Northland has a strong team competing at the NZ Gymnastics National Championships in Auckland this week.
Altogether, 10 artistic gymnasts, nine tumblers and 10 trampoline athletes from two Northland clubs - Fantastic Gymnastics and the Whangārei Academy of Gymnastics - have qualified and been selected to compete in the championships, being held at Trusts Arena from tomorrow to Saturday.
The gymnasts range in age from 9 to 18 and are all very excited to have a national championship to compete at in 2021, Vicki Macdonald, manager at Whangārei Academy of Gymnastics, said.
![Northland's Brendan Marais getting in some practice before he competes in the NZ Gymnastics National Championships.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/FXQV7NTB4V3KCZI5UXBI5WVY2Q.jpg?auth=11f6c78bab74247c7f12364567098d7f97bde4324f70409d72f5f6702a00e020&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
She said the competition season was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic last year and it had taken a while for the athletes to get into competition mode, but they were now ready to go.