Dana Braun proudly finishes her routine. Photo: Bee Exposed Photography.
Weipa’s gymnasts have showed off their prowess on the competitive stage after travelling to the Atherton Tablelands for two days of vaulting, swinging and leaping at the weekend.
Twenty-six members of the Weipa Gymnastics Club made the 1,500-kilometre round trip to test themselves at the Mareeba Country Challenge on 17-18 May, a Gymnastics Australia sanctioned event designed to test their skills against about 300 other gymnasts.
The Weipa athletes are all part of the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics program, a competitive, levels-based program for females.
In Mareeba, the girls had to complete a routine on each of the four apparatus – vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor – and, depending on their age and experience, competed at either level 1, 2, pre-3 or 3, and were graded after their performance.
It is a remarkable result for the western Cape York club, which, despite being around since the 1980s, had not operated until 2023 due to a lack of coaches and volunteers
The club now boasts three qualified coaches and more than 100 members.
Head coach Tracey Small described the experience and performance of her athletes as “amazing”, and said it had been a watershed moment when the girls realised they had the ability to impress at competition level.
Elsie Jenkins hits her straps on the uneven bars. Photo: Bee Exposed Photography.
“They all did really well,” she said.
“We’re a really tiny club, but we were really competitive and were right in there.
“It just all came into place, even though there have been ill-founded doubts along the way.”
Elsa Glassborow, 10, finished second in her floor routine and third on the beam, and said she could not wait for the next competition.
“It was exciting, but also a bit nervous for me,” she said.
“I’d like to keep getting better at everything.”
Rose Robins was part of the cohort of mums and volunteers who travelled with the gymnasts and said the girls now had “a nice air of proudness about them” after the competition.
“I think it was an amazing eye opener for the girls, because they’ve all lived in this ‘I love gymnastics’ bubble for so long, and to see the competition and the other gymnasts, they now know they’re good enough to be a part of that,” she said.
Karissa Payne takes flight ahead of the Weipa Gymnastic Club’s trip to the Mareeba Country Challenge at the weekend. Photo: Bee Exposed Photography.
