FIVE tumblers from the Kachan School of Tumbling and Performance last week recorded scores high enough to make them eligible to represent Australia.
The school had 13 athletes compete at the Australian Gymnastics Championships in Melbourne last week.
The Australian team will not officially be announced until after a second qualifying event in September, but the athletes have given themselves a real chance of making the team with their scores.
Ellie Smith, Sophie Wilson, Ethan McGuinness, Blake Grainger and Jack Hemmings all recorded scores which gave them an excellent chance of being picked.
Kachan School of Tumbling manager Rebecca Kachan said she and her husband Dzmitry, who is also the coach of the school, were extremely proud of the athletes’ performances.
‘‘We were really impressed with how they were able to go out and perform so well,’’ she said.
‘‘They weren’t just going out and doing the minimum difficulty, they were really pushing themselves to do more difficult routines and they all completed them and we are very proud of that.
‘‘They train five days a week, they are in the gym pushing themselves to achieve the best they can, they put new skills and combinations up this year and they did their best and it is a fantastic result for them.’’
Mrs Kachan said along with the great performances from the Australian hopefuls, the school performed well in other areas.
She said two other athletes took third places in the double-mini trampoline categories, while another grabbed a third place in the synchronised trampoline category.
‘It is something we have never achieved before, and we are starting to improve across trampoline and DMT which is really exciting for the school,’’ she said.
Jack Hemmings, 17, said he was happy with his results in Melbourne and was hopeful he could make the Australian team for tumbling.
‘‘I felt pretty proud of myself for completing all my passes and for coming first,’’ he said.
‘‘All the hard work has paid but there is more hard work to go.
‘‘Qualifying for the Australian team was something I set myself as a goal last year, so now we just have to wait and see what the team is.’’
Winmalee’s Justin Fokes, 14, said he too would like to qualify for the Australian team, but said that goal was still a few years off.
‘‘It was really fun in Melbourne. I had an amazing time meeting new people and had fun winning my medal,’’ he said.
Fokes won third in the synchronised trampoline event for his age group at his first national championships event.
