Appointments herald new era for Gymnastics in Gippsland

The Gippsland Sports Academy, with the endorsement of Gymnastics Victoria, is supporting local gymnasts to reach their full potential through the establishment of a new program that will be led by high performance coaches Tracey Penaluna and Alistair Edgar.

60 aspiring Gippsland gymnasts have been selected for the 2017/18 program that commences this month. The program will include intensive training clinics run by specialist gymnastics coaches and high performance service providers.  

The program has been designed to enhance the training and competition opportunities currently available to Gippsland gymnasts and to help them achieve success at State and National competitions.

Jim Vivian, Gippsland Sports Academy’s Executive Officer, is thrilled at the prospect of partnering with Gippsland gymnastics clubs to offer this program to gymnasts who have the potential to become elite athletes.

Vivian explains “the ability for the Gippsland Sports Academy to engage such high level well respected coaches as well as specialists in the sports science field will be of great benefit to the young gymnasts across Gippsland.”

The program includes three Olympic gymnastics disciplines; Men’s Artistic, Women’s Artistic and Trampoline. It will be underpinned by a junior development program for gymnasts that are age eligible for the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games.

As well as offering an enhanced training program for gymnasts, there will be a strong focus on coach education and development. Coaches from all Gippsland gymnastics clubs will be invited to attend the Gippsland Sports Academy training sessions to learn firsthand from experienced high performance coaches.

Tracey Penaluna comes to the Gippsland Sports Academy with more than 15 years of experience in elite gymnastics. Tracey is a previous Senior Coach with the Victorian Institute of Sport gymnastics program and Program Manager for the National Centre for Excellence in Melbourne.

Penaluna is excited to be involved in the new program, commenting “I’m looking forward to working with the Gippsland gymnasts and their coaches.

“There is a great opportunity here in Gippsland and I am confident that we will see more Gippsland gymnasts qualifying to represent Victoria at the National Championships in the years ahead”.

Alistair Edgar is an experienced high performance coach having worked with the Victorian Men’s High Performance Centre in Melbourne for seven years before returning to Gippsland to establish a local club.

Edgar sees the program as an opportunity for the Gippsland clubs to come together and create pathways for local gymnasts and coaches, adding “with more than 2000 gymnasts and a growing number of qualified gymnastics coaches in the Gippsland region, the program will be invaluable in that it creates a pathway to success. Through the program local gymnasts and coaches will be encouraged work together and strive to achieve the highest level of performance they can.”

Penaluna and Edgar will work to develop a team of Gippsland Leader Coaches, creating a culture of collaboration and mindset of training for performance. Through the Gippsland Sports Academy gymnasts and coaches will benefit from learning about sports science, sports medicine, careers and education through activities that will be integrated into the new gymnastics program.

Gymnastics Victoria Chief Executive Jamie Parsons has expressed his excitement about the prospect of this new program.

Parsons concludes “both Tracey and Alistair are well equipped to take on the challenge of establishing the new program in Gippsland. It’s fantastic to see the development of a high performance gymnastics program in Gippsland, and I hope that this will continue across Victoria.”

Click here to visit the Gymnastics Victoria website.

Images courtesy of Gymnastics Victoria.

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