9 Medals for Revolution Gymnasts at International Gymnix!
Seven gymnasts from Revolution Gymnastics and Sports Centre traveled, this past weekend, to Montreal to compete in the annual International Gymnix competition. Hosting over 800 athletes ranging in age from 9-18+ and from Provincial level 6 to Senior National, Gymnix is the largest competition held in Canada.
The weekend kicked off Friday with some fabulous results from the Provincial level Revolution gymnasts. Abbey Prilesnik, competing in the Level 6, age 9 category, won the All Around Gold medal while adding a gold on vault, gold on beam a 4th place finish on floor and 5th place finish on bars. Payton Murray, Level 7, age 9, performed a gold medal winning floor routine, won the silver medal on beam, paced 4th on vault, 9th on Bars and took home the bronze in the all-around.
Carleigh Rau, 11, representing Revolution in the Level 7, age 10/11 category, finished 7th in the all-around from a strong group of 27 competitors. Rau secured the silver medal on floor, 7th place on beam and 8th place on vault. Natasha Sexton and Sydney Lloyd, competing in the level 7, age 12/13 category, both came away with a gold medal and fantastic results for Revolution. Lloyd earned the gold medal on uneven bars, placed 6th on vault and finished 4th all-around. Sexton captured gold on balance beam, 7th on bars, 9th on vault and finished 5th in the all-around.
Senior National Team member Stefanie Merkle, 17, competed in the International Challenge competition Friday evening. Competing against 30 athletes from around the world including France, Peru, Belgium, Jamaica and Canada, Merkle finished in 6th place on vault and qualified herself to the Event Finals on Sunday for floor exercise where she earned herself the silver medal.
13 year old Junior National Team member, Sydney Townsend, represented Team Canada on Saturday in the prestigious Junior Cup event against teams from Russia, Romania, Belgium, France, Japan and Canada. With some unfortunate mistakes, Townsend finished the all-around in 19th place with a 4th place finish on vault and a 9th place finish on floor. Townsend has been invited to travel to Russia in April to train at the admired Russian National Training Centre in Round Lake. With her being one of only six Canadian gymnasts asked to participate in this exciting opportunity, it is quite an honor for the young gymnast.
CONESTOGO GYMNAST JOINGS JUNIOR NATIONAL TEAM
Friday, February, 22, 2013 - 9:09:59 AM
Gail Martin Photo
WINNING STYLE — Sydney Townsend, a 13-year-old gymnast from Conestogo, trains up to 27 hours a week, in pursuit of her Olympic dream. She is now closer to her dream, earning a berth on the junior national team.
Conestogo gymnast joins junior national team
Gail Martin
Independent Editor
Sydney Townsend is one step closer to fulfilling her dream. The 13-year-old gymnast from Conestogo recently competed against other gymnasts in Elite Canada, for the first time as a junior athlete. She placed sixth all-around and made three event finals — balance beam, floor exercise and fault — earning a bronze medal in her floor exercise and a silver in vault.
Immediately after the competition, Townsend was placed on the junior national team. She is currently ranked as the best Canadian female gymnast that was born in 1999. It’s taken a lot of hard work to get here.
Townsend practically lives at Revolution Gymnastics, where she trains under the tutelage of coach Aaron Brokenshire. Townsend is there every day after school from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., putting in 25 hours one week, and 27 the next. Townsend has to leave school early every day to participate in this rigorous schedule, and often finds herself doing homework when she is eating supper. “My teachers are good about it,” said Townsend. “They give me the homework they are doing that day. If I miss a test, I’ll stay in at break and do it.”
Still, there’s really only one thing that Townsend regrets about the high level of commitment that she has made to her sport — the fact that it’s difficult to get together with her friends. Still, results like the recent one from Elite Canada are enough to keep her going. “I was really happy with how I did,” said Townsend.
Brokenshire said that Townsend has two great strengths as a gymnast — the fact that she is a good all-round gymnast, and that she has a great attitude.
“If you put her in a cross-section of kids her age, you would see she is more focused, hard-working and driven,” said Brokenshire. “At this level (of competition) they are all that way. They are all hard-working, driven and focused. Then it becomes who is the most determined.”
Brokenshire said that Townsend is able to keep her focus, and is also able to bounce back quickly from mistakes, something else that is important.
“She takes things easily,” said Brokenshire. “Her demeanour is bubbly and fun. I think that’s going to help her longevity.”
Townsend said she loves to learn new moves, and is really starting to enjoy the thrill of competition.
She has her sights set on attending the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, set for next year. After that, her ultimate dream is to compete in the Olympics.
January 19,2013
TRIPLE GOLD FOR REVOLUTION AT INTERNATIONAL SUN AND SURF SPECTACULAR, CORAL SPRINGS, FLORIDA!!!
Seven Revolution gymnasts competed at the Sun & Surf Spectacular in Coral Springs Florida. Natascha Sexton, Stefanie Merkle & Sydney Townsend took home gold in their respected levels.
Natascha Sexton competed in Level 7 (12 year old) Natascha finished 1st All Around, winning a Gold medal on the balance beam, a silver medal on the bars, placing 5th on the vault, and 6th on floor. In Level 10 (age 12) Sydney Townsend captured the gold all around, Sydney won gold medals on the vault, bars & the beam, and a 4th place finish on the floor. Also in the level 10 category age 16, Stefanie Merkle topped the podium all around. Stefanie earned a gold medal on vault, bars, and floor, and took a silver medal on the beam.
Sydney Lloyd attained a silver medal all- around in the Level 7 (12 year old category). Sydney earned gold on the bars with the highest score on the bars in any level 7 category. Sydney also took home two 4th place ribbons for her performance on the beam, and the floor.
Payton Murray achieved 3 silver medals on the vault, beam and the floor, ranking her 6th all around. Payton was one of the youngest competitors in her category; Payton competed in the Level 7 age 9 category. Teammate Lisa Draijer competed in the Level 7 age 10 category and ranked 7th on the bars, and 8th on the floor.
Carleigh Rau finished 4th All Around in the Level 7 age 12 category. Carleigh achieved a gold medal for her bar routine, and a bronze medal for her beam routine, finishing out the competition in 4th.
Revolutions level 7 competitors competed in a team event, where they placed 2nd, nearly missing the top spot.
Congratulations to all athletes of the Travel/ Elite team on a great performance!!
November, 28, 2012
Jordan Ercit Photo
Petersburg’s Stefanie Merkle and Conestogo’s Sydney Townsend reached the podium with Team Canada at the Massilia Cup meet in Marseilles, France, this month.
Duo adds to resume with Team Canada trip
By Jordan Ercit Chronicle Staff
Forgive Sydney Townsend if she was nervous about her first flight overseas.
The 12-year-old from Conestogo, an elite athlete at Waterloo’s Revolution Gymnastics Sports Centre, wasn’t on a family trip and had never spent so much time away from her parents.
Not to mention it was her first international stint on the Canadian youth national artistic gymnastics team as she travelled to Combs-la-Ville, France, near the capital of Paris, and Marseilles, competing in front of loud, packed crowds that exceeded the energy usually on display at OHL Kitchener Rangers games.
“The first night, I couldn’t sleep at all,” said the Grade 8 student at Conestogo Public School, who tried to hit the hay at 9:30 p.m. her first night in France, only to wake up three hours later.
“Having to cope with everything was different and the time change was the hardest thing to get used to. But I was really excited and it was great to experience everything.”
However, the time change, the foreign culture and the fancy cuisine — another big challenge for the admitted picky eater who favours steak and spaghetti — did little to distract Townsend as she returned home last week with a handful of medals from her first international competitions.
The reigning Canadian novice artistic champion vaulted off her first international appearance with an overall bronze at the 2012 Combs-la-Ville International Tournament and repeated the feat in front of thousands of spectators in Marseille in the 2012 Massilia Cup junior open individual category.
Townsend was one of four athletes and coaches from Revolution to accompany Team Canada in France. Stefanie Merkle, who also made her international debut last year at Combs-la-Ville, and coaches Aaron and Angie Brokenshire also made the trip, with Merkle helping the senior national team win masters division silver.
It can be a crapshoot, Aaron Brokenshire said, trying to figure out how a young athlete responds to the bright lights and pressure-packed environment of an international meet while away from family for the first time.
But like Merkle before her, Townsend adapted well to the challenge, and her competitive spirit pushed her past some of Europe’s best in the junior age group.
“She can mentally flick that switch and go,” Brokenshire said of Townsend. “It’s not the same with every kid. Some kids are just happy to be there.”
It was old hat, meanwhile, for Merkle, who settled her nerves at the Massilia Cup with knowledge she had been there before.
In 2011, the 16-year-old from Petersburg made her return from a year-long elbow injury to place sixth all-around in the junior-only Combs-la-Ville meet before helping Canada to a third-place finish in the masters division at the Massilia Cup.
In 2012, Merkle, along with Cambridge native Victoria Moors and Georgetown’s Kaitlyn Hofland, helped Canada finish second to Russia in the Massilia Cup masters division despite a fourth teammate missing the event due to injury.
