It’s a rarity in sports, but sometimes the chips fall right into place.
Mountain Shadows gymnast Brooke Spurway took advantage of her final meet in the province as a member of the club by booking a spot on Team Alberta for the upcoming Canadian Gymnastics Championships in her first time at the Mountain Magic Invitational in half a decade.
“It was very emotional,” said Spurway. “But it was a lot of fun to be back at my home meet, I haven’t competed here for five, six years.
“With everyone in the crowd from home being here, from all different gyms not just our gym, and the support, hearing them in the crowd was very special.”
Spurway returned to the MMI meet, the largest event in women’s gymnastics in Alberta, with it featuring a trials to nationals component this year.
The MMI was the third of three trials events with the top two scores from the three determining the six qualifiers.
Spurway qualified with a fourth-place finish in the all-around, highlighted by third place finishes in both bars and floor and a fourth in the beam.
“We took it one event at a time,” said coach Deanna Critchley. “I wasn’t sure exactly how things would go, but I could tell after the save on bars that she was in it for the right reasons and that we were going to be OK and then the save on beam made me know she had it at that point.”
Her score of 35.99 was a personal best at the MMI for Spurway, fresh off a pair of medals at the Western Canadian Championships at the end of April.
Following a solid run through the vault, Spurway had a key save on bars to set herself up ahead of two strong events in the beam and floor.
“I had a good fight on beam as well,” said Spurway, who’s headed to Wingate University in the fall on a gymnastics scholarship. “I usually do my back spring series, but I didn’t feel it was going to be connected so I had to pull out a series I hadn’t done in a long time.”
Spurway was the last to complete the floor routine, giving the crowd another chance to salute the graduating member of the club.
“I was pretty confident going into floor just because it’s an easier event for me,” she said. “I just wanted to have fun, enjoy it and be in the moment.
“That was also very emotional (to end it off) and that was great hearing the crowd.”
Not just for the gymnasts.
“It was a whirlwind just because we’re on day five between set up and hosting this event, we had 1,100 athletes here this weekend,” said Critchley. “And it’s been a lot, but this was the first time I’ve felt really present this weekend and I was able to enjoy the moment with (Brooke) and that was really special.”
The 2024 iteration of the MMI featured an extra day of competition, stretching the event from May 1-5, with the added component of a trials event for the first time in its history.
Described by MMI chair Jamie Walsh as ‘an all families on deck’ event, the competition featured just under 50 members of Mountain Shadows in competition, with the young gymnasts and parent group putting forth a massive volunteer effort from start to finish.
For more information, go to mountainshadowsgymclub.com.
