Meet our Team

Heidi Popov

General Manager

Heidi began her career at Kawartha Gymnastics in 2015 as Administrator and was promoted to General Manager in August of 2020. She was named the 2024 Business Woman of the Year through the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce Excellence Awards.

Under Heidi's leadership, Kawartha Gymnastics has garnered prestigious awards including the 2024 True Sport Club of the Year Award from Gymnastics Ontario, the High Five Community Recognition Award with Five Counties Children's Centre, and the Platinum Winner for Family Recreation and Youth Sports and Recreation in the Community Votes Peterborough awards. Additionally, Kawartha Gymnastics was announced as finalists in the best Non-Profit category with the Peterborough Excellence Awards.

Heidi has a strong passion for sports management. Involved in sports her entire life, Heidi has been a varsity volleyball team captain, travel soccer club player and world champion jump rope athlete. Heidi is thrilled to be continuing her passion of enhancing the lives of children through sport at Kawartha Gymnastics. Prior to moving to Peterborough in 2013, Heidi was the Group Director at “UGot Active Kids” in Toronto where she led the company through programming, sales, and operations for over 2 years. Additionally, Heidi spent 5 years with Mosaic Experiential Marketing as a National Sales Manager for multiple fortune 500 companies.

Heidi’s vast background also includes being a Canadian Forces Naval Reserve veteran, a cast member and Canadian ambassador at Walt Disney World, and a Boutique Manager with Oceania Cruises. When she’s not in the office at Kawartha Gymnastics, you can find Heidi coaching local skippers through her organization “Jump Rope Kawartha” or designing jewelry with “Scarlett Leather”.

Allie Earle

WAG Head Coach

Allie joined our coaching team last March and has been working with our high-level athletes several days a week. Allie is a dedicated gymnastics coach with a strong focus on enhancing athlete health and performance. She began her gymnastics journey at 18 months old with Gemini Gymnastics and achieved notable success by winning the 1999 Provincial Championships. Her early accomplishments ignited a lifelong passion for gymnastics, guiding her path as both a skilled athlete and an influential coach.

Allie’s coaching career started at 14, quickly advancing to become a Competition 2 Trained WAG Coach. Her expertise extends beyond gymnastics; she also competed provincially in trampoline and earned national recognition as a Cheerleading Tumbling Champion. In 2012, she started coaching at Gymworld in London, and a few years later, she was offered the position of Head Coach of the competitive program. In this role, she played a pivotal part in nurturing young gymnasts, instilling strong technical skills, discipline, and a love for the sport.

Passionate about holistic athlete development, Allie holds an E-RYT200 yoga certification, integrating mindfulness and body awareness into her coaching approach. Her focus on athlete wellness ensures her gymnasts are not only strong performers but also healthy and balanced individuals. Beyond her gymnastics accomplishments, Allie co-founded Oshawa Lady Hawks cheerleading, now known as Cheerstrong, where she continued to promote athletic excellence. She is also certified with the Wedding Planners Institute of Canada (WPIC), showcasing her versatility and talent for organizing memorable experiences.

As a Head Coach at Kawartha Gymnastics, Allie plans to remain dedicated to fostering the next generation of athletes with a comprehensive approach that prioritizes both performance and wellness.

Ilysha Lock

Rec Director

Ilysha started her gymnastics career from a very young age in her hometown of Midland, Ontario. She started in parent and tot and moving into competitive gymnastics when she was 3 years old. Ilysha competed with the Hurons Gymnastics Club in ODP and OCP for a few years before switching to the Barrie Kempettes Gymnastics Club to finish out her career in 2011 following an ankle injury.

Ilysha then took her passion for sport to track and field and competed with SSD track and field club from 2012-2019. She started her track and field career as a sprinter and hurdler, competing in the 50m, 100m and 200m events. Ilysha then moved to field events, throwing javelin and discus for many years. 

Ilysha started coaching in 2015 at the Barrie Kempettes as a CIT. Ilysha is now an NCCP competition 1 coach for men's, women's and trampoline gymnastics. When she moved to Peterborough in 2019 to attend Trent University, Ilysha began coaching recreational programs at Kawartha Gymnastics and has since moved into the role of Rec Director in the spring of 2022.

Jessica Dunlop

Rec Assistant

Jessica joined the sport of gymnastics at Bluewater Gymnastics in Sarnia, Ontario at the young age of 3 years old. Participating in one year of competitive gymnastics before continuing to other sports including soccer in the London League and was captain of her Bantam Softball team. Jessica then went on to coach the Peewees and other Bantam teams at the age of 18. She grew up in Oil Springs, Ontario and moved to Peterborough in 2019 as a student at Trent University, beginning her post-secondary studies. Jessica graduated in April 2024 with a Bachelor Honours Degree in History. She is currently studying for the LSATs later this year. Jessica aims to return to her post-secondary studies in Law and become a criminal defense lawyer. 

