All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
Niwot's Emerson Scott (right) won two gold medals at the USA Gymnastics National Trampoline and Tumbling Championships. Emerson Scott is pictured here after winning first place Solo Trampoline, Open 22+ Division, with second-place finisher Toby Scott from Washington state (no relation to Emerson Scott). The pair teamed up to win the championship in synchronized trampoline.
Emerson Scott executes a back flip.
Niwot resident Emerson Scott may be the perfect example of how one can accomplish more when enjoyment is prioritized over results.
As the saying goes, work becomes play, and for Scott, his "play" resulted in a pair of national titles at the USA Gymnastics National Trampoline and Tumbling Championships in late June. Scott teamed up with Seattle's Toby Scott to win the open 22+ skill/age category synchronized trampoline before earning gold again in the individual trampoline event.
The 22-year-old University of Colorado Boulder undergraduate said that with his partner living in Washington, they organized their entire routine virtually through exchanging texts and video. Their first time performing together in-person didn't come until regionals, which preceded the nationals competition in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
For the Colorado Scott, who developed a passion for trampoline while growing up in California, the gold medal marked his first in five years attending nationals.
"I've never really seen myself as a big competitor, so it's really neat," he said.
Scott and his former partner were then pitted against each other in the individual trampoline competition. In his optional routine, which is judged based on skill difficulty, Scott said that he was most proud of his first flip, the rudi out pike.
"I struggled with them for a while," Scott said of the skill, which is essentially a double front flip in the pike (folded in half at the hips) position. "For it to come out clean in competition made me pretty happy."
With the help of his strong rudi out pike, his 134.16 total points topped the field.
Scott is now eligible to try out for the USA Gymnastics Senior Elite level. He's currently working on mastering and submitting proof that he can perform the required skills.
In regard to his training, "It's very unorganized," he said. "Four or five days out of the week, I'll just pick a time to go outside when the weather's nice and tramp for a few hours."
Additionally, Scott started his own team, Free Solo Trampoline, and recruited both coach Melissa Zamora and British Columbia athlete Kyna Airriess to join.
Reader Comments(0)