School teams leap into state finals

By Monique Ebrington
LAUNCHING Place Primary School students were leaps and bounds ahead of the competition at the preliminary finals for School Aerobics on Saturday 23 May.
Four out of the six girls’ teams that will go on to compete in the Novice category at the state finals are from Launching Place primary.
They were the only school in the Yarra Valley represented at the competition.
Launching Place teams the Eight Stars, Electric Shock and the Sweet and Sour Sisters placed from first to third in the competition and the Racing Babes placed sixth.
The Hot Chicks and boys’ team the Slam Dunks also competed on the day with the boys also going onto the next round of competitions.
Grade 5/6 teacher Candice Nyman introduced aerobics into the school last year and said while she started off with 14 students interested, she now has 46 students from Grade 3 to 6 participating in weekly recess or lunch-time sessions.
Ms Nyman, also a Callisthenics teacher, said that aerobics in schools brought many benefits to students’ physical and mental health.
“There are heaps of positives in aerobics. The students get heaps of positives out of aerobics like fitness, teamwork, confidence, rhythm, flexibility and co-ordination,” she said.
Teams are judged on their music, technique and artistic qualities of their routine and each routine must contain a straddle sit and kick, push-ups and star jumps.
Each team also had their own costume that was designed and sewed by the school’s integration aid Audrey Plunkett.
Ms Nyman said the students had become quite accustomed to performing their routine in front of the school community.
The state finals will be held on Saturday 20 June in Camberwell and if the teams are successful they will go onto the national championships in Adelaide.