Two local gymnasts tumbled to new heights at Western Canada’s largest gymnastics competition.
Lyla Koenig, 14, of St. Andrews, and Maksym Rerie, 12, of West St. Paul, competed on Team Manitoba at the Western Canadian Artistic Gymnastics Championships, held April 24-26 in Saskatoon, Sask.
It was Koenig’s second time competing at Westerns, and she said she’s already seen a major improvement since last year.
“Two highlights for me were placing eighth on bars and getting a personal high score on floor,” she said.
Koenig has been involved in gymnastics for eight years after initially joining just for fun. What began as a small hobby quickly became a major commitment as she continued to excel. She now trains 20 hours a week at Keystone Kips Gymnastics in West St. Paul, competing at Level 8 alongside Rerie.
“I like the challenge it gives me every day,” Koenig said. “It can be a challenge doing skills that push you a lot, but I just need to know to take things one day at a time and that it will get better soon.”
Rerie, who is in her sixth year of gymnastics, said Westerns was her first major competition, and she was excited for the experience. Although she said it wasn’t her best performance, it also wasn’t her worst.
One of her favourite parts of the event was collecting decorated pins from fellow athletes.
“Athletes decorated pins and put them on your backpack. They said things like ‘good luck’ or ‘you did great,’” Rerie said.
She collected four pins, while Koenig received three. Although they didn’t hand out any pins at the Saskatoon event, the girls hope to share some with their teammates at their final competition of the year, taking place in Fernie, B.C., at the end of May.
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Rerie said she fell in love with gymnastics after watching the movie A 2nd Chance.
“It really inspired me to be like them,” she said.
Her favourite part of competing is her supportive team. She said although mental blocks and injuries can be setbacks, her teammates and coach help her persevere.
Coach Tara Webb has worked with Koenig and Rerie for five years and said she’s proud of their commitment and work ethic. The pair are the first athletes from Keystone Kips to qualify for Team Manitoba, earning their spots by finishing in the top seven of their age groups at the Manitoba Opens in March.
“Throughout the years we have learned, achieved and experienced so much together. We put in a lot of hard work, but also have a lot of fun,” Webb said. “They are sure to inspire other gymnasts at our club to show they can get there too.”
Both Koenig and Rerie plan to compete as long as they’re able, with hopes of reaching nationals and being recruited by a National Collegiate Athletic Association team for their post-secondary studies.
