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Medal Winners
September 2, 2001

Raisa Galper, left, coach of the Elmwood Fitness Center Sports Acrobatic team, watches as Jen Bertram, 15, and Alexi Bordlee 10, practice.

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Members of the Elmwood Fitness Center Sports Acrobatics team are, front row from the left, Kaitlyn Moser, Alexi Bordlee, Amanda Thibodeaux, Christine Matthews, and Carley Faucheaux. Second row: Leslie Chisholm, Ruth Franke, Jordan Coughlin, and Caitlin Bordlee. Back row: Nicole Barrilleaux, coach Raisa Galper, and Jenny Bertram.

MEDAL WINNERS
Elmwood Acrobats pure gold

Eleven girls from the Elmwood Gymnastics Academy's sports acrobatics team competed in the U.S. Sports Acrobatics National Championships recently in Dayton, Ohio. Eight of the Elmwood athletes won gold medals. "It was a great honor to compete in the nationals championships," said Jennifer Bertram, 15, a sophmore at St. Mary's Dominican High School and a gold medal winner. "It's an awesome feeling knowing that you are the best in the country in your age group." Sports acrobatics is similar to gymnastics except the competitors use partners instead of bars and beams. The routines are also performed to music. The event drew more than 500 competitors ages 7 to 30 from across the country. Raisa Galper, a native from the former Moldavian Soviet Socialist Union, has coached the Elmwood team for 10 years. "Sports acrobatics is like everything else in life," she said. "If you want to be good, you have to dedicate yourself to it. These girls have chosen to make that ind of committment."

The Elmwood athletes trained six hours daily during the summer. They qualified for the national championships in three local meets and in the state meet in Prairieville. Anthony Bullard has been Raisa's assistant coach for almost four years. "The nationals championships was a great learning experience for our girls," Bullard said. "They saw what they had to do in order to keep improving." This was the second time Amanda Thibodeaux, 9, has competed in the national championships. She won a gold medal. "I felt really happy winning," said Amanda, a fourth-grader at St. Matthew the Apostle School in River Ridge. "But I was surprised at hard the competition was this year. I know I have to keep training and learning if I was to compete at the national level." Two of the Elmwood athletes, Carley Faucheux and Nicole Barrilleaux, recieved the "best choreography" award for their routine. Faucheux and Barrilleaux also won a gold medal. "I love sports acrobatics," Galper said. "And I love seeing these young athletes being happy and successful." Jordan Coughlin recieved two gold medals. Members of the team who each brought home one gold medal are Alexi Bordlee, Caitlin Bordlee, and Christine Matthews. Other team members are Ruth Franke, Leslie Chisholm, and Kaitlyn Moser.

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