Gymmin' Miel!

• Lily Gresele (GWA Fliers/Spirit) - JUNIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Lauren Mitchell (WAIS/College Park) - SENIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Paige James (WAIS/Jednorog) - SENIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Aya Meggs (WAIS/College Park) - SENIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Darcy Norman (WAIS/Spirit) - SENIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Olivia Vivian (WAIS/College Park) - SENIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Yasmin Collier (WAIS/Star-Mites) - SENIOR INTERNATIONAL

• Madelaine Leydin (NCE-Melbourne) - SENIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Eadie Rawson (NCE-Melbourne) - JUNIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Elly Bayes (NCE-Melbourne) - JUNIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Erin Modaro (NCE-Melbourne) - SENIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Charleis Kingston-White (NCE-Melbourne) - JUNIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Aimee Warnock (NCE-Melbourne) - SENIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Alexandra Eade (NCE-Melbourne) - SENIOR INTERNATIONAL

• Clara Kolm (WAIS/College Park) - INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 10
• Sidney Stephens (WAIS/Spirit) - INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 10
• Monica Costa (GWA Fliers/High Flyers) - INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 9
• Zoe Thair (GWA Fliers/Star-Mites) - INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 9
• Isabelle McQueen (GWA Fliers/Spirit) - INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 10
• Madeleine Verdon (GWA Fliers/NDGC) - INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 10
• Mikayla Scerri (GWA Fliers/Star-Mites) - INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 9

• Dayna Sulaiman (WAIS/Spirit) - INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 10
• Sophie Mahoney (WAIS/T,J.'s) - INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 10
• Shannon Neate (QLD/Barron Valley) - SENIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Sasha King (WAIS/Active) - INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 10
• Isla Ross (QLD/Super Performance) - JUNIOR INTERNATIONAL
• Grace Barry (GWA Fliers/Spirit) - INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 10
• Sophie Prince (WAIS/Star-Mites) - INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 10

"We're very excited to welcome Nikola to the Gym Terp family,” head coach Brett Nelligan said. “The team and staff have been eagerly awaiting her arrival all summer. She is a well-rounded gymnast excelling on vault and beam, and her bar routine is among the most difficult in the world. Nikola’s experience competing on the world stage will serve her well in the collegiate arena."

When Olivia Vivian went to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 as a 19-year-old, she was the oldest woman on the gymnastics team.
Almost five years on and at an age when most gymnasts have long retired, she is far from done with the sport which has consumed close to 16 years of her life. The 23-year-old is an uneven bars specialist and has set her sights on becoming the first Australian woman to win a medal in the event at the world championships in Antwerp in October.
Vivian has been to two previous world titles, but the results she wanted have proved elusive.
Sensing this could be her last hurrah at the highest level, she is preparing to go all out later in the year.
"I have always missed out on finals by the littlest of scores," Vivian said. "I want to make sure there is no room for regret or error or there is no looking back, saying, 'If only I had done this'."
The part-time Zumba instructor said she would almost certainly have given gymnastics away had she not taken up a four-year scholarship at Oregon State University after Beijing.
Vivian originally decided to accept because she couldn't turn down a chance for a fully-funded degree, but her time there also had an unexpected result, reigniting her passion for the sport.
"It really just taught me how to love gymnastics all over again," she said.
"Gymnastically, it taught me how to perfect things and to make things big, and get those landings and get all those extra points that will make a difference in the end.
"I was challenged every day in the gym. I improved my gymnastics by going over there, when originally it had been a plan to wean off gymnastics.
"You get so mentally and physically exhausted and it is kind of a norm here in Australia after an Olympic Games that you move on. If I didn't have that college outlet, I probably would be doing something else."
Fate also intervened to prolong her career last year.
Vivian's mum, Gillian, had planned a trip to visit the US and watch the final college competitions of the year. But when she had to cancel at the last minute, Vivian decided to return to Perth to surprise her family.
The trip home coincided with the Australian Olympic trials. Vivian's decision to "have a crack" saw her win the uneven bars.
She fell just short of winning a spot on the team for London and was named as the reserve.
"Winning bars was a surprise but that is kind of what sparked my thought of, 'hey if I can podium here in Australia, I want to take that podium finish to international level for Australia'," she said.
Tragedy has also played a role in Vivian's return to Perth to pursue her sporting dreams.
Her 64-year-old father, Craig, lost his battle with a melanoma in February. Vivian had already been determined to qualify for the world titles, but losing her dad had added fuel to the fire.
"At first gymnastics helped as a coping mechanism, coming in here and keeping me busy," she said.
Vivian is currently completing an intensive 10-week block of training prior to nationals in July.
Gymnastics has come under the winning edge program and the bar has been raised on standards, meaning only those who are medal chances will be taken to Antwerp.
Vivian, who will turn 24 during trials, said she was planning a high-risk, high-reward routine.
And if things go as well as she hopes, her name could be immortalised in gymnastics.
"There is a skill that we are trying to learn in the gym and if I do complete it at world championships I will be the first to do it and it will be called the Vivian," she revealed. "That would be pretty awesome."

