carry forward into her preparation for the DTB event. Miranda had elbow surgery three days after National Championships in June, so we are very pleased that she was able to compete on beam at a high level. Emma Willis competed for the first time in over a year, so this event was mostly a way for her to get back into competitive mode." said Canadian Team coach Michel Arsenault.

Anysia will be accompanied by her coach Judy Howard-Holmes. They will depart on Thursday October 29 for a mini-camp in Mississauga prior to departing for Brazil.

Anysia qualified for Team Canada at a qualification camp held in early October. Congratulations Anysia!

Posted Mon Oct 26, 2009

It was a magical evening with a tribute to our amazing MC, Kyle Shewfelt, including a surprise visit by his long-time coach Kelly Manjak from Toronto. The evening was also highlighted with a memorable video presentation the men’s gymnastics team at the Beijing Olympics.

In addition, many athletes were recognized for their achievements over the last season. Athletes of the Year for 2008-2009 are:

Sydney Sawa – Women’s Gymnastics
Corissa Boychuk – Trampoline & Tumbling Female
Alex Seifert – Trampoline & Tumbling Male
Nathan Gafuik – Men’s Gymnastics

Congratulations to all award recipients!!

A special thank you goes to the many organizers who spent countless hours putting such an amazing event together!

Scott Whiteside
Cathy Dixon
Robin Marsden
Heather McElroy
Bob Romano
Dean Giesbrecht
Rob DeAtley
Trish Quinney
Valerie Oudin

Congratulations!! We would like to thank Susie Sterenberg for her last two years of service on the Board, and especially her help with the 2008-2009 Awards Banquet.

The Alberta Gymnastics Federation (AGF) is proud to present National Gymnastics Week, a week-long celebration of our fundamental sport January 18–24, 2010. During this time clubs will be encouraged to do their part and help promote gymnastics in the province of Alberta. This is your clubs’ opportunity to create awareness of the sport by organizing fitness challenges, community demonstrations and getting the local media involved. Be creative!

Participating Clubs will receive a poster, handbook, stickers, tattoos and passport to gymnastics cards for their National Gymnastics Week participants. As part of our mandate to further promote the sport of gymnastics, AGF will be providing this material to the clubs free of charge. If your club is interested in participating and would like promotional material, please contact AGF and indicate the quantity of materials that you will require.

Please fax back the attached order form to (403) 259-5588 by Friday October 30, 2009.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact Gina Peake at the AGF office.

Thank you for supporting the sport of Gymnastics.

Promo Order Form

The four-man Canadian squad, consisting of world championship rookies Jackson Payne of Edmonton and Kevin Lytwyn of Stoney Creek, Ont., and veterans Nathan Gafuik of Calgary and Brandon O'Neill of Edmonton, did not advance to either the all around final or an individual event final.

Payne, the only member of the four-man Canadian squad to compete in all six events, placed 44th in the all around and notched his best result on high bar, placing 17th in a field of 127 competitors.

Gafuik, coming back from a broken finger, came close to qualifying for the vault final but fell on his second vault and had to settle for 17th. Gafuik also competed on floor and high bar, but finished well back of the top-eight needed to reach a final.

"All in all lots of work to be done, but I'm going in the right direction," said Gafuik, who has recovered fully from the injury but didn't have enough time to prepare as much as he would have liked for the worlds.

"I had to take almost two months off from training and I tried to squeeze in preparation for the world championships into a really short time and unfortunately it wasn't enough and that's a big part of the reason things didn't go as they should have."

O'Neill, also coming back from an injury, finished 37th on floor, normally his best event, and was 19th on parallel bars.

It was O'Neill's first international competition since the Beijing Olympics and what he hopes will be the stepping stone to a full recovery from the severely damaged ankle that dashed his hopes of an Olympic medal last summer.

Lytwyn finished well back on both high bar and parallel bars in his world championship debut.

"We didn't have high expectations for top results at this year's world championships," said Gymnastics Canada president Jean-Paul Caron of Ottawa.

"Our coaches wanted to give some of our younger guys a taste of high-level competition and we knew the two veterans we brought weren't 100 percent because they were coming back from injuries. Overall, it was a good benchmark to see where we stand on the road to the 2012 Olympics."

Competition continues Wednesday with the women's qualification, including Canadians Brittany Rogers and Charlotte Mackie, both of Coquitlam, B.C. and Sydney Sawa of Calgary.

