A couple of years after arriving in Canada, Marta started Children’s Artistic Gymnastics at the ‘Y’ in Sault Ste. Marie. The gymnasts did not compete but performed at the local ‘Y’. She continued working at the ‘Y’ in St. Catherines where she started the Y girls’ artistic gymnastics club in 1966. It was called ‘Olympiquettes’. These photos are from 1970.
In 1965, she also began to work as a volunteer at Club Heidelberg, where she met several talented gymnasts who later joined the ‘Olympiquettes’. At the YMCA Championships the club won 15 first place honours, competing with 65 other girls.
Marta was hired by the Niagara District Secondary School in 1968, as a part-time Phys Ed teacher. There, she started the first Modern Gymnastics (the name of Rhythmic Gymnastics in those years) program in Canada. The girls studied both RG and AG and there was also a fitness program. All the programs became very successful and well-known. Here are some photos of these high school students:
The gymnast who is 4th from left is still (2008) performing with Rhythmic Waves’ Ladies group!
Marilyn Savage, well-known coach of the “Winstonettes” Gymnastics Club, brought her gymnasts to the annual Gymnaestrada that Marta arranged.