Meet Emma Christie.
“I started gymnastics when I was three – I’m 16 now, but didn’t go into competitive until I was eight, which is really late. Usually you would go into the ‘petite elite’ when you are around five. I had a lot of skills to learn, so I didn’t compete for a year and just worked really hard to build my skills up, and actually, that was quite a useful time. I started in competitive because a coach saw me and recommended me, and I think I was really too young to know what it all meant, so there wasn’t some big drive to compete then, but now I’m so happy that I did it. I feel really good after I exercise, but there is also so much of a social component about it. Most of my friends are here at gym, and I spend so much time here. It’s really a community. I would definitely advise people to try out competitive. You can always stop if it’s not for you. The one thing is that you need to have really good time management. Because doing school and gym is kinda hard. Especially now that I’m in grade 10, it’s one of my biggest challenges, and grade 11 will be even more.
For me, the biggest accomplishment is always getting up after a major mistake or a fall. Actually, in provincials I fell on my first event, on bars. I almost just stopped right there, as I knew I wouldn’t go on to Easterns if I didn’t make the top four. I just pushed through and kept going, and I had my best meet ever on the other events. It was so annoying because of that one mistake! But now, I’m actually going to Easterns anyway. I placed fifth overall and someone withdrew from the team so I got a place. If I hadn’t gotten up from the fall that would never have happened.”Collected by Kate Settle.
Humans of Kitchissippi is a special street photography project designed to introduce readers to some of the people who live, work, and play in Kitchissippi. Each instalment of HOK contains three elements: a photo, a name, and a quote from the subject that reveals a little bit about who they are. View our growing collection of humans right here.