Snowflake Ambassador, Ella
If you follow us on social media, you know our brand ambassadors. These gymnasts work hard both in and out of the gym and share their love for gymnastics and Snowflake leotards with the digital world. They are influential figures for gymnasts of all ages. For this week’s blog, we wanted to bring you a story from one of our ambassadors! Ambassador Ella wanted to tell you all about her gymnastics journey. Take it away, Ella!
I have always loved the monkey bars! I would spend hours just swinging and hanging. I could also hula hoop for hours with unreal ab strength. When I was 4, I asked my parents if I could do gymnastics. They said I had to do swimming first. “What happens if someone pushes you in a pool? You would drown if you didn't know how to swim,” my mom said. I did swimming for a year. When I went into kindergarten, I met one of my friends, Airlee, who was a gymnast. Her mom was a World Champion gold medalist rhythmic gymnast in Australia. She told me about this great gym in Burbank to attend. I asked my parents every night if I could go to gymnastics, and finally had my first class in August 2016.
My first trial class was at the YMCA and it went well. I didn’t know many skills, but I learned quickly. After the first recreational class, my mom decided to move me to the same gym that my friend went to, Golden State Gymnastics (GSG). During my first class, I was super excited, so I FaceTimed Airlee to tell her the amazing news. She was super excited, too. She was in the recreational level 3 class, and I started in rec level 1, so I had to catch up quickly.
It wasn’t a problem catching up, and by May 2017 I was in the recreational level 3 class with her. Every time I saw the team Optionals practice, I wanted to be like them. I passed Airlee in a couple of months, and I went to rec level 4. In December 2017, I completed rec level 4 and moved into the highest rec class, PALS. In a little over a year, I completed all the recreational levels and GSG invited me to try out for the team.
They started me on prep team. I did prep team for a few weeks until being placed officially on XCEL Bronze. Once again, I got skills very quickly, understood everything, and had my first competition in January 2019. It went very well. I fell on beam, on my snap turn, and still got third place. I always struggle with turns, even now. I got 1st on all the other events, and my teammates were right there with me. The next meets were the same way, but I didn't always get 1st. We had one gym meet in Las Vegas, and that one was a lot of fun. I fell on my middle circle on bars, but in the other events, I didn't fall. I placed in all events except for bars, but the team reward was amazing. They were calling the team awards and the last place they had to call was first. “And the team taking first is...” The suspense was building up. “GOLDEN STATE GYMNASTICS!” Yes! We did it! We all got on the podium and claimed our prize.
The other meets also went well. I consistently medalled in every event. State championships were amazing! I tried so hard in every event, and I placed in every event and even got 1st on vault, 2nd on beam, and 3rd all-around. I thought I wouldn’t place on vault, because I didn't like vault, but I got first! My coach decided that I should try out for JO and I was placed onto JO level 4 which felt like a huge jump from XCEL Bronze.
Level 4 was a bit hard because I only had three months to train for JO before the first meet. I struggled to keep up the form and precision and really felt like I wasn’t ready. I tried hard to keep up, and still got a medal in most events, but didn’t have the scores that I had in Bronze. All of a sudden meets scared me and stressed me out. I loved meets in Bronze, but not anymore. Fortunately, I scored well enough to participate in the State championships and move up levels.
In March 2020, I was training JO level 5, finally excited to have a full season of training before competition season in September. And then...COVID hit. GSG shut everything down: no in-person, no Zooms, nothing. My mom was trying to find ways for me to continue training so I didn’t lose my strength. And after a few months, we decided to move gyms to CPG Pasadena, since they at least offered Zoom classes. I tried out and it was one of the worst days. Months of no training made my tryout so much harder and I struggled not to cry in frustration. Fortunately, my new coach was supportive and welcomed me to the team, training XCEL. We did Zoom classes and were finally able to start private classes to get back my stamina. I felt lucky because I was able to train, and a few of my old teammates from GSG had moved to CPG previously, so I had friends already!
My first competition for XCEL Platinum was on February 28, 2021 on Zoom! It was so strange to be competing in our gym, with virtual coaches and wearing masks, but I was just happy to compete. I loved competing again! I felt prepared and my scores showed that! I took 2nd in almost all events and took 2nd AA. Our team also took 2nd! We only had two virtual meets last season but both brought back my love for competing and I qualified for my very first in-person Regionals! Regionals was an amazing experience in Reno, NV. I placed on everything and I scored 3rd on bars, my favorite event, and 3rd all-around! The best part, however, was sharing the experience with my teammates, cheering them on, and celebrating a bit of normalcy. Also, our ages are different so we weren’t competing against each other!
I have qualified to advance and am now training Optionals level 6/7 with CPG Pasadena. I’m so excited to finally get a full training season before my competition season starts in January 2022 and just so excited to be training Optionals. Besides continuing to wear masks, my gym feels pretty back to normal, and I feel fortunate that my friends, family, and team have all been healthy throughout this horrible pandemic. I am currently working very hard to get my form better, learn more skills, and post regularly on my Instagram page showing my skills and progress. My gymnastics goal is to be a collegiate gymnast! I truly love this sport.
I’m excited to be a part of the Snowflake Designs family as an ambassador!
Thank you for sharing your story, Ella! If you want to learn more about Ella’s gymnastics journey, follow her on her Instagram, @ellakorn_gymnast.
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