Our Team
Tracy
GENERAL MANAGER (Coach)
Hi, I'm Tracy and as well as being one of the founders of Affinity, I'm also the General Manager and a WAG coach, holding British Gymnastics and Gymnastics New Zealand coaching qualifcations. I absolutely love coaching gymnastics and really enjoy being part of a gymnasts journey from pre-school through to competitive levels and currently coach up to Step 5 WAG. When I'm not coaching you will find me in the office, and if you do please feel free to come over and say 'hi' as I love getting to know all of our members. I can be contacted on 02 AFFINITY or tracy@affinitygymnastics.co.nz
Ange
WAG HEAD COACH
Hi, my name is Ange and I am the Head Coach for Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) here at Affinity Gymnastics Academy with a passion for all aspects of gymnastic sports. I love being a coach and have had the pleasure of coaching for many years after retiring as a gymnast in 1997.
I hold my FIG level 2 coaching qualification (which doubles in NZ as a senior coach qualification), Junior MAG coach, Trampoline level 1 and a senior WAG Judge for Gymnastics NZ. I am also a qualified pre-school teacher holding a bachelor’s degree in teaching and learning. I have had the honour of being a coach for the Canterbury Nationals team since 2007 and New Zealand coach on levels tours. I am immensely proud to have coached gymnasts that have represented Canterbury and New Zealand since 2006.It has been long standing ambition of mine to help create a new gymnastics club to serve the community and I look forward to welcoming future gymnasts to Affinity!
Aaron
MAG HEAD COACH
Hi, my name is Aaron Clutterbuck, I am 26 years old and I am from Christchurch, New Zealand.
I was a competitive MAG gymnast for Christchurch School of Gymnastics for 15 years and I have competed both Nationally and Internationally for New Zealand. I've been coaching for 10 years, from pre school gymnastics, recreation, tumbling all the way through to Senior Competitive MAG & WAG Gymmnasts.
I have my International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) Level 2 coaching qualification. This certifies me to coach Senior International Gymnasts both here and overseas. I joined the Affinity team in 2019 as Head MAG Coach as well as serving on the committee for the club.
Andrew
SENIOR COACH
I’m Andrew, you will find me in the gym coaching WAG/MAG and Rec here at Affinity. I trained very briefly as a competitive gymnast but quickly found that my passion and skill set lay more in coaching than in competing! I hold a FIG Level 2 coaching qualification and have been coaching gymnastics as my full time profession since 2016 and I am very excited to be working for such an amazing club here at Affinity!
Shanda
PRE-SCHOOL & REGIONAL COMPETITIVE COACH
Hi, my name is Shanda. I am a former Travel Consultant and am a busy Mum to three boys. I have had a lifelong love of gymnastics and was fortunate to represent Canterbury at three National Championships (many moons ago!). I have been part of Affinity since the beginning and am part of the coaching team. I also work in the office doing the administration and accounts & serve on the committee as secretary.
Affinity has a real sense of community and I love meeting all the families who come into the gym. It is great to see lots of happy children in the gym, developing their confidence and progressing with their skills.
Todd
WAG & MAG COACH (& CHIEF SPOTTER!)
Hi, I'm Todd and am a former competitive MAG gymnast. I've been with the Affinity team since the very beginning, when we opened in 2018. I can coach both WAG and MAG and you often see me in the gym working alongside Ange spotting our senior competive gymnasts.
Shinyka Knight (Shiny)
COMPETITIVE WAG COACH
Hey, I’m Shinyka or ‘Shiny’ as most of my athletes and fellow coaches like to call me and I am proud to say I am a WAG coach at Affinity.
I have been involved in gymnastics from age 4 and the sport has played a huge and positive part of my life, It has shaped me into the person I am today and for that I will always be so grateful. I trained and competed as a senior gymnast at Dunedin Gymnastics Academy and had the pleasure of representing Otago during my time as an athlete. Upon retiring from compeitive gymnastics I wanted to give back to the sport so coaching became my passion and still is to this day. I’m also a qualified junior WAG judge.
It’s a true honour and pleasure to be part of the Affinity Gymnastics Academy team, I’m so proud to call it my new home and I’m excited to do my part in helping it grow and see it achieve great things in it’s future.
