Thursday, March 28, 2024

Gatesville youth excels in gymnastics competition

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When Tiffany Winkler first took her daughter Tenley to tumbling classes, the 8-year old had a request. “She liked tumbling,” Tiffany recalls, “but she asked if she could start learning gymnastics.”

After Tenley attended a few recreational classes at Extreme Cheer and Tumble in Temple, the coach pulled Tiffany aside. “She told me that Tenley had great potential and should consider competitive gymnastics,” Tiffany explains. That was four years ago, and today Tenley has amassed an enviable array of awards. Life around the Winklers’ Gatesville home has changed, too.

Tenley, a student at Gatesville Intermediate, travels to and from Temple five days each week for her arduous 4-hour gymnastics workouts. Tiffany, employed full time as a pharmaceutical rep, and dad Brent, a director of construction for an Austin-based company, juggle Tenley’s schedule as well as 9-year old Tripp’s. He’s a third grader at Gatesville Elementary. The family has two dogs as well as a pair of cats, and Tiffany’s parents, who live close by, often assist with transporting Tenley back and forth to Temple.

An articulate, engaging girl, Tenley says her favorite school subject is math, the best restaurant is Chili’s and her mom’s home-cooked spaghetti can’t be beat. “I like to swim and love being outdoors,” she adds. Listening to pop and country music as well as creating TikTok short-form videos are some of her spare time pursuits.

Her remarkable gymnastics history began with Tenley initially competing at Level 3, skipping the first two levels of the 1 through 10 ratings. Those first competitions, held under the auspices of the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation (TAAF), had Tenley scheduled to compete against girls at her rating level, even if they were years older. After three seasons, her competitions were switched and are currently administered by USA Gymnastics, the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States, responsible for selecting and training teams for the Olympic Games and World Championships.

“That means that now I only compete at my stage,” Tenley says. “It’s based on skill level and age.” Her first competitive season was revelatory, Tiffany comments. “She won everything and skipped ahead to level 5.”

Gymnastics “meet season” runs from January through May with four regular qualifying meets: State in April and Regional in May. Tenley’s 2022 State meet was one she and her family won’t soon forget.

“It was Tenley’s Level 7 competition,” Tiffany remembers. “We drove to Frisco, Texas the night before the meet, and Tenley had severe stomach pains and was throwing up.” The day of her meet found Tenley in the hospital undergoing an emergency appendectomy. After eight days, she was released and told to take a full two weeks off.

Fully recovered, Tenley competes in vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. “My favorite event is floor,” she says, “and I probably need more improvement in bars.” In addition to coach Joella Reinhardt, Natasha Matveeva, who was associated with the then-Soviet Union Olympic Team years ago, has mentored Tenley. “Natasha develops the choreography for my floor routine,” Tenley says, explaining that it’s judged for artistry and dance technique. Tenley creates her own individual beam routine.

Tenley plans on at least a couple of more years in gymnastics. “I want to do other sports as I get older - triple jump, pole vault, plus volleyball,” she remarks. She’s won first place awards in UIL Oral Reading competition and is interested in theater, too. “I’m really enjoying choir at school now,” she adds.

Does gymnastics play a role in her future? “Well, I might coach a little when I’m in high school,” she says, mentioning a career as a physician for a long term goal. “But I really don’t do well with blood,” she laughs. “So maybe I’ll be an anesthesiologist. They get paid well.”