I am currently gearing up for my trip to Omaha, Nebraska for our November 13-15 J.O. Committee meetings. We are going to mainly be covering the 2013 compulsory routines and the changes that people asked for in the survey. I hope we had a good response in Region 8.
On a different note, the summer of 2009 was another great one for Region 8. In July we were in St. Petersburg, Florida for the second annual “Regional Team” Training camp and it was great. The camp was comprised of the top “up and comers” in the Region and the talent was hot. The focus of the camp was basics and core skill development. The kids and volunteer coaches worked extremely hard and everyone was very happy with the results.
In August we traveled to Cancun, Mexico for the third annual Region 8 “All-Star” trip. The team was made up of the level 9 & 10 athletes that represented Region 8 the best at 2009 Easterns and Nationals. This year’s team was as follows:
Level 9
Caroline Nice of Southeastern
Christina Pheil of Tampa Bay Turners
Jennifer Rochefort of Georgia Gymnastics Academy
Emily Kelley of Georgia All-Star
Amanda Condreay of Lafleur’s Largo
Caroline Bradford of Elite, LA
Level 10
Kailyn Hawkins of Southeastern
Lindsey Cheek of Georgia Elite
Rebecka Bennetts of Georgia All-Star
Ashleigh Gnat of ACE
Kristin Aloi of High Point
Summer Garcia of Olympia Elite
The athletes and coaches took part in three very intense training sessions at CAR – Cancun with head staff Brad Harris, David Parraga, Ludmilla Shobe and Ray Gnat. Everyone involved really enjoyed the workouts but enjoyed even more the relationships that were created and the true feeing of camaraderie. It is our hope that this trip has been and will continue to be a great source of motivation within the Region.
I would like to personally thank Nilson Savage of Classic Events and the University of Denver for his incredible hospitality on the trip.
In September the second annual Nationals Team Training Camp was held at Orlando Metro. The camp played host to the Region’s top Level 9, 10 and Elite athletes and coaches. We also (for the first time) had several NCAA coaches on the staff due to a new allowance in the rules to do so. I am going to work very hard to insure that this trend continues and hope to have on staff, at least one representative from every college in the Southeast of the USA. Thanks to Jeff Wood and the great people at Metro for an awesome experience!
October saw Region 8 in Buford, Georgia for the Level 8, 9 &10 Training Camp. Our host club was Gymnastix, owned and operated by David and Michelle Pomerantz. The camp had a great energy and everyone seemed to get a lot out of it. Thanks to David, Michelle and the staff at Gymnastix for your hospitality and the use of your wonderful facility.
In addition to our great hosts I would like to thank everyone who is involved and continues to support our three training camp system. Although we are moving in the right direction we still do not have 100% participation. I have asked and will continue to ask that every club that qualifies athletes to Level 8-10 Regional Championships be a part of at least one of the three camps. Being a part can mean: hosting a camp, sending athletes, volunteering to coach or all three. Please understand that all of the funds raised go directly back to our athletes and coaches for apparel and our “All-Star” trip. Please do your part.
Thanks a lot and GO Region 8 –
Brad Harris
Region 8 Junior Olympic Committee Chairman
