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TOTALSPORTSQUINTE.CA
QUINTE BAY GYMN By Jeff Gard/ Total Sports Quinte
Tumblers Selected to Nation
Two local power tumblers from the Quinte Bay Gymnastics Club have been named to Canada’s 2022 national gymnastics team.
at events such as Ontario Cup, Ontario provincial championships and Eastern Canadian championships.
January’s announcement from Gymnastics Canada noted this year’s Trampoline Gymnastics National Team includes Justin Thompson for development tumbling and Jared Matthews for junior tumbling.
At that young age, though, Thompson had big goals.
“I’m really happy that I made the national team,” Thompson said. “I haven’t had a really clear path to the national team. It’s been ups and downs. I broke my ankle when I was 16 and missed out and when I was 17 there was the whole COVID year and again when I was 18. Now that I’m 19, everything seems to align right. It’s perfect because I had some struggles to get there and now I’m here.” Matthews, who is 15 and has already competed internationally once previously, appreciates the opportunity to represent the Canadian team. “It makes me feel good that I got picked and they want me to represent my country and I can go out and do my best,” he said. In a release, National Team Director Karen Cockburn stated “on behalf of Gymnastics Canada, I would like to extend our gratitude and appreciation to the National Team athletes and coaches for their commitment, sacrifice and resilience during these unprecedented times. “There are many international opportunities for our senior, developmental and junior teams, which will allow us to access for the future and make the necessary technical adjustments to prepare for the 2022 World Championships and beyond.” Both Quinte Bay Gymnastics athletes were hooked by the sport at an early age. Gymnastics was a great outlet for Thompson and his sister Katelyn, who is now one of his coaches. The siblings were put in gymnastics at the same time, which looking back isn’t a surprise. “We’re only 13 months apart so we were always together,” Thompson said. “When I was young I just really liked to be upside down. I really liked to flip, it just made me feel free. I was super hyper and it let me get out my energy.” Matthews was taken to a program at a young age and had the opportunity to just play around on gymnastics equipment. “I really fell in love with it,” he said. “I tried my hand at hockey for two years, I didn’t like that.” Gymnastics was a different story, especially when he started learning the fundamental skills. “What I loved about it was just the feeling of when you’re flipping through the air and trusting yourself with all the skills you’re doing,” Matthews said. “It was just a lot of fun with everybody there. They treated you well, you treated them well, it was just a great environment to be in.” Power tumbling features athletes performing a series of acrobatic skills including jumps, twists and flips down a 25-metre long sprung track. Thompson was a power tumbler from age eight to 10 before switching to artistic gymnastics and training in Kingston. He was successful in tumbling, never losing a competition and winning gold
“I always had a dream of going to the Olympics and power tumbling unfortunately isn’t an Olympic sport,” he said. “On top of that we had lost our coach at that point, I was 10, so the only other club that I was going to be able to go to was Oakville.” The move to artistic gymnastics and training in Kingston made more sense and Thompson trained in that discipline until he was 16, earning a number of medals at Ontario, Eastern Canadian and Canadian championships and Elite Canada. “I really liked the fact that there was six events so every single day was really different,” Thompson said. “You could one day be doing three events and working on skills there and then the next day you could be working on three different events. It was a lot more variety of stuff you would be doing.” After the ankle injury sidelined Thompson, he found his way back to power tumbling and the Quinte Bay Gymnastics Club, coached by Karla Sage and Katelyn Thompson. He was pleased to reunited not only with his sister, but also Sage who coached him during his early years in the sport Continued next page ...