Following her move to Peterborough, Jessica began coaching at Kawartha Gymnastics in 2021. She is Competitive 1 trained and has coached multiple athletes within our recreational classes from Babynastics to our Advanced Recreational. Jessica began her current position in January 2024 as our Recreational Assistant. Jessica continues to actively coach Advanced Rec classes, as well as organizing our PA Day, March Break and Summer camps as well as private lessons and testing for our Advanced Recreational Program. 

Kathleen van Graft

Competitive Coordinator / Meet Director

Kathleen was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, and was a provincial level gymnast at the YMCA and then moved to the Sault Ste. Marie Gymnastics Club. She moved to Toronto in 1988 and graduated with honours from the Seneca College Elite Coaching Program. For the past 24 years (1999-2023), she had been a full-time competitive coach at Gemini Gymnastics, handled the administration for the competitive program, and was the technical/meet director for hosting in-house qualifying and invitational competitions. Before moving into coaching competitive programs in 1988, Kathleen developed an extensive background in recreational coaching/supervising starting in 1981. She worked kindergym to advanced recreational to boys gymnastics including designing recreational programs, and eventually started specializing in pre-competitive development.

Kathleen is a fully certified NCCP level 3 coach in Women’s Artistic, level 2 coach in Trampoline, a National Level Judge, obtained her Tumbling Judge certification in 2020 and served on the Women’s Program Committee of Gymnastics Ontario from 2002-2011. In addition, she is the creator of the original Ontario Development Program for gymnasts age 5-9. This program was 2.5 years in development before it was released to use as a competition format, and a version of the original program is still an option for competition in Gymnastics Ontario.

Starting in 2003, Kathleen has also been active in conducting coaching development clinics throughout Canada, and providing coaches with a further understanding of the technical rules. In 2007, Kathleen received a Gymnastics Ontario Recognition Award for her outstanding volunteer service to the sport of gymnastics in Ontario (in the areas of coaching, judging or administration). In 2009 and 2018 she was named as the Women’s Technical Chair for Canadian Championships, was the Women’s Technical Chair for Pan Am Championships 2014, and the Competition Supervisor for Pan Am Games 2015 in charge of Women’s Artistic Gymnastics for the full Games.

Since 2014, she has been a faculty member at dance studios as the competitive team acro/tumbling coach. She also continues to work privately with competitive dancers on their skills.

Kathleen is the proud and busy mother of 3 girls; 2 competitive dancers, and 1 karateka on her journey towards black belt.

She is very excited and proud to join the Kawartha Gymnastics team and looking forward to the future.

Amber Knight

Head Cheer Coach

Amber started her cheerleading career at a very young age in a club similar to our own. Like many cheerleaders, she was a competitive gymnast before discovering the sport, while training one day. She saw girls stunting and was instantly hooked. She spent three years in both competitive cheerleading and gymnastics before deciding to pursue cheerleading at a higher level, during this time she also competed in power tumbling and trampoline. Since training at a higher level she has competed at competitions such as the All-Star Cheerleading World Championships four times, the first being in 2017. She has also been to the Collegiate Cheerleading World Championships with her high school team, where they won a bronze medal in their division in 2018.

Amber began coaching in 2018 at Ultimate Canadian Cheer as a CIT and is now a level three certified cheerleading coach. When she moved to Peterborough in 2021 to attend Trent University, she started helping out with the cheerleading program at Electric City Cheer. She has since become the Head Cheerleading Coach in the spring of 2023.

Karlie Keating

Administrator

Karlie has been involved in competitive sports her entire life. She grew up playing hockey and soccer, competing at high levels for the Peterborough Ice Kats and the Peterborough City Soccer Association. Karlie was the Captain, for both sports, for multiple years throughout her sports career. She led her hockey team to multiple silver and bronze medals at the OWHA Championships. Throughout high school, Karlie also fit time in to play on the high school hockey team, soccer team, and field hockey team. She competed in OFSAA for all three sports, multiple times!

Karlie joined our Administrative team in February 2023. She went off on maternity leave after having her second daughter and returned to the gym August 2024. Karlie comes from a medical background previously working as an RPN, a medical receptionist and at a public health lab. Karlie left the medical field looking for somewhere to pursue her passion in sports,  and joining the KG team was exactly what she has been looking for! She enjoys being a part of an exceptional club heavily focused on our community. When Karlie isn’t working, she is spending time with her husband and two daughters.