At Fairfield City Physie we aim to offer classes for all age groups 5 and up, subject to enrolment numbers. Final class offerings and timetables will be available in February each year in line with the commencement of classes.

Your "physie age" is the age you will be on 31 August each year. For example, if your child was born on 21 August, 2018, they will compete as a 7-year-old in 2025. However, if their birthdate is 5 November, 2018, they will compete as a 6-year-old as that will be their "physie age", or their age on 31 August. For most competitions, 5 year olds participate separately from 6 year olds, and so on.

Each class consists of a range of individual age groups who perform the same basic syllabus with modifications to cater for differences in age. The following class groupings are offered at our club, pending enrolment numbers.

5 to 8 years

9 to 12 years

13 to 16 years

Seniors (ages 17+, includes Intermediate [17-20] and Open [21+] groups)

Extended Ladies (ages 18+, hybrid of Intermediate Senior and Advanced Ladies work)

Ladies (ages 18+, includes Elementary, First Year, Second Year, Veteran and Advanced groups)

Students progress in age groups until they enter the Intermediate Senior section at age 17. At 18 years of age they may choose to move to either Extended or Advanced Ladies, or remain in Intermediate Seniors. At 21 years of age they must move out of Intermediate Seniors, with the options of entering the Open Senior section, Extended Ladies or Advanced Ladies.

Beginners aged 17 will join our Intermediate Senior (17-20 years) section. Beginners aged 18 or over also have the option of joining our Elementary Ladies section and training with our Advanced and Veteran Ladies.

If you're new to physie altogether, have been away for a while or you are considering joining us from another school of physie, please contact us so that we can help determine the most suitable class for you to join.

As a not-for-profit organisation, both we at Fairfield City and the wider Edith Parsons School work very hard to keep fees as low as possible for all of our members.

An estimate of fees can be provided upon enquiry, however as a minimum, all members will pay:

- An official Edith Parsons School of Physical Culture registration fee;

- A modest club affiliation fee;

- Per-term lesson fees.

Term fees are payable regardless of attendance. Where possible we do ask that members pay their term fees in advance by bank transfer, with details provided upon commencing classes. Please note that new members will receive their first lesson free and their term fees will be pro-rated from their second week of classes onward, regardless of when in the year they start. For example, if a new member starts in Week 3 of Term 2, they will receive that lesson free and pay the Club Affiliation fee plus a pro-rated Term 2 fee to cover weeks 4-10. They will then pay full fees for Term 3 and onward.

Additional costs (such as interclub entry fees, extra lesson fees and costuming fees) may be incurred for those members who choose to enter competitions.

EP Physie is a Registered Provider for the NSW Government Active and Creative Kids Voucher program, which offers 2 x $50 vouchers per calendar year to eligible children. We welcome and encourage the use of these vouchers toward the payment of term fees only - unfortunately we are unable to accept the vouchers toward your registration fees. To find out more about program eligibility and to apply for your vouchers via Service NSW, please click here.

We are fortunate enough to have a large lesson space, so family members of Fairfield City Physie club members are welcome and encouraged to stay inside the hall and watch the lesson quietly.

• Please bring your own chair, mat or blanket to sit on.

• Please follow any direction provided by the instructress.

• Please adhere to any NSW Government public health order restrictions that apply at the time.

In order to help us keep our classes running on time, please arrive at least 10 minutes early. Unfortunately, if you arrive late we are unable to offer make-up lesson time. Arriving early will also allow you time to warm up before your class begins. Bring a cold bottle of water and a positive attitude - plus a gym towel if you plan on working up a sweat!

Wear something cool that allows your body to move and stretch. Slim-fitting activewear or competition leotards are ideal, as they allow you to move freely and your teacher to see and correct your posture, positions and technique - each of which are essential elements of physie. We recommend that you wear the following:

• Leotard and physie skirt, or tank top and leggings

• Ballet shoes - recommended in order to get used to them for competitions, however bare feet are fine for lessons

• Hair tied back away from the face

Baggy, bulky or restrictive items of clothing make it difficult for students to participate fully in a physie lesson, and for teachers to observe technique and make proper corrections. Therefore, we respectfully ask that you avoid wearing the following:

• Jeans

• Jumpers

• Long skirts

• Tutus

• Tracksuits

• School uniforms

For competitions, different dress standards apply. Visit our competitions page for more info.

Physie is a very routine-based sport. Members are encouraged to arrive early to stretch and warm up before their lesson begins. Each lesson begins with marching, which builds cardio fitness, leg strength and endurance, before moving to the centre of the floor to work on the annual syllabus of age-appropriate routines set to fun, modern music.

The physie year is structured in order to perfect the syllabus in time for competitions, while still having plenty of fun in class. The first portion of the year is all about learning the work. Each week you'll build a little more on what you've already learned, memorising and improving as you go, until the entire syllabus is learned - we usually reach this point by the end of term 2. Once the whole syllabus is learned and memorised, we begin polishing and perfecting each exercise so that your work is the best it can be before competitions.

The Physie year begins in February each year and finishes with a competition season spanning September-November. Fairfield City Physie's students and teachers enjoy a well-earned break from classes over the Christmas period, and also during the Easter school holidays.

While not compulsory, students are welcome and encouraged to attend classes during the winter and spring school holidays, on a pay-as-you-go basis, in preparation for competition season. Non-attendance during school holidays will not affect your eligibility for an attendance award at the end of the year.

Through the first half of the year, in our private club groups we'll share videos of our teachers or class demonstrators doing the work we've learned in class each week. These videos are intended as a rough guide to help you revise between classes, or stay on top of the syllabus if you've missed a lesson.

Mid-year, once the entire syllabus has been finalised, EP Physie (our association) will release professional syllabus videos for you as a guide to follow along with at home. These videos are included in the cost of your registration, and you'll be provided a link to download when they are available.