Wirral Gymnastics Club

28th - 30th November 2008
British Open Tournament Acrobatic & Tumbling Gymnastics
Fenton Manor, Stoke-on-Trent

The British Open was held on Saturday and Sunday in the fantastic Fentor Manor venue. Anyone going to the British is impressed by the way the competition is organised, one of the two highest level competitions run in the country with National Anthems, fantastic medals and a red carnation for each medal winner. Alongside the tumbling track some of the best sports acro routines are in competition which astound the audience. If you ever thought Sports Acro was not sophisticated gymnastics these gymnasts will prove you wrong.

The weekend started with the tumbling girls leaving school early on Friday to train at the venue along with the other participants. After a long day the 9-10 yrs group were on early Saturday morning. Imogen's first British Open showed how much she had improved and had gained more confidence after her win in Yorkshire. She competed against more experienced and often older gymnasts and unfortunately did not get a place in Sunday's final, however the experience she has gained is invaluable.
Claudia was unable to compete her higher tariffed runs due to illness, but put on a brave face and narrowly missed being placed in the top 8 to qualify for Sunday's competition. After Sian's broken elbow forced her to withdraw from the British Championships in March, she was determined to do well in this competition. Her practise runs looked strong and she was placed 6th in the competition, earning a place in Sunday's competition where she won bronze for Run 1 competing round off, whip, 5 flics to one and a half twist.

Hannah, in the 13-14 yrs group, had an amazing weekend coming 3rd in the main competition and easily qualifying for Sunday's comp. She always looks very strong in her group but she had a challenge to upgrade both her runs. R1 saw Hannah competing a new move - full in tuck back out - for the first time which she did well, landed and deservedly took a silver medal. R2 was also upgraded to baranie, whip, full twist, 3 whips, flic to double pike; which again she landed well and took yet another silver medal. A bronze and 2 silvers!!! Must have been good as her coaches have given her a session off!

Mica competing in the 15-16 yrs age group was up against some tough competition. Her first run was to include the amazing double tuck transition to whip which she had only competed once before. She was placed 4th in the competition, earning a place in Sunday's competition. Unfortunately due to a fall, she injured her ankle and everyone was surprised that she managed to compete on Sunday. She again did her double tuck transition and ended the run with a double pike. She went on to do R2 and although her swollen foot meant her run did not go as she would have wanted, she went on to win a bronze medal. Having completed both her runs she was whipped off to the onsite physio.

A successful run for Wirral again proving they are one of the best in the country.

16th November 2008
"The Yorkshires" 2008, Barnsley Metrodome
Yorkshire Acrobatics Gymnastics Championships 2008 & Yorkshire Open Tumbling Championships 2008

Another competition weekend for the Age Group Tumblers saw us travelling to Barnsley for "The Yorkshires" 2008. Claudia, Sian, Imogen, Hannah and Mica trained at Wakefield Gym Club on the Saturday to get in some practise for the upcoming British Tumbling Championships. Unfortunately Mica and Hannah were unable to compete in the competition on the Sunday due to the track not being long enough for their runs (they would have landed outside the gym!!!).

Claudia, Imogen and Sian had the enjoyable timeslot of the afternoon, which meant a leisurely breakfast for the parents and coaches; and the girls got to spend some team building time along with Amee and Maddie chasing geese, climbing trees and running around in the mud! A lot of wetwipes and changes of clothing later and it was off to the venue.

A hectic leisure centre in Barnsley was the competition venue and all the girls worked hard with Imogen and Claudia receiving a joint 1st place gold medal along with another gymnast, and Sian narrowly missing 1st place by 0.1 to come joint 4th (Age Group Womens Tumbling 9-10 yrs). A valuable lesson to all those gymnasts who don't keep their legs straight in their moves!

A big thank you from the parents and gymnasts to Karen and Derek for giving up another weekend of their time and for ensuring the girls stood out in the competition as usual. They always do Wirral proud.

31st October 2008
Congratulations to our new Club Sports Acro & Tumbling judges

Mark James, Philippa Holmes, Melinda Citrine and Di Garrett have been passed as British Gymnastics Club Sports Acro & Tumbling judges. They were all relieved to pass after spending hours doing their written and practical exams. Well done to them all!

