In many ways, Olivia Bilyk and Hailey Ferguson and countless other young women just like them are precisely the reason that there are those who are fixated on ensuring that SDSSAA and NOSSA Gymnastics are offered, year after year, on a local basis.

Given that this region remains the only part of Ontario that still competes high-school gymnastics, this is saying something.

And while there certainly are a handful of names at the higher levels (Level 6, in particular) who are familiar to those who follow the sport on a competitive basis in Sudbury, the bulk of this competition is aimed to attract female teenagers who simply want to test the boundaries of their physical abilities, striving to find a sport setting that is clear of judgement.

"I don't enjoy sports as much any more - but I wanted to put myself out there and face my fears," said Bilyk, a 15 year old grade ten student at Marymount Academy who was participating at the meet for the first time.

Like so many pre-school girls, Bilyk was enrolled, at one time, in gymnastic lessons. But she stepped away around the age of ten, her story hardly a unique one for this half of the population.

"I don't like being the centre of attention; I would much rather a team sport," said the Level 1 competitor who finished first on the beam and second on floor exercises.

"I am outgoing and enjoy moving my body - so I wanted to do something that I enjoy, although it does scare me a little bit."

While five years removed from the sport is hardly an eternity, it does signal enough time that has passed to allow for an element of discovery as one re-introduces themselves to movements that at one time were their norm.

"The skills were the same," suggested Bilyk, the younger of two girls in the family. "I remembered them; I just hadn't practiced them. It was interesting to see which skills I was able to do versus the ones that I was not able to do any more."

Benefitting from some background with Ukrainian dancing, the floor discipline clearly appealed to the well-spoken high-school junior. "Floor is good for me because I am outgoing and like to move my body a lot and dance around," said Bilyk.

"I still have good balance through figure skating and the dancing helped my turns and the stretching. I am still pretty flexible."

A lifelong resident of Manitoulin Island (Kagawong, to be specific), Hailey Ferguson has no formal background in gymnastics. But given that her aunt (Jill Ferguson) was the high-school gymnastics coach in the little corner of heaven that is Haweater country, it was inevitable that the now 17 year-old would enjoy some exposure to elements of gymnastics.

"My aunt taught me how to do a cartwheel and a handstand - but I never started competing until last year," said Ferguson, who suggested there might have been at least a little prodding from the former educator in the family to give this a shot.

Combine that with her desire to pursue a career in firefighting and the foundation was set for Ferguson to compete at Level 1 last year, bumping up one division now that she is in grade 11.

"Gymnastics really helps with core strength - and my gym teacher thought it would help my strength and flexibility," said Ferguson. "I already had a background in dance. We started learning simple connections like a cat leap and a scissor."

"Once I got good at those, we would move on to the next."

At the end of the day, her involvement was far less about mounting the podum than experiencing something outside of the world that she typically enjoys.

"I like to hang out with our team," said Ferguson. "I'm not really a sporty person so I don't get to hang out with kids from other schools. It was a lot of fun to do that."

And while she may not reach these heights prior to graduating from Manitoulin Secondary School next summer, Ferguson still looks forward to witnessing what those who have devoted many years of training are capable of doing through the sport of gymnastics.

"I really like to watch Level 6 floor - if only just for the dive roll and the height that they can get," she stated. "I find that really impressive - and a little bit intimidating."

Following are the first place finishers in each of the four disciplines at each and every level of competition:

Level 1 - Division
Vault - Chloe Zinck (Marymount) - 9.700
Bars - Chloe Zinck (Marymount) - 9.750
Beam - Olivia Bilyk (Marymount) - 9.400
Floor - Liberty Quenville (Notre-Dame) - 9.375

Level 2 - Division
Vault - Olivia Hinich (Horizon) - 9.800
Bars - Olivia Hinich (Horizon) - 9.725
Beam - Madeleine Stringer (Lasalle) - 9.550
Floor - Sarah Garbutt (Notre-Dame) - 9.800

Level 3 - Division
Vault - Tiia Pleura (Lockerby) - 9.650
Bars - Hazel Sarvas (Confederation) - 9.550
Beam - Caterina Eaton-Bohm (Sudbury Secondary) - 9.100
Floor - Katie Fosten (Marymount) - 9.725

Level 4 - Division
Vault - Evelyn Holloway (Lockerby) - 9.300
Bars - Mika Maki (Sudbury Secondary) - 9.100
Beam - Serena Studzinski (Marymount) - 8.800
Floor - Serena Studzinski (Marymount) - 9.600

Level 5 - Division
Vault - Elliot Norquay (Lo-Ellen) - 9.700
Bars - Alexia Ferguson (Lockerby) - 9.300
Beam - Kenadie Bayard (St Charles) - 9.200
Floor - Elliot Norquay (Lo-Ellen) - 9.500

Level 6 - Division
Vault - Brooke Wylie (Horizon) - 9.450
Bars - Avery Hofford (Lo-Ellen) - 9.500
Beam - Caileigh Ryan (St Benedict) - 8.800
Floor - Brooke Wylie (Horizon) - 9.625

In terms of team results, the Lockerby Vikings (233.24) topped the "A" schools, followed by the Collège Notre-Dame Alouettes (213.86) and the Manitoulin Mustangs (147.78) while the three-team race in the "AA/AAA" category came down to the Lasalle Lancers (110.68), the St Charles College Cardinals (90.96) and the Lo-Ellen Park Knights (63.93) as 13 schools participated.