Injuries and illness may have depleted the ranks of the Sudbury Laurels, just a touch, at the recent Tour Selection Meet, but it didn't stop those who did compete from garnering some valuable experience.
A trio of local women's artistic gymnasts was breaking new ground at the event, with each returning home with the necessary building blocks from which they can hopefully move forward with confidence.
Dylan Watts (Level 6 - age 14+) overcame some nerves on the beam to prove that she belongs at the this level of competition, displaying both her elegance and power on the floor and posting a huge score of 9.466 in her first ever provincial meet. Her performance on the floor narrowly missed cracking the podium (top eight), finishing 10th in a field of 78 athletes.
Making a jump up one level this winter, Chanelle Lazure (Level 7 - age 14+) debuted a brand new floor routine, nailing a more than respectable score of 92.0 in that discipline.
Right at her side, teammate Abby Dupuis (Level 7 - age 14+), also new to this level, did not quite hit her pre-meet expectations, but still managed to show her poise, fully prepared to return to the gym to work out the kinks in preparation for the first qualifier of the year.
That initial meet in working towards the Ontario Championships in April will take place this coming weekend (November 29th to December 1st) in Orangeville, with the second qualifier set for Jan. 30 - Feb. 2 (2020) in Alliston.
