Lilia's Rhythmic Gymnastics Fund
Donation protected
This page has been created for the purpose of helping a very talented young lady achieve her dreams in the world of rhythmic gymnastics and to nurture her exceptional talent to its full potential! Many of you know Lilia personally, and therefore have seen or heard about her extraordinary talent and gymnastics accolades. On the other hand many of you know Lilia’s mother Gulya very well - having seen her either perform various choreographed masterpieces at local venues or by meeting her while teaching the art of dance to our children! Lilia shares her mother’s passion for achievement and her drive to reach for the stars! As such, it will not be a surprise to many of you to learn that Lilia has been ranked among the top 8 gymnasts in the United States in her age group and thus has been actively invited to compete in many prestigious competitions around the USA and around world. But all those competion are self-funded and must be paid by Lilia's mother.Participation and travel to the various competitions requires not only a lot of strength and dedication – of which Lilia has plenty – but also requires a tremendous financial expenditure. Lilia’s mother and her entire extended family have all worked very hard to allow this young lady to continue training and participate in the sport but the rapidly rising costs of competitions have become too much for Lilia’s family to cover alone! Therefore, we are asking for the help of our friends, family and the larger community in raising the funds necessary to assist in funding the significant costs associated with participation of our dear friend Lilia in the various national and international competitions! Please read Lilia’s biography below and you will learn how exceptional this young lady truly is! Any help provided will be greatly appreciated!
Lilia was born on March 31, 2000 – her family’s beloved millennium child. She was born in Brick Township, NJ but in three months later moved back to her mother’s hometown of Elista, Republic of Kalmykia, in the southern part of the Russian Federation. In the fall of the same year, her father tragically died in a car accident.
As a child, Lilia was a creative and energetic girl. Lilia finished her 4th grade of elementary school #4 in Elista, Republic of Kalmykia, Russia. Besides attending elementary school Lilia also was attending music school, taking classes in piano and folk dance – she was always interested in the arts!
In the spring of 2009 Lilia with her brother Anton, and grandmother moved to Philadelphia, PA. Lilia's mother Gulya worked very hard to support her daughter and son. As soon the children came to Philadelphia they were accepted to elementary school and started to actively participate in sports, Anton attended a Judo club and took part in a soccer league – excelling in both sports. Most recently, Anton has been actively swimming and now professionally trains to compete in swimming. Even though he started kind of late he is improving his time and scores.
However, Lilia's story of becoming a member of the USA Junior Rhythmic Gymnastics National team starts in June of 2009. As soon as Lilia came to Philadelphia she started to go to ballet classes and in the end of the season as a good tradition ballet school was performing the final concert. At that concert the coach from rhythmic gymnastics school noticed her and invited to try her skills in rhythmic gymnastics. Lilia’s mother, Gulya, could not refuse the offer because her passion for rhythmic gymnastics stemmed from the time that she was a little girl. Gulya felt that rhythmic gymnastics combines ballet, aerobics, gymnastics and dance! Lilia surprised herself and the coach with her natural gift for this sport – very quickly, she was moved to level 3. By the end of the first season of competitions, the coach decided to skip two levels and put Lilia right to the 6th level of competitions. It was a challenge for Lilia, but it wasn't the limit by any means. It was hard because usually gymnasts need time: one year for one level and must have certain experience to perform with all four routines on this level with different apparatus.
Therefore Lilia needed to perform with ball, rope, hoop and floor routine without apparatus. By the end of season of competition Lilia was invited to Squad Camp at Olympic Center, to train and exceed her skills in rhythmic gymnastics. It was a great surprise for all of us because usually an invitation to the Elite Squad camp is reserved for more experienced gymnasts, but Lilia’s coach said that she heard a lot of good feedback from coaches and judges and felt Lilia was a match. Of course the training was helpful and results were impressive. During the summer break, Lilia’s practices never stop. Her coach, is Iliana Ivanova, a former Bulgarian National Team member, was inspired by Lilia's results and was trying to create more interesting routines for her.
At level 8, Lilia began to compete on all apparatus: rope, hoop, ball and ribbon. Also the list of competitions was growing too, Lilia needed more experience of performance. But not only the quantity of competitions were growing but also family expenses started to grow as well. All apparatus must be bought in duplicate - requiring that every gymnast needs to have a backup if the first apparatus by any accident breaks or malfunctions. Thus, Lilia’s grandma and Lilia's aunt who still reside in Elista decided to sell their apartments, so the proceeds could be used to support Lilia attendance to competitions and Elite Squad Camp. Camp was three times per year, parent of gymnast must pay to stay, road trips and coach fees to go to the camp are required. Professional apparatus needed to be changed by the time the gymnast grows, it should match their height. As you know teenagers are growing fast, so Gulya has to keep up with such changes. A major cost is derived through the purchase of leotards. Through special arrangements, Lilia’s mother Gulya, found a profecional sewer who is making leotards by measuraments and would appropriately match the style of routins and fit Lilia well. All four leotards which were made especially for Lilia. The original cost of each leotard was $2000, but Gulya negotiated them down to $1500 per leotard. Last November Gulya's friends could rase half of of needed amount for the leotards cost.
