Chapter Three: Degrassi Gymnastics team tryouts!
It is Thursday August.1, 2002 and Alex is wearing a black leotard setting on the gym floor at Degrassi and she is warming up to try out for the gymnastics team. She stands up and starts doing some light tumbling on the floor exercise, to see if she is able to handle some of the harder tumbling or if it is too soon and she should stick to the simple pass for the tryout, since she has only been back in the gym workout lightly for two weeks now. She just sticks a double layout 1/1 twist in a second salto, when she hears people clapping and cheering you nails the move. Alex turns around and sees a large group of girls and One adult woman with Long blonde hair and light brown eyes. All the girls walk over to the floor exercise mat and takes a set and Alex also take a set with the rest of the girls. Mr. Hatzilakos walked up to the edge of the floor exercise mat and stopped at the edge of the mat. She then looks at the large group of girls that have show up to tryout for the gymnastics team for the 2002-2003 school year and know that she is going to have a hard time narrow it down to only fifteen girls.

Mrs. Hatzilakos: All right, lets starts with the new girl Alex Nunez and I want you to do Uneven bars first, then vault, beam and floor last. Also everyone has to stay and watch everyone.
Alex: OK
Mrs. Hatzilakos: Everyone but Alex go take a set in the stands.

Alex stands up and walks over to her gym bag and grabs her uneven bar grips. She then puts the grips on, as she is walking over to the Uneven bars. Everyone else heads over to the stands and set down as Alex is chalking up her hands up, then she walks up to the low bar. Alex mounts the uneven bars with a Roundoff to an Arabian tuck/pike Salto over the low bar to the high bar. She then does a Clear/Free hipcircle to handstand 3/2, then does a Tkatchev 1/1 to an Endo piked to handstand 1/1. She then does a Full-twisting Pak salto to the low bar, She does a Toe-on to handstand 3/2 to an Inner stalder through handstands with flight to get back to the high bar. She does a tap swing to set up for her dismount. Then goes into her dismount, which is a Flyaway back layout 1/2 into a front layout and she nails the dismount.

Mrs. Hatzilakos: (Stops write)That will be a tough act for everyone else too fellow on the uneven bars. What vaults are you going to be doing Alex?
Alex: ( Removing her bar grips.) An Amanar (yurchenko) and a Roche.
Mrs. Hatzilakos: Ok, head on over to the vault and let me see your two vaults then.

Alex walks over to the end of the vault runway. She then chalks up her feet and puts some more chalk on her hands. She starts run down the runway and then does a roundoff to get onto the vault then does a back layout 5/2 off the vault and sticks the dismount. Alex walks back to the end of the runway. She starts running down the runway again and this time does a front handspring onto the vault. Then does a double front tuck off the vault and stick the dismount. After she landed the dismount, she noticed that all the girls, beside two are watching her with wide eyes.

Mrs. Hatzilakos: Alright lets move onto Beam and Paige I want you to start warm up on the sides line.

Alex sees a girl with long blonde hair and Hazel eyes, that is wearing a pink leotard stand up and start warm up as she heads over to the beam. When Alex gets to the beam she rechalks and then mount the beam with a roundoff to the springboard to a two-feet layout to a flip flop swing down 1/1 twist. She then does a backwalk over from a setting position to a 1/4 pirouette. She then does a crossway oversplit with a back arch to a Arabian front tuck, She then does a 5/2 turn in tuckstand with her free leg in a horizontal positions. She then does a flip flop with a 1/1 turn preflight to a double back pike dismount, which she stick cold.

Mrs. Hatzilakos: That was great Alex take a break and lets have Paige do a few of her routines, so you can catch you breath before doing floor.
Alex: Ok
Mrs. Hatzilakos: Paige I want you to do Floor, Beam and Vault then you can take a break while Alex is doing her Floor routine then you can do you uneven bars routines.
Paige: All right.

Alex grabs her water bottle out of her gym bag and then takes a set in the stands next to a girl with long black hair and brown eyes, which just happen to be the other girl who was not watch her with wide eyes. Alex notices the name Manny on the gym bag the girl is going through. After Alex has set down Paige walks up to the edge of the floor mat and step onto the mat. She starts her routine with a Arabian double front 1/2, she then does a 2/1 turn on one leg into a spilt leap 1/2. She then does Arabian forward roll. She then sets up for her next tumbling pass, which is a back layout 3/1, she then does a back roll over to a handstand with a 3/2. Paige then Does a whip back into a gainer layout into a double front 1/2. Then she does a tour jete to a ring leap and does a double front to end her routine. Paige walks over to the beam and puts some chalk on her hands and feet. She then mounts the beam with a roundoff onto the springboard into a back layout stepout onto the beam. She then does a Gainer switch-leg flip flop step out. Paige then does a switch ring leap to a 1/1 illusion turn. She then does a shoulder roll to an arabian front tuck. Paige then gets ready to do her dismount, she does a gainer two-feet layout off the end of the beam and sticks the landed. Paige then goes over to the vault and walks to the end of the runway. She then runs down the runway. She does a 1/2 onto the vault and a 5/2 off the vault and nails the landed. Paige then walks back to the end of the vault runway, she takes a drink of water out of her water bottle that she has carry to each piece of equipment. She then puts more chalk onto her feet and hands then start running down the runway again. She does a 1/2 on and then does a 1/2 front layout off of the vault, but take a tiny step on the landed. She walks over to the end of the runway and grabs her water bottle. She then goes and takes a set in the stands to watch Alex floor routine. Alex stands up, she then walks over to the floor mat and knows that Paige is going to be one of the girls that give her a run for her money. Alex starts her floor routine with a back layout 4/1, she then does a 2/1 turn with her left leg up. She then does a switch leg leap 3/4, she then does a side layout into a punch front and then goes right into a double layout 1/1 twist in a second salto. Alex then does a back roll to a handstand with 2/1 turn. She then does an arabian double front layout to a split leap 11/1 to end her routine. Alex walks back over and takes a set in the stand, as Paige stands up and walks over to the uneven bars putting on her grips. As she is chalk up her hands, she is thinking I am not going to be able to beat the new girl on this event. I am just going to have to try my hardest to stick my uneven bars’ routine. She mounts the uneven bars with a front tuck 1/2 over the low bar to a glide. She then does a cast to a handstand 1/2, to a gilde straddle jam to the high bar. Paige then does a front giant then release the bar to do tucked front. She then does an under swing to pike 1/2 dismount and sticks the landed. Paige then takes a set in the stands and joins Alex in watch the rest of the girl’s tryout for the team. When the tryouts final end at 2:30p.m. Alex runs into the locker room and changes into her work uniform and then runs outsides and catch the bus to head to work.