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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-07-21 Daily Xml
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CALISTHENICS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:40): Every year the Australian Calisthenics Federation, under the leadership of president Lynne Hayward, coordinates a national competition to showcase the benefits of this wonderful sport. Since my election in 1997 and initial contact with the Ridgehaven Calisthenics Club (one of many clubs in South Australia), and now as a proud CASA patron and life member and an ACF patron, I have gained a great appreciation and understanding for all calisthenics administrators, the talented participants and their families throughout Australia, so much so that each year for the last eight years I have attended the nationals and watched this support continue to prosper and grow.

Through Mr Tony Hall, president of CACTI (Calisthenics of the ACT Incorporated), we were welcomed from all over Australia. When I say almost all states and territories, we have a toehold in New South Wales but we still have quite a bit of work to do in Tasmania. We were welcomed to the Canberra Theatre for the 22nd calisthenics competition. Some 417 competitors converged on the capital for the ACTEW 22nd national championships. Almost 5,000 tickets were sold to members of the calisthenics community over the four days of competition.

We were extremely lucky to have ACTEW (ACT Electricity and Water Corporation) come on board as a major sponsor. They have been a longstanding partner of calisthenics in the ACT and chose to extend that commitment significantly to ensure that the nationals went ahead in a great venue.

We cannot do calisthenics, particularly at the national level, without great sponsors, and I would also like to mention the Canberra Theatre Centre, Trophylink, Tallagandra Hill Wines, Capital Print Finishers, Canberra Centre and the InterContinental Hotels Group. I thank them all for their support.

The nationals went ahead through the dedication of Kari Craig (as national convenor) and her team; Marjory Smith (theatre manager); and the ever present Liz Kratzel (ACF Director of Competitions).

South Australia sent a great team in each section, made up of the best competitors from clubs all over the state. We were fortunate to have great representatives in all the graceful sections, winning two of the sections, and almost all our girls were placed in the competitions. We also had representatives in the senior and junior calisthenics duos and were successful in winning the latter section.

Calisthenics is a sport where winning is not the only reason that girls compete; rather it is the pursuit of personal best and excellence that encourages a supportive environment—which is no better illustrated than by the Victorian team that lent costumes to the South Australian team when they found out almost at the last minute that not all their costumes had travelled to Canberra for the competitions.

In true tradition, despite the disruption, our girls went on and did a great performance. We had great performances during the entire competition, with the powerhouse states such as South Australia and Victoria being challenged by Western Australia, Queensland, the ACT and now the Northern Territory, where great improvements have been fostered by ACF initiatives.

As in any sport, teams change as girls start or finish commitments to their sport. With many girls competing for 10 years or more at the national level, shortly this could be extended as masters teams begin to become involved. During the competitions we were treated to items by the Ceres Masters Team, where individuals can be aged 26 years or over. I heard that several women aged over 50 were competing—so that is something for all members to aspire to—although lycra can be a very harsh fabric.

I can inform the house that our 20 strong sub-junior team, coached by Miss Melissa Daysh, won its section, winning each item emphatically. Our 20 juniors, coached by Miss Nikki Iannunzio, won their section also emphatically; and special mention should be made here of Miss Nikki receiving the inaugural ACF outstanding coach award. Her enviable record over several years has seen her work become a benchmark and something all cali enthusiasts look forward to seeing as a highlight of the national competitions.

Our 20 intermediate girls, under coach Miss Rebecca Williams, worked well all day, pushing Victoria hard and even winning a section, with the unanimous approval of the adjudicators. I will mention here the great work of the adjudicators and the many years necessary to achieve this level in the sport. While we may not always agree with them, we are very thankful for their work and commitment to our great sport.

Our 16 strong SA senior team, coached by Miss Melissa Evans, while small in number, put up a great suite of items, winning a couple and coming second in the rest. While it is not customary to have an overall winner, as this often requires mathematic gymnastics to work out, rather we recognise the rigours of each item, much like the degree of difficulty we see in other sports in the execution of the routine. In calisthenics, girls' fitness and ability work in tandem with presentation and deportment. Girls who participate in cali have great poise and self-confidence, and all body images are celebrated. Good eating habits and well-documented training regimes are the norm.

Time expired.

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