THE HILLS DISTRICT CALISTHENICS CLUB
COMPETITIONS TEAMS
You may wonder where all the hard work leads to? Apart from the great benefits described above the girls are working towards the CAWA Betty Fitzpatrick Competition in August and the State Championships which are held in September. Both of these competitions are where all the calisthenics clubs in WA come together to display the work that they have been taught for that year. It is an exciting time for all the girls and the parents. Hills District is an ‘A’ grade club and one of the most successful clubs in the CAWA. Our talented coaches and girls have done us proud over the years and have placed highly at all competitions. You will notice as the year progresses that the coaches place the girls into certain teams and that they are taught different sets of work according to ability and experience. These are the teams and items that they will be performing at the competitions. It is therefore essential that the girls and their parents give a commitment to those teams for the remainder of the year. It is disappointing and very disruptive if a girl decides to leave after teams are selected.
COMPETITION
GRACEFUL SOLO: The Graceful Solo Competition is held in April/May and is open to all affiliated calisthenic girls from Junior (10 years) to Senior age. It is a solo item and one which is the favourite of many of our girls. Graceful Solo is a combination of aesthetic exercise, natural dancing and elevation performed to an appropriate piece of music.
DUO/SOLO: These are held in November each year and are open to all affiliated calisthenic girls. A Duo is a combination of physical calisthenic work and dance performed to appropriate music. A Solo is a combination of physical calisthenic work and dance performed to appropriate music.
Girls may enter both the solo and the duo section or either one or the other. It is entirely up to the individual. The Solo/Duo competitions are traditionally low key and intended to be a “fun” competition for the girls to finish the calisthenic year. It also gives the girls the confidence to work on the stage other than in a team situation.
FUTURE STARS CONCERT:This is the big day for our little ones. The CAWA holds a concert at the end of every year to give all those teams who do not enter competitions an opportunity to perform the work they have learnt to all the other clubs. It is a great day and one which is well attended. Hills has always entered about 4 items in the concert and we love to ‘show off’ our Twinkle Toes (Beginners).
STATE TEAM
The ultimate in calisthenics is to be selected in the State Team to compete in the Australian Calisthenic Federation National Championships which are held each July in a different State/Territory. Trials are held at the end of each year and training usually commences straight away with a break being taken over the Christmas Holidays.
While it is a great honour to be selected in the State Team it also requires a strong commitment from every girl and her family. The girls train weekly and some times twice a week, separately from their normal club training and the training venues will not necessarily be local.
The cost of sending a girl to State Team is borne by the parents. However, parents quite often organise fundraising initiatives to assist with fees. Hills Districts has, over the years, had many girls selected in the State Team and most of the parents have used the raffle to its full advantage.
It is a CAWA rule that State Team classes or other adhoc State Team arrangements are not to interfere with or interrupt club classes. Should parents have any concerns with such clashes please do not hesitate to contact either Karen Quinn or Sandra O’Keefe for advice.
HILLS GRACEFUL COMPETITION
In 1994 The Hills District Calisthenics Club was the first WA club to take the initiative to host it’s own competition. As there was only one Graceful Solo competition each year compared to nine in Victoria we felt that the hard work and long hours put in by girls who do a Graceful solo deserved the opportunity to compete in more than one competition. Hence we obtained approval from the CAWA Management Committee, formed a working party, and went about organising our own competition. It proved to be a great success and something that was long overdue in this state. We have had nothing but praise from the competitors and the people who attended and have continued it as an annual event.
Obviously running a competition such as this requires a great deal of work by many dedicated people. If you can spare some time over the weekend that we are holding the competition please speak to a committee member as we would welcome any help.
CALISTHENIC SKILL EXAMS
These are held every year and are a non compulsory examination where the girls are tested individually on calisthenic skills. The girls compete against no one but themselves and it is a great opportunity for all girls to improve their skills and knowledge of calisthenics. The exams are set to cater for Sub Juniors to Seniors with the ultimate being the Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals at Senior level. ‘Hills’ has a fantastic record with Cali Skills exam results. We are also very proud to have several successful medallists in our club including 6 Gold Medallists.