Local gymnast Brylie Davidson recently placed first in a regional gymnastics competition in Kissimmee, nearly making the cut to travel to a national tournament in Texas. Davidson, 8, flipped and whipped her way to the top with a tumbling routine that wowed the judges and scored her the medal in Level 7 competition, and her double mini routine won her the Level 6 reserve championship.
Tell me a little about the competition.
I really like it. They work us really hard. Our coaches are very good, and I follow everything that they tell me to do.
Was this your first time competing in a big-time event?
No, I’ve competed in more competitions.
How long have you been doing gymnastics?
For about four years now.
What made you want to get into it?
What made me get into it was that they were teaching me lots of new things, and new tricks to do. The flips — I love the tumbling the best because I get to do these flips.
What made you want to try gymnastics for the first time?
My dad was wondering what sport I wanted to do, and I picked gymnastics because I already did ballet. I practiced at home, kind of, and then I wanted to do it actually advanced.
What’s your favorite event to compete in?
My favorite event is tumbling. There’s tumbling, there’s double mini, and there’s also trampoline.
What’s double mini?
Double mini is a small trampoline that you jump on, and you do some flips on there, and then you jump off.
If you could play any other sport, what would it be?
Soccer.
Do you have a favorite gymnast, one that you look up to?
I look up to my coaches, and I also look up to my friends.
Where do you train?
Elite World, in Lakeland.
When you’re not doing gymnastics, what do you do for fun?
Gymnastics in the yard. I also ride on my horses, and I also watch TV.
Do you do eventing stuff with your horse, or do you just like to ride?
I like to ride her, and I also balance on her like a balance beam.
Can you balance on her while she’s walking?
We had to do that to see if I could balance really good on the pony, to get to cantering.
Where do you go to school?
Cork Elementary.
What’s your favorite subject?
Math. I just like adding and subtracting, and doing regrouping.
What’s your favorite TV show?
“Jessie.”
If you could meet any famous person, who would you want to meet?
I would actually want to meet the Black Widow girl, on “The Avengers.”
Why Black Widow?
Because whenever Hulk flipped her over, if she was a regular person, and not, like, really strong, she would have died.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Flying. I would do flips and stuff, up in the air.
What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done in a gymnastics routine?
The whips. It’s when you do a back handspring, but with no hands.
How many can you do in a row?
Sometimes I only do a round-off back handspring whip, and then I do another whip.
