Flight Club Fiji’s young aerobic gymnasts have returned from Australia with a strong showing at the 2026 National Clubs Carnival.

The 18-member team, aged between seven and 15, competed at the Aerobic Gymnastics Competition held from 16 to 19 September at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre.

For several of the athletes, the event marked their first opportunity to compete on a major competition floor in Australia.

Flight Club Fiji was represented across Levels 3 to 6 Individual events, Levels 3 and 4 Multiples, AeroDance Division 1 and the Youth Individual Male category.

The team finished the competition with two silver medals, two fifth-place ribbons and two special performance awards.

Ayden Akbar claimed silver in the Youth Individual Male category, while Faith Lagicere also secured silver in the Level 4 Individual 6 to 8 years category.

Anna Marney and Abigail Lagicere finished fifth in the Level 3 Multiples 6 to 11 years category.

There was also individual recognition for Arsene de Luzuriaga and Stella Yee, who received special awards for their performances.

De Luzuriaga was recognised for Strong Performance in the Level 4 Individual 12+ years category, while Yee received the Most Energetic Performance award in the Level 3 Individual 9 to 11 years category.

The results came after months of preparation, with the athletes training since January despite the club not having a permanent dedicated training facility.

Their families also played an important role, helping meet travel costs and supporting fundraising and sponsorship efforts throughout the year.

The team was led by 18-year-old Head Coach and Senior AER International Athlete Robyn Santos-Eastgate, who balanced coaching responsibilities with her school commitments and her own training.

Eastgate also represented Fiji at the 2026 Suzuki World Cup in Tokyo, Japan, earlier this year.

Her own experiences as an international athlete have shaped her approach to coaching, particularly the importance of perseverance.

“I have more failures than successes. It was really hard, but I had to keep on going. I do one thing, it doesn’t work. Okay, try again. Keep on trying, failure after failure, until it works.”

Fiji was also represented among the competition officials, with Shivanjani Chandra making her National Clubs Carnival judging debut and Shivani Gounder returning for her second year on the judging panel.

For Flight Club Fiji, the Australian campaign was about more than the medals, giving its young athletes valuable international competition experience while providing an opportunity to represent Fiji on the Australian competition floor.

The club acknowledged the support of the athletes’ families, as well as major sponsor Millbrook Hills Law Partners, Modern Kava LTD Auckland New Zealand and On Point Investment PTE LTD, whose contributions helped make the campaign possible.