For schedule and additional information, visit www.worldgymnastics2009.com.

O'Neill, returning to international competition for the first time since the Beijing Olympics, and Gafuik will be joined by world championship rookies Jackson Payne of Edmonton and Kevin Lytwyn of Burlington, Ont., in the men's qualification on Tuesday.

Britanny Rogers and Charlotte Mackie, both of Coquitlam, B.C. and Sydney Sawa of Calgary, also trained on Monday as they gear up for the women's qualification on Wednesday.

This year’s world championships feature just individual competition while providing a golden opportunity for over 400 gymnasts to get a feel for the O2 Arena where the gymnastic events will be held at the 2012 Summer Games.

O’Neill, considered a medal contender on floor at the Beijing Olympics until he severely injured an ankle just before the start of the Games, is looking to get back on track in London.

"There's a chance to make finals on floor and parallel bars but I have to hit nice routines for that to happen so that's my main goal,"said O'Neill. "My ankle is still not 100 percent but it feels really good to be able to get ready for a big meet like this."

Gafuik, one of Canada's strongest all around gymnasts, had to curtail his original plan to compete in all six events after a broken finger several months ago hampered his training.

"With the injury it was tough to get the routines to the level where they need to be to qualify for a final but I think I should be able to place well here," said Gafuik, who will compete on floor, vault and high bar.

Following the retirements of 2004 Olympic champion Kyle Shewfelt and two other Olympic veterans, team officials are confident that younger gymnasts like Payne and Lytwyn can step up and fill the gap at the next Olympics.

“We need to give our younger gymnasts all the experience they can get,” says Canadian men’s program director Jeff Thomson.

“We’ve had some very intensive training camps this year, and the younger guys have been taking giant strides and learning the big skills they need to compete at the top level internationally.”

Payne, the 2008 Canadian junior champion, is the only member of the men's team competing in all six events, while Lytwyn, who won two medals last month at one of the world's top junior meets in Yokohama, Japan, will compete on high bar and parallel bars.

Lytwyn, who won his first national senior title on high bar at the Canadian championships in June, called his first world championships "nerve wracking" and enjoyable at the same time.

"Yesterday during podium training I was shaking, but everything went well. If I can hit all my routines in the competition, I'll be super happy."

In the women’s competition, Rogers and Mackie are also set to make their world championship debut while Sawa is a holdover from the 2007 squad.

Rogers, the 2007 Canadian junior champion and 2008 Elite Canada senior champion, has fought off a series of minor injuries, including a displaced rib which knocked her out of the Canadian championships, and has looked strong at recent training camps.

“All three girls have been doing well in training and have a chance to qualify for the all around final,” says women’s head coach Vladimir Lashin of Coquitlam, B.C.

To qualify for the all around final requires a top-24 ranking in the qualification round and a top-eight finish is required to advance to an event final.

The competition runs from Tuesday through Sunday, October 18.

For schedule and additional information, visit www.worldgymnastics2009.com.

The event is now sold out and unfortunately due to room capacity at the facility, we will not be able to admit anyone that did not previously register.

Please communicate this information to your membership!

See you all on the 24th of October!

Joining O’Neill and Gafuik on the men’s squad are 2009 Canadian men’s high bar champion Kevin Lytwyn of Burlington, Ont., and 2008 junior champion Jackson Payne of Edmonton.

The women’s team consists of 2007 Canadian junior champion Brittany Rogers and Charlotte Mackie, both of Coquitlam, B.C. and 2009 senior all around champion Sydney Sawa of Calgary.

This year’s worlds features just individual competition, the only time in the four-year Olympic cycle that does not include a team event for participating countries.

It’s a chance for many of the medal winners from the Beijing to get back in harness and, at the same time, an opportunity for all competitors to get a feel for the 2012 Olympic venue at London’s O2 Arena.

At the last individual-only worlds in 2005, O’Neill won the silver medal in the men’s floor exercise.

Gafuik and O’Neill both competed at the last two world championships in 2006 and 2007, while Sawa was a member of the Canadian women’s team two years ago in Stuttgart, Germany.

Lytwyn, Payne, Mackie and Rogers will all be competing at their first world championships. Head coach of the Canadian men’s team is Edouard Iarov of Cantley, Que., and head coach of the women’s team is Vladimir Lashin of Coquitlam, B.C.