“With all the lights and everything, it can be tough the first time around,” Merkle said. “But this year wasn’t as bad as last year. I knew how to cope with everything.
“The toughest thing this year was only having three of us competing. It wasn’t necessarily more pressure, but you definitely had to do your best for the team . . . so I’m happy with our overall team result.”
Individually, Merkle was hoping for a better result, but was pleased to hit some of her newer elements —a Jaeger on bars, as well as a round-off double-tuck and new connections on beam. She also had more opportunity to visit French tourist sites during her down time.
That was the case for the Brokenshires as well, who stayed in Paris for two extra days after the meets. With a busy work schedule and two young children at home — five-year-old Ava and three-year-old Gavin — it is not something they get to do too often.
“As you can imagine, our lives are pretty crazy — we’ve got a lot going on — so it was nice to have some time alone together,” Aaron said. “It was fun to catch up on the fashion, the food and the culture. We went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa, the Egyptian exhibit and all that stuff.”
June 6, 2012
Revolution’s Townsend ready for more
By Jordan Ercit Chronicle Staff
The threat of Y2K was still fresh in peoples’ minds when Sydney Townsend burst into the world a premature bundle of joy on Christmas Eve.
“Sydney’s never been easy,” mom, Marcie, said with a laugh when describing her daughter, who was born more than two weeks premature.
All that boundless energy has made Townsend one heck of a gymnast.
The 12-year-old from Conestogo, who moved with her family from Milton last fall, was recently crowned the top all-around novice gymnast in the country after beating out 45 of the best 10- to 12-year-olds at the 2012 Canadian National Gymnastics Championships in Regina, Sask.
Townsend, a former Mississauga Gym Club member who finished seventh all-around at nationals in 2011, won three gold at the meet, including a first-place finish in the floor exercise, and as a member of provincial squad helped Ontario beat out British Columbia and Quebec in the team competition.
“I hoped to do well, but I was definitely surprised,” said the Conestogo Public School student, who trains out of Waterloo’s Revolution Gymnastics and Sports Centre. “It feels good. I was just really happy to win.”
However, becoming a successful athlete was never a slam-dunk for Townsend, said her mom, Marcie.
Although Sydney Townsend was always full of vim and vigour — “She could walk early, she talked early,” Marcie said — she could never quite find her niche in soccer or other sports.
That is until she found gymnastics.
“That’s why she started,” Marcie Townsend said. “She was always jumping around.”
Even then, she had to work at it. Sydney was never the most flexible child when she started competing as a six-year-old, a trait that typically doesn’t go hand-in-hand for gymnasts.
But she does possess a number of other admirable attributes — her spatial awareness, co-ordination and overall ability are “very good,” said coach Aaron Brokenshire.
“We’ll take the fact she’s not as flexible and run with it,” the director of Revolution Gymnastics and Sports Centre said.
Townsend also had performance jitters at first, but is starting to become comfortable with competing in the spotlight.
That was not necessarily the case earlier this year when she started strong on the first day of the high-profile 2012 Elite Canada meet in February at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, placing third behind fellow Ontarians Oleksandra Yermolchuk and Cassandra Buchan.
However, the stress seemed to get to Townsend on the second day as she dropped to fifth overall.
Three months later and Townsend seemed to get stronger as the national championships went on. She was third overall and four points behind Buchan after the first day, but finished top-six in all four events — vault, bars, beam and floor — on the second to claim the overall crown by eight-tenths of a point over Buchan.
Meanwhile, Yermolchuk, who beat Buchan for the Elite Canada meet, withdrew after suffering an injury on Day 2.
“You could see she was no longer a deer in the headlights,” Brokenshire said. “The door was about that much open and I said to her, ‘Sydney, let’s kick right through.’”
The win means Townsend could be in for bigger and better things as soon as next fall.
With her 13-year-old year coming up, Townsend will make the jump to the junior level next season and begin competing against girls up to two years her senior.
Brokenshire also plans to take Townsend to France for her first competition outside of North America, where she will deal with conditions outside her comfort zone, like jetlag and foreign food.
There may also be a spot waiting for Townsend on the national team after the Canadian all-around title win, Brokenshire said.
“It’ll be out of the ordinary if they don’t,” Brokenshire said. “But stranger things have happened.”
Until then, Townsend, a diehard Shawn Johnson fan, might make some time to watch her idol at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
It’s something Townsend hopes to experience for herself one day.
“I’d love to be on the national team at some point, maybe go to the Olympics too,” she said.
May 30, 2012
Conestogo Gymnast is National Novice Champion Chuck Kuepfer, Staff Reporter
A young gymnast has reached the top of her sport.
Sydney Townsend, 12, of Conestogo won three gold medals at the Canadian National Gymnastics Championship in Regina, SK last week to earn the title as high-performance novice champion.
“She is thrilled,” said her mother, Marcie. “She’s had some good success along the way.”
Sydney was provincial champion at the age of nine, and followed that up as eastern Canadian champion at the age of 10. The national championship continues her high-level success.
A member of the Revolution Gymnastics Club of Waterloo, Sydney attended the nationals along with coaches Aaron and Angela Brokenshire, and fellow club member Stefanie Merkle.
They were among more 1,000 gymnasts and coaches at the nationals.
Sydney captured gold medals in the all-round and floor exercise competitions, May 25.
Earlier in the week, she was a member of Team Ontario, which won gold in the team competition. Ontario bested silver-medalist British Columbia by seven points and bronze-medalist Quebec by 13 points to take gold.
For Sydney, who competes in the novice category which is open to girls ages 11-12, it was her second time at nationals.
“You can’t join the national ranks until you’re 11, so last year was her first crack at that,” said Marcie. “She finished seventh all-round.”
Sydney competed at the provincial championships in Ottawa this past April.
“The top six girls qualified to be on the Ontario team,” said Marcie.
Fellow Revolution Gymnastics competitor Merkle, 16, finished eighth in the all-around competition in a talented field vying for one of five spots on the Canadian Olympic Team heading to London this summer.
Merkle, who also placed fourth in the floor exercise, travels to Ghent, Belgium to represent Canada at the Challenger Cup in early June.
Sydney will also be competing overseas later this year, possibly in France and Belgium.
“She’s going to start doing some international competitions this fall, and that will be her first international exposure,” said Marcie.
Sydney, who has been involved in gymnastics for almost a decade, currently trains five hours a day, Monday to Friday
“She started recreationally when she was three,” said Marcie. “She started doing more hours and the competitive side when she was six. It’s nice to see a reward for all that she puts into it.”
March 30, 2012
Local Gymnasts Excel at Revolution Rewind Competition!
More than 480 gymnasts from across Canada competed this past weekend at the Revolution Rewind gymnastics competition hosted by the Waterloo based Revolution Gymnastics Club. The event offered competitive categories for both Provincial and National level gymnasts aged 7-18+.
Twenty-one gymnasts from Revolution Gymnastics Club competed in 15 of the 30 available categories over the 2-day event and won the All-around Gold in 5 of those categories as well as a combined 51 Gold, Silver and Bronze medals!
19 Revolution gymnasts competed within the provincial categories. In level 2, Katelyn Kreutner won the Bronze All-Around in the 10-12 category and 9 year old Lea Braun finished with silver on uneven bars. Each of Sophia Aslandis and Alicia Mesher won the all-around gold for their performances in level 3 with silvers going to Marly Verhoeve and Amelia Danzinger and bronze to Maya Yourth. Also in their respective level 3 categories, Jenna Matthews and Alexandra Zsivanov finished in 5th place, Elisabeth Nosalik in 6th place, Bethany Mazik in 7th and Emma Lincoln in 8th.
Revolution dominated the level 4 category. Medaling on all events, Madison Pollock took the gold all-around in the 9 year old category as did Jordan Low in the 11 year old category. Meghan McQuillin won the silver all-around in the 10 year old division and Jennifer Lorentz captured the bronze on vault in the 12+ category. 12 year old Natasha Sexton, competing as a provincial level 5, won the beam and placed third on both vault and floor. Sydney Lloyd (12) and Carleigh Rau (10) represented Revolution in level 7 with Lloyd taking bronze on vault and bars and silver in the all-around and Rau finishing 5th all-around.
Sydney Townsend and Stefanie Merkle represented Revolution in the National Youth and National Senior divisions respectively. Townsend (12), winning gold all-around in the youth category, medaled on all events with gold on vault, bars, floor and bronze on balance beam. Merkle (16) placed 4th on beam, 6th on bars. She did not compete in the all-around.
Several of Revolutions’ younger talents, including Payton Murray, Abbey Prilesnik, Jorga-Paige Pettigrew, Stella Miklos, Kayla Foy, Cassidy Rae, Shae Hilpert, Abigail Passy and Abigail Dixon, competed exceptionally well in the 7/8 year old divisions; however, as per Gymnastics Ontario regulations, results for gymnasts under the age of 9 cannot be published.
