Squad News Archive 2009

2nd December 2009 MG Report

December brings a few different qualities to Northern Beaches Gymnastics Club, fun, Christmas, relaxation and more but it also brings for competitive senior coaches the added task of planning for next years program and starting to implement these into training so to best manage peaking and competing at 100% for 2010. For the men's side one of the most challenging tasks to follow is going to be the new Gymnastics Australia routines and requirements for MG program from 2010 onwards. These changes will include, new routines for level 6 - 8 elite boys harder tasks and requirements for open levels boys and some refinement on routines for the junior level 1-5 MG boys. These changes are yet to be finalised and as such as a coach eagerly awaiting these to assess where and how we go about attacking such changes in such a short amount of time for the 2010 competition season.

The competition calendar has been released for NSW competitions for 2010. You will find this calendar attached in the near future and will outline where we are headed towards for competitions in 2010.

This week has seen the finalisation of the men's PVI tour 2010. Congratulations to the following athletes:

Matthew Angel

Aaron Bruce

Jordan Papandrea

Brandon Forrest

Joel O'Neill

Alec Traina

Jacob Seeto

Thomas Polat

Jonathon King*

Also Congratulations to Karolyn Polat for her inclusion onto the management team travelling over, her enthusiasm and charisma will be a great quality added towards the team. We have our second meeting on the 11th of December at 7.10pm for all travelling families.

Please write down our Christmas Party for all squad families on the 19th of December at 12.00pm. The whole family is welcome and please make a day of it to have talk with families and coaches alike.

My final day this year will be the 22nd of December returning back to resume work on the 5th January 2010. For the training sessions on the 23rd December and the 4th of January, Jason will be taking these sessions. These will be light sessions, with the explanations of their holiday programs given to each of the boys for their time off period.

Yusuf Topari

MG Program Manager

2nd December 2009 WG Report

With only 2 weeks of term left, there are a few things coming up before Christmas we would love as many people to get involved with as possible. The Supporters Club Christmas BBQ will be on Friday 11^th December this includes the lucky draw so please come along to help us celebrate the last BBQ of 2009.

The squad Christmas Party will be on Saturday 19^th December from 12noon onwards. Training times on this day will be changed so everyone will finish training around 12 and we will go and have a nice BBQ and disco outside. Please come along, it will be a great chance to catch up with all the coaches and exchange gifts and finish the year with a bang. All the squad members have worked so hard and had many successes so it’s a nice way to unwind and reward all their hard work and look forward to 2010

This Saturday 6^th Dec sees our annual Fitnastics contest with all our non competitive advanced and intermediate kids coming together to showcase their talent as a display to all their friends and family. It is a great event to take part in with no pressure to perform. They can take part with their friends and everyone goes away with a prize. It is a fun way to end the year and an opportunity for Denise Diflo to explain a little more about the new Fitnastics programs that will be launched in 2010. Please take this opportunity to invite all your nearest and dearest to watch these children and have what might be their first display experience. We want to make it as thrilling and pleasurable as possible.

2010 is going to be a great year at Northern Beaches Gymnastics. There is a lot going on throughout the country and overseas for the gymnasts to have a chance to get involved in. We have an action packed calendar with many competitions for all levels. There will be the chance to spectate a world event, a trip to LA and many other events across the country. Please keep your eyes on the website as we don’t want you to miss out on all these exciting opportunities. There will be some chances made to the women’s programs with the birth of the new junior development squad. These girls will be our up and coming rising stars of gymnastics. They will train 6 hours a week and feed into all streams depending on their age, ability and commitment level. There will be also plenty of girls moving up through the levels and therefore moving up groups. Letters regarding this will be going out next week so please make sure you read them and are aware of what days and times you will be training and if you have any problems or questions please drop me an email at alison@nbg.com.au.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support and commitment towards NBG over the last year. It has been an action packed year with ups and downs but it is when we all stick together and work as a team that we pull through anything that happens this makes us stronger and draws us together as a united community. Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. Have a great vacation and we look forward to a successful and happy 2010.

Alison Mercer

WG Program Manager

Dear Members

Over the next few days you may receive a letter from Gymnastics NSW please find attached NBG’s response to this letter.

Letter from the NBG Directors

19th November 2009 MG Report

This weekend will see the new appointment for the NSW gymnastics MG SMC, this is the governing body that has influence on the structure and focus of competitive gymnastics within the State. This board can be very influential and beneficial if used in the right forums, but there are some aspects of the last 12 months I hope to see the newly elected SMC address. Many of my points come from the standpoint that once NSW gymnastics was the dominant force in Australian Men's Gymnastics. Yet we have been slowly moving down the ladder on the National floor over the last few years. Now yes some of this can be addressed towards our cycle, and it will be a few years before we see the new strong force of gymnasts come through, and I would wholeheartedly agree with this if for what I see in the identification and monitoring of athletes in the pre junior elite levels was putting in place a strong foundation for the future. Do I see this? Not at this point. I see us drawing away from the importance mentoring, clinics and work shops for these coaches of the right gymnasts in the crop. Also monitoring of what programs these boys are doing and how they are developing. By no means am I suggesting that we take away from individual clubs time for running and conducting their private gymnastic centers, as I realise these are businesses and sometimes business doesn't necessarily know what is good for the sport. What I would like to see is the SMC develop a united coaching team to be able to work together towards these goals as apposed to competing against each other. It will be interesting to see where board heads towards without the influence of Mark Forrest, Director of Pittwater Sports Centre and Northern Beaches Gymnastics. His years in gymnastics have not always been agreed upon by his peers and board members, but no-one can dispute he has the athletes and gymnasts at heart, and has only ever wanted to see gymnastics succeed within NSW.

The organisation of the 2010 Peter Vidmar invitational is coming together well. We are in constant contact with the organisers and committee in the States. A quick reminder to all the families that forms with a photocopy of your passport are due by the 27th of November.

Good-luck to Alison Mercer and the girls that are traveling down to Canberra for the National Club Championships. Have fun and remember to Stick!

Yusuf Topari

MG Program Manager

10th November 2009 MG Report

From the results of the NSW State championships each year, top placement getters from each age group division get nominated to try out for the SDS Squad. the purpose of the SDS Squad is to Identify the athletes that at this early stage have shown the potential to reach senior success in their future gymnastics goals, and to monitor their progress and make sure they are on the correct training path within their individual clubs. This is a great opportunity for the boys that are nominated and later selected for the squad to see how they match up against the other programs in NSW not in a competition environment, but with focus towards strength development, skill progress and also skill refinement. How the SDS trial process works is the have two testing programs. The first is sole profile testing looking at an individual's strength, flexibility and static strength. The second is a skill testing component looking at their skill competency towards their age. 2010's squad invitations and testing has been postponed until early 2010 due to the re-election of the NSW SMC board which lost the technical director Mark Forrest at the end of 2009. This is a huge loss for the NSW Board and will be interesting to see how the re-build from this point. Please read regular reports in the future to confirm dates and times for this selection trial.

On Tuesday the team for the 2010 USA, Peter Vidmar tour held their first meeting. It was a great turn out with a lot of information shared and some very good questions asked from parents. This is a great opportunity for the boys, especially in a junior program and is a great fundamental experience towards their future goals and success within gymnastics. Congratulations to Gary Angel, Len Papandrea and Gai Forrest who have been put forward to be chaperones for the tour.

From an MG Co-ordinator perspective I would like to give a brief outline for what I am envisaging for the 2010 competition season.

I think for too long now clubs in NSW particularly have got into a comfort zone, with a lot of focus put towards competition with-in the state and comparing programs in the state to their own. However I am taking a new approach. I am using 2010 as an "Experience development year" for our MG Squads. This is essential for the future, not the ground roots fundamental gymnastics, but for athletes striving for senior success for the future. I am looking at gaining interstate experience, overseas experience and looking at different programs around the world to show the boys what is possible.

One feedback I agree with is the lack of competitions within NSW. How do we combat this? Create our own. Competition is going to become more regular next year, with in-house inters quad meets against clubs to get routine competition repetition and also give the boys an opportunity to put on their tracksuits a few more times.

We will be growing our junior programs more with focus on these squads to push our mid-stream boys to new levels and lifting our programs standard in an overall perspective. We now have a committed MG Coaching team, and have done for probably the last 12 months. This team is enthusiastic, driven and motivated to create some of the best talent possible out there. Our driving force? There are several.

One of my main objective, is to allow the boys the opportunity to build a passion, love and desire for a sport. gymnastics has many positives within it, but remains one of the most demanding sports out there which is sometimes the most intimidating factor of the sport. But what it can bring to athletes can easily outweigh this. A love and passion for the sport, learning what is possible and creating bonds that will last lifetimes is one of the best memories I have from gymnastics and what I want to share with all the athletes that enter our programs.

