Karey Ackery started in Special Olympics as a bowler.
After three years of knocking pins down on the 5-pin lanes, she's now involved in a sport that rewards athletes for keeping the objects of the game from hitting the ground. She's blossomed into a rhythmic gymnast.
After a solid year of practicing, the 27-year-old Ackery was cast into the spotlight of competition Saturday when Prince George Special Olympics hosted a regional meet at the Connaught Youth Centre
"This year I decided to get into the whole competition thing and it's been good," said Ackery. "It went very good, actually.
"I was always considered not much of a sport-type person -- the sports I did do were mostly like bowling, that aren't very graceful, so I decided to get into rhythmic gymnastics. This is my second year but my first competition. I wasn't that nervous."
The 26-athlete event served as an introduction to the regional championship scheduled for next year. The regional meet is a qualifier for the 2013 Special Olympics B.C. Summer Games.
"Everybody got ribbons for their events, so they were very happy athletes," said coach Dee Neukomm, a fixture on the local rhythmic gymnastics scene since 1989.
"They are all very special people and they all work hard to attain the best they can at their level. The important thing is they are comfortable at working on mastering their own level and they're not worried competing against people who are at higher level. It takes a lot of courage to get out on the floor and participate by themselves. They have to memorize their routines and follow the music."
All of the athletes in the ball competition choreographed their routines to the Mary Poppins song Chim Chim Cheree, as sung by Julie Andrews, and Ackery responded well to the pressure of performing in front of the judges, imported for the event from Comox and Nanaimo.
"It was quite enjoyable and I ended up getting a third-place all-around ribbon," said Ackery. "It feels good. Dee is a real good coach. I like that I get a chance to be graceful and exercise and get out there and have some fun."
Special Olympics rhythmic gymnastics events include rope, ribbon, ball, hoop, and clubs, an apparatus added in 2008. The elongated bowling pin shape of the clubs requires dexterity and steady hands to keep them from falling to the ground, not an easy task to master.
"They do have weight and at first we thought it was going to be a dangerous apparatus for them, but they've all learned to work with them," said Neukomm. "You just have to respect them so you don't end up knocking your teeth out."
Danielle Cavenaile, 19, is in her second year as a Level 2 athlete and has added the clubs to her repertoire, while also performing compulsory routines with the ball, hoops and ribbon.
"The clubs are very easy, you start with the clubs in your left hand and count to eight and then you do a left hop and right hop and then you toss them," said Cavenaile. "I like that event, it's my favourite because I kind of learned how to use clubs."
Cavenaile won the Level 2 club event and placed second overall.
"I was nervous at first with the balls," she said. "I kind of went a little too fast and my heart started to pound really fast. But my friend Darcy calmed me down."
Prince George Special Olympics will host a season-ending rhythmic gymnastics demonstration/fundraising bake sale, Thursday, April 28 at 7 p.m. at Lac du Bois school, 4131 Rainbow Dr. The athletes practice weekly at AimHi gym on Kerry Street.
