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By Janet Cruz
Two young gymnasts from the Lake Havasu City area ended their summer at gymnastics competition with standout performances at the Amateur Athletic Union ( AAU) Junior Olympics in Des Moines, Iowa, this month.
Jade Saari, 13, and Kylie Rail, 11, from Lake Havasu City, who travel to train at All Starz Gymnastics Academy in Kingman, both qualified for the Junior Olympics after competing at AAU Nationals in June in Knoxville, Tenn.
More than 3,500 gymnasts competed at Nationals, with 15 gymnasts from All Starz earning Junior Olympics qualifying spots.
At Nationals, Jade earned the National Twinkle Star Junior Champion title and qualified for the Junior Olympics in floor, vault and bars.
Kylie was named the National Xcel Gold Floor Champion and earned silver medals in bars and vault. She also captured the all-around silver medal in the Xcel Gold division and qualified for the Junior Olympics.
The girls traveled to Des Moines for the Junior Olympics, where Jade competed Aug. 4, in the Twinkle Star division.
She earned the AAU Twinkle Star All-Around Champion title and advanced to the Finals. In the Finals, Jade won gold medals in vault and bars and silver medals in beam and floor.
Kylie competed Aug. 6 in the Xcel Gold division and finished in the top 10 in all four events — bars, beam, floor and vault.
For both girls, gymnastics has become much more than a competitive sport.
Kylie is beginning her sixth year of competitive gymnastics. She started taking classes at age 4 after her mother, Christy Rail, who first noticed her daughter was constantly flipping off the couch.
“She was always flipping on my couch,” Rail said. “I enrolled her in her first class to get some of that energy out.”
Kylie now trains three days a week for a total of 8 1/2 hours and competes on the All Starz Gold/Platinum Team.
Gymnastics has also provided Kylie with an outlet for managing the challenges associated with severe ADHD, hyperactivity and impulse control.
The sport helps her learn to coordinate her mind and body through balance, tumbling and fast-paced movements, her family said.
Jade began gymnastics at age 8 after watching Kylie compete.
“Jade fell in love with the sport, too,” said mother, Vijette Saari.
Now in her fifth year of competitive gymnastics, Jade practices two days a week for a total of five hours. She competes as a Shining Star in the adaptive gymnastics program.
Jade has hypotonic cerebral palsy, is deaf and uses cochlear implants. For her, gymnastics has become an important complement to physical therapy, helping with muscle tone, spatial orientation and sensory integration.
Her coaches and teammates at All Starz have worked closely with her and learned how to accommodate her individual needs. Jade’s physical therapist has even attended practices and incorporated gymnastics skills into her therapy sessions.
The family travels to Kingman for training because of All Starz Gymnastics Academy’s coaches and their willingness to work with athletes of all abilities.
“We are lucky to have amazing support at All Starz,” Saari said.
With a new competitive season beginning, the girls are already preparing for their next meets. The season starts in Las Vegas, with Kylie continuing with the All Starz Gold/Platinum Team and Jade representing the Shining Stars adaptive gymnastics program.
Their journeys demonstrate how gymnastics can be both a competitive and a powerful way for young kids to build strength, coordination and confidence regardless of ability.
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