Feats of Acrobatic Proportion

It is hard for most people to imagine stretching their legs into a full-split on the floor—then add lifting the front leg onto a foot-high mat.  Mathematically, if one were to take a protractor and measure the angle made by the separated legs in this position, it would be about 200 degrees. 

Ouch!

Holding such grueling stretches seems to have paid off for Rye YMCA's competitive girls gymnastics team, which won dozens of trophies and ribbons at the YMCA New York State Gymnastics Championships in Glen Falls April 23- 25.

"The girls train between three and five days per week," said coach Kathy O'Brien. "It makes me feel great when they do well in competitions—and even when they don't—because I know they're always having fun." 

Rye's team members vary in age from 7 to 14-years-old and although most live in Rye, girls come from Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Harrison and Eastchester as well.  

The girls compete in two different leagues, USA Gymnastics and both New York and Connecticut YMCA leagues.  Saturday's meet was a YMCA event. 

Competitive gymnastics divides athletes into numbered levels—from one to ten—based on the difficulty of skills performed.  Competitors are required to participate in all four events, which for girls are: floor exercise, balance beam, vault and uneven bars. 

"Before I get on the beam during competitions my stomach hurts so much I can't think," said 14-year-old Maija Karppinen of Hommocks Middle School.  "Sometimes I shake on the beam I'm so nervous."

But nerves couldn't have hindered Karppinen too much because she placed second overall for her age group and level. 

Other noteworthy victories included: first-place titles for Caitlyn Walsh and Miffy Riley, second-place for Chloe Henderson and third-place awards for Genna Haddad, Eliza Adamo, Kimberley Ramos, Debbie Musselman and Rachel Waxenberg.  Overall, out of ten teams, the Rye Y placed second in Level 5 and third in Level 4.

"Since we only had five girls on level 5, it was really exciting to place second at the meet," said Hannah Yeager of Rye Middle School. 

Kana White, also a Rye Middle School student, said she loves being on the team because of all the strong friendships.

"It also feels great to finally get a skill you've been working on for a long time," White said.

Despite the obvious joy the girls expressed feeling during practice and at meets, there are sometimes consequences to participating in such an arduous sport.

"You definitely get hurt lot," Yeager said. "I pulled something in my foot once and it hurt for a while." 

But good training technique, adequate warm-ups and concentration definitely help minimize the injuries and keep the girls on track to succeed.

"Gymnastics is a lot of fun but it's also serious," Coach O'Brien said. 

The team is now preparing for their regional YMCA meet May 14-16 in New Hampshire, and those who achieve scores above a certain mark will continue on to Nationals later in the year.

For more information on the Rye YMCA gymnastics team, visit http://www.ryeymca.org/gymnastics_team.htm