By Risa Askerooth
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Pushing past an elbow injury and exceeding expectations, Sophomore Mika Domingo flew to Washington to compete for gymnastics in the annual Charity Choice Invitational. Accompanied by her fellow gymnasts, the Hawaiian Island Twisters, Domingo competed in two events on Feb. 7, placing sixth on beam and helping propel her team to second overall.
“I didn’t have too many expectations going in because the mainland is a lot more competitive, but I think I was pretty proud of my performance, all things considering with my injury and whatnot,” said Domingo. “We had minor challenges due to a couple of injuries previous to the competition but aside from that it was a good competition,” expressed Hawaii Technology Academy Junior Lauren Lauro.
Although this invitational was challenging and on a larger scale than Hawaii competitions, it served as good practice for the gymnasts. “Going to the mainland competition, a much bigger meet, it’s definitely more nerve-wracking but it’s just, it’s good practice because we have regional competition on the mainland you know, these competitions help us prepare for those championships,” stated Domingo. This was the first time that Domingo has attended the Charity Invitational.
The experience was not without challenges however, as two weeks before the competition, Domingo injured her elbow, which left her only able to compete in two out of four of the events she was scheduled to. “I competed on vault and beam, but then my elbow hurt too much to compete on the other two,” said Domingo. “I’m actually in a splint right now because I got it checked out after the competition.”
Despite the injury and pressure of a mainland competition, the team’s overall score of second place was celebrated. “There’s individual (scores) and also there’s team (scores) and that’s where we take the top three scores on an event and then we combine them to get the team score,” said Domingo. “Of course, I’m pretty proud of my team for being able to place at a mainland competition because that’s pretty big.”
Gymnastics tests physical ability and also imparts valuable lessons on the gymnasts. “I have been doing gymnastics for over 13 years, and my favorite parts about gymnastics are the natural thrill of getting a new skill or hitting a perfect routine, and also how much the sport has taught me both inside and outside of the gym,” said Lauro.
The next competition for the Hawaiian Island Twisters will be the state championships on March 12. If they qualify, they will attend the 2016 regionals from April 1 to 3 in Pullman, Wash.
