In the 2017 June/July School Holidays, 35 gymnasts and coaches from each of our Delta Brisbane, Delta Gold Coast and Barron Valley clubs, headed to Pennsylvania, USA for the opportunity of a lifetime at the International Gymnastics Camp (IGC). For one week of the American Summer holidays, this group of Aspire gymnasts experienced life at an US Summer Camp!  The gymnasts were immersed in a different culture and training environment and had the opportunity to meet gymnasts and coaches from all over the world! And what a week they had – it’s unanimous…. Delta will be back!  The boys are girls had an incredible week, training six rotations a day, meeting and working with guest celebrities Oksana Chusovitina (7 time Olympian), Svetlana Boginskaya (3 time Olympian) and Jim Hartung (fomer US Olympic Team Member & US Champion). Along with training in the five different gyms on the campus, learning new skills and perfecting techniques, gymnasts were involved in countless recreational activities, while making friends from across the world! While the gymnasts were busy with their summer camp life, our three coaches on tour (Lauren Norton, Delta Aspire Co-ordinator; Georgina Osborn, Delta Clayfield Team Leader & Di Stephens, Aspire Co-ordinator, Barron Valley) were lucky enough to spend time with some of the leading coaches in the US.  Watching training, learning new coaching techniques & experiencing a summer camp first hand meant our coaches too have come home with wonderful memories, new learnings and friends. Our Delta and Barron Valley Coaches were so proud to have so many IGC coaches and camp staff comment on our hard working, well-mannered and enthusiastic gymnasts.  A huge number of Delta and BV gymnasts were recognised at camp for their kindness and dedication displayed during the week – what a pleasure these kids are to take on tour and each gymnast (and their parents and coaches) should be so proud! We asked some of our Campers to give us a bit of a run down on IGC life!  Enjoy reading their accounts & checking out the amazing camp photos below:

Clarke Walters | Barron Valley | Level 4 MAG| 10 years old

International Gymnastics Camp was so much fun and the best experience. I loved all the training and meeting new friends from everywhere. All the extra activities we got to do were also so much fun. I wish it went for longer! I am so glad I got to go.

Layla Bacon | Delta Brisbane | Level 5 |12 years old

Dear Lauren, 😄 Thank you so much for organising the IGC Tour. It was the best week I have ever had. I thought that it was an amazing experience because we got to meet a heap of new people from all around the world, not just getting to know people better at Delta. It was also an amazing experience because we got to try new equipment, get different types of coaching advice, and we got to meet some inspiring gymnasts. Even though the plane trips were tough, I had heaps of fun and I will remember it forever. Love Layla❤

Emma Walton | Delta Brisbane | Level 7 | 15 years old

IGC was a wonderful experience for me because it taught me life skills such as confidence, leadership and to "Kount on Kindness". The memories that I created with the friends I met from around the world will never fade and I will continue to stay in touch with them forever. The staff, coaches and counsellors at IGC were helpful, encouraging and energetic. The activities during recreation were so fun and there was never a time where you would have nothing to do. The gym facilities were like a gymnasts dream come true. Each piece of equipment allowed you to feel safe as well as challenge you at your stage of a certain skill. The option to do "open gym" was without a doubt the best concept EVER! There were coaches everywhere throughout each gym that gave feedback each time you did a skill. I loved IGC because it made me feel like you don't need your phone to make friends and socialise in the world and that you can make friends from all around the world that you will keep in touch forever.

Lexie West | Delta Brisbane | Level 5 | 11 years old

In the June/July holiday break I travelled with my Delta team mates to Pensylvania, United States of America to attend the incredible International Gymnastics Camp. We took two planes to arrive at IGC, in total it took us 18 hrs! When we arrived at IGC for me it was a dream come true, I have been wanting to attend IGC since I was eight years old. I was so excited to start training every day, all day. I achieved many new skills, such as my cast to handstand, baby giant and round off flick back sault. We also trained using many drills to help us improve our already achieved skills, for me I asked for help on having a successful tick tock on beam. My coach helped by teaching me new shapes and techniques to use entering the skill, such as kicking my leg over faster and using my shoulders. What I really loved about IGC was the social environment. I had two terrific counsellors, their names were Jenny and Aisling. The councillors made me feel very safe in a different environment, they were also very funny and loved my Australian accent. I made many new friends from all over the world. I met a new friend Kelsey from Massachusetts, USA. I was so excited when my new friends and I took to the giant inflatable water slide, it was so fun! I loved celebrating the 4th of July, it was amazingly fun and something new and exciting to learn about. My favourite part of IGC was meeting three amazing Olympians! Oksana Chusovitina, Svetlana Bonguinskaia and Jim Hartung were the visiting celebrities of our week. It was so exciting to have Oksana and Svetlana work with me on beam, they were amazingly funny and helpful. IGC was the most amazing experience of my life, travelling without my family also encouraged me to be more organized and independent. International Gymnastics Camp was a dream come true! Thank you to all the amazing coaches and organizers, your hard work towards this trip really paid off.

