Summer is in full-swing and can we just say that we’re so thankful for our fully air conditioned facilities?! This South Florida heat is no joke! Campers are staying cool and having a blast at Camp Twisters and our competitive teams at both locations are deep into their summer training programs. While we’re somewhere between the end of season and the start of a new one, we’d like to take a chance to reflect on the incredible successes and admirable hard work of our competitive teams and coaching staff this year.
We’ve got some amazing highlights from the Twisters 2022-2023 Competitive Season to share with you. There were so many impressive performances… this is a brief summary:
Jahzara Swaby-Ranger became a Nastia Liukin Cup Senior Qualifier, representing American Twisters and competing amongst the top 40 gymnasts in the nation!
Level 10 National Championships 2023
-1st place floor
-2nd place beam, floor, all-around
-3rd place vault, bars
Level 9 Eastern Championships 2023
-1st place bars
Regional Championships 2023
-Level 10 – 1st place vault, bars, all-around
-Level 9 – 1st place bars
-Level 8 – 1st place every event & all-around
-Level 7 – 1st place vault, bars, beam, all-around
-Level 6 – 1st place vault, bars, beam, all-around
State Championships 2023
-Level 10 – 1st place all events & all-around. Level 10 Team Champions!
-Level 9 – 1st place all events & all-around, 3rd place Team
-Level 8 – 1st place (multiple) on all events & all-around. Second place Team. State Team Qualifiers (2)
-Level 7 – 1st place (multiple) on all events & all-around. Second place Team. State Team Qualifiers (1)
-Level 6 – 1st place (multiple) on all events & all-around. Level 6 Team Champions. State Team Qualifiers (2)
Two-time Nastia Liukin Cup competitor and 2022 level 10 national all-around champion Nina Ballou made her rating debut as the No. 4 recruit in the class of 2025.
There were countless more impressive individual performances throughout the season as well, both at invitationals and during championship season (we could write about it all day!) All of our team gymnasts at all levels put their best out there and made us all proud this season.
Here’s what American Twisters Head Coach Christina Ramirez had to say about this year’s successes:
1. What are the biggest factors that contributed to the success of the team this year?
Teamwork. Between the coaches, office staff, and our auxiliary staff. Everyone worked together for a common goal and it worked!
2. How do you create such a positive team environment and encourage teamwork amongst the gymnasts?
It’s so important that the team of coaches are all on board because without that, we can’t communicate to the gymnasts on the same page. We come up with plans together and take action. Everyone is held accountable for their end of the bargain and that trickles down to the gymnasts!
3. What challenges did the team face this year and how did you overcome them?
We lost 2 great coaches. Brody had to move away mid-season and Katie had a baby. It was a hard transition but we couldn’t have gotten through it without all of the other coaches helping where and when needed! No ego’s here!
4. What are your goals for the upcoming season and how do you plan to build on the team’s success?
The goals are the same every year: Be better than we were last season. Fix the things that we didn’t like and can do better. Keeping the girls strong is what contributes to our success!
5. How do you keep the team motivated to train hard in the off-season?
We educate the girls on our “why”. Why we do what we do daily. Why it’ll help us grow and improve. When they are educated, they want to work harder and achieve the next goal!
We want to congratulate all of our athletes and coaches on these impressive milestones, their hard work and well-earned successes. We also know it takes a village, so extra thanks goes out to the parents, families and caregivers of our athletes who sacrifice so much and the supporting staff that works so hard behind the scenes to give their all to this sport and this organization.
GO TWISTERS!
American Twisters runs one of the most successful and high-quality competitive gymnastics team programs in the United States. To read more about our incredible competitive team program, collegiate athletes, Twisters support village and more, visit our team page at americantwisters.com/team/.
