Tawa?s competitive gymnastic boys and girls team 2009
Young gymnasts from Tawa?s Twister Gymnastic Club have had a fantastic start to the 2009 competition season, channelling their enthusiasm into a winning formula. Tawa?s elastic kids are aged 5 to 12 and have been competing at some of the regions gymnastics competitions and scoring fantastic results.? "At this stage the most important thing is for the gymnasts to have fun, enjoy themselves and do their best, the medals are a bonus,? says Twisters President Carol Andrews. At a recent Upper Hutt competition the boys team took home gold and silver medals and at a competition in Palmerston North last weekend the girls and boys teams took home gold and silver medals respectively. The gymnasts train several times a week and learn a variety of skills on different apparatus including for boys: parallel bars, high bar, vault, pommel horse and floor, and for girls: the beam, asymmetric bars, floor and vault. "Learning gymnastics has many benefits for the children. "It?s good for health, fitness and self esteem in young people; it also builds life skills such as determination, confidence and team work,? she says. The competition season runs over Terms 2 and 3 with boys and girls attending up to six competitions. ?I got involved with supporting gymnastics when my son joined Twisters in Tawa about five years ago,? says Mrs Andrews. She wanted to find something more diverse than recreational gymnastics for her son, as he found the normal routines too easy. ?We were delighted when we found the Twisters gymnastics. ?This type of gymnastics really helps boys to channel all that extra physical energy they have into a sport that is both challenging and fun.? Mrs Andrews says girls are similarly challenged by the new tricks, such as a 'flic-flac' and enjoy doing lots of choice new moves.
