THE TEAM

GymSports FNQ Staff:                                                              

Club Manager  – Karen Magee
Head Coach / Event’s Manager – Alysha Magee
Recreational Coordinator – Brianna Burgess
Accounts Manager and Reception – Nicki Newman

Coaching Team:

Karen Magee – Club Manager
Karen began her career with studies in Nutrition before discovering her passion for gymnastics coaching and athlete development. She joined South Cairns Gymnastics as the Recreational Coordinator and went on to become the Club Manager of GymSports FNQ in 2012. Karen’s passion, vision, and dedication have played a significant role in the growth and success of GymSports FNQ at South Cairns Gymnastics. She is committed to creating positive experiences for every child while mentoring and supporting coaches to reach their full potential.
As Club Manager, Karen oversees the day-to-day operations of GymSports FNQ, manages the coaching team, and leads the planning and development of the club’s recreational programs. With more than 10 years of coaching experience, she has worked across a wide range of programs, including Kindergym, Recreational Gymnastics, School Gymnastics, Holiday Programs, Fitter for Life (over 50’s) and Foundations Competitive Programs. Karen is dedicated to providing high-quality, inclusive gymnastics programs that encourage children to develop confidence, resilience, and a lifelong love of movement.

  • WAG Intermediate Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
  • Kindergym Intermediate Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
  • GFA Intermediate Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
  • BabyGym Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
  • Fitter for Life (Gymnastics Australia)
  • LaunchPad Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
  • Trainee Coach Supervisor (Gymnastics Australia)
  • Club Coach Educator (Gymnastics Australia)
  • Certificate III in Nutrition (Beck Health & Nutrition)

 

Alysha – Head Coach
Alysha has been part of the gymnastics community from a very young age, retiring as a Level 7 competitive gymnast in 2021. Her sporting background includes five years as a competitive gymnast and two years as a competitive cheerleader, providing her with a well-rounded foundation in athlete development.
Beginning her coaching journey at just 14 years of age, Alysha completed a School-Based Traineeship with GymSports FNQ in 2019–2020, earning her Certificate III in Sport and Recreation. Since then, she has gained extensive coaching experience across a wide range of programs, including Kindergym, JuniorGym, and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) Levels 1–8.

As Head Coach at GymSports FNQ, Alysha is passionate about creating positive learning environments where gymnasts can develop confidence, skills, and a lifelong love of the sport. She is equally committed to mentoring and educating coaches, ensuring a consistent, high-quality coaching experience and maintaining excellence across all performance programs.

  • FIG 1 – Federation International Gymnastics (Gymnastics Australia)
  • Tumbling Advanced Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
  • WAG Intermediate Judge (Gymnastics Australia)
  • MAG Intermediate Judge (Gymnastics Australia)
  • Kindergym Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
  • BabyGym Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
  • Certificate III in Sport and Recreation

 

Amy Dowley – MAG Coach / Club Coach Educator
Amy trained as a gymnast through to Level 4 before beginning her coaching journey at the age of 14 as an assistant coach under the guidance of Miss Karen. Over the years, she has developed extensive experience coaching across a wide range of GymSports FNQ programs.
Amy has coached all of our Under 5 programs, including BabyGym, MiniGym, Kindergym, and JuniorGym, as well as our Foundations classes. Amy has experience coaching our Foundations Competitive Programs in both Men’s Artistic Gymnastics (MAG) and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG).

Amy is currently the coach of our MAG Level 1–4 Competitive Team, where she is passionate about developing strong fundamentals, confidence, and a love of gymnastics in every athlete. She also plays an important mentoring role within the club, supporting and guiding our beginner coaches as they develop their coaching skills.

  • WAG Intermediate Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
  • MAG Advanced Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
  • Kindergym Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
  • Trainee Coach Supervisor (Gymnastics Australia)
  • Club Coach Educator (Gymnastics Australia)

 

Brianna Burgess – is a retired Level 8 gymnast and still impresses us with her amazing skills! Brianna coaches our Under 5 programs and our Emerald Competitive Squad. In 2024 Bri completed her School Based Traineeship with GymSports FNQ to further develop her skills and obtain her Cert III in Sport and Recreation. Brianna has a great eye for detail and is awesome with kids of all ages. Brianna works closely with our Head Coach Alysha, assisting with Programming and Events and applies her learning experiences to her role as our Foundations Coordinator.

* WAG Advanced Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
* Kindergym Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
* WAG Intermediate Judge (Gymnastics Australia)

Mahlinee Ryan – retired as a gymnast at Level 7. Mahlinee began her coaching journey in 2020 assisting in our Recreational Programs. It was quickly recognized that her attention to detail and mannerism with the gymnasts were perfect for competitive gymnastics and she began working with our competitive coaches. Mahlinee has experience coaching in both WAG and MAG and is currently coaching our Pre 3 and Level 3 gymnasts.

* WAG Intermediate Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
* MAG Intermediate Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
* WAG Intermediate Judge (Gymnastics Australia)

Macayla Jones – Retired Level 8 gymnast. Macayla or Maca (as we like to call her) inspires both our gymnasts and coaches with her positive attitude towards our sport. Maca hung up her guards in 2024 and continues to share her love and passion of gymnastics through her coaching. Maca currently coaches our Level 1 gymnasts.

* WAG Intermediate Coach (Gymnastics Australia)
* WAG Intermediate Judge (Gymnastics Australia)

Emma Taylor – started gymnastics when she was 6 years old. I have had many achievements through out my career such as Level 3 State Champion, International level 6 state champion, NSW state team international level 6, 3rd place – Aust championships, NSW rep international level 8 – Aust championships. Emma trained at the AIS many times and was coached by Peggy Liddick who was the Aust team national coach at the time. She has trained along side Olympian’s and retired as a Junior International gymnast. Emma has been coaching the last 15 years, and was fortunate enough to then coach along side the coaches who taught her as gymnast.

  • WAG Advanced Coach (Gymnastics Australia)

 

Meet our Fundamental Coaches:

Our Junior coaches are an inspiration to our recreational gymnasts. Junior coaches play a vital role in teaching our young gymnasts strong fundamental skills. These coaches are registered with Gymnastics Australia as Intermediate Coaches and coach across a variety of programs including Foundations, Ninja Gymnastics, Under 5’s and Performance Teams.

Indianna Twittey – retired Level 6 gymnast
Benjamin Van Gool – Retired Level 4 gymnast
Toni McQueen – Current Level 8 gymnast
Olivia Doolan – Retired Level 8 gymnast
Dakota Pointon – retired Level 7 gymnast
Chloe Guy – retired Level 5 gymnast

Meet our Trainee Coaches: Our Trainee coaches are new to coaching and currently in training, they are learning to follow a set lesson plan, keeping to a time schedule and deliver a fun and educational program to our young gymnasts. This is no easy task for anyone and we appreciate your support and understanding as these young coaches learn the importance of managing and teaching a class. They are all currently studying for their Fundamental Coaching Accreditation and coach across our Recreational Programs including Foundations & Ninja Gymnastics.

Lakkana Ryan – Current Level 8 gymnast
Monique Cvitanich – Current Level 7 gymnast

 

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