Revolutions’ provincial athletes will compete next in Mississauga at the Canuck Cup Invitational meet. Townsend and Merkle will head to Ontario Championships in Ottawa April 19-22.
March 20, 2012
Merkle leads host Revolution team into meet By Chronicle Staff
Stefanie Merkle’s golden floor performance led a number of podium finishes for Revolution Gymnastics recently at the international Gymnix competition in Laval, Que. The 16-year-old Olympic hopeful and member of the national junior team set a personal-best score with her first-place floor routine. She also finished fifth out of 49 competitors with her all-around score and eighth on the beam.
In the national novice category, Sydney Townsend, 12, claimed silver in the all-around as well as on floor, the uneven bars and a sixth-place finish on vault.
Sydney Lloyd, Reese Wakefield and Carleigh Rau represented Revolution in the P3 category. In the 12-year-old division, Lloyd was competing for the first time after taking a year off and finished ninth overall with fourth on bars and eighth on vault. In the mixed 10/11 category, Wakefield finished third on bars, fourth on floor and 10th all-around. Rau finished seventh on bars and 15th overall.
Competing in the mixed 8/9 P2 category, Payton Murray placed on every event with a sixth on vault, eighth on bars, seventh on beam, eighth on floor and sixth all-around. Teammates Jorga-Paige Pettigrew and Abbey Prilesnik finished the all-around 16th and 20th respectively.
The Revolution team is readying for its own event, Revolution Rewind, on March 24 and 25 at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate in Kitchener. The event will showcase more than 450 provincial- and national-level athletes.
February 20, 2012 REVOLUTION GYMNASTS TAKE TO THE PODIUM AT ELITE CANADA
The best gymnasts from across the country competed this weekend in Mississauga at Elite Canada 2012, the first major national event of the season. Among these competitors were members of Waterloo’s Revolution Gymnastics team, Stefanie Merkle, 16 and Sydney Townsend, 12.
16 year old Stefanie Merkle, a member of the Canadian National Junior Team and Olympic hopeful, competing in her first year of the Senior category, finished off day 1 of the 2 day competition in 6th place All-Around in a field of 32 talented gymnasts. Contributing to Merkle’s Day 1 all-around finish was 3rd place on each of Beam and Floor which qualified her for Event Finals on Day 2 on both of these events. Stefanie wowed the crowd with a stellar floor performance and highly difficult beam routine and earned herself the silver medal in the Floor Exercise finals and 6th place in the Beam finals.
Revolution’s Sydney Townsend, 12, competed as a National Novice in the 2 day all-around competition for that category of 28 athletes. Despite some struggles throughout day 2, Townsend finished the competition with a silver medal on Floor, a bronze on Uneven Bars, 7th place on Vault and a 5th place finish in the All-Around.
Both Stefanie and Sydney have now earned the Canadian “High Performance” status and have qualified for the Canadian Championships hosted in Regina in May. In the meantime, Merkle and Townsend will head to the Gymnix International competition held in Laval, Que in early March, Revolution’s own hosted invitational competition later that same month and Provincial Championships in Ottawa in April.
Jan 27, 2012
Flying High!
By: Colin Dewar (Woolwich Observer)
Every day Sydney Townsend can be found running around the gym at the Revolution Gymnastic Club in Waterloo. Instead of walking from one side of the gym to the other, she does a front roll, cartwheel, a couple of skips and a jump. The 12-year-old is training to become one of the best gymnasts in the province. Last weekend Sydney competed as a Novice National at the Elite Canada Screening competition held in Oshawa where she finished with a gold medal for her floor routine, a silver medal on uneven bars, a bronze medal on balance beam and claimed the silver medal in the all-around in a category of 14 gymnasts from across Ontario.
As a result of her accomplishment last weekend, Sydney has now qualified to compete at Elite Canada in February in Mississauga where she will compete against the top athletes in her category from across Canada.
This was no fluke for the Grade 7 student at Conestogo Public School, as she finished fifth all-around at the Ontario championships in the Novice National category in 2010-2011. That finish earned her a spot on Team Ontario, representing the province at the Canadian championships.
Her teammate Stephanie Merkle finished second over all in the senior program, while Julia Moreau finished first all around in the provincial level nine, the last level of provincials before heading to nationals.
Since the age of three Sydney has been tumbling and jumping, starting in a recreational classes in Mississauga. At six was asked to join their pre-competitive programs. “I had too much energy when I was younger. I really like getting all my built-up energy out, and gymnastics help do that on a daily basis,” said Sydney.
Since moving to Conestogo with her family last year Sydney attends the Waterloo club and is coached by Aaron and Angela Brokenshire and Berrie Onishenko. She trains Monday to Friday, five hours a day and works out every other Sunday to keep in shape for the program demands.
Sydney’s mother Marcie picks her daughter up from school at 1 p.m. every day so she can start her training at 2 p.m. “The school has been really supportive. In the GTA they have a high performance programs in schools which is structured so that all the kids are finished their classes at lunch time but they don’t have that here so we spoke to the principal at Conestogo Public School and they have tailored her classes so that she is only missing gym class in the afternoon,” said Marcie.
Sydney’s favorite discipline is the uneven bars and she completed her first competitive Tkatchev last weekend. A Tkatchev is performed on the high bar or uneven bars, and can be done in the straddle, pike, or layout position. In a Tkatchev, the gymnast swings up like a back giant and releases the bar in an arched position. She flies over it with her back to it, then sits up and catches the bar again.
“I was a little surprised by my results at the competition because I did not start the day off very well. I fell twice during the vault competition,” said Sydney, noting that was unexpected as she finished second in vault in Canada last year.
“Even though I fell I knew I was not out of the competition. It was not the first time I made a mistake and I am very good at brushing it off and carrying on with the competition.” Sydney’s coaches were very pleased with their young athlete’s performance at the competition, as they had added new skills to her program and whole new floor routine.
“We were not surprised that she was capable of having a result like that but with never having been to a competition with her before you are never sure what you are going to get, as everyone competes a little differently. We were pleasantly impressed that she was a gamer and is competitive,” said coach Aaron Brokenshire. “There is always a chance that they will fall but she rose up to the occasion. She really is a fun kid and knows how to handle herself very well for her age.”
Sydney has her eye on the 2016 Olympic Games to be held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil: she’ll be 16 years old and eligible to compete for Canada.
“She has the potential to be an Olympic athlete. She has the talent and the ability to get there and her aptitude is high enough to get her to go as far as she wants,” said Brokenshire.
CANCUN, MEXICO -- Julia Moreau (14) of Revolution Gymnastics flipped into 2012 at the Cancun Classic held recently in sunny Mexico. Moreau was selected as part of a 40-athlete delegation representing Team Ontario at this premier international event. Her coach, Angela Brokenshire was also selected as the Team Coach for the event.
In the Level 9 Junior Category, Moreau brought home the all around silver medal, including bronze on vault, beam and floor.
The Ontario Level 9 team won overall silver.
Moreau's next competition is January 21st in Oshawa where she hopes to get one step closer in qualifying for the Eastern Canadian Championships in May.
November 21, 2011
November is Golden for Revolution Gymnasts
Stefanie Merkle and Julia Moreau, both from Revolution Gymnastics in Waterloo, brought home gold medals and “personal bests” from recent gymnastics competitions.
Stefanie Merkle, 15, was part of the gold medal Team Canada that just spent 2 weeks in France participating in 2 international gymnastics competitions. Team Canada won gold in Combs-la-Ville, just outside Paris at the Tournoi International de Gymnastique, beating hometown favourites, France. The competition featured gymnasts from France, Canada, Netherlands, Switzerland and Poland. It was Merkles’s first time competing at an international event overseas. “Winning the meet and beating France here in their backyard was really exciting”, said Merkle. “The venue was completely packed and it was a loud and enthusiastic crowd.”
The competition was a warm-up for the main event held the following week, the prestigious Massilia Cup, held in Marseille, France, where Team Canada, once again, hit the podium, winning a bronze medal behind Russia (all World Championship Team members) and the France Senior National Team. Even more notable, Team Canada was comprised of Junior members, most competing in the Senior category for the first time. Merkle qualified for event finals on the floor exercise – the top 6 athletes qualify - ahead of World Champion Silver medalist, Viktoria Komova of Russia. The international exposure is important for Merkle, who is hoping to earn a spot on the Canadian team that will be attending Olympic trials in London in February.
Julia Moreau, 14, competed Level 9 at the Tour Selection competition November 20 in Base, Borden Ontario. The top 8 athletes are appointed to Team Ontario and will travel to Mexico in January where they will represent the province at the Cancun Classic. Moreau had an exceptionally strong meet, winning gold on beam and finishing in 5th place on both vault and bars. She finished with a Bronze medal in the All-Around, earning herself a spot on Team Ontario.
Moreau was ecstatic when she found out she made Team Ontario and would be travelling to Mexico in January. “I felt my performance was really well done” said Moreau. “Hitting 4 for 4 routines was my goal and making Team Ontario was just icing on the cake.”
