TERM 4 NEWSLETTER
LET S GO FOR GOLD MWGC is moving towards the final tender stage for the long term lease of land right next door to the Warringah Aquatic Centre at Frenchs Forest. The concept is to establish a National level training gym that will provide better facilities for our competitive gymnasts and further opportunities for our recreational members. Once established, MWGC will be able to offer a wider range of gym sports and healthy activities within the community. Discussions have been had with NSW Sport and Recreation on the introduction of a High Performance environment to support talented athletes and new building will be capable hosting sanctioned competitions such as the Men s Grand Prix, WAG regional comps and allow us to offer better invitational events. With the inclusion of other new facilities the Aquatic Centre sports precinct will become the hub of sport in the Forest area. Council has already approved the use of over 7000 square meters of land for 2 projects, the first being an indoor gymnastic and multi-sport facility and the second an indoor court centre with associated uses. Despite us having the support of so many prominent individuals we are yet to secure any financial assistance from the State Government. We need a commitment from Council before we become eligible for most funding and access to larger grants will improve once we have a signed lease. Our hope is to have completed the lease process by the end of this year. Discussions are continuing with the Federal Government surrounding their contribution. It is our medium term plan to make a move to bigger and better premises. Once achieved we will be able step away from such a high rent burden and have a permanent home for the long term. The Cromer facility has served us well but we have outgrown it in many ways. Our senior boys are literally hitting the roof and both the MAG and WAG programs require better access to all apparatus. Recreational memberships are still increasing and MWGC is now recognised as one of the premier clubs in the country. It s time we have premises on similar terms to most other sporting clubs in NSW. To achieve this we need to raise further funds. Over the next months we will be asking you to help support the new MWGC GO FOR GOLD fundraiser. Promotions in the gym and the community will commence and we ask for all the help you can offer. We cannot achieve the required result unless we have the help of the entire team. This facility will serve thousands of children for many generations. Our children and their children will have access to a real community club and be able to share in the spirit that is MWGC. All members will be asked to contribute and for those who really commit, we will thank them with discounts, rebates and rewards their efforts. Dates for fundraising events will be posted in the gym, on the clubs Facebook page and the website. PLEASE HELP. If you have any enquires or ideas for our GO for GOLD fundraising please email - ian@mwgymclub.com
IN THE COMMUNITY On the 17 th of September MWGC received a well-earned makeover from an amazing group of volunteers. Board Member Melinda Stewart led her Lendlease Foundation Community Day team through an entire day of jobs including a massive pit clean. It was no small task and we thank them for donating their time. MWGC would like to thank Lend Lease for the kind support and for the donation of materials needed throughout the day. We would also like to thank Jeff at the Summer Salt Café for his kind contribution of bacon and egg rolls for the entire team. MWGC staff sent a huge thanks to these guys and girls for saving them the task! HIGH FIVES A big High Five goes to Michael from Kachink and Rosemary at Proof Communications for the awesome work done on our promotional and sponsorship material. Welcome to the team. ARRIVALS and DEPARTURES We welcome Lani Waterman to our admin team. It s great to have another smile at the front desk and we hope you enjoy working with us. A big shout out to Elsie for being an amazing reserve when needed. Bon Voyage to our mate Paddy, stay safe during your travels and we look forward to seeing you back in the gym next year.
