Some world-class competitors will be in action at the New Zealand Gymsports Championships in Dunedin this week.
About 500 gymnasts will compete in three disciplines - aerobics, rhythmic gymnastics and on the trampoline.
There is a broad cross-section of the gymnastics community competing ranging in age from 9 to 26.
The top competitor in aerobics is Charlotte Bass (Auckland), who finished 15th at this year's world championships in France.
The best competitor in rhythmic gymnastics is Keziah Oliver (Christchurch), who competed at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010.
Former world age-group champion Dylan Schmidt will be demonstrating his skills in the senior men's trampoline before he returns overseas for more international competition.
Schmidt (15) won the silver medal in the world championships in Birmingham this year, despite having three broken toes.
"Dylan is competing in the senior men's event because we want him to face the best competition," the chief executive of Gymsports New Zealand Sarah Ashmole said.
The best Otago competitor is Emily White, from the Dunedin Gymnastics Academy, who competed in women's artistic gymnastics in Blenheim last week and will be in action in aerobics at Dunedin.
The Otago rhythmic gymnastics team includes 12 competitors who have had overseas experience this year.
The Otago aerobics team has grown from 13 competitors last year to 23, the largest team Otago has entered.
The championships will be a trial to select two New Zealand teams to compete internationally.
The trampolining team will contest the Indo-Pacific championships in Sydney next week while competitors competing in rhythmic gymnastics and trampolining have a chance to compete at the Australian Youth Olympics in Sydney in January.
"It is the year of the Olympics and a number of the older competitors will retire," Ashmole said.
"It is a chance for juniors to demonstrate that they are good enough to go to international events in the future."
The championships start at the Lion Foundation Arena at 9am today and the opening ceremony will be from 6pm to 7pm. The championships end on Saturday.
