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When people think of physiotherapy, they often think of athletes who've sustained injuries on the field, ice or track. Truth is, physio can help most anyone who has suffered an injury and even those who want to prevent one. Physio is helpful for people from all walks of life.
Tamara is a very accomplished trampoline gymnast. In seven years of world competitions, her sport has taken her across North America and to New Zealand, the Netherlands, Russia, France, England, Australia and, most recently, Bulgaria.
We sat down with Tamara to learn about her career, her sport and the time she has spent at Royal City Physio.
RCP: How long have you been competing? I have been competing in gymnastics from the age of 7. Internationally, I have been competing from the age of 11. I am now almost 18 and still love to go out and compete. RCP: How did you get started trampoline gymnastics? I started with artistic gymnastics and was not old enough to compete at our provincial championships in that category, so my coach thought it would be interesting to let me compete in trampoline where I could. I ended up sticking with trampoline since the age of 8. It was something I really enjoyed to do, and was a lot more fun for me opposed to artistic gymnastics. RCP: How do you train?
An average day in the gym begins with a warm up. From there, we condition before hitting the equipment. Once we do hit the equipment, we practice our routines then conclude our trainings with a cool down. Depending on the day we train anywhere between two and four hours. RCP: Where do you train? I currently train at TAG Sports Centre located in Poco. I've been with my coach Barb Fraser since I was 7 years old. RCP: What has trampoline gymnastics taught you? Being a trampoline gymnast has really taught me a lot. Being able to travel the world doing what I love has showed me many different cultures and how to be a seasoned traveler. I have also learned a lot of discipline and, through all my training, I feel that has taught me how to be driven and motivated. It has also taught me a work ethic; that you have to really put in the work if you want to achieve your goals. Nothing comes without hard work and my experience has taught me that hard work really does pay off. RCP: How has Saqib helped you in your competitive career? I first came to Saqib in August of 2013 because of an injury I had in my foot. It was quite bad and I really didn't know where it left me for the rest of the season. With Saqib’s help, we were able to rehab it almost back to normal and I was able to qualify for the 2013 World Championships as a senior athlete. I ended up winning a gold medal at the World Age Group Championships for Power Tumbling. More recently, I’ve been back at RC Physio due to a bad ankle sprain. Saqib has been able to help me be back in shape to compete at the World Championships this November in Daytona Beach, Florida. RCP: What do you like most about Royal City Physio? Throughout my career, I have been to many different physio clinics and physiotherapists, but I’ve never really looking forward to going to until I came into RC Physio. I love pretty much everything about Royal City. It’s so comfortable in there and everyone is so friendly. I actually look forward to going into physio now and the treatment in there has been like no other place I’ve been to before. Karen and Saqib always greet me with warm smiles and they really care about how I am doing. Without the help of Saqib and the Royal City staff, I really don't know if I would have accomplished some of my more recent successes. Royal City Physio is truly amazing!
Take a look at the long list of Tamara's accomplishments since 2007. We wish her best of luck at next month's world championship in Daytona Beach.
WAG team member 2007 - Quebec City, Canada
National Champion Double mini 2008- Calgary, Alberta
Indo Pacific Champion Double mini and tumbling 2008- Rotarua, New Zealand
Indo Pacific Team Member (Team Canada) 2008- Rotarua, New Zealand
Attended World Cup as Team Canada for trampoline (Flower Cup) - Aalsmeer, Netherlands
National Champion Double Mini and Tumbling 2009- Hamilton, Ontario
WAG Team member 2009- St. Petersburg, Russia
WAG Finalist, Synchronized Trampoline 2009- St. Petersburg, Russia
WAG Team Member 2010- Metz, France
WAG Finalist, Double Mini 2010 - Metz, France
WAG Team Member 2011- Birmingham, England
WAG Finalist Double Mini and tumbling 2011- Birmingham, England
National Champion, Double mini and tumbling 2012- Regina, Saskatchewan
Indo Pacific Team Member 2012- Sydney, Australia
Indo Pacific Champion Tumbling 2012- Sydney, Australia
Senior National Team member 2013
World Championship Team member 2013 - Sofia, Bulgaria
World Championship Silver medalist, Double mini Team finals 2013- Sofia, Bulgaria
WAG Team member 2013- Sofia, Bulgaria
WAG Tumbling Champion 2013- Sofia Bulgaria
Coquitlam Sports Wall of Fame member 2013
Senior National Team member 2014
Named to World championship team 2014- Daytona Beach, USA (In November)
WAG (World Age Group) is the world championships for everyone at a junior level; World Championships is the world championships for everyone at a senior level.