For young athletes, the Olympic Games can represent their future hopes and dreams. The inspirational background stories of Olympic athletes as competitors – their training, their experiences, their triumphs, as well as their trials, only serve to fuel the spirit of young athletes everywhere. The Olympics are also a chance for sports that sometimes don’t have the largest profile, to shine bright, and for the members at Niddrie Gymnastics the Tokyo Olympics are proving just that.

Niddrie Gymnastics are a long standing tenant of Essendon Fields, operating out of Hangar 44 on Wirraway Road for almost a quarter of a century. The high ceilings and open space of the hangar is the perfect setting for the sport of gymnastics and their 600+ athletes.

“The gymnasts that use our facility at Essendon Fields for gymnastics classes range in age from 2 years to 18 years. We offer tumble time classes for pre-school aged gymnasts and recreational gymnastics for children of all ages and abilities as an introduction to gymnastics and for general health and wellbeing for children.’’ Head Coach Natalie said.

“Within our general gymnastics program, we offer inclusive gymnastics for children of all abilities. We also offer quality competitive programs for female athletes both in the recreational (Gymstar) and the Australian Levels Program (WAG ALP). For athletes at these levels we provide opportunities to pursue State, National and international pathways.’’ she said.

“Over the years we have had gymnasts go on to train in High Performance Centres and represent Australia at an Olympic level. Lisa Moro competed for Australia at the Atlanta Games in 1996, while Lauren Muscat and Kiara Munteanu both represented Australia in International competition. We also had a former gymnast, Lydia Lassila win Olympic Gold at the Winter Olympics for Australia in Aerial skiing.’’

Most of the 600+ members who attend gymnastics classes at Niddrie Gymnastics come from local suburbs that surround Essendon Fields, but they do have members who travel from Williamstown, Sunbury, Macedon, and Point Cook.

Niddrie’s head coach, Natalie Roberts, has been with the club for 27 years, including the last three years as Head Coach. The club employs 35 coaches and staff locally.

“We love being a part of the Essendon Fields Community. When we first moved in from Bowes Avenue in Niddrie, back in 1998, there was not much more than aircraft, aircraft hangars and our gymnastics facility.  We have loved watching the airport evolve into the thriving community that Essendon Fields has become today, and we hope that in the future we continue to provide a high-quality gymnastics program to local families,’’ Nat said.

Essendon Fields has its own special connection to the Olympics as its airport was the official aviation arrival and customs centre for the thousands of athletes who competed in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

”With the 2032 Olympics at home once again in Australia, maybe our next Olympic champion is currently training at Niddrie Gymnastics here in our Essendon Fields facility, who knows!’’ Nat said.

For more information on Niddrie Gymnastics please click here.