Donegal’s Finesse Gymnastics Club will have the honour of submitting 13 gymnasts to represent Ireland at this year’s World Gymnaestrada.
The gymnasts will travel as Ireland’s Gymnastics for All (GFA) National squad. The process of the club being given this honour stems from their previous representation of Gymnastics Ireland (GI) at major events around Europe.
The club last represented GI at the GFA world championships in Norway and returned with a bronze medal.
The WG takes place in a different country around the world every four years.
The host country is awarded by FIG, the governing body for world gymnastics. The first ever WG was in Rotterdam, Holland, where 14 countries and over 5000 gymnasts attended. To date the international event has quadrupled in size.
This year the event will be hosted in Dornbirn, a city in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. Vorarlberg is an ideal location for the Gymnaestrada as it is in the heart of Europe.
This year will be the biggest ever WG to date. It already has the title of the largest participation event in World Gymnastics. It will be attended by over 22,000 gymnasts from 68 countries and five continents.
This will be the second time that Ireland will be participating in the World Gymnaestrada which will make it even more special for these young Donegal gymnasts.
The team debuted their brand new routine ‘Surviving the Storm’ at GI’s national event ‘The Floor’.
The routine conveys the story of a group of girls who find themselves lost in harsh stormy conditions, fighting to make it out the other side as one.
The debut of their routine received a great reception from a large crowd and saw the girls win numerous awards.
The gymnasts have been in training for over a year now and with the event just a few weeks away they can’t wait to showcase all their hard work on a world stage.
The club is extremely proud of what these young gymnasts have achieved. It has been a huge commitment from the gymnasts, parents and all involved in making this once in a lifetime dream come true.
The motto of the event is “SHOW YOUR COLOURS” and one thing’s for sure; the team will be showing the green white & gold of Ireland with pride.
The club would also like to thank Donegal airport, Customer service excellence Ireland and Liam McCloskey & Owen McCloskey of LMC Drylining LTD. for their kind sponsorship.
Irish GFA Squad 2019: Amber Beecroft, Ellie King, Cara Nulty, Orla Lonergan, Sequoya McGettigan, Adele King, Molly Nulty, Ellen O’Connell, Amy Russell, Ella McBride, Ruby McBride, Aisling Nulty, Ita McGee.
