Last weekend 112 Delta  gymnasts, chaperones and coaches headed off on the 2023 Delta Gymnastics Cairns Open Tour.  We are so excited to see Tours back on our calendar after missing these the last few years. This year, the tour was open to gymnasts from levels 4-8 and was a fantastic opportunity to build the Delta Spirit, meet teammates from all Delta venues and perform in competition away from home (as well as being LOTS of fun!).

Gymnastics tours are an integral component of the Delta Aspire Program and a wonderful opportunity for our girls. Whilst on tour gymnasts have fun travelling as a team, experience training and competing in a tour environment, support their team mates at competition and fit in some exciting sightseeing as well!

It certainly was a busy, fun-filled trip for our Tourers in Cairns.  See all the action below!

Day 1 – Friday 11^th August 2023

Barron Valley we are on our way!! 112 excited gymnasts, chaperones and coaches excitedly boarded a flight to Cairns! We were so looking forward to a jam packed 5 days on tour! 

When we landed, collected our bags and split into our teams we headed straight to Barron Valley for a delicious Subway lunch before training. 

After training, we loaded the buses and headed to our hotel for check – in and a swim in the hotel pool. The weather was a little cooler than normal for the FNQ region but it didn’t stop Team Delta from slipping. sliding and diving into the pool all afternoon while our chaperones treated themselves to a cocktail! 

Following our swim, there was some free time before heading to the homestead for our first team dinner. After dinner there were some team activities where we got to know our tourers a little better, before lights out ready for another exciting day on Saturday. 

Day 2 – Saturday 12^th August 2023

We kicked off our day with an early breaky at the hotel, ahead of our adrenalin filled morning at the Cairns Wake Park! We were welcomed by the team and went through the safety briefings around wake boarding and the inflatable Aqua Park. We had a blast navigating the Aqua Park and trying our hand at wake boarding. It was fantastic to see some of our chaperones getting involved and giving the wake boarding a go – it wasn’t quite as easy as some made it look! (there were definitely plenty of sore bodies the next day!). 

After our fun filled morning we headed back to the hotel to prepare for competition. Our Level 4 – 7 gymnasts competed in a unique format at this event whereby, Level 4 – 7 athletes were in mixed teams! This allowed for a wonderful opportunity for our youngest gymnasts to learn from the older girls and watch how they prepare to compete whilst also providing a great opportunity for our older girls to be leaders. With the Joker card at play on Bars, Beam and Floor the teams had to nominate an athlete prior to their performance to ‘double the score’ for their team’s overall points. 

We saw an excellent display of team spirit and sportsmanship at the event and we know the girls and parents had a blast! Check out some of the photos below. 

Following the competition, we wandered down the road to the Barron River Hotel for dinner and to watch the highly anticipated Matilda’s World Cup match against France. The atmosphere was electric with many of our gymnasts and chaperones on the edge of their seat during the penalty shootout. We loved watching our team get behind Women’s sport in our nation. Way to go Tillies! After dessert we boarded the buses back to the hotel before lights out. 

Day 3 – Sunday 13th August 2023

What a day we had! We were up bright and early this morning for our third day on tour before boarding the buses and heading out to Josephine Falls. This was a magical spot through the rainforest with a stunning waterfall and natural waterslide! We had a lot of fun scaling the rocks and sliding down into the ice cold water! Even some of our coaches and chaperones were brave enough to give it a go! It was time to get warm and dry so we jumped on the bus and headed down the road to Babinda Boulders for our packed lunch and chill time. 

We then made our way back to the hotel for showers before putting on our coloured shirts and heading down to the Cairns esplanade for an afternoon of fun team building activities. Our teams participated in a crazy scavenger hunt around Cairns! There were trick photography challenges, public dancing to the macerena, fitting 18 people on a slide and a $5.00 team shop at the local markets to see who could get the best value for money!

We were pretty impressed with our little bargain hunters who came away with items such as, Aussie magnets, a cap, a lolly pop and a bottle of wine, just to name a few. IT was the Blue Team who were victorious in winning the 2023 scavenger hunt – well done Blues! We then enjoyed Fish and Chips at the esplanade before we headed back to Barron Valley to cheer on the athletes competing at the FNQ Regionals. 

The girls had a great time competing and we loved hearing the support between all clubs. After the comp we enjoyed an ice cream before lights out ahead of yet another jam packed day!

Day 4 – Monday 14th August 2023

You guessed it…we were up early for yet another fun filled day on tour! We set sail bright and early and all 112 of us jumped aboard the Sun Seeker vessel bound for Fitzroy Island! When we arrived on the island we split into four teams and rotated through some activities; snorkelling, free swim, a glass bottom boat tour and a short walk to explore the other side of the island. Following a delicious lunch we have some free time to enjoy the beautiful weather and relax on the island. 

We boarded the boat for the mainland followed showers and dinners before the much anticipated – skit night! 

Over the 4 days on tour the girls were split into teams and had some free time to create, practice and perform a skit on the final night. We were blown away with the creativity and performances of the girls and a definite highlight was our incredible chaperones who put on a show spotting performance demonstrating their talent by completing the Delta Warm-Up (leotards included!). We loved the laughs, team work and support for each other – way to go Team Delta! PS – keeps your eyes peeled at the 2023 Delta Dinner 😉

Day 5 – Tuesday 15th August 2023

That’s a wrap on the 2023 Cairns Open Tour & we didn’t waste a minute of our 5 days! We finished our tour with a pancake breaky down at the esplanade followed by a swim and some souvenir shopping. After a memorable 5 days we boarded the plane bound for Brisbane! 

We hope you’ve had a wonderful tour girls and enjoyed the experience whilst getting to know so many new friends! Team Delta you rock!

Until next time…

Thank you to our wonderful Delta Coaches and Chaperones for your help over the 5 days. We couldn’t do it without out and hope you enjoyed the experience! Special thanks to Bec and Lauren for organising such a fun tour for our Delta Aspire gymnasts! Sounds like everyone had a blast, but don’t just take our word for it, here’s what some of our Tourers had to say…

Jacqui Freeman | Mum to Summer, Level 5 

Vesna Redic | Mum to Stella, Level 5 

I just wanted to say that we had a blast. Some amazing experiences and lifetime memories were created for our children. Nevertheless parents and chaperones enjoyed just as much. Great bunch of people to share cheering and drink with.
Awesome opportunity for gymnasts to get to know other gymnasts and boost their confidence in activity participation. Fantastic organisation from dawn to dark. Every step of the tour was taken care of and made enjoyable, thank you to all involved . Looking forward to the new tour!!!! Let’s go Delta

Kirsty | Mum to Khloe, Level 5 

Thanks everyone for an awesome trip, memories our kids will be telling their children. 

Melissa | Mum to Livia and Alenie, Level 6 & Level 5

Loved the tour, thanks for everything! It was such an amazing trip with soo many memories and my kiwi kids loved being a part of it, as did I. So nice to meet more parents and lovely connections with amazing mum’s! Thanks coaches for all the hours of planning. 

Check out some fun snaps from the Tour below: