Hosting the Canadian National Rope Skipping Championships is a colossal undertaking, and the state of Deirdre DeGagné's voice on Monday evening bore witness to that fact.
As the fourth and final day of the event wound down at the University of the Fraser Valley's Envision Athletic Centre, all that remained of DeGagné's voice was a hoarse whisper.
But had she been able to, there was plenty for the head coach of Abbotsford's Skipping Sensations team to cheer about.
The national championships drew 334 athletes from coast to coast, including a few from the Seattle area – an outstanding turnout.
And the Skipping Sensations took full advantage of the chance to perform in front of friends and family, combining for an eye-popping medal haul.
"It was a big undertaking, and I think it went exceptionally well," DeGagné summarized.
"It's certainly nice to compete at home for a change, because the athletes are more focused and rested. They don't have to deal with jet lag and time changes and all of that stuff. It's also nice to have such a well-attended event when it's in B.C."
The Skipping Sensations fared tremendously well in the overall team standings, medaling in each age group, highlighted by first-, second- and fourth-place finishes from its three teams in the age 12-14 category. Additionally, the age 10-11 and 15-17 teams both won gold in their respective divisions, while the nine-and-under squad earned silver and the senior team took bronze.
The Skipping Sensations' group routines also sparkled – the junior and intermediate teams took gold, and the seniors took silver.
A bushel of individual medals was highlighted by Arden Mills's overall victory in the age 15-17 category.
"That's a huge age group with a really high skill level," DeGagné noted.
Craig Van Herk, president of Rope Skipping Canada, said the national event at UFV was "fantastic."
"We had more athletes attend than we've had in a number of years, we had more parents than we've had in a number of years, and we had more spectators off the street come in," he said.
"And with the live streaming from UFV here, we had people from literally all over the world tweeting and emailing and getting in touch with us, letting us know they were watching. It was an incredibly successful competition."
This year's national competition marked the third time Abbotsford and the Skipping Sensations have played host.
The Skipping Sensations have a series of big events coming up – the senior team is going to Florida in July for the "World Jump Rope" competition and camp, and they're sending a contingent to the International Rope Skipping Federation world championships in Hong Kong in August.