MWGC NEWS What s happening in WAG? Well done to all the Mighty Stars gymnasts who performed in the carnivals this year! Dates for 2016 s carnivals will be out soon. All foundation gymnasts have now been sent their invitation (class) letters for 2016. Please make sure you reply back to Heather (Foundation Coordinator) via email: mwgc.coach@gmail.com by the 8 th of November. As our annual display is quickly approaching, keep your eye out for the Mighty Stars display email coming out shortly. We hope to see you all there! We held our first Winter Wonderland invitational competition for level 3 10 girls. We had great feedback from all clubs that attended and all girls had a ball. Big thank you to Kiri and Toni for all your work organizing and on the day, we hope to make this an annual event. The level 3 and 4 girls have had another exciting season with lots of competitions to attend during Term 3. The level 3 girls started their competition season off with a few invitationals. The level 4 girls continued their competition season and attended State Championships at the end of Term 3. Congratulations to the following girls on your great achievements at State! Alexis Proctor Gold Millie Axford Gold Mia Shipley Gold Clara O reilly Gold Isla Waddy Gold Caitlin Gibson-Smith Gold Alexia Gianotti Silver Emily Fernandez Silver Emma Carey Silver Hannah Sheridan Silver Imogen Davis Silver Madeleine Hall Silver Chloe Davis Silver State Clubs Championships Level 4 junior team: Isla Waddy, Mia Shipley, Alexis Proctor, Clara O Reilly and Mille Axford: - 3 rd Overall team in Level 4 junior - 3 rd place team on Vault, Bars, Beam and Floor
Level 4 Mixed team: Hannah Sheridan, Alexia Gianotti, Maddy Hall, Caitlin Gibson-Smith, Chloe Davis, Imogen Davis - 16 th Overall in Level 4 mixed team Level 5 10 Girls Term 3 was a busy term for our senior girls. 2015 was the first year in a long time that Gymnastics New South Wales has organised a State Club Championships and it was a great success. Our Level 6 team placed 5 th, our Level 7 team placed 4 th, Level 8 placed 6 th and our level 9/10 team placed 2rd. These results are a great indication that our girls program is strong across the board. We made our first appearance at the National Club Championships since 2006. We took a team of girls in Level 5 10 and our girls did us very proud on and off the floor. All coaches were happy with the results and are excited to keep improving every year. A big thanks to Melinda Stewart, Sara Robertson, Jodie Spano and Tanja Muller for looking after all our girls and coaches, and to all the other mums and dads who helped with driving and cheering we appreciate all your help so much. Our Junior Girls had both State Championships and State Clubs in the last term. Level 5 girls had an enormous seven sessions with over 270 competitors over the weekend. Alexandra Stacey placed 4 th on both Beam and Floor, whilst Macy Melrose placed 5 th on Bars and Kristina Spano 6 th on Beam in a very competitive division. At the more recent State Clubs Championships our Level 5 under 10s Teams places 3 rd and 5 th, and our Mixed Age Team placed 6 th. As we head towards the end of the year all the girls are working extremely hard on building their skill set and strength ready to rock in 2016. New Floor routines are starting to be put together, skills are starting to go on the high beams and the number of salting vaults is increasing. IL Update The International Levels program has seen some extremely impressive results this year at both State and National levels. We have had gymnasts from the program attend multiple AIS clinics throughout the year which has allowed them to train amongst some of the best athletes in the country. Our top IL group is about to take on the Australian Classic competition in Geelong from the 9th- 14th of November. We wish them the best of luck and hope they achieve their absolute best! Thank you to all our IL gymnasts for their hard work this year, our coaches for their commitment to the program, and the parents for their outstanding support. We have some exciting new changes in 2016 and look forward to another successful year.
MAG News. Once again our MAG Gymnasts have finished of the year in incredible fashion. In September we travelled by coach to compete in the Australian Men s National Championships. The boys performed well in all 4 divisions and at the end of the competition our MWGC Men s team placed 2 nd overall. Although we were slightly disappointed it was a great effort by our gymnasts, coaches and chaperones and we will endeavour to try and go one better next year. Shortly after returning from Bendigo, our bags were packed and Senior Coach Lu Ming and I were on a plane to New Zealand with our WAG and MAG gymnasts who had been selected to represent Australia. All our gymnasts competed well and returned with medals from their competition. Last weekend saw the final event of the year at Rooty Hill, Junior State Championships, and the completion of the Grand Prix series for 2015. All of our boys were once again up to the task and we posted some incredible results. In Level one Age under 7 Nat Evans Placed 1 st in the All Round event Nat was also part of the team that included Ashton Hampson, Lucas Leal, Charlie Martin & Finn Herald who took out the team title. In the Level 2 Age competition MWGC gymnast, James Jackson Black had a terrific competition and placed 1 st in the All Round event. In the Level 2 Open event MWGC Gymnasts, Sebastian Galang and Team mate Yacoub Hill placed 1 st and 2 nd respectively in the All Round. The boys were also part of the team, which included Nicholas Diefes & Joshua Galang who collectively took out the Team title. In Level 3 Age, Nicholas Evanoff placed 2 nd in the all-round, with Team mate Cai Evans just behind in 3 rd place. In the team event MWGC was able to post two teams and once again our boys came through and the teams were 1 st and 2 nd overall so well done to all our boys, Ryan Andrew Barnes, Ryan James Barnes, Nicholas Selleck, Sam Hildebrandt, Lucas Phul and Will Stevenson.
