In a year where we thought we couldn’t bear any more sad news we face the
saddest news of all, the passing of one of our teachers, Alicia Reinhard at
just 36 years of age.

Those of you who saw Alicia at the competitions in Homebush this year were
no doubt moved by her unbelievable courage and stoicism as she bravely
presented her teams from Toongabbie club while battling cancer.

I first met Alicia when I taught her in the 15 year class and I watched her
work hard and blossom through her years in Seniors to perform at the Opera
House and become an excellent teacher. When Toongabbie club found itself
with no teacher, Alicia and her sister, Shannon, took over and rebuilt it
from the ground up, training brand new junior girls who are now beautiful Open Seniors. Four of these girls, Lisa, Darcie, Alix and Lily, will take over the teaching of the club in 2021, continuing Alicia’s legacy. We wish them every success and know that the Physie community supports them
wholeheartedly.
Alicia was one of the most positive people you could meet and I cannot
recall ever hearing her say a bad word about anyone. She had the most
amazing can-do, just-get-it-done attitude. For 13 years she ran the admin of
our performances at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, managing the database of
performers, arriving at dawn to set up and walking (quite literally) miles
and miles at rehearsals and performances to ensure everything went according to plan and to photographically record it all for posterity.

When I asked Alicia to take over the running of the BjPop rehearsals at
junior nationals, the answer was naturally “sure!” This job meant being
backstage at nationals from sunup to sundown training hundreds of girls to
perform the BjPop for their parents in the audience. As with everything she
did, Alicia managed it with a calm confidence that inspired others to get
the job done with a minimum of fuss and maximum effect. While this role
meant that Alicia could never watch her own girls perform at Nationals, she
willingly made this sacrifice every year for the greater good of the sport
and its members. She never sought any kind of public recognition, preferring
to contribute in the background, a true quiet achiever. She was the kind of
person who always puts the chairs away after physie class while everyone
else is chatting in the car park. There should be more people like her.

Alicia was taken too soon and there is nothing fair about it. It is almost
impossible to believe she is gone. Now she is a Physie angel, forever in our
hearts, a beautiful person who will live on in our memories and in the
passion of all the physie girls she has inspired over the years. To her
partner Chantel, her parents Lyn and Warren, and her sister Shannon, our
thoughts and prayers are with you. Vale Alicia.

J. Rawlings