The Star :: Wednesday, October 3 2007

THE second edition of the Gymstar Gymnastics Championships held at Sri Kuala Lumpur school hall in Subang Jaya recently was an avenue for pre-schoolers aged between three and six years old to flaunt their acrobatic moves.  

It also was good exposure for them and helped overcome their fear of performing in front of a crowd.

The one-day event organised by the Gymagic Gymnastics with the support of Association of Child Care Centres Selangor saw the participation of 172 pre-school pupils from 17 centres.  

New element: A participant executing the bridge stand incorporated into the floor exercise.

Besides the Klang Valley-based centres, the team from Tadika Junior Aneka Ria came all the way from Malacca to take part in the event.

Former national sports icon Zaiton Othman, who is currently serving as the National Sports Council (NSC) athletes' welfare division head, was present to grace the occasion.  

“We need to expose our children to performing at events at an early age,” said Sri Kuala Lumpur general manager Hanif Othman Merican.

He added that they had come a long way in promoting gymnastics after the programme was introduced at their school gymnasium three years ago.

“The programme is conducted by Total Gymnastique and led by chief coach Mike Ng,'' he said. 

For the event, the participants performed in two modified disciplines - floor exercise and vault.

“This year, we incorporated the bridge and shoulder stand as part of the floor exercise routine to increase the difficulty for the discipline,” said Gymagic Gymnastics president Gan Seng Pit.

During the intervals throughout the event, several rhythmic and artistic gymnastic performances were also lined up for the crowd.  

“We are impressed with the huge turnout. Although we see disparity in their standards, it was a good initiative to scout for talent with the right body structure and physical attributes for gymnastics,” said Hanif.

The children were all rewarded with a medal, certificate and T-shirt each for putting on a brave display.

“The event is not a competition. Our aim is to encourage the children to learn gymnastics to strengthen and develop their physique. Although the judges evaluated their performances, we are only using it as our reference to identify their weaknesses and guide them to fulfil their potential,” added Gan.