In the Level 3 Open event, we only had one gymnast compete, Ptolemy Barlow-Hunt. He had one of his best days and finished by placing in the top part of the field. The Level 4 Age competition was also a tight event, MWGC gymnast Max Hall had a great day and finished in 3 rd place overall. The level 4 open boys also competed at the same time with Will Munro coming 2 nd in the all-round and Samuel Amey in 3 rd place over all. In the team event our boys also took out 1 st place Level 5 Age and open boys were all up together, although none of our 5 age boys placed it was a super close competition and the boys all produced awesome all round scores. In the Level 5 Open event Nicholas Hawkins was outstanding and placed 1 st overall. The team of Sebastian Massi, Nicholas Hawkins, Alex Bohm, Eli Brady & Matthew Godfrey took out the team title with a massive score. In Level 6 age Saxon Glendinning had another great competition and placed 2 nd in the all-round, Saxon also assisted team mates, Will Phillips, Minato Thomas & Marcus Nicol who took out the team title. Level 6 Open Ethan Carlile finished just outside the medals in 4 th place and team mate Matthew Price just behind. In total we had Four Individual All Round Champions Four individual 2 nd place Champions Three individual 3 rd place Champions Six 1 st place team Champions One 2 nd place team At the conclusion of the competition the Grand Prix team event was announced, and for the fourth year running MWGC took out this title. As a result the boys won another trophy for the club cabinet as well as $2000.00 prize money. I would like to thank all our staff at the club who contribute in this success story, as well as the parents and boys who make MWGC the force it is. TUMBLING Term 3 was pretty quiet for the Snr Tumblers. As major competitions are over and done with for the year it s now skill development time. The group are working on skills such as double back somersaults and multiple twists, we are hope to have some of these new skill ready for our display day. Our Jnr Squad had their State Trails and Championships this term with great result. A few 1 st place and most in the top bands for the level 2 and 3 tumblers. Well done to Thomas Aivazian for becoming the Men s Level 4 state champion. The recreational tumbling program is continually growing from what started at 4 classes per week 3 years ago is now up to 13 classes per week and they are all full. It s great to see such a young program grow to above 200 gymnasts now. It s been a great year so far and we are all excited for display day on the 29 th of November.
UNDER 5 s U5 s Program The under 5s program has been a massive success this year! Please remember to rebook your child in for 2016 from the 16 th November. We offer 3 different classes in the under 5s program so bring your friends along and book in before classes fill up. Get ready for some creative obstacles, exciting new themes and so much more! We hope to see you all in the U5 s in 2016! SCHOOLS and HOLIDAY PROGRAMS We have experienced a great year for the schools program with up to 15 schools visiting our gym. MWGC also has a coaching team who travel to 3 different schools to teach classes outside the gym. The general schools program gym has expanded and students now have a choice between recreational and freestyle classes. All our visitors are enjoying the different opportunities in artistic gymnastics, trampolining and recreational gymnastics. The younger school gymnasts at Wenona and Queenwood had some great results and achieved a 2nd in Level 1, 1st in Level 2, 3rd in Level 3 and 4th in Level 4 at the IPSHA competition. Gymnasts and coaches enjoyed the fun, hard work and achievements during 2015. New school holiday programs are also on the list for 2016. If you think we could help with your schools sports programs please give us a call on 9972 9222.
PROFILE AND INTERVIEWS Desnee Richter NDP Level 10 International Rasmus Breth-Petersen MAG Level 9 International Hi Rasmus. Tell me about your recent experience competing for Australia in NZ. Ras -It was a very rare and exciting chance to meet and compete with other gymnasts from a different culture. Desnee- There not enough words to describe how great the trip was! Getting to compete for the country in the green and gold is the best feeling and a personal goal reached. To travel with a team that you barely know yet within a week become such close friends with the WAG team, MAG and Rhythmic team that I still keep in touch with and be so supportive of each other within a week is incredible. Having supportive coaches who made sure we were ready to compete yet took us out of the hotel to sightsee including a three-hour trip an adventure park and mud pools in Rotorua made the trip so memorable. To be able to compete for Australia was amazing and a trip full of positive memories!
