Gymnastics: Aerobic athletes hit new high

Several Active Attitude competitors brought home medals for Northland at the 2015 NZ National Gymsports Championships. Photo / John Stone

Aerobic athletes from the Active Attitude gym have reached new heights while representing Northland at the 2015 NZ National Gymsports Championships.

Producing national champions in all three categories they had athletes in, Active Attitude and Northland aerobics coach Ashleigh McCaw was ecstatic with the outcome.

"We are so proud of how far these girls have come in their first year of competitive aerobics," she said.

"What they have achieved at nationals has been incredible. A lot of the scores we saw at nationals were some of the best scores the girls have achieved all season.

"Four of the girls even attained scores of 16 or higher. It was a great way to finish the competitive season."

Leading the way, Grace Christey (Step 4 Individuals 9-11 years) and Jaimee Mason (Step 4 Individuals 12-14 years) placed first in their respective events, while Grace Christey and Willow Clarke won gold in the Step 4 Pairs.

Meanwhile, Ruby Reed took home silver from her efforts in the Step 4 Individuals 12-14 years division, while Leah McCrae and Mia Robertson made the podium with a third in the Step 4 Pairs.

From the 10 aerobic athletes, eight made it through to the top-eight finals in their age divisions and nine received proficiency pins. These are awarded to an athlete when a score is higher than 15.50.

The national qualifying score is set at 14.00. McCaw received a coach's medal for having athletes achieve proficiency.

As their gymnasts were also successful across other disciplines at the event, Whangarei Academy of Gymnastics coaches Vicki Macdonald and Gail Townsend, and Maureen Perry from Kaitaia also received coaches' medals at the national event.

"This demonstrates the high standard of our athletes, coaches, and outstanding progress they have made within a short training time frame," Northland Aerobics team manager Christine Parkinson said.

With an eye already on next year's national event, McCaw added that a growth in popularity for aerobic gymnastics was evident.