Making History with Team Canada

I remember it like it was yesterday, when my little sister started doing gymnastics before me and was doing flips all over the house. She was having the time of her life – not a care in the world.

I was extremely jealous.

I wanted to do gymnastics and have that much fun, too.

From that moment on, gymnastics has played a major role in my life. It’s all I’ve ever really wanted to do.

Gymnastics is what I love.

I have to admit, though, there was a time when I wasn’t sure if gymnastics loved me back. There was something missing, and it was affecting my passion for the sport.

I made the decision to enroll at the University of Nebraska and compete in gymnastics beginning in the 21-22 season. I was hoping that competing in the NCAA would help me find my passion for the sport again.

I knew it would be challenging – and fairly uncommon – to compete internationally and at the NCAA level.

To become a better gymnast and regain my love for gymnastics and competing again, it was my hope that being a Husker would get me out of the rut that I was in.

My Gymnastics Family

 

I’m from Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, so needless to say, I knew I’d have some adjustments to make once I arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska.

For starters, all my classes back home were in French. 

Here in the States, obviously everything is in English, so it took some time for me to differentiate the wording and terms that I grew up learning in Canada.

It was also a little scary moving to a new country and not knowing anyone, but it was a discomfort I was willing to embrace.

I needed a change.

More specifically, I needed to be part of a team.

Competing internationally, it can be very individual-based. I was used to competing for my country against my own teammates to try to be the best in the world.

At Nebraska, I’m competing for the school. I’m competing with my teammates instead of against them.

My teammates are there for me at practice cheering me on, offering me advice, and showing their support. 

And I do the same for them.

I absolutely love it.

The team aspect here at Nebraska is by far what I love most about competing at the collegiate level.

It’s the most fun I’ve had competing in gymnastics, and it helped reignite my love for the sport again.

Gymnastics can be such a lonely sport at times, especially when you’re struggling like I was, but with my teammates and all the great people I’m surrounded by at Nebraska, I know they’re there for me every step of the way — whether it’s my best competition or my worst.

Throughout my freshman season, for the first time in what felt like forever, I truly enjoyed competing and had an absolute blast doing so, no matter the outcome.

A World of Opportunity

 

When I arrived at Nebraska, I initially made the decision that I wasn’t going to focus on international competition or Team Canada. 

I was going to center my attention on being a student-athlete at Nebraska.

After my freshman season, though, like I said, I was in such a better place mentally. I loved gymnastics again, and I wasn’t quite ready to be finished competing until next season.

I ended up qualifying and competing at the 2022 Commonwealth Games this past summer in England.

Not only was it an incredible experience for me, but it was one of the best performances I’ve ever had.

I credit much of the success I had there to the healthy environment at Nebraska. It’s amazing how much a positive attitude and surrounding myself with the right people can impact my performance.

After the Commonwealth Games, I came back to Lincoln, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to compete in the 2022 World Championships later this year.

That feeling when you get back on the Commonwealth Games podium 🙌

Canadian gymnast Emma Spence captured her third bronze medal of the Games following the women's balance beam final and her reaction couldn't have been any better 🇨🇦❤️ pic.twitter.com/WiiuVZq8Pg

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 2, 2022

Once I talked to my coaches, and they saw how well I did at the Commonwealth Games and all the confidence I had gained, they convinced me to give it a shot.

Unfortunately, in the days leading up to the World Trials, I got terribly sick and wasn’t able to compete or travel.

I was incredibly heartbroken and disappointed. Since I competed so well at Commonwealth, I thought my chances of making Team Canada and competing at Worlds were fairly high.

I also realized there wasn’t anything I could do about it. Sulking and feeling sorry for myself wasn’t going to change anything.

I started focusing on NCAA gymnastics again, and about a week before Worlds, Team Canada called me to let me know that one of the girls got injured. They wanted me to take her spot.

Wow, talk about overwhelming.

And stressful.

Still, this was an opportunity I didn’t think was even possible. I wasn’t about to let it get away from me.

I quickly got my routines together, joined my team in Montreal for training, and set off to England for two and a half weeks to show everyone what Canada is made of at Worlds.

Super excited to be competing at Worlds representing Canada & Husker nation!! Glad to go through this experience with my girl Csenge!! 🥰 Went from international competitors to NCAA teammates, now back on the international stage again at the same meet! ❤️ https://t.co/1hgQYPBzq2

— Emma Spence (@Emma_spence13) October 19, 2022

Making History

 

For Team Canada, we faced quite a bit of adversity going into the competition at Worlds. Due to injuries and other outstanding circumstances, we didn’t have our best or most complete team.

In a strange way, it worked in our favor. Instead of focusing our attention on the other competitors, we focused on each other.

We were determined to use the adversity we faced to make us stronger and stay mentally sharp.

Throughout the competition, the top eight teams make it the team final. We ended up coming in at number eight, just squeaking in by less than 0.3 of a point.

Again, rather than get down on ourselves about this and lose hope in our chances of medaling, we used it to our advantage.

Our mindset going into the final was, of, well, we can’t do any worse than eighth place. Let’s just go out there to compete and have some fun.

And that’s exactly what we did.

Every country had a fall in the team final except us. We exceeded expectations and defied the odds. 

We didn’t even keep track of the scoring throughout the competition – we were so focused on bringing out the best in each other. We were the only team that improved their score from qualification.

So, when we saw we officially finished in third place and earned a bronze medal, we lost our minds.

It was insane, in all the best ways.

To say I had a role in being a part of the first Canadian women’s gymnastics team to win a medal at Worlds is something I never thought would happen to me.

We made history.

One more time for our bronze medallists 🥉 #ArtWrolds2022 #WGC2022 pic.twitter.com/blxqN5wCoj

— Gymnastics Canada (@gymcan1) November 4, 2022

And I don’t think I would’ve been able to have the impact I had at Commonwealth or Worlds without the lessons I learned in Lincoln.

Yes, winning is the goal and what every athlete strives for.

But if you don’t have the love and passion for the sport, it makes the concept of winning seem kind of pointless.

That’s what my time at Nebraska so far has taught me, and I feel incredibly blessed that this new outlook has improved my performances and regained my love for gymnastics.

Going forward, thanks to the incredible people I’m surrounded by, I’ll continue to love this sport I first fell in love with when my sister was doing flips around the living room.

Whether I stick the landing or not.