State Meet!

Mary's State Gymnastics Meet was this past weekend. Mary has been looking forward to it for a while now. My mom and sister decided to come down for it, and we were so happy they did. It made it all the more special and exciting.

It was held at Salt Lake Community College. It was so cool! When we walked in the door, Mary took one look at all of it and said, "whoa." It looked so professional and yes, a little intimidating.




The opening ceremony. Mary's team is in the purple.

The "solute." This made me crack up.


The whole thing was done really well. They made it fun and tried not to make it too scary. It was great.

We had to be there EARLY. Warm ups were at 7:30am, the meet started at 8. Mary did a great job and so did the team. They were a little tired and sluggy, but they pulled through and did so well!

It was a first for a lot of girls, and the judges were very considerate and kind. It really helped those, like Mary, who are new to the whole thing.

Vault: Mary got her high score here, which is hilarious, because it is her least favorite. She got an 8.9 and a 9.0!





Beam: She actually likes this event, and has a very pretty way of doing the routine.




Floor: She had to work so hard to learn the routine in such a short amount of time, and then 1/2 way through the season, they changed the music. She learned it though, and this has been a strong event for her.




Bars: By far her favorite event, and her best event. She is very strong!





They decided that for the level three girls, they would not have any top placing. Everyone got a gold or silver medal depending on your overall score. I was so glad they did this. That way all of the girls felt great and came home with something. Such a smart thing to do for their first introduction into competing.


We especially loved it, because they don't have age groups at the meets, and Mary is so young, it can be hard competing with girls two and three years older than you. Mary did great, and came away feeling like a star.


We are so proud of her for competing this season, and for holding her own even though she is young and she only had four months to learn everything for the competitions. (normally you have at least a year) She is still very innocent and does not worry at all about her score, or anything like that. She does very well and takes it seriously, but not to the point where she is stressed. She just does her best and likes getting her pretty leotards. It makes her all the more fun to watch. She is just out there to have a good time, and you can tell.

This paper says she qualified for the Junior Olympic Level State Meet Championships.

I decided to miss the Ragnar Relay that I was signed up to do this weekend, in order to go to this meet. I was pretty bummed to miss the Relay, and I know it would have been an absolute blast, but once we stepped into that gym and watched Mary's eyes light up, I knew that I wouldn't trade that for anything. It was a sacrifice that I was willing to make and would do again in a heartbeat.

She will stay in level three for the next few months. Her skill level is fine, but the coach wants to build her showmanship and confidence. (something that will come with age) Once that is done, she will go on to level 4, probably in the fall. It will be a BIG step, because level four is getting down and dirty. That is where you know if you will stay in the sport or not. It is more intense, to say the least. We are excited to see what the future holds for her. Either way, she has a great base for whatever she decides to do.


Mary and her coach, Kristy. She is an OUTSTANDING coach! Truly phenominal.