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Shae Zamardi admits she had almost lost her passion for gymnastics and wasn鈥檛 sure if she wanted to continue in the sport until letters from Louisiana State University head coach D.D. Breaux reignited that flame.
Listening to the 21-year-old Victoria product now, her choice to visit the school and take on a four-year scholarship was obviously the right one.
鈥淚 visited with my mom and they offered me the scholarship on my first trip down,鈥� recalled Zamardi, who is wrapping up what turned out to be a wonderful competitive collegiate career, while also finishing a degree in sports management with a minor in business.
鈥淚 absolutely fell in love with the school. It was beautiful. The program was incredible and the coaches were such amazing role models and leaders.
鈥淚 could see the passion D.D. had for gymnastics and for LSU, and I just wanted to be a part of it so bad,鈥� Zamardi said.
鈥淪o I said yes and, honestly, I鈥檓 so glad I didn鈥檛 turn it down because it鈥檚 been the best four years of my life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of bittersweet now,鈥� she added of a season and career that ended with the LSU Tigers as national runner-up to Oklahoma. 鈥淎bsolutely incredible, to see the program grow the way it has.
鈥淲hen I got here at LSU gymnastics, it was definitely not as big as it is now. We had a tiny gym, like the corner of the track-and- field building. The equipment wasn鈥檛 very good and, in my junior year, we got this brand-new facility and it鈥檚 right now the nicest facility in the world,鈥� Zamardi exclaimed of a 40,000- square-foot facility, which draws upward of 10,000 fans to events.
鈥淪o that was an incredible blessing. We did that by just growing our program over the last four years. It鈥檚 been an incredible journey. Coach D.D. has been incredible. She just had her 40th season and she was the one who started it all here.鈥�
In Zamardi鈥檚 freshman year, the Tigers finished third at nationals then jumped to second (national runner-up) in her junior year and second again in her senior year, just missing the prestigious NCAA Championship honour.
First recruited by Breaux at Canadian nationals, Zamardi, who previously competed at Victoria Gymnastics Club before billeting on the Lower Mainland while attending Terry Fox Secondary and competing at Flicka Gymnastics Academy, was a bars specialist who caught the LSU coach鈥檚 eye.
Now, after four years of work, Zamardi is weighing her options for her future working career.
鈥淏eing an LSU gymnast down here, it鈥檚 kind of crazy 鈥� you鈥檙e almost famous here,鈥� she said over the phone from the Baton Rouge institution, which has a student body of more than 31,000.
鈥淏eing from sa国际传媒 and a small island it鈥檚 just so different, where gymnastics really isn鈥檛 that big, and then you come here and you鈥檙e literally a celebrity. There are posters [of athletes and the program] everywhere and people know your name. I networked a lot and it鈥檚 so incredible noticing the difference coming from an Island to here 鈥� it鈥檚 just so big.鈥�
Zamardi has had some offers of interest for employment, including from Cirque du Soleil, all because of her success at LSU where she became an All-American on bars in her sophomore year. On six occasions, she has recorded 9.9 scores on the bars and she also had a 9.925 on the floor routine in a January 2016 competition.
Zamardi, who was a part of Team sa国际传媒 for three years and competed internationally before attending LSU, included her All-American recognition and becoming an SEC champion this season as her collegiate highlights.
鈥淭he SEC [Southeastern Conference] is the best conference in the United States of America, and to win that is huge,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e created a lot of momentum for ourselves and created history, and it was nice to be a part of that as a senior leading the team toward the nationals. It was an incredible year, even though we didn鈥檛 win.鈥�
The SEC title will never be forgotten.
鈥淲ow, that will forever be with me for the rest of my life and national runner-up is not bad at all,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he memories that I鈥檝e made with this team and the things that we鈥檝e accomplished this year 鈥� a first-place trophy wouldn鈥檛 even equal everything we鈥檝e accomplished in 2017.鈥�
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