Rhythmic Gymnastics: An Estonian contribution to Canadian culture

Helgi Leesment, Calgary, Alberta

Over the last hundred and some years, several waves of Estonian immigrants have arrived in Canada. Each wave brought a variety of skills and contributions to make Canada what it is today. One of those contributions has been Rhythmic Gymnastics.

The female sport of rhythmic gymnastics started in Europe during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Estonians seemed to take to it naturally.

What is rhythmic gymnastics?

It is a fun way to move to music using hand apparatus such as a ball, hoop, scarf, skipping rope, long ribbon on a stick and other items. The flowing skills are based on natural body movements. A unique feature is that a stretch phase and relax phase are built into many skills, including those using balls, hoops and other hand apparatus. Several levels of coordination are developed in the course of learning this sport: coordination between various parts of the body, coordination between the body and the hand held apparatus, coordination with the music and coordination with other gymnasts in the group. It can be a participation and/or performance activity. Rhythmic gymnastics is practiced at all skill levels from beginner to elite. Because the movements are “natural”, rhythmic gymnastics is suitable for all ages from 4 to adults. In other words, it is a life long sport. Often girls who give up rhythmic gymnastics in their teens, return to it as adult gymnasts at a later stage in their lives.

NorGlen Rhythmic Gymnastics Club “Retro Stars”, 2004

When a large group gymnastics display was first proposed in Estonia early in the 20 th century, school girls and young women spontaneously joined the rehearsals all over the country in fields and whatever green space was available. This style of physical activity seemed to suit the Estonian soul. Physical education training for teachers and coaches included the types of movement skills used in this non-competitive sport and led to many mass displays in outdoor stadiums. This tradition continues today as part of the famous Song Festival, held every four years in Tallinn.

When politics and war in the 1940’s caused over 100,000 Estonians to escape from their homeland, they took their love of rhythmic gymnastics with them. In particular, Ernst Idla established a training centre in Stockholm, Sweden shortly after the war (thousands of Estonians became war refugees in Sweden as it gradually became clear to them that going back to their homeland was not option if they valued their lives). Hundreds of Estonian women and girls of all ages took Ernst Idla’s training and participated in Lingiads and other major mass performances in Sweden. One of his daughters continues to operate the Idla Centre in Stockholm today.

Several of his students took Ernst Idla’s training extra seriously and began rhythmic gymnastics clubs elsewhere as they moved away from Stockholm.

One of them is Evelyn Koop who established the Kalev-Estienne School of Rhythmic Gymnastics in Toronto in 1960. Her elite gymnasts have performed at major Ontario-wide functions. They gave a command performance for Queen Elizabeth during her 1968 visit to Canada. Kalev-Estienne in turn has spawned many rhythmic gymnastics coaches who have taken the sport to other parts of Canada where they have gone to live. This club continues as a leader in the field of Canadian non-competitive rhythmic gymnastics.

Evelyn Koop founded the Ontario Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation and the Canadian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, being president for a number of years. For several decades, a number of Estonians were prominent on the executive of both organizations as other Canadians began to see the benefits, beauty and challenges of this style of gymnastics, and joined the clubs as well as the executive of these types of organizations.

Another major Estonian-led rhythmic gymnastics club in Toronto was operated by Helene Tiidus until her retirement in the 1970’s.

In 1979, Annely Riga arrived in Toronto directly from Estonia and established the Ritmika club, which just celebrated its 25 th anniversary this year. It is also one of the Canadian leaders in this type of sport. Annely has organized a National Gymnastrada and numerous other display events and has served on various Boards.

As the sport of rhythmic gymnastics evolved, a competitive branch was established internationally and gained Olympic Games status in 1984. The first ever winner of an Olympic gold medal in competitive rhythmic gymnastics was Lori Fung of Vancouver, whose main coach was an Estonian, Mall Vesik. Competitive rhythmics is restricted to the use of five International Gymnastics Federation approved apparatus: ball, hoop, ribbon, skipping rope and clubs, and involves extreme flexibility, high leaps and speedy apparatus handling. Standard competition is done individually or in groups of five.

Another student of Ernst Idla’s, Leida Leesment, established the non-competitive Malmö Flickorna (Malmö Girls) in southern Sweden. That club is a world leader in the field and receives support from the Swedish government which often asks the elite performing team to represent Sweden as performers and informal ambassadors at international events. The Malmö Flickorna pioneered the technique of using two-balls and three balls while maintaining various body movements. The organization is now operated by Leida’s daughter Tiina. Another daughter, Reet, introduced two-ball and three-ball skills to Canadians when she first immigrated to Ontario in the 1960’s.

Other clubs, led by Estonians, have flourished for short times in various parts of Canada from Montreal to Vancouver. In many cases, Estonians developed new coaches all over this country by volunteering on provincial federation executives, conducting coaching workshops, providing coaching apprenticeship programs and preparing or contributing to manuals and video-tapes about the sport. Of course, rhythmic gymnastics leaders originating from other countries have also played major roles in developing this sport in Canada, but Estonian were the initiators and were prominent in the 1960’s through the 1980’s.

In Calgary, Helgi Leesment is currently the Ladies Group coach at the NorGlen Rhythmic Gymnastics Club which she co-founded 25 years ago.

Alberta has several rhythmic gymnastics clubs, both competitive and non-competitive. If anyone is interested in joining one or starting one, contact:

Rhythmic Gymnastics Alberta
11759 Groat Road , 3rd Floor,
Edmonton , AB T5M 3K6
Phone: 780-427-8152: Toll Free in Alberta: 1-800-881-2504
Web Site: www.rgalberta.com
Email: rga@rgalberta.co