Cute, clambering competition overtakes Gateway Mall

Apr 22, 2018 | 9:58 AM

Cheers and oohs and aahs rang out as eleven-and-a-half-month-old Brielle Smytaniuk scampered along a carpeted racetrack.

Her mother was kneeled at one end and her grandmother at the other, waving a blanket and clapping to urge her along. Those beside them jangled keys, plush toys, pacifiers and playthings to coax their own tot down the track.

Brielle paused briefly midway down the track, turned back to look at her mom but quickly got back on all fours and scampered across the finish line for a commanding victory.

“It is so exciting,” Brielle’s mother Michelle said after her win at the Gateway Mall’s Baby Crawl Saturday 

The two were one of 25 teams entered in the annual event. Michelle said there was little training needed to get Brielle prepped for the day.

“At home, food is what gets her B-lining, and grandma of course,” she said. “She loves her blanket and I was more so worried she would get super distracted by everybody else.”

She said the day will be another great mark in Brielle’s baby book and Facebook photo album.

Waving entree fees for the event, organizers instead asked those competing to bring diapers, formula, gently used clothing or cash donations as a way to assist Family Futures, a partner in the event.

Donna Hordyski, the shopping centres marketing coordinator, said the event always brings a smile to her and others face. Asked how the 2018 competition staked up against years past, Hordyski said it is always quite different from year-to-year, a key attraction for the event.

“Some can be really good crawlers at home but when they get here, they are struck by how many people are around and the noise and excitement,” she said. “It is a completely different atmosphere, but it is always so wonderful to see them come out. Support from the public has always been fantastic.”

 

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr