KINGMAN — Three Kingman area gymnasts who train at the All Starz Academy on Airway Avenue are competing in the National Junior Olympics in Houston, Texas this weekend. A fund raiser recently held at the training facility was called “Kids Night Out”.
The training facility owner is Brandee Proffit. She actually started out at this gym, ultimately bought it, 33 years ago, and moved it to the present location. Brandee explained the feeling of having the three Junior Olympic qualifiers.
“We are so excited for the first time ever, we have three athletes that have qualified; Isabel, Remi and Serenitee. We leave on Tuesday to compete in the Junior Olympics and are hoping to bring home some trophies and medals.”
As it stands, the All Starz Academy has trophies displayed almost everywhere you look, and now there’s an opportunity to add more hardware.
“It’s pretty neat to see teams we’ve had over the years; how many awards have been won. As of now, we’re close to a thousand titles, including regional, state, and national champions.”
Ms. Proffit also brought up the evolution she sees with the young first timers and the value of a gymnastics education.
“The skills that they gain from a sport, like gymnastics, are just invaluable: discipline, confidence, structure, strength, flexibility. It’s both mental and physical. They gain so many positive attributes that do make it so much easier for them to be a very successful student and a successful individual in society.”
Two of the three Junior Olympic qualifiers were at the “Kids Night Out” fundraiser. While Isabel demonstrated her skill on the balance beam, Remi talked about getting a 98.75 score on the vault by doing a front hand spring, keeping her legs straight, and properly pointing her toes. She remarked that the “toe pointing” was helped by her ballet training.
There were some 70 youngsters involved with the “Kids Night Out”. The event was probably mis-named. It should have been “Give Adults A Break”. The energy expended by the busy, pizza fed throng, harnessed, most likely could have provided enough electrical power to light a medium sized town for a month. It’s doubtful that there was much trouble getting the attendees to bed and sleep when they did get home.
