TOM HAYES
GYMNASTICS
By TOM HAYES A YOUNG gymnast from Traralgon has had her hard work pay off, after making the Victorian squad that will travel to Queensland for the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) Border Challenge. Fourteen-year-old Chloe Jones made the 31-person roster for Victoria that will head to Queensland at the end of the month to take on other states over three days. As impressive as this achievement already sounds, there is a lot more to the story than you might think. Chloe is from Traralgon, yet has to travel to her club in Maffra to train and prepare for meets, that’s a one-and-a-half hour round trip that is made, three times a week – four-and-a-half hours of travel per week just to train. Within the Victorian squad is Men’s Level 6 and 7 gymnasts, and Women’s Level 7, 8 and 9 gymnasts. Upon looking at the Victorian squad list, in Level 7 – where Chloe competes in – she is the only regional gymnast, with the rest coming from metropolitan-based clubs. In Level 7, there are only 10 people on the roster, as well as three reserves, who won’t even make the trip to Queensland, so from a small group of 10 people, Chloe made the list. Level 7 is split into two teams – Navy and White – and Chloe will compete for Level 7 White. Chloe had to go through a trial process, for which she was scored. The best scores made the squad. “She trialled in Melbourne for two days, against other Level 7 gymnasts across the state,” Chloe’s mother Simone said. “You sort of walk away without understanding where you sit against all of these Level 7 gymnasts, so you know you’ve competed well, but how well.” When Chloe found out she made the Victorian squad, she was surrounded by fellow Maffra gymnasts, as her coach rang the bell to announce it. “She was at training on a Monday night at Maffra, and an email came through to let her know that she had qualified,” Simone said. Now, Chloe prepares to ravel interstate for the WAG Border Challenge, which will take place from Monday, June 26 until Wednesday, June 28. She will use Monday, June 26 as a training day, then will compete as a team the following day, and individually on the final day of competition. “They already had a training session as a team in Melbourne, so they all met already, so she got to meet her team,” Simone said. “The first training I was nervous, because I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but it was really good,” Chloe said. Being selected as a regional gymnast is an incredible moment for Chloe, as every other gymnast in her level is from a metro club, or resides closer to the city, where there are more facilities. “For Chloe, she’s a regional gymnast, so the gymnasts that have been selected for the Level 7 team are majority … from Melbourne,” Simone said. “But, Chloe’s qualified as a regional gymnast, and so she doesn’t have the facilities available to her that all these competitors, that she was up against, have. “So she (Chloe) only trains nine hours per week, where all the other fellow gymnasts are 15, 20, 25 hours a week. “So to be able to meet the skills required on less hours and still qualify is a big achievement.” Chloe began gymnastics at the age of six, competing at Energetics Traralgon until 2021, when she made the move to the Maffra Gymnastic Club. Chloe will compete in four events; the bars, floor, beam and vault, competing against kids of all ages, ranging from her ages to as low as eight-years-old. “I hope to do good on bars, because during my trails I did best on bars, so I’m hoping to do good up there,” Chloe said. “Most gymnasts tend to have a favourite that they’re good at, and that’s their thing, Chloe’s is all over all four,” Simone said. Chloe will be jetting off to Queensland on the day prior to competition, hopefully returning five days later with some good memories of the event.
