He'll need to hit minimum qualifying scores to then be eligible for selection in the state team.

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Howard has enjoyed a successful junior career to date, recently invited to Canberra for a training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport.

The 16-year-old has moved to Melbourne to train and go to school full-time at St Mary's College.

The move came in year nine, after training in Melbourne part-time since he was in grade five.

He trains at the State Gymnastics Centre in the Gymnastics Victoria Men's High Performance program, but hails from Eureka Gymnastics in Ballarat.

It's been a long junior career to date for Howard, who started recreational gymnastics when he was four-years-old. He moved into competitive gymnastics when he was in prep.

He said the love was immediate for the sport as an energetic kid.

"I climbed all over the furniture, so Mum put me in a gym and I loved it, so I just kept going with it. I loved going upside down and those types of thing," he said.

He has transitioned through the ranks finds himself as a level nine under 17. He trains 23 hours a week, the expectation when you want to be considered an under.

As an under up until level eight, whilst training 23 hours a week, you must do compulsory routines. In these you must hit benchmark skills to remain as an under.

If you don't, you become an over and have more time to hit the same skills. Howard has passed these tests, finding himself as a level nine now.

Howard said a usual week without a competition would involve four hours in the afternoon after school Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. He'll do a four hour session on Saturday morning and one three hour morning session before school.

Training was affected majorly during COVID-19 lockdown. Unlike other sports who could still train at home, gymnasts struggled as they have a lot of specialist equipment, making it nearly impossible to train.

He downgraded to 16 hours a week, hanging rings under the pagola at home that Eureka let him borrow. All of this training is in the hope of being selected to the state team and hopefully the junior national squad. State team trials begin this weekend, with another trial to follow two weeks after.

Next on the list will be qualifying for nationals and performing well there. This event is where the junior national squad is selected from. If he is on that squad, it gives Howard the chance to trial for international events.

He performs all six apparatus that men do; floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, high bar and parallel bars. His favourite is the high bar, but says his best are floor and vault.

Howard adds that he wants to continue with gymnastics for as long as possible but admits it is an expensive sport to compete in where the athletes don't make much to any money at all.

He aims to complete a coaching course and begin coaching some juniors.

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