The vault may be her favourite but it was through her floor routine that Sudbury Laurels' gymnast Klara Martic particularly distinguished herself at the Gymnastics Ontario Level 3-5 Provincial Championships last month.
Apparently, this was contagious within the Sudbury crew.
One of four local representatives who competed in the Level 3 classification, Martic captured first place on the floor, fourth on the beam and fourth in the all-around age 9 bracket.
"The vault is my favourite; I like running and I like going over the vault," noted the eight year-old grade three student at Ecole St-Denis. "On my run-up, I am thinking that I need to run fast."
Enrolled in gymnastics since the age of four or so but making the jump to the competitive ranks some three years ago, Martic acknowledged that while she might not be passionate about every single element of her floor routine, there are areas that absolutely give her a great deal of comfort.
"Me and my friend Hermione (Le Coz), we have the same music," said Martic. "My music has violin and my dance is kind of relaxed. I like when I do the dance on the floor, more than the tumbling."
In fact, it's one area where she has no choice but to incorporate a whole lot of body parts moving simultaneously in order to get the desired end result.
"I don't move my head a lot, but I move my arms and legs and feet a lot," suggested Martic.
Meanwhile, Hermione Le Coz was slightly back of her friend, placing fourth on the floor and 11th in the all-around in the Level 3 age 11 grouping.
Competing in the same wave as Martic, Gracie Currie earned a fourth place ribbon on the vault and fifth on the floor (8th all-around), while Annebella Wiley was squeezed right between the two divisions noted above, part of the Level 3 age 10 collection of talent, placing 10th on the floor.
Moving up to the ultra competitive Level 4 age 13 field, Sudbury Laurels' veteran Elina Zelionka also had her best showing through her floor routine.
With provincials out of the way, most of the above competitors will now try and perfect the skills needed to jump to the next level, with a summer event or two still scheduled to take place.
"My tumbling is different in level four," explained Martic. "You have to do a front hand spring, a cartwheel and a back extension to hand stand. The hardest is the front hand spring. I have to kind of hop with my shoulders, which is kind of hard."
