Gymnastics: Gymsports National Championships lie in wait

Artist Gymnasts in the Step 5-9 Womens and Level 4/6 Mens categories before heading to the Gymsports National Championships. Photo/Michael Cunningham

The upcoming Gymsports National Championships will have a strong Northland feel about it.

Twenty-six athletes from Northland will attend the championships held in Invercargill, beginning on September 28.

The athletes' ages range from nine to 20 and they will be competing in four of the five Gymsports codes: men's and women's Artistic Gymnastics, Aerobics and Trampolining.

The team includes nine gymnasts and one trampolinist from Whangarei Academy of Gymnastics, one gymnast from Kaitaia and 15 aerobics athletes from Active Attitude clubs around Northland.

The team includes athletes who won medals or achieved top-eight finishes at the previous nationals.

In artistic gymnastics the women will compete in four different apparatus: vault, bar, beam and floor. The men will compete in six: vault, floor, high bar, parallel bars, rings and pommel.

Trampolinists are competing in two different routines and are marked on how well they perform the moves and the amount of time they spend in the air.

Sports Aerobics is based on the ability to perform continuous complex and high intensity movement patterns to music. The routines demonstrate flexibility, power, strength and compulsory elements to varying levels of difficulty.

The team will be accompanied by coaches Vicki MacDonald, Gail Townsend (artistic gymnastics), Ashleigh McCaw (aerobics) and Graeme Smith (trampoline), as well as team managers and family supporters.

In 2015 the Northland team had their most successful nationals ever, returning with team and individual medals, numerous top eight finishes and proficiency pins for excellent all round skills.