A Champion!

First on bars!

First on beam!

First on floor!

First on vault!

Best all around!

Awards

Grace participated in her first gymnastics meet yesterday. She was so excited and had fun competing. And it showed! Grace took first place in all four events; 9.65 on vault, 9.3 on bars, 8.85 on beam and a 8.95 on floor. She also was named best all around with a total score of 36.75 (best is 40).

To qualify for the state meet in December Grace must score at least a 32 all around in two of her meets. She now only needs one more meet to qualify!

This meet was hosted by the judges. We were warned that the judges would look very closely at the girls and mark them down quickly. It is the judges opportunity to tell the girls what they need to work on for the rest of the competitive season.

It certainly held to be true. The scoring was very low, especially in the beam and floor events. As you can see from Grace's scores they were not particulary high, even though her performance had very few flaws.

Part of the excitement for us, other than just watching Grace perform, was watching Grace each time she was called for first place! She really had no idea that she had done so well. She walked away with 4 medals; one for each event and a trophy for the best all around!

Needless to say, Grace walked on clouds for the rest of the afternoon. She cannot wait for the next competition. We've cautioned her not to expect to win each and every time. She doesn't seem to mind--she just loved getting out there and showing off her talent.

It will be interesting to see how the remainder of the season goes. Grace's team looked well prepared but could use some more work on the beam. That was the lowest event for all of them. Some girls fell multiple times off of the beam. Grace wobbled a few times and it is reflected in her score.

We are so proud of Grace. Not just for her performance but also for her support of her team and her graciousness in not bragging about her win. She is a true team player!