Local gymnast earns trip to national competition
By LARRY HILLIARD Ledger Sports Editor larry@gaffneyledger.com

Claire Jones, daughter of Dan and Karen Jones, will compete Saturday at the Level 10 Junior Olympics in Orlando, Fla.

Growing up in the football hotbed of Gaffney and as the daughter of Gaffney High assistant football coach Dan Jones, it seemed only natural for Claire Jones - despite her gender - to want to play for a youth football team.

But gymnastics? No high school or even college in the state offers the sport. But Jones was instantly smitten by the sport she has grown to love and dominate on the state level.

"It's challenging," said Jones, a seventhgrader at Gaffney Middle School. "I just thought it was cool."

Jones admits it's even more "cool" when she wins - something she's done frequently of late.

She captured the top spot in her age group on the uneven bars, beam, floor exercises and vault to finish first overall at the Junior A Level 10 South Carolina Championship in March.

Competing in an eight-state regional competition in Huntsville, Ala., she earned a trip to the Level 10 Junior Olympic National Competition this weekend in Orlando, Fla. Jones is the only gymnast in the state to qualify for the national competition. Jones started gymnastics at age five after her parents discovered her doing dive rolls off the back deck of their house. Jones now trains 15 to 20 hours a week at Kozeev's World of Gymnastics in Spartanburg.

Jones describes herself as a better optional rather than a compulsory gymnast.

"I can do what I want to do (in the optional portion of her gymnastic routine)," Claire said.

"She just had no fear," her mother, Karen, added.

Claire quickly mastered different skills to rise to a Level 10 gymnast. Her goal is to become one of slightly more than 100 Elite gymnasts in the country.

"There are certain requirements to become an Elite gymnast," Karen said. "It's the best of the best."

Whether or not Claire becomes the best of the best this weekend, she should return from the competition as a better gymnast.

"To go to nationals is an honor," said Claire's mother, Karen. "She has worked so hard for the past eight years. Just the experience will be good for her."

"There is absolutely no pressure," Claire said. "This is only my first time being there."

Likely, it won't be her last.