The History of our Club
1989 – 1990
Late in 1989 three young women had been working on a “Dream” to open their own Calisthenic Club; a club where they could develop and further their own Calisthenic skills while passing on their love and passion for their chosen sport.
With support from their parents and a handful of close Calisthenic friends, ‘Jayde Calisthenic Club’ was formed and after a fundraising stall at Trash & Treasure $800 was raised and the club was on it’s way.
We approached 1990 with many ambitious dreams and a lot of work ahead of us. Over the Christmas break we worked hard in finalising all the necessary administrative work and finding somewhere to rehearse. Our club name and colours were now official with Calisthenic Victoria and we were graded as D grade for competitions. Only one thing was missing; students. A few ads in the Ballarat Courier and many letter box drops later, we were ready to commence classes in February 1990.
Our very first class at Jayde Calisthenic Club was for Juniors. It was attended by three young girls, two with calisthenic experience and one who had come along to find out what Calisthenics is all about. We were of course a little disheartened by this and were sent from the clouds back to earth very quickly. Over the coming weeks we started to build from the ground up and our club numbers increased week by week. By the end of April we had 12 Tinies, 18 Sub-Juniors, 16 Juniors, 13 Intermediates and 11 Seniors. A total of 70 registered students.
There was never ending amount of work to be done in the first few months with many more Trash & Treasure stalls and fundraising raffles held. We had a competition for the design of our club logo and tracksuit. Our club badge was made and of course many new costumes were needed. Thanks to our mum (Jan Anthony) for her never ending amount of sewing of costumes for the 40 items we were entering at competitions in our first year, we made it! The Seniors made the club debut at our first competition in early August
By the end of October, we had competed at competitions in Horsham, Geelong, Broadmeadows, C.V.I. and South Street. For the year we achieved a total of 65 placings including 8 firsts, and even an aggregate win for the Intermediates at Geelong. We finished off a very busy year with our first club concert held at B.U.C. Founders Hall in November.
1991 to today
Over the years we have always been proud to be know as a ‘Friendly Club’ and have always been proud of the continual improvement from all students. This improvement has played a large part in all age groups moving up the grading ladder consistently from our D grading in 1990 to today; Seniors are Reserve Championship, Intermediates are Division 2, Juniors Division 1, Sub Juniors and our beautiful Tinies are Division 2 and our Masters are Division 3 Masters.
Looking back over the years there have been many changes in Calisthenics with costumes being one of the biggest. How magnificent we thought our costumes were back in 1990 and now we look at them and wonder how we could have worn some of them. We have always been proud of our costumes and thankful to all parents for the time and effort they put into them, as we always go to great lengths to make everything look perfect. Costumes play a big part in making our items come to life, complimenting the music and the routine.
They say that Calisthenics gets into your blood …we certainly think so. It is hard work and it takes dedication to perfect each item, but the fun and excitement of performing in magnificent theatres, in beautifully sequined costumes make it all worthwhile. Or maybe it’s the lessons you learn about the importance of team work, and striving for your own personal best. Or maybe it’s the bus trips and stops at McDonalds on the way home from competitions. Or perhaps it is just the enjoyment and the lifetime friends that you make, that keeps you coming back year after year.