• Alana Boyd - Athletics (Track and Field)
• Luke Hughes - Baseball
• Christina Kreppold - Baseball
• Lauren Reynolds - BMX Racing
• Danny Green - Boxing
• Naomi-Lee Fischer-Rasmussen - Boxing
• Ashley Schroeder - Calisthenics
• Hayley Moir - Calisthenics
• Kynan Maley - Canoeing (Slalom)
• Yita Choong - Chess 
• Mike Hussey - Cricket
• Chris McWhirter - Croquet
• Melissa Hoskins - Cycling
• Cameron Meyer - Cycling
• Justin Miles - Darts
• Clayton Fredericks - Equestrian (Eventing)
• Kane Mitchell - Football (Australian Rules)
• Janine Murray - Gymnastics (Rhythmic)
• Lauren Mitchell - Gymnastics (Women's)
• Nigel Barley - Handcycling
• Fergus Kavanagh - Hockey
• Alana Nicholls - Kayaking (Sprint)
• Jesse Bowland-Curtis - Lacrosse
• Jessica Kennedy - Lacrosse
• Daniel Ricciardo - Motor Sport
• Bryan Staring - Motorcycling
• Caitlin Bassett - Netball
• Ricky Thackray - Orienteering (Moutain Bike)
• Robin Anderson - Petanque 
• Barry Cowburn - Rifle (Small Bore)
• Paul Williams - Rogaining
• Ben Cureton - Rowing
• Todd Skipworth - Rowing
• Nathan Sharpe - Rugby Union
• Tristan Brown - Sailing
• Katherine Downie - Swimming
• Blair Evans - Swimming
• Colin Bowler - Table Tennis
• Matthew Watson - Tenpin Bowling
• Felicity Sheedy-Ryan - Triathlon
• Gemma Beadsworth - Water Polo
• Glencora Ralph - Water Polo
• Ryan Green - Water Skiing
• Vennesa Leopold - Water Skiing
• Shaun Norris - Wheelchair Basketball
• Emma Chalmers - Wrestling
• Steve Kennedy - Wrestling

• Elizabeth Parnov - Athletics (Track and Field)
• Elliot Hargreaves - Baseball
• Rachelle Smith - BMX (Racing)
• Kiera Skeet - Calisthenics
• Thomas Pinnock - Chess
• William Bosisto - Cricket
• Bradley Linfield - Cycling
• Kelsey Robson - Cycling
• Maddison Keeney - Diving
• Jack Martin - Football (Australian)
• Min Jee Lee - Golf 
• Emily Little - Gymnastics (Women's)
• Shannon Reynolds - Kayaking (Sprint)
• Ashtyn Hiron - Lacrosse
• Ben Thompson - Lacrosse
• Caleb Grothues - Motorcycling
• Kaylia Stanton - Netball
• Courtney Bruce - Netball
• Oscar McNulty - Orienteering
• Lilly Tinapple - Rowing
• Jacob Willcox - Surfing
• Katherine Downie - Swimming
• Damian Fyfe - Swimming
• Holly Nicholas - Table Tennis
• Cameron Johnston - Tenpin Bowling
• Jayden Love - Touch Football
• Jaz Hedgeland - Triathlon
• Kenji Nener - Triathlon
• Jake Dowding - Water Skiing
• Lewis Dowding - Water Skiing
• Amber Merritt - Wheelchair Basketball
• Jake Bloomfield - Wrestling
• Mark Spearman - Yachting

