Well it was that time again of one of the longest competitions of the year! The regional grades are known for starting early hours of the morning and finishing late at night this weekend (23/3/14) was no exception!. We also had some of our girls compete 2 weeks earlier in the regional 14 and 13 grades luckily this day was not as long for gymnasts, coaches and parents.
Compulsory 5-
We had one gymnast in compulsory 5 this year Evie Axton for Evie this was her first regional competition however she definitely took it in her stride. Starting on bars she had her metal bar routine and was within the mix of some compulsory 4 girls also. Evie had tight legs throughout her bar routine and kept her control, her cast was not as high as what she could have done however definitely made up for it with her big swings Evie score 12.8. Then moving onto the nightmare piece of beam this is not Evie’s favourite piece however no one would have known that! She sparkled on the beam and linked her tricky combination of her split handstand backward walkover without a wobble in sight! She competed her beam with confidence and it showed! No falls and a cracking score of 10.0. Moving next to floor this is one of Evies favourite pieces, after going through where she needs to go on her floor routine she showed the judges that actually she is a little power house! A powerful round off flick, and a beautiful handspring plus the great leaps she performed gave Evie the highest floor score of the day scoring 11.867. Next was range and conditioning Evie is not the most flexible so an extra bit of stretching was needed before we started however her hard work showed throughout her routine! A wobble where we thought she might fall she fought very hard to stay standing and she did! She made it through the whole routine without falling ! This was a brilliant result for Evie scoring 11.167. Moving onto Evie’s strongest piece of vault, with the new rules that had come out this year there was a misinterpretation of what they expected the gymnasts to do, after watching other girls Evie only had one warm up with the slightly different vault however did it phase her? No it did not ! She absolutely rocketed within her vault scoring 12.55 giving her 1st place on this vault by a whole 0.2! After this cracking competition Evie came an amazing 2nd!!! With the score of 58.383 Well done Evie.
Compulsory 4-
We had one gymnast in this grade also Lottie Pinchess like Evie Lottie started on bars, this on one of Lotties favourite pieces, again on metal bar however Lottie’s bar routine consisted of a short clear and giants! Lottie went through her bar routine cleanly with powerful giant swings and a high short clear scoring her 12.8. Moving to beam next which we all know can be troublesome for all gymnasts but unfortunately got the best of Lottie this time! Starting off with a gorgeous russian lever mount but then she come to grief with her backward walkover next move being a skill she has had problems with previously her flick, problems?!?! what problems! she nailed her flick without the slightest of wobbles which for Lottie was an achievement within itself! However unfortunately she came to grief a further 3 times with falls which did shake her up a little bit scoring 4.650. Floor was next, who said you could keep a good gymnast down! After beam Lottie was proving a point to everyone and showed how strong she was on the floor really dancing her way throughout the tango music with tumbles consisting of 3 flicks, and two different handsprings ! This routine scored her 10.73. Moving on to the dreaded range and conditioning this like all the other moves was a new routine put into place this year consisting of hard strength moves and flexibility skills Lottie unfortunately did experience one fall near the beginning of the routine however shook it off and finished off the routine beautifully scoring 9.033. Moving onto vault this is a very tricky vault for such a young age group of gymnasts and a lot of gymnasts and coaches have found it very difficult this year, however Lottie ran down that vault with absolute commitment and landed it! This was such a big moment for Lottie and coach Karen as a lot of work had been put into it Lottie scored 11.95. With everything finished Lottie scored 49.163 placing her 6th making her the non travelling reserve for the East Midlands team ! Well done Lottie !
