Banned gymnastics club forced to travel from Toowoomba to Dubbo to give young gymnasts a go

Banned from competing in Queensland, 35 kids will travel 19 hours in a bus to the closest competition that will let the children participate this weekend, reports SHANNON GILL.

Allstars Gymnastics Club has been forced to travel to Dubbo for competition due to a Gymnastics Queensland ban.

Paul Kelly once sang “from St Kilda to Kings Cross is 13 hours on a bus” but that has nothing on Vicki Flamsteed and her young gymnasts.

Flamsteed’s Allstars Gymnastics club will do a 19-hour round trip on a bus from Toowoomba to Dubbo and back this weekend.

“We’re taking a 48-seater bus of kids and coaches to a competition down in Dubbo,” Flamsteed said.

“It’s a long way to go to show our routines, I guess, but we’ll do anything to give the kids competition experience!”

Allstars Gymnastics is banned from competing in Queensland by Gymnastics Queensland.

The only way the club can give its kids the chance to compete is at events independent of governing bodies.

The Dubbo event is the closest that will let them in.

It’s just a lazy 710km away by road.

Allstar Gymnastics owner Vicki Flamsteed has to take her gymnasts to Dubbo to compete. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Allstars Gymnastics is persona non grata in its own state because it is one of 98 clubs nationwide that have decided to go with the more cost effective insurance and accreditation scheme offered by Recreational Gymnastics Australia rather than the Gymnastics Queensland version for their recreational businesses.

The club wants to continue to affiliate its competitive gymnasts with Gymnastics Queensland but the governing body says until it also affiliates its sister recreational business, the club and its kids are suspended from competition affiliation.

“We’ve appealed but we’re still suspended while the appeal process is in place,” Flamsteed says.

“We’re now six months into the appeal process and haven’t got a decision.

“We’ve asked Gymnastics Queensland to allow the kids to compete as the process is being undertaken and they have said no.

“That’s affected the kids.”

Other clubs across Queensland have asked Allstars to their events but the threat of losing sanctioning has scuppered those well-meaning invites.

Instead of wallowing, the Allstars have taken the invitation to Dubbo.

The local club there, Focus Gymnastics, has gone out of its way to increase the event schedule to fit in the northerners.

In that spirit, Flamsteed and her club have tried to turn a negative into a positive.

Allstars Gymnastics Cub will take a bus to Dubbo this weekend due to Gymnastics Queensland ban. Picture: Supplied

Families have raised more than $25,000 to fund the trip of the 35 children, while one parent owns the local Antara Yoga Studios and has sponsored uniforms for the team to wear.

In addition the club itself, which is Flamsteed’s own small business, is funding the attendance of staff and coaches.

They will board the bus at 5:30am on Saturday and return on Tuesday. To make the most of the trips, the kids will also spend an afternoon at Dubbo Zoo.

Flamsteed said the families had been amazing in making the best of a bad situation.

“That’s why we’re calling it the Silver Lining Tour, because it’s actually brought the community together,’’ he said.

“Everyone has said ‘we’ve got to find a way around this’. We’re very determined to give the kids an opportunity.

“We’re pretty excited to do it. It’s just a shame we can’t give them an opportunity in Queensland.

“You shake your head in wonderment about why kids would be excluded when it’s just an administration dispute really.”