CENTRAL West Gymnastics gun Tori Writer is one out of the box.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Just ask coach Lucy Gifford.
The 15-year-old gymnast has just come off her most successful Gymnastics NSW State Championship campaign, claiming fourth overall in the 15 and over level six women’s gymnastics titles.
But what makes Writer special to Gifford goes way beyond medals.
For Gifford, it’s all about one thing.
Dedication.
“They should be (more dedicated), but these days they don’t put in the effort,” the experienced gymnastics coach said.
“Tori has put in a lot of effort to get to level six and we’ll have her ready for level seven for country.”
Writer has been a member of the Central West Gymnastics Club for nearly a decade.
A toiler on the bars, Writer has improved exponentially over the last seven years to the point she’s now just 0.500 of a point off the top three performers in her age group in NSW.
Finishing fourth overall courtesy of consistent placings across the vault (fifth), the uneven bars (ninth), the balance beam (fifth) and a stellar flour routine (fifth), Writer said she was rapt to have come so far in her chosen sport.
Accruing an overall score of 54.600, Writer was edged by Epping’s Chloe Segal by 0.500 for third while Julia Vlahogiannis (Sydney Academy, 55.750) and Georgia Pryer (Tamworth, 56.050) finished second and first respectively.
“I just love it,” Writer said.
“I was really happy about it. Floor and beam are my favourites, but I feel like I did really well on the floor that day.”
Also a qualified coach, the young gymnast enjoys passing on the knowledge she’s been able to draw on to the next generation of central west gymnasts.
“Seeing little kids achieve their goals and having fun, it’s good to see,” she said.
Gifford was impressed with her star pupil’s recent state titles performance.
“We’re really impressed. They were her best marks ever. Every time we’ve sent her she’s improved. This one, her marks were very good. She wasn’t far off third position,” Gifford said.
“Apparently on Sunday her floor routines looked absolutely beautiful ... that’s all you ask for. She’s a pleasure to coach.
“We’re so proud of her getting this far.”