News

Welcome to 2012 at Eastern Gymnastics Club. We look forward with excitement to another successful and entertaining year of gymnastics.

Registrations are now open to all - if you're interested in enrolling or organising a trial lesson, please contact us and have a read through the information available online.

This year, different programs begin at different times. Senior Acro has already begun, MAGN5+ begins Monday Jan 16, all MAG National and WAG Squad classes on Monday Jan 23, Kindergym on February 6th, and everyone else on Monday January 30th, the Monday before school begins. We hope to see you all then!

This weekend in addition to normal classes, two very important events occurred at the gym.

Firstly, on Saturday we ran a level test for all our Gymfun gymnasts with over 80 participating, all of whom passed their level. For the first time we awarded Gymfun level badges for passing the appropriate test.

After some initial confusion with a new, relaxed event format, everyone settled into a pleasant afternoon where parents were treated to the rare opportunity of being able to see gymnastics up close and interact with their children during the event. There was even a sausage available to gymnasts once they had had their medal presented!

If you attended and had any photos we could publish, or any constructive feedback about the event, please send them to akeating@easterngymnastics.com.au.

The second exciting thing was the upgrade of our sprung floor. Aside from being moved several times, no real work on the floor had been done for more than 5 years, and so a small team of volunteers armed with screwdrivers, spanners, tape and coffee undertook to completely dismantle the floor, replace the joining strips with a new type, rebuild it, and replace the floor top. Replacing the joining strips should improve the consistency of the floor and remove a few bumps which have been developing, whilst the new integrated touch tape top will allow our gymnasts to train on a surface of the highest quality and will free up the old matting to be used elsewhere. A project to mat the upstairs area will occur in the near future.

Photos are available by following the link attached.

Finally, a reminder that the trivia night will be held next Saturday November 5th.

Eastern Gymnastics Club is very proud to announce that both our WAG Level 5 and 9 teams have been crowned state champions 2011 in their respective levels.

On Saturday 8th October, the Level 9 team of Meaghan Keating, Noni Taylor, Martha Hasan and Erin Mahoney competed at the Victorian Championships Team and Individual Qualifying event in Maffra (200kms away!). Coach Jen was a little nervous leading up to the event as she was away on her honeymoon for 3 weeks and hadn’t coached the squad in their final lessons. The girls brought home a fantastic trophy that is now on display in the trophy cabinet next to the office.

Sunday 23rd of October saw our club win its third state title for 2011 with the team of Madeleine King, Jenae Epson, Emily Zenkis and Rachel Pakula awarded first place for Level 5. This time the girls travelled to Geelong and competed against an enormous field of 18 teams from around Victoria. This is the first year these girls have trained and competed as a team and coach Bec is thrilled that they have come together so quickly to achieve the best possible result. The Level 5 trophy and flag will be on display in the foyer this week.

Our first state title for 2011 was the Level 1A team who won the State Pennant Finals in August. Full results from all competitions can be found under the Results section on the left hand panel.

We were supposed to leave at 8:30am but the buses were late and we had a little drama when a certain gymnast got stuck in the upstairs toilet. We took the most people ever with 20 girls, 2 coaches and one fantastic bus driver, plus Alan who doubled as a coach and bus driver. The bus trip was 6 hours long with lots of lollies, chocolates, games and loud music. In the morning we went to the Mildura Invitational competition. It was an early start to the day with Caitlin and Emily struggling to do everyone’s hair!

We had girls competing in levels 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9. Every team from Eastern came 1st in every division that we entered. That night we went to laser tag which was LOTS of fun! The next day we had training with the Mildura gymnasts followed by a BBQ and a trip to the wave pool which has become a tradition of the trip. Later that night we prepared for the masterchef challenge and went out to dinner while our creations set in the fridge. We went to the Pizza Café for dinner and it had yummy bread, pasta and pizza. After dinner we finished and decorated our products from the masterchef challenge. The level 4s and 9s won the challenge. The next day we packed up and went home. Thank you to Tina our bus driver for getting us there and back very safely. Everyone is so excited about going back next year!!

– Written by Gabby, Caitlin, Emily, Emma and Clara

For the full results of this and other competitions, click Results in the menu to the left

Following the Regional event a fortnight earlier, we had three teams compete at BTYC for State Pennant Finals, the pinnacle of competition at levels 1-3. In order to be eligible to compete, teams had to place in the top 3 at the regional event.

Our level 1 team was on fire, earning two first place medals including overall making them the top team in Victoria, as well as a second, third and fourth place award. This is a fantastic achievement - well done to the girls and their coach, Bec.

Our level 2 Prep team came 2nd overall and won vault, and our level 2 team placed an admirable fourth, with second places on vault and bars.

Again, congratulations to all - full results are available on the website, and we'd love to receive some photos from parents.

It's been a very exciting couple of weeks for a number of different groups in the gym. The WAG, MAG and Rhythmic National Championships have been held, Acro National Clubs and Trial 2, and WAG 1-3 competitions at Balance and Waverley, all in the last fortnight.

I made the trip to Perth to judge at WAG Nationals, and despite missing my flight back, thoroughly enjoyed myself. Marina Spark, who works in our office, also went as a chaperone for the state team, who performed well with highlights including Alicia Brown recovering from a nervous day 1 to take the Level 10 All Around title, 3rd Team at Level 7, and 2nd at Level 8,9 and 10, along with some fantastic individual results. Victoria's International stream gymnasts also performed well, with a 1st Team place for the Seniors and some very exciting routines leading Georgia-Rose Brown and Mary-Anne Monckton to take 2nd and 3rd places overall, behind Floor world champion Lauren Mitchell, and above Chloe Sims, who made a very impressive comeback from some time out of the elite program.

