Albion Park Oak Flat Acrobatic Gymnastics coach Kim Lacey has praised the club’s emerging gymnasts after the club was named Overall Acrobatics Club Champions at the recent Country Championships in Newcastle.
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The club finished the competition with four gold medals, one silver and a bronze, with medals in both pairs and trios events. Incredibly, six of the clubs seven entrants claimed medals.
The championships marked the first competitive event for many of the club’s gymnasts and Lacey said it was pleasing to see the girls rise to the occasion against some high-quality opponents.
“All the girls had a great competition,” Lacey said. “We took most of our beginners to the event, so it was the first competition for most of them. It’s a really good competition for them to get a bit of experience and see how they compete.
“We had just come off a successful national championships with our higher level athletes, so it was good we could concentrate on our little guys.
“They all passed with flying colours. It’s a big thing for some of them, their first competition, some are only seven years old. They all had a good competition and they had a great time up in Newcastle as well.”
A version of gymnastics regularly described as similar to performances seen in Cirque du Soleil, the athletes are required to carry out at least two routines at each competition. The routines involve lifting, somersaults, throws and handstands.
“They all do the balanced and dynamic routines so even the little guys have to show a good level of artistry and execution. We now have all those little groups gearing up for state championships in six weeks so the training doesn’t stop.”
Lacey praised the club’s senior athletes for providing an example to the juniors of what they can achieve if they continue to work hard.
“We’re a high performance acrobatics club. The little guys see the older girls going to world championships and it means they know what they’re aiming for and can aspire to.”