Home|Sports|Nassau ‘Nastics sending a team to CATS Beach Blast InviteSports
The Nassau GuardianSend an emailApril 6, 2023 381 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
The sport of gymnastics continues to grow and flourish in the country.
Nassau ‘Nastics, the oldest gymnastics club in the country, is sending a team of seven gymnasts off to the CATS Beach Blast Invite, staged by Gold Coast Gymnastics, at Palm Beach Central High School in Wellington, Florida, USA. The weekend tournament is set for April 15-16.
Representing the club and the country are Taylor Robinson (14), Charis Edgecombe (13), Kia Bazard (11), Anai Ingraham (8), Braeden Musgrove (6) and the youngest member of the team Shanelle Hepburn (4). They will be coached by established gymnast Rashad Cunningham who has represented The Bahamas internationally for years.
In total, there are 24 gymnasts enrolled at Nassau ‘Nastics, but just seven will be competing on this trip. Over 2,000 gymnasts are expected to compete at the CATS Beach Blast Invite.
“We are very excited. We are always excited to be going to international competitions, simply for the fact that it gives the gymnasts the experience they need,” said Coach Cunningham. “For us, the sport of gymnastics is not looked at like it should be looked at by our people. A lot of people still don’t know that the sport of gymnastics exists in this country. We are excited that we could shine a light on something that we have been doing for years.”
Cunningham said this is the third time this year they are traveling to international competitions and that their goal is to qualify for major meets such as the Pan American Games and ultimately the Junior World Gymnastics Championships and the youth and junior Olympics.
“Our girls would have to enter other international meets where they would compete in a USA Gymnastics meet in order to qualify for the big meets. We feel like we have girls who are up to par now, but we need them to compete in more international events and qualifying events to get that opportunity to qualify for the big events,” said Cunningham. “The girls have been working throughout the entire pandemic even when everything was closed down, so they have managed to keep sharp. They have improved and their scores have increased. From the last three of four competitions that we would have done, we have been speaking with international coaches and judges to see how we could improve. By the blessing of God, we have been improving steadily and I don’t expect anything different for this particular competition. The girls have been working very hard, improving their skills and now it’s time to showcase that skill set. The goal is to always get our girls to qualify for the bigger tournaments and participate in the junior worlds, junior Olympics and therefore move on to senior worlds and Olympics. Wish them the best,” he added.
The 2023 CATS Beach Blast Invite is sanctioned by USA Gymnastics – the national governing body for the sport of gymnastics in the United States.