Running Free Page 7

  Can Abby up the level of difficulty in her routine and secure a place in the Academy gymnastics squad? Or will she be persuaded to win with dirty tactics?

  Can talented showjumper Chloe face her fears and make the impossible possible at the Academy?

  Turning down her place at the Royal Academy of Sport for Girls was one of the hardest things Chloe Humphries has ever had to do, but her parents’ financial situation meant she had no choice. Months later, Chloe is still devastated. Then, an unexpected letter arrives in the post … Chloe has been offered a full scholarship to attend! With a nervous and excited heart, Chloe sets off with her beloved horse, Honey. However, Chloe will be starting a whole two terms later than her classmates. Competition is fierce and with the showjumping competition looming, Chloe struggles to find her place in the Academy.

  Can the new girl overcome her fears and find a way to outshine her equestrian rivals?

  Can swim queen Delphie keep her winning edge as rivalries and unexpected scandals surface at the Academy?

  Having been at the Royal Academy of Sport for Girls for six months, Delphie Attkinson is living her dream. While attending a state training camp, Delphie and the Year 7 swim squad, come face-to-face with their biggest rival, the National Swim School. Tensions are soon running high in and out of the water as the rival schools are forced to train together. But Delphie sees this as an opportunity to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the Swim School’s best swimmers, the unbeatable Ogilvy twins. Surprisingly, Delphie forms a close friendship with one of the sisters, however, in doing so, she uncovers a shocking secret.

  Faced with a host of challenges she never thought she would have to encounter, can Delphie make the right choice and retain her all-important crown?

  Read on for an extract from the first book in the Academy series

  The Royal Academy of Sport for Girls: High Flyers

  Do you remember the day that changed your life forever? I sure do. I still get chills when I think back to it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had plenty more days which have freaked me out since then, but this particular day was the one that would make all my future freak-out days possible. Sounds like a bad thing, right?

  I remember the silence – it wrapped itself around me like a blanket. My little finger twitched nervously at my side. That was new. I tried to remain still but it was impossible against the sea of nerves. Suddenly, I heard the music blast through the speakers. I don’t know why it made me jump – I was waiting for it. My body leapt to life like a sleeping cat that had its tail stepped on. I’d heard this music a thousand times before but this time was different.

  I leapt through the air, light and free – like I could fly. My dance elements matched in perfect unison with the music. I remember stopping in the far left corner of the blue matting. I lowered my arms to my side and took a deep, deep breath. On cue, I sprung forwards, sprinting with all my might. I threw my arms out and launched into my first tumbling row. It was a forward tumbling row. I hate forward tumbling. You’d think tumbling backwards would be scarier, right? Not so. There’s a certain amount of momentum to travelling backwards. But forward tumbling always meant I was landing blind. I was never quite sure about where the ground was. And that can be a problem.

  I hurled myself into a forward layout. I then went straight into another followed by a somersault which I landed heavily. But I was on my feet and that is what counted. The crowd cheered. I continued with the routine that I could do in my sleep. I could recite it to you in words without taking a breath – split leap, split change leap, tour jeté with a half twist. Handstand, lever down to splits, push through, V-sit up to feet. The words ran through my head to the beat of the music. They fit like lyrics to a song I had written myself. I leapt towards the corner and took a deep breath, ready for my second tumbling run.

  The second run was a backward tumble, which made me smile. It was my easiest one and I was confident I’d stick it. I pumped my arms as I launched myself into a round-off. The round-off is what gives you the pace and momentum for the following tricks. I pushed hard through my shoulders and added on a backflip followed by a full twisting layout. I landed gracefully and threw my arms to the side, as wide as my beaming smile.

  So far so good. I felt elated and beautiful – this is what I loved about gymnastics. But there was one tumbling row to go and it was the hardest. It was another backward tumbling row (happy days!) but it ended with a double backward somersault. Sound scary? It is. Rotating through the air in a ball two times before landing is no easy task. It required as much height off the mat as possible and a tight, quick turn. I imagined myself soaring through the air and landing it perfectly. The power of visualisation, as Coach Simon would say. I stared down the diagonal of the mat. My vision became a tunnel, focusing solely on the row ahead. The music reached its crescendo and I knew it was time. I could hear muffled voices calling, ‘You can do it, Abby!’ You can do it, Abby, I whispered.

