Regional Championships are taking place at clubs all over Victoria last week and next, but while we wait for those results to come in, let's not forget about the other events that happened recently. I wasn't at the comp for this one, but smaller club invitationals always seem to have a great vibe, and I'd be surprised if Eureka's was any different. Six clubs sent gymnasts across Levels 3 to 6 to compete on Eureka Gymnastics Club's home floor over the weekend of 22-23 August.
LAWLESS HOLDS OFF HASSELL BY A FRACTION
In Level 5 Division 3, the top two in the all-around were separated by just 0.025, the tightest margin for a win anywhere in the competition. Eureka's Isabelle Lawless won it on 35.725, with Melton's Chelsea Hassell right behind on 35.700. Hassell actually posted the equal-best vault in the field, 9.550, and the best floor, 9.275, but Lawless's 9.100 on bars, the top score of the division, turned out to be the difference. Eureka's own team, the Penguins, backed it up with the team title on 103.275, ahead of Melton's MGA Kippers (101.050) and Natimuk (98.900).
It was also a weekend for finding your feet at a new level. Eight of the nineteen gymnasts in that Division 3 field, more than a third, don't appear in our results at Level 5 before this comp, so as far as we can see, this looks like a first Level 5 start for each of them (our records only go back so far, and only cover the comps we've got results for, so some may well have started earlier elsewhere). A first outing at a new level can be tough, and the scoreboard on the day doesn't always reflect the work that's gone in behind the scenes to get ready for the step up. Plenty to build on.
WOOLEY MAKES A STATEMENT, DARABI PUTS ON A SHOW
Level 6 Division 3 belonged to Eureka's Georgia Wooley, whose 34.175 was her best all-around score of the 2026 season by more than two points, ahead of Moyhu's Morgan Hope (32.625) and Melton's Eden Leheny (32.600) in second and third. Natimuk's Jayda Hallam, in what looks like her first start at the level, topped the whole division on vault with 9.500, and Eureka's Anise Warren won beam outright on 8.250, her own best score of the season too. Eureka's team, built around Wooley, Warren and Quinn O'Callaghan, took out the division's team title on 97.775.
Over in Division 2, Melton's Delnia Darabi was the only entrant, scoring 9.400 on vault, 8.150 on bars, 8.100 on beam and 8.250 on floor for 33.900.
A LESSON IN TEAMWORK IN LEVEL 4
Level 4 needed two sessions to fit the whole field in. Melton swept every apparatus in Part A for the win on 105.800, with Ballarat Gymsports' Green team second and Natimuk Blue third. Gymsports Red still found its way onto a podium, taking bronze on beam (24.700) despite finishing fourth overall.
Part B was tighter still, and it's where the day's nicest story sits. Eureka and Moyhu, two clubs with a fair drive between them, combined to field not one but two squads, and between them they finished first and third, with Natimuk Silver splitting them in second by just 0.05, 103.800 to the winning 103.850. Putting two clubs together like this is usually just a practical fix, not quite enough gymnasts on the day at either gym to fill a team on their own, but it's hard not to like the idea that some of these girls, from two different clubs, could end up teammates again down the track, on a state team together, a few years from now. Getting comfortable competing alongside kids from another gym now can only be a good thing, for them and for the sport.
Level 4 Part B, Team
| # | Team | VT | UB | BB | FX | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eureka & Moyhu Team White | 25.000 | 25.500 | 26.650 | 26.700 | 103.850 |
| 2 | Natimuk Silver | 25.250 | 25.400 | 26.100 | 27.050 | 103.800 |
| 3 | Eureka & Moyhu Team Blue | 24.150 | 25.150 | 26.850 | 26.300 | 102.450 |
| 4 | Gymsports Blue | 25.350 | 24.350 | 26.000 | 26.725 | 102.425 |
| 5 | Gymsports White | 24.600 | 21.850 | 25.350 | 25.700 | 97.500 |
| 6 | Stawell | 22.400 | 22.650 | 24.000 | 23.675 | 92.725 |
A CLOSE CALL FOR NATIMUK SILVER IN LEVEL 3
Level 3 also ran across two sessions and ten teams in total. In Part A, Eureka's home side won outright, though Natimuk Blue matched them for gold on beam, both posting 24.325. One of the tightest battles for the minor placings came on vault, where Natimuk Silver's 23.100 came within 0.4 of catching the tied bronze at 23.500, held by Natimuk Blue and Ballarat Gymsports Silver, a promising number for a squad still early in Level 3. Ballarat Gymsports' Red team won Part B outright.
Full results from the 2026 Eureka Invitational, all five sessions across both days, are up on the results page.