National 8-
We had 4 gymnasts competing in this grade, Mae Wilkinson, Madison Jurkowski, Maisy Gardner, Abi Barham. The girls started on bars Mae showed her strength making her handstands on the high bar twice showing her bravery throughout the routine this scored mae 12.45. Madison went next not quite hitting her handstands however had beautiful lines throughout the routine and nailing her landing this gave Madison a 12.6! Maisy went up with the best routine we have ever seen her do! Showing straight legs and beautifully fluid throughout this gave Maisy a massive 12.7! Abi warmed up the most beautiful bar routine however came to grief with her squat on and her baby giant in the competition this was very unfortunate for Abi scoring her 9.9. Moving onto beam next Mae showed off her dance with just a few minor wobbles however did not fall off which is always a big thing for the gymnasts as well as the coaches she scored 10.8. Madison danced her way throughout the beam to the point when watching you forgot she was only on a 10cm beam! All of her landings was strong and leaps were massive no falls with a stuck dismount also gave Madison 10.9l. Maisy performed her beam beautifully with slight wobbles here and there but did not fall off throughout the routine again always a bonus! this gave Masiy 10.65. Abi followed suit with sticking the beam again with the solid landings which coach Katie has been working really hard on in the gym all the hard work seems to be paying off this gave Abi 10.8. Floor was next the national 8 floor routine consists of 3 different tumbles so keeping stamina is important during the routine ! Madison showed that she can dance and tumble however a momentary lapse made her forget a small section of her floor routine! however with a quick nudge she quickly remembered what she needed to do and scored 10.433. Maisy went through her routine cleanly and was super bouncy during her tumbles showing off the new version of her floor routine also Maisy scored 10.267. Abi being her springy self bounced around the floor throughout her tumbles showing high leaps and gorgeous choreography this scored Abi 10.733. Mae went up last and we all know she likes to perform and that she did her floor routine was absolutely beautiful with tumbles that were high leaps that were in splits and dance which wowed the crowed scored her a massive 11.567. Next moving to range and conditioning Maisy went through her routine with a few hand movements in the beginning of the routine however managed to keep it together to finish off her routine needing 9 to pass Maisy scored 9.233 Madison had 2 very uncharacteristic falls throughout her routine however her splits remained gorgeous throughout and scored 9.0
Which is what she needed in order to pass. Abi followed suit with the two uncharacteristic falls in the same place as Madison however did not complete a move which did cost her and she scored 8.133 however later re-took her range and passed. Mae defined the laws of gravity and with a near fall did not let her foot touch the ground just as the judges were about to write down a fall they were surprised that she saved it she scored 11.4. Finally they finished on vault with a handspring vault Mae flew over the vault scoring her 11.95. Madison did a near identical vault to Mae’s scoring 11.90 Abi rocketed over the vault and nailed the landing scoring 12.050. Maisy has had some trouble in the gym with vault however warmed up fine unfortunately the first vault did not work for her but after composing herself she went over the second time scoring 11.5! This competition for the girls definitely had its ups and downs however the out come of this was..
Mae -1st
Madison- 10th
Maisy- 12th
Abi- 24th
However when it comes to national finals range and conditioning does not come into account meaning that Mae Wilkinson and Madison Jurkowski will be representing the East Midlands once again in Birmingham for their national finals ! Well done girls !
National 7-
We had two gymnasts in this competition Emily Pike and Danielle Wattie We wasnt sure after a nasty fall in the gym on Saturday if Emily would compete as she had injured her foot however being the solid rock that she is she was adament to do the competition and pass her coach Jemma was over the moon with her commitment to compete. Both girls started on bars and both got through their routines cleanly which included giants and a backaway Emily and Danielle both scored the same at 11.6. Next came the dreaded beam Emily went up first and was slightly unsure about beam especially after the physio taped up her toe and the strapping went underneath her foot unfortunately she had a fall on her fall spin and also her tic tok after fighting hard to stay on this was unfortunate for Emily scoring her 6.75. Danielle experienced a similar fall on her spin however fought hard to stay on her tic tok with a wobble she managed to hold it on! Danielle scored 7.75. Next moving onto floor this demonstrated her pure grit and determination getting through forward and backward tumbling without falling she was competing her floor routine for the final time before changing music and she did the dance justice as always scoring her 10.067. Danielle sparkled on the floor dancing like she has never danced before with high tumbles as well scoring her 11.0. Next was range and conditioning which isnt either of the gymnasts strong points however our main goal was to pass! Emily got it out of the way to start with holding where she needed to hold and got through the routine with no falls which was a good achievement for her Emily scored 9.7 which she was over the moon with. Danielle started off with a few hand steps to start with however she managed to pull it back and not fall throughout the routine and keeping her cool she scored 10.667. Finally the girls moved to their last piece vault Emily once again gritted her teeth and performed two very respectable vaults scoring 11.75 . Danielle flew over the vault scoring her 12.050. Both girls had a good day and both ended with smile and both passed their grades! well done girls !