  I threw myself forwards into my round-off. I punched out a fast, strong backflip in the build-up to my final double sommie. I pushed hard off the ground and wrapped myself into a tight ball. I groaned slightly from the exertion. As I finished my second rotation, I could tell I was far too low. I barely opened out of my somersault as I felt the ground below me. I landed with my toes, knees and hands on the mat. I spluttered in shock and exhaustion. That was counted as a fall and I was going to lose a lot of points. I picked myself up off the mat and finished the final twirl in my routine. Tears began to sting my eyes. I presented to the judges with a wavering smile as I tried to swallow the lump of sadness in my throat. The crowd cheered enthusiastically and I could see my mum waving from the gallery. I had given it my all. I straightened out my leotard and shook my hands. I lowered my head and tried to cough the tears away.

  Simon gave me a firm pat on the back and put his arm over my shoulders. ‘Good work, Abby.’ He smiled sympathetically. But I knew he was as disappointed as I was.

  ‘There go my chances,’ I spluttered.

  ‘Nah,’ he said, swiping his hand to the side. ‘You’ve had a great competition, Abs. One fall on floor isn’t going to end it all, you know.’

  I sniffed. Maybe Simon was right. But this was the biggest comp of my life. Every other competition I’d ever competed in was nothing compared to this one. If I stuffed up any of the others, I’d get over it and prepare for the next one. But there was no ‘next one’ in this case. This was it. Make it or break it. I slipped on my tracksuit and gulped down some water from my bottle. The results and presentation would begin shortly, including the big announcement.

  My mum rushed over from the other side of the gallery until she was standing directly above me. ‘I’m so proud of you!’ she squealed.

  I smiled nervously and I could tell she was feeling my disappointment.

  Slowly, the gymnasts gathered on the centre of the floor as the judges arranged the podium. First. Second. Third. This was the first time I couldn’t care less about the podium. All I wanted to hear was the big announcement. I sat nervously bouncing my knee as the presentations were made for each division. I even placed third on bars and second on beam. But that didn’t guarantee me anything. As I jiggled my knee my new medals clinked and chimed around my neck like a soundtrack to my tension.

  ‘And now, the announcement you’ve been waiting for,’ the head judge said as she smiled into the microphone. ‘The following girls have placed high enough to be accepted into the Royal Academy of Sport for Girls,’ she proclaimed. It felt like the list rolled on forever. Name after name, followed by squealing and hugs all around me. ‘Claudia Cox, Mae Choon, Abigail Rogers, Sophie …’

  My heart skipped a beat. Was that right? Could she read it again? Did she say Abigail Rogers? The room began to spin as I whirled around, looking for some kind of confirmation of what I’d heard. I gazed up to the gallery and there was my mum, jumping up and down and wiping tears from her eyes. You did it! she was mouthing.

  I shook my head. I coul
dn’t believe it. I knew it was one of those moments. One that would change my life from here on in. I had been accepted into the Royal Academy of Sport for Girls – the most prestigious sports school in the country. I’d been training for this for years and I was finally in. I was in! A school where you did your schoolwork but also where you trained long and hard. National champions came out of this school, not to mention the best coaches in the country.

  Royal Academy – here I come!

  Thank you to my dear friend Anna Cox for your support and expertise in creating our athlete, Josie.

  Ever since she learnt to hold a pen, Laura Sieveking has loved creating stories. She remembers hiding in her room as a six-year-old, writing a series of books about an unlikely friendship between a princess and a bear.

  As an adult, Laura has spent the vast majority of her career working in publishing as an editor. After several years, she decided to put down her red pen and open up her laptop to create a series of her own.

  The Academy series is a combination of Laura’s favourite things – writing, friendship and sport, all of which take her back to her happy childhood memories of gymnastics training and competitions.

  Laura lives in Sydney with her husband and two children.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Penguin Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Version 1.0

  The Royal Academy of Sport for Girls: Running Free

  ePub ISBN – 9781925324655

  First published by Random House Australia in 2017

  Copyright © Laura Sieveking, 2017

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  A Random House book

  Published by Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd

  Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060

  www.penguin.com.au

  Addresses for the Penguin Random House group of companies can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com/offices.

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

  Creator: Sieveking, Laura

  Title: Running Free

  ISBN: 9781925324655 (ebook)

  Series: Royal Academy of Sport for Girls; 4

  Target Audience: For primary school age

  Subjects: Athletics – Juvenile fiction

  Track and field – Tournaments – Juvenile fiction

  Track and field athletics – Juvenile fiction

  Children’s stories

  Top cover image by James Oliver/Getty Images

  Bottom cover image by figure8Photos/iStock

  Cover design by Kirby Armstrong

  Ebook by Firstsource