The 2016 Region 5 All Star team spent the morning at the Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica National Park. Our guide took us through the park pointing out all the different wildlife found in the park including sloughs, monkey’s, iguana’s and more. We were able to us a telescope to get a close up look at the animals and insects that call the forest home. Following along as we learned about all that is found in the national park.
The Region 5 All Star team is in Costa Rica this week and currently are taking the culture and sights and sounds of Manuel Antonio. The girls will be blogging each day about their experience so far in Costa Rica. Our first bloggers are Kai Rivers, Delanie Harkness, Anne Maxim, and Mickayla Stuckey.
This is Kai Rivers live from the 2016 Region 5 AllStar trip!
The journey here was long, but well worth the wait. To get here we had a 3 hour + plane ride, and what seemed like a 6 hour bus ride to our resort. Already what I have noticed is that the food is amazing, and very very flavorful. After having dinner here on Monday, we went to bed and woke up for a full day. We bused to another remote part of this beautiful place to go white water rafting. It was incredible, and something I recommend everyone put on their bucket list. Not only was it full of adventure, and twists and turns, but the 
views while coasting down the river were insane! After getting served an amazing lunch, by the nicest people you will meet, we bused back to our resort. I have had the opportunity to be on three of these trips: Scotland, Dominican Republic, and now Costa Rica. Obviously, from the outside looking in this trip most resembles the Dominican Republic because of its endless rainforests, beaches, and tropical feel, but I have already learned so much about the culture in the same way I did in Scotland. I am excited for what is to come.
This is Delanie Harkness live from the 2016 Region 5 AllStar trip!
The journey here took a while. We had a 3 hour plane ride then a 3 hour bus ride which ended up probably being 6 hours or more. Monday was kinda laid back since most girls had to get up so early in the morning, so when we got to the hotel we ate very tasty food then shortly after went to bed to get some rest for our eventful day planned the next day.
Yesterday we went white water rafting which is something not a lot of people can say
they’ve done, but wow was it an experience. The excitement and nerve-racking feeling that the river gave you when you went down was incredible. Also the view was breathtaking.
After we were done conquering the river with only few that fell out we had an amazing lunch with our funny rafting guides. Then went back on the buses to bus home for some swimming and dinner later. I have been on two all star trips and they have been an unbelievable experiences. They are much alike with the tropical feeling they both bring, but I can wait to see what else this trip has to bring.
This is Anne Maxim live from the 2016 Region 5 AllStar trip!
Our adventure here began on Monday, which required a lot of patience. Traveling took up most of the day and we all were very anxious to start exploring Costa Rica. Our first activity involved white water rafting, which was an amazing experience. Two buses, with 
our raft guides picked us up early Tuesday morning and brought us to the rapids. It took an hour and a half of winding roads up the mountains and through towns before we arrived at our starting spot. From there, we strapped up and split into five different rafts.
Most were quite nervous about going, but we all jumped right in (literally) and got through the nerves. We went through a series of different rapids and paddled on command of our guides. Water splashed through the rafts and caught some to lose their balance. Luckily, they were rescued right away and went on from there. Half way through the trip, we came upon a beautiful waterfall. The view was thrilling and unforgettable. The whole river trip held many different species and animals. It was very cool to see the new animals in their natural environment. Along with this, we also have been able to try and enjoy new fruits. To finish off the exciting day of white water rafting, we swam and toured the beach. It was truly an adventurous day.
This is Mickayla Stuckey live from the 2016 Region 5 AllStar trip!
Our trip to the amazing Costa Rica started Monday, we traveled basically the entire day! We took a very long bus ride to our extremely nice hotel and got some sleep for an exciting day a head. So on Tuesday, we started out our day with a great breakfast, then got in the bus for about an hour and a half to the white water rafting place! Our ride to the rafting place had several twist and turns and lots of hills! Once we got to our destination we got taught the correct ways to paddle and how to sit in the raft. After we learned how to do everything we jumped in the rafts and we were off! The rapids in the river were crazy, my
raft actually flipped upside down! It was a kinda scary because I was stuck under the raft for a couple of seconds but we had a fantastic leader that pulled me back onto the raft very quickly! About half way through we got the chance to get out and see a beautiful waterfall, the view was breathtaking! Once we were done at the waterfall we did the rest of the rafting! To finish off the day we went to the beach at the resort that were staying at and it was very pretty!
Overall it has been a amazing trip so far and I can’t wait to see what the other days will hold for us!
White Water Rafting was the highlight of day 2 of the 2016 Region 5 All Star trip. We experienced an awesome ride down Savegre River along the way astounded by the awesome canyons, waterfalls, and primary rainforest of Costa Rica. The Savegre river in Quepos, Manuel Antonio is a magnificent stretch of whitewater that begins its course by winding out of a sparsely inhabited valley in the mountains. This is a class 3 rapids and the staff at Amigos Del Rio make it a whole lot of fun. Find out how Mickayla, Payton and Whitney thought of their rafting experience.
Welcome to Costa Rica! The 2016 Region 5 All Star Trip began with a flight from Atlanta Georgia to San Jose, Costa Rica. We packed up the luggage to the roof (literally) and headed out on our 3 hour tour to Manuel Antonio on the pacific coast (expect we ran into a road block which extend that to 6 hours). The country is in its rain season so everything is very green. It was a day of travel but the experience is already memorable. Stay tuned for more from all week from Costa Rica
Uneven Bars in Region 5 is always strong with big releases and dismounts. Lead bar coach for camp Dave Marus, JPAC, wanted to take our bars to a new level and really focus in on the the little details in our gymnastics like the handstands in and out of skills as well as the total execution of the skills. Each group at camp went through a mini verification of 1/2 routines and combinations focusing on these two things while also competing in a friendly game of who did it better.
