After the aerobics and hip-hop nationals were held in Queenstown last weekend, the New Zealand Competitive Aerobics Federation (NZCAF) announced Invercargill would be hosting the Sport Aerobics and Fitness World Championships in 2026.
NZCAF president Sean Cresswell said it would be the first time New Zealand had hosted such an important competition.
"The FISAF World Championships is the premiere sport aerobics and fitness championship.
"This is the first time that the event will travel to New Zealand. The last time it came to the southern hemisphere was Australia in 2011."
The competition, which will be held at ILT Stadium Southland in November, would attract more than 200 athletes plus their supporters from countries such as the Czech Republic, France, Belgium, Poland, Brazil, Italy and Australia, he said.
Cresswell said it was an easy choice to select the city in the Deep South to host the best aerobics athletes in the world.
"Choosing Southland as the host city was a no-brainer based on the local support but also systems and venues provided by ILT make Invercargill an extremely attractive option.
"Southland and Otago are the largest regions for NZCAF, with over 280 athletes competing and regional competitions each year."
Proof of this is the national squad is made up of seven athletes from Invercargill, four from Dunedin and one from Ashburton.
Dani Kramers, Matilda Stevens, Brooke Acker, Ava Kamaru, Amber Shaw, Pyper Brown and Molly Cole all earned New Zealand selection earlier in the year.
They were due to attend the World Championships in Brazil this year. However, floods in the country around May meant the trip was cancelled.
While they could not represent their country on the international stage then, they were proudly showcasing their white fern jackets in Queenstown last weekend.
All members of the national team who are from Invercargill train at Empire Aerobics. Along with La Muse and Fuel Fitness & Health, the two organisations took about 70 athletes from Southland for the nationals.
Empire Aerobics coach and club owner Jessica Ramsay said she was pleased with such achievements, which showed the commitment of the region to the sport.
She opened her club at the start of the year and took 38 athletes of the 70 from Southland to the competition.
"Out of my 38, 28 qualified for the finals — which is pretty cool.
"As a coach, it’s pretty special to see the athletes on stage getting medals. That’s what they have been working for all year and it is pretty cool to see their hard work rewarded.
"It is awesome for Southland to have that many competing at a national level."
While they still have some competitions before November 2026, including Prague next year, Ramsay said the whole aerobics community was rapt to be hosting the most important event in their own backyard.
"For the last few years when we’ve travelled to Worlds obviously we had to travel quite far, so it’s nice to know in the very near future that we won’t have to do that.
"It will be a honour to have the best of the best here with us and everyone is so happy about it."
