I want to take this opportunity to thank Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua for their generous donation towards my gymnastics trip to Hawaii. I am so grateful to have such supportive family, helping me make these incredible experiences possible.

The Hawaiian competition I competed at, along with 16 other New Zealand team mates was a huge success, not just for myself but for our whole team. Every team member managed to stand on the podium which made us feel proud of our country. The first competition was called the ‘Gymnastics in Paradise’ competition which hosted gymnasts from the States, Australia and the UK. [Read more…]

Kia ora tātou, I am writing to give you an update on my gymnastics journey since Arowhenua kindly supported me for the Singapore competition I attended in November 2014.

During that time, I was at a lower level (step 9), whereas this year I have progressed up to step 10 where there are more difficult requirements that require consistent scores.

I experienced a challenging obstacle in early July when I tore ligaments in my left foot while performing a double somersault on my floor exercise. This discontinued my intense training for a month. I was unable to consolidate the difficult skills I had achieved prior and it stopped me from going to the following competition in late July. However, I continued to train to the best of my ability without overdoing it. I knew I had to keep a positive attitude and accept the fact that injuries happen. I had to rest to heal. [Read more…]