Have you represented Australia before and if so how did this competition compare? Desnee- No, it was my first time overseas let alone to represent Australia. Definitely good experience and a trip that I will never forget! Ras- Well I represented Australia in South Africa last year. It was quite fun, with lots of outside activities. New Zealand, on the other hand, had a lot of boys my age, which I became quite good friends with. Overall, both trips were super exciting had a lot to offer. Do you hope to be selected for this type of competition again? Ras - The opportunity to represent Australia again would be amazing. I hope I get the chance to experience it again. Desnee - Yes definitely! It was honestly one of the greatest experiences and to be able to get that opportunity again would be a dream come true. Can you tell us a little bit about your competition and how you went? Desnee- While the comp was not my best with falls on vault and bars it only went uphill from there with a new beam routine stuck earning third place yet due to the two country rule not making it to finals followed by one of the best floor routine s I ve done to qualify first to floor finals in two days time and finishing 7th overall. Our team also got a bronze medal. Ras- Ignoring floor, my competition went fairly well both days of the competition. I placed third overall and second on H-Bar and P-Bars. You qualified for apparatus finals, tell us about that and how did you go? Ras- Well I qualified for both H-Bar and P-Bars which both went well, so I m quite satisfied with my results. Desnee- Yes, I was ecstatic to be in the floor final and it was even more exciting to place third! It was also incredible to see the Aussies and Kiwis supporting each other and cheering for each other and to come home with some international friends. What does 2016 hold for you and what would you like to achieve? Desnee- In 2016 I hope to upgrade my routines with some new skills and make it to my 7th national championships and if any international opportunities arise that would be a bonus! Ras- For next year, I just want to have fun and do my best. If that's enough to get me through to representing Australia again, then I ll gladly take the offer. For any up and coming gymnasts, what advice would you give to them? Desnee- Keep working hard every single minute you re in the gym, even when it gets tough and it will most definitely pay off soon! Ras- For those who might also be thinking of representing Australia overseas, I think it's most important that you focus on enjoying yourself when you do gym, and less on worrying about skills and reaching your goals. Finally tell us about your most memorable moment in gymnastics? Ras- My most memorable part of gymnastics has to be the amazing variety of people I've met throughout the years, both overseas and at gym. Desnee- This trip most definitely! And also coming back to compete all four apparatus after injury to become 2015 level 10 state champion and so many other happy memories that gymnastics has given me! Thank you.
FROM UPSTAIRS FROM LISI S TEAM It is end of the year already and the admin team is working tirelessly to organise our Display Day that will be held on Sunday 29 th of November at the gym. We really appreciate your donations for the raffle prizes! Without your help this amazing event wouldn t be possible! Please see the list below with the group allocations for each session and which donation we are kindly asking (groups are in no particular order): MORNING SESSION 8.45 11.30am Junior Gym (MON TUE WED) Rec 5-7yrs (MON TUE WED) WG Might Stars- Rec 10yrs + Acro Dance WG SPL 5 7 (Scott & Yeye) WG Level 4 JNR Little Stars Tricks- WG L5 (Toni) Tumbling Squad 1 4 Rec Tumble & Tramp Beg & Adv Level 3 Senior Sports Hamper Christmas hamper AFTERNOON SESSION 12.45 3.30pm MG Pre Levels MAG Development- Junior Gym (THURS FRI SAT SUN) Rec 5-7 yrs (THURS FRI SAT SUN) REC 8-9 yrs ALL Tumbling Int & Senior WG L3 JNR WG L4 SNR WG SPL 5 (Tammy) WG NPL 6 FREE STYLE Sports Hamper Sports Hamper BOTH SESSIONS IL- MAG Senior Squad MAG L1-3 Tumbling Squad L5+ WAG NPL 7 10 Christmas hamper **Just a little reminder that we are hoping for donated items to be put into the hampers, not an entire hamper.
