What happens at gymnastics? What are the girls up to at training? Check out our Team Leader Kim's wrap up of what our Aspire girls have been working on in the Southport gym and what is coming up soon for these gymnasts.... I wanted to kick off this month's edition with a big shout out to one of our Senior gymnasts here at Southport Gymnastics Club.  One year ago, Nikki McMenamin had an accident at competition, resulting in an injury to both of her ankles.

In this last year, Nikki has been rehabbing and working hard to make a comeback in the gym. She has never lost sight of what she wants, even though there have been times where she's struggled to see if she will get back to where she was this time last year. Yet, Nikki comes in day in, day out and pushes herself to achieve her goals.

Nikki has been working on her bar skill Toe on and Toe off. Last week in training her perseverance and hard work paid off, successfully achieving this extremely difficult skill!  Nikki's dedication is something she should be so proud of ...  we are certainly very proud of you Nikki!  So shout out to you Nikki - keep up the great work & keep chasing those dreams and goals!

What’s been happening in the gym? 

Over this last month our level 3 to 6 girls have been working on their routines ready for the upcoming Junior Regional and Junior State Championships.  The girls are looking polished, coming off their recent success at the Coomera Invitational competition.  The girls had so much fun on the competition floor at Coomera, a great lead up for the big competitions coming up in August and September.  The girls should be really proud of themselves, their skills and dance are looking clean and they have been maintaining their strength and conditioning in the gym, ensuring they are really well prepared! Go Team Southport!

The Seniors have been working some future skills for 2018, while also maintaining their current skills for competitions and starting to get in the swing of routine work for competition.  The seniors next big event is the National Clubs Carnival, which is being held on the Gold Coast this year in the September/October school holidays.  As we head back into preparation for competitions, these girls will start working hard on their fitness and conditioning to help them get through their routines and make it easy for them to perform their high level skills at competition.

Our awesome Aspire 2 and 4 girls are also working new skills at training at the moment.  This is an exciting time for our up and coming gymnasts as they progress their learning, pick up some new fun skills and start getting prepared for next year's level! Look after those Hands... when is it time for new guards?

Some of our level 7 girls have commented they've had their guards (used in higher level gymnastics on bars) since level 4.  This got me thinking it might be a good idea for our Aspire Competitive gymnasts to take a look at their guards to check they are still in good condition (no rips or stitching coming undone).

If guards are ripped/not in good condition,they have been known to break mid-routine and with the extra work load when gymnasts hit seniors, there is more wear and tear on the girls guards.

If your gymnast's guards are looking a little tired, it doesn’t hurt to have two pairs, an older pair they have had for some time and a new pair ready to wear in.

I would suggest if the girls are unsure about the condition of their guards to take them to their coach for them to have a look at them.

On the subject of swinging bars, don't forget how important it is to take care of your hands and any rips you may have.  This is a great guide to hand care (with a link specifically to caring for rips) which you may want to check out and remind yourself of.  Again, any question please chat to your coach or don't hesitate to catch me for a chat. See you in the gym Kim Whitehead Team Leader