Photo by Sports Action Photographics

 

Photo by Sports Action Photographics

Georgia Wheeler - winner of the Overall Southern Division of the Leader Sports Star Awards for 2009!

Year 10 MLC student Georgia Wheeler attended the Southern Division Leader Sports Star Awards at Etihad Stadium on Thursday, 25 February, after being nominated by the Bayside Leader for her fantastic results at the National Championships in July, 2009.

Georgia won the Bayside Junior Sports Star division and was presented with a medal and a $500 Rebel Sports voucher. Georgia also won the entire Southern Division Overall Junior Leader Sports Star Award, and was presented with her winning trophy and an additional $2000 Rebel Sports voucher by Stephen Quatermaine and Melbourne Storm players.

This award is in recognition of an outstanding year for Georgia in her first year as a Junior International gymnast. Georgia won the Victorian Championships and was All Around runner up at the Australian Championships in the Junior International Division in Perth, winning a total of 5 medals; one gold, three silver and one bronze.

Georgia’s continued success in 2009 resulted in a National Team assignment to compete in the Olympic Hopes Cup in the Czech Republic in October where she placed 9^th All Around, 5^th on Vault and 6^th on bars. In December Georgia competed in her first National Team event where she represented Australia against Japan at the AIS Arena, winning the silver team medal and placing 9^th All Around. Georgia also placed 3^rd and won an additional two apparatus medals at the Australian Club Championships in Canberra.

Georgia is a VIS Scholarship holder, and a member of the Gymnastics Australia / AIS Olympic Squad. She trains 33 hours a week at MLC where she combines her heavy training schedule with Year 10 studies.

This award begins an exciting year in 2010, with the trials for Pacific Rim Championships in four weeks - Melbourne is hosting this International competition at the Hisense Arena from 28 April – 2 May. Representatives from the U.S.A., Canada, China, Japan, Russia and other nations along the Pacific Coast will be attending this competition.

As a Senior National Team member in 2010 Georgia is also eligible for the Commonwealth Games and World Championships trials in July in Perth. We wish her the very best of luck.

Former MLC Gymnast Lydia Lassilla just took out the Gold at the Women's Aerials at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics!!

Lydia is Australia's sixth gold medallist at the Winter Olympics, and joins former MLC Gymnast and coach Alisa Camplin in achieving a Winter Olympics gold in 2002, also in Women's Aerials.

Lydia commenced her gymnastics career at Niddrie Gymnastics Club before moving to MLC for Year 11 and 12, joining the MLC Gymnastics Club at this time. In addition to gymnastics, Lydia also competed in Sport Aerobics with the Club. A National Champion at levels 7, 8, 9 and 10, Lydia competed at the Commonwealth Games selection trials with fellow athlete Steph Moorhouse, achieving 4th on Vault before finally retiring due to a wrist injury.

An accomplished and outstanding athlete, it comes as no surprise that Lydia has once again risen to the very top of her sport to take out an Olympic gold medal. Congratulations Lydia!

Former MLC Gymnast and Olympian Steph Moorhouse was interviewed by Gymnastics Australia in the lead up to the Pacific Rim Championships held in Melbourne this April. Check out the video below or view the movie at YouTube.com

 

MLC’s High Performance gymnasts have kicked off the year with the GA/AIS Olympic Squad National Team training camp in Canberra last week. The first National camp for 2010 was used to assess the fitness level and skill acquisition of the gymnasts over the last 6 weeks.

As members of the GA/AIS Olympic Squad and Senior and Junior National teams, Georgia Wheeler and Amelia McGrath were expected to attend the 5 day camp. Clare O’Donnell, Chloe Turko and Alex Byers Armstrong (Senior National team) also attended the camp by invitation from the National Coach. (Alex declined so she could recover from a back injury and work on her fitness.)

Chloe was able to show that she has recovered 90% of her competition program skills, working her releases on bars and double dismounts on beam and bars. She is turning vaults on the soft boxes and uphill as well as tumbling on the floor and building up fitness. Chloe is looking forward to strong year, having spent the last 6 months of 2009 building her strength and working her new skills. As a Senior gymnast she is eligible for World Championships and Commonwealth Games and is aiming for full fitness by the trials at National Championships in Perth in July.

