Northland's Brendan Marais (left) and Ryan Townsend will be the first male gymnasts in a decade to attend the nationals at a senior level in October. Photo / John Stone
Northland's Brendan Marais (left) and Ryan Townsend will be the first male gymnasts in a decade to attend the nationals at a senior level in October. Photo / John Stone
For the first time in a decade, male Northland gymnasts will compete at senior level at the New Zealand Gymnastics nationals in October.
Whangārei's Brendan Marais, 14, and Ryan Townsend, 15, will take to the floor, pommel horse, vault, rings, high bar and parallel bars at the nationals at TrustsArena in Auckland from October 2-5 after they recently qualified for the competition.
Both students of Whangārei Boys' High School, Ryan beat the nationals qualifying score of 63 in June with a 66 at a Northland competition before he scored a coveted 70 to win level seven (first senior level) at the Auckland Manukau Championships on August 3-4.
It's taken a lot of strength and stamina to make it to the senior level for Ryan and Brendan (seen here on the rings). Photo / John Stone
Brendan also achieved a 66 at the August competition in Auckland as his seventh-placed finish earned him a trip to the nationals. A gymnast's scores are averaged from their performances across the six disciplines.
It was 2009 when Northland last had male athletes attend nationals. In that time, nine female gymnasts have achieved the feat before Ryan and Brendan broke the sequence.
While the enormity of their achievements was still setting in for the young gymnasts, Brendan said he was glad to share the experience with a training and competing partner in Ryan.
Ryan, 15, has done well to perform to a high standard in 2019 while battling a hip injury. Photo / John Stone
"There have been a few years when it has just been yourself moving up the levels, so it's good to have someone going through the same thing that you're going through."
Both started the sport at about age 5 but were in their first year of competing at the same level after many years of training alongside each other.
Ryan, who had just perfected a tricky yet flashy double back somersault dismount from the high bar, said it was their never-say-die attitude which made the pair good gymnasts.
"It's all about the headspace you have, not letting things get to you if it doesn't work," he said.
The Whangārei Academy of Gymnastics, which operates out of Trigg Stadium, has been like a second home for Brendan (seen here) and Ryan as they train up to 16 hours a week. Photo / John Stone
Brendan echoed these sentiments and explained how he had thrown up before a competition only to find a new headspace and pull through with a respectable score.
Much of Ryan and Brendan's achievements come down to their training at Whangārei's Trigg Stadium, the home of the Whangārei Academy of Gymnastics.
The pair put in about 16 hours of training each per week but as Brendan said, their passion for the sport was clear.
"It's like a second home, you can't really leave it."
Brendan, 14, beat the qualifying score of 63 at the Auckland Manukau Championships to book his place at nationals in October. Photo / John Stone
To compete regularly on the national gymnastics circuit required strong commitment. The pair had travelled to four away competitions this year, including to Marlborough to gain the necessary experience.
Ryan's mother Gail Townsend has been coaching the pair for about nine years and was amazed to see how well the boys had achieved with it being her first year coaching at a senior level.
Ryan achieved the coveted score of 70 to take out the Auckland Manukau Championships earlier in the month, seen here on the pommel. Photo / John Stone
"It's been quite a steep learning curve for me so to have them come through and qualify for nationals and making so much progress is really cool," she said.
"Going to senior levels, they design their own routines as opposed to set routines so they've got to hit all the right skills and combinations."
Gail said the focus now was to manage any injuries over the remaining months before nationals and build on newly acquired skills.
The acrobatic pair have enjoyed working together to improve their skills over the years. Photo / John Stone
With money a big factor in a less popular sport, Gail was hesitant to suggest how far Ryan and Brendan could go in gymnastics, but she said there was no telling what their determination could achieve.
"It's a tough sport so it's difficult to predict that sort of thing but at this stage they are passionate, they are progressing and they just want to keep going and get better, so who knows?"
Northland athletes and coaches selected for the national championships:
MAG (Men's Artistic Gymnastics): Level 4 - Gareth Ferguson (WAGs - Whangārei Academy of Gymnastics) Level 5 - Hayden Smith (WAGs) and Liam Townsend (WAGs) Level 7 - Brendan Marais (WAGs) and Ryan Townsend (WAGs)
WAG (Women's Artistic Gymnastics): Step 5 - Lily-Mae Smith (WAGs), Amy Collecutt (Fantastic Gymnastics), Katelyn Delemare (WAGs) and Keala Mann (WAGs) Step 6 - Renee Pilon (Fantastic Gymnastics) and Karli Babe-Vercoe (WAGs) Step 9 - Michelle Crawford (WAGs) Possible inclusions: Step 5 - Anna Davison (Kerikeri), Ariah Croasdale (Fantastic Gymnastics)
