 E(1st) and Z(3rd) at a recent meet. (Other faces were blotted out to protect identities.)
It's been a long time since I've posted about gym stuff. E and Z have been doing really well. We went to a meet in Texas in early March. E was the beam and floor champion, Z was runner-up on both events. However, Z ended up winning the all-around and E was second. They had about 16 girls in their age group.
The next week, we hosted another meet here in Oklahoma. The picture above is of that meet. I believe that was their floor placements. They are so sweet, holding hands. Everyone always asks about how they feel competing against each other and if it causes problems. Generally, my answer to that is "no". I think they sense the competition, but don't really feel like they are competing with each other as much as against the other teams. They are truly happy for each other when they win. This year they have really flip-flopped their winning a lot. That certainly helps. I also place a lot of emphasis on doing your personal best (competing with yourself not everyone else) and going for good scores to help the team. This takes the focus off themselves and puts it on the team. Even though we are just starting, our team has taken home several trophies from the smaller meets.
The week before Easter was our State qualifier. They divide Oklahoma down the middle and have regional qualifiers- east and west. We take part in the Western Oklahoma Sectionals. Most of the large, dominant gyms are on our side of the state. There are only about 3 powerhouses in the East. I didn't know how it would go, but it was definitely the biggest meet of our year thus far. Only a percentage of the girls qualify on to the State competition. Thirteen out of our fourteen compulsory gymnasts qualified. I was thrilled. That is a great percentage.
Both of my personal girls did well that day and qualified. Z had an incredible meet and ended up the Western Oklahoma Beam Champion with a score of 9.75!! She also placed 3rd in the all-around which is incredible considering the big gyms we were up against. I was proud of both of them!
Right now all of our focus is on the upcoming State Meet. It will determine State Champions and All-Staters. The next few weeks will be full of hard work. E and Z both have state champion potential. However, they are 9. Anything can happen. The State Meet is April 27-28. I will let you know how it goes. Wish us luck!! |
That picture is so sweet -- I love that they're holding hands. Congratulations to both of them. They're doing so well and maintaining a good attitude about it all is impressive. Congrats to you, too.