I had a good talk with Shawn Chapell of Northern Athletics, the Canadian American Athletic (AAI) representative.
He brought in the equipment for the Jurassic Classic.
Shawn’s happy with the growing market share of sales his American company is seeing in Canada.
For decades, Spieth Anderson (now branded SA Sport) has had a near monopoly. Manufactured in Orillia, Ontario, Spieth has supplied the equipment for National Championships since forever. Clubs bought Spieth so their top gymnasts would be best prepared for the highest level meets.
Times have changed.
The 4 biggest meets my club in Alberta is attending this season are supplied by AAI – Great West Gym Fest, Jurassic Classic, Wild Rose and Alberta Provincial Championships.
In Quebec, GYMNOVA equipment from France has made great inroads. Their representative is respected coach and all around good guy Robert Majeau.
In the west, Chinese equipment companies are beginning to look to the Canadian market. I have Gaofei products in my own gym.
Coaches agree that more choices are a good thing. Competition will benefit the consumer.
Now … I’ve got to get back to Shawn. My girls were instantly smitten with the AAI neoprene beam pad. It’s kept snug with Velcro.
And I’ve always loved the AAI sting mat. The best I’ve ever seen.
Leave a comment if you have other pieces of AAI equipment to recommend.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 