When 10-year-old Alexandra Pfingsten of Falcon first started competing in Level 4 gymnastics in April 2013, she had just hoped to qualify for the state championships. In December of the same year, Pfingsten won all-around division in Level 4.Pfingsten started gymnastics at the age of 7, and started competing in 2013. ìThey had me do skills on each event and see if I wasn’t scared to do them,î she said of the tryouts. Pfingsten’s favorite skill is floor, which features a variety of tumbling skills to music. ìI really like tumbling and dancing,î Pfingsten said. In each meet gymnasts compete in vault, bars, beam and floor. Each level adds new skills to the events. Her immediate goal is ìto get to Level 5/7 when we move up in May,î Pfingsten said. Her ultimate goal is to compete in the 2020 summer Olympics, when she will be 16 years old. ìI’ve seen other girls compete at the Olympics and I really want a chance to do that,î she said.Rebecca Pfingsten, Alexandra’s mother, said her daughter and her teammates have an inner drive to be responsible so they can participate in gymnastics. ìTheir work ethic is phenomenal,î Rebecca Pfingsten said. ìAllie gets up on her own to do homework at 5 a.m. They have time management and responsibility so they can be at the gym.îLevel 4 gymnasts with Colorado Aerials Gymnastics, where Pfingsten trains, spend four hours a day, three days a week training. Higher level gymnasts spend their entire day at the gym and are usually home-schooled, Rebecca Pfingsten said.Gymnastics also takes a financial commitment. Pfingsten just competed in the Pikes Peak Cup, hosted by Aerials at the Broadmoor Hotel. It was her first opportunity to compete against girls from other states. Pfingsten said her family supports her in every way, knowing that she soon will be traveling out of state to several meets. There are travel expenses, hotels, parking, coachesí fees, uniforms and fees to United States of America Gymnastics.Pfingsten’s father, Jerry, volunteers with the Aerials’ booster club, and hosts Bingo nights for the club in Colorado Springs. He said the booster club offsets many of those fees they would otherwise have to pay out-of-pocket. Her mother has been selling various items on the Falcon Thrifty: Living the Frugal Life with Style group on Facebook, a group featured in the February 2014 issue of The New Falcon Herald.The family has also cut back on their standard of living. They no longer go out to dinner, go on vacations or go out to movies. They pick up second-hand clothing. For Christmas and birthdays, they have small parties with just one or two friends. ìWe focus on family time instead of gifts,î Rebecca Pfingsten said. Last Christmas, they cut back on the number of gifts for Pfingsten and her two siblings. ìThe kids loved itî she said. ìThey loved being able to spend time with their grandparents and their family without the distraction of too many presents.îPfingsten has placed in every meet but one and said she loves every second. ìIt’s like everyone is watching me, and I’m flying through the air,î she said. ìOn different events, I feel different emotions. Like on bars I feel like I’m playing baseball because I need to catch everything. On beam I can stay focused.îThe 2020 Olympics is something to strive for, but Pfingsten said she needs to focus on the present. ìAt the Olympics you do harder skills,î she said. ìRight now I just need to work on what I’m doing.î
