A team of seven Hunter Valley athletes shined bright on the international stage at the Federation of International Sport Aerobics and Fitness (FISAF) world championships.
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The squad, who are members of the Cessnock-based UBU Sport Aerobics and Fitness club, competed for team Australia in the Czech Republic last month.
The youngest of the squad is year 7 student at St Joseph's Lochinvar Elsie Barr who returned to Australia with the title of a World Champion Finalist.
Elsie made it to the final round of the competition, making her a World Champion Finalist and finished eighth in the world.
Duo Paris Mcginty and Jessica Barrett placed seventh in the world.
Maddison Antonio placed 16th in the world as a youth individual and eighth in a duo with Queensland's Sian Pawson.
Chloe Davidson also placed 16th in the world as an adult individual.
Duo Blair Fisher and Ruby Sills placed 9th in the world, Blair also placing 9th as an individual. The girls making it through to the semi-finals and only just missing out on the finals.
Their coach Kimberley Gargan said this was the club's second year competing on an international stage.
"It's always been hard to make it overseas, the quality in Australia is insane so it's really hard to get to the international stage to start with," she said.
Kimberly said she is extremely proud of all the girls.
"Every year as long as they're happy with the routine they've put on stage, then we're all happy," she said.
"It felt amazing to see the girls do so well, I was very happy with the results."
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Most of the girls train a minimum of six hours a week and Kimberly said that is face-to-face training with her.
"They'll do a lot of extra strength and fitness training in their own time to prepare for the routine which is really high impact for one minute and 45 seconds," she said.
"There's a lot of fitness in the lead up to worlds and polishing the routines."
Kimberly said being from a small town and knowing that you can still make an impact on the world stage is inspiring.
"If you put in the work, you can achieve anything," she said.
Laura Rumbel
Laura Rumbel is a journalist who has always called Maitland home. She has been with the Maitland Mercury since 2022, and is passionate about all areas of local news.
Laura Rumbel is a journalist who has always called Maitland home. She has been with the Maitland Mercury since 2022, and is passionate about all areas of local news.
