By Kiel Edge
Reflected in a long mirror covering the wall to her right Ada Chan stands in the centre of a small room and points her feet sideways. At the same time, she raises her hands above her head and slowly bends her knees. Seconds later, Chan straightens her legs before once again bending gracefully.
Chan, 20, is practicing one of the intricate ballet techniques she will work into her dance routines used in rhythmic gymnastic competitions.
In July, Chan will be one of eight Ottawa-area gymnasts competing at the Special Olympics Ontario Provincial Summer Games being held in the Niagara region in July. The athletes are members of the Ottawa Rhythmic Cats, an all-ages gymnastics club that holds weekly practices at Plant Recreation Centre.
The provincial games offer an opportunity for the athletes to use skills they have learned from the club’s volunteer coaches in a competition.
Head coach Bonnie Donovan says overall performance at the games is not the measure of their success.
“The Special Olympics is not really about winning,” Donovan says while gymnasts dance with white ribbons behind her. “The games are about doing your best, not coming home with medals. That’s the way we’ve always been set up.”
Parents agree that the results are not important at the games.
“I don’t see success as necessarily going into competition,” Angela Vanveen says during a break in the club’s two-hour practice.
“When the athlete feels they have done a good job, and they are enjoying it, that to me is total success.”
Vanveen’s daughter Alexa is one of the athletes going to the provincial championships.
Donovan and the other coaches offer training in gymnastics to almost 50 people with disabilities. The club’s season runs from September until the end of April.
Most members no longer attend practice after this time but the athletes attending the Summer Games continue training in smaller groups until July.
The group relocated to the Plant Recreation Centre after city budget cuts caused their former home, the Hintonburg Community Centre to cut back its hours of operation. Donovan says Plant has worked well because of its central location.
“The building had just been renovated so we managed to get in on the ground floor,” says Donovan. The centre is on a major bus route, making it easier for the athletes to attend practices, Donovan adds.
In recent years, membership interest in the club has grown significantly. Donovan says the sport is popular because it combines physical exercise and fun.
“It’s a good exercise program. You don’t realize how much effort rhythmic gymnastics takes until you try to do it yourself,” Donovan says. “But it’s also a fun thing, everyone loves music and dancing. We get athletes coming in and they all get a chance to shine.”
Grace Mellor, in her sixth year as part of the Rhythmic Cats program, will compete at the provincial games for the second time. Mellor, 26, says she continues to be active in the sport because it gives her a unique way to do things she has always enjoyed.
“I think I was born a dancer,” says Mellor. “I love to dance, so I totally love [gymnastics].”
Athletes are taught using techniques specified by the International Gymnastics Federation. The components of the routines are the same as those used in other international and Olympic competitions. In addition to learning ballet steps and choreographing routines to music, gymnasts must learn to use equipment such as hoops and ribbons.
Unlike other amateur athletes, Special Olympians receive no government funding. Expenses for the athletes competing at the games come largely from donations and the small fee paid at the beginning of each season.
Each club member pays $30 for the season. The Rhythmic Cats keep registration costs low because they know those wanting to participate often have little money.
“Our low price means people that don’t have financial backing can come and participate. They can go out and do recreational stuff that is good for their physical health,” says rookie coach Lorna Sukey.
Coaches and parents involved in the rhythmic gymnastics group don’t feel that competition is necessary to measure success but they do see value in spending the extra time and money associated with the events.
Donovan says competitions allow the public to see the abilities of athletes with disabilities.
“Athletes get to have some fun and get some exposure,” Donovan says. “They all get a chance to prove how good they can be.”