The Calisthenics Championship Solo Competition for 2013 was held last weekend.
Julia (Miss Six) was once again truly fabulous and I am so proud of her. She had practised hard and it showed in her performance. She tried her very best and although she missed a placing, she clapped the loudest and the longest for everyone else!
All the girls were wonderful, and Julia had such a great time that she is keen to continue with solo competitions next year. A huge thank you once again to Hannah for being such a great coach and well done on your achievements so far this year!
Now Julia will be concentrating on her team routines - the first team competition is coming up fast!
If you'd like to find out more, please take a look at Calisthenics ACT if you are in Canberra like me, or Calisthenics Australia for more information about Calisthenics in other states.
Christine xx
Julia (Miss Six) was fabulous in her second Calisthenics Solo competition for the year.
She put in lots of practice during the past three weeks and it paid off as she received third place in her age group. She was totally thrilled to receive a trophy!
Look at the huge grin on her face! She is pictured here with her coach Hannah, to whom all thanks must go for her ongoing efforts and friendship. What a wonderful achievement for both of you!
One more solo competition to go...
If you'd like to find out more, please take a look at Calisthenics ACT if you are in Canberra like me, or Calisthenics Australia for more information about Calisthenics in other states.
Christine xx
Joining Sticky Fingers for The Gallery... the theme this week is Youth.
This photo of me and my sister was taken when I was 12.
In my youth I had two main interests: Calisthenics and Girl Guides. I loved both.
Christine xx
Julia (Miss Six) is in the Sub-Junior team for Calisthenics this year and she is also performing in the Calisthenic Solo competitions. She started training late last year to learn her routine and her first competition was last weekend.
She was fabulous and absolutely the cutest Alice in Wonderland I've ever seen! There are just a few weeks until her next competition, so she is diligently practising her routine and improving all the time. She is determined to win a medal or a trophy!
Julia totally adores her coach Hannah, whose patience, dedication and friendship is so very much appreciated. A big thank you also to Hannah's Mum Felicity who lovingly made Julia's beautiful costume. She really looked wonderful!
More to come as the year progresses...
If you'd like to find out more, please take a look at Calisthenics ACT if you are in Canberra like me, or Calisthenics Australia for more information about Calisthenics in other states.
Christine xx
It has been a monumental year in Calisthenics for my little girl. Julia (Miss nearly 6) had her annual concert and presentation day on the weekend.
She was overjoyed to receive a gold medal for her hard work in her Tinies team again this year, but then she topped it off with a huge trophy for Junior Clubperson of the Year 2012.
This is the first year that this award has gone to a member of the Tinies team! I am so proud of her commitment to the sport, from practising hard to supporting others. Her award is a magnificent achievement, and proof that hard work and dedication do not go unnoticed.
Her coaches Kirsty and Kari have always her encouraged her to try her best, and deserve a huge thank you for their own dedication to their teams and the sport.
She has enjoyed working with both the Tinies and the Sub-Junior teams this year, but she is looking forward to moving up to Sub-Juniors next year and performing in the solo competition as well.
If you'd like to find out more, please take a look at Calisthenics ACT if you are in Canberra like me, or Calisthenics Australia for more information about Calisthenics in other states.
Christine xx
The past two weekends have been taken up by Calisthenics competitions - the last for the year. Once again, Saturday sleep-ins were forgone in favour of early rises, hair and makeup, and fancy costumes.
Here is Julia in costume for her tinies free exercises routine.
Both her tinies and sub-junior teams did really well again, and their performances were wonderful. There will be lots
more ribbons to add to Julia's collection!
Her club came 3rd overall in the Club Championship, so well done to all the girls, from the tinies all the way through
to the seniors. You all worked so hard and looked so fabulous on the stage!
Thanks again to her coaches Kirsty and Kari, the team assistants and the team managers, who always give everything to
the training of my little girl and her teams, and always encourage her to try her best.