After a strong start to the gymnastics season, both girls will be back in the gym this week training for up coming meets in December.
By Jordan Ercit, Chronicle Staff
Even in good times, things rarely come easy for Stefanie Merkle.
Hard work landed the 15-year-old Petersburg native a spot on Gymnastics Canada’s national junior team two years ago. And the same dogged determination has vaulted her back after a year-long layoff due to an elbow injury.
“Gymnastics isn’t easy,” said Merkle, whose motto, “it doesn’t have to be easy, it just has to be possible,” is posted on her Twitter account.
“You have to be mentally strong, you need to be emotionally strong and physically strong, too.”
Almost fully healed after an injury that cost her a spot on the national team, Merkle will compete in her first international event outside Canada next month in France, joining fellow 1996-born Canadian juniors Victoria Morris of Cambridge and Sabrina Gill of Oakville at the Combs la Ville competition near Paris and the Massilia Gym Cup in Marseille.
“It feels good to be back representing Canada and representing the club,” Merkle said last week in preparation for the events, which are about a week apart beginning Nov. 11. “There’s a sense of pride when you put the uniform on. It’s something you see as a kid and always dream of doing.”
It’s been a long road back for Merkle, who damaged the ligaments in her right elbow in 2010 during an accident in practice.
The Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate student, who had been involved in gymnastics since before her second birthday, spent the next year rehabbing the injury without surgery before being given clearance to compete in April.
Since then, with the elbow “pretty much healed,” Merkle finished fourth in the junior cup event at the 2011 Wild Rose International in Edmonton before another fourth-place finish at the Canadian national junior championships in Charlottetown, PEI, in May.
Merkle was still a bit tentative testing her elbow, but the results were encouraging enough for national team brass to issue her a spot on the Canadian junior roster again, said Aaron Brokenshire, a co-coach of Merkle’s at Revolution.
“We’ve tried to bring her back the best we can,” said Brokenshire, noting Merkle still tapes her elbow for extra stability. “Now it’s time to see how far she can go. We’re knocking on wood and hoping she can go further.”
In the summer, Merkle spent the offseason strengthening her elbow, improving her execution and trying to increase the difficulty of her starting elements in preparation for this year’s competition.
There is also an outside chance of Merkle earning a spot on Team Canada for the 2012 Summer Games in London, England.
The Canadian women’s artistic team finished 11th at the most recent Olympic qualifier, in which the top eight teams advanced.
Four more teams will get another chance in January, and if Canada can qualify for London, Brokenshire said they might look to one of the junior team members to make the jump onto the senior squad.
June 1, 2011
Merkle Makes Comeback
Stefanie Merkle is back on track. After sitting out for more than a year with an elbow injury, the Waterloo-based gymnast had a strong showing at last week’s national championships.
Merkle, who trains out of Revolution Gymnastics in Waterloo, finished fourth all around in the junior competition and won a bronze medal in the floor.
“After being off for a year, I was pretty surprised at how well I did,” the 15-year old said.
Merkle tore a ligament in her right elbow, and was off the floor for six months.
“It was just a fluke injury,” she said.
She’s only been back in competition since March.
The nationals, held in Charlottetown, was her third event since returning.
But Merkle didn’t let nerves get in the way at nationals.
“I felt pretty confident,” she said.
“I had all my skills so I felt pretty good going into it.” The highlight of the competition for Merkle was her bronze on floor.
“I know I don’t have the highest difficulty, but I try to go clean and have good landings,” she said.
“That helped a lot.” Nationals marked the end of a short season for Merkle and she’ll spend the off season getting back to full strength. There aren’t many lingering effects from the injury, she said.
“It’s pretty much healed,” she said.
“I still tape it every day, so we’re going to try to wean me off the tape.” Merkle is hoping that her nationals performance made a statement.
“I feel I’m like back, and everyone can see I’m back,” she said.
“So they know they’ll have to watch out for me.”
April 4, 2011
Merkle to Compete at National Gymnastics Championships
After 2 recent top-level competitions in one week, Stefanie Merkle, 15, is showing that she deserves to be among the country’s top Junior gymnasts.
After taking almost a year off competing to heal an elbow injury, Merkle, who trains at Revolution Gymnastics in Waterloo, Ontario, competed solidly in all 4 events at the Wild Rose Women’s Invitational (March 25-27) in Edmonton, Alberta. She placed 4th All Around on Day One of the event and qualified for 3 event finals on Day Two, when she finished with a Silver medal on the floor exercise. Competitors came from as far away as China and Australia.
Less than a week after returning form Edmonton, Merkle competed at Provincial Championships, winning Silver on floor, Bronze on bars, and placing 4th on beam and 5th on vault. Her consistent performance earned her third place in the All Around and earning her a funded spot on the roster for the Canadian National Championships in Prince Edward Island in late May. There she hopes to regain her place on the National Team.
“This has been a very long road back. Everyone involved has been tremendously patient and committed. Stefanie herself, her parents, doctors, including world renowned specialist Dr. Anthony Galea who also treated Tiger Woods, therapists and team of coaches all made significant efforts and contributions to arrive at this point. I really feel we have the ability to contribute to the National Team once again,” said Merkle’s coach, Aaron Brokenshire
Merkle will travel to Charlottetown, PEI in May to compete in the Canadian Gymnastics Championships where she hopes to earn a well-deserved spot on Team Canada.
February 25, 2011
Revolution's Youngest Members Showcase Their Talent and Earn the Spirit Award!!
Nine of Revolution Gymnastics’ youngest members (the pre-elite team) competed for the first time ever on February 25 at the “Pajama Party” ODP (Ontario Development Program) competition, hosted by Gemini Gymnastics in Oshawa. ODP comprises 22 stations designed to test the physical ability of the girls (ages 5-9) in 3 areas: 1) flexibility. 2) handstand development, and 3) strength, power and endurance.
Maya Zonneveld, Chanel Ortwein, Hazel Yott and Shea Hilpert competed in the 'Showcase B' for 5-6 year olds. The girls do not receive scores but do get evaluated in all areas. Three of the girls, Jessie Coombs (7), Alia Hirsch (8) and Avery Grierson (7), competed in the “beginner” category. Coombs earned Gold in the All Around, Hirsch earned a Silver and Greirson earned Bronze.
Jorja-Paige Pettigrew and Abbey Prilesnik, both 7, competed in the “Intermediate” category. Pettigrew earned Silver All Around and Prilesnik won Bronze. The theme of the competition was “pajama party” and the girls all dressed for the occasion, wearing pajama bottoms for warm-up and each girl brought her favourite stuffy to watch the event! All girls earned medals and the team won the best club spirit award!
It was fun event for all the girls and they are looking forward to competing again in April at the Junior Jungle ODP Invitational in Richmond Hill, ON.
February 19, 2011
Revolution Gymnasts bring back the Gold from Las Vegas!
Two members of the Elite Team at Revolution Gymnastics, Renna Cukier and Emma Mackey, both 10, attended their first competition in the United States, The Cactus Cooler Invitational in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both girls competed at Level 8 and were the youngest athletes in their level - the other competitors were 12 and older.
Cukier won bars debuting a new routine and finished in 4th place All Around. Mackey also debuted some new skills and finished in 6th place All Around. In addition to the competition, the girls had a great time exploring Las Vegas and were thrilled to be able to attend a Cirque du Soleil show - perhaps gaining some insight into where their gymnastics skills might take them in a few years.
Next for the girls, along with teammate, Stefanie Merkle, are 2 international competitions: L’International Gymnix in Montreal followed by the Triple Flip Wild Rose Invitational in Edmonton!
February 6, 2011, Waterloo, ON
Revolution Rewind Gymnastics Meet a Huge Success
Elite Session Team Awards Olympica California with new friends
(Futures 1st, Gymtastics Calgary 2nd, World Class 3rd)
Close to 300 gymnasts from across North America participated in the Revolution Rewind Gymnastics Invitational meet last weekend. The meet went off without a hitch and was the first ever hosted by Revolution Gymnastics in Waterloo, ON. In addition to athletes from Ontario, gymnasts from as far away as Calgary and California participated in the competition.
The competition included Provincial Levels 2-9 as well as National Levels ranging from Pre-Novice to Senior. Twenty-eight girls from Revolution Gymnastics competed, winning over 40 medals!
Carleigh Rau, 9, competing for the first time ever, won gold medals in bars andbeam, and silver on floor, earning her gold in the all-around in the Level 4 competition. Jordan Low, 10, won gold in bars and all-around in the Level 3 competition. Jennifer Lorentz picked up gold in beam and floor in the Level 3, age 12 and up category. Natascha Sexton,11, won Silver in the all-around in Level 5, while in Level 6, Julia Hildebrand ,13, finished with a bronze in the all-around after a 2nd place finish on the Floor exercise.
Many of Revolution Gymnastics younger gymnasts (7 and 8 years old), competing for the first time ever at the event, did exceptionally well and gained valuable experience. (As per Gymnastics Ontario rules, results cannot be published).
