It’s amazing Shawnee has this space now and that she’s able to provide this opportunity for young girls to pursue competitive gymnastics.” “It was a non-profit group, but this just didn’t exist when I was younger. We used to have a club there but it was just done out of a school, so we had roll-up mats and parents and volunteers would set everything up and take it down. “Shawnee was coaching in Sicamous in my day. “When I started training, Shawnee was one of my coaches and Shawnee is the head coach here now,” she said, referring to Shawnee Venables, owner and head coach at Momentum. Kyllo said the idea of her daughter competing feels full-circle to her. The young gymnast is excited and ready for the three upcoming competitions she has lined up: the Grizzly Classic, hosted by Kelowna Gymnastix in Kelowna May 12-14 June 2-4 is the Fun in the Sun competition in Kelowna hosted by Synergy Gymnastics and then Kyllo-Martselos returns to Kelowna once more for the Ogopogo Invitational at Okanagan Gymnastics Centre June 9-11. “But the one thing is that I started way younger than her. “I got inspiration from my mom because I’ve heard a bunch from my nanny about how my mom used to do flips on the dock at the marina,” said Kyllo-Martselos as her mom listened, smiling.

She has friends that train at the same gym she does, Momentum Gymnastics in Salmon Arm, and is excited to keep practising with them.Īsked why she loves gymnastics, Kyllo-Martselos shared the reason for her motivation: her mom. “Vault and bars is my favourite part because that was my best event at championships and because I got second place,” said Kyllo-Martselos, adding she wants to make it to the Olympics one day. In Level 2, gymnasts all receive either a bronze, silver or gold medal, explained Kyllo, but in Level 3 they begin to compete against other athletes. Last year, Kyllo-Martselos started competing in the Canadian Competitive Program (CCP) Level 2 category and now she is in CCP Level 3. The rush of competition has inspired her to work harder towards her Olympic dreams, she said. Gymnastics championships in Langley, April 21-23. Kyllo-Martselos has been practising gymnastics since she was two years old and most recently competed at the Compulsory B.C. Today, her daughter Siddhalee Kyllo-Martselos, 8, is also training and competing in the sport, but she is able to train in Salmon Arm. Sarah Kyllo, the district’s deputy corporate officer, used to compete in gymnastics competitions as a child, having to travel to Kelowna four times a week to train for the competitive level. A Sicamous gymnast is working towards her gold medal goals, inspired by her mother’s passion for the sport.

Letters to a young gymnast