A Noosa teenager is soaring to new heights as she prepares to make her international debut in a highly technical sport.
At just 13 years old, Chloe Douglas is a rising star in the world of sports aerobics with the dream of one day becoming a world champion.
Leaping towards that dream, the Sunshine Beach State High School student has been selected to compete in the upcoming Sports Aerobics World Championships in the Czech Republic.
No stranger to the world of aerobics, Chloe has all but grown up around competitions and is following in the footstep of her mother and coach, Casey.
After an incredible effort at the recent Australian championships Chloe will take her high intensity routine to Ostrava from November 1 to 5.
The world championships event is part of the Federation of International Sport Aerobics and Fitness (FISAF) association, which includes 28 member countries. Australia has not competed internationally at the event since 2019.
As a proud mother Ms Douglas said her daughter was “another level of athletic ability” and she was immensely proud of her efforts so far.
“Chloe has been hanging around at competitions with me since she was a baby,” she said.
“She started training quite young, when she was three, and she started competing when she was five years old.
“Since then she has won seven national championships.”
At the Australian championship in September, Chloe came third in what Ms Douglas said was a “tough section”, which qualified her for the junior individual female category.
Ms Douglas said as part of the competition, Chloe had to perform a high intensity routine that was 1.45 minutes in length.
“It is to fast paced music and the routine includes splits, leaps, push ups and complicated aerobics moves, while performing and smiling and making sure all her arm lines are correct.
“For world’s we essentially do a similar routine but we want to make it the best we can. We have tweaked it to make it of the same standard to we think other athletes might be.”
Ms Douglas said Chloe had come into her own as an athlete in recent years and the COVID competition hiatus gave her an opportunity to improve her strength and refine her skills.
“It’s been a journey,” she said. “Having a talented child as a young athlete comes in waves.
“They do really well one year and they grow and then they have to work harder again and build their strength back up.
“Chloe has been working with an exercise physiologist to improve her strength. I think this is one of the reasons she has improved so much and been picked for the Australian national team.”
Ms Douglas herself began aerobics at age 11 and transitioned from competing to coaching when she had Chloe.
With Chloe dreaming of one day becoming a world champion, the mother and daughter team train four to five days per week, which includes Chloe practising her routine, as well as strength and conditioning work.
Chloe also won the Schoolaerobics Australian National Championships School Aerobics in August.
The FISAF world championships will include preliminary finals and semi finals before the top eight compete in the finals.
“Seeing her in the Australian tracksuit and up on the world stage, no matter the result I will be proud,” Ms Douglas said.
Chloe is now looking for sponsorship or donations to help fund her journey to the world stage.
The family has set up a Go Fund Me page, which will help cover airfares, accommodation at the event and her Australian uniform.
