A stroll through the parking lot at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center Friday revealed cars with license plates spanning a large portion of the eastern United States.
Ohio, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Virginia, Missouri, Florida and South Carolina were all represented as gymnastics families have flocked to Savannah for the 2013 YMCA Gymnastics National Championship.
It was the second day of a competition featuring 1,900 gymnasts from 24 states, and Carol Tanrath, the gymnastics director of the host team, the Islands YMCA, said that things are running smoothly.
“Everything has been excellent,” Tanrath said. “We call it organized chaos. It’s been amazing, we’ve got a ton going on, but we have so many people working to make it run smoothly. From people working on the floor to the transportation, everyone is talking about how organized it is.”
Level 8 and Championship level finalists will compete today starting at 8:45 a.m. and running through the final awards and closing ceremonies at 5 p.m.
One of the great things about the competition is that gymnasts of all ages and ability levels are able to compete against their peers. Friday, the girls from the Islands YMCA Level 5 team — Sydney Orr, Sydney Helton, Trini McCullough and
Kinnett Howard — showed off their skills and the progress they have made training with the highly-regarded program. The girls range from ages 9 to 11.
Allison Carlquist, 25, and Katherine Brennan, 20, coach at the Islands YMCA and were in charge of the Level 5 squad Friday.
“It’s nice to work with the young ones because you get a chance to see them grow up,” Brennan said. “You get to be a part of it and help mold them into the person they will be later in life.”
If that’s the case, it’s a good bet that Howard, a rising fourth-grader at St. Andrew’s School, is going to be tough and determined in whatever direction she follows in life.
Three weeks ago, Howard broke the top of her left thumb when a piece of equipment fell on it at a workout. She missed two weeks of training but wore a brace on it and competed in three events Friday — skipping only the uneven bars because of the strain it would have put on her thumb.
“It doesn’t hurt,” said Howard, who only had two days of practice before the meet. She scored a 9.325 in the balance beam to finish sixth in the child age division of Level 5.
“I thought the beam was my best event because I was sticking all the moves I haven’t been sticking,” she said.
Her coaches looked on, smiling with pride.
“That was very impressive,” Brennan said. “After not being able to practice to come out here and shine like she did.”
All of the Level 5 girls shined in their own way.
The balance beam was the best event for the team as a group with Orr (9.125), McCullough (9.25), Howard (9.325) and Helton (9.60) all providing excellent efforts.
McCullough, 10, a rising fifth grader at May Howard, was seventh in the vault, seventh in the beam and seventh overall in the child age group.
“I thought the beam was my best event,” McCullough said. “I was sharp and I stuck everything.”
Helton tied for first in the beam with her score of 9.60 and took fourth in the floor exercise to finish fifth overall in the same age group.
Orr, 11, was sixth in the vault, fourth in the beam and first in the bars. She finished second in the All-Around competition in the junior age group.
“That was one of the highest scores I’ve ever had on the bars,” said Orr, about to start her sixth-grade year at St. Andrew’s. “I’ve been doing gymnastics since I was 2 years old. The coaches have helped me improve a lot with my floor exercise. I’m doing a lot of drills to help with my back handsprings. I like being part of this team; we have a lot of fun and joke around.”
Carlquist was happy with the team’s performance — and she wore a grin almost as broad as her gymnasts’ smiles after the competition.
“To see them go out and achieve what they have been working so hard for is the best feeling,” Carlquist said. “I thought they realized their potential today. It was our best meet in a couple of seasons.”
Vacala qualifies for finals
Lane Vacala of the Islands YMCA qualified seventh to reach the finals this morning in the Level 8 competition. The top 25 gymnasts qualified, and the top 10 from this morning’s competition qualify for the finals this afternoon.