I am constantly surprised by the talents of our students that I have absolutely no idea about until we ask for National Honours nominations. Oliver is one of these students!

His strength is in artistic gymnastics and he is very good!

Oliver represented Canterbury at the Canterbury Mens Artistic Gymnastics Level 4 National Championships held in Auckland in July 2021. Oliver’s team came first at this competition, which is an outstanding achievement. On a personal level, Oliver placed fourth in the floor event, which is also an outstanding achievement.

I caught up with Oliver to find out how he got involved in Artistic Gymnastics and what he would like to achieve in the sport.

Oliver started gymnastics when he was very young. He had a bit of a break from the sport but returned to gymnastics when his brother decided to return to the sport, and he has been training and competing ever since. One of his first memories of gymnastics is doing routines in the ‘cold room,’ so named due to the lack of heating in the space!

When you compete as a team in gymnastics all team members perform on the apparatus and the points are collated. The events that Oliver competes in are; Parallel bars, the Pommel Horse, high bar, the vault, floor and the rings. He informs me that the floor is his best event.

Oliver’s short term goal is to compete at Nationals again next year and as a more long term goal Oliver would like to attend camps and compete overseas.

A gymnast does a lot of training and currently that is around 15 hours a week. He loves the sense of achievement that comes from gymnastics and also likes that it is just a different activity to do!

He also recognises that he has always liked movement and adds that, although the physical movements can be challenging, it is very much a mental game! You have to have a positive mindset and be confident in your ability.

Given the 15 hours a week training, I was interested in how Oliver manages school and training. He said he has had to miss some sessions to meet school deadlines now he is in Year 11, but he generally manages to balance both. We ended the conversation with Oliver acknowledging that the change of gyms last year has been significant in progressing his gymnastics ability. He recognises the commitment of his coaches and the friendships he has with the other gymnasts as being key for his development.

All the best with your promising career, Oliver!