Saltney Classic 2016

Medal Haul from the 1st day

"A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life." - Muhammed Ali (RIP)

Being great is a state of mind. You have to think it, believe it, live it, and remember it. We are great. Our gymnasts, our coaches, our judges, and our parents. Yet we still are humble. The Saltney Classic was a great competition - the second time we have attended this comp, which is the last NDP comp of our season. We wanted to go out with a bang!

We took 7 partnerships up, including 4 very new and young gymnasts to the world of Acrobatics! The competition was split over 2 days, seeing our G1, G2 and FIG partnerships competing on the Saturday. We arrived in Chester around 5pm Friday and somehow managed to rustle up a restaurant booking for 23 people within an hour. "Skills", I hear you say. Thank you. After a great meal where Jamie shared much more than he'd hoped to (sorry Kaye), we headed to bed and woke up bright and early for our first day.

Saturday Morning saw the FIG balance routines. Our WG of Clara, Leah and Hannah performed well with nicely executed moves, but had a large CJP (penalty) deduction on attire (silly rules). Due to their performance they still managed to edge out in 1st place after their first routine. Our WP of Layla and Mercedes gained the highest execution score of ALL FIG balance routines in their first routine. They were slightly behind in artistry, and were placed in 2nd after this.

We then saw our new G1 partnerships of Jackson&Jake and Jacob&Lilly - the highlight of the weekend for practically everyone. We were told the judges were literally (and I do mean literally) bouncing up and down in their seats with excitement to see our tiny but talented gymnasts perform on the floor. After a momentary shouldn't-be-amusing-but-was-slightly cute moment where Jake and Jacob clashed heads on the floor in warm up, everything ran swimmingly. Both performed very well and received higher scores than a lot of the rest of the competition, boding well for future comps! Our G2 MxP of Nathan & Mati were next up. They utterly stunned the crowd and the judges performing a wonderful routine, gaining a whopping top score of 27.79, taking the Gold medal, which turned out to be the highest score of the weekend!! (We need a trophy cabinet... we keep getting these now).

The afternoon concluded with the FIG dynamic routines. The WG performed a stunning routine, which was crowned the highest artistry of all dynamic routines that weekend. They eventually won the Silver medal! Our WP performed their best dynamic routine to date, also taking home the Silver medal!

After a great 1st day, we looked forward to our two G3 and G4 partnerships gracing the floor the day after. Both partnerships were due on in the morning. Saya and Tabitha were up first, and produced a clean routine, with a few last minute changes before they competed, where they were crowned with the Bronze medal... OUT OF 24 PARTNERSHIPS!! Great achievement. Lastly, we had Sam&Romilly who regularly make judges cry... they performed their first G4 routine gracefully... until the end... where a handstand-on-knee had a mind of its own. After much determination and unfathomable grit, they did not drop the move. They finally finished with the Gold medal!!!

WHAT A WEEKEND!!! MEDALS FOR ALL GYMNASTS!! AGAIN!!

RESULTS HERE

Acrobatic National Finals 2016

"The starting point of achievement, is desire..."

Earlier in the year, our squad competed at the Regional Championships, where if they placed 1st, they qualified through to the National Finals competition, to compete with the best in the country. Our G2 and G5 Mixed Pairs managed to achieve this, and so we made our way to this prestigious event in Stoke-On-Trent this weekend.

We arrived on the Friday for some Podium Training (training prior to the event, using the competition equipment). Quite a precarious time, as our lovely gymnasts rocked up 15mins late to their 25min training slot (I'll let you guys do the maths on that)... but thankfully we managed to sweet talk the organisers into letting us have some more practice time.

Saturday morning arrived to welcome the G2 competition, in which Tom&Darya were ready to compete. Needless to say, they created havoc amongst their category - scoring 27.64 (including a 0.3 deduction for a time fault).. and STILL came 1st, crowing them as NATIONAL CHAMPIONS in grade 2!!! How about that!!

