A record number of Tasmanian gymnasts have been selected to represent Australia at the upcoming 36th FIG World Championships for Trampoline Gymnastics being held in Sofia, Bulgaria beginning November 16.
In total, five gymnasts, two coaches and one judge from Tasmania will represent the country next month at the World Senior Championships.
Seventy-five percent of the Australian men’s double-mini team (three out of the four representatives) are members of Kingborough Gymsports and train at the Optus State Training Centre in the south of the state.
“It is always exciting to see any Tasmanian representing the country on a national level, but to have such a large contingent of the squad shows the talent and skill of our local athletes,” said Gymnastics Tasmania CEO Sam Brittlebank.
Team members include Matthew French, Leuca McLeod, and Callum O’Sullivan with state coach, Ben Kelly, as head coach and assistant state coach, Alison Morgan making her World Championship coaching debut as assistant Australian coach for double-mini trampoline.
Braida Thomas from Queensland is currently making her final preparations at the Optus State Training Centre with Kelly and Morgan will compete in the women’s double-mini event in Bulgaria.
Kelly admits this is a first for Tasmania to have so many local gymnasts on the team for one apparatus from one program and club, but is not surprised by the selections after the Tasmanian team took the gold medal in the men’s double-mini team’s event at the recent
Australian Gymnastics Championships held on the Gold Coast in May.
Although this is the first World Championships for all three gymnasts, all have had previous World Age Championship experience, with McLeod more recently competing at his first Senior World Cup in Portugal, winning the silver medal.
Tasmanian’s in other events include Patrick Schluter who will make his World Championships debut, being the first Tasmanian to represent Australia in the Olympic discipline of Individual Trampoline since Olympic Shadow team member Jack Penny last
competed in 2015. Schluter will also contest the Synchronised division, with two-times Olympic reserve Shaun Swadling from New South Wales.
Jacob Smith will once again return to the World Championship arena competing in the Men’s Tumbling event, with Jack Penny being selected to officiate as Australia’s tumbling judge. The World Championships will commence on November 16 , with the World Age Championships to commence on November 23.