Desire to succeed and achieve has to come within. A coach, no matter how good they are cannot create this within a gymnast. What we can do is give them the best possible environment in which the can reach their best potential which I will be advocating towards our coaching team. Success is always a goal of course and we want to see our athletes succeed, in here comes the program structure, maintaining quality sessions and ensuring athletes/coaches communication is clear. With these combining I think we can create a program that will lift once again. We had some amazing results in 2009, but I believe we can reach high levels for 2010.

9th November 2009 WG Report

This week starts week 4 of the final term of the year. Christmas is rapidly approaching and some dates for the diary are coming up.

National clubs is the last competition of the year and is always difficult to get numbers for the teams. After gaining numbers from letters of interest and as it is a very busy time of the year for all the gymnasts we will be sending a team of level 4 gymnasts this year. This will consist of Olivia Copeland, Holly Ovenden, Mackensie Nelle and Imogen Simonik. These girls will go down for a few days to compete in the 2 competitions and have a fun time getting to know the other competitors in social activities. We wish all the girls the best of luck for it and hope they enjoy the experience.

Due to this disappointment for some of the other squad girl’s eligible for the National Clubs competition, we will be hosting a small friendly competition for all those who wanted to compete at National clubs. This will be held on Sunday 6^th Dec and is open to National levels 4-10. If you are interested in taking part in this event please let me know via email at alison@nbg.com.au More information about this competition will be sent through shortly.

There will also be a Recreational competition on this day 6^th Dec for the Intermediate and advanced Rec classes this will be an opportunity for all these children to showcase their routines in a fun and friendly competition and will be a great opportunity for parents family and friends to come and watch this display. There will be a Christmas BBQ after as a reward to all the gymnasts and parents for getting involved and we look forward to seeing you all there. It will be a great way to end the success of 2009.

We are also starting to take bookings for the holiday workshops over the Christmas vacations, these run from 7^th Dec until the end of January. There has already been a lot of interest in our fun and exciting new ideas that were trialed last holidays. These workshops are open to children as young as 3 years old. Each day has a different theme some of these themes include wet and wild, circus, commando kids etc please come in and get a brochure. Bookings are based on a first come first served basis so book early to avoid disappointment.

Alison Mercer - WG Program Manager

29th October 2009 WG Report - Five Dock Competition

This weekend saw one of the last competitions of the year and a very successful one. We all went along to Five Dock and competed in their invitational which is held every year. First round of the competition saw our level 4’s compete. We had the 4 B’s Imogen Simonik, Mackensie Nelle, Holly Ovenden and Olivia Copeland who started the comp on beam. We also had 4C’s Taylor Springthorpe, Jasmine Grey and Rebecca Milner. The competition went really well for all girls and great results were obtained. Imogen placed 2^nd overall with 2^nd on Beam and 3^rd on bars. Mackensie placed 5^th overall with 1^st place on vault, Olivia got 6^th on floor and vault and Holly ranked 10^th on vault. The state girls also had a lot of success with Jasmine coming 2^nd overall 1^st on bars 2^nd on vault and floor, Rebecca getting 1^st Beam and 4^th on bars and Taylor 5^th bars and 6^th on floor.

Next up it was levels 5-7. In this round we had great representation at level 5B we had Emma Chatham 5C Georgia Briggs, Lucy Fletcher, and Jessica Dude. 6B Kata Eglesz, 6C was Rylee Morton Tess Moran and Sarah Bojko and finally level 7’s Alexa Collins, Megan Lutz, Emily Charmers and Brooke O’Toole. Some of these girls started on vault and the others on floor. Great floor routines were done by all and great scores achieved over all the apparatus. Emma placed 2^nd overall winning bars and beam and 2^nd on vault, The 5C’s Lucy won the gold overall with Jessica close 2^nd and Georgia 3^rd. Kata placed 2^nd overall with 1^st place on vault, Rylee won beam with Tess winning vault and floor and Sarah winning the bars. And for the level 7’s Alexa won the gold on bars, Emily won gold on vault and beam Megan won the floor and Brooke tied in first place with Emily on vault. Even though there was not a tough competition for these girls they all did their routines well and each of them placed on a different apparatus.

Sunday saw the lower levels having their chance to showcase their routines and another great day was had by all. First up it was the level 3’s. Representing 3B was Lucy Tompson, Juliette Brennan, Emma Taylor, April O’Neil and Yasmin Mannix. Representing 3C were Madeleine Cameron, Grace Dephoff, Caitlin Jackson, Alisha Brown and Anna Louise Supierz These girls started on floor. All the girls showed off their routines and a lot of coaches commented on how clean our girls were. All the girls had a lot of fun and really enjoyed their competition experience. Yasmin got the gold on vault, Lucy placed 8^th overall with 3^rd on bars, Juliette placed 5^th on vault and floor, April 5^th on vault and Emma 9^th on floor. In the team event NBG placed 3^rd overall getting the bronze medal. Great results for the 3C’s with Anna Louise winning the gold overall as well as vault and floor with a silver on beam, Maddie got 2^nd on floor and 4^th on beam, Alisha placed 4^th overall 2^nd on bars and 3^rd on vault, Caitlin came 3^rd overall and got the gold medal on beam and grace placed 2^nd overall getting 1^st on bars and 3^rd on floor. Great results from all of our level 3 gymnasts. All of your coaches are so very proud of all of you

Next was level 2 for 2B’s we had Olivia Massey, Chloe Wilson and Kali wilding and for 2C were Kelsie Miller, Abbey Waterworth, Brooke Laurie, Olivia Sheridan, Lydia Virgo, Ella Simmons and Jessica Head. These girls also started their competition on the floor. There was a shaky start for Olivia but then all the girls settled into the competition and had fun showcasing their talent. The results were great, Abbey placed 2^nd overall with 1^st place on beam and floor, Brooke placed 2^nd on bars, Ella came 4^th overall with 1^st on bars and 3^rd on vault, Jessica placed 4^th on bars Olivia placed 6^th on vault Lydia placed 8^th on bars and the team coming 2^nd overall. The level 2B’s Olivia placed 7^th overall with 2^nd on vault Chloe 4^th on vault and Kali 5^th on bars. The girls went home happy with an award to reward their great performance.

Any the final round of the day Saw Hanako represent 1C. There was a lot of girls at this level and it was a stiff competition. Hanako did all her routines very well she placed 4^th on beam and 9^th overall. She was the only one from NBG in this round and she worked so very hard. Northern Beaches Gymnastics is extremely happy with all the girls and hope they keep up the good work for next year.

Alison Mercer - WG Program Manager

27 October 2009 MG REPORT

In 2010 Northern Beaches MG Program is going international. As many of you are aware of by now, we are looking at taking a squad of boys over to the “Peter Vidmar Invitational” in Los Angeles from the 5^th – 7^th of March. We have had many letters of interest about this competition and it is a great experience for the boys to travel overseas and see what other gymnastics programs put into place and how this can work and be implemented into our own programs. To have such experience at such young ages is an integral part of gymnastics that I think many families are not aware of in Australia, with gymnastics often taking on a minor sporting role within the community, yet being one of the most demanding sports with its time dedication, physical requirements and age identification timeline. After getting to know the Australian program now pretty well over the last two years, the routine structure and system is well and truly on par with the development and evolution of the sport. However where I believe we fall short is the quality of these routines being taught to our young gymnasts and especially our identified athletes. The Peter Vidmar Invitational gives us a chance to have a go at the American structure of routines. They are similar in many regards, but also some emphasis on different aspects of gymnastics that are sometimes forgotten. Also with competing nations including countries from Eastern Europe, Asia and Central America we have some of the best competing nations from around the work for the boys to look at and have a goal to attain. Many families I think put very low priority on this sort of experience but it is one that can change an athletes approach to their sport, motivate them even more to achieve their goals and to see the world. I have included some “youtube” video links to some of routines to compare to over their please sit down and watch with your son and have a look at what other nations programs look like.

Dylan Gymnastics Illinois State

9 – 10 year old Division, Level 7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wINT0CuqHxo&feature=related

This is the American gymnastics routine structure for Level 7 – 9-10 year old age division.

Sean – Montage of the Level 10 American Program

Age 15 yrs age division.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPlWF8VnmNA

SDS Training was the past weekend here at Northern beaches Gymnastics. It was a great chance to see where the athletes and gymnasts were at in NSW Gymnastics. I was a little disappointed with the overall quality of all boys, but felt that there were a few boys that were coming up that have some great potential there. The NBG Boys showed some good gymnastics for the coaches that were on, and got a chance to work with some of the most established coaches in NSW gymnastics. I would like to see them all stepping it up in training in the next few months as we really start to focus on the gymnastics coming through for next year.

