Burlington Spring Cup
Congratulations to all the athletes that participated in the first International Invitational Sports Aerobics Competition. 2002Thank you to Burlington Gym Club for managing this enormous multi-discipline event that included Artistic gymnastics, Rhythmic and Sports Aerobics.
Beginning Tuesday March 12, Ontario welcomed the team from Great Britain. The hosts were Yvonne and Caitlin Iten-Scott of the 8 British delegates. The British athletes were from Heathrow Sports Aerobics where over 40 athletes are training in Sports Aerobics. All of the athletes competing in this competition were of the Provincial age or Junior category of 11-17 years.
Wednesday evening Dakota Hart from Alberta lead the training camp for
the British and Ontario athletes. Dakota is one of Canada's top performers
in Sports Aerobics and has represented Canada over the past 7 World Championships.
The athletes were given a chance to get to know each other and practice
their performances and receive feedback from Dakota and several judges.
Thursday all the athletes attended the clinics that were provided as part
of the full week of activities. The athletes went to Notre Dame High School
to participate in the different clinics offered by Burlington. As well
Dakota continued his workshop and taught the athletes and coaches creative
ways to improve their choreography. In the evening the coaches were all
invited to Paletta Mansion for a technical meeting and social. A wonderful
reception was hosted by Burlington for all the International and out of
province delegates.
On Friday, the Quebec athletes arrived and took part in the 3-hour workshop
with Dakota to learn the group routine that was going to be performed
as part of the competition and Showcase.
Through out the week Yvonne and Caitlin continued to host our international
guests and took them to a local ski hill in Milton and a quick tour of
the CN Tower. Burlington escorted all the international delegates to Niagara
Falls, which is always a favorite.
Competition Day, Saturday, twenty-two athletes and 8 coaches from Ontario,
Quebec and Great Britain, plus 7 judges from Ontario came together for
this exciting day. Using two different competitive floors we were thrilled
to watch the performances of the Sports Aerobics athletes. The results
certainly show how strong the British are in difficulty elements and the
Quebec team's artistry. The Ontario athletes all were competing for the
first time and they certainly learned from this experience in the exchange
of information and watching the performances.