Nassau Gymnastics is one of the top gymnastics programs in the country. It has a lot of young gymnasts in a program that is constantly growing. One of the main focuses of the program is giving their athletes international exposure, so that they can gain valuable competition experience. This year, the group had a very active international competition season, which ended with the Cat's Beach Blast Invitational held in Jupiter, Florida on the weekend of April 5-6.
The Cat's Invitational presented tough competition, despite it being one of the smaller international meets. Nassau Gymnastics was the only non-American club that participated; in total there were 342 gymnasts, 16 from The Bahamas and the rest from the Florida area.
Five-year-old Danielle Moore is a level one gymnast, and the Cat's Invitational was her first taste of international competition. Though she was inexperienced, she fared well in the four events that she participated in. Moore scored a 9.125 on floor, 9.00 on balance beam, 9.00 on vault, and 9.200 on uneven bars giving her 5th, 4th, 7th and 3rd place respectively, while fellow level one gymnast Kai Pratt managed to come up with a first place finish on vault with a score of 9.325
Level seven gymnast Sydney Wells managed to win on vault with a score of 9.17 and placed third overall in the competition.
Level three gymnasts Tereckiann Bain and Gia Pinder also experienced their first taste of international competition at the Cat's Invitational, the level three squad managed to get a sixth place finish, but the experience gained is priceless.
"This meet was an enjoyable experience. I practiced hard in order to do well and hopefully in future meets I can achieve more. I placed 9th overall. It is true when they say practice makes perfect," said Pinder.
"I was nervous but I knew I worked hard and was ready to represent my club. I competed at level 5 with 14 girls and I got 6th place in my age group, so hopefully with more experience and competition I would be looking for first place," said Bain.
Level seven and eight gymnasts, Toneka and Toni Johnson, brought veteran leadership to the young team.
Toneka Johnson took first place on floor, balance beam, the uneven bars and second place on vault. Her overall score for the meet was 35.150, while her sister Toni placed second out of seven gymnasts in her level capturing second place on vault, uneven bars, floor and third place on Balance beam.
The Nassau Gymnastics team is already prepping and making plans for next season. The club hopes to expand its travels to Georgia and Texas in the United States as well as the lower Caribbean region.
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