| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 5:17 pm |
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Sports 
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Local rhythmic gymnastics participants have plenty of flex appeal In rhythmic gymnastics, which combines elements of ballet and dance with gymnastics, and adds in the handling of an apparatus like a ball, hoop or rope, flexibility and coordination are a must MARYSVILLE -- Because the athletes perform with a ball, a hoop and what appears to be a jump rope, it's easy to confuse rhythmic gymnastics with child's play.And that's pretty much what cynics suggest. But Shannon O'Hara of Arlington, a coach and onetime rhythmic gymnast herself, said that perception is both flawed and, frankly, false. "When people say that it's not that hard," O'Hara said, "I say, 'You try to kick your head with your foot.' "You have to bend your body in such strange ways, and it takes a lot of work and a lot of stretching," she said. "It's not easy stuff to do. Even with a simple toss, you have to know how to toss the equipment and do tricks underneath it, and do it without having it land on your head." There are several gyms for artistic gymnastics -- the sport of balance beams, uneven bars and vaulting -- in Snohomish County, but just two of those clubs include rhythmic gymnastics. One is the Pursuit of Perfection Gymnastics Academy in north Marysville, where O'Hara coaches and where two young rhythmic gymnasts are training for the 2009 Junior Olympic Compulsory Championships, May 29-31 in Norfolk, Va. Alyssa Garza, a 13-year-old eighth grader at Marysville's Totem Middle School, and Kaitlyn Bostrom, a 10-year-old fourth grader at Mountain Way Elementary in Granite Falls, are headed to Virginia after qualifying at a recent regional competition. Garza started in artistic gymnastics when she was 4 years old, but soon switched to rhythmic gymnastics. "It was different and very original," she explained. "It was mixing dance, that I already liked to do, and flexibility, which was something that's also kind of rare in gymnastics. I thought it was very unique, and that's one of the things that attracted me to the sport." "The flexibility amazed me," agreed Bostrom, who also started in artistic gymnastics as a pre-schooler. "I wanted to be that flexible. Some girls could lift up their leg and bring it up really far, and I thought that was really cool." In fact, rhythmic gymnasts might be the most limber athletes in all of sports. Not only do they do splits on the mat and in the air -- some elite competitors can leap and kick their spread legs past horizontal, or what is called an over-split -- but also astonishing contortionistic back bends. All the while, making each movement seem fluid, graceful and effortless. "(Rhythmic gymnasts) tend to be taller than artistic gymnasts," O'Hara said. "I don't think height makes too much difference, but having long legs helps and a lean body definitely helps. It's easier to bend in half if you don't have bulky muscles getting in the way." Though the United States is an international power in artistic gymnastics -- the Americans won 10 medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, second only to host China -- this country barely makes a ripple in rhythmic gymnasts, which is only for women in Olympic competition. The U.S. had no athletes among the 135 rhythmic gymnasts who participated in Beijing, based on qualifying at the 2007 World Championships. "For some reason, it's just not that popular in this country," O'Hara said. "In Europe it's huge, and everyone tries to get their little girls into it. But in this country, it definitely needs more exposure." That's a bit puzzling to O'Hara, who competed for eight years and is now a competitive judge in addition to her coaching. "I loved it," she said of her years in the sport. "It was so much fun and it was so challenging." Likewise, Garza and Bostrom thoroughly enjoy the sport. And they are both looking forward to their upcoming trip to Virginia and their first taste of national competition. "There are five other regions beside us (competing in Virginia)," Bostrom said, "and I don't know what the other regions are like, so I'm kind of scared about that. But it's really cool because we get to go all the way across the United States." "I'm extremely excited," Garza said. "This is definitely a change from our usual meets (which are normally in Washington or elsewhere on the West Coast). So this is a huge opportunity, and I think we're both very, very excited."Alyssa Garza, 13, of Marysville competes in the Region 2 Rhythmic Championship meet in April in Forest Grove, Ore.Kaitlyn Bostrom, 10, of Snohomish, competes with a ball during the same competition.Kaitlyn Bostrom, 10, of Snohomish, competes with a ball during the same competition. |
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