Gisborne Trampoline Club coach walks her talk

Trampoline coach Amy Baldacchino, 20, is pictured third from the right. Picture by Rebecca Grunwell

Gisborne Trampoline Club coach Alissa Thomas showed she could walk her talk at the Rotorua championships.

“Alissa coaches our adults’ class and hasn’t competed for 20 years,” club head coach Doug Callahan said.

“But she showed she had not lost any of her skills by winning the trampoline event for women aged 17 and over. It shows you’re never too old to compete.

“I’m rapt for Alissa. She also won silver on double mini.”

Callahan took a team of 14 to Rotorua for the second-last event before the nationals at Tauranga in October, and returned with six gold medals, four silver and three bronze.

Sixteen-year-old Kaiya Huta, who has qualified for the world age-group champs in St Petersburg, Russia, in November, won gold in the junior men’s section and silver on double mini.

“Tramp is Kaiya’s main focus, as that’s what he will be competing in at the world champs,” Callahan said.

“Rotorua, the Auckland champs in two weeks and then the nationals are all geared towards Russia.

“He has a degree of diffficulty of 13.1, which is good, and we’ll be working on his form and routine between now and then.

“He’s got a solid routine but we’ll be concentrating on travelling and getting more height.”

Travelling?

“There’s an x on the mat and lines at different distances on either side of the mat,” Callahan said.

“If you hit the x you don’t get any points deductions but if you miss you lose points — the further away from the x, the more points you lose . . . travelling.”

Leah Scholefield, Ngature Tuhuri, Mia Blot-Mouterde and Elisabeth Missen also won gold medals.

Scholefield was first in the junior women’s double mini, while Tuhuri and Blot-Mouterde won gold in tramp for 10-and-under boys and girls respectively.

Missen won the 17yrs-plus women’s power tumbling.

“Amy Baldacchino was second to Elizabeth, and Jade Swann was third in the sub junior international women’s power tumbling,” Callahan said.

“Jade didn’t qualify for that class at the nationals but she qualified for age group.

Lauren Chambers was injured and did not compete at Rotorua but qualified in power tumbling for the nationals at the Gisborne champs, Callahan said.

“Now that we have a new power tumbling mat, I would expect them all to improve before the next competitions.”

Gisborne medal winners —

Tramp —

10yrs-and-under boys: Ngature Tuhuri, gold.

10yrs-and-under girls: Mia Blot-Mouterde, gold.

11-12yr girls: Lilly Arnold, bronze.

17yrs-plus women: Alissa Thomas, gold.

Junior men: Kaiya Huta, gold.

Double mini —

10yrs-and-under boys: Ngature Tuhuri, bronze.

11-12yr boys: Jasper Florence, silver.

17yrs-plus women: Alissa Thomas, silver.

Junior women: Leah Scholefield, gold.

Junior men: Kaiya Huta, silver.

Power tumbling —

Sub junior international women: Jade Swann, bronze.

17yrs-plus women: Elisabeth Missen, gold; Amy Baldacchino, silver.