Taunusstein, Germany

During Easter this year I was given the opportunity to attend the Level 2 Coaching Course in Wheel Gymnastics, under the tutelage of Wolfgang Bientzle. Many years ago I had emailed Wolfgang Bientzle in the hope that the Harlequin Spirals could train at his club prior to attending a Festival in Spain organised by the DGI. Wolfgang organised not only our training but our accommodation and transport to and from his club. However, it was not until this course that I managed to meet – “this infamous man of the wheel”. His wheel knowledge is second to none and he is certainly revered by all in the Wheel community.

There were 6 candidates on the course from Norway, Germany, Japan, USA and 2 of us from Australia. Running concurrently with the course was a clinic for the athletes that had just competed at the World Cup. The athletes were both exciting and intimidating with their level of skill and ability. I spent a lot of the free time filming the skills in the gym. Being a gymnastics coach, I found it difficult to spot both the athlete and the wheel at the same time. During team session we always have 2 spotters, one controlling the wheel and one spotting the athlete. So I apologize to all those demonstrators whom I “slapped around” in my attempt at spotting.

The three areas of competitive Wheel Gymnastics were covered – straight line, spirals and vaulting. Whilst straight line and vaulting are very similar to gymnastics – spiraling is really difficult and needs lots of practice, just to even spot the wheel. (Anybody reading this from the course – we are attempting to practice every session – I am determined that the Harlequin Spirals will “spiral”). There was an enormous amount of knowledge gained during the course and hopefully the team can use this knowledge to increase their skill level.

After attending this course, I am also keen to attend a Level 1 Course with the rest of the team prior to attending World Gymnaestrada next year. We have some athletes keen to compete and this should assist them to understand the competitive aspect of the sport. My thanks go to all those lecturers who presented in the course and gave of their extensive knowledge so freely and I look forward to further education in the future.

Lynn Martin