Keira Lamming isn't kidding when she calls the gym her second home.
The Grade 12 St. Mary’s College student has been a competitive gymnast for most of her life. Most nights you will find her hair in a bun, chalk on her hands at the Sault YMCA.
“It’s what I know," she says. "The immeasurable lessons that I have learned, my experiences, my failures have all contributed to my success," she said in a news release.
Most nights you will find her with hair in a bun, chalk on her hands at the Sault YMCA. Lamming trains about half the time that other girls at her level train, yet she is still competitive with the best in Ontario. Keira progressed through the qualifiers this year while refining her skills. She is registered as a Level 7 gymnast for the provincial championships 2023 representing Sault YMCA Gymnastic Team.
She has put academics ahead of athletics and has balanced many activities locally: Competitive dance for 10 years, Algoma Conservatory of Music piano study for 10 years, golfing, as well as most activities with her family. High school activities also include cross-country running, badminton, track and field and dance. She's currently a part-time lifeguard. Lamming has also achieved her British Association Teachers of Dance in jazz and is working toward her ballet certification.
After spending two summers at the National Ballet School in Toronto, Lamming was at a crossroads – although she has a love of dance, she chose to stay in her hometown and continue with gymnastics training.
“My dance experience is invaluable. Certainly, the dance training carried over to the sport of gymnastics. If I chose ballet school for my high school years, I would miss out on family ski trips, knee boarding at the cottage and golfing at Sault Golf and Country club.” (where she was the junior girls champion).
“Luckily I have had only minor injuries over the years. My biggest setback was this year at one practice I had some pretty overwhelming feeling of self-doubt. I just could not do a full bar routine and felt like I was not good enough. My coach reminded me that one bad practice is just like a bad test at school, you can always do better.”
She'll be attending the Ontario Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships in London competing on all four events (vault, uneven bars, balance beam, floor).
"Some days the girls teach me more about a sport than I can teach them," said YMCA gymnastics head coach Danielle Lukenda. "The collegiality, friendships, struggles are all brought into the gym, At the end of the day, if the girls leave with an excitement to return to practice that is what matters.
"We are just hoping for full start values in all of her routines and to put it all out there. In gymnastics you challenge yourself and hope that you hit all of your skills to perfection. There are many misconceptions about athletes in the sport of gymnastics. Not every parent or athlete aspires to be Olympic or national level.”
What the future holds is more goal-setting, more academics and a little less chalk and sweat. She's still contemplating which post- secondary institution to attend, but thinks her focus will be on biological sciences with hopes of pursuing dentistry “if it all works out.”
Her cumulative entrance GPA of 3.92 has proven that athletes can train smart and have a balance of education and family time.
Favourite memory of her gymnastics career?
"Competing with one of my very close friends and fellow gymnast Emily Fleming by my side at competition. As well as achieving first overall and multiple special awards for most expressive on floor."