By Robb Fenton
Explosion Gymnastics definitely made a splash in Regina at their provincial championship recently.
The club sent 11 athletes and took home 26 medals and a huge haul of ribbons for their outstanding performances.
Head coach and program manager Brodie Sikorski was thrilled with the effort the girls put in and for them to be rewarded was great to see.
“They did great, I couldn’t be happier as a coach,” Sikorski said. “We had the most provincial champions that we’ve had ever this year. We had a successful Westerns, but had an even more successful provincials. We had three provincial champions and some second place finishes, so they did great.”
Sikorski was proud of the effort the girls put in and even if they hadn’t done as well as they did, it would have been a great experience, but having the girls accomplish their goals was something that brought a lot of pride to Explosion Gym.
“The parents were happy, the athletes were happy and the girls are looking forward to getting their name on the wall,” Sikorski explained. “They’re excited to see that happen and that was the goal, see how many names we can get on the wall. They did very, very well.”
Madison Ross was one of three provincial champions, finishing first on the bars, second on the beam/vault, third on the floor and first overall, said the trip to Regina was a big thrill.
“It was really fun,” she said. “I felt really good and I was really happy with how I did.”
She said spending time with her teammates and seeing them do well was also a lot of fun.
“When we went we all wished each other luck and whenever any of us finished high, we all said ‘good job,’” she said.
Karrien Marteniuk finished second overall in the P2 Argo, winning the floor/vault event and said her experience was one of the best of her young life.
“It was really fun competing with my teammates. We had lots of fun,” she said, adding finishing high in the standings made her proud. “It made me feel really happy. I beat lots of girls and I had lots of fun at the same time.”
The experience gained from this event is going to be a big plus in the future for a lot of these girls and Rachel Kay is one of them, who feels everyone did a great job all season.
“It was a great experience to go to provincials. It was a lot of fun, I met a lot of new girls,” she said. “I was happy with how I did, I got a bronze on floor and fifth all around. The season went great. I moved up a level, so it was harder, but I tried my best and I think I did pretty good,”
Along with Ross, Shaelyn Brown and Tatjhannah Josuttes were also crowned provincial champions.
And Marteniuk was joined by Renee Richer finishing second overall in the province.
Having three provincial champions and two girls finish second is one of the best finishes Explosion has ever had.
“That’s the most we’ve had in Lloyd. It was a great experience and the girls did very well,” Sikorski said.
Overall, doing so well at Western Canadians and provincials and all season can only help the club in terms of popularity as well as performances in the future. Sikorski now has high expectations of the girls after seeing them do so well on the biggest stages in gymnastics.
“It’s been great. We’re thrilled with what’s going on. We have great commitment from our members; from the parents, the athletes and the coaching staff,” she said. “We give 100 per cent of ourselves into our program so it’s nice to see it pay off.”
The results can also be a big boost to the sport in the Border City and Sikorski feels it can attract more young athletes who read and hear about how successful the club is.
“I hope it gives us good exposure. With the amount of events we’ve gone to this year and being in the paper and on TV, it definitely helps with exposure for the club,” she explained. “We’re a full year program, so the more people that hear about our club the better. These girls don’t stop training. We’re looking forward to moving on with the program.”