FLICKA GYMNASTS. representing Canada will compete : at this weekend's Medico Cup meet in
Bregenz, Austria. Pictured are (from left to right): Angela Orange, Jody Jacques, Aparna Ray and
Jenny Campbell. The giris will be competing against teams from 15 other countries, including one

representng recently re-unified Germany.

Flicka four foray
into European meet

IT’S THE North Shore
against teams from recently
re-unified Germany and
more than a dozen other
European countries this
weekend in the 22nd edition
of one of the continent's
most prestigious gymiiastics
events.

By Bob Mackin Jr.
Contributing Writer

Four athletes from the Flicka

Gymnastics Club left Monday for
the western Austria town of
Bregenz where they will compete
Nov. 3 and 4 for Canada in the
Medico Cup. Aparna Ray, 16,
Jody Jacques, 15, Jenny Camp-
bell, 14 and Angela Orange, 12,
will face gymnasts from 15 other
countries in tandem with Canada’s
men's team from Quebec.

Couch Flavin Toma, who ac-
companied the girls, doesn't know
much about their opponents, but
he is optimistic of the team’s
chances to duplicate its national
and provincial success.

“tt will provide them exposure
to Europe and to pressure,** said
Toma, who had almost 20. years
of experience as a couch and
member of the Romanian national
team before emigrating to Canada
in 1984,

North Shore
gymnasts
compete in
top event

“It’s a very good meet, a high
quality meet fur both seniors and
juniors. | want then to finish
safely and make the finals.”’

Ray, the top ranked senior in
B.C., is the only team member
with international experience. In
1987 she participated in a low-
calibre competition in England.

Campbell, who is trying to
break into the senior category,
and Jacques, a senior high-per-
formance veterun, placed sixth
and 17th respectively in the all-
round segment at this year’s na-
tional championships.

Orange, the youngest member,
has limited experience at the na-
tional level. However, she is
delighted to be making her inter-
national debut this weekend in
relief of the injured Briony

y's) heels are hurt real
s “T just found out
last: Wednesday that Pd be going,
so Pe trained real hard since
then, but PT feel sorry for Briony,

she was so unhappy.""

The girls train five hours a day,
five days a week and will be in-
vesting extra time at the gym upon
their return home, At the end of
November, they will be jetting off
to Toronto for the Elite Canada
competition. Top finishers there
will compete in trials next June
for selection to Canada’s World
Championship and Olympic
squad.

“We'll see how they place at
the Elites and then the trials in
June °91 for the world team,”
Toma said. ‘*‘Hopefully we can
have one girl on the team (from
Flicka)."*

When not training at the Me-
morial Gymnasium next to ree-
Centre Lonsdale, Ray, Campbell
and Jacques attend Sentinel Sec-
ondary’s Super Achiever program.
Orange, however, attends James
McKinney Elementary in Rich-
mond where there is no core aca-
demics program for athletically
inclined students.

“My mom had to talk io the
principal (to work out special ar-
rangements),”’ she said. **Ir still is
a bit hard. I have to ask my
friends what homework there is,
but itis going pretty well.’”

All four girls will do their
teachers proud while in’ Europe
this week —- they cheerfully ad-
mitted plans to do homework
while not performing.

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H Trade in your old runners and

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