The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Star Gymnastics club is once again opening its doors to give young girls a chance to experience all the fun and benefits of the sport during its Starmania Summer Camp.

The camp officially kicked off on June 27 and concludes on August 12. Each week, the participants celebrate a different theme.

Week one focused on the “Road to Rio” where the gymnasts wore an item which represented the upcoming Olympics. During week two, the theme was “Red, White and Blue”, in recognition of the US’ July 4 independence celebrations.

This past week paid homage to the Bahamas with the theme “National Pride Week”. Themes to come will include “Wet and Wild” and “Crazy and Wacky”.

During regular class sessions, the day starts with games unique to gymnastics. The coaches then rotate gymnasts on the four pieces of Olympic apparatus: the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor mat to develop skills at each level. There are also dance classes incorporated into each day’s workout.

Organisers said it is a delight for novice gymnasts to jump on the Tumbl Trak which feels a lot like jumping on a bouncing castle.

“This is our seventh year; the first being in 2010. For the first three years, we relied heavily on our US coach partners to assist us in the management of the camp and in training on the technical aspects of the sport. As the programme evolved, the local coaches have proven more equipped each year to train and develop the athletes in each level of progression,” said Nicola Thompson, a member of Bahamas Star Gymnastics.

She said the mission of the club itself is to provide holistic development through gymnastics, with a mantra of “Gymnastics today – Character for life.”

Gymnasts are encouraged to work hard, follow a path of discipline in all aspects of their lives and to pursue excellence in all their endeavours.

“The camp provides a safe environment for young girls to receive introductory and continued training in the progressions of the sport. The biggest benefits to participants are development of self-confidence, poise, body awareness in movement, following coaches’ instructions and working as a team player through good sportsmanship. Some have benefitted from improvements in academics, other sports like tennis and participation in other civic groups like Brownies,” said Ms Thompson.

Ms Thompson reiterated that the goal is to guide each gymnast into maximising their potential in the sport and in life. For some, the eventual goal will be to compete for the country at the Olympic level, for others it maybe to compete as a member of a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCA) squad, and for others it may be to become a coach some day. Whatever the goal, the organisation aims to support the girls’ dreams until they become a reality.

“We want gymnasts to transition to adulthood with positive attitudes and contributors to nation-building. Within each youngster is the latent ability to succeed wherever hard work and determination is combined. We have had the delight of witnessing shy kids become more confident, watching gymnasts cheer for competitors from other clubs, and seeing junior coaches transitioning to give back to the community through such initiatives and events like ‘A Passion for Pink: Flips for the Cure’ or International Handstand Day. Gymnastics is a tool for building good citizenship,” said Ms Thompson.