My daughter is a rhythmic gymnast and her dream is to compete in the Olympic Games. Athletes who want to be the best, watch the best. She spends hours watching athletes like Camilla Feeley, Nastasya Generalova, and Laura Zeng, trying to capture what makes them so special that they are at the top of their sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One evening, she ran into my room with the computer with her usual high pitched “look mommy!” Expecting to see yet another European championship routine, I made room for her and the laptop on my bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Mommy! They have rhythmic gymnastics for people with special needs too! Look!” She went on to tell me that there were lots of routines online, how good they were, and how she’d love to have programs like that for everybody at her gym one day (that is her plan after she retires – to open a gym like her idol Wendy Hilliard). We watched a few videos and she trotted back to her room like she always does, to watch her rhythmic videos in peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When she saw that the Special Olympics World Games had rolled around, she sat with me for what seemed like hours looking for any rhythmic gymnastics videos she could find. We watched clips from track, we watched clips from soccer – volleyball, basketball, every sport you can think of – except rhythmic. Eventually we gave up, but I could tell she was disappointed. She wanted to see the best performing from all skill levels. We did go through and see who won though. Nobody from the Caribbean won any rhythmic competitions at the Special Olympics World Games. Like me, she’s always on the look out for winners from the Caribbean too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n