The 2024 Washington Xcel State Championships in Pasco will have a strong contingent of Yelm gymnasts from April 5 to 7. All 33 gymnasts from Yelm Gymnastics’ Xcel program will travel east to compete in the state championships.
This year’s team, which features gymnasts from ages 9 to 15, is the largest the program has ever had. The team includes gymnasts at nearly every level: six bronze, seven silver, 18 gold and two platinum. In order to qualify for state, each gymnast had to earn scores of 35 points in two separate sanctioned competitions.
Yelm Gymnastics will be one of more than 40 teams in the state that will compete at the HAPO Center in Pasco. After their last competition during the weekend of March 7-10 at the Skookum Showdown in Shelton, the gymnasts have been preparing for state.
“We’ve been working really hard with them since last summer on being able to take corrections and apply those to their skills. As a coach, it feels good to know that they’re taking those things in and trying to do them and fix them,” head coach Shayla Nelson said. “It’s showing in their scores.”
With several weeks in between competitions, Nelson and coaches Chris Black and Misty Faye have been focusing on cleaning up individual skills before ramping up routine practice the week before state.
“This week, we’ve kind of toned down the intensity because we had a run of five competitions back to back,” Black said. “We’ve gotten more into the strength and conditioning side of things and preventative stretching to make sure they stay healthy for state.”
During practice, Faye emphasized small details, especially for older athletes as judges will score the more advanced gymnasts more critically. She stressed the importance of pointing toes, fixing certain shapes and angling the back correctly.
“They’re all like sisters. There’s some different age groups, and you’re just trying to make sure they’re all staying on task and listening,” she said. “Sometimes it’s a challenge, but for the most part, they’re pretty good. They all have their own individual goals, which is great, but then they also have a collective goal.”
Nelson said she is proud of the entire team despite the more difficult parameters to qualify for state. Previously, gymnasts had to record only one score of 35 points, but that increased to two this year.
“We’re always trying to better them and make them stronger, and I feel like they’ve peaked at the right time. Their scores have slowly gone up all season, and they’ve continued in that trend until now,” she said. “Hopefully over the next few weeks, we can just continue to clean up their little things.”
Each coach said they want to see the kids have fun above all else. Nelson added that she wants each gymnast to pretend like they’re at practice when they compete.
“I just want to see them trying their hardest and having fun. Obviously, we want to show off what we can do, and sometimes we get a little nervous, but if we go in and pretend like it’s just another practice, they should do well,” she said.
“I want them to recognize the size of the competition but also enjoy it. Who knows how many times they’ll go to state,” Black added.
Should the gymnasts qualify at state, regionals in Boise, Idaho, are up next, from April 19-21.
