Defying Gravity | Ella Ramsey
Gymnastics holds a distinct position in sports for being an art form as well as an athletic pursuit. You do not play gymnastics or square off against an opponent to achieve success; the objective is to perform in a way that meets the judged criteria on a technical level. To truly excel, gymnasts portray emotions and movements in a routine that makes it uniquely their own.
At the tender age of eleven years old, Ella Ramsey has already devoted four years of her life to gymnastics. Like many children, she got her start by doing flips and other feats at home and with her friends. Ella fell in love with the sport when one of her peers invited her to ‘Bring A Friend Day’ at Jana’s Gymnastics in Plymouth, Indiana.
After two years of practice, Ella was allowed to join the gym’s team, allowing her to participate in competitions after reaching a certain skill level. She has since attended competitions all over Indiana while earning multiple medals and participation awards. While Ella loves receiving awards, she admits that she is equally excited by perks given at competitions that include t-shirts, pins, and leotards.
Ella says that the vault and bars are her favorite, but she has also been working on her aerial flip, a cartwheel with no hands, for her floor routine. Not surprisingly, these types of moves can lead to mishaps, like the broken foot she received as a result of doing a back walkover last fall. The injury put her out of commission for four months, but she has since returned to practice three days a week, two hours each day at Jana’s Gymnastics.
Beyond the gym, Ella is also an excellent artist whose work has graced Main Street in Rochester as one of the winners in the annual downtown banner contest. However, her appreciation of her favorite gymnast, Olympian Simone Biles, and her love of the movie Full Out, the true story of another Olympian who overcame adversity, certainly hints that her destiny lies in continuing to defy gravity as she defies expectations.