February Newsletter

Welcome to the February newsletter – there’s lots of news to catch up on and we have an exciting year ahead. Updates can also be found on our Facebook page Aspiring Gymsports Club or visit our website. We have also got a new Facebook parent hub where you can swap lifts or sell your leotards etc. 

Aspiring Gymsports Classes 

To all our new and returning families: welcome to term 1. If you haven't yet booked we still have a few places left in most of our recreational classes. Did you know that we run a huge range of recreational and competitive gymnastics programmes? If you are unsure which class to book, check our timetable here timetable and class descriptions here classes. If in doubt FB message us for info about suitabily of classes or email us for general and booking enquiries at admin@aspiringgymsports.co.nz.

Gymnastics for M!nt Kids

We are very excited to be able to offer an open session of gymnastics fun for pre- and primary aged children with additional needs in conjunction with M!nt group. M!NT Charitable Trust works to support people with intellectual disabilities and increase their participation in sport and recreation, in order to develop life skills and make meaningful and valued contributions within the local community.This session will be held on Sunday 29th March at 3.00pm at 33 Reece Crescent. If you know any families who would be interested please contact Rae on 027 414 9562.

Our Fabulous Coaches

This year we’re delighted to introduce new coach Jess Clydesdale, from Dunedin, to the team. Not only is Jess an experienced coach who is qualified to teach up to Step 6 WAG competitive gym, but she is also a qualified judge. Jess will be coaching WAG and working alongside our current coaches in some of our GFA sessions. We are very excited to have Jess join our wonderful coaching team! All our student coaches have now completed their Foundation Coaching qualifications and Isla will now be lead coaching our Tues and Thurs 3.30pm GFA classes. James Watson (one of our talented competitive gymnasts) will also be coaching the Gym for All badges class on Thursdays.

Volunteers needed for Wheelie Good Fundraiser

Thanks to Allan Dippie, we've a fabulous opportunity to raise money for the club by staffing the doors at the unique Wheels at Wanaka Vintage Tractor Collection. This private collection is located at Central Machine Hire on Ballantyne Road and is rarely open to the public. The open day will be of particular interest to, and be promoted to, those visiting Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow. We're looking for helpers between 10am - 4pm Easter Saturday, Sunday and Monday who can help collect $10 entry donations, or sell cupcakes or snags. Kids are more than welcome and any time you can contribute is valued by the Gym and whilst we expect it won’t take up too much time over your Easter Weekend, it WILL raise much needed funds for our fantastic gym! If you can help over the Easter Weekend, at the Ballantyne Rd location, please contact Colleen on 021 780 674 or Kirsten on 021 801 950.

Fundraising and Volunteers Thank You

A huge thank you to Jonny from SKIP IT and Aaron Rawson for project managing the wall removal in the gym to create a lovely open space. Thanks also to the amazing volunteer crew of John Wyatt and Gerald, Pablo Varley, Simon Knight, Amelia and Jimmy, Jess, Rae, Wayne Chamberlain, Ruth Kennedy, Karen Brooks, Toby, Cody, Isla and Ashley plus Luke Babbington from Lake Wanaka Carpet Cleaning for sprucing up the dusty carpets!! Another big thank you to Wayne Chamberlain, Cath McIver, Ange Scoullar, Donna Guzik, Rae Paterson and Chris Waghorn for staffing gates and collecting rubbish at Jetsprints at the end of the summer holidays. This earned Aspiring Gymsports some valuable funds to help to keep your gymnastic fees affordable. Last but not least, thanks to our committee member Kirsten Wyatt and John Dustow, an employment law specialist from Tech 5 Recruitment, for all their time and work with our employment agreements. Their knowledge and expertise has meant we can ensure everything is done professionally. We really can’t get these projects done or raise these funds without everyone's help and are extremely grateful for your time and effort!

Grant Application Success

We are very pleased to let you know NZ Community Trust have awarded Aspiring Gymsports a grant of $5,000 towards our increased rental costs. A big thank you to NZCT and again to Colleen Nisbet for her hard work applying for funding. Also, another exciting grant from Findex NZ Limited. Their community fund awarded us $550 to purchase new climbing ropes and a tear drop banner. The kids have been loving swinging from the ropes and we are getting the banner designs together to improve our signage – thank you Findex!. We still have a way to go in raising enough to cover the rent increase so if you know of any other fundraising opportunities please get in contact with Colleen on 021 780 674 or cogsc@hotmail.com.

Annual Club Update

There is a lot going on for the club in the next 2 years and we would like to invite families to hear about our exciting plans for the future including new premises. Join us for some nibbles and a glass of wine. We will be running a FREE gym session for the kids. (Please email us at admin@aspiringgymsports.co.nz to let us know you are coming so we can organise enough supervision). Where: Aspiring Gymsports 33, Reece Crescent When: Sunday 29th March at 4pm Following the talk we will hold our AGM, also open to all.

From the Committee

Our next committee member to introduce is Nienke Jansen. Nienke has been the club’s competition secretary since April 2018 and joined the committee last year. She is mum to Fleur (10) who is part of the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) Step 4 class. Nienke enjoys being part of the committee, helping out with any tasks that need completing and being part of the decision-making process to make sure decisions are made in the best interests of the club. Sadly, we are losing three valued committee members this year – Tim Bennett, Anna Speak and Sarah Mitchell. A big thank you to all of them for all their input and hard work over their time on the committee.

Thank you to our sponsors & funders -  we are very grateful to all of our funders and sponsors for their support

Bayleys Realty Group/Todd Soper; beSure Tailored Insurance; Mitre 10; Casa Mia; Lake Wanaka Carpet Cleaning; The Lion Foundation; SkyCity Queenstown Casino Community Trust; Findex NZ Limited, NZ Community Trust and Watertight Systems.