Sunday January 25^th was the biggest day at the LA Lights Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament of Champions. I Mynor Garcia was lucky enough to be invited to this Olympic Caliber competition. Some of the big names included Melatina Staniouta and Viktoriia Mazur .

The rhythmic gymnastics competition included all aspects of the sport with medals presented to each of the competitors in their specific division.  Later a medal was presented to the all around winner. While I walked around I noticed everything was going smoothly thanks to the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics staff. The competition and the awards ceremony were happening simultaneously so this competition was very fast paced.

Behind the scenes I witnessed some of the athletes practicing in the backstage and preparing .

Coaches were extremely supportive of their athletes, but always kept their composure as the event went on. 

Created by LASG Executive Director Alla Svirsky, this competition has come a long way from its small start over 33 years ago. The LA Lights Competition is known for having world class athletes showcase their gymnastics talent, while also giving an opportunity to a younger generation of gymnasts to compete alongside the future of Olympic Gymnastics.

2015 brings some of the fiercest competition in recent LA Lights history. LA lights features teams from USA, Sweden, Ukraine, Belarus, Canada,Mexico and many more.

This year the competition features the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics own Isabelle Oconnor.

Isabelle is one of LASG most promising Gymnasts. Isabelle is a member of the United States Junior Olympic team. 

LA Lights is a unique event because it features competitors from all ages. While Sunday promises to be the toughest day of the event, Friday and Saturday hold many participants who are performing in a competition of this magnitude for the first time. This is an event that allows competitors from lower levels to share the same floor with competitors of Olympic caliber. After the younger competitors can sit and watch their Gymnastic heroes perform their flawless routines. The LA Lights competition promises to be one for the books! The only question we are asking ourselves is who will take it this year?

These boys included Charlie cohen (L4) Cillian lavin(L4) Ledger Alello (L4), jayden Thomas (L4),jayden Thomas (L6),lenny Wolkind (L6) , Mason Studdyk,  Keianu Jacinto(L6) Almog Ben Tov (L5), and Jonah Rahman (L5).

This tournament differed from the rest of the competitions because it was put together by all of the Judges. This competition had scores but every child in the competition received ribbons at the end of the day.

 These boys go through rigorous training every week (about 8 hours a week) to train.

Coach Darryl and Coach Stepan have trained these boys since the start and have seen them improve through the years.

While they are proud there are lots of room for improvement and ultimately seeing them succeed in the sport of gymnastics.

The next boys team competition is The First preliminary Conference at Platinum Gymnastics 160 w. Cochran avenue Simi Valley 93065

This expo displayed the best of LASG rhythmic and artistic gymnastics, while also showcasing different levels of Vault, bars, beam and floor routines. The showcase started around 1:30 pm, and it included host Tanya Berenson, General Manager of LASG.

Tanya kept the crowd entertained, and led various contests that kept the audience interested and engaged. Boys and Girls participated in this exhibition making it a true celebration of the sport of Gymnastics.

The crowd was excited to take part in the expo, they brought flowers, signs and other exciting cheer materials to root for their athletes. The expo included a ?best sign? contest which encouraged the crowd to be involved in more than just sitting in the sidelines during the competition. The expo featured crowd ?shout outs? that encouraged parents to reach out and wish their athletes good luck.

This will eventually lead to the Conference Championships in 2015, and will bring new challenges to the team.

This competition starts off a new season, with new routines, and scoring. Some of the main goals for the team are to compete in state, regional and national championships.

The boy?s team always starts the competitive season with various responsibilities, opportunities and challenges. 8-12 hrs. per week is training, various types of conditioning, flexibility and strength training, practicing new routines, trampoline training, gymnastics technique and much more. 

LASG conducted a free Rhythmic Gymnastics class for girls ages 5-7. ?It was a fun event, all the young girls were beginners so we aimed to have the most fun we could.? Check out some pictures and the fundraising event below!

Coach Ita Villa and Coach Marena Sldryan headed to the level 2 Gymnastics Championship taking place at the OC Gym in Costa Mesa, California last Sunday October 19.

They headed to the championship with five exceptional girls who only received training for about three hours a week.

Meaning their sessions were only an hour and a half twice a week, all other training was done by the girls in their own free time.

Our unique training methods at the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics aid special needs students in their rehabilitation and encourages them to be social while striving for something bigger than themselves. It emphasizes the sensations that these students feel through their Gymnastics practice which is called ?Sensory Diet? he approaches his training through body sensations.

?Each child perceives their environment through sensations, they move, look, and hear their world?. This training provides ?just the right challenge? to kids and facilitates the development of children and teenagers. Gymnastics is used as a backdrop to provide fulfilling life experiences for every child.

The biggest challenge with special needs children is to develop their interest in the sport of Gymnastics. The child needs to first be interested in something they have no reference for, this takes lots of time and patience from our director. Working with special needs kids is a rewarding experience for Darryl who has been teaching the sport of gymnastics for over 23 years and has a true love for the sport and for the children.

Some of the available resources for our special needs program are designed for maximum involvement. Some of these resources include ropes, foam pits, spring floors incline mats and more. With all this equipment at their disposal, the child is able to register his/her sensory stimuli and accomplish something basic.

These skills are also long term and can eventually improve the child?s sense of self-esteem and competence among their peers. Whether it is at school or out and about, these lessons can be taken anywhere in life. Most special needs kids don?t receive the attention and positive reinforcement they need to live satisfying lives, gymnastics is an outlet that encourages kids to be active and participate in a physical level.