Ottawa trio to represent Team Ontario in acrobatic gymnastics competition
To be the best you have to train like the best, and that’s exactly what one acrobatic gymnastics trio is doing in Ottawa.
- Sign up now for our daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
"We have to make sure everything is perfect, neat and tidy and you have to have the facial expressions," said 9-year-old gymnast Lila Lawson.
Lila and her trio are getting ready to head to Kelowna, B.C. next weekend to represent Team Ontario at a national gymnastics competition.
It’s been an exciting season for the 9-year-old, who is among the youngest in the province to compete at her level.
"It’s really fun because even though you know you’re one of the younger ones, it doesn’t mean that you can’t beat them," she said.
For Lila, it’s all about hard work and determination. She’s a two-time provincial champion and it’s only her second season competing in acrobatic gymnastics.
"Lila, Gabby and Chelsea compete at level 7 of the USDP program. That level is the first level that has eligibility to the Canadian Championships," said head coach Stephanie Dovigi.
It’s a sport slowing gaining momentum in Ontario and across the country.
"In some respects, acro is the oldest discipline of gymnastics and yet in many cases it’s also one of the newest competitive disciplines," said Dovigi.
Dovigi says acrobatic gymnastics is unique as it brings traditional artistic gymnastics on a floor with tumbling elements with a twist.
"There's also elements that people associate with things like Cirque du Soleil with balance elements and handstands and also elements of what people can associate with cheerleading," Dovigi said.
Even though it’s their first season competing together, the trio is already bringing home top medals.
"[Provincials] was really fun. We had our highest score and it was just so exciting to watch us perform," said Lila.
While acrobatic gymnastics is not an Olympic sport, there are 19 athletes who compete at Stittsville’s Olympia Gymnastics, up from seven in 2019.
"A few more clubs in the GTA and Niagara Falls, mostly Fort Erie, started a club recently and they’ve been growing their programs trying to get a bigger presence for acro in Ontario and Canada," said gymnast, Baylee Christink.
With all their recent success, there is no telling how far they will go.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Fatal plane crash reported near Squamish, B.C.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service after a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Three dead after vehicle plunged down a 100-foot embankment in Shediac, N.B.
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.
Appeal denied for Edmonton soldier accused of trying to kill her 3 children
An Edmonton woman found guilty of trying to kill her three children has been denied an appeal.