For the second year running, Armidale City Gymnastics Club has been recognised as one of the state's top clubs.
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At Sunday's Gymnastics NSW annual awards, Armidale was awarded Medium Club of the Year after picking up the same award in 2023.
The club's head coach Wally O'Hara said it was particularly special to be recognised as it is a "peer-voted award".
![Gymnastics club recognised with statewide award win Gymnastics club recognised with statewide award win](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/T7RGn6Wqupu9DPpBgesVjF/7be3c4d5-f875-46af-b7b3-b82fa59b2f38.jpg/r0_190_3648_2242_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"It is good to win, to be recognised two years in-a-row," he said.
"In our view that adds a bit more prestige to it because if other clubs are thinking you are doing a pretty good job, you must be."
The medium club is defined by having between 300 and 1000 members.
Armidale has just shy of 1000 athletes.
The award also takes into account "events you have run, number of judges that you have accredited throughout the year, the number and coaches you have and the level of your participation in state and national events."
![Armidale City Gymnastics Club has been recognised at the governing body's annual awards. Picture by Gymnastics NSW. Armidale City Gymnastics Club has been recognised at the governing body's annual awards. Picture by Gymnastics NSW.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/T7RGn6Wqupu9DPpBgesVjF/90520062-cd18-4869-abab-f0de62a42473.jpg/r0_0_3375_3375_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Country Championships were held in 2022, 2023 and will be back in town again this year so the club has been able to showcase their professionalism in hosting big events. The 2024 event will be even bigger with another event added in a winter invitational.
"Because country is only regional clubs outside metropolitan Sydney, this year they are running a winter invitational which means the Sydney clubs are allowed to come up and compete against everyone," O'Hara said.
"We get to compete against some of the very, very strong clubs from Sydney."
They have already had a taste of it with Sydney-based Le Ray Gymnastics visiting recently.
"Le Ray which was up here with the internationals two weeks ago told us they would love to be back," O'Hara said.
"They enjoyed it that much that they will come to to the winter invitational. Three of them are vying for one position Australia has at the Olympics in Paris for rhythmic gymnastics."