A GYMNASTICS club from Shipley will be representing their country this summer when they take part in World Gymnaestrada in Austria.

World Gymnaestrada, which takes place in Dornbirn, between July 7 and 13, is the largest global gymnastics festival and this year more than 23,000 individuals from 60 countries will take part in the week-long, non-competitive festival.

A total of 800 British gymnasts will be taking part, the largest team taken to date and nearly double the number who participated in Helsinki at the last Gymnaestrada in 2015.

Saltaire Gymnastics Club collected their team kit at the national rehearsal day in Nottingham last month, where Great Britain’s delegation came together for the final time before they travel to the event.

While many of the club coaches have experienced Gymnaestrada before, it will be a new experience for the gymnasts performing as part of the team.

Saltaire Gymnastics Club’s coach, Gail Bennett, said: “Having the opportunity to showcase gymnastics along with 59 other countries is brilliant. It’s going to be a brilliant experience for the gymnasts and they’re very excited to represent their country.”

The event takes place every four years and is a fantastic opportunity for the world gymnastics community to unite and celebrate their sport.

The Great Britain team will include gymnasts from 30 clubs, with participants aged from six to their 60s.

Olympic bronze medallist Amy Tinkler joined the rehearsals to share her experiences of competing for Great Britain and show her support for the teams.

Tinkler said: “Competing for your country is a huge honour and every gymnast should be so proud of themselves for achieving such recognition.

"Watching the rehearsals has been amazing, the performances all looked incredible and the commitment and passion of the gymnasts and coaches is clear to see.

"I know everyone will do Great Britain proud and hope everyone has a memorable Gymnaestrada experience."

Jane Allen, British Gymnastics chief executive officer, said: “I was truly inspired this weekend by the passion and energy shown from the gymnasts involved in Gymnaestrada.

“It was brilliant to see such an engaged group of gymnasts and it will be a real honour for them to represent their country on the world stage.

“Gymnaestrada is a very unique event and brilliant opportunity for gymnasts and fans from all over the world to celebrate our sport in a non-competitive way, so I look forward to seeing their performances in Austria this July.”

There’s lots of gymnastics happening in July including the British Gymnastics Championship Series which takes place between July 25-28 at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool and welcomes gymnasts from four dynamic disciplines to compete for British titles.