In the Pre-novice National Elite category, Emma Mackey, 10, performed consistently in all events, earning bronze medals for both vault and beam, finishing with a silver medal in the all-around. Teammate Renna Cukier, 10, won a Silver medal with a solid performance on the bars and finished in 4th place in the all-around.
In the Elite Senior Session, Revolution’s Stefanie Merkle, 15, returned to competition for this first time since April 2010 due to an elbow injury.She competed on 3 events, earning a silver medal on beam! Some of the country’s top gymnasts participated in this special Elite session, with the top teams winning prize money as well as medals for their efforts.
Everyone at Revolution Gymnastics is already looking forward to next year’s competition which should be even bigger and better than this year’s event.
November, 2011, Base Borden, ON
Revolution Gymnasts Hit the Podium
The first gymnastics meet of the season got off to a great start for 3 Revolution gymnasts, competing for the first time in the National Pre-Novice stream at the Tour Selection Gymnastics Meet held November 19-21 at Base Borden, ON.
The girls had the opportunity to show off the new skills they have been working on over the past 5 months and competed against some of Ontario’s best gymnasts under the age of 11.
In the National Pre-Novice Aspire category, Emma Mackey (10) and Reese Wakefield (9), finished with Silver and Bronze medals respectively in the All Around. Mackey came to Revolution less than 5 months ago and has since progressed tremendously. “…With her coaches help, [she] improved immensely both in terms of overall strength and in the new skills she has learned…We were so excited that Emma was able to see all her hard work pay off!” says Mackey’s mother, Deanna. Mackey’s solid performance in all 4 events earned her the gold for vault, and silver on both bars and floor exercise. Wakefield won gold for her solid beam routine which included a new skill, a standing back tuck, which she performed as if she’d been competing it for years. She also won a bronze medal for her vault.
In the National Pre-novice Elite category, Renna Cukier (10) performed well despite falls on beam and bars. She competed ten new skills, increasing her level of difficulty significantly from last year. She finished in 6th place on both bars and vault, and finished 9th in the All Around. “This meet was a great learning experience. All the girls upgraded their routines and this is just the start. We have a lot of exciting work to do in the next two months! ” said Revolution coach Berrie Onishenko.
The girls are back training in the gym and are looking to forward to their next meet, hosted by their own club - The Revolution Rewind, at the end of January. Over 200 gymnasts from as far away as California and Calgary are expected to attend. The meet will be held at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate and should prove to be a tremendous event.
June 10, 2010 - Newmarket, ON
Progressive teams cap off competitive season with more than 50 medals at last competition of the year!
Twenty-four girls competed at the Marilyn Hayes Invitational Meet (June 5-6, 2010) hosted by SGI in Newmarket, ON. For all of the girls, it was their last competition of the season, but for many, it was their very first competition ever! Girls on the progressive teams range in age from 7-17 and train between 5 and 12 hours a week. They attend between 1 and 3 invitational meets a year.
Competing at level 6 were Christina Lee (17) and Julia Hildebrand (14). Hildebrand won gold for her bar routine, silver on bars, beam and floor and finished with a bronze medal in the All Around, as did Lee, who also won silver on bars and beam, and bronze on vault and floor. Lee had great success at her earlier meets as well, winning Gold in the All Around at the Milton Springer Invitational and Silver in the All Around at the All Star Gymnastics Challenge. Sheridan Parker (14) was not able to compete at the meet, however, she had 2 previous silver medal All Around finishes and won 10 medals this year alone!
Eleven year old Sarah Brush, competing in Level 5, had one of her best meets of the year, taking home 5 medals: silver on vault, bars and beam, and a bronze in the floor exercise. She capped off the event with a silver medal in the All Around! This marked the end of a successful season for Sarah, who also won silver and bronze All Around medals at earlier meets she attended.
Six girls competed in Level 4, winning 16 medals altogether. For Natascha Sexton (10), the meet was a strong finish to a successful year – she finished with a silver medal in the All Around, by winning gold on bars, and silver on both vault and beam. At previous meets earlier in the year, she finished in 3rd and 4th place in the All Around.
Also competing in Level 4, Alia Hazineh (12) won gold on the floor exercise, silver on beam and bronze in the All Around. Kelsey Bisch (13) won gold in the All Around, with silver medals on vault, bars and beam. Alex Hildebrand (13) finished with a bronze in the All Around and won gold on both bars and beam and a silver on floor. Kristi Huebner (13), placed 5th All Around, and won a bronze medal on vault. Hannah Goodridge (11) came in 4th on vault and 5th on both beam and floor, finishing in 5th place All Around.
Eight girls, ranging in age from 7-12, competed in Level 3. In her first year of competition, Lisa Draijer (7) won gold on bars at both meets she attended. She also won gold on beam, silver on floor and bronze on vault. Meghan McQuillin and Jenna Denomme (both 8), also competed for the first time this year. McQuillan earned gold on bars and beam, silver on the floor exercise and bronze on vault. Denomme won gold on bars, and silver on beam and floor.
Nine year olds, Jordan Low, Avery Hilpert and Hannah Cornies, all came home with medals. Low won Gold on bars, Hilpert won bronze on vault and Cornies won gold on vault and bronze on beam. Jennifer Lorentz and Nicole Gallant, both 12, both won bronze medals, - Lorentz on bars and Gallant on the floor exercise.
Seven girls competed at Level 2. For most, it was their first competition ever! “I was really nervous,” said 9 year old Jenna Matthews of her first ever competition. “But I was more excited than nervous. I had a lot of fun.” She won a bronze medal for her vault and placed 6th All Around. Dana Kompter, Bethany Mazik, and Katie McMahon, all 9, finished in 4th, 5th and 6th place respectively in their groups.
Alicia Mesher (11) had a strong meet, winning gold on bars, silver on floor, and earning a silver medal in the All Around. She also won a special award for best choreography for her floor exercise. Teammate Alexandra Zsivanov (11) won 2 silver medals for her performance on bars and beam and ten year old Elisabeth Kamski won a gold medal for her beam performance.
That completes yet another successful year. All the girls are back and looking forward to next year!
April 23, 2010 - St. Catharines, ON
Renna Cukier – 2010 Provincial Floor Champion!
In the culmination of a very successful competition year, Revolution gymnast, Renna Cukier (9), won the title Provincial Floor Champion at the Ontario Gymnastics Championships held in St. Catharines, April 23-25. She finished in 2nd place All Around, just missing the Gold by 0.05 of a point, and won Silver medals on both bars and beam in Level 7, age 9 division. Teammate Reese Wakefield, competing in the same division, won Silver on the floor exercise, and Bronze on both beam and bars, placing her in 4th position All Around. The girls are now done competing for the year and are looking forward to learning new skills as they prepare for next year's competition season.
April 6, 2010 - Edmonton, AB
Revolution “Flips” Over 11 Gold at the Triple Flip Wild Rose Invitational!
Easter weekend was golden this year as 5 girls from Revolution Gymnastics came home from the Triple Flip Wild Rose International Women’s Gymnastics Invitational in Edmonton, AB with 11 gold medals!
Stefanie Merkle (14), won Gold as part of the Junior Team Canada 1, ahead of Team Canada 2 and the team from Capital City Gymnastics. On Day 1 of the individual competition, Merkle finished 4th All-Around and qualified for event finals on Vault, Beam, and Floor. On Day 2, she won Gold on the balance beam with a spectacularly difficult and well-executed beam routine and earned a Bronze medal on the floor exercise. This was Merkle’s second time competing as part of Team Canada and first time as part of Team Canada 1!
Despite a leg injury that prevented her from competing in the floor event, teammate Julia Moreau (13) finished in 4th place on beam and in 6th place on vault in the National Novice category.
Sisters Megan (11) and Reese Wakefield (9), and Sydney Lloyd (10), all competed in the Provincial 3 category - Lloyd and M. Wakefield in the Tyro age category and R. Wakefield in the Argo age category.
Over 40 girls competed in the Tyro category, which M. Wakefield clearly dominated, winning Gold on all events and the All Around! She hit all her routines, earning her highest scores all year! Teammate Lloyd won a bronze medal for her clean bar routine and finished in 12th place All Around.
R. Wakefield also dominated in her category, winning Gold on floor, vault and bars, and earning a Gold medal in the All-Around.
A highlight of the meet was the performance of the Team China which included two members of the Gold-medal 2008 Olympic Team. The Chinese gymnasts won the most medals in the Senior competition and were inspiring for the Canadian gymnasts to watch!
March 30, 2010 - Ottawa, ON
Revolution's Reese Wakefield Wins Ontario Cup!
The best gymnasts from across the province qualified to compete at the Ontario Cup this past weekend in Ottawa, ON. In her first year of competition, Revolution’s Reese Wakefield dominated the Level 7, age 9 division, taking home the All-Around Gold and the prestigious Ontario Cup. Teammate Renna Cukier won Gold on Bars and Beam taking the Silver All Around. Both girls will now go on to compete at the Provincial Championships in St Catharines, April 23-25.
