WHILE training to be a competitive gymnast requires discipline and dedication, for Millani Betts, it's also about having fun and hanging out with her friends.
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Millani is one of a group of gymnasts who trains with the PCYC, who earlier this year competed in the Country Capital Cup at Tamworth, with the group doing the city proud and bringing home a bucket load of medals between them.
The competition was held in Tamworth over the June long weekend, with the girls competing in the three-day competition, with 10 athletes in level three, six in level four and one in level six.
The competition was the first major tournament the Bathurst PCYC athletes have competed in since the lifting of the COVID-19 lockdown last year.
Millani said she has been doing gymnastics ever since she can remember.
"I started training when I wanted to try it out as a kid and join in with my friends," she said.
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She loves the sport so much she trains about four days a week, putting in around three hours a day.
While admitting it takes dedication she said it's also a lot of fun.
"I love competing and getting to hang out with my friends," the Year 7 MacKillop College student said.
And her attitude to training obviously pays off.
In the Capital Cup she was placed fifth on the floor and her group was named first overall.
"It was a pretty good result," she said, adding it was great to be back competing.
"We were doing competitions three times a year, but COVID really affected it and there weren't many competitions during COVID.
"Tamworth was the most recent one."
She said she loves gymnastics so much she hopes to continue doing the sport, with the view of continuing professionally, or becoming a coach herself.
She said the PCYC is a great place to train.
"It gives me a place to get away and have fun, and it encourages other girls to get into the sport ," she said.
When she's training, she primarily works on all of the apparatuses.
"If we do all that or we have done something well we get free time, and that's when we get to go upstairs," she said.
"That's the really fun bit, with the foam pit."
She said all the gymnasts at the PCYC were lucky to have such good coaches and amenities.
"The resources are really well set up," she said.
"I've been to two others [centres] in the Central West ... they were pretty good, I just personally didn't enjoy them as much as Bathurst."
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