24 Oct 2017
After gaining a place in the National finals 2017, West Wyalong High School students, Jessica Payne, Katie Clemson, Tianna O'Meley, Britney Troy, Jessica Butcher, Alana Donaldson and Kimberley Wright travelled to the Gold Coast. They trained extremely hard in the lead up to this gruelling event, ensuring they produced their best routine on the stage.
The trip was long after travelling in a bus from West Wyalong to Sydney then on a plane to the Gold Coast. The next few days were spent enjoying some of the sights and experiencing what the Gold Coast had to offer. They spent time at Surfers Paradise enjoying the sights, looking through Ripley's - Believe it or not, ate amazing local produce and shopping! Then it was down to business with the girls spending time practicing and finessing their routine one last time.
On Sunday, competition day, the girls spent the morning wandering the markets in Broadbeach before heading back to the accommodation to prepare for their performance. Three girls in the team had never performed competitively in front of an audience before. This created many nerves and a great deal of excitement. They also managed to watch a few performances by other schools and clubs, which gave them a feel for what the expectations would be.
Once they arrived in the backstage warm up rooms they focused on what lay ahead and calmed their nerves by running through the routine a couple of times. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they were called to the stage. Once the music started they all kicked into gear and performed their routine with a great deal of enthusiasm and precision. The 2 minutes on stage felt like seconds and it was all over. Sherrie Clemson (coach) met them on the side of the stage to congratulate them on a stellar performance. Now it was just a four-hour wait to find out results!
After a long afternoon the girls lined up for the medal ceremony. They were so excited to find out that they had placed fifth in the country. Their hard work had paid off and they are now looking to better their position next year. They would like to thank Sherrie Clemson for being so organised, preparing them so well for the competition and always looking after them (particularly for buying them cake on their birthdays).
