When aerobics first found its way into Emma McCaughan’s gymnastics club in 2013, neither she nor her mum could have known how big a part of her life it would become.

Emma’s mum, Janine, had attended a women’s artistic gymnastics coaching course in Alexandra where aerobics was used as part of the warm-up. She brought what she’d learned back to their club, where Emma was already competing in artistic, and introduced aerobics.

Thirteen years later, the 23-year-old Astra Gymnastics athlete has competed at every Nationals since, represented New Zealand in Australia and built a place for herself in the sport not only as an athlete, but as a coach and judge.

Emma competed in both artistic and aerobics until 2018, when she chose to focus solely on aerobics. While the sport has since taken her around New Zealand and overseas, it’s the people she has shared those experiences with that have kept her coming back.

“I love training alongside my teammates, challenging myself and constantly pushing to improve. The aerobics community is such a cool, close-knit community, and that’s definitely a big part of what has kept me involved for so many years.”

That community has become something Emma now contributes to in different ways. Alongside her own training and competition, she coaches younger athletes and judges – opportunities that have given her a new perspective on the sport she grew up in.

“I particularly enjoy coaching because it gives me the opportunity to pass on the knowledge and experience I’ve gained over the years to the younger athletes coming through the sport.”

For Emma, continuing to compete as an adult is part of that example too. Having balanced aerobics with life beyond school, further study and work, she wants younger gymnasts to know their involvement in the sport doesn’t have to end as life changes.

“I hope I can demonstrate to younger athletes that it is possible to continue in the sport after graduating high school and moving into further study or the workforce. You can find a way to make it work.”

This season hasn’t always been straightforward. Emma has had to adjust her training and work her way back to where she wanted to be, while setting herself the challenge of qualifying three different routines for Nationals.

“This year, competitions haven’t really been about winning for me. I’ve been doing them for myself and for my teammates, and to prove to myself that I could come back and do what I had set out to achieve.”

Emma achieved what she had set out to do, qualifying for Nationals and more recently recording her best score in several years – a rewarding reminder of how far she has come this season.

But another moment on her road to Nationals perhaps says more about why she remains in the sport.

While Emma was working towards the second qualifying score for her individual routine, athletes from clubs across the competition got behind her.

“The support I received from the girls at the competition was something I won’t forget, not just from my own club, but from athletes from so many other clubs as well.

“Although we compete against each other, there is such a strong sense of community and support between athletes and clubs. Everyone wants to see one another do well, and that makes the sport really special to me.”

Now heading to another XP Gymnastics Nationals, Emma is looking forward to one of her favourite weeks of the year – being part of the Otago Aerobics Team, reconnecting with friends from around New Zealand and sharing the experience with the younger athletes coming through.

After everything it has taken to get there this year, her goal is simple.

“I want to enjoy every moment.”

Thirteen years after aerobics first arrived at her club, Emma is still competing, but being an athlete is now only one part of her place in the sport.

As a teammate, coach and judge, she is also helping create the community and experiences that have kept her coming back all these years.

The 2026 XP Gymnastics Nationals take place at Mercury Baypark, Tauranga, from 29 September–3 October.