21 October, 2009 MG Report

First week back at term 4 saw the start of the new MG Squad program for the next competitive cycle for 2009/2010. There have been some minor hitches on the way, but as a whole has begun problem free. NBG would like to farewell our long time gymnast and level 3-4 MG Coach, Ben Wood. After 17 years associated with Northern Beaches Gymnastics, Ben has chosen to move onto to start his career in the financial field. We wish him luck for the future.

This weekend is our invitational only, profile testing day. It will start at 12.30pm on Saturday the 24^th of October. It will go for approximately two hours, and the testing will be specified towards body shapes, strength and flexibility. If you would like your child tested please see either Alison Mercer (WG Coordinator) or Yusuf Topari (MG Coordinator).

Following from the testing day will be the NSW SDS training from 3.00pm – 6.00pm. I encourage all junior MG Gymnasts and parents to come down and watch the training to get some idea on what the purpose and mythology behind the SDS Squad training.

Term 4 will see a rebuilding stage for the MG Mighty Wreckers Squads. We have just moved 5 athletes into our junior development squad for the step up into competitive gymnastics. This gives us an opportunity to monitor the new talent coming through from the recreational gymnastics side and kindy recreation side of the program, and trying to identify those gymnasts with potential qualities that will make them prime candidates for the Mighty Wreckers Program.

We have also changed the naming of the mighty wreckers program to show some new ideas and concepts to make sure the program is on a continual progression. They new squads titles will be:

PROGRAM – “ Mighty Wreckers “

Monday – 11am – 12pm

“THE MIGHTY TIGERS”

Tuesday – 11am – 12pm

“THE MIGHTY SNAKES”

Friday – 11am – 12pm

“THE MIGHTY GORILLA’S”

Friday – 4pm – 5pm

“THE MIGHTY HIPO’S”

20 October, 2009 WG Report

As we enter term 4 the final term of the year, I would like to say what a great Spring holidays we had. The workshops took flight and were very successful. The numbers of children we had coming through the door were huge and the new wet and wild theme was a huge success. It also saw groups Kayaking down to the lake which only positive feedback was given on how much fun it was even if the weather wasn’t perfect. Denise Diflo did an amazing job at all the themes bringing new and exciting ideas for lesson plans on the equipment and new games which the children had great enjoyment playing. All the activities ran with great organization and ease. All the coaches were on great form and kept the motivation and moral of every child up high to lead to nearly every child coming back for another session. A big thanks to Denise and all the coaches for their hard work throughout the holidays.

This weekend we have the Five Dock invitational competition coming up. Levels 4-7 are on the Saturday 24^th Oct and 1-3 are on Sunday 25^th Oct. We have around 40 gymnasts taking part in this so it is going to be a great weekend of competition and hopefully some prizes by the end of it. We wish all the girls taking part the best of luck and invite as many supports down to the event as possible to spur them on. The timetable for the competition is as follows:

Saturday 24^th Oct

Level 4 (National and state levels)

12:30pm Warm up, 1:00pm Start

Levels5-7 (National and State Levels)

4:00pm Warm up, 4:30pm Start

Sunday 25^th Oct

Level 3 (National and State levels)

8:00am Warm up, 8:15am Start

Level 2 (National and State levels)

10:45am Warm up, 11:00am Start

Level 1B (National levels)

1:45pm Warm up, 2:00pm Start

1C (State levels)

4:00pm Warm up, 4:15pm Start

We also have National Clubs competition coming up from 26^th Nov-3^rd Dec. This is the last competition of the year and will be held in Canberra. It is a team event as well as individual and we have chosen some of the best girls from each level to have the opportunity to compete in this event. A letter has been sent out to all those who have the opportunity to be selected for the team so please return the reply slip to your coach by Thursday 22^nd October so we can finalise the teams and put the entries in. It is a great occasion. It sees teams from all over Australia coming together to train and compete, with activities arranged all through the competition to encourage the girls to get to know the other teams and as a reward for being chosen to compete in this event.

There will be a squad BBQ this Friday after training. It is open to all parents and it’s a great opportunity for you to come along have some great cooked food, socialize with all the other parents and the coaches will be there for you to chat to also. It is a great fund raiser and requires your constant commitment and support to raise money for the club which goes towards competitions, new equipment and trips way. Please make every effort to attend.

Alison Mercer WG Program Manager

12 October, 2009 MG Report

Thursday afternoon saw Northern Beaches Gymnastics alight with teams arriving from Western Australia, Queensland and around New South Wales. The 2010 GCA Cup for the men’s side had finally arrived. Speaking from a personal point of view, I was extremely excited and very nervous, probably the most nervous I have been since I was a competitive gymnast myself. These nerves were a combination of wanting to see this event successful, wanting NBG to do awesome as well as seeing our interstate clubs doing well.

The format for the competition was similar to that of the annual National Club Championships, with Day one being the Team and All-Around competition. Clubs earned points on their team placements from 1 – 10^th place earning a certain level of points. Day two of competition would be the Apparatus finals, with clubs earning points for top 6 placements per apparatus.

Throughout the weekend there were class act performances from many gymnasts, but in terms of an overall program, I must make mention of the Western Australian High Performance Centre, with arguable the top Elite men’s program running in Australia from an overall perspective, performances were stunning and left very little room for their competitors on the podium. Also make note of Gold Coast Gymnastics, bringing down a contingent of competitors that had some rising stars in the Queensland gymnastics scene, and hopefully on the National scene as well. But my proudest moment was seeing all the hard work that the NBG staff of the men’s program, that very few people would actually get to see, come to the forefront and see out program be so successful and dominant over the weekend, winning 3 out of the 4 teams events and placing 3^rd in the 4^th. Having competitors of top placements in every level division and having top three placements in the All-Around competition for all bar one Level, Ultimately taking out the GCA TEAMS trophy for 2009.

The most important thing about the weekend, was seeing all the boys with enormous smile on their faces and enjoying them selves, playing to the crowd and enjoying their time in the spotlight. Well Done boys. A special thankyou to Leanne Rogan who really made this event happen, countless hours of her own time, and an enormous effort throughout, and you could never tell. Thankyou so much Leanne, from the crew at NBG.

Yusuf Topari MG Program Manager

22 September, 2009 WG Report

Well, it is the final week before the GCA Cup at the weekend. All the gymnasts are getting in their final practices and routines are looking good in the gym. There is a good group of girls all going off to Luna Park on Friday before the competition begins.

Just a reminder to all that there will be no training on Saturday for any programs as the competition will be on. Cover sessions will be arranged for the time missed. The timetable is up for everyone to view on the website. Please check which round your gymnasts are in. This depends on the level they are doing. Please ensure you arrive fifteen minutes before your scheduled start time and are dressed in the full competition attire.

We wish all the girls the best of luck and I’m sure they will all do their best.

School holidays are also fast approaching and there is lots going on at NBG for all abilities and levels. We have holiday workshops, each with a different theme and different activities included. There is the opportunity to go kayaking on the lake as well as a slip-and-slide and plenty more activities. It is a great chance for the children to come in and have some fun meet new people and learn some new skills.

Denise Diflo is our new recreational and school holiday co-ordinator. She is responsible for all the hard work and planning that goes into our school holiday program and will be taking on the recreational program from Term 4. She will be overseeing all the programs, implementing lots of fresh ideas and ensuring the recreational programs run smoothly and there are plenty of options for all children wanting to participate in gymnastics regardless of age or ability.

Entries for the Five Dock competition are coming in, but please remember that these must be in by Friday, Oct 2 if you wish your daughter to take part. If we do not have the entry form back they will not be eligible to compete. It is open to national levels 1–6 and levels 1-7 state stream. Please ensure you do inform us if you are not able to attend so we know exact numbers.

On Sunday, October 4 we have six girls attending a trial for State Bronze squad. Bronze squad is a training camp that happens three times a year and is open to all élite gymnasts’ levels 1-3 from across the state. Currently we have Courtney Hall and Lucy Redfern who have a space, we are looking to get all our girls in. They have to be assessed on all their skills, strength, flexibility and body composition. It is a very tough process and a lot of hard work in training is going in so they can achieve this position. There are only a limited number of spaces in the squad and they will get the opportunity to be coached by the top coaches from the state and country who come specifically to see what they can do. We wish all the girls in Teal 2 the best of luck.

Alison Mercer, WG Development Coach

16 September, 2009 WG Report

Another week closer to the GCA Cup and now we are starting to get reply slips back from parents in regards to the activities going on over the competition period.

There will be a trip to Luna Park and Taronga Zoo as well as a BBQ and presentation afternoon on Sunday 26th after the competition has finished. If you could get the reply slips back by Monday, Sept 21 so we can organize numbers and find out how much transport is required.

It is a great opportunity for all the children to have fun days out to socialize with the other clubs and as a reward for all their hard work put in this year. We are also finalising the timetable for the GCA Cup so this will be posted up on the website in the next few days.