• Badminton WA U15 Team - Badminton
• Perth HEAT - Baseball
• CAWA 2012 Senior State Team - Calisthenics
• Robin Jeffrey and Kynan Maley - Canoeing (Slalom)
• Perth Scorchers - Cricket
• Cycling WA Open Women's Sprint Team - Cycling
• Cycling WA U17 Team Pursuit Team - Cycling
• West Australian Senior Show Jumping Team - Equestrian (Show Jumping)
• Claremont Football Club - Football (Australian Rules)
• Perth Glory - Football (Soccer)
• WA Women's State Amateur Team - Golf 
• Aerodance Western Australia - Gymnastics (Sport Aerobics)
• WA Handcycling Team - Handcycling
• Jesse Phillips and Stephen Bird - Kayaking (Sprint)
• WA Women's Senior State Lacrosse Team - Lacrosse
• Western Sting - Netball
• Women's Light Weight Coxless Quad Skull - Rowing
• UWA Uniroos Match Racing Team - Sailing (Match Racing)
• Western Australian Girls U13 Team - Table Tennis 
• Southern Districts Women's Open - Touch Football
• Fremantle Mariners - Water Polo
• Fremantle Sharks Wrestling Club - Wrestling

• Alex Parnov - Athletics (Pole Vault)
• Kim Rodgers - Badminton
• Steve Fish - Baseball
• Andrea Phillips - Calisthenics 
• Lindsay Flinn - Cricket
• Darryl Benson - Cycling
• Iris Deng - Diving
• Philippa Collier - Equestrian (Eventing)
• Bill Duckworth - Football (Australian Rules)
• Rob Wiley - Football (Australian Rules)
• Ritchie Smith - Golf
• Trudi Nurse - Gymnastics (Aerobic)
• Martine George and Nikolai Lapchine - Gymnastics (Women's)
• Ric Charlesworth - Hockey
• Geoff Goddard - Lacrosse
• Pamela Badani - Masters Swimming
• Norma Plummer - Netball
• Ian Dalton - Orienteering (Mountain Biking)
• Matt Magee - Swimming
• David Brown - Table Tennis
• Ken Thompson - Tenpin Bowling
• Grant Landers - Triathlon
• Peter Arancini - Water Polo
• Peter Szilagyi - Water Polo
• John Triscari - Wheelchair Basketball
• Chris Butler - Wrestling (Freestyle)

• Jane Wheatley - Badminton
• Jon Byrne - Baseball
• Brett Robson - Baseball
• Heather Lange - Calisthenics 
• Janet White - Cycling
• Kerrie Robbins - Equestrian (Eventing)
• Scott McPhee - Football (Australian Rules)
• Mathew Cheeseman - Football (Soccer)
• Karen Gilgallon - Gymnastics (Rhythmic)
• Michelle Yardley - Gymnastics (Women's)
• Murray Grime - Hockey
• Melissa Trivic - Hockey
• Ramon Andersson - Kayaking (Sprint)
• Stephanie McRae - Lacrosse
• Ken Philips - Masters Swimming
• Colin Arkell - Motor Sport
• Trevor Newman - Motorcycling
• Laura Payne - Netball
• Ryan Arblaster - Swimming
• Cedric Wilson - Table Tennis
• Richard McIlroy - Touch Football 
• Frank Stapleton - Triathlon
• Cathy Hoare - Triathlon 
• Eddy Girvin - Triathlon
• John Wilson - Waterskiing
• Michael Wrenn - Waterskiing
• Gabor Boros - Water Polo

