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2022 NZ Rhythmic Gymnastics Champion Havana Hopman leaves for Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games next week. Photo: Winkipop Media

Four days of non-stop gymnastics has ended in Invercargill today.

In aerobics, rhythmic, mens’ and women’s artistic, and trampoline gymnastics, forty-three prize givings have seen more than 1,500 medals awarded across 230-odd events within the championships. Though amongst all those medals, was only one perfect score.

Men’s artistic level 4 athlete Sean Dawson representing Whanganui/Manawatu earned a perfect score of 12.000 for his vault on Wednesday. The 10-year-old from Fielding trains at Manawatu Gymsports and was ‘pretty happy’ with his perfect score.

“It felt really good and I knew it would be high 11, but I didn’t expect a 12.000.” says Sean.

Long gone are the days of a perfect 10. Artistic gymnastics scores are made up of two components—a score for the degree of difficulty, and a score out of ten for execution. Sean’s degree of difficulty was 2.0 and his perfect execution landed him a 10.0, totalling his perfect score of 12.000.

One judge commented that his lines were perfect and he landed like a feather. Sean then scored an 11.900 for his second vault. “I swung my arms when I landed my second vault, so I knew that wasn’t going to be a perfect score.” Says Sean, albeit close to it. Sean and twin brother Harry have been doing gymnastics for three and a half years, with this being their first nationals. Harry also picked up a couple of medals.

In the senior international competition, the 2022 national champions have been named, with Olympians Maddie Davidson and Dylan Schmidt taking out the trampoline titles, and Birmingham 2022-bound Havana Hopman, the national rhythmic gymnastics title for another year.

Aerobics Brooke Davies – Otago (Astra Gymnastics) Men’s artistic Ben Stein – Auckland (Tri Star Gymnastics) Women’s artistic Reece Cobb – Wellington (Capital Gymnastics) Rhythmic Havana Hopman – Gymsports Manukau (Counties Manukau Gymnastics) Trampoline Women: Madaline (Maddie) Davidson – Canterbury (Olympia Gymnastic Sports) Men: Dylan Schmidt – Gymsports Manukau (Icon Trampoline) Double mini trampoline Women: Braida Thomas – Canterbury (Ice Trampoline) Men: Campbell Robertson – Canterbury (Ice Trampoline) Tumbling  Women: Emma Tindale – Bay of Plenty (Mid Island Gym Sportss) Men: Lachie Kirk – Hawkes Bay/Poverty Bay (Ricochet Trampoline)

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