Welcome mat for Danes

GYM DANDY: Newly arrived Danish coaches Camilla Ebling Nielsen (left) and Jens Ole Hedelund Poulsen continue a long tradition at the Wanganui Boys and Girls Gym Club. PHOTO/SUPPLIED CAMILLA-AND-JENS

THE LEGACY of two former long-time Wanganui Boys and Girls Gym Club mentors continues with the arrival of two Danish coaches.

Twenty-year-old Camilla Ebling Nielsen and 21-year-old Jens Ole Hedelund Poulsen are recent graduates of the prestigious Ollerup Gymnastics Academy in Denmark and they are eager to share their experience and knowledge with gymnasts at the Wanganui club.

Their arrival is part of a reciprocal deal brokered by Jens and Karen Bukholt in the late 1980s. Karen Bukholt ran the Wanganui Boys and Girls Gym Club in the late 1960s, before husband Jens Bukholt took over in the mid-1970s. He remains involved at committee level. Both were Danish nationals, who settled in Wanganui nearly 50 years ago.

"After my stay at Ollerup, I've got a lot of inspiration and I am looking forward to using all my new ideas," Ebling said.

"I really like the atmosphere at the Wanganui Boys and Girls Gym Club, everybody has just been so nice and kind to us. I enjoy working with the gymnasts, they have impressed me with their talent and discipline."

Poulsen said the gymnastics here was a bit different from Denmark. "We do more performance gymnastics than New Zealand, but it's nice to learn new things and show the children what we do in Denmark," he said.

Ebling has a background in gymnastics and dance. She has experience in performance tumbling, rhythmic gymnastics, modern dance and modern gymnastics, and has been coaching tumbling and rhythmic gymnastics for five years.

Poulsen has been involved in gymnastics from a young age. He has experience in tumbling and team gym gymnastics, and has been a coach for four years.

"We are very lucky to have Jens and Camilla here, they have brought fresh ideas and inspiration to our classes," Wanganui head coach Kelly Taylor-Ward said. She is also an Ollerup graduate.

"The gymnasts love getting to know them and learning about gymnastics in Denmark."

The two Danes arrived in Wanganui at the end of August.

Poulsen plans to stay in New Zealand until April. He wants to continue his coaching career in Denmark or possibly abroad. Ebling is coaching at the club until December.