Gymnastics Canada – GUADALAJARA, ESP (May 4, 2019) – The Canadian senior rhythmic group competed in their second international competition this weekend at a World Challenge Cup in Guadalajara, ESP and laid down two strong performances to finish 11^th overall. Newly minted seniors Natalie Garcia of Missisauga, ON and Polly Krivchun of Vancouver, BC also competed in their first senior World Challenge Cup and had strong results.
 
The senior group, composed of Carmel Kallemaa, Diana Noskova, Vanessa Panov, Alexandra Udachina, Carmen Whelan, and Alexandra Zilyuk – all of Toronto, performed two routines at the competition and finished 11th overall with scores of 16.900 with their 5 balls routine, and 17.900 with their 3 hoops and 2 clubs routine which were strong improvements from their competition last week in Baku, AZE.
 
“Our team did much better than our last and very first international competition in Baku,” said their captain Vanessa Panov of Toronto. “Our performances got progressively better and we finished on a strong note in Guadalajara. This is still just the beginning of our journey as we’re a new team. As we gain more experience from these world events and proceed to work hard on our precision and quick recoveries we will definitely continue to improve. Competing in front of an audience helps us get used to the nerves and pressure and it will get easier throughout the year. Our next competition is Nationals where we hope to fully deliver what we are capable of!”
 
Garcia, who represented Canada last summer at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, finished 22^nd overall with a total score of 62.450, and was pleased with her performance: “It’s always an honour to represent Canada, especially at such a high level competition. This weekend I had some disappointing mistakes but also some highlights. I’m proud that I was able to have a better second day and finish my first world challenge cup in 22nd place all-around and 18th place in clubs.”
 
Krivchun finished the weekend just behind Garcia in 25^th position. “The competition this week went better than I expected, as this is my first competition at such a high level. Hoop, ball, and ribbon went pretty well and clubs – my last routine – did not go as I expected but it’s all about experience so hopefully nationals will be more stable,” said Krivchun following the competition.
 
All athletes will now return to Canada to compete at the Rhythmic Gymnastics Canadian Championships at the Markham Pan Am Centre in Markham, ON from May 17-19.
 
For full results, please visit: http://rfegonline.com/acceso.php?idc=212
 
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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
Cell: 819.210.2064
Email: jforget@gymcan.org