Seventeen gymnasts from around the island will make history when they showcase their talent in the inaugural Carifta Gymnastics Championships to be held in Kingston, Jamaica, next week.

Bermuda is one of seven countries alongside Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, St Vincent & Grenadines, Barbados, Bahamas and Aruba with the competition taking place on November 29 and 30.

Julie Bortoli, president of the Gymnastics Federation of Bermuda, played a big role on the organising committee for the event and is delighted that Bermuda will be one of the competing teams.

“Bermuda is very excited to be part of the organising committee and have a team participating in the inaugural Carifta Gymnastics Championships,” she said.

“This is a great opportunity for our gymnasts and we can’t wait to go out there and compete.

“The selection process was done by evaluating each athlete for the proper abilities and age group. Athletes will begin to leave on November 27, with some staying on to compete in the Jamaica age group meet directly after Carifta.”

The island’s team, with the youngest gymnast aged 6 and the oldest 14, will be competing in five different levels, with Rebecca Wentling, the Bermuda senior coach, highlighted that they are guided by the United States Gymnastics standards.

“Gymnastics is set up with different levels to get gymnasts to the elite level,” Wentling said.

“For Carifta they use the USAG levels, and a minimum and maximum age. Levels one to six are the beginning, competitive levels and represent a progression of skill, where each level builds on the previous one in terms of difficulty, complexity, and technical precision.

“Level six is the first optional level, which enables each athlete to showcase their individual skills while choosing between specific skills required at their level. For example, they could choose to do a cartwheel or a back walkover on the beam and are able to choose their own music on the floor.

“As they progress, the gymnasts are required to master a specific set of skills before moving to the next level. These routines and expectations become progressively more challenging as they advance through the levels.”

Speaking on the team’s prospects, Frederick Nicolas, the Quality Gymnastics head coach, expressed his desire for the young athletes to enjoy the experience.

“The expectations are to go and represent Bermuda with pride as a united team,” Nicolas said.

“We expect them to set new personal and team records, while leaving a lasting impact on the competition and showing that Bermuda is a force to be noticed in the sport of gymnastics.”