Members of the Estevan Gymnastics Club showcased their strength and emerged victorious in their inaugural showdown with players from the Estevan Bruins.
Representatives of the two clubs went head to head Thursday at the gymnastics club’s Estevan facility. Bruins players were in first, and then the gymnasts had their turn.
A Calcutta-style fundraiser was offered for the various tests of strength involving the two clubs, and then participants collected pledges for a sit-up-a-thon competition.
The Bruins won just one competition, with Alex Van Sprecken, who hails from Estevan, winning the fastest rope climb in 3.09 seconds. Tanner Humber-Dredge was second with a time of 3:32.
The longest chin-up hold was won by gymnast Morgan Hirsch with a time of one minute and 19.09 seconds. Anna Biggs was second in a time of one minute and 18.72 seconds.
Lila Hale won the competition for most hanging leg lifts with 20. Heidi Byers was second with 16.
Lila Hale also took top spot for most pushups with 70, and Carsyn MacDonald was second with 52.
Melissa Sclear was the winner for the longest leg hold with a time of one minute and 21.90 seconds. Bergen Kersey was the runnerup at 56.11 seconds.
And in the most v-pops, Biggs was the winner with 61, followed by MacDonald with 57.
In the sit-up-a-thon, Jordyn Pukas was the overall winner with 174 in five minutes. Von Sprecken had the most for the Bruins with 140.
Biggs raised the most money for the sit-ups with $815. McKenna Bohn was second with $626 and Hirsch was third with $305.
Rebecca Fedyk was the gymnastics club said the fundraiser was a lot of fun for both the gymnasts and the Bruins.
“Even the Bruins were all cheering each other on and having a lot of fun, and same with the girls. They were really cheering each other on and pushing a little extra hard to try to beat those numbers,” said Fedyk.
She expects the Bruin players have a greater understanding of the physical demands of being a gymnast.
“There was some of them where they went to go try, and they said ‘My goodness, this is hard,’” said Fedyk. “But we were also pretty impressed with some of the Bruins’ strength. Some of those guys got up our rope in three seconds.”
While they don’t have a final fundraising tally, Fedyk said it went well, and it will help the club over the costs of their building.
She predicted this could become an annual event with other clubs learning about the physical rigors of being a gymnast.
“I definitely think the girls would probably like to do it at the end of the year, and see if they can beat their own times from the start (of the season). Maybe challenge different clubs and seeing who wants to come take on the gymnasts will be a fun way to raise money all the time throughout the year,” said Fedyk.
