Over 60 youth gymnasts from three Southeast communities gathered on Saturday at the Southeast Alaska Gymnastics Academy for the Pumpkin Spice Invitational.
The invitational, which attracted teams from Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka, went all-day at the Mendenhall Valley facility.
This is the first year in which all three Southeast teams will travel to each other’s respective gyms for competition. Last month, the teams met up in Ketchikan for an invitational. The teams head to Sitka for one last meet early next month.
SAGA head coach Alexis Howard said the second meet of the season typically brings out stronger routines from gymnasts.
“Our first meet of the season is always a score starter for us,” Howard said. “It tells us what skills we need to fix, maybe we didn’t memorize our routines quite well enough. Or we just blank because we’re nervous. So we get those nerves out in your first meet and with each meet you get better and more confident.”
Look for results of the invitational later this week in the Empire Sports section.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
