Our athlete advisors sit on each of our sport technical committees and are responsible for ensuring that the voice and input of current and former athletes is included in areas of training, coaching, performance, and athlete wellbeing. Find out more about each of them below.
Aerobics – Jennifer Groom
Jen competed in aerobics from 7 – 21 years old, representing NZ multiple times in Australia, USA, and Japan both individually and as part of a trio. She is now a senior judge and has held the athlete advisor role on the technical committee for the last two years.
Quick Q & A
What are 3 words that describe what gymnastics means to you?
Dedication, strength, and satisfaction.
What is your favourite holiday activity?
Spending the day at the beach or lake.
What’s your favourite thing to do to relax?
Tan at the beach, or doing some baking.
Marmite or vegemite?
Marmite!!
Favourite superhero?
Superman.
If you could do anything in the world for one day, what would it be?
Go shopping with an unlimited amount of money.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Don’t worry over something you cannot control, focus on what you can control.
Men’s Artistic – Ryan Moffit
Ryan’s introduction to gymnastics was PlayGym at 18 months old. He continued to recreation and into competitive which he retired from after 14 years. He is a senior MAG coach and senior advanced judge, and has held the athlete advisor position for the last two years.
Quick Q & A
What are 3 words that describe what gymnastics means to you?
Dedication, thrill, and reward.
What is your favourite holiday activity?
Spending time at the beach with family/friends.
What’s your favourite thing to do to relax?
Watch a movie, read a book, or play board games.
Marmite or vegemite?
Haters gonna hate, but I am a vegemite kind of guy.
Favourite superhero?
Doctor Strange
If you could do anything in the world for one day, what would it be?
Spend the day exploring the sights of Reykjavík, Iceland, have a soak in the geothermal pools and spend the evening star gazing and watching the Aurora Borealis.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Failure is your biggest teacher – learn from it.
“Try again, fail again, fail better” – Samuel Beckett
Women’s Artistic – Aimee Didierjean
Aimee started recreational gymnastics at age 6 and moved on to competitive where she spent 11 years in the STEPs and IDP programmes and represented NZ in 2020. She has been judging since 16, has coached, and has commentated the artistic livestream at nationals the last three years.
Through her gymnastics journey, Aimee has fostered a keen interest in athlete advocacy which has led to her appointments on the Gymnastics NZ Training Guidelines Working Group and her role as an athlete advisor.
Quick Q & A
What are 3 words that describe what gymnastics means to you?
Courage, community, opportunity.
What’s your favourite thing to do to relax?
Walking my dog.
Marmite or Vegemite?
Neither!?!
Favourite Superhero?
A hard toss-up between Rocket Racoon or Groot.
If you could do anything in the world for one day, what would it be?
Maybe skydive in Greece or eat heaps of food in Thailand – that’s a hard one…
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Own your failures and your successes. Appreciate the process, learn from your mistakes, ask questions and use them as a stepping stone to get better.
Rhythmic – Beth Strickland
Beth has been involved in gymnastics since she started rhythmic 16 years ago in Australia, moved to NZ and continued competing until 2016, earning national titles in levels 8 and 9. Beth then began coaching, judging, and commentating at nationals, and last year returned to competing.
Quick Q & A
What are 3 words that describe what gymnastics means to you?
Challenge, fulfillment, and community.
What is your favourite holiday activity?
Skiing – I go up every second weekend throughout winter! I also started Snowboarding too in the last couple of years for a new challenge.
What’s your favourite thing to do to relax?
Lounge in the sun in summer, or watch TV by the fire in winter.
Marmite or vegemite?
I’m an Aussie, so Vegemite.
Favourite superhero?
I haven’t really watched any superhero movies so I’ll go with a superhero gymnast – I’ve always loved Alina Maksymenko.
If you could do anything in the world for one day, what would it be?
Heliskiing in somewhere like Japan or Canada.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve received?
It’s not the be all and end all. I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself, and getting reminded that there are so many aspects of life, and so much we can achieve and experience helps me keep things in perspective.
Trampoline – Campbell Robertson
Cam has been involved in gymnastics and trampoline for more than 20 years, and remains a competitive athlete, having represented NZ at three world championships in double-mini.
Quick Q & A
What are 3 words that describe what gymnastics means to you?
Dedication. Freedom. Community.
What is your favourite holiday activity?
Swimming in the summer or skiing in the winter.
What’s your favourite thing to do to relax?
Watching educational videos on YouTube.
Marmite or vegemite?
Marmite.
Favourite superhero?
Travis Pastrana.
If you could do anything in the world for one day, what would it be?
I’d be an astronaut for the day.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
If you’re going to be dumb, you better be tough.