Just couples days ago Lilia came back from USA Rhythmic Challenge at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, NY. There are many more tournaments that she has been invited to:
Here some upcoming USA competition:
April 3-5 Spring Fling Invitational - Columbus, OH
May 9-10 Region 5 - Bryn Athyn, PA
May 15-17 Region 4 - Regionals - Lake Placid, NY
May 24-25 Chicago Cup Invitational - Chicago, IL
Lilia was born on March 31, 2000 – her family’s beloved millennium child. She was born in Brick Township, NJ but in three months later moved back to her mother’s hometown of Elista, Republic of Kalmykia, in the southern part of the Russian Federation. In the fall of the same year, her father tragically died in a car accident.
As a child, Lilia was a creative and energetic girl. Lilia finished her 4th grade of elementary school #4 in Elista, Republic of Kalmykia, Russia. Besides attending elementary school Lilia also was attending music school, taking classes in piano and folk dance – she was always interested in the arts!
In the spring of 2009 Lilia with her brother Anton, and grandmother moved to Philadelphia, PA. Lilia's mother Gulya worked very hard to support her daughter and son. As soon the children came to Philadelphia they were accepted to elementary school and started to actively participate in sports, Anton attended a Judo club and took part in a soccer league – excelling in both sports. Most recently, Anton has been actively swimming and now professionally trains to compete in swimming. Even though he started kind of late he is improving his time and scores.
However, Lilia's story of becoming a member of the USA Junior Rhythmic Gymnastics National team starts in June of 2009. As soon as Lilia came to Philadelphia she started to go to ballet classes and in the end of the season as a good tradition ballet school was performing the final concert. At that concert the coach from rhythmic gymnastics school noticed her and invited to try her skills in rhythmic gymnastics. Lilia’s mother, Gulya, could not refuse the offer because her passion for rhythmic gymnastics stemmed from the time that she was a little girl. Gulya felt that rhythmic gymnastics combines ballet, aerobics, gymnastics and dance! Lilia surprised herself and the coach with her natural gift for this sport – very quickly, she was moved to level 3. By the end of the first season of competitions, the coach decided to skip two levels and put Lilia right to the 6th level of competitions. It was a challenge for Lilia, but it wasn't the limit by any means. It was hard because usually gymnasts need time: one year for one level and must have certain experience to perform with all four routines on this level with different apparatus.
Therefore Lilia needed to perform with ball, rope, hoop and floor routine without apparatus. By the end of season of competition Lilia was invited to Squad Camp at Olympic Center, to train and exceed her skills in rhythmic gymnastics. It was a great surprise for all of us because usually an invitation to the Elite Squad camp is reserved for more experienced gymnasts, but Lilia’s coach said that she heard a lot of good feedback from coaches and judges and felt Lilia was a match. Of course the training was helpful and results were impressive. During the summer break, Lilia’s practices never stop. Her coach, is Iliana Ivanova, a former Bulgarian National Team member, was inspired by Lilia's results and was trying to create more interesting routines for her.
At level 8, Lilia began to compete on all apparatus: rope, hoop, ball and ribbon. Also the list of competitions was growing too, Lilia needed more experience of performance. But not only the quantity of competitions were growing but also family expenses started to grow as well. All apparatus must be bought in duplicate - requiring that every gymnast needs to have a backup if the first apparatus by any accident breaks or malfunctions. Thus, Lilia’s grandma and Lilia's aunt who still reside in Elista decided to sell their apartments, so the proceeds could be used to support Lilia attendance to competitions and Elite Squad Camp. Camp was three times per year, parent of gymnast must pay to stay, road trips and coach fees to go to the camp are required. Professional apparatus needed to be changed by the time the gymnast grows, it should match their height. As you know teenagers are growing fast, so Gulya has to keep up with such changes. A major cost is derived through the purchase of leotards. Through special arrangements, Lilia’s mother Gulya, found a profecional sewer who is making leotards by measuraments and would appropriately match the style of routins and fit Lilia well. All four leotards which were made especially for Lilia. The original cost of each leotard was $2000, but Gulya negotiated them down to $1500 per leotard. Last November Gulya's friends could rase half of of needed amount for the leotards cost.
Just couples days ago Lilia came back from USA Rhythmic Challenge at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, NY. There are many more tournaments that she has been invited to:
Here some upcoming USA competition:
April 3-5 Spring Fling Invitational - Columbus, OH
May 9-10 Region 5 - Bryn Athyn, PA
May 15-17 Region 4 - Regionals - Lake Placid, NY
May 24-25 Chicago Cup Invitational - Chicago, IL
Organizer
Gulya G-Studio
Organizer
Philadelphia, PA