March 10, 2010 - Montreal, PQ
REVOLUTION GYMNASTS OWN THE PODIUM
Some of the best female gymnasts in the world competed at L’International Gymnix in Montreal this past weekend. Canadian gymnasts competed brilliantly alongside gymnasts from Russia, Romania, the US and other countries. Six girls from Revolution Gymnastics in Waterloo attended the meet with great results!
Stefanie Merkle (14), competing internationally for Team Canada for the first time, against teams from Russia and Romania, won a bronze medal as part of Team Canada 2 behind Team Canada 1 (Gold) and the Russian team (Silver). Merkle was set to compete as an individual at the meet until head coach of Gymnastics Canada, Vladimir Lashin, saw Merkle’s difficult skills during training and put her on the Team!
In the individual competition, Merkle finished in 11th spot out of 30 athletes, placing 8th on vault (where she successfully completed a layout Yurchenko full twist for the first time in competition), and qualifying for the floor exercise finals. Merkle’s floor routine was strong with the successful completion of a new skill, a full twisting double back. She finished in 6th place.
“We couldn’t be more proud”, said coach Aaron Brokenshire. “Stefanie fit right in with girls from the two largest powerhouse gymnastics nations in the world. The future looks bright.”
Julia Moreau (13), Megan Wakefield (11), Sydney Lloyd (10), Renna Cukier (9) and Reese Wakefield (9) competed in the Gymnix Classique with stellar results. Moreau competed in the National Novice category, placing 8th on vault, 11th on bars and finishing in 14th place overall. The other 4 girls competed in the P3 category; R. Wakefield and Cukier in the Argo category and M. Wakefield and Lloyd in the Tyro category.
Competing with 20+ girls from across Canada and the US, Cukier had a strong meet, getting gold on beam, silver on bars, bronze on floor and finishing Silver All Around. R. Wakefield, competing in the same category, had a strong floor exercise, winning silver in that event. She placed 5th on bars and 6th on vault and in finished in 7th place All Around.
Also competing in a pack of about 20 girls, M. Wakefield won silver on all four events, winning her Silver in the All Around (missing Gold by only .10). Lloyd placed 7th on both beam and floor and moved the audience with her engaging floor routine. She finished in 11th place All Around.
“The girls’ hard work is starting to pay off,” said coach Berrie Onishenko. “Every competition they attend helps them gain more confidence. Coaches from all over were commenting on how good they looked.”
M. Wakefield, Lloyd, Cukier and R. Wakefield all qualified for the Ontario Cup, to be held in Ottawa at the end of March and following that, Stefanie and her Revolution teammates will travel to Edmonton in early April to participate in the International Triple Flip Wild Rose Invitational!
December 14, 2009
Merkle Crowned 2009 Junior Canadian Beam Champion!
Stefanie Merkle, 13, takes the GOLD Medal on Beam in the Junior Category at the 2009 Elite Canada this weekend in Oakville, ON. On Saturday, Merkle finished in 8th place in the All-Around and qualified for 2 event finals on Beam and Floor. Sunday she arrived again with her game face on and hit a solid routine on the balance beam solidifying a first place finish!
Gold, Silver and Bronze at 1st Provincial Qualifier!
There was excitement in the air as four Revolution gymnasts competed with great success this past weekend at the Twisters Gymnastics Club; the 1st of 3 Provincial Qualifiers this year. All four girls competed in Level 7, Renna Cukier and Reese Wakefield, in the 9 year old category, and Sydney Lloyd and Megan Wakefield, in the age 10/11 category.
Competing at the Provincial level for the first time, Renna Cukier won gold on bars and bronze on vault, beam and the floor exercise. Despite a fall on beam, she finished in 3rd place All-Around! Teammate Reese Wakefield, competing for the first time, had a rough start to her day on beam, letting nerves get the best of her, but remained calm and pushed forward getting better on each event. She took home two silver medals, one on bars and one on floor! She finished in 5th place All-Around.
Megan Wakefield earned two medals – silver on bars and bronze on the floor exercise and came in 4th on beam. She finished in 4th place All-Around despite a fall on vault. Teammate, Sydney Lloyd got the crowd’s attention during her fun and bubbly floor routine. She hit 4 out of 4 routines, and finished 7th All-Around.
The meet was an opportunity for the girls to gain experience – learning that if you fall, you need to get back up and continue. “We were really pleased with all the girls for their performances and attitude for their very first qualifier. The best is yet to come!” said coach Aaron Brokenshire.
In addition to the hard work, all four girls had fun at the meet. “I loved everything about the competition”, stated Cukier. “It was so much fun and I was proud to get my first medals in gymnastics!” Pint sized Lloyd, commented that a highlight for her was “meeting a girl from All Stars that was shorter than me!!”
The girls will be working on new skills for the next few months in preparation for their upcoming qualifiers later this winter.
November 14, 2009 – Mississauga, ON
Goals Reached at First Competition of the Season!
Two Revolution gymnasts, Julia Moreau (12) and Stefanie Merkle (13) competed, with great success, at the 2009 Tour Selection meet hosted by Gymnastics Mississauga November 13-15. Both girls had goals that they wanted to achieve at the meet – Moreau needed to do well enough to qualify for Elite Canada next month and Merkle was trying out some new and difficult moves for the first time in competition.
Despite some nerves early on in the competition, Moreau battled on, placing 6th on vault and 8th on floor in the Novice category. She finished in 16th place all-around, securing a spot in the Elite Canada competition.
Merkle, competing for the first time in the Junior category, got gold on beam, with a difficult routine that included a back tuck with a full twist – successfully completed for the first time at a competition! She also got a silver medal for floor exercise and finished in 4th place all-around.
Both girls will be competing with the top gymnasts in the country at Elite Canada, December 9-13, at Oakville Gymnastics Club. Good luck, girls!
August 12, 2009 - Ottawa, ON
Stefanie Merkle Named to Canada's National Gymnastics Team!
Stefanie Merkle, 13, has been named to the Canadian Youth National Team by Gymnastics Canada. This is a huge achievement for Stefanie who was only 1 of 7 girls named to the Youth Team! She will now compete for Canada both nationally and internationally this coming year. “Years of hard work have now been rewarded”, said Brokenshire. “Stefanie is one of the hardest working gymnasts I have worked with. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into becoming a National Team member!”
Merkle’s parents are very proud of their daughter’s achievement. “We’re thrilled that she is being rewarded for all of the hard work that she has put into gymnastics and it shows that hard work and dedication does pay off”, said Helga Merkle, Stefanie’s mother. “Hopefully it will inspire her to continue to grow as a gymnast and to go after her goals in gymnastics and in life.”
Stefanie is looking forward to representing Canada at international meets and was very excited when she found out she had made Team Canada! “I also know that I will have to work even harder now”, said Merkle.
Next up for Stefanie is Tour Selection November 13, 2009 in Mississauga followed by an International competition in Belgium later that month!
June 6, 2009 - Hamilton, ON
Merkle Wins Gold at the 2009 Canadian Gymnastics Championships
Stefanie Merkle, 13, brought home 2 medals, a gold and a bronze, from the Canadian National Gymnastics Championships in Hamilton last week.
Stefanie finished in 6th place after Day 1 of the Novice competition and placed 2nd on floor (out of 50 gymnasts), contributing to the Gold medal for Team Ontario.
Team Ontario won the Novice Team competition by over 21 points, the largest margin of victory in the history of the championships.
Day 2 of the Novice competition took place on Friday with 21 girls competing in the High Performance category. Stefanie had solid performances in all events and finished in 6th place all-around, a 5-place jump from her 11th place finish at last year’s Championships. Merkle’s strongest showing was on floor, where she tied for the bronze medal! As well, she had a strong beam routine, placing 4th and tied for 9th place on vault.
Stefanie’s teammate, Julia Moreau, also competed at the National Championships and although she didn’t earn any medals, it was a valuable first-time experience for the 12 year old gymnast, competing at the highest level with the country’s top gymnasts. Directly following the week-long meet, Moreau flew off to Texas to participate in Karoli’s Gymnastics Camp where she met the famous Bela Karoli.
Merkle’s and Moreaus’s performances at the National Championships ended the competition year for the girls and they will now focus on developing new skills for next year’s competition season. Merkle has been named to the Youth Espoir Team in Canada and will find out later this summer whether she will be named to the Canadian National Youth Gymnastics Team.
April 25, 2009 - Windsor, ON
Stefanie Merkle to compete at Canadian National Gymnastics Competition - Julia Moreau named as alternate!
Revolution gymnasts, Stefanie Merkle (13) and Julia Moreau (12) competed at the Ontario Gymnastics Championship in Windsor with strong results.
