Ivy Tupper, the first Canmore Illusions Gymnastics Club gymnast to earn an invitation to the Canadian National Championships, is coming home with a gold medal.
Competing at The Butterdome in Edmonton, the 12 year old helped Team Alberta emerge victorious in the JO 9 Girls category, upsetting strong teams from Ontario and Quebec for the win.
Tupper had an excellent second day of competition, executing an extremely strong routine on the beam, a back handspring and layout step out – a routine she has been working on for a year. She finished 20th in the country in the final rankings, as she had to recover from a fall on her first day.
“I thought for her first nationals she did really well,” said Illusions coach Ashley Sportun. “There is a big amount of pressure, as your scores count towards the team total. The gold medal was a great result they were not expecting. It’s probably been years since Alberta has been able to be on top of Quebec and Ontario.”
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” Tupper said. “Only the top three scores count, so it was just fun. It feels good to win gold.”
Training alongside Canada’s Olympic-bound athletes, Tupper was immersed in the high performance environment for the entire competition. Living in the athlete’s village, taking care of her sleep schedule and pre-competition preparations, the competitive Canmorite got to learn first hand what it takes to be a champion, and had the chance to meet like-minded athletes from across the country. Although she trains 18 hours a week, she said that is actually less than the rest of her teammates.
“It was very cool to watch them train. I’ve had a national training camp with them, but it was cool to see them compete,” Tupper said.
After watching Canada’s top athletes, Tupper said she’s not interested in chasing an Olympic spot, but certainly wants to keep pushing her gymnastics skills to the next level and perhaps one day join the national team.
“I will try for a higher level next year, and I will be able to train more hours,” Tupper said.
Tupper’s accomplishment represents a leap forward for the Canmore Illusions Gymnasitcs Club, Sportan said, noting it’s proof the new facility within the Canmore Rec Centre is already helping athletes reach their peak performance.
“We’re really proud of how far we’ve come. We can teach athletes at every level, from high performance, to adult gymnastics to the youngest athletes. For a small place, this is a pretty big accomplishment,” Sportan said.
