Finally, we made our long journey to World Gymnaestrda in Switzerland! World Gymnaestrada is held every four years and is the largest general gymnastics exhibition. Teams from all around Australia participated and for many it was the first Gymnaestrada they have ever partaken in. Gymnaestrada began with the opening ceremony it was a huge spectacle and an incredible experience. All the participating nations paraded into the Olympic Stadium and there were performances throughout the ceremony. Also every country had an official flag bearer and Lynn Martin our coach was selected to represent Australia!

The most important lesson was learning how to spot the athlete on the wheel. We found that they had slightly different spotting techniques. This was very helpful and now we can combine the new methods with our pre existing knowledge. By the end of the course everyone managed to achieve the IRV level one coaches accreditation.

This newfound knowledge will continue to grow and advance the wheel team. Congratulations to everyone who completed the course!

Great excitement in the GSA Training Centre the other night, when the ‘Australian Team Uniforms’ arrived for the Harlequin Spirals Wheel Team.

Kate Johnson – Head Coach and Director of Venia Gymsports presented each team member with a clothing pack and some words of encouragement.

For further information about Gymnaestrada visit their website – http://www.wg2011.com/en/home.html

Fundraising Wheel team workshop

Members of the Wheel Team attended Saints gymnastics this week to conduct a clinic to assist will fundraising for the team travelling to WG.  It was held on this day as a special class for those gymnasts not travelling to the Millicent Competition.

The workshop was broken into two sessions, with the younger gymnasts attending the first session and older gymnasts attending the second.  The gymnasts were given an opportunity to learn the ‘feel’ of the wheel and then move onto more intricate skills.

The Wheel Team would like to thank the Club for their participation and their assistance towards the ‘travel fund’.

From 10 to 16 July, Lausanne will be hosting the world’s biggest gymnastics event!

Over 20,000 participants, of all ages, from all parts of the world and members of 55 National Federations will meet to share their passion. After Basel in 1969 and Zürich in 1982, this will be the third time that Switzerland will be hosting this world-scale sporting event, for everybody.

South Australia will be sending its first gymnastics team to this event.  Harlequin Spirals Wheel Team (Venia Gymsports) has been preparing for this event for the last four years and will perform two of their favourite routines – ABBA : Super Trooper and this year’s Cirque routine: Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

The team will leave Australia on July 1^st and head straight to Frankfurt where they will attend the Level 1 Wheel Gymnastics Coaching and Judging course plus train at one of the premier Wheel Gymnastics Clubs in Germany.  This club has produced both the Mens and Womens Wheel Gymnastics World Champions.  After four days at the course the team will move to Lutry, Switzerland where the Australian Team will hold their training camp.  The Opening Ceremony of WG will be held on 10^th July in Lausanne.  The team will then perform their group display on three occasions and be part of the English Speaking Evening.  The whole Australian team will take part in the Closing Ceremony on 17^th July, afterwards joining all the participants in a huge final party.

Team members

Gymnasts:

Jacqueline Eustis, Jill Arthur, Caitlin Gray, Meg Allison, Tanja Stollinger(AU) Tam Le (WA)

Lauren Strumpher(WA), Brenton Dicker & Shaun Todd

Manager: Janet Gray

Coach / gymnast: Lynn Martin

Supporters/volunteers:

Sue Johnson, Roger Johnson, Debra Tilley

The performers took the audience through a journey, through a range of movie themed displays that broke the barriers between gymnastics and the arts. Well done to the Harlequin Spirals wheel team who amazed the audience with their routine based on the movie Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkYjkGtZ8Hw

The were also featured in the Bendigo Weekly and on the Sportsnite programme which you can view below.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuXlH9R5B6I

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