By Liz McBreen
Avellina entered her first fitness contest in Sept. of last year, and she credits her extensive background in gymnastics with helping her win the state title only seven months after entering her first competition, "it's not typical to win a competition so soon after beginning to enter, " said Avellina.
The Sewanhaka graduate explained that anyone is eligible to enter the competition at the state level. By winning that competition, Avellina qualified for the Miss Fitness USA competition which will be held in Las Vegas from Sept. 11 through Sept. 14. Fifty women will compete there for the national title. Avellina explained that the competitions are always friendly because, "we all know what the others are going through to be there."
Avellina's already intense training schedule has increased in preparation for her trip to Las Vegas. "I am spending more time working on my choreography, and I will be concentrating on weight training until I leave. I train for about three hours a day."
The women competing in the nationals will undergo pre-judging for three days, according to Avellina. On the Sept. 13, fifteen contestants will be picked out of the original 50, and they will move on to the Finals. The top five out of this group will go on to compete in Miss Fitness World on Sept. 14, also in Las Vegas. "The girls from other countries will fly in that weekend to compete," said Avellina.
Until this spring, Avellina was juggling her daily two hour workout at Valencia Fitness Club in Elmont with classes and work. In May she graduated from New York college with a degree in Massage Therapy. On Aug. 29, she took her boards and will receive the results in October. If she has passed the test, Avellina hopes to open her own practice in November in East Rockaway.
Avellina currently works at Five Star Gymnastics Academy where she teaches children from six to sixteen years old. She also plans to compete for the title of Miss Fitness again next year.