This year the theme is Music Legends and we can t wait to see what the gymnasts and coaches will come up with! Tickets are available at reception, guarantee yours today! The cake stall planning is going great and yummy treats are on their way! If you would like to participate, just bake a cake for the day and we will give you 10% discount on your tickets. If you are already planning 2016, priority re-booking for Term 1 will open on Monday 16 th of November and the last day of Term 4 will be Sunday 20 th of December. We are already taking bookings for Holiday Fun which will be held from 14/12 to 23/12 and then 11/01 to 22/01. Guarantee a spot today as bookings are limited! The gym will be closed and we will all be on a well-deserved holidays from 24/12/15 and back to work on Monday 11/01/16. This year has gone so fast and we are so excited to see what 2016 will bring! Thank you to all Members, gymnasts and staff for helping us out in the office when we needed and for your patience throughout the busy periods. DON T FORGET YOUR GO FOR GOLD MEDALLIONS AND PLAQUES! GET BEHIND THIS AWESOME FUNDRAISER. DETAILS AT RECEPTION OR SEE IAN
FROM Martin and Ian 2015 has been another successful year for the entire club. The restructure of the Board of Directors has proven to be a positive step forwards for the club. Both Melinda and Soren have brought a new way of thinking to the table and have better enabled us to continue building solid plans for the future of this great club. Since the AGM we have been working on new strategies to ensure the highest standard of all our operations and more attention is being given to member information processes and reporting. The Board is seeking one more member to raise the number of members to 7. If there is anyone with a legal background that has an interest in being a representative of this great club we would love to hear from you. When it comes to our main focus and purpose we have achieved some outstanding results at Regional, State, National and International competitions throughout the year. We continue to be recognised as a club that strives for excellence and one that nurtures enthusiasm, vision and determination. Growth in membership has been recognised across the under 5 s, schools and disability. Although we are committed to member satisfaction by balancing the numbers in competitive programs we must continue to pursue opportunities for all our younger members wanting to get into competitive gymnastics. The Mighty Star and MAG development groups continue to boost the volume and quality of young gymnasts going through to the comp squads. Training times are now well spread over the 15 hours a day and 7 days a week that we are open and we are committed to continue the push for better facilities. MWGC must look into the future and continue to build the club for the benefit of our members and the community. We realise that any further growth cannot be achieved without careful and responsible planning and we also acknowledge the importance of High Performance elite programs continuing within a community owned and not for profit organisation. Our short term continuing goal is to improve the quality of our equipment. The JF bars for the girls and a new 6m air floor have been ordered and we will soon have to start replacing some sections of the floor that are worn out. We have a few projects currently underway to improve MWGC s business operations including improvements to our phone system, the IT/network, our main server and also the website. All of these upgrades will improve customer service and the efficiency of the administration. We hope to soon offer a web based booking and payment system for merchandise, ticket sales and holiday fun bookings soon. Overall MWGC is in a great position and although the forward plans for our new home remain a priority we will move forwards with our short term commitments. Please remember that we continue to represent the entire membership and we welcome new ideas. If you feel that you need to discuss any aspect of the club please do so. Martin and I wish you a fabulous Christmas and New Year. See you in 2016. Ian Hardy CEO
SKILLS and TIPS THE AERIAL CARTWHEEL Work dive cartwheels trying to wait as long as possible before touching the ground. An aggressive needle kick and lifting of the chest is essential for rotation. Making sure the knee doesn t reach over the foot in the take -off lunge will help lift off the floor. Arms can either be swung across the chest bent, or up and back behind hips strai ght. Either way the arms should help lift and coordinate with leg action. Working on getting the lead leg around quickly is very important. Fast legs and flexible hips are essential to success. Work aerials off a small box or a springboard to develop the feel of the skill while having a little more time in the air. First steps to prepare for the beam, work aerials uphill onto mats (this forces more lift and kick) and on a floor line for precision. WE THANK OUR SPONSORS Dee Why RSL, Carroll O Dea Lawyers, The Beam Shop, Hobbs Technology, Amazon Power and Juliana Lisboa Dietitian