Raewyn
REGIONAL COMPETITIVE COACH
Hi I'm Raewyn, I have a great passion for gymnastics coaching in the regional competitive programme, having competed myself right through the levels from Gym Fun to Age Group. The regional competitive program is a competitive program for everyone and I love the diverse range of gymnasts that give it a go.
Outside of Gymnastics, I'm a registered Early Childhood Teacher working in the nursery as well as being the champion of physical development within my centre. I also hold a foundation movement qualification and a elementary Judging qualification which enhances my coaching skills
My passion is coaching gymnasts and helping them reach their potential in a fun and supportive environment. I love attending competitions with my gymnasts, watching them thrive in this environment and meet and make friends with gymnasts within our club and from other clubs while taking great pride in representing Affinity Gymnastics Academy.
Stella
WAG COACH
Hey, my name is Stella and I’m one of the preschool, recreational, regional and competitive coaches here at Affinity Gymnastics Academy. I have been coaching for about a year now and have really loved being back in the gym.
I retired from competitive gymnastics following my participation in the 2018 Commonwealth Games which had been a goal of mine since I had started competing in the sport, almost 11 years ago. Alongside that, I am proud to say that I have represented New Zealand in a number of overseas competitions such as Pacific Rim in 2016, Youth Commonwealth Championship in 2016, Australian Nationals and the Melbourne Cup 2018. I have experienced many of the things this sport can offer and I am so glad I can help others on a similar journey, whether they are starting their gymnastics careers or helping them reach their goals.
Charlie
WAG Coach
Hey, I’m Charlie and I’m one of the STEP coaches at Affinity Gymnastics Academy. I am originally from England so hold my BGA coaching qualification in General Gymnastics. I started Artistic Gymnastics from around the age of 4 and then later switched to Sports Acrobatic Gymnastics (if you don’t know what it is, google it!). I was lucky enough to represent my country and compete at a British level for a number of years before retiring and focusing on coaching, judging and choreographing.
I’m really excited to start my coaching career in New Zealand at Affinity and can’t wait to inspire the next generation of gymnasts.
Rachael
Hi I’m Rachael, I’m ex-competitive gymnast who represented Greymouth and Canterbury. I started coaching after I finished my competitive career to pass on the knowledge and skills I had learnt as a gymnast. I enjoy being around kids and love watching them learn new things, having fun and keeping fit in the process. Gymnastics is a great sport to be involved in and I hope the kids love it as much as I did!
Finlay
MAG COACH
Hi, I'm Finlay and have been involved at Affinity gymnastics Academy since it's creation in 2018. I'm a current competitive MAG Gymnast and a MAG coach under the guidance of our Head MAG Coach, Aaron. I'm currently on my coaching pathway under Gymnastics New Zealand and love developing younger gymnasts and act as a senior role model.
I love being in the gym and my favourite piece of apparatus is the Pommel Horse. I've been very fortunate to reach the New Zealand National Championships over the last couple of years and had the opportunity to represent New Zealand in 2020 in two competitions in the USA which was a fantastic experience!
Matthew
MAG Coach
Hi, I'm Matthew Mitchell and I started competitive gymnastics at the age of five and had ten successful years competing, unfortunately an injury put an end to my competitive gymnastics. I started coaching in 2017 and have had some great mentors throughout my career that have helped put me in such a knowledgeable position today!
I love coaching gymnastics as much as I did competing and training, it’s such an amazing sport that feels great to teach, it is rewarding in many ways!
My favourite apparatus to train and compete would have been parallel bars since there are so many unique skills. However coaching bar skills to my athletes has to be my favourite. The coaching team, gymnasts and environment at Affinity is unbeaten, with everyone always open to help and dedicated coaches it’s always moving forward!
Mackenzie
Recreational Coach
Hi, I'm Mackenzie and I coach recreatiion and regional gymnastics here at Affinity Gymnastics Academy. I started gymnastics when I was 8 years old. I have competed in gymnastics for a few years and I'm now doing gymnastics through the regional programme. I started coaching last year and I am loving being able to help others enjoy the amazing sport of gymnastics.