The state gym seemed huge. It was busy with the other teams of level sixes. Some girls looked around nervously. Others giggled as they twirled around the bars or tumbled on the floor.
It was a very big day.
Through the colour and movement, Gemma could just see her parents sitting up in the stands. They sat still. It didn’t even look like they were talking. They seemed to be a long way away.
Inside, Gemma felt strange. She felt nervous and excited at the same time. Today she had to do a change-leap on beam in front of judges! Would she be able to do it?
To make things worse, her team was last on the beam. And Gemma was the last gymnast in her team. That meant Gemma would be nervous about her big leap right to the end.
Then Michael called a team meeting.
‘OK, level six,’ Michael said. He was frowning, but Gemma thought she could see a sparkle in his eyes, behind his bushy eyebrows. ‘You’ve done these routines hundreds of times. You all know what you have to do.’
Michael paused. The five girls stood quietly at the start of the run-up. The noise and movement seemed to disappear.
‘I know you can do it,’ Michael said kindly. ‘Make me proud, level six.’
The team stayed quiet, but the girls seemed to relax a bit. Kathy stopped frowning. Fiona almost looked like she could smile again. Michael’s talk had helped them all.
All the nerves and excitement and fear settled. Now Gemma felt calm inside. She had worked hard and she knew what to do.
Now it was time to do it.
When it was Gemma’s turn on vault, she felt ready. She felt strong all over. She wiped her hands on her legs, and waited. Then one of the judges nodded her head.
Gemma ran. Her legs pounded the run-up. All she could see was the vault ahead of her.
Run, run, legs together, bum tucked in … As she sprang over the vault, her body lifted. For a second, it felt like she was flying. Then Gemma felt the ground beneath her.
She landed well.
It was a good vault.
When her score came up, Gemma felt even better. Gemma’s score was the second highest in the team, just under Naomi’s.
Kathy gave Gemma a big pat on the back.
Gemma sighed. This was great.
She didn’t have to worry about being the worst gymnast anymore.
She went well on bars and floor, too. She swung between the bars as though she had done it all her life. She tumbled high and danced with grace on the floor. After all the hard work, today it almost felt easy.
When it was time for beam, Gemma waited quietly while the other four girls had their turn.
Finally, it was Gemma’s turn on beam. Some of the other teams had finished and sat quietly, watching.
It felt as though everyone in the gym was watching.
As Gemma started her routine, she thought of the gymnast on the Olympics DVD. She had done her routine in front of the whole world! Gemma knew she could do her routine in front of the state gym.
It felt great being up on the beam. When it was time for the change-leap, Gemma did it beautifully. No problem. She landed solidly and safely.
Behind her, she heard a gasp from another team coach.
When Gemma’s score came up, everyone in the state gym clapped. It was a very high score.
Gemma felt proud, but she was also in a daze. She didn’t understand what her high score really meant.
Michael kept smiling and saying, ‘Well done, Gemma.’
Kathy and Anika took turns hugging Gemma. Then they hugged each other.
At one point, Naomi said quietly, ‘What did I do wrong?’
It wasn’t until the presentation that Gemma understood what was happening. When it was time to award the highest score, they called Gemma’s name.
Gemma had the highest overall score for level sixes in the state!
She stood on a platform and a judge gave her a trophy. Gemma couldn’t stop grinning. Her whole team clapped. Even Naomi was smiling.
Gemma looked for her parents in the crowd. But they weren’t in their seats. They had come down to the railing and were leaning over, clapping. Gemma’s mum was smiling and crying all at once. Her dad kept punching the air with joy.
Standing on the platform, watching it all, was the best feeling.
It wasn’t until going home in the car that Gemma finally had a chance to look at her trophy properly. She touched the smooth, cool gold. It glinted in the evening light.
The trophy showed a gymnast in a perfect handstand. She was upside-down, with her legs straight and her toes pointed.
But to Gemma, the trophy showed more than that. Gemma ran her finger along the gymnast’s straight legs.
To Gemma, the gymnast on the trophy was on her way over the vault in a handspring. Her bum was tucked in. Her legs were tight together. She was just about to push off the vault and lift up into the air to land.
The trophy was the best thing Gemma had ever been given. It showed everything Gemma had worked for.
To Gemma, the trophy showed a gymnast doing the best handspring ever.
The Worst Gymnast
first published in 2005
this edition published in 2012 by
Hardie Grant Egmont
Ground Floor, Building 1, 658 Church Street
Richmond, Victoria 3121, Australia
www.hardiegrantegmont.com.au
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means without the prior permission of the publishers and copyright owner.
A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia
eISBN: 9781742739250
Text copyright © 2005 Thalia Kalkipsakis
Illustration and design copyright © 2012 Hardie Grant Egmont
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
Illustration by Aki Fukuoka
Design by Michelle Mackintosh
Text design and typesetting by Ektavo
The Worst Gymnast Page 3