Other members of the Canadian contingent at the world championships:

Men Artistic Gymnastics:
Jeff Thomson, Program Director & Team Leader
Raymond Heiderich, Judge
Jerome Boisteau, Judge
Andrei Levit, Assistant National Coach
Liang Cheng, Coach
Tony Smith, Coach
Carlo Pacella, Coach
Paolo Bordignon, Physiotherapist (men and women)
David Paskevich, Sport & Exercise Psychology

Women's Artistic Gymnastics:
Lise Gosselin Simard, Program Director & Team Leader
Helen Laliberte, Judge
Elena Davydova, Judge
David Kenwright, Coach
Svetlana Lashina, Coach
Janna Ball, Coach

The championships will give a strong indication of which world-class gymnasts will be defending their positions in 2012, and who will be the rising stars that will challenge them. Janna Ball and Ovidiu Serban, Sydney’s coaches are very proud of her accomplishment as is everyone at the Calgary Gymnastics Centre.

Also be sure to check Sydney out in the September issue of International Gymnast magazine!

On behalf of the entire Federation, we would like to thank Cynthia for her commitment to AGF during Gina’s maternity leave. Cynthia’s passion and dedication will certainly be missed. Her keen efforts to learn the NCCP program, especially during this transitional period, should be commended. We wish Cynthia much success in her future endeavors.

Alberta's Alex Seifert tumbles to bronze at trampoline & tumbling World Cup

Andrey Krylov of Russia won the gold medal with 73.80 points in the final. Kalon Ludvigson of the U.S., was second at 73.70 and Seifert, 19, took the bronze at 69.50. He was fourth in Friday`s preliminaries.

"I was pretty nervous going into finals," said Seifert, the Canadian champion the past two years. "But I showed what I could do and pulled it off. I was very happy. I was clean in my skills and landed everything on my feet. It was really important for me to put down this kind of performance before the world championships and boost my confidence."

Canada came close to winning two more medals.

In women's tumbling, Emily Smith of Burlington, Ont., was fourth missing the bronze by only 0.2 points. Ashley Speed of Toronto sixth while perennial champion Anna Korobeynikova won the gold.

In women's trampoline, Samantha Sendel of Toronto, in her World Cup debut, placed fourth missing the podium by 0.3 points. Olympic finalist Rosannagh MacLennan of Toronto, first in Friday's preliminaries, was sixth. Katherine Driscoll of Britain won the gold medal.

In men's trampoline, Olympic silver medallist Jason Burnett of Toronto had a rare subpar day placing sixth. Logan Dooley of the U.S., won the gold.

Dooley and Steven Gluckstein teamed up for gold in the synchronized trampoline final while Phil Barbaro of Toronto and Kyle Soehn of Red Deer, Alta., were sixth. MacLennan and Kailey McLeod of Toronto were seventh in women's synchronized trampoline.

Canadian wins silver in junior event

In conjunction with the World Cup, the Flanders Fliffis Cup was also held here this week for junior competitors. Samantha Smith of Toronto won the silver medal on Saturday in women's trampoline while Melany Bigras of Laval, Que., was sixth.

The fourth stop on the World Cup circuit is next Friday and Saturday in Zielona Gora, Poland.

The Canadian gymnastics and sport community has lost a great friend today and Gene will be remembered forever. Today is a day to pay respect to Gene and her family. In a few weeks we will celebrate her life.

Since 1976, Dr. Gene Sutton has provided exceptional leadership through her volunteer commitment with Gymnastics in Canada. Her overall contribution is unique, her personality is unique and her style is unique. Gene was a member of the Gymnastics Canada Board of Directors for 21 years and Vice Chair for 17 years. Also a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee Board of Directors since 1997.

We were very, very fortunate to have such a dedicated and knowledgeable individual as part of the Canadian Gymnastics and Olympic family and she will be part of the family forever.

Gene, we love you and you will be greatly missed but we all know that you will always be there as our guardian angel. Gymnastics Canada Board meetings will never be the same.

Jean-Paul Caron
President/CEO

The Family requests that gifts in memory of Gene be made to the “Canadian Olympic Foundation” at www.olympicfoundation.ca by entering “In memory of Dr. Gene Sutton” in the Comments field. All gifts identified as ‘Inmemory of Dr. Gene Sutton’ will be directed toward the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Education Program, a program which was so important to Gene. Memorial Gifts can also be mailed in to the Canadian Olympic Foundation 21 St Clair Ave E. Suite 900 Toronto On M4T 1L9.

