The 2020 Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse are inching ever closer. Starting in November and picking up steam in December, the teams for the 21 sports have held their trials.

On Dec. 6, gymnastics held their trials. They had nine athletes try out for four spots. To compete at the Games, the gymnasts have to be Junior Olympic (JO) 6 having never competed at a higher level.

"JO 6 is the start of the higher levels, in JO 1-5 it's compulsory so they compete the same routines," said Stephanie Caron, who will be coaching the team at the Games. "The routines change a little bit, they get harder and the requirements get a fair bit different. It's a big jump from compulsory routines to JO 6."

Kimberly Jones, the Polarettes’ head coach, said three of the athletes, Mackenzie Tonner, Camille Belanger and Adria Gallina, have been JO 6 for a year. Jenna Henderson got the final spot.

"They are nearly ready to move on and after Arctics, they will probably start exploring the next levels of the sport," said Jones. "The fourth spot was really up for grabs. The athletes were all brand new to level six and Jenna snagged it."

It was a big success for gymnastics to have nine athletes try out, something Jones said they haven't had to do in the past.

"That's a pressure that our team isn't used to having," said Jones. "That was something big for them to plan for. It was a high-pressure-meet. Probably the highest pressure meet they'll have all season because they all wanted to make the team.

"I think it taught them to be competitive and Stephanie and I spent three months teaching them how to be supportive teammates. How to win with grace and lose with grace."

Some of the athletes really pushed to make it to JO 6 so they could make a run at a spot on the team.

"We had a couple kids that were JO 4 last season and wanted to commit and push to level six," said Jones. "They made it to the tryout, and that was a huge undertaking for them."

To make sure the trials were unbiased, a judge was brought in who had never seen the athletes' routines. Jones said it was mere points separating all the gymnasts.

"Everyone could have made that team," said Jones. "The competition was really close, and they were all within two points of each other."

Caron said she hopes Arctics leaves the gymnasts feeling motivated to continue working at the sport and ready for their next competitions.

"We want them to have fun and really enjoy the experience," said Caron. (We want) to give them the drive to want to continue down whatever path they want but really enjoy it and have a positive experience and continue on with their competition seasons.

"We hope it can give them a little bit of extra encouragement for other competitions. We expect to see pretty good results."

There will only be four contingents, of nine, sending a gymnastics team. Jones expects Alberta to be tough competition.

"Team Alberta for sure, and Alaska tends to send older athletes, 17-18-year-old athletes," said Jones. "We are sending 11-14-year-old athletes. They don't have the same experience even though they are the same level.

"It's going to be interesting. I would really like them to make some noise. I'm expecting us to send a strong team. We've been working really hard to send to a strong team."

The Games will have a different wrinkle to them compared to other competitions the athletes may have done. Like the Olympics or world championships, there will be a team component that Jones said is usually reserved for international level gymnastics.

"They are working together as one team to get Team Yukon a medal," said Jones. "They haven't really done that before so we are hoping to get them bonding and understanding what that means."

Before the Games, the athletes will have two Outside meets to prepare, Ed Vincent and Gymnix.

" (We are) going to try and help build and get feedback at the Ed Vincent competition," said Jones. "We are going to have two judges come in and judge their routines privately. They will be able to sit down and get one on one feedback from people who have never seen their routines.

"Gymnix is always a thrilling good start to the season because it reminds the kids where we are at compared to the rest of Canada."

For Caron, it will be her first time coaching gymnastics at the Games, but she does have experience playing and coaching futsal. She said Arctics are a unique experience for the athletes to embrace.

"It's a hard thing to explain," said Caron. "You really become a team. When you are competing, it's not necessarily about your sport. It's about your team and Team Yukon and you really get to know the sport community better.

"Lots of these kids will grow up going to lots of other big competitions together and it's the start of a really cool community."

For those wanting to watch gymnastics, Jones detailed what they can expect at the gym.

"The gym will hopefully be packed," said Jones. "We are going to be really loud and we are going to be cheering loud, and we hope to make some serious noise. If they want to come watch some good gymnastics, they should definitely come check it out."

Gymnasts will compete beam, bars, floor and vault. The team competition is the team score on all four events.