A pair of Maple Ridge athletes are hoping to spring their way to gold as they represent Canada at the World Trampoline Championships.

Sienna Kuznak, 16, and Jordyn Schmidt, 15, left Saturday, Nov. 11, for the competition, being held this year in Birmingham, England.

This will be the second time Kuznak and Schmidt have been named to team Canada for this competition. Last year, the competition was held in Sofia, Bulgaria. Both finished in the middle of the pack. But, it opened their eyes to the possibility of being a finalist at this level, this year, said their coach, Rusty Pierce, on a fundraising page he started in order to raise money to cover their travel costs.

Competition for the girls starts on Thursday, Nov. 16.

Both girls train three hours, four days a week, at Flip City Gymnastics Club in 91原创.

鈥淭hey started training as kids in Maple Ridge,鈥� about seven or eight years ago, explained Pierce to The News. When the club closed down during the pandemic, they began training in 91原创.

Pierce has been coaching them for the last two to three years and he is hoping that the girls will be able to make top eight in the world.

There are four categories in trampoline gymnastics: individual trampoline; synchronised trampoline; double mini trampoline; and tumbling.

Both will be competing in the double mini, individual and synchronised. The double mini they are ranked number one and two in Canada, in synchronized they are ranked first, and in individual they are ranked second and third in the country.

鈥淭rampoline is tough,鈥� said their coach, noting there are 65 girls in their category and only eight will go to the finals in their age group, 15-16 years. An additional eight for the 13-14 year age group will also go to finals 鈥� and combined those 16 will be competing this year in the first ever junior world championships.

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Canada has always been a strong country in the sport of trampoline, at the World, and Olympic level, explained Pierce online, noting that Canada has won medals at all but one Olympic Games, since trampoline was introduced, in 2000.

Gold medal trampoline athlete Rosie MacLennan is the only Canadian athlete from any sport, to repeat as Olympic champion, he added.

鈥淢aking the Canadian team is no easy chore, and these girls have the goal of being on the senior team in the next few years,鈥� wrote Pierce.

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Pierce is hoping to raise money to ease the financial pressure on the athletes for the costs of travelling to England 鈥� a cost expected to be around $4,000 for each athlete as there is no funding from their governing body in trampoline for these athletes 鈥� only senior athletes are eligible for any financial help, explained Pierce.

鈥淏oth girl鈥檚 families have already spent a great deal of money this year, sending the girls to Montreal, and Edmonton for trials, this season,鈥� wrote Pierce online, and they come from families with other children, with expenses adding up to be a considerable amount.

鈥淚 would love for them to feel some encouragement from any former athletes, coaches, friends, etc, by receiving donations to help cover a portion of this trip. Please consider donating, and encourage these dedicated young athletes.鈥�

As of Friday, Nov. 10, 11 donations have been made to raise $2,950 of a $5,000 goal.

To donate go to: .

For more information about the competition go to: .