Eight girls from the Wollondilly-Southern Highlands Physie Club have qualified for the BJP Junior Nationals which will be held in Sydney on Sunday.

Earlier this year the club competed at a zone competition where the girls all placed to qualify for the national competition.

The girls will compete in heats to try and go through to the semi-finals and final.

Fifteen girls will make the final and places will be awarded to the top five competitors.

Club president and teacher Diane Gardiner said while they had girls make the finals in the past, they had yet to place in the finals and hoped this could be the year.

“We haven’t hit that place yet. We just have to show that extra strength there and personality as well,” she said.

“Eight is a fantastic number [to have in nationals] for our club, being in the country.”

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In the lead up to the competition, Gardiner said they had worked on the same skills with the girls “but more intensive”.

Ella Latimer and Alexis Olsen will compete in the six year division, Hannah Winne and April Durer will compete in the seven year division, in the eight year division will be Elsie White, while Maggie Digger and Ruby Blake will compete in the nine year division and April Jordan will compete in the 10 year division.

It will be a special experience for the girls who will travel up to Sydney on Saturday before the competition, which will be held at The Quay Centre at Homebush, in a limo.

The girls also competed recently in a teams competition, with the club in the championship grade where they achieved three places.

Gardiner said they achieved a fourth in the 5-6 age group, and third in both the 7-8 and 9-10 age groups.

Two of the club’s senior competitors Laura Jamieson and Lucy Stein as well as a club coach Molly Stein will be competing in the Senior Nationals at the Opera House on December 3.

“Physie is a combination of dance, aerobics and ballet. It’s all choreographed according to their age and teaches them deportment, strength, and poise,” Gardiner said.

“Physie is fun. The girls meet people at competitions and every year they’ll marry back up again and renew their friendships and all get excited when they see each other.”

Gardiner, who has been with the club since 1976 as a competitor and coach said it had been great to see the club grow and become so successful.

She said they now had some great coaches at the club- Kylie Crittenden, Megan Durer, Katie Blake, Lucy Stein and Molly Stein- that had worked hard with the girls.

BJP Physical Culture celebrated 125 years last year.

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