Clare was also able to demonstrate some big improvements with a second release on bars, adding a Jeager to her Tkatchev and ranking 9th in the strength testing out of all Juniors and Seniors. She is working her full out dismount on bars still in the pit to keep the landings soft so her foot injury can fully heal. Clare’s next target will be the Junior camp at the end of March where she should be ready to show upgrades on Vault and Floor.

Amelia was selected to the AIS / GA Olympic Squad and Junior National team in December last year. She has been working hard on her fitness over the break whilst recovering from a sprained ankle on the first day of training in January, and ranked 7th in the strength testing. Amelia was able to show her full program on vault and floor, but on soft surfaces. She has put a gainer layout on the high beam in connection and working Onodi and Korbut full with her quality on bars has shown good improvement. Amelia's next clear target is the Pacific Rim trials and National team camp in 9 weeks time.

Georgia not only topped the camp in the strength testing, but has continued to pick up new skills on bars and added an Arabian double pike ½ out on the standard bars this year. Her front Layout, double front on floor is improving and her vaulting continues to develop working the second half of her new vaults. Georgia will build her competition program for the Pacific Rim trials in March and in preparation for World Championships and Commonwealth Games trials in Perth in July.

The camp involved some long hours, but the MLC gymnasts did a fantastic job, with 3 of the 4 gymnasts ranking in the top 9 Juniors and Seniors in the physical testing results. With the trial for the Australian team for Pacific Rim Championships in nine weeks time, the girls will take a couple of days off over the weekend to get ready for the next month to build their program for the next National Camp and trial at the end of March. This year is a big year, with Commonwealth Games and World Championships being conducted at Australian Championships in Perth in July.

For the full report from the National coach refer to the link on the latest news on the GA Website.

Gymnastics Australia are hosting the 2010 Pacific Rim Championships at the Hisense Arena and State Netball and Hockey Centre in Melbourne, Victoria from April 29 to May 2.

MLC hope to have several gymnasts entered into the competition as members of the National Women's Team. The competition is open to Nations that are members of the Pacific Alliance - USA, China, Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Japan, Russia and other nations along the coast of the Pacific.

Gymnastics Australia are offering early-bird ticket specials - see the event website for more information.

MLC Gymnastics Club are very excited to announce that three MLC gymnasts have been selected onto National Squads as of December 14 2009!

Senior National Squad - Alex Byers-Armstrong, Georgia Wheeler

Junior National Squad - Amelia McGrath

Senior AIS / GA Olympic Squad - Georgia Wheeler

Junior AIS / GA Olympic Squad - Amelia McGrath

Congratulations to these three gymnasts and coaches Michelle De Highden and Jeb Silsbury on these well-earned selections.

The MLC National Stream girls did a fantastic job at National Clubs this year.

Running over 10 days at the AIS Arena in Canberra, the National Clubs competition is the last event on the Gymnastics Competition calendar for many gymnasts, and involves gymnasts from all around Australia - and this year, Japan!

MLC had two teams in the National Level 10 division this year.

Team Pink - 1st place overall (residential)
Alicia Brown, Meagan Silvers, Annabelle Diamond and Felicity Jenkin

Team Green - 6th place overall (residential)
Tori Curtis, Brittany Morison-Moon, Janey Nestadt, Melissa Nearchou

Level 7 - 4th place overall (residential)
Nicole Quine, Olivia Delbridge, Morgan Baum, Georgia Holston

Level 6 - 9th place overall
Victoria Vatsilas, Karina Schiller, Lucy Jepson, Sarah Lynas

Level 4 - 12th place bars finals
Natalie Frattaroli, Liesl Mogensen, Georgia Dimitropoulos, Isabella Pehlivanidis, Emma Hosking

Several MLC gymnasts were featured on the Gymnastics Australia website for their participation in the International Training Camp in Canberra after National Clubs this year. Click here to view the article - WG December International Development Clinic