Merkle earned 2 medals at the meet – a silver on beam and a bronze on the floor exercise in the National Novice category. She finished 6th all-around, earning a berth on Team Ontario, and qualifying her to compete at the upcoming Canadian Championships as both an individual and as a member of the top-ranked Team Ontario. This will be Stefanie’s 2nd trip to the National Championships. Last year, she won gold as part of Team Ontario and finished in 11th place in the individual competition. Stefanie is expecting to move up the ranks this year, hopefully, returning home with more medals! “She is planning to do a full-in (full twisting, double back) on the floor at Nationals”, said coach Aaron Brokenshire. “It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work.”
For teammate Julia Moreau it was her 2nd time competing in the National Novice category and her first time at Ontario Championships. “It was fun to hang out with the girls from team Ontario and I wasn’t as nervous as I was at Gymnix in Montreal,” said Moreau. Julia won a bronze medal for her beam routine and missed out going to National Championships by 2 one hundredths of a point and did place high enough to be named as an alternate. “Julia has improved significantly,” said Brokenshire, “She completed her double back dismount off the bars for the first time in competition. It was a good learning experience for her.”
Merkle is looking forward to competing with Canada’s top gymnasts at the Canadian National Gymnastics Championships in Hamilton, Ontario, June 2-6.
April 6, 2009
Revolution brings back GOLD from Edmonton, AB!
Although the weather wasn’t very spring-like in Edmonton last weekend, at the Wild Rose International Women’s Gymnastics Invitational, the gymnasts all had a spring in their step!
Four Revolution gymnasts, Renna Cukier, Sydney Lloyd, and Megan and Reese Wakefield, traveled to Edmonton last week to participate in the Wild Rose Meet. The girls flew to Edmonton with their coach, Berrie Onishenko, a few days before the competition and trained at Champions Gymnastics. There they got to use different equipment, worked with a variety of coaches and made new friends!
Sydney (9) was the first to compete Friday afternoon in the P3 Argo category. She performed well in all events, placing 1st on beam with a solid routine. She finished 2nd on bars despite a fall, third on both vault and floor, placing 2nd all around! “I was proud of my beam routine and I had a good attitude even though I fell off the bars!” commented Sydney after the meet.
Megan (10) competed in the P3 Tyro category early Saturday morning and did astoundingly well, placing 3rd all around! Twenty-three girls competed in her level ranging in age from 10-12. Megan had the strongest bar routine of all competitors and scored an amazing 13.25 – the highest score of any gymnast in her category for all events!
Renna and Reese competed on Sunday in the LEAP event. LEAP (Let’s Evaluate our Athletes’ Progress) was conceived by the owners of Champions Gymnastics to evaluate younger gymnasts (6-9) on physical ability and skills. Gymnasts are evaluated and a mark of 70% is required to pass from one level to the next. Renna and Reese competed in the skills event, showing off their talents on all four events. Both girls passed, attesting to their hard work in the gym!
But it wasn’t all work for the girls! The week was filled with fun and exciting activities including watching the National Level gymnasts compete, visiting the West Edmonton Mall, going on nature walks, and staying with a host family - a highlight for all the girls! “It was nice to meet the host family and play with their kids,” said Renna.
Next up is the Ontario Championships, Forest City Emerald Cup, and Canadian National Championships where more Revolution athletes will showcase their talents! Good luck girls!
March 14, 2009
Another Winning Weeked!
Seven Revolution gymnasts competed at the Canuck Cup in Mississauga this past weekend with impressive results!
Despite the early morning start time, Renna Cukier and Reese Wakefield, both 8, were all smiles as they competed in the ODP (Ontario Development Program) session. ODP comprises 22 stations designed to test the physical ability of girls (ages 5-9) in 3 areas: 1) flexibility. 2) handstand, and 3) strength, power and endurance. Renna and Reese competed in the intermediate level and had the 2 top scores of all 13 girls in their category! They both finished with gold all-around. “All that practice and hard work in the gym really paid off!” commented Renna to her coach, Berrie Onishenko, after the competition.
Sarah Brush competed in Level 4 (10&11 year olds) Sarah finished 4th on floor, vault and beam and came in 5th overall. “I was so excited when she stuck her beam routine,” said coach, Trish Clarke. “That was what she was most nervous about!”
In Level 5 (age 11) Dana Fux won Gold on beam with a solid routine, finishing with one of the highest beam marks in all of Level 5! “She looked so calm on the beam”, said coach Trish Clarke. Emma Cherry finished 2nd on floor with a routine that was so beautiful to watch, the entire crowd was mesmerized! “I was extremely happy with all the girls. They came in with such a great attitude and throughout the entire competition, they kept that positive attitude. It was a great competition and I was very proud of them!”
The competition continued with Sydney Lloyd winning gold on bars (Level 6 – age 9) and achieving her goal of completing her flyaway dismount for the first time in competition! She finished 2nd all-around.
Megan Wakefield competed in Level 7 (10&11 year olds) with good performances on all events, including a 4th place finish on bars. She showed a lot of composure during her floor routine. Despite her music being turned off by mistake half-way through, she completed her routine commendably to the supporting claps of the crowd!
“Megan showed a lot of maturity at this meet. She and Sydney both are gaining valuable experience each time they compete. The most important thing these young gymnasts are learning is how to compete, and how to control their gymnastics in pressure situations,” said coach Berrie Onishenko.
At the end of this month, Megan, Sydney, Renna and Reese are off to Edmonton, AB to compete in the International Wild Rose Invitational, one of the most prestigious competitions in Canada! The girls will get the opportunity to train with and meet some of the best gymnasts from Canada and around the world. They are very excited about the upcoming competition, especially about flying on a plane for the first time without their parents!
March 10, 2009
Winning Weekend for Revolution Gymnasts
This past weekend (March 6-8), was a hugely successful one for Revolution Gymnastics. Twelve girls competed in Ontario and Quebec and brought home an impressive 45 medals plus a team first place trophy!
Thirteen year old Stefanie Merkle and twelve year old Julia Moreau competed at Gymnix in Montreal in the National Novice category. Stefanie finished first all-around, placing first on vault, bars and floor. Teammate Julia took first place on beam, finishing 8th all-around, a huge achievement for her in her first competition in the National Novice level!
“This is one of the most prestigious meets in Canada, aside from Nationals”, said coach Aaron Brokenshire, “and Revolution came in first on all 4 events. The girls really maintained their composure, despite the pressure and large crowds. I was very proud of them.”
Back in Ontario, 10 Revolution gymnasts competed at Gymfest, hosted by the Halton Hills Gymnastics Centre in Georgetown. This was the first meet of the year for the most of the girls and for two girls, it was their first ever meet!
Nine year old Sydney Lloyd and ten year old Sarah Brush had excellent performances in their first ever competition! Sydney finished 2nd all-around in Level 6, age 9&10 category, smiling her way to a 1st place finish on floor and bars and placing 2nd on vault and beam! Sydney smiled and giggled the entire meet, and was definitely in her element. “I was really nervous at first, but I had so much fun out there!” At the end of the meet she said to her coach, "I want to compete all over again!"
Teammate Tigger Wong (10) impressively finished first all-around in the same category (Level 6, age 9&10), placing first on beam and vault, and second on bars and floor! Tigger stuck her landings and was impressive in her floor routine, with remarkable tumbling and large leaps to match her large smile!
Sarah Brush won gold for her bar routine and tied for third place all-around in Level 4, age 9&10 year old category. “I was really nervous at first”, said Sarah, “but after my first event I was fine. I was really happy how I did at the meet, especially how I got 1st on bars, and 3rd all-around!”
"I wanted the girls to go out there and enjoy their first competition,” said coach Berrie Onishenko. “The main theme was to have fun and do what they do in the gym every day and they did just that - they showed that they were focused and determined!"
In Level 4, 11&12 year old category, Emma Cherry won the competition, placing first all-around! She captured gold on bars, beam and floor, for a routine that was beautifully executed and choreographed! In Level 4, 14+ age category, Payton Thiel finished 3rd all-around, with a bronze medal performance on floor while teammate Melissa Porter finished 7th all-around. Avrya Janke had a great meet, finishing 2nd all-around in the Level 5, 13/14+ age category. Avrya brought back a gold medal for floor, a bronze for bars and beam, and a 4th place finish on vault.
Eleven year old Dana Fux commandingly won in her category, Level 5, 11&12 year olds. She had first place finishes on bars and beam and placed second on vault and floor. Not only did she finish 1st all-around, but she won the “highest all-around score” award!
Twelve year old Sheridan Parker moved up a level from last year, competing Level 6 for the first time in the 11&12 year old category. She won a bronze medal on beam, despite a fall, a testament to the quality of gymnastics she performed and reinforcing what the girls learn in the gym - never give up! Sheridan finished 5th all-around.
Ten year old Megan Wakefield had an amazing meet, competing in Level 7 for the first time, moving up 2 levels from last year! Megan placed 1st on beam and floor and 2nd on vault and bars. Not only did Megan win in her category (10&11 year olds), placing 1st all-around, but she came in 1st overall in all the Level 7 age categories – a huge achievement in only her second year competing!
