The University of Ulster will this weekend welcome top athletes to its Jordanstown campus for the Northern Ireland Open Acrobatics Championships.
Members of the public are being encouraged to come and view some ‘Spelbound’ style gymnastics at the competition which takes place on Saturday 18 June.
Northern Ireland’s finest acrobatic gymnasts will compete against opposition from the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and England. The acrobatics discipline is one which has been placed firmly in the spotlight with the success of Spelbound in last year’s Britain’s Got Talent television show.
Dr Nigel Dobson, Co-Director of the Ulster Sports Academy, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Northern Ireland Open Acrobatics Championships to the University for what is sure to be a fantastic event. Our multi-million pound sports facilities will be transformed into an arena of the some of the best acrobatic gymnasts around in what should be a feast of talent on display. This type of sport is something many people may never have seen before and to host some of our best local talent competing against participants from Scotland and England can only enhance the sport on a local level.”
Head of acrobatics in Northern Ireland, Shireen Moore said: “This is the first time that this event has taken place in this format with competitors from outside Northern Ireland and is also the first time that any major gymnastics competition will be held at the University of Ulster and I hope many more will follow. I would also like to give a huge vote of thanks to F3 Hydropool for all their support and sponsorship of this event.”
Alan Boal Operations Director at F3 Hydropool said: “We are delighted to help Shireen and all at Gymnastics Northern Ireland in the first NI Open Acrobatic Championships to be held at the University of Ulster. F3 are in the privileged position of being a corporate partner at the university and are extremely proud of our relationship with them. Collectively, we intend to make this a national event to rank with the best in the UK and Ireland. We want to give local gymnasts the required experience to compete at national level and beyond.”
