Junior Gymnasts head to AYOF

WAIS Junior Gymnasts prepare for the Australian Olympic Youth Festival, which commences on the 16th of January in Sydney.

Five of WAIS’s top junior gymnastic athletes are currently stationed in Canberra for a last minute training camp before their competition in Sydney for the AYOF.

Brooke Callcott, Gillian Chan, Paige James and Darcy Normanmake up four of the eight spots on the Australian team, with Franceska Fusha as the reserve.

This will be their first international competition in their gymnastics career and senior WAIS coach Nicolai Lapchin believes it will be a great learning experience for them all.

“The main purpose for these girls is to gain experience.” Lapchin explained. “It’s not normal to have a competition in January and to train over Christmas break, so their goal is to do the best they can and to experience what it’s like to represent their country.”

WAIS gymnast Emily Little competed at the 2009 Australian Olympic Youth Festival back in 2009 and agreed that it was her first step on her journey to the 2012 London Olympic games.

“AYOF was one of my first international competitions as a junior athlete and I remember it being an Olympic atmosphere with all the other sports being there also.” Little said. “It was a great learning experience and a special moment for me to represent Australia for the first time.”