Mixed Pairs Competition Exhibition: Illinois’ Men’s and Women’s gymnastics teams train for the upcoming NCAA season
The Illini men’s and women’s gymnastics teams are upbeat as they prepare for the upcoming Mixed Pairs Competition Exhibition, scheduled for this Sunday, December 4.
The Mixed Pairs Competition Exhibition will be held at Huff Hall and serves as a sort of a dress rehearsal for the upcoming NCAA season that is less than a month away.
There is no scoring involved in the competition which takes the edge off, giving the gymnasts one less thing to worry about. This allows gymnasts to perform free of inhibitions.
The Mixed Pairs Competition Exhibition also serves as a testing ground for new gymnastics skills and warms up the team for performances in front of huge audiences, comparable to the audience size at NCAA tournaments.
“No pressure, we can try new skills without having to worry about a score and just have fun with it,” said gymnast, Anthony Sacramento.
He also acknowledged that putting up a good show at the Exhibition can lend higher regard to a gymnast’s image.
The event is held on an annual basis towards the end of the calendar year. It features competitions between pairs of gymnasts.
These pairs include one female and one male gymnast, belonging to the Illinois’ gymnastics team.
On the trainers’ side, the competition provides men’s Head Coach Justin Spring and his two assistants a chance to gauge each individual athlete’s consistency in performance.
Through observation, the trainers will check to see who is repeatedly attempting a routine but failing to hit it right. Athletes with a higher missing rate will be revealed to have issues with consistency.
“Yes, it’s early in the season, but when you have a first event like this, these guys want to hit, they have routines that they should be hitting. A lot goes into learning your athlete and who you can really count on,” Spring said.
According to Spring, these pairs are made on the basis of optimal balance.
The men’s team from Illinois currently holds the second place in the overall national standings. In this year’s nationals, the team secured the third position. The team plans on, at the very least, maintaining their topping ranks.
The women’s team, on the other hand, views this competition as more training for their upcoming season, which will take off with the first tournament against Minnesota, on January 14, 2012.
“I expect us to have a lot of energy and for us to be excited. That positive attitude, if everyone has that, then I expect them to do what they do in practice,” Illini gymnast, Kelsey Joannides said.
It should be an exciting end to the calendar year at the University of Illinois and a buoyant farewell as students depart for home a week later.
Tags: