First Elite Dance and Physical School gymnastic competition |11 April 2018

Sugar best overall gymnast

Liza Sugar was the best overall gymnast of the Elite Club gymnastic competition held on Saturday.

Inside the Gymnastic Hall at Roche Caïman, Sugar won the category B with 38.5 points, enough to finish ahead of category A winner Aliah Sesay (36.8 points) and category C champions Raizel Brioche (34.85 points).

A total of 14 girls from the Elite Gymnastic club took part in the competition which was divided into three age and level categories. The girls had to perform on the vault, bar, beam and floor.

Sugar won 9.9 points on the vault, 9.3 on the bar, 9.5 on the beam and 9.8 on the floor to take first place in both her category and overall for the best gymnast award.

“I was not expecting to win and it is a surprise to me to have won my first competition. I am very happy all the same as it has been a year and a half since I’ve been training dancing and gymnastic,” said a delighted Sugar.

Second in her group of four was Dina Sugar with 33.1 points (vault 9.65, bar 5.8, beam 7.75, floor 9.9). Third place went to Alyssa Charlette with 32.1 points (vault 10 points, bar 6.55, beam 6.05, floor 9.5). Alicia Hammond took fourth place with 32.05 points (vault 9.6, bar 7, beam 6.1, floor 9.35).

In the category A made up of three gymnasts, Sesay won 11.45 points on the vault, 8.1 points on the bar, 7.25 points on the beam and 10 points on the floor to win with 36.8 points. Second was Kelly Port Louis with 33.5 points (vault 10.8, bar 7.7, beam 5.85, floor 9.15). Joeline Mondon, who called it quit after the vault exercise, took the third position with 11.85 points. 

With seven competitors in category C, Brioche won 9.6 points on the vault, 7.5 points on the bar, 8.5 points on the beam and 9.25 points on the floor to win with 34.85 points.

Alahna Petrousse took second position with 34.1 points (vault 9.45, bar 8.65, beam 6.7, floor 9.3). Third position went to Ezra Vidot with 33.8 points (vault 9.9, bar 7.6, beam 7.2, floor 9.1).

The other four positions were taken by Irene Rici fourth with 32.5 points four fourth place (vault 9.6. bar 6.2, beam 7.7, floor 9), Ruhi Raghwani fifth with 31.65 points (vault 9.35, bar 7.6, beam 5.35, floor 9.35), Chloe Vogt sixth with 31.1 points (vault 9.4, bar 6.85, beam 5.95, floor 8.9), and Isia Riggs Miller seventh with 30.15 points (vault 9.5, bar 6.7, beam 5.35, floor 8.6).

The Elite Gymnastic club, affiliated with the Seychelles Gymnastic Federation, is a faculty of the Elite Dance and Fitness school and its director Emma Mothée said she was very satisfied with the competition as it gave the gymnasts a chance to measure their performance since the creation of the club six months ago.

Among the five judges at the competition on Saturday was former gymnast Montserrat Ubia, an international Spanish gymnastic coach and Olympic judge who started her officiating career at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA. Having done six Olympics, Ubia was last at the Rio Games in Brazil in 2016 as a judge.

“The running of the competition went very well but the level of the gymnasts is very low as they have just started training. I think everything will go well for them in the future, although they need a lot of training to perfect their skills. Also there must be a better gym than this one as it is too small and there is not enough space for the gymnasts to do the exercises to the fullest,” she said.

The next Elite Gymnastic Club competition will be an international competition in July.

Some of the other gymnasts in action

P. J.