Over the weekend we had two girls in the Junior Elite State Championships at Homebush. In this competition it was very close and all the girls got great scores. Courtney Hall managed 4th place on floor and 8th overall. Well done to both the girls!

We still have three competitions coming up before the end of the year, so there is still work to be done and support required for all the girls.

Letters went out regarding the Five Dock Invitational. Please, if you were sent a letter regarding this please let us know ASAP if you would like to take part. If you are not able to participate could you also just drop us a little note to make it easier to chase up entries.

Timetables for the spring holiday training are also going out to every gymnast this week and this can also be found from the link (above left). Training for all squads over the holidays is included in fees so no extra payment is required.

Please make a special effort to attend the training as it is vital that each girl keeps up their fitness and strength. If you are going away could you please inform us of this and so we can monitor numbers available for each session and provide the correct number of coaches.

One of our coaches, Sam Wood, has been chosen to participate in the International Coaches' Conference this year. Sam had to apply for her place back in February and was chosen due to her hard work and dedication to the sport. This is a great opportunity for her to find out a lot more information about the gymnastics system, talent identification, coaching specifics, and lots more. I’m sure she will come back with lots of information for the club to constantly improve our gymnastics system.

Alison Mercer, WG Development Coach

16 September, 2009 MG Report

With only three weeks left in the term, the centre is getting in the process for the excitement that will be the holiday workshops and Term 4.

The workshops are shaping up to be an exciting new venture for Northern Beaches Gymnastics, with Denise Diflo taking the reigns for the first time. She has put in an enormous amount of effort and planning and with newly designed senior and junior workshops working simultaneously, a wicked wild water slide day and some revamped super excited coaches it is an extremely exciting time for us to see our already popular holiday workshops and seeing them grow to new levels.

Book in now, as some days are already reaching near capacity levels!

The Junior 1 -6 men's programs had their testing week last week.

After reviewing the results, I am extremely pleased with where the boys are all at. The most identified area of weakness for all of the boys as a whole is endurance strength. I have discussed with all the coaches and we will be working on this over the next cycle basis to lift this current area of weakness. This results not only were detailed to show us where our weaknesses are, but also to give me some sort of idea about squads' restructuring that will take place over the next few weeks, to have implemented after the GCA cup and start of Term 4.

Please keep checking your emails about meetings and processes about this.

Just under a month to go before the GCA Men's competition being held here from October 9–12. The format for this competition is focused around a teams and club event, with two divisions combining to form a team (eg Level 1-2 = Team competition and 3 -4 = Team competition). With individual awards being handed out for each individual level (eg Level 1 overall champion) and then a overall team club champion from the points each club earns from their placements in the teams event. This is a fun and relaxed competition focused on forming a common bond between clubs, athletes and coaches sharing in the display of competitive gymnastics.

Yusuf Topari, MG Development Coach

9 September, 2009 MG Report

With State Championships over for yet another year, all focus turns to the men’s GCA Cup being held here at Northern Beaches Gymnastics October 9–11. This has been a week of relaxed, less intense training for the junior NBG boys after months of focus solely for NSW State Championships.

Last night all the men’s Level 1–5 programs did their profile testing. This testing is an important part of the evaluation of the program to date, and a resource we can use to see where our strengths and weaknesses are and to see where our focus on the program as a whole will go for the next twelve months. It also gives a chance for us to see that each individual squad member's placement is in the correct program and assessing along with their results and competency in competition this year, what level they will be aiming for next year.

I will be holding a MG coaches' meeting that will be a chance for ideas from all perspectives to be put forward and the final programs concluded. After this meeting will be the chance for individual coaches to then have a talk to their squads.

For those athletes that have still not handed back their 'Letter of Interest' for the Peter Vidmar Invitational in 2010, could you please get these letters back to me as soon as possible. I need to get final names down for both gymnasts and chaperones to be handed over to the Supporters' Club in order for them to put together a plan for the allocation of how and in what capacity the Supporters' Club will be helping the families.

For all parents for the GCA Cup, if your son is unable to compete at this event for any reason what-so-ever, can you please forward me details about this so I can confirm some final numbers. Otherwise, can you please ensure that all entries have been returned to reception.

Yusuf Topari, MG Development Coach

8 September, 2009 WG Report

Another busy week was had by all and there are plenty more things coming up in the next month that we all need to be aware about and prepared for. Firstly this weekend we have two girls competing in the Level 1–3 State Championships. We have Courtney Hall (Level 2) and Isabelle Cameron (Level 1).

These girls have been training very hard and actually had to qualify with a score over 56.00 to get into State Championships. It was very tough in their previous competition as there are lots of good girls around the state.

We wish these girls the best of luck this weekend.

Also another reminder for the GCA Cup. We still have not had all the entry forms back in for the gymnasts and the closing date was two weeks ago. Please, please, please, if you still haven’t submitted one do so by the end of this week or let us know if your daughter is unable to compete. We have to finalise groups and numbers for this so is vital we get this back so we can include everyone!

Can you also please check you have the full competition attire. This includes a competition leotard, white track pants, and a blue tracksuit top. The girls will all be required to have their own and will not be able to borrow other peoples because all the girls are in the competition. Please let us know ASAP if you require anything as we have to check stock and if no stock we will have to order in directly.

Please also check back to one of my previous reports I did about competition etiquette, this applies to all gymnasts and parents so please familiarise yourself with that.

Before, during, and after the competition there will be activities and social events for the gymnasts to attend. These include a trip to Lunar Park, Taronga Zoo, a BBQ, and the presentation banquette. It will be a great opportunity for all the girls to get involved and to mix with the other gymnasts coming from all over Australia to compete in this competition.

I do understand that some of these activities will be in school time but it would be great if they could attend something just as a reward for their hard work and is the whole point of the competition. Notification about these events will be going out this week so please make sure you get these back to us as soon as you can as spaces are limited.

Another competition we have coming up is the Five Dock Invitational. This will be on October 24–25. Entries for this have to be in before the GCA Cup competition so letters will be going out next week regarding this. It is open to all girls in the national and state streams from Level 1 to Level 7 so this includes all Silver and White groups.

This is another opportunity for the girls to gain vital competition experience and to perform their routines which they have been working hard on all year. We would like as many girls to do this as possible so please keep the weekend free.

One big issue that is developing into being a problem is attendance. We all understand that every child has other activities and school events that they have to attend and this might clash with training at some stage. If this happens can you please notify us as soon as you can, either by a phone call to 99137421 or email administration. It is just polite and we can organise coaches and groups around this.

If you do not notify us we will be chasing it up and if it happens on a regular basis we will be forced to review your situation as part of a squad program and possibly offer you an alternative program.

Alison Mercer, WG Development Coach

2 September, 2009 WG L 4–10 State Stream State Championships

Congratulations to all girls who took part in the WG 1-10 State Stream Championships. A great weekend was had by all.

Sunday was the main day for our girls and a very long day for the coaches and gymnasts. We had three girls, Taylor Springthorpe, Maddy Major, and Jasmine Malonein the first round Level 4 comp. The girls went through their routines cleanly and had lots of fun competing and watching the others girls in their level. Taylor managed a 5th place on vault which was a great achievement and the girls went home happy that they had done their best.

Next up were our Level 5 girls, but due to a few injuries we only had Jessica Duce and Georgia Briggs competing. Both girls were very nervous but managed to pull off great routines just like in training, obtaining personal best scores on all apparatus and getting the vital competition experience which will spur them on for more success in the future.

In our final round we had Level 6: Rebekah Cotton, Sarah Bojko, and Mackenzie Labine-Romain and Level 7, Alexa Collins, Megan Lutz, Savanna Stimson, and Emily Chalmers. This was the last round of the day and all the boys had finished competing so the gym was fairly quiet.

The boys' comp managed to cause a slight delay so the girls got an extra warm up on the floor as they had been sitting around for a while waiting to start. After all of that, the girls were focused and knew what they had to do.

They all did their routines well and we had a lot of good results at the end. Mackenzie managed 2nd place overall for Level 6 with 3rd on vault and bars and 2nd on beam. Alexa won the overall title for Level 7 as well as getting 1st place on bars and floor. Megan managed 5th overall with 4th on vault and 4th on beam, Savannah placed 6th on vault, 6th beam, and 4th on floor. Emily placed 6th on floor and vault.

It was a great way to finish the weekend and all the girls did exceptionally well. Everyone at NBG is incredibly proud of their hard work and best efforts.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who was involved in the competition, for whatever reason. Without lots of dedication and support from volunteers, events like these would not take place. We had parents and coaches setting up the gym until 11pm Friday night. We had judges scoring the girls and boys all weekend which is very mentally draining especially when these competitions run for twelve hours. A big thanks to all the coaches, including Sam Wood and Lauren Ashley, who helped out in training and on the competition. Without their hard work and commitment, the girls would not get these opportunities. Also to all the scorers, runners, first aid team, and of course the parents without whom you would not even have got to the competition and would not be able to take part in gymnastics. A BIG THANKS TO EVERYONE!

