When a family friend introduced Courtney Smith to aerobics, she thought the sport was crazy.
She definitely never thought she would be representing New Zealand at the FISAF World Championships in Brazil in October this year with her duo partner, Queen’s High School pupil Brooke Wilson.
"I just didn’t understand the concept of it at first; it was just jumping around in a square," Courtney said.
However, the more the Taieri College pupil got into it the more she learnt about the high-intensity sport that was a combination of dance, gymnastics and working out.
"I think lots of things go into it. You work very hard on one routine, but once you put it out on stage and you put out something that you’re proud of I think your hard work pays off and it’s just great to see what you’ve actually been practising for."
"We were excited and then shocked and I think we’re still processing it now because it’s just crazy to actually think that we’ve accomplished that."
Courtney and Brooke trained with Queen’s Aerobics and their fellow club member Otago Girls’ High School pupil Immy Morey had qualified for world championships for a second time.
Immy said their training was about to ramp up.
She said they would have high-intensity training sessions three times a week with additional biometric high-intensity training with a personal trainer.
Queen’s Aerobics coaches and choreographers Kirsty Snoep and Annelise Lowther were thrilled to have four out of their five routines selected for the world championships.
Southland Girls’ High School pupils Matilda Stevens, 15, and Dani Kramers, 16, who trained with Queen’s Aerobics and Southland-based club Empire Aerobics are also headed to Brazil.
Game On Aerobics’ Kylie Lynders, of Christchurch also qualified for the world championships.
The team will be fundraising with raffles and quiz nights to help fund their trip.
