Gymnastics Canada – NAPIER, NZL (October 25, 2016) – 24 junior trampoline and tumbling athletes from across Canada represented Canada at the 2016 Indo-Pacific Championships this past week and walked away with 19 medals including two podium sweeps. The event featured 184 athletes from South Africa, Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand.

“I was really happy to take home a gold medal but I was also happy I had great teammates, coaches, and competitors by my side,” said Alexandra Boucher of Calgary, AB who captured a gold medal in double mini-trampoline in the 13-14 age group. “It felt like all the hard work had finally paid off, and I can thank my coaches for that. The next step for me is to hopefully add more difficulty into all my passes, and my goal is to qualify for the 2017 World Age Group Competition in Bulgaria.”

Boucher was joined on the 13-14 year old DMT podium by Jordyn Yendley of Kelowna, BC who took the silver medal.

Also winning gold was Kalena Soehn of Red Deer, AB who led a Canadian sweep in the women’s 17+ DMT competition: “I think that when we were competing it was nice to be with everyone else (New Zealand and Australia) but having that separation of three of us Canadians on the podium made the accomplishment so much more meaningful.” Soehn was joined on the podium by Emily Schmidt of Kamloops, BC with the silver medal, and Hannah Brown of North Vancouver, BC with the bronze.

Canada also swept the podium in the girls 15-16 year old tumbling competition with Edmonton-based athletes Kendra Korbut winning gold, Alexandra Forest taking silver, and Hannah Brown taking bronze. All three athletes train out of Phoenix Gymnastics with coach Trish Quinney.

“Coming to this competition was a big honour, and I was happy to even have the chance to try and perform my best routines. Placing on the podium for both of my events meant a lot because it really tied all the things that led up to Indos this year together in such a great way. The next step for me is just going to be getting back into the gym, upgrading my routines and seeing what the next competition season brings,” said Forest who is also bringing home a gold medal from the 15-16 age group DMT competition.

Competing in New Zealand was a real thrill for all of these young athletes. Kai Dwyer of Fall River, NS, who is coming from with a silver medal from the boys 15-16 DMT competition, perhaps summed up the experience best: “The Experience was great! I got to make new friends from other countries, and to experience the culture of New Zealand such as doing a haka dance and singing in Maori. I had a great competition overall but I think the event isn’t all about competing – it’s about the little things such as meeting new people and experiencing the culture as well because this can be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that should be remembered.”

FULL CANADIAN MEDAL RESULTS:

Trampoline

15-16 boys: Declan Mclean, Burnaby, BC – Silver
17+ boys: Zachary Blakely, Red Deer, AB – Gold
17+ girls: Emily Schmidt, Kamloops, BC – Bronze

Double mini-trampoline

13-14 girls: Alexandra Boucher, Calgary, AB – Gold; Jordyn Yendley, Kelowna, BC – Silver
13-14 boys: Gavin Dodd, Kamloops, BC – Silver
15-16 girls: Alexandra Forest, Edmonton, AB – Gold
15-16 boys: Adin Brenner, Gabriola Island, BC – Gold; Kai Dwyer, Fall River, NS – Silver
17+ girls: Kalena Soehn, Red Deer, AB – Gold; Emily Schmidt, Kamloops, BC – Silver; Hannah Brown, North Vancouver, BC – Bronze
17+ boys: Mark Armstrong, Red Deer, AB – Silver; Zachary Blakely, Red Deer, AB – Bronze

Tumbling

15-16 girls : Kendra Korbut, Edmonton, AB – Gold; Alexandra Forest – Edmonton, AB – Silver; Emma Payne, Edmonton, AB – Bronze
17+_ girls: Emily Schmidt, Kamloops, BC – Gold; Alexandra Jubinville, Bell River, ON – Silver

For full results, photos, and live streaming archives, visit: http://www.gymsportsnz.com/2016-indo-pacific-championships/

ABOUT GYMNASTICS CANADA

First established in 1969, Gymnastics Canada is the national governing body for the sport of gymnastics in Canada. Gymnastics Canada works closely with the twelve Provincial Federations and the 700 local clubs to provide a broad range of programs and services to meet the needs of all participants. From athlete development, to coaching and judging education, Gymnastics Canada sets the operating standards and practices for the sport in Canada. Our mandate is to promote and provide positive and diverse gymnastics experience through the delivery of quality and safe gymnastics programming. Visit www.gymcan.org for more information, or follow us @CDNgymnastics.

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For more information, contact:

Julie Forget
Director, Communications and Marketing
Gymnastics Canada
Cell: 819.210.2064
Email: jforget@gymcan.org