Elite Canada gymnastics competition underway

I write from the Men’s Floor judging table in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Senior Men and Women are warming up for Day 1 of competition.

All day long the younger age and ability divisions competed. The youth talent pool of female gymnasts (for 2012) has never been stronger. The men have individual super-talents coming up, but, as usual, not enough depth.

Here’s the press release on the meet:

Elite Canada 2007 – Artistic Gymnastics/Gymnastique Artistique

Nearly 200 gymnasts in eight age categories, including top-ranked Olympic contenders Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs of Toronto and Nathan Gafuik of Calgary, are set to compete Dec. 14-16 at the 2007 Elite Canada competition in Abbotsford, B.C.

Highlighting the women’s senior event are Hopfner-Hibbs, and three of Canada’s brightest young stars competing for the first time at the senior level – Peng Peng Lee of Toronto, and Charlotte Mackie and Brittany Rogers, both of Coquitlam, B.C.

Hopfner-Hibbs, who struggled most of last year with a foot injury is fully recovered and looking sharp after a string of sucessful results last month in Europe, including a silver medal on beam at a World Cup meet in Glasgow, Scotland.

“Everything is geared to winning an Olympic berth and honing her routines to peak at the Games,” says Carol-Angela Orchard, who coaches Hopfner-Hibbs at Sport Seneca in Toronto.

This year’s Elite Canada has added importance as one of several Olympic qualifying events for members of the senior women’s team.

Hopfner-Hibbs, who will compete in Abbotsford on beam and uneven bars, her two best events, has the inside track on one of two Olympic berths up for grabs on the women’s team.

Others in the running include Kristina Vaculik of Whitby, Ont., Nansy Damianova of Montreal and Alyssa Brown of Mississauga.

Although they are too young to compete in Beijing, Lee, Mackie and Rogers, will also be in the Elite Canada spotlight as rising stars being groomed for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Still eligible to compete as juniors, all three will make their much anticipated senior debut in Abbotsford.

Highlighting the men’s senior competition are Gafuik and hometown favourite Ken Ikeda of Abbotsford, B.C., both key members of the 2007 world championship team.

Gafuik, who thrives on competition, plans to unveil new elements in most of his routines while Ikeda is thrilled to be competing at Elite Canada on home turf for the first time in his 10-year career.

The men’s competition will be missing some familiar faces, including Olympic champion Kyle Shewfelt and several other senior team veterans, including Brandon O’Neill of Edmonton and Adam Wong of Calgary.

Shewfelt and Wong are recovering from injuries while some ofther members of the men’s senior team are taking time off to rest before gearing up for the gruelling Olympic qualification process set to begin later this winter. …

“It’s important for these guys to have some time off to rest and recover,” says Canadian men’s program director Jeff Thomson of Vancouver. “There’s a lot of hard work ahead to prepare for Beijing.”

At the world championships in September the men’s squad, minus Shewfelt and Wong, qualified a full seven-man team for Beijing.

Gymnastics Canada – Gymnastique Canada