Man, I can only imagine how fit you need to be to do some of those evolutions these two young women from the UK are doing for this couples heat on UKAPP Bristol 2011 and in case you didn't know (I was also unaware):
UKAPP is the UK's largest amateur pole competition; with students from all over the country competing in four categories - The Performer, Intermediate, Advanced and Doubles
K
udos for Bex and
Emy and keep the geek/fitness combo rolling.
Amy is a computer scientist
They had an interview with
Stella's Tomb Raider Blog (You know, games are art, because they affect our emotions deeply) which is an entertaining and informative read we'll get to know some details like the origins of pole fitness and whuy they decided to enter the competition.
The pole community is growing all the time as it is now being offered in most developed countries, with hundreds of studios popping up all the time due to large demand. As a result there are now so many national and international competitions. UKAPP was the first one I entered, however I supported my instructor and friend at Miss Pole Dance UK in Brighton this past weekend!
What a lot of people don't understand about it is that we are actually performing tricks on the pole, often inverted with only arms holding ourselves upside down, which requires an amazing amount of strength and balance. We are not simply grinding around the pole in underwear.
My personal view on it is that it is simply gymnastics on a vertical bar; it is such a shame that it has the connotations it does, and it's also a shame when people refuse to open their eyes to realize quite what it is we are doing! What I enjoy is introducing new people to the sport, and then seeing them get as passionate about it as I am. Showing off on thin lampposts is always fun too, when a group of men walk past and try to recreate the trick, and fail miserably. ;)
We'll also be informed that this is not the first time Tomb Raider routines have been performed.
I think we won because we had a wicked theme! (Although it has been done before by amazing people, check out Chelle Hafner from Australia and Russian Ekaterina Gostevskikh.)
It's a l
engthy interview but tons of great info are contained there.
udos for Bex and Emy and keep the geek/fitness combo rolling.
