Gymnastics Canada – OTTAWA, ON (September 4, 2018) – Gymnastics Canada is pleased to announce the list of athletes, coaches, judges, and support staff who will represent Canada at the 2019 FIG World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, GER from October 4^th to 13^th, 2019.
 
As the last opportunity for countries to qualify a four-person team for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, the competition at these Championships will be fierce. The teams finishing in the top-12, who have not previously qualified (the top-3 teams from 2018 World Championships), will earn a spot for Tokyo.
 
“These World Championships are going to be really exciting for our men’s and women’s artistic teams as they look to qualify for Tokyo,” said Gymnastics Canada CEO Ian Moss. “With podium performances for both at the recent Pan Am Games in Lima, we know that we belong amongst the top nations in the world, and are confident that are athletes, coaches, and staff will work well together to achieve their Olympic qualification objectives.”
 
The men’s team will travel to Portugal for a pre-Worlds training camp on September 23^rd before travelling on to Stuttgart on September 30^th. The women’s team will travel to France for a training camp on September 25^th before travelling to Stuttgart on September 28^th.
 
WOMEN

• Ellie Black, Halifax, NS – Halifax Alta Gymnastics Club
• Brooklyn Moors, Cambridge, ON – Dynamo Gymnastics
• Ana Padurariu, Whitby, ON – Gemini Gymnastics
• Shallon Olsen, Surrey, BC – University of Alabama/Omega Sports Centre
• Victoria Woo, Brossard, QC – Gym-Richelieu

Reserve:

• Isabela Onyshko, Vancouver, BC – Vancouver Phoenix Gymnastics (travelling)

2020 Team Leads: David Kikuchi (Halifax, NS); Lorie Henderson (Brandon, MB)
Individual Coaches: Elvira Saadi (Dynamo); Michel Charron (Richelieu); Janice Fowler (Phoenix)
Lead IST: Jean-François Mathieu
Therapist: Martha Purdy
Judges: Andrée Montreuil, Gord Bennett
 
QUOTE: “Our team is looking to continue our run of great results from the past few years, with the primary focus being Olympic qualification. It will be exciting to see where we are in comparison to the other strongest teams in the world. I have confidence in our Canadian gymnasts, and we are preparing to be at our best!” – 2020 Team Lead, David Kikuchi
 
 MEN

• René Cournoyer, Repentigny, QC – Club Gymnika
• William Émard, Laval, QC – Laval Excellence
• Cory Paterson, Montreal, QC – Centre Père Sablon
• Jackson Payne, Calgary, AB – Calgary Gymnastics Centre
• Sam Zakutney, Ottawa, ON – Penn State University/Ottawa Gymnastics Centre
• Justin Karstadt, Toronto, ON – Futures Gymnastics

Coaches: Ed Van Hoof (NT Head Coach); Adrian Balan (Laval); Patrick Beauchamp (CPS); Bin Fan (Calgary); Jean-Sebastien Tougas (Gymnika)
Lead IST: Mahmoud Zaerian
Judges: John Carroll, Bruno Martin
 
QUOTE: “Everyone knows the importance of this World Championships. This team – the gymnasts, coaches, judges, IST support, family, and everyone associated with them, have pulled together to give our team a real opportunity at qualifying for Tokyo. They have worked diligently throughout the year, making improvements and growing in confidence and belief in themselves. A great step forward at the Pan Am Games, where the team won a bronze medal, showed that the potential is there. Our preparations are going well and we are all focused on the task at hand.” – Ed Van Hoof, Head National Team Coach for the men’s artistic gymnastics team
 
COMPETITION SCHEDULE (all times local GMT +2):

• Oct 4 @ 20:00 – WAG Qualifications. Canada is in sub-division 6
• Oct 7 @ 10:00 – MAG Qualifications. Canada is in sub-division 5
• Oct 8 @ 14:30 – WAG Team Final
• Oct 9 @ 13:45 – MAG Team Final
• Oct 10 @ 16:00 – WAG All-around Final
• Oct 11 @ 16:00 – MAG All-around Final
• Oct 12 @ 16:00 – Apparatus Finals – MAG FX; WAG VT; MAG PH; WAG UB; MAG SR
• Oct 13 @ 13:00 – Apparatus Finals – MAG VT; WAG BB; MAG PB; WAG FX; MAG HB 

ABOUT GYMNASTICS CANADA
First established in 1969, Gymnastics Canada has been supporting the mastery of movement in Canada for five decades as the national governing body for the sport of gymnastics in Canada. We work closely with the twelve provincial federations and 700 local clubs to provide a broad range of programs and services to meet the needs of all participants. From athlete development, to coach and judge 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 experiences through the delivery of quality and safe gymnastics programming. Visit www.gymcan.org for more information, or follow us @gymcan1. From here, we soar.
 

For more information, contact:
 
Julie Forget
Director, Communications and Marketing
Gymnastics Canada
613.748.5637 x 233
Cell: 819.210.2064
Email: jforget@gymcan.org