THEY were upside-down, horizontal and at times found themselves in rather unusual positions, but the performers at the first Regional Victorian Pole Dancing Competition held last weekend were all striving towards one goal.The competition was held as a fundraiser for the Ballarat Flood Relief Appeal, with $5000 raised by the inaugural event.Held at The George Hotel, 300 tickets sold out for the event and an extra 50 that were on sale at the door on the night were snapped up faster than one can twirl around a pole.Organiser of the event and owner of PhysiPole Studios Kristy Sellars said the popularity of the event and the money raised came as a huge surprise.“I thought it was going to be a few thousand dollars, but definitely not five thousand,” she said.“People have been asking if we are going to do it more now.”The competition was divided into pairs and individual events and also featured guest performers and and professional pole dancers. Local woman Lee Jones took out the first prize in the individual event, but donated the $500 prize to the overall donation.“I didn’t do it for the money, I hadn’t done anything for the floods so I was happy to donate,” she said.PhysiPole specialises in offering pole dancing lessons for women in Ballarat. Ms Sellars said it was a great way to keep fit and hoped to combat the stigma the often surrounded the recognised form of exercise. New courses start in May.