Complete WG Results(PDF) >>>

Alison Mercer, WG Development Coach

1 September, 2009 MG Junior State Championships Report

Saturday morning arrived, and the realization that the day so many of the young gymnasts at NBG had been waiting for all year had arrived. Everything from excitement to fear to tiredness, but one thing was for sure; the boys were ready.

We started the competition off with the level 5 boys. Both Chris and Jonathon were unsure where their biggest competition was going to come from, but they both put in solid performances that saw them take out the 3rd and 5th places in the all-around. Both will be aiming to get up to standard to be able to compete Level 7 Open next year.

The midday session would see possibly one of the most exciting battles for the title, in the level 3 competition. We had four genuine chances at representing us on the podium. With Sydney Invitational Champion Jack Marshall sitting out of the open division it was down to the young ones in the age category to see who would be consistent and poised enough to take the championships out.

The boys showed some of the most well-rounded performances and it was a close battle, but after a rotation that left some questions in the coach’s heads as to the quality of certain judging panels, it took our top three boys out of the running for the title. Still, considering this set back Cameron Scott, Angus Laurie, and Lucas Rainbird all managed to finish 3rd, 4th and 5th and along with Finn Ambler, Seb Attwater, Ben Gerrans and Josh Henderson, NBG managed to take out their first Teams event for the championships. This team also showed the most artistic and well-rounded performances from any team there and has many coaches talking about the program.

The evening saw our Level 4 standout team compete. Jacob, Daniel, Tom, Finn, and Alec all looked slightly nervous but ready. An exciting competition started to emerge between four of the boys on the first two 3 rotations with less than half a point separating Finn, Daniel, Tom, and Alec, as they approached the rings, their fourth apparatus for the night. Alec got an unusually low score, and after questioning the decision from the judges the score still stood, dropping him in the ranking to outside the top 6.

With three of our boys left fighting for the medals it was going to be an exciting battle. In the end, the championships title went to the always quiet Tom Polat, with Daniel coming in 2nd and Finn Ashton finishing in 4th. Alec re-grouped for the final two rotations and fought back to finish in a very credible 7th position and Jacob Seeto showed glimpses of what he is capable of scoring the team’s highest score on the vault rotation.

We again took out the team title for the level four boys, with a very proud moment for not only the gymnasts and parents but for the two coaches Ben Wood and Yusuf Topari.

Sunday saw the babies of the club compete. Our little Level 1 and 2 gymnasts. First up was the always smiling foursome of Mitchell, Matthew, Ben, and Kedar. Immediately walking into giggles as I entered the venue, and then seeing their little faces turn to competition mode when we started warming up, I knew the boys were focused and ready for this. The boys literally put in flawless performances, again gaining compliments from judges and officials alike, not just about the gymnastics aspect of the programs, but also their poise and etiquette that many lack at even an older age.

Only two mistakes marred the competition from being a clean sweep for the boys, but we finished with Matthew as the champion, Ben in 3rd, and despite falls Kedar finished in 5th and Mitchell in 7th. Out of almost ninety kids, this was a very commendable achievement for the boys and one of which I am extremely proud.

The boys only missed out on the team’s event by a very small margin, but the silver in team’s event was still outstanding for the young ones.

The final session saw our novices, our baby Level ones. All the boys put in credible performances and some solid results, and put some of the biggest smiles on the judge's faces. The Level 1 Age team finished in 2nd place, with our Open team finishing in 5th.

A big thank you to Mark, Leanne, Jason, Gary, and Gloria for their time and effort in the set-up and running of the competition. Also a big 'Thank you and congratulations' to Ben Wood, Matthew Angel, and Aaron Bruce for their awesome results and hard work and dedication to their personal squads.

Our program here at NBG would not be what it was for them working very closely with me and I feel very lucky and fortunate to have such an awesome team to be able to lead and watch take charge with their programs.

Complete MG results(PDF) >>>

Yusuf Topari, MG Development Coach

25 August, 2009 WG Report

As we have competitions approaching I thought it was important to run through some of the competition etiquette to make the parents and gymnasts aware of before they compete:

Please arrive in good time at the competition venue.
There will be a charge for spectators at the door. This varies from one competition to another. The money goes towards improving gymnastics generally in the area by the organisers being able to hold these competitions.
You will then hand your child over to the child`s coach and you will not come into contact with her again until the competition has ended. If the gymnast needs the toilet, permission must be sought by her coach from the head judge of the apparatus which they are working on and the coach will accompany the gymnast to the toilet
Spectators are NOT permitted on the Competition area.
Spectators are NOT permitted contact with the competitors, Judges, Event Personnel and Volunteers once the competitor enters the competition area e.g. talking, signaling. (THE GYMNASTS WILL BE DEDUCTED). If an urgent message needs to be relayed, contact the floor manager that will relay the message to the gymnasts’ coach.
If a gymnast leaves the competition area without permission she may be disqualified from the competition altogether.
Spectators are asked to set an example by displaying good sportsmanship throughout the event.
When taking photographs, do NOT use a flash.
The scores flashed on the scoreboards may not be correct. Volunteers are used to do this job and mistakes can be made. It is wise to wait for the final results as they are announced.
NBG enters the gymnasts into competitions. These competitions are decided on by the executive committee. During the competition the Gymnasts are the sole responsibility of the Club and the Club Coaches.
Show appreciation of volunteer officials and administrators. Without them, your children could not compete.
Focus on the child’s efforts and performance rather than winning and losing. Remember that children learn best by example
All Judges are qualified. They give unbiased scores. The scores are calculated on a system of deductions from a possible score. Where there are several judges on any one piece of equipment, the judge’s scores are averaged to produce a final score. All Clubs need to either produce a Judge for each competition or pay substantially more for entry. The fees for the Judges are very small and often they sit there all day. Please respect all the Judges and organisers for their time and effort.
It is not unknown for competitions to over-run estimated end times. Everyone does their best. Please understand if the competition goes on longer than anticipated.
We want each competitor to be happy and settled. Please encourage them to practice but accept that they may not win medals. We only enter girls who are ready for a particular competition. If your child is asked by her Coach to enter a competition and she is available, she should enter that competition. There would be little point in being in a competition class if no competitions are going to be entered.

Any more information you require regarding competitions may be found on our website. All the competitions available for that year are shown on our calendar. As the date approaches, more information will be posted, letters will be sent out to the relevant gymnasts, and entry forms and additional information will be provided.
Please keep checking the website as results and reports about various competitions will be going up and it will make you more aware of what is going on in the club and how our gymnasts are doing. Please support all of our gymnasts they all put in a lot of hard work to be able to have the chance of going competition and no hard work should go un-noticed.

Alison Mercer, WG Development Coach

25 August, 2009 MG Report

Last Thursday and Saturday we held an in-house mock competition for all the competing MG boys for this weekend's NSW State Championships. It was a huge success and to be any indication, showed the hard work that all the coaches and gymnasts have put in.
I have posted results from this mock comp on the notice board, and have given them to personal coaches. We used this event to also finalise the boys that scores would count towards team totals for state championships, and the personal coaches will notify these boys personally and also notify the boys that results will count only individually. We are putting forward some very talented gymnasts this weekend, and I look forward to seeing just how the boys will go.
Please re-check the schedules via the website, and also visit NSW gymnastics website to confirm your tickets for the event.

I have sent out 'Expressions of Interest' forms for the Peter Vidmar Invitational 2010. Please, can you return these forms so I can start putting together a draft of schedules, costing, and officials.
Please return your letters to your personal coaches or to Yusuf personally.

The GCA Cupcompetition is fast approaching, and NBG relies heavily on its support network to help create such a successful event. If you have some spare time around September 26-27 or October 7-10, and would like to volunteer to help sometime, please forward your emails to the reception team at Northern Beaches Gymnastics. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

There will be no MG training programs this weekend, with State Championships taking place. Many members and staff will be out for this huge event. Also, for all the junior boys competing, your morning training for Monday has been re-organised for another date, during the school holidays. So the first training session back for the junior men's programs will be Tuesday, with MG Elite and Squad 1 returning Monday morning.

Any questions or queries on the next week please don’t hesitate to forward me an email.

Yusuf Topari, MG Development Coach

18 August, 2009 MG Report

2008 saw the beginnings of what is to be a major annual event for clubs from around Australia and the world. We hosted our first GCA Cup, the concept evolved from NBG Director and NSW Men’s Technical Director, Mark Forrest.

