 |
 Les
Sittelles member Maeve Dixon leaps in midair during
her balance beam routine at the Brian Leblanc Cup on
Saturday, May11. FRED SHERWIN PHOTO |
Le Club
de gymnastiques Les Sittelles hosted the first ever Brian
Leblanc Cup on the weekend in honour of the the long-time
coach who recently retired after spending more than 40 years
in the sport.
The meet
was actually a favour by Les Sittelles owner Jocelyne Legault
for the GCGC Gymnastics Club which closed at the end of
February. Leblanc was a coach at GCGC for most of his career.
More than
250 gymnasts, age seven to 18, took part in the meet from
eight different clubs.
The host
gym won a number of medals including several of the gold
variety. Jasmine McIntyre won the Level 8, 14 -and over
division and Elia Lecour took home the gold medal in the
Level 6, 12-year-old division.
Elsewhere,
Gabrielle Bonneville (1st), Janique Boulet (2nd) and Caitlyn
Ross (3rd) swept the medals in the Level 7, 14 and over
division. The feat was repeated by �milie Valli�res (1st),
Sara St-Onge (2nd) and M�lanie Lalonde 3rd in the Level
6, 12-year-old as group, as well as Caroline Champagne (1st),
Melissa Vallee (2nd) and Julia Hajjar (3rd) in the Level
6, 16 and over division.
Holly
Ray-Simard and Laureanne Rollin finished 1-2 in the Level
4, nine-year-old age group and Celina Lavoie and Maya Ouellet
each won a gold medal at Level 5.
Katrina
Markhauser came in first place in the Level 2, 10-year-old
age group and Olga Gorodnichy placed second in the Level
1, seven-year-old division.
At Level
3, Gabrielle Barrientos and Lily Benoit finished 1-2 in
the eight-year-old age group and Alyssa Stolz and Gabriella
Murphy repeated the feat in the nine-year-old group.
When the
GCGC closed in February, Les Sittelles absorbed a number
of the club's orphaned members. Legault organized the meet
as a way to welcome to their new club and honour a highly
respected fellow coach.
Leblanc
was honoured for his 40-plus years coaching gymnastics as
the guest of honour during the opening ceremonies. The celebration
brought together former gymnasts from all over the region
but also gymnasts from the current clubs, some of whom for
whom this is the first competition.
A number
of Leblanc's former athletes were in attendance to pay tribute
to their former mentor and to say thank you. Many of them
have followed in Leblanc's footsteps and are now coaching
their own athletes.
The GCGC
Gymnastics Club was located in Canotek Park. The club, which
was founded 44 years ago, was forced to close on Feb. 28
due to dwindling enrollment. In a message announcing the
closing, the owners paid tribute to Leblanc.
"Brian
always had the best advice, on matters both in and out of
the gym. His work ethic was unsurpassed, and if you ever
had the privilege of watching him coach, you saw that he
gave the same focus and attention to every athlete he coached.�
"Brian
made sure that all GCGC athletes felt they were special
and that they could do anything they put their minds to."
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)
THE OTTAWA SCHOOL OF THEATRE presents an all ages production of Treasure Island in the Richcraft Theatre at the Shenkman Arts Centre. Showtimes Thursday, April 18 and Friday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets $20 for adults. Students and youth 25 and under $10. To purchase visit 
TAPROOM 260 presents Michael Ben-Shalom live from 8-11 p.m. at 260 Centrum Blvd. For more information visit 
TAPROOM 260 presents The Underground live from 8-11 p.m. at 260 Centrum Blvd. For more information visit 
CLASSIC PIANO RECITAL – Orléans pianist Emily Hou will be performing works by Chopin, Mozart, Rachmaninov and Liszt at Kanata United Church as part os the Beaverbrook Community Concert Series. The recital will start promptly at 3 p.m. Kanata United Church is located at 33 Leacock Dr. in Kanata. For more information visit 
THE ORLÉANS BREWING CO. Trivia Night from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Call (613) 834-9005 to reserve your spot. The Orléans Brewing Co. is located at 4380 Innes Rd. near the Innes Road McDonalds.