Sienna Crosisca | Delta Brisbane | Level 6 | 12 years old

I had an amazing week at IGC. I especially loved all the different gyms and equipment you could use to help you get new skills. I learnt and progressed lots of new skills over the week and tried heaps of new things. I loved talking to the Americans because of their amazing accent and learning all the different ways they call things ie: thongs means something completely different. My favourite time of day was when you could do open gym because you could choose to work on any skill you wanted to in any gym and the coaches would help you to achieve or perfect it. I also enjoyed the recreational activities, like scarey airy, volleyball, ga ga ball, table tennis, swimming in the pool and going down the water slide. Any chance I get I would go back.

Nikita Lockitch  | Delta Brisbane | Level 6 | 12 years old

Thank you so much for organising such an amazing trip I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my holidays. I met so many new friends and created some great memories. The week definitely flew by quickly and I would love to come back again. I had such a fun time experiencing what it’s like to go on a big tour and being able to travel overseas with my friends, thank you again.

Georgia Gerrard-Stace | Delta Brisbane | Level 7 | 15 years old

Attending The International Gymnastics Camp has been the highlight of my gymnastics career. It was great fun in a number of ways. I enjoyed meeting new people that I still have contact with (the Dolan twins are now on speed dial) I have learnt an enormous amount of new skills ? I can finally do a giant on the wooden bar which was easier than I imagined. Each week at the IGC camp there are new superstar gymnasts to meet and themes to experience. I was fortunate to be there for the 4th July which is Independence Day. There was a flag raising ceremony at breakfast time and two councillors sang the Star Spangled Banner. There were also sack races to be done and red , white and blue everywhere. Throughout a typical day there were six forty-five minute rotations that consisted of bars, beam, floor, vault, conditioning and dance. Dance was the most challenging rotation as it was tricky to remember what you had learnt from the previous days. The three famous super stars that I met were Jim, Svetlana and Oskana. All have won Olympic Gold!  Oskana has been to 7 Olympic Games and hopes to go to the next. She trains at the IGC. Svetlana did warm up and dancing on the beam with us. She is super confident and creative when it comes to complex on the beam. My training group was hard working although we made many jokes during the sessions. The girls were from Georgia, Cancun, New Jersey, Ohio and Arizona . We were all about the same height and age. Without my group I wouldn't have been able to have achieve or improve half of the new skills I have and I wouldn't have a stronger passion for Gymnastics. The ice cream is the best! Scary airy is awesome! The slide is long lasting and slippery although the Velcro makes it a little uncomfortable! The facilities are amazing! You will miss your phone! And the coaches and councillors are so crazy and cool! Now that I have finally been to IGC I have made some amazing memories and friendships that are forever and unforgettable. The camp is over and I can't wait until next summer to come back and learn something new. Even though the flights were long and hard to get through IGC was 100% worth it!

Hannah Dalton | Delta Gold Coast | Level 5 | 12 years old

Hannah truly had the time of her life.  It was her first Delta tour and one that she'll never forget. She absolutely loved her time in the amazing socialised IGC gyms learning so many new skills in only one week. She was so honoured to train with some fabulous coaches including the amazing Svetlana Boginskaya and Oksana Chusovitina. This was such a highlight of the tour. Hannah made some wonderful friends and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.  She can't wait to go back to IGC again.

Kate Petersen| Delta Gold Coast | Level 5 | 13 years old

IGC was a lot of fun and a great experience, I really wish I could have stayed longer! IGC has a special feel about it, like an amazing gymnastics community, definitely not like your typical camp. Training was amazing and I met some incredible coaches who helped me a lot. I achieved 10 new skills in the week I was there and made so many new friends who I will be keeping in touch with. Jet-skiing was fun, the pool was nice, and the gyms were amazing like a dream come true. I really hope I can go back there one day, and even stay longer. I loved everything about IGC! Camp Photos!