Canada Cup 2009

Way to go Alberta!

Airdrie - you scored big time; Phoenix - you seemed to rise everywhere; Exelta - you deserve a medal; Thunder country - we could not have made it through the door without you; Airborne - keep on trucking; Altadore and Pegasus - you helped lighten the load; CGC - you fueled our engine; AFX - you helped equip us to handle the job.

We tried to make a list of people to thank for outstanding contributions but it was too long! Even at the end of the last day the organizing committee was made to smile by extra help showing up to share the load.

Our heartfelt thanks to the T&T community in Alberta and the rest of Canada wide who helped make Canada Cup the amazing success that it was!

The 2009 Canada Cup and CanAm Cup was held July 27-30 at the Centennial Arena in Okotoks. This national level and participation event will be used as a qualifier for National Team status.

Click the logo for a link to all information related to Canada Cup 2009 including results.

Please all join us in thanking Tanya for her invaluable efforts and volunteer time for over the past 10 years and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.

Gail possesses a sound understanding of the ActiveNet registration system and has extensive experience within the gymnastics community at the club and provincial level. All members of the Alberta Gymnastics Federation will benefit from Gail’s commitment, communication and leadership skills.

Gail can be reached at 1-888-992-2496 or via e-mail at activenet@abgym.ab.ca.

I would ask all AGF members to welcome Gail to the AGF team and encourage all of you to contact her directly should you have any questions/concerns/etc. pertaining to the ActiveNet registration system.

Athletes Head to World Games in Taiwan!

The 8th World Games will be held under the auspices of the International World Games Association (IWGA). It is made up of 32 International Sports Federations governing all those sports and disciplines of sports which are eligible for participation in the Official Sports Program. 3,000 of the finest sportsmen and women contest the coveted medals at The World Games; they present the very essence of their sport to the world at large.

The World Games continue to provide an invaluable opportunity for athletes from a variety of sports not currently on the program of the Games of the Olympiad to compete in their own elite multi-sport event and represent their countries as members of a delegation, with National Olympic Committee involvement and support in an increasing number of cases. The World Games, for this very reason, play an important role in the sports framework of the Olympic Movement.

Dedicated to supporting athletes at all levels through coaching excellence, General Motors’ Making Dreams Possible Program provides one hundred $2,000 club coaching grants and ten $10,000 high performance coach grants to community sport clubs and high performance coaches nationwide on an annual basis.

Next spring, another 10 grants will be awarded to high performance coaches for the purpose of enhancing coaching excellence and expertise that will support their athletes’ drive to the podium. The application deadline is January 18, 2010.

Apply now and make your own dream possible – visit www.coach.ca/makingdreamspossible for more information and to submit an application today!

Volunteer Service Pin Recipients (a volunteer who has served gymnastics at the national level for a 25, 15, 10 or 5 year period, is awarded a quality diamond, gold, silver or bronze GCG pin respectively.

Bronze pins were awarded to Erin Basisty, Tracey Cardinal, Mark Heiderich, Krista Morris and Jim Roycroft. Cal Weldon received a gold pin. And Ray Heiderich received a diamond pin!

The 2008 Gymnastics Canada Athlete of the Year is Calgary's own Adam Wong!

Liang Cheng was recognized as the 2008 Coach of the Year. And the award for the 2008 International Coach of the Year went to Bin Fan.

All Alberta athletes and coaches who are named to the various GCG national teams along with their applicable national and international achievements were also acknowledged. Recognition of all outstanding International performances and retired athletes from 1954-2009 also occurred. Albertans; Davide Bardana, Jennifer Wood, Scott Lang and Kylie Stone were all part of this distinguished group.

WAY TO GO TEAM ALBERTA!!

On behalf of the staff, members and Board of Directors, we would like to thank Amber for her commitment and dedication to AGF over the last 3 years. We wish her all the success in her future endeavors.

Please direct all questions pertaining to MAG/Special Events to Scott F. Hayes (shayes@abgym.ab.ca or 403.259.5500).

The increases were consistently measured against our desire to maintain growth, stay true to our strategic plan and guarantee the success of all AGF members. The Board was unanimous in agreeing that the necessary revisions have been made and are confident that the changes will ensure AGF remains a premier gymnastics organization.

Click here for complete breakdown.