Danielle – 13th
Emily – 19th
National 6-
We only had one competitor in this grade which was Sophie Winfield Sophie like the rest of our gymnasts started on the bars completing a routine with a short clear and giants into backaway scoring Soph 11.450 next was beam which sophie always dances with style and does her moves accordingly sticking the blind move of a forward walkover and sticking all the other skills within her routine with minimal wobbles this helped her score a very respectable 10.15 next was the floor where Sophie always shines, her first tumble was slightly short however then went on to perform a gorgeous straight front and a sky high full twist Soph scored 10.9 next was range and conditioning and she made it look an absolute breeze of a piece ! with only 2 small hand movements at the end of her routine everything else was beautiful scoring her 12.0 Next moving to vault to finish off her competition Sophie had to preform a half on tuck back off two standing blocks which she did with such ease. She scored 12.1 This was a brilliant day for Sophie and she came 2nd! She also came in 2nd place without range and conditioning which does give her a place in national finals and will be representing the East Midlands team in Birmingham! Well Done Sophie!
Regional 14-
This competition took place 2 weeks ago however we had 3 competitors in the competition Ella Wileman, Lucy Harrison and Amelie Poulton. For all gymnasts this was their first ever regional competition and a new venue also. For the girls this was a brilliant experience for them and was competing against 52 gymnasts on the vault all girls did extremely well at keeping their legs straight throughout the vault and showing strong landings beginning and end with a nicely presented walk throughout. Lucy scored 12.9 Amelie scored 12.7 and Ella scored 12.6 moving onto bars the girls have a strength routine to compete Ella competed this routine with such control and straight legs throughout she scored 12.0 Lucy again like Ella showed determination to get through the bar routine and correct a mistake she made in her warm up competition the week before scoring 11.967 Ameilie went through her routine smoothly also and also finished with a high score of 11.7. Moving on to beam the girls have an unusual skill to perform of a roll back, for Ella and Lucy they managed to stay on their beam and shine throughout Ella had beautiful dance throughout and showed great concentration and scored 11.9. Lucy showed confidence in her skills keeping her legs straight where needed and scored an impressive 12 Amelie unfortunately fell off her roll back however got back up and finished her routine without a glitch this shows how mature she is already and didnt let it phase her this gave her a score of 10.6 Next came floor where Amelie performed a newly learnt floor routine and completed her skills with ease scoring her 11.050 Lucy showed off her floor routines and like bars rectified the mistakes she made the previous week showing how hard she worked in the week before to correct them scoring 11 Ella unfortunately got slightly confused in a different environment and a different floor and lost herself in her floor routine unfortunately meant she missed out two of her skills but even at such a young age she managed to pick herself up and finish off her routine with class she scored 5.25 unfortunately in grades when you do not attempt a skill it is 2.5 for each skill meaning Ella lost 5 marks which was a shame however she did not let it get to her. On range and conditioning Amelie showed them judges what she was made of and held everything for 3 seconds and more scoring a very impressive 12.233 Ella went through her routine with confidence and control scoring her 11.2 Lucy went through her routine with her head held high and stretched everything throughout giving her a score of 12.233 For a first competition all girls did very well even with a mistake here or there and we were all very proud of them ..
