White builds on gold at Winter Games

Brooklynn White has some mighty big momentum going into Gymnastics Manitoba’s provincial artistic championships this weekend.

The 15-year-old, Grade 10 student at Vincent Massey, who got into the sport at age two, won the Xcel Gold age 14-17 female title at the Manitoba Winter Games in Thompson on March 4.

“My face, when I heard them call my name, it lit up,” White said. “I was so proud of myself. It was just a really cool experience to hear your name getting called at the Manitoba Games. It’s like you did a favour for your family back at home. It was a really exciting moment.”

In the 10-person event, she was fourth in vault at 8.925, third in uneven bars at 8.950, first in beam by a commanding margin at 9.750 and first in floor exercise at 9.450. That gave her an overall score of 37.075, narrowly beating Elizabeth Tureckiy of Winnipeg and her score of 37.050.

While it was a golden event for the member of the Brandon Eagles, she enjoyed a lot that took place outside the Bill Comaskey Gymnasium.

“It was really good to go with a team and have your coaches there and explore other sports,” White said. “That was a really well held event. From a competing aspect, it was a lot of pressure for sure but it was really exciting to show the judges and show up for Manitoba as a competitor.”

White also competed a bit in soccer and school volleyball, but the five-foot-four athlete has always had a special soft spot for her chosen sport. Her favourite event is beam but she also loves the performative aspects of floor.

“I just love just seeing people’s reactions and my own reactions to my performance,” White said. “The effort I put into gymnastics, I love seeing it coming out, in my mom being able to watch me compete and my coaches being able to see my skills happening. It’s the assurance of feeling super successful and proud of my own performance.”

This weekend, she’ll be competing on Sunday morning in the XL Gold 2010-born age group alongside her friend Calista McLachlan, who is in an older age group.

“I’ve been developing my skills and I have some bigger ones to show at my competition,” White said. “Even if I don’t come out on top, I’ll be really proud of myself for expanding my skillset. I’m really excited to show it off to the judges and hope for the best.”

White won her first provincial event in 2023 in Level 6, and followed that up with second in Level 7 in 2024. In 2025, she didn’t compete at provincials because she took a year-and-a-half break from the sport to recharge.

While she enjoys how provincials are a collaborative affair where everyone wants the best for the athletes, she said the rewards of the sport translate into her life, well beyond what place she finishes in.

“Being a gymnast means you’re overall a fairly good athlete,” White said. “Physically speaking, it’s demanding on your body and helps with hand-eye co-ordination. It makes you fit and healthy overall, but with the mental aspect, gymnastics is very mentally challenging. “It’s a physical, demanding sport but getting over challenges of scary skills or lack of your best performance is another side of the sport of gymnastics. I feel like it’s really good for problem solving and just seeing the light at the end of the tunnel when you’re in tricky situations.”

pbergson@brandonsun.com