AMHERST - It was a wish come true this past weekend for one local gymnast.
Fifteen-year-old Cara Polegato of the Amherst Aerials Gymnastics Club was named provincial champion of the Open 1 category at the Nova Scotia Provincial Championships in Lower Sackville.
"It wasn't really a goal of mine to become provincial champion, it was more of a wish," said the gymnast while holding onto her medals, ribbons and trophies.
"My favourite part of the weekend was meeting and talking to the other girls I was competing against in my division."
For the past eight years, Polegato has been practicing gymnastics and on the weekend, that practice proved beneficial.
Helping her earn the provincial champion honours, Polegato placed first in bars, second in beam, second in floor and fourth in vault.
"Gymnastics is fun and something I enjoy. It's a challenge sometimes," said the soft-spoken Polegato, adding tumbling is one of the most challenging aspects for her.
Walking away from the provincial championships, Polegato knows she still has work to do with her vault, but her main goal is to do as well as she can and have fun while doing it.
Coach Michelle Landry said the weekend had its ups and downs, but most of the club's gymnasts did really well.
"We came home with lots of ribbons, trophies and medals, and four of our gymnasts made Team Nova Scotia for Atlantics from April 23 to 26, although one can't go," Landry said.
Having it been the club's first year to have male competing, one of the two males, Kyle Johnson, was named to the Atlantic squad while the second missed the team by one spot.
The other three to make the squad were Jenna Porter, Kyrsten Landry and Sam Landry.
"We're really happy and proud of all of the gymnasts, they all did really well," Landry said.
Along with the medalists, one gymnast was featured with the Debbie Rudderham Memorial Fair Play Award.
Sam Landry was given the award that's handed out once a year for the gymnast's fair play throughout the year in all aspects.
"Sam's been in gymnastics since the age of three and has gone through many struggles, injuries and a major fall," the coach said. "And at the age of 17, she's still competing."
Sam has also moved from a volunteer coach to a pre-competition coach, and was even judging competitions this year.
rtetanish@amherstdaily.com
How they placed:
Cara Polegato, Open 1 - first overall, first in bars, second in beam, second in floor, fourth in vault
Sam Landry, Open 3 - beam champion, fifth in vault, sixth overall, Fair Play Award
Kyrsten Landry, Novice 2 - third in bars, third in beam, fourth in floor, second overall
Felicia Landry, Novice 2 - fifth in vault
Jenna Porter, Open 2 - fourth in vault, sixth in bars, second in beam, fourth in floor, fifth overall
Carly Holloway, Novice 1 - third in beam, sixth in floor, fifth in vault
Kyle Johnson, Level 1 - fifth in floor, sixth in pummels, second in vault, fifth in high bar, sixth overall
Joseph Carignan, Level 1 - fourth in rings, first in vault
Margaret Skabar, Open 2 - fourth in beam
