Lucy & Chelsea - International Placings in Hawaii

While most spent the summer months at our beautiful local beaches, doing as little as possible, that certainly wasn't the case for Chelsea Barns and Lucy Pringle.

And while the two Bay gymnasts may have spent 16 days in Honolulu in January, there wasn't a beach in sight. The teens were too busy pushing themselves to their physical limits in two international competitions - Gymnastics in Paradise and the Aloha Festival.

Their sacrifice certainly paid off though, as both athletes brought a sizeable haul of medals and trophies home to Argos Gym, in Judea, where they train.

In Hawaii, Lucy competed in Level 8 and Chelsea in Level 9.

As well as various apparatus medals, Chelsea came first overall at Gymnastics in Paradise and third overall at the Aloha Festival in her level, while Lucy came first overall at both in hers.

"In New Zealand, I'm in Step 10 and Lucy's in Step 9," Chelsea says. "But when you go over to America, it's quite different over there. They use a different system, so we dropped down a level."

It was the second international outing for the pair, Lucy, 16, having previously competed in Australia and Chelsea,19, in Chicago, but it meant a busy few months in the lead-up.

"After nationals, which is in October, we usually have a break," Chelsea says, "but because it was in January of this year we had to train the whole way through." Which means the pair have been training every week since December 2014.

They compete in four apparatus - uneven bars, floor, vault and beam - and train about 16 hours each week. The pair say fitting gym hours around study is no big deal as they've both been doing it so long.

"I just managed to do my homework after gym, because it finishes at 7.30pm," says Lucy, who s doing NCEA Level 2 this year. Chelsea has finished school and is three weeks into her first year of a Bachelor of Nursing.

"I've been at gym since I was just four, so my whole life has been time management," she says.

When it's something you love doing, it makes working around it quite easy.Chelsea Barns

The pair say the Hawaiian competitions were on a much bigger scale. "I think there were about 40-odd [competitors] in each session," Chelsea says. "Whereas here in New Zealand, I compete against only about seven or eight girls, so it was huge."

Both girls say they find competing overseas harder, as in New Zealand's small competition pool, they tend to know their competitors' strengths and weaknesses.

"Over there we had no idea what the level of talent was going to be," Chelsea says. Given that, and the fact she's returned from two broken hips, the win came as a big surprise for her. "I had four years off, so to come back and come away with some placings is really special," Chelsea says.

Lucy was equally stoked with her success.

So what's next for the pair? Chelsea says she'd love to master a layout Yurchenko on vault next, and a double-pike somersault on floor.

Lucy wants to consistently nail a double-back somersault on floor. "I know I can do it," she says. "It's just a confidence thing."

THE HAUL
Gymnastics in Paradise
Lucy: First overall, first on bar
and beam, second on vault
and floor.

Chelsea: First overall, first on
vault, second on floor and bar,
fourth on beam.

Aloha Festival
Lucy: First overall, first on
floor, second on bar, vault and
beam.

Chelsea: Third overall, fourth
on beam, first on vault,
second on floor, third on bar.

- Bay News

By Rosie Dawson-Hewes