What happens when Viking’s competitive gymnastics teams – and their families – travel to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, for a weekend gymnastics meet?

All kinds of fun!

From Friday through Sunday, January 10-12, 2019, Viking girls’ competitive gymnastics teams attended the Lake Geneva Gymnastics Vacation Classic. The meet hosted teams from Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin in levels 3 and up in both USAG and GIJO.

Home base during the weekend was Timber Ridge Lodge and Waterpark in Lake Geneva, where many of the families stayed.

Team dinner

The weekend officially began on Friday evening with a Viking team dinner in the hotel. One hundred forty places were set for the meal, and gymnasts and their families enjoyed salad, pizza, and cookies while chatting with teammates and making new friends.

Viking gymnastics coaches and their families attended the dinner, too. Coach Charlie Friedman, owner of Viking Gymnastics & Dance, and her husband, Coach Mendel Moskovits, coach the USAG teams; Angel Brown and Addison Sawyer coach the GIJO teams.

Family fun

During the weekend, when they weren’t competing, it seemed like Viking gymnastics team members were everywhere having a great time!

Parents supervised and had plenty of fun themselves. Some families even ventured out to do some shopping and sightseeing.

One of the highlights was that the girls had so much time to spend with each other. They used the crafts room at the hotel to make “good luck” signs for teammates’ hotel room doors, got together to swim in the waterpark, hung out in each other’s rooms, played board games, gathered for more food, and found many other ways to amuse themselves.

By the end of the weekend, parents and gymnasts were checking in with each other about how things went and wishing others good luck – like one big Viking gymnastics extended family.

Competitive gymnastics

Amid all the fun, the girls showed amazing focus. Throughout the weekend, each team competed at its assigned time at the Grand Geneva Hotel Forum.

For some of our gymnasts this was their first time in a competitive meet!

Here are the team results:

• GIJO:  Level 3 — 3rd place; Level 4 — 2nd place; Level 6 — 1st place
• USAG:  Level 4 — 3rd place; Level 5 — 3rd place; Level 6 — 2nd place; Level 7 — 5th place

Learning new skills

At all competitive gymnastics meets, the gymnasts not only practice and perform their routines but also learn lots of life skills:

• Learning about good sportsmanship as they rely on their teammates, coaches, and families for support and encouragement.
• Cheering each other on when things go perfectly, and they cheer for each other and keep their chins up even when things don’t go well at all.
• Making the most of equipment that feels a little different than it does at our home gym.
• Coping with distractions such as loud music and clapping.
• Tolerating much more hairspray than they use at home!

Preparing, focusing, and adapting to changes are skills that Viking competitive gymnasts will apply over and over in their lives.

We are so proud of our competitive gymnasts, and so glad that everyone had a great time in Lake Geneva!

Would you like to learn more about the Viking competitive gymnastics teams?

For a look at competitive gymnastics, be sure to attend the upcoming Viking gymnastics home meet that will be held at Niles West High School on March 23 and 24. Be sure to stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram for more information, and come cheer on our Viking gymnastics teams!