The Tim Rand award is given to the person (coach or gymnast) at the Chicago Style that shows that most excitement and support to all competitors in the competition. There is no better recipient of this award then Ulitmate’s Steve Kam. Steve is always one of our regions motivators especially at JO Nationals but he is quick to offer a encouraging word during any meet of the year.
Steve talks about winning this award and what it means to him to be able to help support our great athletes in region 5.
Doggette perfect at Buckeye and Rivers flows through the competition in Houston, just two of the headlines Around the Region this past weekend.
The Buckeye Classic hosted by Buckeye Gymnastics was the big invite that took place in our region with some of the best level 10 gymnasts from around the country vying for one of the 2 spots to the 2016 Nastia Liukin Cup. Buckeye is a great meet to compete in and features a fun opening ceremony introducing all the teams competing. Here is a video clip of R-Athletics really getting into it (notice Bre Showers at the end).
Already qualified to Nastia Cup, Buckeye’s Makarri Doggette let it all out in front on the home crowd and scored her first perfect 10 on her Yurchenko 1 1/2 on vault. Here is the video thanks to FloGymnastics (notice her reaction when Christian tells her).
Twistars competed down in Houston at the Houston National Invite. This competition features a Team Cup competition which Twistars won over national team athletes from Brazil by more then a point.
In the level 10 AA competiton, 2015 JO National AA champion Kai Rivers from Twistars topped all with a 38.025. Here are the top 5 combined scores from the level 10 competition. Full results from the HNI can be found on the MSO Website
Alyssa Al-Ashari competed in the elite division as she prepares for this years elite season. She took 2nd place on beam with this 14.05 routine. Video by Cordelia Price.
Region 5 was well represented at the 2016 Classic Rock Invite in Phoenix Arizona with UGA, BIG, Libertyville, and Queen City competing in the desert. UGA won their session with Amelia Mohler taking 2nd place AA in her age group. Check out the results from the Classic Rock on the MSO Website.
We are here at one of my absolute favorite meets of the season, The Athlete Warrior Challenge hosted by Olympia Gymnastics Academy. This is one of my favorite meets because they do awards a bit different than your typical medal around the neck. Each participant receives a real Karate belt based on how many years the athlete has attend the meet. If it is an athletes first year they start with the white belt, second year receives the yellow, third years receive an orange belt and so on. This year we are in year six which is the purple belt. The athletes receive these belts prior to awards, the medals they receive at awards are then pinned onto the belt. This makes coming back to the meet each year a must for many gym clubs because the kids loving getting the different color belts each year.
Teams competing in the Level 10 Session of the 2016 Athlete Warrior Challenge:
AGA Bay Valley Academy (BVA) Branch Champion USA Elite Michigan Academy of Gymnastics (MAG) Oakland Olympia Perfect Balance
Here are the final results and video links from the top routines. Check out all the videos on our Athlete Warrior Coverage page
Olympia 
