taking tokyo – the club at the olympics After an unprecedented year, The Arbutus Club proudly watched as staff and members participated in the world's foremost sporting event
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he road to the Olympics is no easy feat under normal circumstances, though this year provided an array of new challenges. Delayed by a year due to the pandemic, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics managed to kick off successfully, though a much more subdued affair than previous games. Making the event extra special was the inclusion of members John Smythe and Scott Tupper, both of whom played on the Canadian Men's Field Hockey team. Club staff also took part with Gymnastics Coach Gord Bennett sitting on the judging panel for Women's Gymnastics. Congratulations to our Arbutus Clubbers who represented the incredible talent we have to offer here at the Club.
Gord Bennett
judge, women's gymnastics Gord has been involved in gymnastics nearly all of his life with experience as an athlete, coach, and a judging official. Joining the The Arbutus Club Gymnastics program in 2001, Gord has helped many of our young athletes reach their sporting potential. His talent as a coach and knowledge of the sport landed him the incredible appointment as a judge at the Olympics in Tokyo this summer. How was your experience judging Women’s Gymnastics at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics? Tokyo 2020 was filled with a lot of emotion. The games were quite unique, not only due to all the COVID protocols in place to safeguard the well-being of participants, but because they provided many unexpected results, such as the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) winning the team title ahead of the USA, and Simone Biles not winning any gold medals. What do you look for when you are on the judging panel? As a part of the E-panel (Execution), I looked at technical aspects of the performances - checking for body positions, precision of elements, etc. I also looked at the artistic side of the performances on balance beam and floor exercise. It was an honour and a privilege to be in such a pressure-filled position where Olympic champions were decided. Was there a performance that surprised you whilst judging? There were several performances that impressed me. The overall ability of the ROC to win the team title showed that despite the world situation surrounding COVID, they were able to put all their hard work and dedication into practical success. Individually, I was impressed by Rebecca Andrade from Brazil. She won a silver medal all-around and took the gold medal on vault - after having three ACL replacements. And of course, I was impressed by Ellie Black who had the highest individual placing ever by a Canadian gymnast at the Olympics when she just missed a medal on balance beam while competing on a severely sprained ankle.
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The Bark fa l l 2021
