Park City’s Black Diamond Gymnastics hosts regional championship, local freshman lands two podium finishes

Charlotte Gallagher on the Bars for which she got 3rd place. Photo: TownLift // Michele Roepke

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City freshman Charlotte Gallagher earned two individual podium finishes and four perfect 10 scores were awarded as Black Diamond Gymnastics hosted the USA Gymnastics Region One Xcel Championships from April 23 – 26 in Farmington.

The four-day competition drew approximately 2,400 athletes, ages 6 to 18, from 200 clubs across Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California.

Gallagher, a freshman at Park City High School, tied for second on vault with a 9.250 and placed third on bars with a 9.500. She has been training at Black Diamond since her family moved to Park City from California six years ago.

“Being at Black Diamond is super fun,” Gallagher told TownLift. “The coaches are great, and all my teammates are so nice.”

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Utah results

Two of the four perfect 10 scores went to Utah gymnasts, with one each going to Southern California and Arizona.

A day of competition dedicated to pre-qualified state-level athletes produced a third-place finish, a fourth-place finish and a first-place finish in the Diamond category for Utah competitors.

Park City roots

Black Diamond Gymnastics owner and founder Katy Heddens, a Park City resident for 30 years, started hosting competitions nearly 27 years ago and secured the bid for this year’s regional championship.

Heddens, a former college gymnast from Wisconsin, said she was drawn to the sport from a young age and paid for her own training by coaching.

“My background for professional development is education and child development, and I wanted to put that to good use,” Heddens told TownLift. “I’m passionate about kids, and I’m passionate about sport.”

She launched Black Diamond in Park City and has since expanded to three additional Utah locations in Heber City, Bountiful and South Jordan. A USA Gymnastics representative told TownLift the organization considers Utah an attractive host for large-scale events because of the way Black Diamond runs competitions.

Heddens said she was originally advised to choose a more traditional gymnastics name for her gym but is glad she opted for something that reflects the ski community.

World-class coaching on display

The competition featured coaches with international pedigrees, including former gymnasts who represented their countries at the Olympics and World Championships. Coaches hailed from Hungary, Iran, Argentina, Russia, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Germany and other nations. Some Las Vegas-based gyms at the event also train circus acrobatics and work with productions such as Cirque du Soleil.

Venue and future

The competition was held at the Western Sports Center in Farmington, which hosted the official Olympic rodeo during the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Games when it was known as the Legacy Events Center. Operations director Mike Moake told TownLift there are discussions about international teams potentially using the facility for training ahead of the 2034 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Organizers announced to cheers from the crowd that aspects of the regional competition will expand to a national level next year.