The idea stemmed from the frustration with the lack of competition in Australia, other than that which was a form of qualifier or trial competition. Instead, this is a chance for gymnastics centres from around Australia to showcase gymnastics for its performance appeal, taking away the stresses of real competition and instead allowing everyone to have fun in participation.

The GCA Cup started off steady last year, and has already grown to involve at least five top training clubs from around Australia. With the WG competition taking place on September 26–27 and the MG Competition taking place on October 7–10, these events will be a true testament to the magnitude of what NBG has established within the gymnastics community.

Already looking towards 2010, we have interest from clubs in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, China, and the UK which will take this to a new level. The GCA Cup is already taking on a reputation of its own.

If you have not already done so, please look at the schedule for the MG NSW State Championships that will be taking place at the State Sports Centre at Sydney Olympic Park on August 29–30. The timetable is available on the squad notice board at the gym or download draft timetable (PDF) >>>.

Our final preparation mock competitions will be taking place this Thursday for Level 1 & 2(Open and Age) from 4:30–7:00pm and on Saturday for Levels 3 to 5 (Open and Age) from 11am–2pm. Please come with full tracksuit and bring the family down to watch this awesome chance for a more relaxed control competition before the big event.

Part of NBG’s identification of development gymnastics, is always being on the lookout for young children with the fundamental skills and form that could lead into future squad gymnastics and competitive programs.

As part of this identification program, NBG is hosting a profile testing day on Saturday, October 24 from 12–2:30pm. We are looking for children from the ages of four through to seven years of age, with coaches looking out for these specific characteristics. They will be handing out trial invitation forms to the appropriate gymnasts.

If you would like your child assessed and tested as part of this program, please see the office or a coach at the sign-in desk to give you a trial form.

2010 is going to see an impressive array of competitions for the MG squads.

One of the earliest and biggest events will be the Peter Vidmar competition in Los Angeles, California. The Peter Vidmar Invitational has a long history of involving competitors from around the world and will be a chance for some of NBG’s top MG gymnasts to see how they pair up against the likes of the best in America and the world.

NBG will be taking letters of interest for both competitors and chaperones shortly, so please fill these out and hand back to your personal coaches.

We will be selecting gymnasts based on in-house trial competition with set requirements having to be reached in both placement and score. These requirements are being finalised as we speak and once they have been, will be handed to personal coaches to ensure most effective preparation.

Yusuf Topari, MG Development Coach

18 August, 2009 WG Report

Another week over and I think everyone is now feeling a little more settled into the new system and new groups. It has made a lot of difference in the gym and we have had a lot of positive feedback from parents and coaches.

Coaches are now putting together programs for each group, devising goals for each gymnast, a lesson plan for each session, and specific strength and conditioning exercises to help each individual. These will then be shown to the girls and they will have their own reference to look at and see what they need to be working on to keep up with their level and ensure progression to the best of their ability.

As a whole we all need to improve on our strength and skill base to keep up with the improving standard of gymnastics. Individual testing sheets will be part of every program and regular testing will be done by each coach on strength exercises done by the gymnasts to ensure they are becoming stronger and skill testing will take place three times a year. The next one will be before Christmas time.

This week, letters will be going out to parents about the entries for the GCA Cup which is to be held here at NBG on September 26–27. All coaches are finalising which levels the gymnasts will be able to compete at and putting together finishing touches to routines so these can be polished in time for the competition.

This will be a great opportunity for all the girls to compete against clubs from all over the country on their own turf so they are used to all the equipment and perform their best gymnastics.

A timetable for the event has not yet been finalised but as soon as we know which day each level will be competing on we will let you know. It would be great if you could come along and watch some of the other levels to give them your support and encouragement and to also see what the other levels are doing.

The entry forms for this competition can also be found from the link below and they need to be submitted with full payment before Friday, August 28. If they are not submitted by this date your daughter will not be eligible to compete.

Download GCA Cup WG entry form (PDF) >>>

One thing I have also picked up on is attendance. The girls have set hours that they need to train and commit to. We provide coaches to implement these sessions. If your child is unable to attend a session due to sickness please do let us know in advance either by a phone call or an email to admin so they can pass on the message.

If your daughter is unable to commit to a session on a regular basis we need to have this on our record so we can either find a more suitable group for them or ensure they get the opportunity to do all the work that is required of them. If you are down to do a morning session you have to make sure you attend it every week as we do have specialized coaches come in for these to do specifics on choreography, tumbling, and bar work. It is unfair to provide these extra staff if we only have 3-4 girls coming in.

Just to remind you again that ten of our state stream girls will compete in the State Championships on Sunday, August 30. We wish them all the best of luck and hopefully they will be bringing home some medals.
Download draft timetable (PDF) >>>

There will be a squad BBQ this Friday after training. It is open to all parents and gymnasts and is a great opportunity for you to come along and have some great cooked food. Socialize with the other parents and the coaches will be there for you to chat to also.

It is a great fund raiser and requires your constant commitment and support to raise money which goes towards helping with the costs of competitions and trips away. Please make every effort to attend.

Alison Mercer, WG Development Coach

12 August, 2009 MG Report

The countdown is really on for the lead up to NSW Junior State Championships. Only three weeks and counting. As I observe the boys training, I am extremely proud of all the hard work that the families, coaches, and gymnasts have put in. It is starting to show in their gymnastics and preparation for this prestigious competition. The boys have been extremely supportive of one another and have really put in a final hard slog, listening intently to their instructions and trying to see what their competition will be like from their fellow team mates.

I am extremely excited to see where the boys will go at State Championships and am also looking forward to starting over for next years' preparation cycle which will immediately follow. The draft schedule(PDF) is available and if you have any questions regarding the competition please do not hesitate to contact me.

Next week I really think it is important we get at least one more mock competition under our belt. So I have organised a mock competition on Thursday, August 20 from 4:30pm till 7:00pm for the Level 1-2 boys (including the boys age ineligible for state championships), and a mock competition on Saturday, August 22 at 11:00am–2.00pm for the level 3–5boys. All boys will be required to be in full competition attire, as we would like to simulate the competition environment as much as possible.

Last weekend we saw the 3rd SDS training for the identified up-and-coming juniors within NSW. The boys showed why they have made the squad. Looking around at the other programs I am more than happy with the fact the boys are indeed looking near the top. I did see some weaknesses that I discussed with Ben Wood, and Lu Ming such as rings so we can address these issues in coming time.

I saw some weaknesses with the training itself, with the seemingly lack of organisation from the NSWG point of view and also with the briefing for supporting coaches. I think this issue needs to be addressed immediately for future, especially if we want to see any progression and true development from this program.

We also have the State Squad training for four of our gymnasts, Joel O’Neill, Jae Nagel, Jordan Papandrea, and Brandon Forrest. This training will take place at the AIS next weekend, departing Homebush at 9am on Friday and returning on Saturday.

Please talk with your personal coaches if you are unsure of any details.

Yusuf Topari, MG Development Coach

10 August, 2009 WG Report

First of all I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Alison Mercer and I am the new WG development co-ordinator and coach, taking over from Delphine Oliver-Lloyd. I am 24 yrs old from Nottingham England.

I was a competitive gymnast for twelve years and in this time competed in the national stream of gymnastics up to level 10 and came 8th in the UK. I have been coaching for eight years and in this time I have worked with a variety of different squads. Most of my time was spent at Nott’s gymnastics club where helped develop talent identification and squad development all the way from grass routes through to the top élite squads. I was also responsible for my own group of pre-élite gymnasts aged 6 and 7 years who were progressing into the élite program. Within this program I worked with many now national squad gymnasts in the UK and Olympian Becky Downie.

I am very excited to be working for NBG as I think there is huge potential here and I will be working with some of the best coaches in the world.

Over the last few weeks a lot of work has gone into the re-structuring of the women’s program. Analysis and testing of each and every gymnast has taken place and new training groups have been devised with a clear three-stream structure. The club colors are now being used to identify each stream with teal being the élite stream, silver being the national stream, and white being the state stream. Regular testing will be done throughout the year and changes can be made as the gymnasts progress and improve.

The WG competitions that will be coming up are GCA Cup on September 25–27 and will be for levels 3–10. We are looking to add another date to allow the levels 1-2 to compete also but, as we are pushed for time, it is hard to find a free weekend.

There will also be the Five Dock Invitational on October 24–25. This will be open to levels 1–7 in the state and national streams and we will be picking people from this competition to go on to do the National Clubs in Canberra at the end of November.

Last weekend some gymnasts from levels 1 and 2 took part in the WG NDP Trial. Two of our gymnasts qualified for the State Championships. Congratulations go out to Courtney Hall 2A and Isabelle Cameron 1A. Both these girls will be attending the State Championships on 12th/13th September. Good luck!

