More than 160 gymnasts will compete in Moncton.
The Rhythmic Gymnastics Atlantic Championship marks the end of the competition season for the athletes.
“Rhythmic gymnastics involves an apparatus, so a ball or a ribbon or a hoop, and it’s choreographed to music. So it’s more of a choreography mixed with technical elements and with an apparatus. So you have to do a throw and different elements and then catch the apparatus to actually get a point, and all that to music, in a limited time,” Spokesperson Amélie-Anne Gauthier says.
The championship is being held at CEPS at Université de Moncton.
Eight clubs from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are competing, with gymnasts between the ages of 7 and 17 years old.
The clubs are as follows:
- Extenso from Dieppe
- Rhythmika from Fredericton
- Rhapsody from Fredericton
- Illusions from Halifax
- Rhythmic Inspirations from Halifax
- Krystal from Grand Falls
- Gymnastar Restigouche from Campbellton
- Reflet from Saint-Quentin
- Élégance from Edmundston
“It’s not an easy sport. It’s a bit easier as a young child if you start at like four or five years old. It’s a sport that requires a lot of flexibility, so usually, younger children are a bit more flexible, and it’s easier for them to do a split or a bridge and stuff like that. But children who are a bit older should not be discouraged by that. We’ve seen athletes have great careers in the region, and they started their careers in gymnastics a bit later,” Gauthier adds.
The competition runs from April 18 to April 20. The public is welcome to attend to cheer on the athletes.