If you'd like to find out more, please take a look at Calisthenics ACT if you are in Canberra like me, or Calisthenics Australia for more information about Calisthenics in other states.
Christine xx
Joining Sticky Fingers for The Gallery... the theme this week is Sport.
Julia's chosen sport is Calisthenics. Here she is in her team uniform, ready to head off to her competition. She looks quite enthusiastic for so early in the morning!
This is her second year. She loves performing on the stage, dressing up in beautiful costumes and being part of a team.
Calisthenics is an artistic and performance sport which promotes teamwork, encourages physical development and co-ordination, and takes a series of routines set to music and turns them into beautiful performances.
Between 4 and 8 routines are learned during the year with each routine lasting between 1.5 - 4 minutes. All routines are taught and performed with emphasis on teamwork and uniformity. There are many different disciplines or routines that can be taught in Calisthenics, which is why it is considered such a diversified sport. The core items for the Tinies age group (4-6 year olds) are Free Exercise, Rods and Aesthetics. A fancy item is also taught which may include Folk Dance, Song and Dance or Song with Actions. Figure March and Club Swinging are added as core items in the older age groups.
You can find out more about Julia's Calisthenics with more pictures of her beautiful costumes in my previous blog posts here.
Christine xx
Saturday mornings are usually sleep-in days, but not for the last two weekends. We have risen early for Julia's calisthenics competition days. A quick breakfast, then out the door for hair and makeup, then on to the theatre.
This is Julia in costume for her sub-junior rods routine. Very bright!
Julia in her team uniform - and hamming it up for the camera.
Both her tinies and sub-junior teams did really well, and enjoyed their performances.
Thanks again to her coaches Kirsty and Kari, the team assistants and the team managers, who all put so much work into making the day such a success for all the girls.
The tinies teams at the presentation - Julia's team is in red on the right.
The final competition for the year is just six weeks away so there is lots of practice to do!
If you'd like to find out more, please take a look at Calisthenics ACT if you are in Canberra like me, or Calisthenics Australia for more information about Calisthenics in other states.
Christine xx
Julia (Miss Five) has continued with Calisthenics this year. She loves the stage, the performance, the dressing up and most of all, she loves the attention.
She is very fortunate to be part of both the tinies and the sub-junior teams this year, so she has had a lot of practise to do in the past few weeks. Her first competition for the year was held last weekend. Although places were not awarded at this practice competition, it was a wonderful opportunity for all the girls to get on the stage and perform.
Here she is, ready to go on stage for aesthetics.
Huge thanks to her coaches Kirsty and Kari, the team assistants and the team managers, who all put so much work into making the day such a success for all the girls. It's hard to believe that the next competition is just five weeks away!
Calisthenics promotes teamwork, encourages physical development and co-ordination, and takes a series of routines set to music and turns them into beautiful performances.
If you'd like to find out more, please take a look at Calisthenics ACT if you are in Canberra like me, or Calisthenics Australia for more information about Calisthenics in other states.
Christine xx
It was almost the perfect Saturday morning, starting with a lovely (and rare) sleep in. Until Julia (Miss 5 and-a-half) confessed to her Dad that she had a bead in her ear. What???
I took her to the doctor and he flushed out two beads. As we were driving home, I jokingly asked her whether she had put anything into her other ear. She said yes, sorry I forgot. So we had to go straight back to the doctor again where he flushed one out of the other ear!!
Then I spent the whole afternoon sewing the offending beads and sequins onto her new calisthenics leotard (although not specifically the ones that had been in her ears).
Beads are no longer my friends.
Christine xx
On the weekend Julia (Miss nearly 5) performed in her end-of-year concert for Calisthenics. She has enjoyed her year so much, and is really keen to do it all again next year. Yay!
Being the proud Mum that I am, I thought I would share a few photos of her final performance on stage this year.
If you'd like to find out more, please take a look at Calisthenics ACT if you are in Canberra like me, or Calisthenics Australia for more information about Calisthenics in other states.