Our WAG 1-3 gymnasts are nearing the end of their competition season, with State Pennant Regionals only 3 weeks away. All did very well at their competition at Balance this weekend, and we wish them all the best in training in the coming weeks.

Dion, our MAG Coordinator, Phill (former coach) and Lachlan Chaplin (level 6 gymnast) are currently in Canberra for MAG Nationals as members of the state team. After day one of competition, Dion is in 10th overall and 5th on Vault, Phill is 8th on Floor while Lachie, as the first ever gymnast from our club to attend MAG Nationals, is in 35th overall, 15th on Vault and 20th on Pommel. Good luck!

The first Acro National Club Championships was held in Brisbane last weekend. We had Amy and Erin as a level 4 pair, who placed 5th ahead of Sarah and Emily in 6th; Tim and Naomi as the first (and only) level 8 mixed pair with a solid overall score of 64.715; and SueLeen, Lizzie and Georgia in 11-18 Women's Trios placing 2nd. This was followed up by the Melbourne Challenge, which EGC hosted for Gymnastics Victoria. As Trial 2 for state team selection, most of Victoria's acrobats were competing over the weekend, with some excellent results, and some great achievements. Thankyou to all those who came along and assisted over the weekend.

Term 3 is about to begin, and there's plenty to look forward to, including WAG State Pennant, the beginning of the WAG State 4-10 season, Acro Victorian Championships and several Gymstar competitions. Support for our gymnasts is always welcome, so if you're interested in coming along to any event to watch our gymnasts, you can check the calendar on the website and contact the office for information on competition times, or try the Gymnastics Victoria website for information.

Parents of all WAG Squad Level 1-3 gymnasts please note, there will be holiday training in both weeks of the school holidays. This is to ensure the gymnasts are prepared for the remainder of their competition season. Training will be at usual times but if you have any questions or concerns please contact WAG Coordinator Erin Marsicovetere at wag@easterngymnastics.com.au

Well, the final day of the Victorian Championships after the fun of WAG National 8-10 the night before was certainly an exciting one beginning with Day 2 of the WAG National 6 and MAG level 4 competitions, then IDP 5-6 and MAG level 6, before finishing with the senior men and women, including our coaches Dion and Phill.

While those of us who had been there for over 30 hours in two and a half days were feeling a little worn out, our MAG boys did very well, in particular our level 5 team, which placed 2nd, our level 4 team which placed 4th and Lachlan, our only level 6 who managed 8th all around. For more details see the Results page.

The senior competition was very exciting, with Victoria\'s best on show, and a number of Australia\'s top MAG gymnasts in attendance in order to trial for the World University Games. Mary-Anne Monckton won the Senior WAG competition, while the MAG competition was taken by Queenslander Luke Wiwatowski, with Luke Wadsworth the Victorian Champion. Dion placed 3rd Residential All Around, with a total score of 158.416, 1st Residential on Floor, 3rd on Pommel and 3rd on P-Bars with Phill coming in 7th Residential and 4th on Vault.

All those who came along enjoyed the gymnastics on show - congratulations to all those who competed, and thankyou to all those who contributed by judging, coaching, scoring and in any other way - it truly is an amazing event to be recommended.

It\'s been a fantastic first four sessions at the Victorian Championships this weekend. Our level 5 and 6 boys competed today with some solid individual results to put them in good stead for day 2, and a team second place for the level 5 gymnasts.

About 15 of our gymnasts came in thisevening to cheer on coaches Dion and Phill, who competed in the Senior MAG competition. Both performed well in the face of world class competition including Prashanth Sellathurai (recently returned from winning Australia\'s first world cup gold), and several other interstate members of the national team. Dion is currently in 9th overall, 5th on Floor and 6th on Pommel and Horizontal Bar with Phill in 13th overall, 9th on Vault.

Britt and Alan are there all weekend judging and scoring, Dion and Phill compete again on Monday night (along with the senior international women), our MAG level 4s are on Sunday and Monday at 7.30am, MAG level 5s Sunday at 12.30pm, and Lachie our level 6 on Monday at 12.30. Sunday night is the WAG National 8-10 competition day 2, and there are a host of terrific sessions of Rhythmic and Trampolining, including all the higher national and international levels. It truly is a spectacular event, so come along to the State Netball and Hockey Centre. Tickets are available at the door.

Competitions are well underway, with the MAG season about to finish with the MAG, WAG, Rhythmic and Trampolining Senior Victorian Championships on all this long weekend at the State Netball & Hockey Centre in Royal Park. Showcasing the best of Victorian gymnastics, it truly is a fantastic event, highly recommended if you have the time to go along.

There have been some terrific results from the MAG season, as well as the first comp in the WAG 1-3 season and Acro Trial 1. To read about the achievements of our gymnasts, see the Results section of the website or check the noticeboards at the gym.

We\'re always more than happy to receive photos of events from parents so we can upload them to the website, use them in publicity or put them up on the noticeboard. If you have any photos, please drop them into the office, or email them to akeating@easterngymnastics.com.au or daniel.butcher@easterngymnastics.com.au

Entries for Club Championships are open to all those in Acro, Gymfun, Gymstar, MAG State, MAG National, Rhythmic and WAG classes, but close this Wednesday June 1st. Please be sure to return your form on time