NZ gymnastics champs in Nelson
Having the New Zealand artistic gymnastics championships in your own back yard certainly doesn’t guarantee success.
But it clearly helps with the motivation as the 18-strong Top of the South team prepares for the sport’s national showpiece starting tomorrow at Nelson’s Trafalgar Centre.
They’re among the 400 gymnasts contesting the four-day championships with the women’s competition representing 15 provinces and the men’s 13. Canterbury (69), Auckland (52) and Wellington (52) are sending the biggest teams.
Twenty Australian gymnasts will also attend and will compete in the annual Trans-Tasman Challenge.
Nelson’s Karyn Brown and Blenheim’s Erica Ticehurst coach the Top of the South women’s team, with step 10 competitor Anna Tempero from Blenheim part of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games team, having also recently represented New Zealand in Singapore.
In step 9, Nelson’s Ella Nicholls was a national champion last year while in step 8, Nelson teammate Sophie Manson won the South Island overall, bar and beam cham- pionship titles last month.
Step 7 competitor, Nina Usui was a national champion last year with Hannah Bloomfield also a good chance to medal on vault.
The step 6 team of Nelson’s Teona Stephens and Blenheim’s Astra Ticehurst, Abby Webb and Lilah Bowers Blenheim, are a clear chance at both individual and team medals.
The step 5 team of Sienna Rajek, Hannah Robertson, Eva Hannen and Jacey Adams are all from Nelson, with Emily Moritz, also from Nelson, contesting the individual competition.
Steps 5 and 6 will compete on day one for teams and apparatus medals, with the top 32 progressing to the allround competition on day two.
Step 7 and up compete day one for all around, and then the top 8 on each apparatus go through to apparatus finals.
Step 5 are competing in group 2 and step 6 group 1 on Friday from 11am.