So I know I take a lot of landscapes, in fact I post more landscapes than anything else, and I’ve stated in the past that I like to shoot vista’s more than portraits as you don’t have to talk to a sunset or interesting view. I think (not sure) I’ve also stated that Abi is very into gymnastics, in fact she’s in a “Rec-Opt” (which I’m told stands for Recreational Optionals) program at her local gym. She’s been learning all her routines for the last 6 months in preparation for the competition meets she’s now attending. As a girl gymnast she obviously does her obligatory four events Beam, Uneven Bars, Vault and Floor.
Well today was her second meet. This one was at her own gym too so we didn’t have to travel too far to see her in action. This is a tough sport though, not only for the participants but also for the spectators. Abi works out 3 times a week putting in many hours in the gym to get better, and today I had to sit through 6 hours of gymnastics to see my daughter for less than 3 minutes. It was brutal! But I have to say worth it as my little girl was amazing.
This is now dad bragging time so you are going to have to just put up with this (nope I’m not apologizing). 111 kids turned up today in her event, and 18 were in her age category and skill level. Abi got 8.9 on the beam and came 6th, she got 9.25 on the floor and came 2nd, she got 8.8 in the vault and came 5th and 8.8 on the bars and came 3rd. Overall she came 4th, and her team came 3rd.
She works really hard at this and I have to say I was very proud of her. I like watching all the events but my favorites are the beam and floor. They last the longest and to me look the hardest to do. The trouble with taking pictures at these events is that the lighting is terrible and there are always people in the way. Also the kids move very fast so that with low light means that getting focus and no motion blur is really hard.
For tonight’s picture I decided to post this one of her about to start her floor routine. You can see the concentration in her face and she did REALLY well. When I see her tumbling across the floor doing her cartwheels and round off back hand spring I’m just amazed and again very proud.
Tonight the guys found some “Glassy Baby” candle holders to play with. Apparently these are very popular – I’ve never heard of them.