Fancy dress week 27th Oct - 1st November
Thank you to all the gymnasts from recreation and squad classes who entertained us by dressing up in fancy dress to raise money for gym equipment. Please see the photo gallery for pics. There were some interesting outfits including a sports acrobatic skeleton, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, lots of witches and some cats jumping on the double mini, Dead Riding Hood, some school girls past their prime, some tumbling fairies, an amazing homemade spider and a werewolf to name but a few of the outfits. Of course we can't leave out our amazing fairy Hannah who thrilled us all with her homemade outfit. Congrats to Imogen who won best dressed and Thea who was the runner up.

Thank you to Alan as well for manning the tuckshop all week and keeping the coaches & parents warm with coffees and teas.

Checkers Acro Gym Club Team Tumbling, Tumble League, October 2008
For some of our tumblers this was their first competition. They got very excited before the competition because they had to travel to Gloucester and stay overnight – an event in itself!! They woke next morning and reality hit them. Turning up at the competition they had turned into quiet and nervous gymnasts. After a quick warm up they got down to action with all gymnasts doing their best although there were some interesting runs with a couple not counted – judges must have shut their eyes, and one going off the track and spotting the end move! Although no medals were won all gymnasts had a good time, did their best and came back to the gym much more positive and confident.

For the more experienced tumblers they knew what to expect, having been to Gloucester before. Mica Parry and Hannah Saunders had to reduce their skill level due to a short run up but still wowed the crowd with Mica taking gold in the senior individual age group and Hannah taking silver in the junior individual group. Not to be outdone Aisha Stalker, Sian Foster and Claudia Bartlett helped Hannah and took team silver in the junior age group.

Well done everyone!

Loule World Cup, Trampolining and Tumbling, Loule, Algarve, Portugal, October 2008
Four of our tumblers recently had the opportunity to represent our club at a competition in Portugal. They were competing against the best tumblers in Great Britain and gymnasts from other countries.
Mica Parry, 16 competed in the Junior section where she competed for the first time a very difficult double tuck back somersault transition (in the middle of the track instead of the end). This takes a lot of courage and is a big step forward for Mica as it now increases her difficulty level.
Hannah Saunders, 13, competed in the 13 and under age group. Competing against 37 other gymnasts she qualified for the finals where she competed a good run and finished 7th.
Two other tumblers, Sian Foster and Claudia Bartlett, both age 10 also competed in the 13 and under age group. This was their first international competition so therefore it was a good experience for them. Despite a very short warm up they both did well having competed new runs and skills that they have been working.
The girls were a credit to the club, they worked hard and behaved well coping with sometimes quite difficult circumstances. Well done girls.

Rochdale OGC Invitational Floor & Vault Championships, Rochdale, October 2008
Wirral gymnasts had a great time supporting the Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Club Floor and Vault Invitational competition on Saturday and Sunday, the 11th - 12th October. The competition was tough but a lot of fun, and there were some medals for our gymnasts at the end of each day. On Saturday, Amée Foster took bronze for her vault in the Novice Under 11 competition, and Aisha Stalker took 3 bronzes for the floor, vault and overall in the Intermediate Under 13s. On Sunday, Holly McEvoy took silver for her vault and a bronze overall in the Pre-Novice Under 11s. Mollie Citrine took silver for a brilliant floor routine and a bronze overall in the Novice Under 10s category. Jessica Clay took silver for a strong vault as well as the only Gold for our gymnasts in this competition as overall winner of the Novice Under 10s. Great job everybody, and well done!

Wirral Gymnastics Inter Club 2-piece and Tumbling Competition, September 2008
The annual Wirral Gymnastics Inhouse Competition was held in September 2008. The competition saw some of our youngest and newest gymnasts competing for the first time. The competition was started by Michelle Stalker to raise money for the club and is a great way for our gymnasts to experience their first competitions in a warm and friendly environment. The day was a great success for all gymnasts, not just the ones that won medals.

Wirral Gymnastics Club entertain residents, August 2008
Amee, Sian, Thea, Orla, Sarah and Holly gave up some of their valuable school holiday time to entertain the residents of a residential home. The girls took over the conservatory and did flics, straddle levers, round offs, sports acro poses, handstands, etc. to wow the residents. The residents who all suffer from dementia thoroughly enjoyed seeing the children perform and as the girls had their friends with them they were able to relax and enjoy the company of the residents. Some of the staff even joined in doing round offs and handsprings! We hope to do another day soon and continue to build up community links with other homes.