There were two other notable wins at the meet - Dana Fux, Emma Cherry, Melissa Porter and Payton Thiel - won the team award for the highest team score and Avrya Janke, Sydney Lloyd, Megan Wakefield, Dana Fux, Emma Cherry, Payton Thiel, Melissa Porter, Sarah Brush all received special awards for achieving personal best goals set prior to the competition.
"It was great to see how excited they were and how they worked together as a team, cheering each other on", said coach Berrie Onishenko. “I am very proud of them; they have come a long way. I'm looking forward to the remainder of the year."
Many of the girls will be competing next weekend at the prestigious Canuck Cup hosted by Futures Gymnastics Club in Mississauga. Another successful weekend is anticipated!
January 26, 2009
Success for Revolution in the USA
Revolution’s Julia Moreau and Stefanie Merkle competed at the sold out 2009 CGA Coaches’ Spectacular in Cincinnati, January 23-25. Revolution Gymnastics was the only Canadian club at the three-day event, which was mainly attended by teams from across the USA, and included participation of USA National Team Members.
Julia had a great meet, the first for her this season, earning two medals in Level 8 in the 11 and under age category. She tied for 1st on the balance beam and came in 3rd on vault. Stefanie competed in Level 10 in the 13 and under age category, and finished 8th all-around. The highlight for Stefanie, who competed on her 13th birthday, was successfully completing two brand new, difficult moves she had been working on – a triple twist on the floor exercise and a 2 and half twist dismount off the beam! Stefanie will continue to work on these and other skills in her quest to be named to the National Team in the next 6 months. She was recently named to the Youth Espoir Team in Canada (1 of only 3 girls!) and was among the top 10 gymnasts in the country in her age category invited to participate in the upcoming National Training Camp in Oakville (January 31-February 1, 2009). Next upcoming competition for Stefanie and Julia is at L'International Gymnix in Montreal, QB. March 6-8.
December 15, 2008
Stefanie Merkle ranks 2nd All-Around at Elite Canada
Canada's best artistic gymnasts competed this weekend in Gatineau, Quebec at their first major national event of the season. Among the best was 12 year old Stefanie Merkle (Revolution Gymnastics) delivering her strongest performances to date. Merkle jumped from 11th ranked Novice in the country at the 2008 Canadian Championships in June to 2nd All-Around this weekend. Merkle hit all her routines on both days of competition and also took home silver medals on both the balance beam and floor exercise. (For complete results click here). Coaches Aaron and Angela Brokenshire were both equally proud of Stefanie's accomplishments and are looking forward to a great season up ahead. "This result gives her a very good chance to be placed on the National Team sometime in the next 12 months" explains Aaron. Merkle and her coaches will now be heading back to the gym to prepare for her upcoming competition in Cincinnati, Ohio at the end of January.
November 19, 2008
Revolution takes home 3 Bronze medals
Revolution's Stefanie Merkle started her competitive season with great results this past weekend at the Ontario Tour Selection hosted by Gymnastics Mississauga. In the National Novice Category, Stefanie stood out as one of the top gymnasts in her category. She came home with a bronze medal on Vault and Floor as well as in the All-Around. Stefanie will now be preparing for Elite Canada in December where she will compete among the best athletes in Canada. For complete results click here.
June 2008,
Stefanie Merkle Captures National Gold!
It was a cold, rainy week in Calgary but that couldn’t dampen the spirits of young Stefanie Merkle who was there competing in her first National Gymnastics Championships at the Olympic Oval.
When the team competition between provinces concluded on Wednesday the young girls from Ontario had dominated their closest challengers from British Columbia by seventeen points, the largest margin of victory in the history of the meet. Stefanie contributed to the team on each event and was also seeded in third position on the floor exercise out of 41 gymnasts between the ages of 10 to 12 after Day 1.
Day 2 of the Novice competition was underway on Friday. A “new life” format started all the girls equally to determine the All Around rankings and the event winners. Twelve-year-old Merkle worked her way through each event ending the competition on her best event, the floor. There she was ready to battle for a National medal. “Stefanie has put her exceptional ability to its best use on the floor. Angela and I are thrilled that she has been able to perform this very advanced exercise at this stage in her career. This bronze medal will ignite her fire for success I’m sure,” said coach Aaron Brokenshire who along with his wife Angela coach the pint size Merkle out of their Revolution Gymnastics club in Waterloo. Merkle ranked 11th in Canada in the All Around when it was all said and done.
Early Saturday morning brought the Physical Abilities portion of the competition where gymnasts compete in a series of strength and flexibility tests. Merkle brought her best, wowing her peers with landmark achievements in the strength and endurance tests. There she ranked 6th out of the 41 top gymnasts in the nation.
“This was her first Nationals and she gained valuable experience. The girls lived in the University of Calgary residence as a team away from their parents. This meet always teaches the girls how to cope without Mom and Dad, preparing them for competition abroad in the near future. My wife and I are very proud of Stefanie. It’s a very exciting time right now,” said Brokenshire.
May 2008,
Gold from the Nation's Capital!
Members of the Revolution Gymnastics Competitive team put in stellar performances at the Tumbler’s Classic Invitational Meet in Ottawa this past weekend. Clubs from Ontario and Quebec attended the 2 day meet.
The girls, (Renna Cukier, Sam White, Julia Castellani, Emma Cherry and Dana Fux), ranging in age from 7-11, train 12 hours a week, 16 hours in the summer months and will attend 3 competitions this year.
In Ottawa, Renna competed Level 3 against 7 and 8 year olds, placing 5th overall, 3rd on beam and smiling her way to a first place finish on floor. Emma had a strong performance in Level 4, ages 9 and 10 category, placing 2nd overall, and taking home bronze on bars and gold on both the beam and floor.
Sam, Julia and Dana made a clean sweep in Level 5, ages 9 and 10 category. Dana had an excellent meet, winning floor and beam, placing her 1st overall. Sam also had an amazing meet, winning gold on vault, silver on bars and placing 2nd overall. Julia had a top performance this weekend, winning gold on bars, and silver on both beam and floor, giving her a 3rd place finish overall.
“The girls had been looking forward to the Ottawa competition and it was rewarding to see all their hard work pay off”, said their coach, Nicole Howard. The next competition for the girls is in early June at the Marilyn Hayes Invitational in Newmarket.
In the culmination of a very successful competition year, Revolution gymnast, Renna Cukier (9), won the title 2010 Provincial Floor Champion at the Ontario Gymnastics Championships held in St Catharines, April 23-25. She finished in 2nd place All Around, just missing the Gold by 0.05 of a point, and won Silver medals on both bars and beam in Level 7, age 9 division. Teammate Reese Wakefield, competing in the same division, won Silver on the floor exercise, and Bronze on both beam and bars, placing her in 4th position All Around. The girls are now done competing for the year and are looking forward to learning new skills as they prepare for next year’s competition season.
The first gymnastics meet of the season got off to a great start for 3 Revolution gymnasts, competing for the first time in the National Pre-Novice stream at the Tour Selection Gymnastics Meet held November 19-21 at Base Borden, ON. The girls had the opportunity to show off the new skills they have been working on over the past 5 months and competed against some of Ontario’s best gymnasts under the age of 11.
In the National Pre-Novice Aspire category, Emma Mackey (10) and Reese Wakefield (9), finished with Silver and Bronze medals respectively in the All Around. Mackey came to Revolution less than 5 months ago and has since progressed tremendously. “…With her coaches help, [she] improved immensely both in terms of overall strength and in the new skills she has learned…We were so excited that Emma was able to see all her hard work pay off!” says Mackey’s mother, Deanna. Mackey’s solid performance in all 4 events earned her the gold for vault, and silver on both bars and floor exercise. Wakefield won gold for her solid beam routine which included a new skill, a standing back tuck, which she performed as if she’d been competing it for years. She also won a bronze medal for her vault.
In the National Pre-novice Elite category, Renna Cukier (10) performed well despite falls on beam and bars. She competed ten new skills, increasing her level of difficulty significantly from last year. She finished in 6th place on both bars and vault, and finished 9th in the All Around. “This meet was a great learning experience. All the girls upgraded their routines and this is just the start. We have a lot of exciting work to do in the next two months! ” said Revolution coach Berrie Onishenko.
The girls are back training in the gym and are looking to forward to their next meet, hosted by their own club - The Revolution Rewind, at the end of January. Over 200 gymnasts from as far away as California and Calgary are expected to attend. The meet will be held at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate and should prove to be a tremendous event.
The best gymnasts from across the country competed this weekend in Mississauga at Elite Canada 2012, the first major national event of the season. Among these competitors were members of Waterloo’s Revolution Gymnastics team, Stefanie Merkle, 16 and Sydney Townsend, 12.
Revolution's Stefanie Merkle started her competitive season with great results this past weekend at the Ontario Tour Selection hosted by Gymnastics Mississauga. In the National Novice Category, Stefanie stood out as one of the top gymnasts in her category. She came home with a bronze medal on Vault and Floor as well as in the All-Around. Stefanie will now be preparing for Elite Canada in December where she will compete among the best athletes in Canada. For complete results 
