Silhouettes shining

Tara Smith
Strathmore Silhouettes

 

The Strathmore Silhouettes competitive gymnasts have been working hard and are already past the halfway point of their competitive season, which runs from January to May.
So far they have competed in Lethbridge, Red Deer (twice), Medicine Hat, Airdrie, and Calgary (twice). Recently eight athletes attended the Southern Zones Championships in Red Deer in the Provincial 1 and Provincial 2 levels. They all performed extremely well.
At the Provincial 2 level, this competition is also trials to provincials, with the Top 12 athletes from each age group advancing on. Three of the Silhouettes qualified to go to provincials.
Sophia Sanders (age 11) and Erin Clarke (age 12) qualified in the Provincial 2 Tyro category, and Kassie Greig (age 17) will be representing the Silhouettes in the P2 Open category.
This is exciting for the Silhouettes for a couple of reasons. The P2 Tyro category is the largest of the competition, with 42 athletes competing for 12 spots. Not only did two of our athletes make it, but Erin Clarke placed first all-around, making her the P2 Tyro Southern Zones champion (on her birthday, no less!).
Also, this will be the last Zones/Provincials that Kassie Greig will be attending, as she is graduating from Strathmore High School this year. Kassie also won her category, making her the P2 Open Southern Zones champion! I have been Kassie’s coach for about 10 years now, and she has also been helping me coach for the last couple of years, so this will be a bittersweet event!
With the help of Sophia, Erin and Kassie, as well as the other P2 athletes, Zoe and Rachel, the Silhouettes also won the third place P2 team award.
Provincials will take place April 17-19 in Lethbridge. The season will end off with competitions in Okotoks, Calgary and Canmore. The Strathmore Silhouettes precompetitive team (ages 6-8), coached by Kassie, will also be attending the competitions in Calgary and Canmore for their first competitive experience.