NZ’s Best Gymnasts Perform in Tauranga

1050 athletes, 103 coaches, 77 team managers, 108 judges, 191 volunteers and 16 event staff. From Northland to Southland and everywhere in between, this week in Tauranga for the 2018 NZ Gymnastics Championships.

Five months of qualification competitions have qualified athletes to perform 3 – 6 October and battle it out for the top national titles in artistic, rhythmic, trampoline and aerobic gymnastics.

Returning to the NZ Championships for the first time in 10 years is Olympian Misha Koudinov (Auckland). A college scholarship took him to the States 10 years ago and returned the end of last year, just in time for his fourth consecutive Commonwealth Games. There are questions as to whether he will perform his founded skill, the Koudinov.

The rhythmic gymnastics floor will see our international group (Auckland) and 2017 NZ Champion Stella Ebert (Auckland) perform, having just returned from World Cups in Kazan and Minsk and the World Championships in Bulgaria.

No stranger to the World stage or the National podium is Laura Furse (Gymsports Manukau) who will perform for the final time at the Championships, before retiring her aerobics shoes. Laura has attended multiple World Championships and most recently won silver at ANAC this year.

Bronwyn Dibb (Auckland) and Alexa Kennedy (Auckland) will be the ones to watch on double-mini trampoline this week. Bronwyn placed 4th at the World Games last year and Alexa 8th at the 2017 World Championships.

Trampoline Olympian Dylan Schmidt will take a front seat, so to speak, this year. Still progressing strong with rehab from knee surgery, Dylan will be judging trampoline this year instead of jumping.

“Gymnastics is one of the most popular sports watched at the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games and to be able to sit just metres from the action here in Tauranga is spectacular. Likewise for the athletes competing. To be able to compete alongside their idols, whom they would normally just see on the international screen, is really special and inspiring for them.“ Ayla Huber, Gymnastics NZ Events Manager.

All five gymnastics sports (artistic, rhythmic, trampoline and aerobics) will be running concurrently at ASB Baypark Arena through to Saturday, where it will conclude with the Super Session from 1pm. The Super Session is all NZ senior international finals across all sports.

For those who cannot make it to the sunny Bay of Plenty, there is a live stream running for the duration of the event at gymnasticsnz.tv.

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