Last weekend 50 of the top gymnasts from around New York City gathered at the Queens Gymnastics Center in Flushing to compete for the title of New York City's finest. The only club competition each year which allows gymnasts to compete on teams representing their respective burroughs, the competition is a welcome break from the rigourous schedule of mostly individual competitive gymnastics. This year the competition field widened with the addition of a team from Long Island, a 5^th team to make up for the Bronx which has not fielded a team in the history of the competition. Long Island, home to some of the most prestigious gymnastics clubs in the country, added a new level of intensity, but most competitors still consider the New York City Challenge their favorite meet of the year.

“The addition of the Long Island team did make a meet a little more intense” said Elizabeth Tennison, member of the Staten Island team for the past 4 years. “But the challenge was fun.”

With the addition of world class training center Artistic Gymnastics Academy of Manhattan, it was thought that this would be the year for the Manhattan team to move to the top. Unfortunatley the team was forced to relinquish two of their top performers, Alex Thoreau and Frannie Giuliani, to the Queens team. While the gymnasts could not compete with their club teammates they were just as excited to represent their hometown. But for the competitive nature of the competition, the atmosphere was quite jovial and informal, perhaps because this group has built more friendships than rivalries over the years.

“A lot of us have known each other through gymnastics for years, but usually we're competing against each other. This competition is a really fun opportunity for us to compete on teams with each other and represent where we're from. And the scores are usually kind of high which is definitley a confidence booster!” said Queens team member Frannie Giuliani.

This years competition saw Long Island take the field by storm, topping the 2^nd place team, Staten Island, by nearly 7 points. The 2^nd through 5^th place positions were a bit closer with only a little over 2 points seperating them. The 3^rd place position went to Manhattan, helped by star team members Paisley Vanderbilt (Artistic) and Hailey Grossman (Big Apple). Queens settled for 4^th as a team but claimed the top senior all-around position with a stellar pereformance from Frannie Giuliani, scoring an incredible 38.625 in the all-around. The Brooklyn team took 5^th but showed promise with solid performances from senior Victoria Santangelo (6^th all-around) and junior Tiana Kalenik (6^th all-around).

Other standout performances came from Long Island team members Isabella Ridge (Babylonian Empire) and Elyse Vandermeer (Garden City) who finished 1^st and 2^nd in the junior division. Staten Island team members Maureen Francis and Anna Siegal finished 3^rd and 4^th respectively in the junior division, putting in strong performances for just being 12.

In the senior division Long Islander Ivy Coolidge split up the artistic duo of Frannie Giuliani and Paisley Vanderbilt slipping into the 2^nd place position and her Long Island teammate, Cassiopia Ludwig grabbed 4th.