Dr Rachael Gunn is competing in breaking in the 2024 Paris Olympics but at home she’s battling for NSW to lift their ban on children breaking at public schools.
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00:00For the first time ever, breaking, aka break dancing, will make its debut as a new sport
00:15in this year's Olympic Games.
00:17And Australia has a powerful fighting chance, thanks to Dr Rachel Gunn.
00:23I just want to go out there and do my best and really showcase what Australia has on
00:29the world stage and also do Australians proud.
00:33But back home, Dr Gunn, or Ray Gunn, is facing her own battle to unban the sport in Australia.
00:42In the late 90s I believe, breaking was banned in NSW schools because it was deemed too dangerous.
00:51It's an issue close to home for the NSW-born Olympian, with no other state or territory
00:58banning breaking in public schools.
01:01ACT public schools ban headspins, but not the sport itself.
01:07I kind of felt like it was more tied up in the kind of attitudes towards hip-hop culture
01:14in NSW.
01:17There is a lot of resistance and a lot of negativity around hip-hop culture in NSW.
01:25And as for the sport's safety, Ray Gunn has been breaking for almost 13 years and hasn't
01:32had a serious injury.
01:35Breaking's not a contact sport.
01:36We don't have external forces rushing at you, you know, you're in control of your body the
01:42whole time.
01:43You're also not falling from a great height, you know, you're not up on a balance beam
01:48or you're not being thrown up in the air on ice.
01:52One of the things you learn in breaking is actually how to fall properly so that you
01:56don't injure yourself.
01:58So I actually think by not having these programs in schools is probably going to be more risky
02:04for kids who are super excited after seeing breaking at the Olympics and aren't going
02:09to get that tiny bit of level of instruction that's just going to keep them safe.
02:22For more information, visit www.FEMA.gov