Five Saanich gymnasts training at Falcon Gymnastics travelled to Montreal on March 3 to attend the 25th annual Gymnix competition.
Gymnasts aged 14-16 competed against gymnasts from Ontario, Quebec, but also against athletes from the United States and Mexico.
Canadian Olympian Ellie Black attended the event to encourage the young athletes, which featured many of Canada’s elite gymnasts.
The first day, March 5, two athletes competed Junior Olympic level 7 (1996-2001). Kiana Phieffer (Grade 10 student at Spectrum Secondary School) scored the most medals winning two bronze medals for bars and floor and overall she ended fourth, missing the third place by just 0.15 points.
Inez Verdun (Grade 9 at Mount Douglas secondary) landed a respectable sixth place in three events and one eighth place which got her a seventh all around.
It was the first time for the aforementioned athletes to compete on an elevated floor, also known as a podium.
“These athletes were competing on new equipment and did not get a warmup on the equipment before doing the real competition, making it a pretty different experience from their usual competitions,” said Falcon spokesperson Amy Verdun.
Their next competitions are the British Columbia Championships that will determine the best gymnasts in this province for the season in the various levels.