Crocheted goodies handmade by me
Available now from Mini-Me Handcrafts.
Personalised Children's Books
Available now from Jelly Bean Books.
Last weekend saw Julia (Miss nearly 5) in her last Calisthenics competition for the year. She practised every day in the few weeks leading up to this competition and was really looking forward to performing on stage again.
Such a wonderful result! Her team placed second overall in the Tinies division of the ACT Team Championships, with places in every discipline - free exercises, rods, aesthetics and folk & character dance. It truly was a wonderful achievement for all the girls!
For most of the girls in Julia's Tinies team, it was their first year of calisthenics. All praise must go to her coach Kirsty for her wonderful routines, awesome energy and in particular the way she cares for each and every one of her girls. Huge thanks must also go to team assistants Chelsea, Sam, Caitlyn and Jess, and team manager Nicky for making the day a success once again.
Julia is very happy with her haul of ribbons for the year - she has two each of blue, red, green and yellow. Here she is ready to go on stage for her rods routine. (Hubby says she looks like she's ready for a role in Rocky Horror, but he's as proud as any Dad could be!)
If you'd like to find out more, please take a look at Calisthenics ACT if you are in Canberra like me, or Calisthenics Australia for more information about Calisthenics in other states.
Crocheted goodies handmade by me
Available now from Mini-Me Handcrafts.
Personalised Children's Books
Available now from Jelly Bean Books.
I've shared a little about Calisthenics in a previous post (a beautiful sport). Julia (Miss Four-and-a-half) loves Calisthenics. She enjoys going to practice with her team every week and she practices at home every day.
On the weekend her team placed first overall in their ACT Preliminary Competition, with places in every discipline - free exercises, rods, aesthetics and folk & character dance. What a fantastic achievement for all the girls!
It was so wonderful watching these little girls performing on the stage. All the teams put so much effort into their performances, and it was easy to tell that they were all enjoying their day.
I am so proud of my gorgeous girl! Here is Julia in her costume for the folk & character dance - A Pirate's Life. She is demonstrating her very best pirate face and arrrrrr!
Her coach Kirsty is such an inspiration, and has chosen brilliant music and choreographed tremendous routines for the girls. Kirsty's energy and care are so very much appreciated - especially by this Mum!
Huge thanks must go to Kirsty and team assistants Chelsea, Sam, Caitlyn and Jess, team manager Nicky, and everyone else who again put so much work into making the day such a success for all the girls.
If you'd like to find out more, please take a look at Calisthenics ACT if you are in Canberra like me, or Calisthenics Australia for more information about Calisthenics in other states.
Handmade children's ponchos, scarves & lots more
Available now from Mini-Me Handcrafts.
Personalised Children's Books
Available now from Jelly Bean Books.
Julia (Miss Four) started Calisthenics this year. She has been practising really hard, and in the lead up to her first competition, she practised every day.
We had to wake up early on Sunday morning... so early that it was still dark and even Julia agreed that it was still night-time. My first attempt at a bun was halfway decent (I think), thanks to copious amounts of gel and hair spray, and about a hundred bobby pins.
All those hours of practice were totally worth it... Julia had such a fun time in her first competition with her team. Huge thanks to her coach Kirsty, team assistants Chelsea, Sam, Caitlyn and Jess, team manager Nicky, and everyone else who put so much work into making the day such a success for all the girls.
Why do I like Calisthenics so much? Because it promotes teamwork, encourages physical development and co-ordination, and takes a series of routines set to music and turns them into beautiful performances.
But it's also something I did as a girl. This is me with my sister.
If you'd like to find out more, please take a look at Calisthenics ACT if you are in Canberra like me, or Calisthenics Australia for more information about Calisthenics in other states.
Handmade children's ponchos, scarves & lots more
Available now from Mini-Me Handcrafts.
Personalised Children's Books
Available now from Jelly Bean Books.
