North West’s best gymnasts show skills

The region’s best gymnasts put their skills to the test at the North West Regional Gymnastics Championships held in Karratha at the weekend.

About 240 young athletes from Karratha, Hedland, Broome and Carnarvon gymnastics clubs turned out at the Karratha Leisureplex for the two-day event, which is one of two major annual gymnastics tournaments in the region.

After an official opening ceremony involving a welcome from Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries Pilbara regional manager Simone Fountain, oaths from judges and athletes, and the national anthem, gymnasts competed in ascending order of skill during the two days, rotating between apparatus.

North West Regional Gymnastics Association administrator Helen Westley said unlike the Broome Invitational, this tournament was only open to gymnasts from North West clubs, allowing them to compete against their peers.

“At this competition, the focus is for the kids to get together and have the opportunity to showcase their skills, put into practice everything that they have been learning and put it on display and really achieve all the best they can do on the day,” she said.

“It’s their competition, not a Perth competition, so they have ownership of it ... and they’re competing among other kids who are training the same hours and with similar facilities, whereas it’s quite different when they go to Perth.”

Ms Westley said it was good to see gymnastics in the North West was becoming more advanced and competitive, with this year’s event featuring athletes competing at the higher levels. “Over the years we’ve seen those skills really grow and the kids really develop, and that’s primarily through the education that the Perth judges and coaches have provided to the coaching teams here,” she said.

“So the clubs’ growth is through the coaches, and we’re seeing that develop and seeing the kids progress and perform better.”