On the 26 August last term, a small group of local gymnasts attended a High-Performance Assessment Day at the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics National Centre of Excellence at HBF Stadium.
On the assessment day, all four gymnasts were assessed on their ability to complete skills such as leg lifts, chin up hold and how many chin ups they could achieve on the bar, swings, splits (both centre and side), front support/rear support holds, flexibility drills as well as drills on a spring floor.
For three of the gymnasts, all from Wheatbelt Gymnastics, including Kayley Dean, Charlotte Weckert and Emmeline Brady, it was their first opportunity to utilise a gymnastics centre complete set up, including foam pits and a sprung floor. Fenella Brady who was assessed later in the day, had competed in a similar environment in 2015.
A team of coaches conducted the assessments and the information they collected is provided to the clubs and coaches to assist their gymnasts in their gymnastics journey.
Of those 4 gymnasts, Kayley Dean, who lives in Gingin and trains at Wheatbelt Gymnastics and Roxanne’s Dance Studio where she studies Acro, was chosen for her abilities in completing tasks and skills on the day. She showed immense potential with a high-level combination of strength and flexibility and her ability to complete the set tasks.
Kayley’s Mum, Kelly Dean had been checking emails daily to hear the result and was so proud Kayley had been selected. “I was jumping around like a lunatic at work!” she said. Kelly told all her colleagues, then called her husband Allen before collecting Kayley from school.
Kelly said Kayley’s response was priceless – she was so happy – screaming, jumping around with excitement and telling all her friends.
Kayley was chosen from 50 gymnasts who attended on the day and shortlisted to attend two additional training days at the high-performance centre in September. This was to assess Kayley’s suitability to transfer to the program versus the idea of possibly aligning with a program closer to Gingin and the Wheatbelt Gymnastics.
The two sessions were hard work for Kaylee, as well as early starts. During the Saturday session where Kayley focussed on vault, she landed a dive forward roll on her first go. A sweet achievement for her as she got to ‘ring the bell’ which is only done when you achieve something for the first time.
Her coach at Wheatbelt Gymnastics, Beck Foulkes Taylor says she is very proud of Kayley’s achievement and her ability to take the new challenges in her stride. “Kayley is a wonderful gymnast with potential to go very far. She is already showing dedication and focus far beyond her years,” says Beck.
Kayley is often found spending more time on her hands than her feet – so great is her love for gymnastics. For any new positions she wants to learn she is often found Googling or on YouTube watching tutorials and practicing until she can nail it! She achieved her perfect splits because of her dedication. Kayley’s dream is to be an elite gymnast and we wish her all the best in her gymnastic journey!
