It’s all about strength, flexibility and endurance. And Bangalore seems to top the list with kids having these qualities. For the first time, participants from India will represent the country at the Sit Kid World Championship — an international aerobics competition that’s held once in two years.
   “But it’s not as simple as it sounds,” says Anuradha Vijayendra, American Aerobic Association’s Director for India. “It’s a vigorous routine with tough competition. It’s more about gymnastics and requires the participant to be extremely flexible and excellent at coordinating the acrobatic movements with the relevant music. Which is why someone with a base in gymnastics is apt for this competition,” she adds.
The competition
This year, Anuradha, who brought awareness about the international competition to the City, has focused on Bangalore alone and chosen four girls (between the age group of nine and 18 years of age) to represent the nation in Malaysia.
“The championship will have individual and team competitions that will include routine rounds (flexibility, coordination and the like), apart from the sportswear round (to judge the physique, definition and muscle tone) of the participant and an evening wear round (for poise and communication).
“This of course, varies for the three age groups of nine to 12 years, 13 to 15 years and 16 to 18 years,” shares Anuradha who is also a dentist by profession.
The four participants, according to Anuradha, have trained in gymnastics for over five years and more at the Sports Promotion Association run by the founder Manohar Kamath.
For the love of sport
“Since these girls were already quite excellent with gymnastics, I began preparing them for the competition about three months ago. For the next championship, I plan on first holding a national competition and then picking out the best among them for the international rounds,” she says, adding that there is a strong need to create awareness and promote other sport in India.
The international championship will be held in Malaysia from July 23 to 29 and will have 16 countries participating.