AUBURN - It has been a long and fruitful season for the girls of the Champions For Life gymnastic team.
This afternoon, the team and the Champions For Life facility will play host to the last regular season meet, the fourth annual Sock-Hop Invitational.
The meet will have more than 90 competitors traveling from the surrounding areas to take part in competition for girls starting at level 4 and going all the way up to level 9 gymnasts.
“It is a good meet,” said Walt Kurfis, who along with his brother, Mike, coaches the Champions For Life team. “We are part of a USA Gymnastic program so the competition is pretty tough,but it is still a really fun meet for us too.”
The Champions For Life team will have 24 level 4 competitors as well as four level 6, four level 7 and two level 8 competitors.
Even with all the athletes who will be traveling to Champions For Life, this is still a relatively small meet, which in some ways is what makes it a particularly enjoyable event.
“It is pretty big for us,” Kurfis said. “But compared to some of the events we travel to, places like Syracuse, it is a smaller invitational, but it is a really friendly and fun place to be and I think that makes for a nice local invitational for all the different teams to travel to and be part of.”
Along with the welcoming competitive atmosphere, there is also the overall ambiance the event creates.
With a 1950's sock-hop based theme, there will be many pictures and posters as well as music playing throughout the day to help turn the gym into a place that really feels like a 50's malt shop.
For Champions For Life team members, such as Kaela Fiutak who will be competing for her fourth year, the atmosphere of the event is just as important as the competition.
“It is kind of a special meet,” Fiutak said. “There is a lot of 50's stuff and that is fun and it is a home meet for us which is nice too. But the whole theme of the day is a lot of fun.”
The meet also gives the girls the opportunity to show just how much progress they've made through the past several months.
Over the course of the season, Kurfis has seen the team and each individual athlete come a long way and refine and hone their skills.
“I think we have a good group,” Kurfis said. “They've done pretty well this year and they have performed well at the meets we've been to and we're excited to have this home meet.”
In the last few days leading up to the meet, Kurfis used the time to practice and fine tune any little kinks he may see in his athletes.
“We're doing a lot more routines a number of times,” Kurfis said. “We're using these practices to get ready for the meet and work on any areas that might be giving any of them trouble.”
With all the preparation, many athletes like Kaitlyn Heath, 12, felt ready to take on the competition.
“I feel pretty good,” Heath said. “I think we are going to do pretty good as a team. We're all working really hard on our routines and I think we'll be ready for the meet.”
As important as this meet is to Kurfis and the team, Kurfis is also using the meet as a means to look ahead to state competition which will be spread over the next couple of months for the various levels of on the team.
“This is really our last meet before states,” Kurfis said. “So really we are using this as a way to get ready for states and focus in on our routines and make sure that we are in good shape and ready to go to states.”
Given the dedication Kurfis has seen all season and the way the girls have performed in the past, Kurfis is anticipating another solid performance at both the meet and state competition.
“We've always done pretty well,” Kurfis said. “I think we are in good shape for the meet. We're going to keep working hard to perfect things for the meet and work on our routines for states and I thin we will do well.”
The Sock-Hop Invitational will begin at Champions For Life at 12:30 p.m. with Level Four competition and Levels 5 through 9 will begin at approximately 3:30 p.m.
The meet will have more than 90 competitors traveling from the surrounding areas to take part in competition for girls starting at level 4 and going all the way up to level 9 gymnasts.
“It is a good meet,” said Walt Kurfis, who along with his brother, Mike, coaches the Champions For Life team. “We are part of a USA Gymnastic program so the competition is pretty tough,but it is still a really fun meet for us too.”
The Champions For Life team will have 24 level 4 competitors as well as four level 6, four level 7 and two level 8 competitors.
Even with all the athletes who will be traveling to Champions For Life, this is still a relatively small meet, which in some ways is what makes it a particularly enjoyable event.
“It is pretty big for us,” Kurfis said. “But compared to some of the events we travel to, places like Syracuse, it is a smaller invitational, but it is a really friendly and fun place to be and I think that makes for a nice local invitational for all the different teams to travel to and be part of.”
Along with the welcoming competitive atmosphere, there is also the overall ambiance the event creates.
With a 1950's sock-hop based theme, there will be many pictures and posters as well as music playing throughout the day to help turn the gym into a place that really feels like a 50's malt shop.
For Champions For Life team members, such as Kaela Fiutak who will be competing for her fourth year, the atmosphere of the event is just as important as the competition.
“It is kind of a special meet,” Fiutak said. “There is a lot of 50's stuff and that is fun and it is a home meet for us which is nice too. But the whole theme of the day is a lot of fun.”
The meet also gives the girls the opportunity to show just how much progress they've made through the past several months.
Over the course of the season, Kurfis has seen the team and each individual athlete come a long way and refine and hone their skills.
“I think we have a good group,” Kurfis said. “They've done pretty well this year and they have performed well at the meets we've been to and we're excited to have this home meet.”
In the last few days leading up to the meet, Kurfis used the time to practice and fine tune any little kinks he may see in his athletes.
“We're doing a lot more routines a number of times,” Kurfis said. “We're using these practices to get ready for the meet and work on any areas that might be giving any of them trouble.”
With all the preparation, many athletes like Kaitlyn Heath, 12, felt ready to take on the competition.
“I feel pretty good,” Heath said. “I think we are going to do pretty good as a team. We're all working really hard on our routines and I think we'll be ready for the meet.”
As important as this meet is to Kurfis and the team, Kurfis is also using the meet as a means to look ahead to state competition which will be spread over the next couple of months for the various levels of on the team.
“This is really our last meet before states,” Kurfis said. “So really we are using this as a way to get ready for states and focus in on our routines and make sure that we are in good shape and ready to go to states.”
Given the dedication Kurfis has seen all season and the way the girls have performed in the past, Kurfis is anticipating another solid performance at both the meet and state competition.
“We've always done pretty well,” Kurfis said. “I think we are in good shape for the meet. We're going to keep working hard to perfect things for the meet and work on our routines for states and I thin we will do well.”
The Sock-Hop Invitational will begin at Champions For Life at 12:30 p.m. with Level Four competition and Levels 5 through 9 will begin at approximately 3:30 p.m.
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