Panthers Gymnastics Club NewsletterMay 2002 Sitting down and writing an article for the Newsletter is always very challenging, because we all live such busy lives, but I think it is very important to encourage the flow of information. Since the "comments box" has been placed in the lobby we have had a few comments, some of them very positive. I hope you will continue to contact us in this way, but we also encourage you to speak to our coaches and staff directly. Its always great to hear compliments on what we are doing right, and know there is always room for improvement. I hope you found the last article on "Graffiti" interesting and educational, although I hope you never have to use the information. At this time we would like to welcome a new corporate sponsor to our gym; FRONTIER TOYOTA. Frontier Toyota has supported Panthers in many ways in the past, and we welcome this opportunity to work with them again. As you know the TOYOTA name & logo are very unique, and there is a meaning behind them, which I would like to share with you. TOYOTA - A name chosen by Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda to emphasize the new contribution of his automotive venture to Japanese Society rather than his family origins. * The HORIZONTAL circle represents the customer ( the heart of the company) * The VERTICAL circle represents the company. * The OUTSIDE circle represents the universe (the company marketplace) * TOGETHER THEY FORM A STYLIZED T A special thank you goes out to all the parents, friends & family who volunteer in so many different ways to help make Panthers the very special place it is. Keep up the great work, and know your efforts, although not always mentioned, do not go unnoticed. Thank you. Coaches Corner - Competitive - Robert Persechino and Helene Desmarais Robert Persechino and Helene Desmarais Our gymnasts participated in many competitions since our last newsletter. Congratulations to all our competitive Gymnasts. We are proud of you. Coaches and gymnasts, keep up the good work! We would like to thank our volunteers for helping with the 2 competitions we hosted. The Manitoba Open and the Wendys Invitational were both very well run, successful top-notch events. Our recreational summer camp brochure has been out for a while and our competitive summer camp information will be out very shortly. Please enroll soon. Places are limited. Our Competitive season is nearly completed. Our Gymnasts will be competing in two more events this season. The up coming National Championships being held here in Winnipeg and The Provincial Championships at TechVoc on June 1-2. Gymnastics will be on the Big Breakfast on May 21st. Two Panthers members will be on the show. A-Channel is a proud sponsor of the national championships. Have you seen the commercial about nationals...? Two Panthers gymnasts are in it Can you tell whom? We have over 10 gymnasts set up to compete at Nationals. If you have chance, come and support them. They are mainly competing in the National Novice and National Open Categories in Flight # 1. Panthers is producing many top competitive gymnasts but did you know that we are developing many judges as well? Here is a list of some of the new judges we have in our rank this year; Victoria Robson, Michelle Dewyn, Stephanie Freisen, Colleen Ferris, Krista Carter, Rebecca Duhard, Catherine Ivory and Jaclyn Celones. And lets not forget our seasoned Judges Krista Hirose, Hilary Grevstad and Hlne Desmarais. Thank you for you continued support and love of the sport. Panthers year-end display is coming up fast. This year, with the addition of air conditioning, the club decided to keep it in the gym to keep cool and to showcase events in addition to floor exercise. As soon as the schedule is finalized we will send the information home with your child. Just a last reminder: The gym will be closed during May long weekend. May 18, 19 & 20th. Thank you Competitive Calendar May 21-25 Canadian Artistic Gymnastics - U of M Championships Investors Group/ Max Bell Jun 1-2 Provincial Stream Championships - Tec Voc Recreation - Desiree Loutit Desiree Loutit The recreation groups are finishing up with the badge testing. We should be finished by the end of May and preparations for the year-end presentations are under way. Information regarding year-end will be sent with your children shortly. There are no more recreation competitions left this season. Again, congratulations go out to Alaina Edwards, the only Panther to go to the Manitoba Games in The Pas where she placed eleventh overall. A special thank you goes to coach Colleen Ferris who acted above and beyond when she went with Alaina as a volunteer, but Alainas hard work to get to the games was certainly worth the effort. I was very happy with the progess made by both the gymnasts and the coaches this year and thank everyone who helped with the program throughout the season. Im looking forward to the summer camps. Did You Know that fees for Panthers Summer Camp can be written off as daycare expenses for eligible children? Did You Know? Did You Know that fees for Panthers Summer Camp