After attending the NDP Trial competition it made me realize that on a whole we are behind in our routines and a main priority for all the gymnasts across the board is to work on is their presentation and finishing of skills. This includes the extension of arms and legs, pointing of toes, head raised high throughout routines, and the overall polish of the existing skills.

We have the skill competencies but they need to be refined. A lot of work will go into the choreography of their routines and emphasis on ballet to get the correct finish required. All the coaches across all levels will have a workshop on how to develop ballet in their program and how to ensure that improvements are made. Also the overall posture and core strength of the girls is weak which affects how fast they can learn new skills so a lot of focus will be put on core strengthening and handstand work.

For the state stream we have a number of girls taking part in the State Championships on 29th-30th August. The coaches involved in that are Sam wood and Lauren Ashley. We wish all these girls the best of luck in the up and coming training and competition.

Alison Mercer, WG Development Coach

10 August, 2009 NSW Junior State Championships

A draft timetable for the upcoming WG/MG Junior State Championships is now available.
   Event tickets are available through www.ticketdirect.com.au after 17th August. Tickets can now be printed at home to avoid delays at the venue.
   GNSW is also seeking volunteers and scoring runners for all sessions across the weekend. All volunteers will receive free entry to the event, a GNSW T-shirt and refreshments throughout their time at the event.
   For more information or to nominate volunteers, please email Amanda.
   Download draft timetable (PDF) >>>

New WG Program Information

Dear Parents and Gymnasts:
Firstly, we would like to welcome you all back to Term 3. After a very busy start to the year, and with Nationals now over, the NBG team has been working very hard to look to the future for our club.
With the start of a new cycle, it is always important to review and keep up to date with the trends and changes within our sport. I hope you all have taken the time to read the reports by our coaching team that will give you some insight into why we are implementing change.
These changes are required so that the programs at NBG insure that gymnasts are in the correct stream of gymnastics. Those of you who play field sports would go through a grading process every year to ensure you are where you best suited. Gymnastics is no different, and we are lucky enough to have three clear streams now in which girls can compete. They are represented below.

Élite IDP Program	National Levels Stream	State Levels Stream

Senior International	Level 10	Level 10
Junior International
	Level 9	Level 9
IDP 10
	Level 8	Level 8
IDP 8
	Level 7	Level 7
IDP 6	Level 6	Level 6
	Level 5	Level 5
IDP 5	Level 4	Level 4
	Level 3	Level 3
IDP 3	Level 2	Level 2
IDP 1+2	Level 1	Level 1

For the last two weeks at NBG we have been grading and reviewing our WG program to see where all our girls are best suited, while taking into account what is best for the gymnast and the coaching team .
The above table shows the different streams that are covered at NBG and we have decided that it is important to have all the girls attaining and not just making up numbers. Over this week we will be sending home a letter to every girl in the competitive-base program at NBG outlining the program that offers best progression and opportunities for that child. In addition to this, we will be placing the new programs on the web site so that all gymnasts can see where they have been allocated. I am sure that some of you will have questions and we are more than happy to answer them by way of a meeting for those individuals.

NBG Executive Management Team

Click here to see the new WG training groupings and timetables >>>

4 August, 2009 MG Report

With the NSW State Championships just over a month away, the MG squads throughout NBG are refining their routines, getting their strength and skills development up and looking at bettering their results from Sydney Invitational.

For those parents that have not been to a state championship before, it is the biggest competition for the junior MG program throughout NSW each year. It will show some of the up-and-coming talent that we can expect to showcase through the next four-year cycle as we head in to a redevelopment of the élite and national programs.

After attending the National Championships last month, it gave me a chance to access the strength and weaknesses of the current crop of senior gymnasts.More importantly, it gave me a chance to access what will be required over the next few years to ensure the growth of the senior national boys of the future and to make sure the pre-élite athletes identified will be targeted for specific development towards this route of gymnastics.

A few things need to change on a club-based level and also, in the wider picture, on a state level. Looking at Queensland and Western Australia, they have in place a very systematic and constructed program with experienced élite coaches and former high-level gymnasts taking up coaching positions and giving back to their sport.

Their fine attention to detail in refinement and technique sets them apart from, not only NSW, but also the rest of Australia. NSW has a pool of extremely experienced senior coaches, but lacks in the development and education of the next crop of enthusiastic coaches that will be taking over these reigns in years to come, for me almost in a complacent way.

They need to have a serious look at what is happening with these coaches programs and mentoring them to ensure a universal cohesive understanding and goal to develop the best junior élite and national program within Australia, instead of what I see now as everyone competing for their gymnast and club ONLY and forgetting the most powerful form of coaching development is fellow coaches and education. Until this is addressed, I predict similar stagnant results and very low growth within the senior ranks of our sport within this state.

We have many great resources for the coaches now, but I do not believe they have been utilised and delivered in the right way. This is not a restructure that one person can do; it will take a cohesive effort from all the coaches working towards an ultimate goal. Each club can do this is at club level as well and the need for that is vital, which we have at NBG.

Each year after State championships each MG gymnast and program at NBG is accessed and reviewed on the strength and weaknesses that have occurred through that twelve-month program. Changes will be made accordingly, with changes being set in place for a subsequent twelve-month program, rightfully identifying the right athletes to the right program. This will occur after the State Championships with each squad being tested on a skill, strength, and flexibility profile testing program and with the input of the MG coaches to ensure we are growing stronger and stronger with each passing year of this program being in place.

A club can only do so much though in the bigger picture and to ensure their own results. It will take some serious meetings and development for the state program to change its programming and whether or not this happens, time will only tell.

This weekend is the third SDS training session for the boys in 2009. It will be at Homebush at the home of the high performance centre at 3pm this Saturday, August 8.

Please talk with your personal coaches if you are unsure of any details.

Yusuf Topari, MG Development Coach

4 August, 2009 Clothing Shop Hours for August
Monique will be selling clothing in the gymnastics hall on the following dates—

Tuesday 4:
Thursday 6:
Saturday 8:
Monday 10:
Wednesday 12:
Friday 14:
Tuesday 18:
Thursday 20:
Saturday 22:
Monday 24:
Wednesday 26:
Friday 28:

5-6pm
3.30-6.30pm
9am-12pm
3.30-6pm
3.30-6pm
3.30-6.30pm
5-6pm
3.30-6.30pm
9am-12pm
3.30-6pm
3.30-6pm
3.30-6.30pm

29 July, 2009 NSW Jumps into Japan Competition!

Gabrielle Carlson, Charlotte Cormack, and Sarah Iwanoczko were part of a team of six gymnasts from across NSW who recently travelled to Japan to compete in Level 10 at the Kyoto Junior International Cup.
Full report and pictures >>>

28 July, 2009 MAG Report

With the commencement of term three, I wanted to take this time to evaluate terms two progress and developments and also to point out some of the future goals, expectations and events that will be planned for the upcoming term at Northern Beaches Gymnastics.

The end of term two saw the senior men’s program and the senior woman’s programs finishing off their competition season with their major competitions for the year at the Australian National Championships.

It was both a building experience for many of the lesser experienced athletes and also a chance for some of the older gymnasts to achieve the goals that they set out twelve months ago. It was a mixture of fortunes for the men’s side— not so much for the lack of performance and standard as this was all on par with many of the top performers. I believe where some of the boys went astray was their difficulty with a slight side of complacency coming into the construction of some routines, as they were constructed with what was perceived to be on par with the top athletes in Australia, and yet we have seen that these other programs have stepped it up with their difficulty in areas that were unsurmountable over a two day competition.

I believe however NBG boys showed some of the most consistent, and also some of the most well executed, routines especially from a NSW team perspective, and were in the right mind frame in their preparation for competition. This brings me to a question that I have pondered on since the conclusion of the competition. With this new code of points there was meant to be an increades stress on execution value and a lower importance on difficulty. I don't believe we are seeing this as I saw many of the supposed champions at Nationals 'chucking' and 'cranking around' many of their big skills. But because they were hitting them many times they got the benefit of the doubt from the judges. This will be one thing I will assess leading into the planning stages of the program that will be put into place for the boys next year into the lead up to Nationals again.

I refuse to oversee this aspect of the sport that I see as so vital. This means the boys and myself, along with Mark Forrest, who will be stepping back into the role of élite head coach, will have many more obstacles ahead of us for next year as we try to balance competitive difficulty levels with out forgetting about technique and execution.

As a whole I am very proud of all the boys on their performances at nationals and when reading my review on it you might perceive that the boys didn’t to so great, we did come away with two boys in the top five in the AA, had national champions on floor and high bar and several top three placements on apparatus, so please make sure you congratulate the boys when you see them around the gym for their hard work and great results.

Also, big congratulations to Aaron Bruce and Mitchell Skippen for being named into the Australian Squad for the New Zealand tour that will take place in Mystery Creek Hamilton, New Zealand in September.

