Extreme Trampoline CQ’s Sam Durkin, Matt Grieves to represent Australia at World Age Group Champs

Sam Durkin and Matt Grieves are ready to fly the flag for Australia at the World Age Groups Championships in the UK. Read what coach Kerry Smyth says about her stars here.

Extreme Trampoline CQ members Matt Grieves and Sam Durkin have been named in the 50-strong Australian team to compete at the World Age Group Championships in Birmingham in November.

Extreme Trampoline CQ members Sam Durkin and Matt Grieves have received the highest compliment from their experienced coach after earning Australian selection.

Kerry Smyth has described the teenage talents as the “standout trampolinists” of her 44 years’ coaching.

It’s a big call, considering she has coached at the highest level of the sport and mentored some of its most successful competitors.

Durkin and Grieves have been selected in the 50-strong Australian team for the World Age Group Championships in the United Kingdom in November.

Durkin, 18, will contest the individual and synchronised trampoline, while Grieves, 19, will compete in the double mini trampoline.

Both are in the 17-21 years division, an age group Smyth said would be hotly contested by some very experienced athletes.

“It will be quite a challenging event for the boys. They have their personal goals and their aim is to complete their routine and passes and bounce at their best,” she said.

Trampolinist Matt Grieves with coach Kerry Smyth.

“Since trampolining became an Olympic discipline, more countries are honing in on it and getting their athletes more refined.

“The standard in this age group will be very high.

“If Sam or Matt made a final it would be a remarkable achievement and anything after that would be a bonus.”

Smyth said national selection was a fitting reward for Durkin and Grieves.

Both naturally gifted, they also possessed an incredible work ethic, a willingness to learn and an appetite for success.

“Sam started with me as a five-year-old and Matt maybe a little later,” Smyth said.

“There’s been plenty of times when the going has been beyond tough but their commitment and dedication has never wavered.”

Durkin and Grieves will join the Australian team in the UK for pre-comp training ahead of the international competition, which runs from November 16-19.

Trampolinist Sam Durkin is thrilled with his latest Australian selection.

Durkin donned the green and gold in July this year, winning a gold, silver and bronze medal at Gymnastics New Zealand’s national championships.

But he said selection for the world age event was the highlight of his trampolining career.

“My training has been structured throughout 2023 specifically aiming at meeting the eligibility and priority selection scores,” Durkin said.

“New Zealand was an important step towards this.

“I’m now executing a 10-bounce routine consisting of 22 somersaults with 12½ twists with plans to introduce my extension routine which will increase by another somersault and twist, bringing my difficulty within reach of the finals.”

This will be Grieves’ first international assignment, with his performance at national clubs earning him Australian selection.

“I’ve always been on the edge of selections, with my level of difficulty holding me back. This time I nailed the difficulty and matched it with execution,” he said.

“I’m going to make the most of this opportunity, experience international double mini at its highest level and hopefully record passes worthy of my years of training.”