More Rhythmic gymnastics

Rowan had a meet this weekend in Maryland- our only local meet. RG is such a small sport here that that the meets are almost all quite far away, making it an expensive sport! Why our child couldn't pick soccer like every other kid in America, I do not know. ;)

For the awards, they all march in as teams holding a sign for the gym they represent. Of course they march "pretty", kind of a goose-step with pointy toes. This sport is so odd!

They did only all-around awards, not individual routines, so Rowan missed the podium. (Sheonly did one routine, disqualifying her for all around, as they do 3 normally). She still got a cute little rhythmic gymnastics medal and a goodie bag- apparently rhythmic gymnasts like all children LOVE candy! She did gain 2/10ths of a point over her last marks- way to go Rowan! (And the competition at this meet was much fiercer!)

Most exciting of all, we stayed to watch the Level 9/10 Juniors (ages 12-15) and seniors (16 and up- international level competitors) that evening. WOW...it was amazing. And we got to see gymnasts from Russia, the Ukraine and Hungary. And the girl who has been the top ranked rhythmic gymnast in the USA (though right now she's #2), Julie Zetlin! That was amazing- this meet was put on by her gym, so she had a lot of fans in the crowd. She was AMAZING. I have no photos or video, so here she is doing the rope routine we watched in Maryland, at a meet a few weeks ago on YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UBNztCzju8 Seriously, go watch it. She is incredible.