Viking hosted its annual Da’Viking Invitational the weekend of March 5th and 6th at Niles West HIgh School. Proceeds from this event went towards Hank and his family to help with the cost of yearly training for their seizure alert dog. Hank has an early childhood epilepsy syndrome called Doose Syndrome. You can follow “Hank’s R Hero” on Facebook to learn more about Hank and his journey, as well as ways to further support the family.
The Gymnastics Invitational welcomed gymnasts from Viking Gymnastics, American Academy, Firehouse Gymnastics, Flipstar Gymnastics Academy, Kids In Action Gymnastics Academy, Riverside Brookfield Gymnastics, Superstarz Gymnastics, and Tri-Star Gymnastics. Day one hosted competitions for GIJO Girls’ levels Silver, Gold, and 2 through 8 gymnasts. Viking levels 4 and 5 ended their competitive season on a strong note, along with many of Viking’s optional gymnasts returning from their high school season to join in the fun and perform new skills!
Day two hosted competitions for Special Olympics gymnasts levels C, and 1-4, both girls and boys! This was the third consecutive weekend of competitions for our Rising Stars team, twenty-one of whom have qualified for State! Their confidence is growing with each performance and it’s wonderful to see their personalities shine through in their routines.
The meet was extra special for Viking gymnasts Madison and Raya, who are also coaches at Viking, as it was their final gymnastics competition. Both have been part of Viking’s program for many years and in that time have formed strong relationships with their teammates and coaches. Coach Abbey says, “Both of them have been part of our competitive program for 8 years! I’ve had the honor to coach them for the past two seasons and have seen the impact they have made on our program. They are great team leaders and are always willing to help out their teammates. They had an amazing final meet as Viking gymnasts. Madison stuck her last vault ever and nailed her bail on bars! Raya did her best floor routine ever and scored a 9.7. Their teammates’ cheers echoed through the gym after each of their routines! I am so proud of both of them and wish them the best of luck in all their future adventures!”
We want to thank those in attendance for supporting this year’s meet for Hank and for making it so memorable!
Read more about Madison and Raya’s experience and what Viking has meant to them!
Madison: I was nine years old when I joined the Viking USAG Team as a level four gymnast. After I joined the team, I never looked back. For over three years I was a part of the USAG team, and joined the GIJO program shortly before entering high school. Fun fact: the owner of the gym, Charlie, was one of my first coaches. Both team experiences brought me great joy, and taught me perseverance, resilience, teamwork, and many other important lessons. When I was twelve, I became a part of the Junior Coach program, and shadowed coaches in classes for three years before transitioning into becoming a coach myself. Being able to apply the skills I learned during my own practices to help young girls beginning gymnastics was such an amazing feeling. I have been coaching for almost three years now and find it highly enjoyable. My experience at Viking has been an extremely positive one, and I know I will miss the atmosphere of having supportive teammates and coaches.
Raya: I started gymnastics at Viking Gymnastics when I was in 2nd grade, and it was being run out of Niles North. Looking back on the past 10 years it has been really cool to see both how the gym has grown and how I have as well. My time as a gymnast for all those years has been a ton of fun. Being a part of the GIJO team, I learned about perseverance, teamwork, courage, patience, time management, and so much more. In 2017, I joined the Junior Coaching program because I knew I wanted to eventually be a gymnastics coach, and I have now been coaching for over two years. It’s so great to be able to help my students learn new skills and to hopefully pass on my love of gymnastics to them. Their enthusiasm and hard work brightens my day! Being a part of Viking has helped to shape me into the person I am today and after so many hours spent in the gym it will always feel like a second home to me. I want to thank the entirety of the Viking community, the front desk staff, floor managers, administration, and all of my phenomenal coaches, for being so supportive and making my experience so invaluable and amazing!
The event began with a wonderful speech from our guest speaker, Dani Tyler. An Olympic Gold medalist, Tyler spoke to all ages on the importance of believing in yourself. Her words of motivation set a positive tone for the rest of the day, and from there it was time to get started with the activities!
Representatives from the Kids Stem Studio led a fun and educational coding workshop! The students learned how to format a computer game on their laptops using a program called Scratch. Through this activity, they accomplished the task of learning a new skill and found how rewarding it can be to push through a new and complex assignment. They even got to see their creation come to life and play their game at the end!
Library Resource specialist Caroline Schaab led a reading activity for various age groups. By sharing empowering stories from books, students learned the value of self-confidence and how they can apply the same lessons to write their own real-life success story.
The Dance hallway was home to a variety of body movement workshops, including meditation and yoga with Julie Penn, pilates with Coach Angie, and Dance with Ms. Lynn and Ms. Jessica! Teenage and adult participants learned muscle control and relaxation poses, and younger students were taught to appreciate their bodies and the abilities they possess. This included the importance of personal space and what to do if another individual is invading that space in an unsafe way.
Jessica Caccavallo led activities regarding body safety and personal space. Students practiced the “NO – GO – TELL” rules and were taught tips on how to make empowering choices and get help if they or a friend are in trouble. They also learned to identify safe adults to talk to and got comfortable with having those kinds of conversations. Our bodies are our own, and we should expect other people to treat them with respect.
Amy Bell from Athletico led an injury recovery session, where students learned how to care for their muscles and get the proper aid in the event of an injury. This included using resistance bands, foam rollers, and massage tools, as well as how to determine when professional medical assistance is needed. For all that our bodies do for us, it’s important that we know how to keep it safe and healthy!
Creative outlets were also provided by Oak Park art teacher Michaela Ruff, Coach Kaylie, and Coach Marisa. These included Jewelry making, creating a collective body, and warm & fuzzy feeling keychain making! Each creation came out as beautiful and unique as the individual who made it, highlighting the importance of self-expression and artistic imagination.
Coach Marisa provided students with different colors of yarn to make their keychains. Each color represented a positive question about themselves, such as their strengths, things they love, and what their aspirations are. After sharing their responses, they were taught that their responses might change at different points of their life. It’s important to check-in with ourselves from time to time and look at how we view our self-esteem, and with these keychains everyone was able to go home with a beautiful reminder of what makes them special and what they value most about themselves.
In Coach Kaylie’s activity, students drew different parts of the body that help them do the things they love. They taped all of their body parts onto a single figure, and although a figure with three eyeballs and five arms may look silly, it was a great visual of all the different things our body is able to do!
Participants also got to showcase their talents in a circus activity led by performer Amanda Crockett. Group members cheered each other’s uniqueness as they performed their best dance move, acrobatic skill, or entertaining act!
Nicole Reynolds led a teamwork exercise as students were paired into small groups with the task of unlocking a “breakout box.” Through a series of clues and puzzles, they had to work together to achieve success and win their prize as a team, for which they were rewarded with a sweet treat! Each group beamed with excitement as they were able to open their box, learning to value the ideas and problem-solving strategies of those they were working with as they helped in completing a common goal.
Susan Fosco and Teri Jakuc led a team-building obstacle course. Through this activity, students found that it was quicker to accomplish something when working together than if they were to try and complete the course on their own. In addition, it’s more fun to work as a group and make friends along the way!
