Tumbling all the way to Turin

Acrobatic gymnastics, better known as ‘Acro’, is a competitive gymnastic discipline where partnerships of gymnasts work together and perform figures consisting of acrobatic moves, dance and tumbling, set to music.

The acrobatic gymnastics competitions are judged on a score out of 30, though acrobats can score higher than 30 depending on the amount of “difficulty points” they are awarded during their routine.

The athletes are given points based on artistic impression (which evaluates the acrobats performance in terms of choreography, diversity and ability to perform to the music), the execution component (which evaluates the deductions incurred by the acrobats whilst performing the partner and individual skills of the routine) and the difficulty component (which is the overall equivalent score based on the degree of difficulty).

Jayden Brits (10) and Dunay de Vos (9) have both been doing cartwheels and hand-stands for ages.

Early in 2018 Jayden from Laerskool Taalfees and Dunay from Cambridge Academy were paired up by Matome Tshishonga, their Acro instructor at Golden Stars Acro Club, and almost instantly magic started to happen.

It was a match made in heaven;

“My favourite part of Acro is tumbling,” Jayden said shyly.

“My favourite part is the balancing,” Dunay beamed.

Dunay first started doing Acro after Matome visited her school and gave a short presentation on the sport, but Jayden was drawn to Acro because he absolutely loved doing somersaults.

Dunay and Jayden had only been dancing together as partners for six months, when in August 2018 they received their Mpumalanga colours.

Now, just a bit more than a year after Dunay and Jayden first started dancing together, they are South African Junior Proteas and are heading off to the Turin Cup in Italy to represent South Africa.

“I’m very excited but also scared; I don’t like flying,” Dunay lamented, but Jayden was simply excited, stating; “Well, I’m not scared of flying.”

Four other Acro athletes from eMalahleni have also qualified to compete at the Turin Cup alongside Dunay and Jayden; one of which is Comfort Maseko, who will be commencing employment as an assistant instructor at Golden Stars Acro Club after the competition.

Dunay and Jayden are competing as u.11 athletes in level 7; last year this pair unofficially won level 7, competing an age class higher than they actually were at the time.

“We will be flying to Italy on July 11, and then the competition starts on July 12, and finishes three days later. It’s going to be very expensive… Even just the taxi fare from the airport to our accommodation is about €80, which is the same as R1 310 – but how often do your children get a chance like this?” explained Francois Brits, Jayden’s father.

“Each child’s accommodation and flights are going to cost between R28 000 to R32 000; that number doesn’t even take into account any extras or the costs of us accompanying them,” Lydia, Dunay’s mom, elaborated.

A fundraising ‘four ball’ golf day will be held at Witbank Golf Club on May 17 in order to raise funds for Dunay and Jayden’s trip to Turin.

The residents of eMalahleni are urged to band together and help us send these two special athletes to Italy.

Should you wish to make a donation towards the costs of the trip, enquire about the golf day or request further information, please contact Francois Brits on 072 589 6931.