Help Alistair compete in Europe for gymnastics

My name is Alistair Hoole, I’m 17 and I’m an Australian Junior gymnast.

I’m honoured to have been selected in the Australian team for the DTB Pokal Cup in Stuttgart, Germany, and I’m also the travelling reserve for the Junior World Championships in Antalya, Turkey.

To say I’m proud is an understatement – it’s a huge privilege.

These competitions will be held across March and April this year, for a total of 5 weeks, and I’m trying to raise money to reduce the costs associated with this trip.

Gymnastics is not a mainstream sport in Australia, so it unfortunately does not have a lot of funding available for its athletes. Most gymnasts have to fund their own way for competitions, even international ones at this level.

This selection for my first Australian Team is a huge opportunity but it comes at a big cost – over $12 000.

My parents will try to help as much as possible, but I would like to take some of the pressure off them if I can.

My parents have made a lot of financial sacrifices over the years to get me to where I am today – paying training fees, competition fees, travel, uniforms, training gear, physio, etc. I regularly travel interstate for competitions and attend training camps at the AIS in Canberra, which can add up to thousands of dollars each year.

They have always made sure I didn’t miss any opportunities, but I know that it’s not always easy for them.

Now that I have finished school and I'm becoming more independent, I don’t want to have to rely on my parents to keep paying every time I have a competition.

I’m starting a Bachelor of Pharmacy this year at UQ, and in addition to my studies I have a training load of 24 hours/week. I also have a part-time job of around 15 hours/week and I judge at junior competitions as well.

I will have some earnings from my job, but moving forwards, I will be looking at sponsorship opportunities to help with these ongoing costs. I would love any help that I can get to cover the costs of the competitions in Europe.

If you are able to help out in any way, whether it’s a donation or some information on how I could approach someone for sponsorship, I would be extremely grateful.