Sport
5 October, 2023
Club to raise the bar at 2023 comp
Stawell will be a hive of activity this weekend with hundreds of hundreds of young gymnasts from across Western Victoria expected.
With news of Simone Biles' return to International competition, complete with a successful Yurchenko double pike being named after her during the World Championships, interest in gymnastics is high.
Hot on the heels, Stawell will be a hive of activity this weekend with hundreds of hundreds of young gymnasts from across Western Victoria for the Stawell Gymnastics Club's annual competition.
Stawell Gymnastics Club head coach Elissa Chalmers said several clubs, including Mount Gambier, Ballarat, Portland and Warrnambool, are expected to vie for glory at Saturday's competition.
"We've got 218 commentating, which is phenomenal," Chalmers said.
"That's across levels one to nine, so the level of competition will be quite strong.
"Up to level four is team competition and levels five to nine are done individually; there's a lot of strong gymnasts in the region, so it should be a great day."
As the second last competition of the season, the gymnasts are near peak performance, having undertaken state and regional competitions earlier in the year.
"The girls are pretty excited to be competing this year," Chalmers said.
"A lot have concentrated on netball during the winter, do this will be their first serious competition of the season."
Gymnasts will take on four categories - the bar, beam, floor and Biles' favourite, the vault.
"The vault, bar, beam and floor are compulsory routines set by Gymnastics Victoria," Chalmer said.
The day starts at 8.30am, with the final levels beginning at 3.45pm.
Following the Stawell Gymnastics Club's annual competition is the Natimuk and District Gymnastics Club's invitational.
Upwards of 350 gymnastics, from as far as Gippsland, converge on Natimuk for the unique competition.
"The Natimuk comp is a level award test, so competitors come along to get the score needed to pass their level." Chalmers said.
The Stawell Gymnastics Club's annual competition will be held at the Stawell Neighbourhood House, 42 Sloan Street.