Gymnastics WA are committed to providing support, guidance
and development opportunities to athletes and coaches to transaction
successfully to selection onto a WA representative Team. In order to assist in
achieving this goal, we have developed the WA State Squad which aims to create
a pathway from club training and preparation to WA Team selection.
In its inaugural year, there are more than 260 athletes a
part of the Squad across all six competitive gymsports representing 16
different Western Australian Clubs. Each gymsport is being led by a Head Coach
who is responsible for the planning of squad training sessions and activities
in collaboration with Gymnastics WA and the gymsport Technical Director.
Over the past couple of weekends, the State Squad has participated
in their first activity – a squad training session. For most sports, this
included welcoming an interstate Master Coach who assisted to lead the training
session and provide athletes and coaches with additional advice in their
preparation for the qualification competitions in early 2023.
The WAG squad is being led by Head Coach Katherine Rogers and
at their session, they were joined by Gymnastics Australia’s WAG National Development
Coach Josh Fabian. Josh led a training rotation on the Uneven Bars, offering advice
and guidance to athletes and coaches. The WAG Squad were also joined by Stacey
from The Creative Movement Group who led
a rotation on Floor focusing on Artistic Preparation.
Krasi Yurukova is leading the RG squad who were joined by
Gymnastics Australia’s RG Technical Director Katie Sigsworth for their training
session, Katie’s advice was invaluable for the squad athletes focusing on
things like difficulty with apparatus, exchange and dynamic element with
rotation.
The MAG squad is being led by Head Coach Igor Bespalov who
led a training session alongside other WA MAG coaches. The session saw great
collaboration between clubs and coaches enabling athletes to get training tips
and guidance from alternative coaches to their own in the lead up to
competition.
Angela McMillian from Victoria joined the AER squad and dual
Head Coaches Cairo Leicester and Zoe Tisdale leading a couple of sessions that
honed in on perfecting a number of skills. She also led an artistry portion
that encouraged athletes to perform for themselves and how they feel about
their music.
Led by Leo Kimble, the TRP squad were joined by NSW
Trampoline coach, Dmitri Shostov who encouraged athletes to focus on body
position and alignment. He led an energetic, fun warm-up that encouraged
athletes to work together to warm-up and build their fitness off the
trampoline.
The ACR squad is being led by Debbs van Hagen and were
joined by Kim & Shelby Lacey fresh from their Australia’s Got Talent win
with Acromazing. Kim and Shelby led two training sessions where they worked
with the squad on reviewing and perfecting their skills. They also led conditioning
sessions that athletes and coaches can continue to use, improving their
fitness, flexibility and movements ahead of competitions.
Gymnastics WA would like to send a massive thanks to Josh,
Katie, Angela, Dmitri, Kim and Shelby for travelling over to WA to assist the
WA gymnastic community and be a part of the WA State Squad program. A further
thanks goes to High Flyers Trampoline & Gymnastics Academy, Northern
Districts Gymnastic Club, Peak Trampoline, Vital Gymnastics and West Coast
Gymnasts for hosting the sessions.