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• Talented 52-member team to represent T&T at inagural Carifta Gymnastics Champs

  Trinidad and Tobago has named a 52-member team for the inaugural Carifta Artistic Gymnastics Championships, which will see a plethora of the regions rising stars showcase their skills at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, Jamaica, from November 29-30.

  The team to represent the Twin Island Republic across 10 categories was selected after a recent two-day trial event at Woodbrook Youth Facility.

  Gymnasts were selected from eight clubs, with Tots & Tumblers (28) and Olympia (14) set to field the most representatives at the event, which will also see Barbados, Bahamas, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, along with host Jamaica, in action.

  Thema Williams Gymnastics Academy (three), Gymnastics Explorers and Lees Gymnastics qualified two, while Academic Flippers, Golden Stars Gymnastics Academy and Mucurapo Artistic Achievers all qualified one athlete.

  Trinidad and Tobago’s Gymnastics Federation explained that athletes who qualified were required to make minimum scores and finish in the top four positions within their level and age group to earn an automatic placement on the team.

  “The fifth and final spots within each level and age group were subsequently awarded to the fifth place all-around qualifiers out of the trials event,” the federation said in a statement.

  Anabeth Vargas (Panama) and Mabel Moreno (Colombia) officiated at the trials.

  Team:

  USAG Level 1 – Andaya Singh, Azalea Pierre, Brittney Joseph, Genesis Canzius, Imani Regis, Janicia Hall, Krisanne Ramoutar, Ricquel Marcellin, Sophie Espinoza, Yarii Alexander

  USAG Level 2 – Ashley Castillo, Avni Lopez, Eemaan Boucaud, Harleigh Chin Leung Kam, Keira-Leigh John, Kenzie Gonzales, Larisah Nevins, Miya Mondesir, Savannah Thomson, Xara Rampersad

  USAG Level 3 – Arya Hagley, Bren Newallo-Badal, Cacique Darbeau, Isoke Morgan, Jael Baker, Kyra Johnson, Zariah Dopwell-Gittens, Zoey Ottley

  USAG Level 4 – Aaliyah Gosai, Annabelle Aanensen, Asia Ali, Jaelyn Heywood, Me’Hera Callendar, M’Kaiyah Williams, Onia Hepburn

  USAG Level 5 – Alicja Chang Kit, Alissa Mathias, Gabriella Christopher

  USAG Level 6 – Chelsea Edwards, Haley Caldeira, Soriya Alleyne

  USAG Level 7 – Amba Boodansingh, Gabrielle Webb, Michaela Francis, Shanika Joseph, Tessica Laurence, Tyanna Edwards, Yandy Stafford

  USAG Level 8 – Annaleigh Edwards, Dailia Burke, Kathryn Alexander

  USAG Level 9 – Alora Morang

  PAGU Hopes – Shanika Joseph, Yandy Stafford, M’Kaiyah Wiliiams (level one), Annaleigh Edwards, Alora Morang (level two), Dailia Burke (level three)

• Bajan coach Alison Jackson cautiously optimistic about chances in inaugural Carifta Gymnastics Champs

  With the inaugural Carifta Gymnastics Championships fast approaching, Barbados head coach Alison Jackson expressed cautious optimism about her team’s chances of topping rivals at the event, which will be held at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Jamaica.

  Jackson, a long-time coach of Flip Gym, shared her views shortly after a 15-member team was named to represent the Barbados Gymnastics Association (BAGA) at the November 29-30 event.

  She believes that despite Barbados being represented internationally at various levels over the years, the island is still yet to reach its full potential, and that scope for growth is again evident where team selection is concerned.

  "Well, I have to say that we are at a disadvantage in terms of athlete selection. I’m the only one that offers a competitive programme at the moment, so all of the gymnasts have been selected from my gym through my staff. We sat and discussed and looked at results for the season to make our recommendations to the association about who we think our top athletes are going to be at each level,” Jackson said.

  “Trinidad is ahead of us in terms of how long they’ve had organised gymnastics classes going. So Trinidad alone has 17 clubs to choose from. So our group is very small, we only have 15 girls going, but we’ve picked the best of our 15 girls. So I expect to definitely be coming back with some medals for Barbados,” she added.

  The Carifta Gymnastics Championships, which has been under consideration for years now, will now come to fruition, with teams from Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Aruba, The Bahamas, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands set to take part.

  “It’s finally happening. Jamaica is hosting the first one, and we are going to be having most of the countries in our region follow the USA’s developmental programme, which is level-based,” Jackson, a former vice president of BAGA, shared.

  “So there’s 10 levels, so they’re going to have that, as well as elite level gymnastics, which is the International Gymnastics Federation or FIG level gymnastics. So there’ll be two streams, which is great because not all of the islands have elite level gymnasts as yet. So we’ll give all the kids who are eligible an opportunity to compete and represent their country at the Carifta Games at whatever level they’re at,” she explained.

  That said, Jackson expressed hope that the advent of a regional competition for gymnastics will show people that Caribbean kids have other possible pathways to excel on the international stage.

  “We’re hoping that it will broaden everybody’s horizons and bring more awareness to gymnastics generally within our own island and across the Caribbean. I’ve been coaching kids in Barbados for years. I’ve taken kids to the USA; I’ve taken them to training camps with the US national team coaches. I mean, we’ve done lots of stuff, but everyone’s just thinking this is only starting now. But it’s been going on for a long time, so it’s just getting it out there and getting more recognition,” Jackson noted.

  Barbados team: Jazara Lavine, Ciara Freeman, Za’Nyah Bostic-White, Daniella Small, Juliette Sonny, Mariah Gill, Cyrina Walcott-Lloyd, Oyinda Buluro, Amber Haynes, Dominique Thompson, Khaleesi Marshall, Sya Franklyn, Freya-Rose Smith, Thaliyah Dowrich, Mishka Mapp.

• Biles: Olympic performance beyond my wildest dreams

  Simone Biles feels she achieved beyond her "wildest dreams" at the Paris Olympic Games despite failing to add to her three gold medals for the year on Monday.

  Having won gold in the team, all-around and vault events, Biles was looking to round off her trip to France with more success in Monday's balance beam and floor finals.

  However, the Team USA star fell from the beam and finished fifth in the former event before missing out on gold in the latter, instead taking silver behind Brazil's Rebeca Andrade.

  Overall, Biles has now won 11 Olympic medals in total – seven gold, two silver and two bronze.

  Larisa Latynina, who won 18 medals for the Soviet Union, is the most successful female gymnast in Olympic history.

  She was not upset with herself for failing to get closer to that record, though, telling reporters: "I'm not upset about my performance, I'm actually happy, proud and even more excited that it's over, the stress of it.

  "I've accomplished way more than my wildest dreams, not just at this Olympics but in the sport, so I can't be mad at my performances. 

  "I'm pretty proud of myself and it's always so exciting to compete."

  Biles' compatriot Jordan Chiles took bronze in the floor event following a successful appeal to her score, after which the two Americans bowed to Andrade on the podium.

  "First, it was an all-black podium so that was super exciting for us but then Jordan was like 'should we bow to her?' and I was like, 'absolutely'," Biles said. 

  "She's such an excitement to watch. It was just the right thing to do."