The Mighty Rec program has developed into a true feeding tool into our squad-based program which is the whole purpose for the program, and it is very exciting for me to see this coming to a head.

With almost thirty boys in our Mighty Rec program to date we are opening our horizons for the future of our MAG program, where once it was choosing the older more capable recreational gymnasts, it is now trying to spot talent at a very young age of around ages four and five and retain these athletes for the progression into our junior development program.

To date all thirteen junior development athletes have had their start from Mighty Rec and with the ever progressing junior development program we have many athletes that will be on the cusp of feeding into our élite and national stream programs.

We currently have three sessions of Mighty Rec each week with a fourth on a Tuesday morning in development. On a personal note, this has been one of my most pleasing developments to see within the men's program.

Holiday winter workshops were a huge success with over a thousand eager children passing through our doors during the school holiday program, making these workshops an integral part of NBG.

We are already in the process of developing our new workshop program to try to make it bigger and better than ever before.

Currently the senior management team at NBG are going through both a time-consuming and a necessary review of all squad programs across the board.

It is time for NBG to have a review on this as we come to a close for this cycle and the importance to get it right is imperative. Please bear with us as we go through this process and stay tuned for developments on this issue.

Welcome to our new Women's Coordinator, Alison Mercer and our new tumbling specialist Sam Palmer, both joining us from the UK. Alison comes from the Notts Gymnastics Club, where in 2008 they produced two Olympians, including bars specialist Becky Downie. Sam is a former tumbling World Champion from 2007 and will have much priority in developing some of our athletes' tumbling ability.

Also for the men's side, Jason Seminuk joins us from Penrith YMCA. Jason was a Level 9 Open gymnast for NSW at National Championships and will be a coach that could have a great development knowledge for the developing programs and has strengths in personal training which can help us in the strength and condition program.

Please note that there is a squad BBQ this Friday at 6:30pm. This month is a 'Christmas in July' theme. The BBQ is an awesome chance to meet the new members of staff and also meet fellow parents within your squad.

Yusuf Topari, MAG Development Coach

20 July, 2009 WAG Nationals Report

Once again NBG was well represented on the WG NSW Levels team with six competitors:
Level 10 - Sarah Iwanoczko, Charlotte Cormack, and Gabby Carlson
Level 8 – Amy Smit
Level 7 – Sophie Wong and Riley Cross

After a long day of travelling, the girls first hit out in Perth was the podium training session. A good opportunity to shake out the cob webs and get a feel for the equipment on which they would they would compete. Also, an opportunity to check out this years' competition, which by all accounts, was stronger than ever.

Day 1 of competition saw the level 7 and 10 Teams competition. In Level 7, it was a disappointing end to Riley’s competition season when she was ruled out with a wrist injury. Sophie went on without her team-mate and was able to put in a solid performance for the team and win her first National medal with a gold. The Level 10 comp was frustrating for all as an under-strength NSW team, riddled with injury, was not able to make it to the podium.

Day 2 was Level 8 Team and Level 7 All Around. In Level 8, as in 2008, Amy played an important role in getting the NSW team to their well deserved team silver medal. In Level 7 All Around, Sophie continued her consistent routines finishing a credible 14th place.

Day 3 was Level 8 and 10 All Around competitions. Backing up for a second comp in two days is never easy, but it was all Amy needed to inspire her to an awesome 2nd day of competition. In the Level 8 All Around, Amy clawed back valuable points placing in 6th position with the second highest score achieved at Nationals by an athlete in Level 8 this year. In the apparatus finals, Amy went a step further this year taking the gold medal, and a 5th place finish on vault to top off an excellent national campaign. In Level 10 All Around, all three NBG girls (Sarah, Gabby, and Charlotte) took on the second round of competition with several purposes in mind: one, to achieve personal goals and two, as a final hit out before representing NSW in Japan later this month. Sarah stayed positive and hit routine after routine in one of the toughest fields ever assembled in Level 10, finishing in 5th place with a bronze on bars and a 4th on vault. This result also qualified Sarah into the Australian team to tour New Zealand in September. An outstanding result!

Charlotte, at her final representation of NSW at a National Championships, had a strong second round pulling up to 4th place in her pet event, the uneven bars and 12th place All Around. Gabby's second round showed improvement with a 19th place finish. All girls should be congratulated on their preparation and results over the competition season and we wish our Level 10s the best of luck in Japan.

Josh Holmes, WAG Coach

12 July, 2009 MAG Nationals Report

With the best male gymnasts from around Australia converging on Brisbane for the 2009 National Championships, it was going to be a tough competition all around for the Northern Beaches gymnasts.
   The boys arrived on Friday where they settled in and got ready for the upcoming competition and training sessions that will be their final preparation. The boys coped well with adjusting to all the new apparatus and training environment and were looking ready and prepared.
The first day of competition saw the Level 6 Under 12 boys compete. Jae and Joel were the youngest on the team and also the least experienced, with this being their first National Championships. They nailed all of their routines throughout the competition, and held strong onto the second and third positions within the New South Wales team.
   The top placements were held by Queensland and West Australian boys, and watching their competition there is little doubt about these results. These programs have developed some truly high quality future gymnasts for Australia, and NSW program as a whole needs to take note of this if there is to any change within the way the NSW boys go up against these boys next year.
   Next was Brandon who competed in the Level 7 Under 13 category. Again this was a highly competitive field that had many returning gymnasts. Brandon, who has not trained floor or vault for the last two months due to a leg injury was substituted at the last minute to compete on these events due to another injured team member, and needed to post some competitive scores for the NSW team to have any chance and the gold medal. He fought through pain and performed on these two events and was steady on all his other events, minus a rough start to the entire competition with two falls on his normal speciality, pommel. Overcoming these early errors, he fought hard and helped the team to a standing in the top three after the first day of competition.
   The Level 9 Open and Level 9 Under 17 competition was a a chance for us to see some of the talent that will be emerging in the next five years. Both Matt and Aaron were very ready for this competition, hitting almost all their routines in training and hitting individual skills with ease, and this continued in warm-ups for the big event. Aaron started on high-bar, and had a very clean routine until he powered up for his dismount and a loose grip peeled him off the bar for a very scary and costly error on his first event. He recovered strongly until pommel horse which got the better of him, falling twice. He found himself in 7th place after the first day.
   Matt also found that pommel got the better of him falling twice. He however jumped back and hit the next five routines to the best of his ability. What many didn't realise was that Matt was only scheduled to compete in three events at Nationals, until an injury to a fellow team member meant they needed him on all events. So considering the minimal preparation he had, he completed all events quite courageously.

Day two of competition saw little John Bushnell, Jordan Papandrea, Mitchell Skippen, and Luke Milross hit the floor. John was placed exceptionally well in the Level 7 Open competition until his final event, high-bar, where he hit a very clean routine. With confusion when the score was posted, the judges decided to not include an element in their final total of skills, and this decision dropped John a full four points from where he was normally scoring on this event. This left John down the order and meant a big task ahead in day two.
In the Level 8 competition, the boys all showed some glimpses of their best, but let themselves down on certain events. Luke, Jordan, and Mitchell all lost their places in the top group with multiple falls on pommel horse.

Entering competition 2, the boys were given very simple instructions: if they wanted to contend they needed to hit and hit at their best. Joel, Jae, and Brandon showed their consistency and did not hold back with showing new skills for the first time in competition. With the West Australians and Queenslanders increasing their lead, the boys turned their focus to enjoying the competition, and with big smiles on their faces they all ended the competition with some of their best routines they have produced this entire year. John, Jordan, Mitchell, and Luke all showed some upgrades on day two and hit their routines the best that they could.
Looking towards next year, pommel horse stability and work will be an important component of their program. Matt and Aaron capped off the competition with the best round of competition from both boys for the entire year, climbing in the standings and rectifying some of their mistakes from night one.

Here are the results from the boys...

LEVEL 9 Open:
Aaron Bruce 4th AA, 3rd Floor, 5th Pommel, 3rd High Bar

LEVEL 9 Under 17:
Matt Angel 9th AA, 1st Floor

LEVEL 8 Open:
  Jordan Papandrea 9th AA, 5th Pommel, 3rd Highbar
  Mitchell Skippen 5th AA, 1st High Bar
  Luke Milross 22nd AA

Level 7 Open:
John Bushnell 34th AA

Level 7 Under 13:
Brandon Forrest 21st AA

Level 6 Under 12:
Jae Nagel 27th AA
Joel O'Neill 22nd AA, 5th Vault

I also had a correction to make to my Sydney Invitational report.
My apologies to Jack Marshall, who finished 1st overall for the level 3 Open competition. Jack's hard work and consistent competition has produced this great result and apologies to Jack and his family for my missing these results on the initial report.

Yusuf Topari, MAG Development Coach