by Gabriella Vukman
Raising money to send their qualifying team to the USA to compete in the world Ninja warrior championships (UNAA), Ferntree Gully Ninja club is hosting a fundraiser that is open to all.
With four athletes from the Ferntree Gully club qualifying and heading to the UNAA to compete in late July, all proceeds from the fundraiser will go towards the athletes.
Australian Female master Ninja Warrior champion and member of the Ferntree Gully club Mimi said, “The fundraiser will be held at Ninja Nation in Ferntree Gully from 1-3pm.”
“There’ll be raffles, prizes to be won, bake sales, games and if someone hasn’t tried ninja or is curious to see what it is, they should just come on down and at the same time they would be supporting us,” Mimi said.
With the Olympic committee’s recent announcement of the substitution of horse riding for obstacle sports in the modern day pentathlon, ninja athletics is gaining traction across the globe.
First introduced to coaching in 2020 right before the pandemic, Mimi qualified for and competed in the UNAA in 2023, bringing home a gold and two silver medals.
Mimi said, “This is my second year competing in the US. I have a title to defend so I thought I’d go again this year.”
“Also, two of the elites that are coming with me this year have also competed last year,” Mimi said.
Mimi will be heading to the USA to compete alongside fellow club members Maisy, Zoe and Liam.
Whilst some of the children competing in the UNAA train four times per week, Mimi partakes in two, two hour sessions.
Mimi said, “Because I have another job, I have to try to fit in training around it all so I normally train around 2 times a week. I wish I could train more than that but that’s all I can do at the moment.”
“I normally do a double session with an hour of ninja and then an hour of strength and conditioning or a mix of ninja with strength,” Mimi said.
The UNAA is an event where ninja warriors from around the world come together to compete.
Mimi said, “The Americans are very strong ninjas so it’s very impressive to see them competing. Most of them have performed or competed at the american ninja warrior tv show.”
“What I’m looking forward to the most, is making new friends and new contacts and competing for Australia as well,” Mimi said.
The competition runs for five days with one Ninja event per day from July 24 to 28. Athletes must qualify for each individual event.
Mimi said, “I’m hoping that I can keep my title and perform as well as I did last year and perhaps bring more medals home this year.”
