Dynamite gymnastics club to represent Great Britain

World Gymnaestrada is the largest global gymnastics festival and this year more than 23,000 individuals from a record-breaking 60 countries will join forces in Austria to take part in the week-long, non-competitive festival.

800 British gymnasts will be taking part, the largest team taken to date and nearly double the number who participated in Helsinki at the last Gymnaestrada in 2015.

Dynamite Gymnastics Club collected their team kit at the national rehearsal day in Nottingham last weekend where Great Britain’s delegation came together for the final time before they travel to the event.

Dynamite Gymnastics Club’s coach, Kiera Lambey, said: “It’s so exciting to be part of Gymnaestrada. It’s actually my second event but a first for all the kids in our team. It’s brilliant for them to experience all of the different types of gymnastics out there and fantastic to represent their country.”

The event takes place every four years and is a fantastic opportunity for the world gymnastics community to unite and celebrate their sport.

The Great Britain team will include gymnasts from 30 British Gymnastics affiliated clubs, with participants ranging from six years old right through to gymnastics in their 60s.

Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Amy Tinkler joined the rehearsal day to share her experiences of competing for Great Britain and show her support for the teams.

Tinkler said: “Competing for your country is a huge honour and every gymnast should be so proud of themselves for achieving such recognition. Watching the rehearsals has been amazing, the performances all looked incredible and the commitment and passion of the gymnasts and coaches is clear to see. I know everyone will do Great Britain proud and I hope everyone has a memorable Gymnaestrada experience!”

She was joined by British Gymnastics CEO, Jane Allen, who delivered a speech to wish them luck ahead of the event.

“I was truly inspired this weekend by the passion and energy shown from the gymnasts involved in Gymnaestrada,” said Allen. “It was brilliant to see such an engaged group of gymnasts and it will be a real honour for them to represent their country on the world stage.

“Gymnaestrada is a very unique event and a brilliant opportunity for gymnasts and fans from all over the world to celebrate our sport in a non-competitive way, so I look forward to seeing their performances in Austria this July.”