Lucy- 9th
Amelie 14th
Ella – 43rd
Regional 13-
We had two gymnasts in this grade which was competed on the same date as grade 14, Maisie Axton and Hannah Knox both girls started competing last year so was able to show the grade 14′s what to do which was good for both groups of girls. On the vault they had to perform a flat back which the girls performed very well showing a good push off their hands Maisie scored 12.5 and Hannah scored 12.4 on the bars their routines consisted of both strength elements and basic bar elements Hannah went through the bars showing control throughout and big swing where needed scoring 11.333 Maisie did the same showing that even for a little one she can swing big and cast high this gave her a score of 11.633 The dreaded beam next where the girls had to keep their nerves Hannah showed grace throughout her dance and good leaps however come to grief with her forward roll, this did not stop her getting up and finishing off a beautiful routine scoring her 10.6 Maisie also had good dance throughout and beautiful elements on the beam however she followed suit and come to grief with her forward roll which was unfortunate she scored 10.55 Next moving on to the floor both girls performed the same floor routine which consisted of the same skills Hannah went through very cleanly performing her cat leap full turn all the way round as well as a very controlled tic tok scoring 12.1 Maisie did a very clean routine also performing her round off into backward roll with great dynamics this helped maisie score 12.35. Finally on range and conditioning the girls performed with confidence as it was the same routine as what they had the year before so was like second nature to them Maisie scored 11.6 and Hannah scored 11.65 Both girls did very well and as you can see from the scored they were very close to one and other throughout.
Maisie – 7th
Hannah – 10th
Well done girls !
Regional 12
We had two gymnasts in this grade Megan Braithwaite and Jessica Pole the girls started on bars which Jessica showed brilliant fluidity throughout scoring 12.4 Megan unfortunately let her squat on get the better of her and after falling 3 times needed some assistance to get her to the top bar this did cost her however she did finish off her bar routine and stuck the landing giving her 8.65 on vault the girls needed to perform a flat back like grade 13 they are looking for good flight from the hands which they did Jessica scored 11.95 and Megan performed very strongly also scoring her 12.25 on the beam Jessica held her handstand beautifully and danced really well however she come to grief with her free roll however she got back up and finished off her beam routine cleanly this helped her score 8.833 Megan stayed on her free roll which was a good start however forgot the final line of her beam routine and was very hesitant to go giving her a large pause and unfortunately missed out a skill which as mentioned earlier is 2.5 marks down. Megan scored 7.633 Finally to floor which is Megans favourite piece and it showed she danced around beautifully performing a strong round off flick and handspring throughout and never forgets to smile she scored 11.367 Jessica was performing her round off flick which for her is newly learnt so was brilliant that she did it and did it well! after this she started to smile and enjoy her floor routine and you could tell in her performance as well Jessica scored 11.133 for both girls this was a rather promising competition apart from the slight mistakes which was made.
Jessica-19th
Megan- 41st
Well done girls
Regional 11
We had two girls in this grade also, Eden Dickens and Dalila Watson the girls started on bars which is a nice piece for both of them, Eden went through her routine without hesitation and scored 12.1 Dalila went through one of her nicest routines she has performed scoring her 11.55 next was the dreaded beam for 2013 Eden is our beam queen champion and i think she wants to keep that title as well! sticking everything with only a few wobbles throughout and even nailed her dreaded spin it was a very good routine for Eden scoring her 9.533 Dalila went through as well in hope that she would not fall off and after a shakey warm up she wasnt sure, however she was getting all the wobbles out then! she stuck her beam routine and even managed to smile at the judges when she landed Dalila scored 9.167 Then moving to floor Eden performed her routine with a lot of style and got through her trick forward tumbling pass this helped her scored 9.933 Finally moving onto vault. Both girls vaulted a strong handspring giving Dalila 12 and Eden scored 11.950 this was a brilliant day for both girls and both going cleanly throughout was the cherry on top!
Eden- 11th
Dalila- 17th
Well done girls
Regional 10-
We only had one competitor in this grade Hannah Betts. Hannah started on bars and managed to link her troublesome bar routine and managed to stick the landing as well which was really good for Hannah scoring 11.0 on to beam next Hannah did come to grief twice within her routine however what she did stick was very solid and minimal wobbles she scored 9.0 onto floor which is a piece Hannah enjoys she showed off her dance with attitude and produced powerful tumbles throughout scoring a very respectable 11.033 finally on to vault Hannah had to perform a handspring which she does with ease and it showed scoring 12.25 apart from a few mistakes this was a good competition day for Hannah.
Hannah- 9th
Well done Hannah
As we hosted the competition we would like to thank all of the helpers that came along for the whole day, being runners on the door, music, raffle and many more ! The day run smoothly and was successful! Well done gymnasts and coaches all have done a brilliant job!