DESERT CHRISTIAN MAKES A SPLASH; GYMNASTICS TEAM PERFORMS WITH INTERNATIONAL TROUPES IN SWEDISH EVENT.

Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer

Don't blame Larissa Dimmitt of Lancaster for still wanting to do somersaults. The 11-year-old gymnast is abuzz after returning with her USA Western Regional teammates from the 11th World Gymnaestrada in Sweden, a once-every-four-years event that brings together 21,000 athletes from 37 nations. The teams perform non-competitive displays of gymnastics, dance, acrobatics and ballet.

``It was a lifetime opportunity,'' said Dimmitt, whose teammates include her father Colin, brother Jacob and sister Jan. ``I thought it was so cool and so fun. We did some big shows and got to see a lot of other teams from a lot of other countries perform.''

Dimmitt said she especially enjoyed meeting the USC cheerleaders, who also attended.

``They were so nice,'' she said.

The Western Regional team was primarily composed of members from Desert Christian's after-school performance team. Planning for the excursion started two years ago, and the participants benefited from a variety of fund-raisers to cover expenses, which totaled about $2,500 per member; they washed cars, sold Christmas decorations and also received support from local churches.

``It was a real blast,'' said Jacob Dimmitt, who was ranked No. 1 all-around (14-year-old division) in California by the USA Gymnastics this year. ``There were a lot of people watching us at our shows, but I think the biggest part was a chance for us to represent the United States. That was a big honor and a good experience.''

Coach Glenn Gork of Desert Christian organized the trip and was totally satisfied.

``It was awesome, unbelievable and beyond description,'' Gork said. ``I never dreamed we'd do three shows to sellout audiences of 2,000 fans.''

This was only the second time representatives from the USA participated. Countries from Europe included Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, England, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands and Switzerland.

There were also contingents from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico and Egypt.

``It was just like the Olympics, except it wasn't a competition,'' Gork said. ``It was like a celebration of the sport. If we did just a gymnastics routine, it would be boring. So our routines were musically oriented and fun to watch.''

Gork said his Desert Christian boys and girls were invited by USA Gymnastics to participate after they performed well-received shows at Disneyland. They also sent in a video.

Team members included Jennifer Bate, Cody Bustos, Lori Bustos, Martha Gork, Susan Kim Hale, Kristin Hart, Melissa Ann Higgins, Susan Higgins, William Hodge, Nathan Houston, Kathryn Lawton, Laura Lawton, Christopher Reddinger, Eric Schmidt, Ronald Schmidt and Jarrod Shiplett.

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Photo: The Desert Christian gymnastics team waits for its daily ferry ride to Goteborg, Sweden.