Two young gymnasts make podium in Elite Canada competition

Tamarack Gymnastics recently came back from Elite Canada in Montreal, and their two athletes that competed had some really impressive placings. 

Ben Pinsk in the 17+ age group placed 1st in Trampoline L5 (Level 5), 2nd in Double-Mini Trampoline L7, and 4th in Tumbling L7. 

Lane Peters in the 15-16 age group placed 2nd in Double-Mini Trampoline L5. 

There were 319 athletes from 46 clubs across Canada competing at the event. 

Coach Amanda Pierson is very proud of her team. 

“It was literally insane. I think at one point I was speechless because I just wasn't expecting the boys to do so amazingly well at such a big competition for them, so it was really awesome.” 

She says that this was Peters’ first-ever Elite Canada competition, and she’s pumped he performed so well. 

"He did go to nationals last year and did pretty well at nationals as well, but this was even better.” 

And she says it was only Pinsk’s second Elite Canada competition ever. 

"He had never podiumed at a national level competition before, so it was a pretty big deal.” 

Peters and Pinsk both hit high enough scores at Elite Canada to move up to the next levels.

“So just outside of even the medals that they got, their achievement in hitting those milestones as athletes were huge deals.”  

Peters is now a Level 6, which is a difficult level to achieve since you have to get it before the age of 16. 

“At Level 6 is when you start getting looked at by Gymnastics Canada to make Team Canada events.”

And Pinsk is at the senior level now, which is the highest level that can be achieved in the country. 

“As a senior athlete now, he's actually hit the score for World Age Group, so he can be considered to go to a World Age Group competition next year if he's selected, which would be really cool.” 

Pinsk says placing well in the three events was awesome, but where he places is not his main concern. 

"It's more just being able to pull off the routines.” 

He says that for Double-Mini Trampoline, he had been struggling with one of his routines. 

"And my coach made the last-minute decision to change one of them, and ultimately it paid off very, very well. I managed to score the highest I've ever scored before in a brand-new category.” 

He also had a great experience in Tumbling at Elite Canada. 

“For Tumbling, it was my first time competing at that level. I got to meet some great people and they inspired me for new routines.” 

The 17-year-old has been doing gymnastics for a long time, as he started competing around 8-years-old. He also trains with his teammates about four times a week. 

He explains the reason he is so dedicated to the sport is that it is just plain fun. 

“The sport of Trampoline is always incredibly fun. I think it might just be the feeling of weightlessness in the air, and just the fact that you can endlessly find new things to work on, more ways to perfect, and you can never hit a plateau basically.” 

Before going into a competition, Pinsk mainly focuses on calming his nerves. 

"Because I'm not used to performing in front of a crowd. I just have to focus on my breathing, make sure I'm in the right headspace. But then once I start going, it's just muscle memory.”

He says he usually has an adrenaline crash right after he competes. 

"I'm usually just trying to stay awake. But often, I think about my performance and I have some key things that I need to work on. I mainly think about how I could work toward making my routines even better for the future.” 

Currently his favourite event is a tie between Double-Mini and Tumbling. He says the two events are very quick, but also very demanding.  

“When you're on the competition floor, you don't have to worry as much about spending 15 seconds doing a routine compared to just two skills on Double-Mini,” he says. “It's very quick, very powerful, but you can still focus a lot on that form that's unique to gymnastics.” 

Pinsk says he has no plans to quit the sport, and is hoping to continue training even when he is in university. 

Pierson looks forward to what’s coming up next in the world of Tamarack Gymnastics. 

Tamarack has three athletes that are national level and two who are hoping to mobilize national at their next competition. 

"We have our own provincial competition coming up in April where they're all hoping to do really well and hit some scores so that they can go to nationals.” 

She also hopes to have some Team Canada events going into next year, but says they’ll have to wait and see.