BEACON FALLS — One final time, Woodland’s Kristina Poynton will be all by herself.
The senior gymnast will represent the Hawks as a team of one this winter on the vault, bars, beam and floor. She’ll train with Pomperaug but compete as an individual — which comes with an added perk for Poynton.
“I love how I can design my own competition (leotard) and I can show it off at all of the competitions,” Poynton said.
In the past, Poynton had company with her twin sister, Stephanie, competing alongside her. But with her sister on the indoor track team this winter, Kristina will be the lone Hawk in the gym — something that she doesn’t mind.
“I find it really exciting because it can help me meet new people from other teams and form stronger bonds between all of us,” she said.
Poynton said she trains at Kinetic Kids in Oxford and started with her sister when they were 2 years old at the urging of their father, who was a high school gymnast.
“He knew we would enjoy it just as much as he did,” Poynton said.
While a gymnast might look flashy while performing skills in competition, Poynton said there are so many difficult aspects about the sport — and not just physical ones.
“A lot of hard work goes into being a gymnast because you have to really learn how to balance your school life with your gymnastics life and make sure to get all of your homework done and be able to get practice in,” she said.
Then there’s the physical component of the sport, which demands a great deal of strength, flexibility and endurance from muscles that many people don’t realize they have.
“Flexibility and conditioning are really important because they pretty much shape how your gymnastics are going to turn out,” Poynton said. “If you don’t put as much effort into your conditioning, then you won’t have enough strength to hold yourself up and it will be harder to get more intense skills. You have to be able to use all different parts of your body at one time, so it’s a lot of coordination.”
Poynton said she doesn’t necessarily have a goal in mind when it comes to winning events or entering high-level competitions. Instead, her goals are more personal.
“I’m hoping to push myself harder than I did before to get more difficult skills to compete with,” Poynton said.
Poynton’s first meet of the season will be Jan. 5 at the Pomperaug Invitational.
“I find it really exciting because it can help me meet new people from other teams and form stronger bonds between all of us.”
