Superior Gymnastics's Piper Meneguzzo warms up on the balance beam at the club's home gym in Laurium. Superior hosted a meet with West End Gymnastics from Negaunee on Saturday. (Eddie O’Neill/For the Gazette)

LAURIUM — Superior Gymnastics in Laurium was the place to be on Saturday for family and friends of Copper Country gymnastics. The local gym hosted West End Gymnastics club from Negaunee for a meet in three age-groups or divisions.

West End coach Bridget Johnson brought around 35 girls to this fun competition. The host team, Superior Gymnastics, had around 16 girls participating.

While she and her team travel a lot to meets and competitions in downstate Michigan, the aspect of staying local in the U.P. was certainly a key element in this meet.

“We are usually traveling five to nine hours away,” Johnson stated. “That means that a lot of families cannot come.”

DeeAnna Gariepy agreed. She is the coach of Superior Gymnastics. They too are a traveling team – mainly to meets in Wisconsin.

“I think today is a great opportunity for the community to see all the hard work these girls put into this,” said Gariepy. “It takes a lot a of dedication from both the athletes and the parents.”

She added that it is good to show off for the community all their hard work.

First up were the littlest gymnasts from age three to six.

Both coaches summed their 10 a.m. performances as simply cute.

“They were fantastic,” stated Johnson with a smile.

Next came the silver group consisting of girls from 7-11. Last, but not least, were the gold and platinum girls. They ranged in age from 12-14.

All the girls participated in four events. They included the balance beam, vault, uneven bars and floor routine.

When all was said and done, both coaches chalked this event up as a success.

“We got a lot of positive feedback from those who attended,” noted Gariepy. “All the gymnasts did a great job, and were able to show off their routines and time they have dedicated to not just the judges, but to their family and friends who came. We definitely plan on doing this again with West End Gymnastics.”

Superior Gymnastics’s Kinsley Hamlin works her routine on the uneven bars Saturday at the club’s home gym in Laurium. Superior hosted a meet with West End Gymnastics from Negaunee. (Eddie O’Neill/For the Gazette)