Ultimate Gymnastics release follows:
THUNDER BAY -- Local gymnastics club Ultimate Gymnastics has its man, so to speak.
After saying goodbye last summer to Mirela Bica, the only head coach the club had known in its two year existence, co-owner Greg Balec has announced Cheronne Viljoen will take the reins after a worldwide search he said spanned the far reaches of the planet.
Viljoen, a 30 year old native of Krugersdorp, South Africa, comes to the club boasting an impressive resume that includes representing her country as an athlete at the 2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Anaheim, and as part of the high performance coaching tandem that delivered South African gymnast Bianca Mann to the 2014 World Championships.
Ultimate Gymnastics launched its search for a coach in July 2016 and immediately hit it off with Viljoen, offering her the position that saw several highly qualified applicants vie for the post from as far away as Australia, Russia, Iran and the Ukraine.
“Cheronne visited us for two weeks in September and we instantly and mutually recognized she was more than the perfect fit to grow the club and our athletes, and, after staying the course through several months of government delays and hurdles in both countries, I am relieved to have the paperwork in hand that will see her land on Canadian soil sometime in the next couple weeks”, said Ultimate Gymnastics co-owner Greg Balec”. “I am honoured to be able to bring in an amazing coach, and even better person, not to mention someone of this caliber, to guide our current and future athletes to new heights, the likes of which have never been experienced in this region before… the sky’s the limit” added Balec.
Balec, no stranger to hiring foreign coaches through his work in baseball, worked tirelessly and closely for several months with staff from the office of local Liberal MP Don Rusnak, Immigration Officials both in Canada and South Africa, and Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce President Charla Robinson, who graciously arranged a one-on-one meeting with a visiting government official to ensure proper procedures and regulations were being followed in order to successfully facilitate the hiring.
Balec added his athletes will be afforded new and unique opportunities in the not-too-distant future that could include travel to international competitions, and, gymnastics exchanges with Viljoen’s former club in South Africa.
For more information on Ultimate Gymnastics programs and classes please visit www.ultimategymnastics.ca or call 344-3547.