The next day, our grade 5 MxP of Yunus&Tara arrived for their competition. Unfortunately they were not at 100%... Yunus was suffering from fever and a full blown cold, as well as revising for his first GCSE which was scheduled the day after!!! Nevertheless, they were committed to putting their best effort in. Sunday morning saw their balance routine performed. It was an outstanding routine, scoring 27.49, placing them in 1st position ready for the next routine. We had to wait a good 6.5hours before competing their dynamic routine (plenty of time to help Yunus with his trigonometry revision.. we actually did!). There were some concerns in the warm up for the 2nd routine, but this did not phase them. They performed their dynamic routine with style, and held onto their winning position, scoring 27.59... totalling 55.08... which was a FULL mark ahead of all other pairs. They truly smashed it!

We now have our FIRST SET OF ACROBATIC NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!

GRADE 2 RESULTS HERE

GRADE 5 RESULTS HERE

NDGA Invitational 2016

All GOLD everythang...

Next Dimension Gymnastics Academy (or NDGA for short) hosted their first ever competition, including invitees from around the world, making it an international comp too!

We took to NDGA in Tunbridge Wells... sorry... ROYAL Tunbridge Wells (oh yes, darling) with 8 gymnasts - 4 Mixed Pairs no less! We weren't messing around. We were out for glory :) We performed in the G2, G3, G5 and 11-16 FIG categories.

The morning saw our G2 and G3 pairs compete. Tom&Darya started the day off in style, performing an almost flawless routine, gaining a score of 27.97... amazing, the 2nd highest total score and top execution score of the entire competition! Of course they won the GOLD medal :) Sam & Romilly didn't disappoint the judges with their emotional routine, gaining a 27.27 score to also win the GOLD medal!! What a morning, and what a day so far!

The afternoon was greeted by our G5 and elite 11-16 pairs whom both performed balance and dynamic routines. After both balance routines, both pairs were out in 1st place in their respective categories. Kieran&Sofia were the first to complete both routines, and finished on top, winning GOLD :) Not far behind were Yunus&Tara finishing their dynamic routine with a score of 27.01, also placing GOLD position!

That's right - EVERYONE WON GOLD!!!!!!!!!!!! (we don't mess about!)

Acro Regionals 2016

Captured "mid-slide"

Welcome to the Jungle...

Regional championships. If you are an NDP gymnast, this is where life starts to become really really real. Conditions are simple. 1st place = national finals. That's it.

We had an early start (nothing new there). Up at 5am, the coach left at 6:15am. You would have thought we got used to that by now. No chance. Hate it. Its a disgusting and offensive time to be waking up on Sunday. Rant over. We travelled with 19 gymnasts to perform their routines at the competition. We had partnerships competing throughout the NDP levels from Grade 2 up to Grade 5. This was the first time we had MxP's in every category!

The morning saw our grade 2's and 3's competing, which was the bulk of the group. Our 3's did well, with G3 WP Tabitha & Saya pulling off their best routine to date, with this being their first competition, resulting in a score of 26.37 which was great to see. Our 2nd WP of Clara & Annabel pulled a score of 26.70 which would have been 27.00 without a technical deduction, which is definitely their PB! Our grade 3 MP of Rex & Ivan would have resulted in a better score if they hadn't mixed up their dance! Nevertheless they did well for their first experience. Our G3 MxP of Sam&Romilly secured the SILVER medal with a beautiful routine. Well done them! Hat's off to our wonderful Grade2 MxP of Tom&Darya who won the GOLD medal, and qualified through to National Finals with a score of 27.37! Amazing!

The afternoon saw our G4 and G5 MxP competing. The G4 MxP group was one of the most fiercely contested categories in the ENTIRE country (we know this from the other domestic competitions we've been to!). Mika&Natalie performed a great routine, with some upgrades, but narrowly missed out on the top spot with a score of 27.616 by only 0.007. Yes, that's right, 0.007 marks. What a shame! Not too bad, considering they've won everything else! Our G5 MxP of Yunus & Tara still showed their strength across both routines, and came out on top to claim the GOLD medal qualifying through to National Finals too!

2 pairs through... 1 more than last year! We keep getting better :)

Heathrow Invitational, Feb 2016

Layla & Mercedes 11-16 GOLD

"BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH THE WHTE VANS!" (If you know, you know!)

We love Heathrow for 2 reasons. You're either going to catch a plane somewhere warm, or you're going to go get some medals. This weekend was the latter :)

A very exciting competition for all, as this was a comp where our lower grades were gaining more experience, and performing more, and it was also a chance for our new elite group to perform dual routines in a comp for the first time.

