Kennedy’s Charlotte Dittmar Answers Final Curtain Call

Charlotte Dittmar has called the Fairwood area home her whole life, but has called Kennedy Catholic her family for the last four years. Dittmar, a senior, will be making her final curtain call in the gymnastics world as she readies for this weekend’s 3A West Central District championships at Mount Rainier.

Dittmar has qualified for the last three state championships and hopes to qualify for her fourth (Feb 17-18 at the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall), in what will be her last as the gymnast in a sport that has brought her success. Although the sport has taken its toll on her body — often leaving her laying on the floor in pain with ice on her back — it doesn’t stop her from performing.

“I like the feeling of being in the air,” she said with a big smile before a recent match. The uneven bars are her favorite, giving her “a free feeling of spinning around."

Dittmar began her gymnastics career in second grade where she participated in club gymnastics and achieved a Level 8 status. She did club until her freshman year at Kennedy when she decided to compete in other high school sports. She also excels at diving (placing 7th at state in November) and pole vaulting (where her personnel best is eight-feet, nine-inches).

“All three sports are a thrill but help one another at the same time,” she said.

Her brother, Will, influenced on her decision to attend Kennedy Catholic instead of attending public high school.  

“He didn’t have a good experience in the public school system due to his learning disability,” she said. Dittmar, who suffers from ADD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) didn’t want to suffer the same way her brother did. “Kennedy has been my family the last four years and it has made me successful,” she said. “Gymnastics has been good for me to offset the issues ADD created early,” she said.

Dittmar hopes to attend Washington State University in the fall majoring in Pre-Physical Therapy.

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