December 2022 - Miranda RSL Youth Club

Founded in 1962, this year marked the 60th Anniversary of the Youth Club and what a year it was. Let’s take a look back at some of the year’s highlights.

After an extended closure due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Youth Club officially re-opened on the 31st of January. Our school sport program also recommenced at the start of the year with students from Caringbah High School and Port Hacking High School participating in weekly trampolining lessons at the Youth Club.
The 2022 Miranda RSL Youth Club AGM was held on the 9th of March at Miranda Diggers. At the meeting, Ann Corey-Hewitt stepped down as President after four years in the role and John Boes was elected as the Miranda RSL Youth Club President for 2022.
On the 21st of March, Sensei Wayne Budd attained his 3rd Degree Black Belt (Sandan). This grade takes years of dedication and we congratulate Wayne on his outstanding achievement.

At the end of the month, we installed two new beds on our EuroTramp Trampolines. This update brings our equipment in line with the current competition standards and will assist our athletes in their preparation for the 2023 competition season.
In April, the Youth Club hosted the Miranda RSL Sub Branch ANZAC Day ceremony held at the Miranda War Memorial. Thank you to everyone who attended and to all the volunteers who assisted on the day.
During Term 2, our coaches travelled out to Yarrawarrah Public School once a week to run Gymnastics Australia’s LaunchPad program with Stage 1 and 2 students. This program teaches basic gymnastics skills and promotes the development of fundamental movement skills at a young age.

On the 25th of June, we hosted an Open Day at the Youth Club to celebrate our 60th Anniversary. The event involved a range of athlete demonstrations, free ‘come and try’ sessions for the public and a reunion afternoon tea for former members and associates. One of our trampoline coaches, Emily Cox, put together a 28-page Commemorative Booklet for the event chronicling the history of the Youth Club using a variety of records and sources. You can download a digital copy of the booklet by clicking here.
In July we began running KinderGym classes for athletes aged between 3 and 5 years of age. These classes follow a structured curriculum and provide a safe and fun environment for children to develop their social, cognitive, and physical literacy.
On the 28th of July, the Youth Club hosted the 2022 Sydney East Combined High School (CHS) Trampoline Trials. Of the five athletes selected to represent Sydney East at the 2022 CHS Championships, three were current members of the Youth Club including trampoline coach Jensen Hawes.
In September, Ann Corey-Hewitt attended the Miranda RSL Sub-Branch Battle for Australia Day commemoration service on behalf of the Youth Club along with a number of local dignitaries.
Later that month, members of the Sydney East Trampoline Team along with several Youth Club Coaches travelled to Niagara Park for the 2022 CHS Championships. Congratulations to the whole team on their excellent results.

This year, SKIA Shotokan Week was held for the first time since 2019, taking place in Sydney from the 29th of September to the 2nd of October. Congratulations to Youth Club athlete Ethan Italiano who achieved his 2nd Degree Black Belt (Nidan) during the event!
Display Day 2022 was held on the 27th of November and featured the presentation of our perpetual trophies and the induction of a new Life Member, Amanda Donaldson. A full list of the award recipients can be found in our previous post.

2022 was not without its challenges for the Youth Club. Following two years of significant disruptions and extended closures, membership numbers were well down on previous years. At the time of writing, the Youth Club has 141 registered members and 18 coaches. Of those members, almost two thirds are new in 2022. With numbers slowly rebuilding, we are very excited to announce we the return of Wednesday classes in 2023. An updated timetable listing the new classes will be published early in the new year.

We must also mention the contribution of our sponsors Miranda RSL Sub-Branch and JFD Global. These organisations help us to keep our fees low, purchase new equipment and fund our coach education program to ensure our coaches continue to provide the best possible service for our members.

We hope you have a very happy holidays and look forward to seeing you in 2023!

Thanks for coming along to Display Day 2022!

Display Day is Miranda RSL Youth Club’s annual athlete showcase and presentation day. This was the first time we were able to hold Display Day since the end of 2019.

Thank you to everyone who came along to support our athletes! We would also like to give a shout out to our incredible volunteers who helped to set up and pack down the gym, run the raffle and marshal the athletes.

Congratulations to our 2022 perpetual award winners;

Rita Emily Coulton Award – Miranda RSL Youth of the Year Nate Ferlazzo

Bert Walker Award – Karate Athlete of the Year Ethan Italiano

Ritchie Gillies Award – Karate Most Improved Leonardo Luci

Kara Miller Award – Trampoline Encouragement Award Penny Duff *

Joan McMaster Achievement Award – Female Trampolinist of the Year Maia Manlias *

Alec Dengate Achievement Award – Male Trampolinist of the Year Elijah Ryan

* Due to illness, Penny and Maia were unable to attend Display Day. They have since been presented with their awards during their regular classes.

We also made several special presentations on the day including inducting a new Life Member to the Youth Club, Amanda Donaldson.

Amanda joined the Youth Club in 1992 and has participated in Trampoline, Tumbling and Karate. She has also held the positions of coach and Committee Member, serving in recent years as the Youth Club Secretary. Amanda has spent countless hours working behind the scenes to keep the Youth Club running and is a very deserving recipient of this honour.

Two of our coaches, Keelie Smith and Kristen Chirgwin, also received their 10 Year Service Award for their contribution to our Club.

We hope you enjoyed your day and look forward to seeing you back next year!