• Steve Fish - Baseball
• Beryl Brennan - Bowls
• Wally Edwards - Cricket
• John Smith - Cycling
• Pollyann Huntington - Equestrian (Eventing)
• Michael Bardsley - Football (Australian Rules)
• Trudi Nurse - Gymnastics (Aerobic)
• Elizabeth Chetkovich - Gymnastics (Women's)
• David Bell - Hockey
• Fiona Wilkins - Masters Swimming
• John Thorburn - Motor Sport
• Cindy Collis - Motorcycling
• Winton Lawton - Motorcycling
• Helen Robinson - Netball
• Kelvin Masters - Rifle (Small Bore and PCYC)
• Murray Glaskin - Rottnest Channel Swim
• Shelley Hatton - Rottnest Channel Swim
• David Cooper - Table Tennis
• Kit Frazer - Touch Football
• Mike Baldwin - Touch Football
• Mark Batten - Triathlon
• Frank Stapleton - Triathlon
• Esme Bowen - Wheelchair Sports
• John Longley - Yachting

The event was suggested by Gymnastics Western Australia’s Vice President Rick Elkington with the hope that it will bring in more recognition and financial support for the sport.

1. Olivia Vivian (WAG) - Captain
2. Elliott Cook (MAG)
3. Paige James (WAG)
4. Abbie Watts (TRP)
5. Starmites Desire (CHEERLEADING)
6. Alexandra Synnerdahl (RG)

• Lauren Mitchell (Women's Artistic Gymnastics)
• Emily Little (Women's Artistic Gymnastics)
• Olivia Vivian (Women's Artistic Gymnastics)
• Janine Murray (Rhythmic Gymnastics)
• Samantha Elkington (Sport Aerobics)
• Megan Davies (Trampoline Sports)

The daughter of WA burns expert Fiona Wood never felt like she had to jump up and down to get noticed - it just happened that way.

A second-year dentistry student, Evie Kierath, 17, leapt on to the international stage last year when she won the world junior trampolining championship in England.

She started trampolining in Year 9 and quickly rose through the ranks, training every day and competing in open divisions to test herself. 

"I'd just stopped doing gymnastics, I wanted to try something new and trampolining was a lot of fun," she said.

"There are always new skills to learn and something new you can do."

Despite being the daughter of one of Australia's most brilliant minds, she said she did not feel pressure to follow in her mother's footsteps.

 "Going into the medical field was kind of a no-brainer," she said.

"Both of my parents are in medicine and that's just what I'm interested in anyway."

 Evie said she was looking forward to competing alongside Olympians Lauren Mitchell, Emily Little and Janine Murray at the inaugural Chetkovich Cup at Challenge Stadium on October 26.

A fitness advocate, Dr Wood said the Chetkovich Cup would showcase WA's world-class gymnastics talent in an exciting format.

• Mitchell Confident of Medal Chances in Gym - on Ninemsn's Wide World of Sports. 
• Fit Lauren Mitchell Focused on Medal - article from The Australian.
• Lauren Mitchell Ready for the Intimidating Cauldron of London's Millennium Dome - article and above image from The Herald Sun

JADE Martin is hoping to represent Australia in skeleton at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Having had her first taste of the sport only last year, she will head overseas to compete on the international circuit this October.

Looking to spend five months in Europe, America and Canada with her fellow WA team mates, the 21-year-old said she never dreamed she would have another chance to compete at the Olympics after a back injury forced her to retire from the Australian gymnastics team in 2008.

“About three months before I was meant to head to Beijing, I was forced to retire due to stress fractures in my back,” Martin said.

“My old coach told me about the try-outs for bobsledding last November, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

She qualified for the WA skeleton team – a fast sliding winter sport that propels athletes down a frozen track facing down using a small sled.

But Martin did not actually make her track debut until March this year, when her team went to New York for the International America’s Cup race.

All achieving a ranking within the top 100 in the world, she said she was keen to continue in the sport. “Skeleton gives me the same adrenaline rush that gym did,” she said.

