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A team of six young Hibiscus Coast gymnasts are competing in Melbourne this week at the Gymstar Competition.
It’s the first time that North Harbour Gymnastics, which has a base in Stanmore Bay as well as on the North Shore, has sent a team overseas to compete.
The girls, aged nine to 14 years, are coached by Dana Boakes. They will compete, along with team mates from Glenfield, in routines that include the parallel bars, floor, beam, vault and rings. They are in the thick of the local competition season, which goes until the end of September, so have honed their skills.
Recreational programme manager Hayley Ross says that in recent years the club has upskilled its coaches, with a resulting increase in the gymnasts’ progress and drive to achieve new skills.
The club joined the Auckland Recreational Artistic programme and formed squads to compete at that level. “Last year the squads competed at six Auckland competitions with great success,” she says.
The programme grew from 35 participants last year to 55 this year.
A connection with Australia was made at a clubs’ conference last year, and the decision to compete overseas followed.
Hayley says the club hopes to continue to compete in Melbourne annually and wants to take part in Australian nationals in the future.
