Whitehorse Alumni Student International Gymnastics 

Hi, my name is Will Hansen-Cooper and I am a past student of Whitehorse Primary school and I graduated in 2019. I am an elite junior international gymnast competing at level 9, under 18.

I loved my years at Whitehorse, my school, my friends and my teachers, actually most of my teachers are still teaching today. All three of my sisters went to Whitehorse, my youngest sister Ruby is in grade 5 and she is a loud member of my cheer squad.

When I was in grade 5, I was accepted into the Men’s Artistic Gymnastic High Performance Program (HPP) at the State Gymnastics Centre. This was a critical moment in my gymnastics career. I train 25 hours per week which has become even more difficult as I try to juggle the demands of completing my VCE however gymnastics is my passion so it is worth the blood, sweat and tears.

It is a tough sport. I have good days, great days and brutal days where my body aches and I don’t think I can push my body any further. I then think of moments like competing in my first ever pommel final in Austria in December 2022, just missing out on a medal, placing 4th in my first international competition and it is worth it to push on. I have such good mates at HPP and we support each other through the highs and the lows and my coach Arthur is also always there for me.

I am really excited to be selected by Gymnastics Australia to compete in Cali, Colombia in late April at the Pacific Rim Championships. This competition costs $10,000 so I am fundraising as the annual cost of my gymnastic training, weekly exercise physiology, fortnightly to monthly chiropractic and myotherapy appointments, AIS camps, competition fees, travel/accommodation to Nationals and Vic Championships, uniforms, strapping tape, medical supplies is well in excess of $20,000 a year.

Now that I am competing internationally the financial strain on my family has only increased. I hope in time the profile of Men’s Artistic Gymnastics will increase and be better funded within Australia as gymnastics itself is a growing sport and so many kids love to do gymnastics but in the meantime I am reaching out to my community to PLEASE help support me and hopefully I can share some of my passion for gymnastics with your child as we all wear our green and gold and they hopefully join me for the INCURSION on Friday 19th April at 1pm.  Please scan the QR code and donate to my Go Fund Me page and remember to include your child’s name and grade with your donation. Go Aussies!