Sky Corbett-Methot
2009 Gymnix: 11th AA, 4th BB
2008 Elite Canada: 9th AA, 6th BB
2007 Elite Canada (Junior): 3rd AA, 4th BB
2007 Canadian Championships (Junior): 4th AA, 7th V, 6th UB, 5th BB, 4th FX
2006 Canadian Championships (Novice): 7th AA, 3rd BB, 8th FX
2006 BC Gymnastics Championships (Novice): 2nd AA, 1st V, 2nd UB, 1st BB, 7th FX
2005 Canadian Championships (Novice): 9th AA, T4th BB
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Sky Corbett-Methot Excels in
Diving
After Retiring from Competitive Gymnastics
Photo courtesy of Sky Corbett-Methot
There comes a time when every gymnast needs to hang up the grips.
Some retire, their bodies unable to cope with the rigorous demands.
Others discover that their heart isn't in the sport anymore. A lucky few
reach the ultimate goal of competing in an Olympic Games, or even
medalling.
A member of the Canadian National Gymnastics Team, Sky Corbett-Methot
was forced to abandon the sport in 2009. In this Gymn.ca exclusive, she
opens up about the heart break of injury and later finding success in a
new sport!
Gymn.ca:
When and why did you decide to leave gymnastics?
I left gymnastics in 2009
due to a severe knee injury. After years of tearing different ligaments
in my knees, my body just couldn’t handle it anymore. It happened a
week before nationals. I was at a training camp and crushed my growth
plate on a vault landing. I felt like my body let me down, it betrayed
me, I constantly thought “how could my body do this to me when I love
this sport so much”. I couldn’t walk and during that time I didn’t
return to gym. I let my body heal as well as my mind. As soon as the
injury occurred I must admit I knew I was done but I was in denial and
had to seriously contempt my decision on what to do with my future. If I
continued gym there was a large chance my growth plate would close
pre-maturely leaving me with one leg four inches shorter then the other
leg. Or pursue another sport where the repercussions weren’t as
severe. Finally I came to the logical conclusion that it was time to
move on. It was a confusing time but my parents really supported me and
built me back up because I did feel broken. My coach really tried to
change my mind; she wasn’t ready to see me go and knew I wasn’t
quite there yet either. Though once my decision was made, as difficult
as it was, it was final.
Gymn.ca:
When and how did you discover diving?
All hope for me wasn’t
lost. I discovered diving. My favorite thing about gymnastics was the
flipping. So while I was recovering from my crushed knee I thought to
myself “what other sport can I flip in and not hurt my knees in?”
Ariel ski jump was out of the question, but then I mentally flipped
through all the Olympic sports and found diving. It was perfect it
didn’t have the harsh take offs and landings that gymnastics did but
it still requires one to flip. My mom instantly contacted dive BC and I
started diving that following September. My first year of diving was
more of a transition year. I started competing at a national level this
year. I qualified and competed at senior nationals, which was one of my
goals. I realized I could be competitive when my coaches told me to
compete; it was as simple as that. I trust them and their decisions. I
mostly do spring board, which consists of 1 and 3 meter, but I have
started to do platform, which is 5, 7.5, and 10 meter. The height on
platform is quite intimidating so I’ve slowly started practicing off
them. But for a gymnast tower is quicker to adapt to because it compares
more to a floor then a springboard does.
Gymn.ca:
What was the biggest adjustment, switching from diving to
gymnastics?
The biggest adjustment of
switching from gymnastics to diving would be the standard attempt to
“stick it” in gym to landing headfirst. Once that adjustment is made
I found using the spring to be quite difficult. I’ve now been in
diving for 2 years and sometimes still have troubles with that. To go
from using your legs to beat a board or tumbling on a spring floor to a
massive board that shoots you up is quite awkward to say the least.
Eight years of vault, floor, and beam have been drilled in my head so
this adjustment was and is difficult. But the challenge is a very fun
one. Another common mistake I tend to struggle with is; in gymnastics
it’s all about presentation that leads to an arch whereas in diving
you want to be a straight line to avoid any splash. In the beginning it
was very obvious I was gymnast turned diver due to my alignment in the
air and when entering the water. Though I am getting there the more I
practice the more of a diver I become.
Gymn.ca:
What do you hope to accomplish in diving?
My initial goal in diving was to get a scholarship to the states. This
was because I wanted to continue to do the sport I love as well as get
my education paid for. That was actually my secondary goal in gymnastics
so I carried my dream over diving. Now that my goal has been
accomplished I have to work on new goals once I arrive in Texas.
Gymn.ca:
When and where are you off to Texas for NCAA?
I leave for Texas on the 9th of August. My school is Southern Methodist
University in Dallas. (It’s a division 1 school in the NCAA)
Gymn.ca:
Do you keep in touch with many people from the world of
gymnastics? Do you follow results online, or what competitions on TV?
Yes of course I talk to people from the gymnastics world still. A lot of my friends trained with me, we grew up together and nothing can change that.
:) I follow some results such as Nationals and the big competitions such as Worlds and the Olympics. That’s honestly it for following gymnastics; as much as I love it I’m not as addicted as I once was. However; when I am in a gymnastics facility I go crazy, I turn into a monkey like I used to be and can still do quite a lot of the skills. It’s not as clean or as easy as it used to be but nonetheless it’s an amazing feeling to know I can still do it. In the end I know my decision was the right one and much as I miss it, it was time for me to move on. I’m quite happy with where my life has taken me.
:)
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and its photos. Provide a link
to the interview, rather than copying and pasting elsewhere. Thank you!
http://www.mrtimes.com/sports/Athlete+swaps+pool/5195531/story.html
Diving videos:
http://youtu.be/P_ecsnK_Hh8
http://youtu.be/sfESJ-7SOXE
Gymnastics videos:
http://youtu.be/2MUscLDmGRw
http://youtu.be/dfKAC8lj6t8
Interview conducted August 2011