can be written off as daycare expenses for eligible children? Fundraising Report - Amber Griffiths With less than two months to go until the end of a rather challenging year, our fundraising is winding down. The Gym - a - thon fundraiser brought in just under $6000.00, a slight drop from last year. Our bedding plant fundraiser garnered 55 orders of approximately $4000.00 total. Panthers share is 25% or $1000.00. Delivery date is Sunday, May 26, 2002 between 12 noon and 6 p.m. Pasta orders have been calculated and we have just fewer than 50 orders totaling $2000.00. Our club is a parent run non-profit organization relying heavily on fundraising. We have tried to give you more variety and smaller fundraisers but wonder if you would rather see less variety equaling less but larger fundraisers such as almonds. Your input would be appreciated. Have a great summer holiday. Volunteer Report - Debbie Roy Thank you to Panthers parents for all your great work and support of the club this past year. We had a very busy year hosting 3 competitions and maintaining our facility. I think we should all be very proud. In the past year over 600 hours were volunteered by our parents. It has been my pleasure working and meeting many of you. I wish you all a safe and happy summer. Nationals The Canadian National Championships are being held in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba Investors Group and Max Bell Centres from May 21 to 25. Tickets are available by calling 925-5781. More than 10 Panthers gymnasts will be participating, and what better way to show your support for the club than by your attendance at this event. Wendy's Invitational Thank you to all who donated a Silent Auction prize for the Wendys Invitational Competition (May 4 and 5). The prizes were great and the club received many compliments for this well run event. Thanks to all who helped make it a success again this year. Rumors Fundraiser While attendance at the last Rumors Comedy night was quite sparse, those who did attend had a great time socializing with friends and other Panther parents outside of the club - all the while raising money. Stay tuned for your opportunity to be in on the fun at our next evening out. Why I Love Gymnastics! Thank You Panthers! My name is Alaina Edwards and I am eleven years old, in grade six at Victoria School. Some of the things I like to do in my spare time are read, spend time with my friends and family, play my game boy and watch TV. In the summer I like to swim, play at the playground and play on the trampoline. Some of the other activities I do when Im not doing gymnastics are ballet, Tae Kwon Do, Japanese dancing and Japanese language. Alaina Edwards (Competive) My name is Amberlyn Nicole Anderson. This is my second year in gym. I do basketball and teach gym at my school. I love gym because I like to tumble. My favorite event is floor and vault. On January 24, I went to a competition and won 4 ribbons and a 6th place ribbon all around. Amberlyne Nicole Anderson (Recreation) I like gymnastics because it is really fun. Gymnastics is a sport where your coaches help you become the best. My coach Krista is really kind to all of us in the pre-novice group, Cristell, Shauna, Talia, Dallas, Malika and I. She makes us laugh, at least most of the time. The times shes not making us laugh, she gets serious. Ever since I came back to gymnastics during Summer Camp, Ive learned so much. Ive achieved most of my goals. And the ones I havent reached yet, Im still working on them. Ive also got back my flexibility. Even though I have had the off days, Ill always LOVE gymnastics !!! GO Panthers!!! Jhonaleen C. Ponce A happy Panther (Competitive) Hi! My name is Ashley Koss. I am 11 years old. I have one sister, mom and dad. I have a dog and two birds. I do one other sport that is Tae Kwon Do, I am in my first year. For gymnastics, this is my third year. I was in a gymnastics competition, for the first time. I did better than I thought I would. I got one ribbon for placing 8th on vault. I also just past my first test in Tae Kwon Do and am now an orange belt. I also enjoy school and doing school sports. I like doing sports and hope to continue. Ashley Koss (Recreation) Nationals Team Dominated By Panthers Panther gymnasts will play a pivotal role on Manitoba's team in the upcoming Canadian National Artistic Gymnastics Championships being held at the University of Manitoba from May 21 - 25. Ten of the thirteen women's team members train at Panthers under the direction of head coaches Robert Persechino and Helene Desmarais. Leading the pack will be Jholeen Ponce, competing in the Senior High Performance Women's category. The Open Women's team will feature panther gymnasts Ashlee DeLeeuw, Michelle Dewyn, Tanya Dowhan, Stephanie Friesen, Victoria Robson and Robyn Smith. In the youngest age category, National Novice, Manitoba's team will feature Toni Montanti, Nicole Mulder and Alexandra Regier. All of us join together in wishing these amazing young athletes Good Luck! TOP  Panthers is sponsored in part by 
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