The glittering Olympic sport of rhythmic gymnastics is a world away from where Janine Murray grew up under the brutal regime of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe.
But that is in the past and now Murray, 22, looks to her bright future as Australia's only competitor in the sport in London.
It is a dream she never thought possible when she fell in love with gymnastics at primary school in Harare.
Murray, who will be WA's first Olympian in rhythmic gymnastics and only the sixth for Australia, found that her four disciplines - ribbon, ball, hoop and clubs - also complemented her ballet skills.
"We never had great facilities in Zimbabwe, nothing like in Australia, but we always had great coaches, in my case Bulgarian gymnast Krassimira Yurukova, who still coaches me," Murray said.
"I underestimated my own ability in Australia because I came from a country where gymnastics did not have the same foundation or support."
Yurukova followed the Murray family to Australia a decade ago and the pair had their first big success when Murray won Commonwealth Games gold in Delhi in 2010,
She won two silver and a bronze medal at the Pacific Rim championships in Seattle this year.
"We have been able to remain close all these years," Murray said. "In the gym she is in charge but outside we are the best of friends."
She said Yurukova came from a culture where gymnasts had high profiles and were among the world's best.
"It has taken a long time to get to the Olympics and I am not thinking beyond the Games," Murray said.
But her future is definitely in sport. She is about to graduate with a sports science degree and is considering doing her masters.
She said life in Zimbabwe was all she knew as a child with constant shortages of basic foods and petrol, which made getting to school hard.

"We have five girls, Mitchell, Little, Vivian, Nikki Chung and Georgia Simpson who we are trying to get across the line but not all will be successful," George said.
Mitchell said her performance at trials showed she was close to where she would like to be at the Olympics, especially on the beam, but her floor and vault needed work.
"At the moment my beam would probably rate a little higher than the floor because I have had slightly more preparation than on the floor," she said.
"The next couple of weeks I will be working on the floor with the same aggressiveness."
Little said her trials went well but there were a few uncharacteristic mistakes, which were the result of including new elements for the first time in competition.
The squad, which will make it through to the second and final set of selection trials, will be named later this week.

A double twisting Yurchenko vault executed by only a few of the best gymnasts in the world, could be Nikki Chung's ticket to the London Olympics - just 18 months after making her debut for Australia.

The 16-year-old has leapt into contention with recent performances on the vault and bars. She hopes to join WAIS training partners Lauren Mitchell and Emily Little in London.

Senior WAIS coach Martine George said Chung was a relative late starter in gymnastics and was being provided plenty of chances before the Australian championships and Olympic selection trials in Sydney from May 21.

 Her next international assignment is the World Cup in Zagreb, Croatia, starting tomorrow.

 "She is just one of three Australians, along side Lauren and Emily, who stand out with their vaults, but she is also a very strong competitor on the bars," George said of Chung. 

Chung has come back from an elbow injury to be in a position to make the Olympic team, at the same time as completing a full TEE load at Presbyterian Ladies' College, where she is a student.

The remainder of the WAIS squad, which has been boosted by the return of Beijing Olympian Olivia Vivian from a US college, are midway through a heavy training phase, with national coach Peggy Liddick this week working with Little, Mitchell and Vivian. 

Gymnast Lauren Mitchell is taking a cautious approach to the London Games.
Mitchell's approach has been to perfect the routines that have brought her success over the last couple of years rather than make big changes ahead of arriving in London.
The Western Australian became Australia's first female gymnastics world champion in 2010.
That victory followed her two silver medals at the 2009 world championships in London, at the Olympic North Greenwich Arena.
Mitchell described winning the world championship as a 'mind shattering moment' but it wasn't long before her focus turned towards the 2012 Olympics.
She has been locked away at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra training to be at her best for this year's Olympics.
"2011 was more about upgrading skills and getting my routines ready for this year," Mitchell said.
"I'm not really making changes to my routines this year.''
Mitchell is not worried about the pressure of Olympic competition.
She was part of the Australian team that finished sixth in Beijing, the best Olympic result for an Australian artistic gymnastics team.
"I've got that behind me so I know exactly what it's like now,'' Mitchell said.
"It's a cliche, but the Olympics is another competition for us.''