The gifts just keep on pouring in for the gym stars of Bahamas Star Gymnastics (BSG), as they received a trailer of equipment as donation for their club from American donor Claudia Kretschmer, owner of GymAmerica in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Kretschmer, who has served repeatedly as a coach clinician for BSG hosted events, recently opened a new state-of-the-art gymnastics training and educational facility and passed on all of the equipment which has not transferred to her new facility.
"Coach Claudia has been an inspiration to our club from day one when we opened in 2010," beamed Co-Head Coach of BSG Kachara Marshall. "She offers freely of advice, encourages our gymnasts, is open to consultation for coaches, and almost every year, her gym families sends leotards for the gymnasts. We owe her a debt of gratitude for this magnanimous donation. Coach Claudia is indeed the kind of role model we need more of in the sport.... selfless and motivating, not all about winning at any cost or self aggrandizement."
BSG has also pledged to give back, in their demonstration of gratitude, for the many gifts bestowed upon them over the years. Visiting gymnasts whose families are vacationing in The Bahamas get to benefit from free workout sessions while on holiday. Recently, a family of gymnasts booked at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island contacted BSG after the daughters' gymnastics coach would only approve their workout sessions, prior to a major competitive meet, if they could find a gym nearby with qualified coaches to maintain their training.
The visiting Level 3 and 4 gymnasts trained twice with the friendly squad at BSG and the parents were extremely impressed with the level of detail that the coaching staff invests in workouts.
"These opportunities to give back to our sport and country through sports tourism have presented itself on numerous occasions. We only require that visiting gymnasts' families sign our waiver forms and present their USAG athlete cards, and the workout session is free. We have received much and are willing to give as much as we can."
To ensure that gymnasts develop holistically, BSG became the first Bahamian club to enroll in the "Kount on Kindness" campaign to strengthen the spirit of sportsmanship and goodwill both within the club and the sporting community.
"Bad character is no good," opines dance coach for the squad Idania Garcia-Stroud who ensures discipline is present in conduct and in training. Staff Coach Tenille Thompson interjects, "wherever our gymnasts compete or train, they leave a very positive impression on their competitors and other coaches by the way they cheer them on even though they are competing for different teams."
As a reward for being goodwill ambassadors, some of the squad members were personally invited to the AG Invitational in Connecticut by US Olympic Hall of Famer Abie Grosfeld, in whose honor the gymnastics invitational is hosted each January.
At the Connecticut meet, the Level 4 gymnasts once again improved their scores for the season, led by Candace Murphy who recorded first place finishes on Balance Beam (9.3) and Floor Exercise (9.45) and second place on Vault (9.35). Murphy's accident on Uneven Bars cost her in the All Around ranking. In another age division, Madisson Deveaux ranked third on Floor Exercise (9.50) and teammate Sanaa Saunders tied for fifth on both Vault (9.1) an Uneven Bars (9.0).
Bahamas Star Gymnastics opened its doors in 2010 and continues to contribute to the improvement to the sport in the country. BSG will host its inter-squad meet again in April. Goodwill ambassadors garnering gifts and giving back to their community makes for a winning combination.
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