Finals Update

Well, there's good news, and not so good news!

The good news is that we had a great day--we had several good friends come out to support Kaylie, and it was just wonderful to see them!

The not so good news is that although there were no calamities, it wasn't one of those great days in which all the routines just came together. :-( Kaylie did fine on vault (an 8.6) and floor (and 8.625) but her bar routine was a struggle, and she essentially fell on her landing so she scored an 8.025. Finally, her beam routine was good, but not great, and she really had her heart set on great. She just seemed to struggle a little bit here, and a little bit there. Her score was an 8.8, which is the 2nd highest she's ever gotten, and earned her a 10th place medal. Her all-around score was a 34.05. But knowing Kaylie, it's all just good motivation for her shift to level 5 training!

She skipped Monday's workout---too tired after a very long day on Sunday, but is all geared up for tonight--her first official all level 5 training, and I don't have to do those boring level 4 routines anymore!! The team has been working on level 5 skills for the last couple of weeks, and now will be doing them exclusively. She already has her "squat on"---a level 5 bar skill in which they pull themselves into a standing position on the lower bar, before jumping to the high bar. She'll be working extra hard to build upper body and abdominal muscles to improve her efforts at obtaining her kip. If she doesn't get her kip by February (I think!) she won't get to compete level 5 in the spring--so important stuff!

On beam she already has a back walkover---but that's for level 6. She needs to get a cartwheel on beam for level 5, but she's finding that more difficult to achieve. Go figure! So I'm going to raise some funds to buy her a "Stick-It" beam. Basically its a regulation length/width strip of synthetic suede that sticks to the carpet for practice at home. This way she'll be able to practice without worrying about falling off, and can do it safely at home. It will also allow her to work on the routine itself whenever she feels like it.

Kaylie also now has a fan page on Facebook! Thanks to one of her biggest supporters, Kate, for making this happen! Check it out here.