It was a LONG LONG day - we were up at 5am - ready for the coach to leave past 6am - crazy times, but that's what you get for doing gymnastics. Suck it up and stop complaining. Life lessons. It doesn't get easier when you get older!

The morning saw our G3's compete, including our Women's Pair of Clara & Annabel whom received a very unusual scoring which was out of character, but their artistry score was way up there at 8.3! Watch out for them in the future! Our MxP gained their highest score to date with 26.85 which was amazing, achieving the GOLD medal - Well done Sam & Romilly.

Also in the morning, we had our G5 and 11-16's all compete their balance routines. Our G5 MxP really performed, to finish in 1st place after their first routine. Our 11-16 WG of Alix, Leah, and Hannah performed their first balance routine since the beginning of their partnership. Only due to being in a very strong category (where all partnerships scored over 27.0) and suffering from a time fault, the girls were placed last after their routine. Our MxP had an unfortunate start to their routine where they didn't complete their first move. They didn't let this phase them, as they went on to finish their routine, with an Artistry score of 8.00 which is astonishing considering they had an incomplete routine! Well done Kieran & Sofia :) Our WP of Layla and Mercedes performed a clean routine, but finished after their music to gain 0.4 of technical deductions, resulting in a score of 26.6, which is also a great achievement in the elite F.I.G. levels!

The afternoon saw these partnerships compete again for their Dynamic routines. Our G5 MxP hung onto 1st place easily, with a very good 2nd routine, and gained the GOLD medal!! They are on a serious roll!! Our WP had a precarious afternoon as Mercedes had never competed a tucked back somersault in a routine before (which is a requirement in the elite levels)... so we were all hoping for the best! And she overcame the odds to perform it - well done her! After their 2nd routine, they remained in 1st place to take the GOLD! Our MxP performed a shaky routine, but nevertheless showed good promise with their choreography. They finished with the BRONZE. Our WG outshone the rest of the competition with their dynamic routine - they finished with a smashing score of 26.85 which is superb for their first time! They finished with the BRONZE also.

The afternoon was time for the G2 and G4 MxP's to compete! Our G2's did really well, as BOTH partnerships made the podium. Evan & Mati performed a great routine to clinch the BRONZE and Tom & Darya managed the first 27-score of the day, with 27.19!! Cracking score, with the GOLD medal. Our last but not least G4 MxP of Mika & Natalie were performing the VERY last routine of the ENTIRE competition... (poor things - they had waited 13hours for this...). They did not disappoint. With an emotional performance, they cracked up a score of 27.20 to take the GOLD medal!

Galactic competition - very proud!!

Regional Tumbling Championships Feb 2016

Back to one of our favourite comps! Tumble Champs!

We made our way down to Richmond with 6 budding tumblers, ranging from National Grade 2 all the way up to National Grade 5, involving combinations of flicks, whips an somersaults through all levels.

Needless to say, we did really well! All 6 tumblers won medals, and ALL of them qualified to National Semi Finals in Coventry later this year!

Go Hendon!!!

King Edmund NDP Jan 2016

Happy Birthday Sam!

We do like a good "trac'er" we do! (That's west-country speak for 'Tractor'... they are known for their farming!)

We headed to Bristol in the west for King Edmunds annual NDP competition, with 5 partnerships, including 4 Mixed Pairs and a Women's Pair. Set over 2 days due to sheer number of gymnasts entering the competition, it was always going to be a tough challenge!

The first day saw our G2, G3 MxP's and our G3 WP competing. All partnerships competed well, although our G2 MxP's had some out-of-character moments during their routine which received usual deductions, but still ploughed through, with our Tom & Darya securing the BRONZE medal, and our Sam & Romilly Securing the SILVER medal for G3 (amazing present for Sam on his birthday!) Our G3 WP of Clara and Annabel were in a category of 43 partnerships, and placed 10th - putting them in the top quarter of their category - amazing achievement!

Day 2 saw our infamous G4 MxP of Mika & Natalie compete, and they achieved the GOLD medal, but it was incredibly close - the silver medalists were 0.1 behind them!

Great competition by all.