Area Gymnasts Shine in California

Hollywood turned into the perfect backdrop for five young gymnasts from Jefferson who performed like stars at the Gymnastics for All – TeamGym National Championships held on June 24-25 at the Globe Theatre at Universal Studios Hollywood.

The ladies from Lake Hopatcong who competed in the championship event representing Flanders-based Northern Elite Gymnastics were sisters Abbey,8, Ashley, 8,  and Alyssa Lawton, 12, along with Emily Matienzo, 9 and Nichole Fano, 13. Ashley, Alyssa and Nichole were part of the 11-person Level 5 squad that finished second in the country with a team-total score of 17.617.

Abbey Lawton competed with two teams, Level 2 and Level 3. Together with Matienzo, her Level 2 team placed fifth in the country as the group scored a season-best 17.033. It also marked the first time the Level 2 team had ever earned a blue ribbon in a meet. Blue ribbons are given out to a Level 1 or Level 2 team that tops the 17-point plateau.

The Level 3 group finished third overall (17.292). A Level 4 entry at the championship from Northern Elite also excelled with a second-place showing (17.425).

Another successful Lake Hopatcong resident was the mother of the three Lawton girls who competed, Michelle Lawton. That’s because she’s not just the mother. She’s also the coach.

“Qualifying for the national championship is a very big accomplishment in itself,” commented Coach Lawton. “And then to go and not have one team but have multiple teams finish near the top of their respective divisions was just a really great achievement for our gym and for our girls. I’m a proud coach and a proud parent.”

Michelle has been in charge of Northern Elite’s team gym program since its inception in 2009. This season she was the head coach for all four of the team gym squads that competed from Northern Elite.

In addition to their excellence in the competition, the girls also enjoyed a silver medal performance in the Gymnastics for All Challenge, a special exhibition that helped kick off the championship weekend. The Northern Elite gymnastics exhibition squad consisted of all 26 of the Gym’s team gym participants (23 girls, 3 boys) performing in unison.

The routine included partner stunts, lifts, synchronized tumbling and choreographed dance in costume. Their piece was called “The Fire Dance” and was set to a compilation of various fire-themed pop songs.

 These impressive performances on such a big stage, however, didn’t arise by accident. They didn’t come without work.

The kids involved in Northern Elite’s team gym program practice year- round. The Level 2 group spends 1.5 hours per week in the gym practicing while Levels 3, 4, and 5 spend six hours a week  in the gym. Coach Lawton, who is a board-certified behavior analyst during the day, admitted she spends an average of 10 hours per week on team gymnastics—six hours at practice and four hours working on choreography and event preparation/planning.

 All the hard work and dedication put in by everyone involved certainly paid off. The results proved that. And so did the trophies.

In fact, there were so many handed out to the Northern Elite teams that multiple families got to enjoy one on their plane ride home to show off to their fellow travelers. All the athletes received medals as well. With all their hardware in tow, security attendants at LAX sure had their hands full.

In total, the TeamGym National Championship featured dozens of teams (Levels 1-6) from all over the nation, including squads from California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and even Alaska.

Only teams registering an overall score of 16 or higher during the six-month team gym competitive season (Jan. – June) were eligible to take part in the season-ending championship event.

And while the recognition and results were certainly welcomed and appreciated, Coach Lawton noted that maybe the bigger reward for everyone was the overall experience. Not many of the families, if any, before had even been to southern California before this trip. Not many of the gymnasts, if any, had ever performed their routines on an actual stage.

“I think this was a tremendous trip on a number of levels,” Lawton said. “It was a fantastic opportunity for the kids to be able to go to such a big venue—Universal Studios Hollywood where movies are made—and be able to perform on stage which they’ve never done before. Plus once the competition was over everyone got a chance to spend some down time together and enjoy the fun and entertainment that was all around us.”

Michelle’s daughter Ashley agreed.

“I liked competing and doing well. I was happy about that,” Ashley said. “But I really liked hanging out with my friend Averi (Wrisberg) and meeting Javier (Colon).”

That’s right. A number of team members enjoyed a chance meeting with Javier Colon in their hotel elevator just days before he became the first-ever winner of NBC’s The Voice. The photo opportunity was certainly not missed by the group as well.

Another member of the Lawton family seemed even more excited to recount her post-championship activities at Universal Studios.

“I loved the Jurassic Park ride,” Abbey Lawton exclaimed without hesitation. “That was so cool.”

What is Team Gymnastics?

For those who aren’t familiar with team gymnastics, it’s the competitive side of group gymnastics. Young women and men ages five and up (no real maximum age limit) compete in Levels 1-6 with Level 1 being the beginner level and Level 6 being the highest skill level. Each "team" must have a minimum of six athletes with a maximum of 16.

Unlike freestyle gymnastics or what many see on TV as college or Olympic gymnastics, there are no individual performances and there is no individual scoring. Teams perform as a group and score as a group in each of the following components: 1 – Choreographed dance routine called group floor, and 2 – Jump routine – elements are vault, mini-trampoline and tumbling.

In 1984 Team Gym or Gymnastics for All was officially recognized first as a Sport Program by the IGF (International Gymnastic Federation), and subsequently by national gymnastic federations worldwide with participants that now number 30 million.

This genre of gymnastics has shown its staying power and popularity locally as well.

In the three years since its humble beginnings at Northern Elite, the team gymnastics program led by Lawton has more than doubled in size. In year one in 2009, only two competitive teams consisting of 12 kids were able to be formed. In 2010, the program grew to three teams (Levels 2, 3, 5) where 20 kids competed. This year (2011) 26 kids competed on four teams (Levels 2, 3, 4, 5).   

For more information on Northern Elite and/or its team gymnastics program, interested parties can log onto: http://northernelitegym.com/.