Samantha Smith of New Westminster’s Shasta Trampoline Club recently captured vital Olympic qualification points for Canada while competing in the Trampoline Gymnastics World Cup Circuit.

The Trampoline Gymnastics World Cup Circuit is comprised of six competitions, and the Baku World Cup was the fifth out of of those six. Countries participating in the World Cup Circuit can earn points towards competition spots at the Olympics. The final Cup is at the end of April in Brescia, Italy.

“The World Cup at the end of April will be the last one in the circuit so I think we’ll have a really good idea of how many spots will be awarded to Canada for the Olympics,” states Smith.

Smith currently holds the women’s world difficulty record from the 2016 World Cup, where she performed a skill called a ‘half triffus pike’. 

“The neat thing about how I did that skill is that some of the boys do it, and they usually put it at the middle or end of their routine, because it’s a backwards skill. Usually you start your routine with the forward skill, but I started the other way with a backwards flip,” recalls Smith. 

Smith is mindful of the energy exerted during training, and has a laser focus on specific skills and routines leading up to competitions. 

Training-wise, Smith sticks to a specific regimen that has proved successful in past competitions. 

“I build my training volume up in the weeks prior to a competition,” says Smith, “one week before the competition I’ll bring the volume of my routines down a little bit, and then the week of the competition I’ll bring it down further.”

All eyes will be on Samantha Smith at the Brescia World Cup from April 24-25, determining whether Canada will earn an additional spot to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.