Leicester Acro & Tumble Comp Nov 2014

Medals Galore!

Deja Vu (noun) - a feeling of having already experienced the present situation.

We've definitely been here before... the annual dual-discipline invitational in Leicester, East Midlands. The last time we were here was the first real Acro competition we ever attended! The surroundings were familiar to us, and it was a competition we hoped to achieve some good results.
For the first time.. it was a 12pm start to the day instead of the normal 8am!!! That was nice on the eyes... not having to wake up at 5:23am in the morning as per most competitions.

As soon as we got to the venue it was down to business. We used this competition as the starter block for some gymnasts as they have never competed before. First up was our Grade 3 WG of Saya, Jemma and the tiny Sara! They performed a very simple and clean floor routine with good execution which was good to see - clean routines are the most important thing!

Not too long after the WG competed, we had our MxP's competing - Mika & Natalie and the new pair of Yunus & Sofia. Our G4 pair did well since they had not competed together before, and we had completed their routine the day before! Still, there were no major errors, just needs some polish :) Our G3 MxP proved they are becoming veterans in this - they performed a stunning routine to claim another GOLD medal! Not only that, they achieved the HIGHEST ARTISTRY, EXECUTION AND TOTAL SCORE OF THE ENTIRE COMPETITION! Thats 3 golds in 4 competitions!!! Well done guys.

Next on the floor was our last partnership of the acro competition - our G4 WP of Layla & Tara. All I can say is... FINALLY!!!!! They have always performed a great routine regardless of major errors in previous competitions... but today was their day... they conducted an almost faultless routine winning the GOLD medal. Behind Mika & Natalie, they achieved the 2nd HIGHEST ARTISTRY score of the competition! ... As I said... FINALLY!! Very proud of those two!

On the other side of the room we had our gymnasts fly down the tumble track rebounding and flipping left, right, and centre. We have always done well in tumbling, and today was no different... well done to Layla, Alix, Sadie (GOLDs) Ashira, Jemma, (SILVERs) and Sophie (BRONZE)for all coming away with their medals. Alix especially pulled it out of the bag with her last 2 tumbles as we were scared her first tumble was to be dismissed!! Well done her. Special recognition to Sophie who had also had a week off gym due to back injury, and still decided to compete - well done Soph :)

RESULTS HERE

Pat Wade Classic 2014

Alix, Cassie & Olivia - balance

Silent Disco anyone?

The Pat Wade Classic (formerly known as the British Acro Tournament). We took 3 discerning little ladies and one of their mothers on a journey of enlightenment.

Silent, it was not... Disco themed - it was. It was like a stage fresh out of XFactor! Hats off to British Gymnastics (BG) for putting so much funding and effort into creating what was much more than any competition setting we've ever been to. There were twirling lights, smoke screens, you name it, they had it.

Friday was an amazing day for the trio of Alix, Cassie and Olivia (ACO).... Simply due to the fact they got to miss some school to do something they love! We arrived at Stoke in good time ready for Podium Training (the warm up training at the Venue the day before any competition).

Surprisingly to us, it was the most relaxed and chilled we'd ever felt at a competition - everyone was very friendly and very helpful. Very well organised with plenty of room for warm ups and tumbles and routine practice. We settled down afterwards in the hotel and got to bed nice and early (for once).

As 6:00am struck, on a cold Saturday morning, the alarm went off (at which point I'm sure Felicia was half way thru the girls' hair)... At which point I snoozed it thrice. It was game time.

The girls had their dynamic routine first which was due around 9:30. We then realised their balance routine had been pushed down to 6:30pm! Less than happy. The girls went out on stage... Literally on stage... To perform their dynamic routine. Wow. What a surprise. 11th out of 28 partnerships in the country after their first routine!!! We were all extremely happy and feeling wildly and justifiably optimistic. This meant we could possibly still qualify for finals (top 8 to go through).

As our balance routine was pushed back longer than a Roman road, we headed back to the hotel for snacks and snoozes. This turned into ferocious games of Monopoly Deal. Alix was particularly bad at this game. Please don't hold her accountable for any of your financial investments. The girls got some well deserved chill out time.

Then it was 4:30... So we upped and left, returning back to the competition venue ready for our balance routine. It is worth noting that the girls had only learnt this routine THREE WEEKS before the competition, which is a tall order for anyone! Still, despite not having as high a mark as their dynamic, they still improved on their last balance competitive score, finishing with a 12th place overall, which would have been 10th without a small technical deduction! So, really well and truly, ACO are amongst the top-10 11-16 trios in the country! And lest we not forget, UK is one of the most successful Acro countries IN THE WORLD!!!

Very well done to the girls. Round of applause! 

South Tyneside Acro Comp, Oct 2014

Our MxP Silver Medal pose :)

"Failure is not falling down, but refusing to get up..." - Chinese Proverb

This weekend we were further north than any Londoner would like to be - says the midlander. We were in South Tyneside, near Newcastle for the South Tyneside International Cup (SSIC) 2014. It was to be a long one - especially for the coaches whom were there Friday through Sunday.

It was more than we ever expected it to be.

Our Grade 3's travelled up on the Friday evening, creating the type of noise in a train carriage that would force you to roll your eyes at, and turn up your Belinda Carlisle, through your new trendy Beats by Dre headphones. (Waste of money, but you want to be "down with it"... I understand). We arrived and immediately descended onto our Premier Inn beds - which are still ludicrously big and comfortable for a budget hotel.

Saturday Morning came. We slipped a few queen's heads to the restaurant owner next door to the hotel, to open breakfast up 1 hour early. They obliged. After tea & toast, we headed to the venue. (I lie, the bribery part did not take place, that was utter boulderdash). The layout of the SSIC is very much that of an International competition - very ostentatious judging panel, a warm up area, and even access to a fully equipped gym for those competing at the highest of levels.

Our G3 WG's were first to compete. Both WG's competed clean routines (no falls). There were a few time faults to be seen, and some slightly less than amplified artistry. The judges took notice, and applied varying mediocre scores to the routines. Nevertheless, the WG's did not let the nerves unsettle them and competed in high spirits.

Next up - our G3 MxP and MP were to claim the floor. Our inexperienced MP also performed a clean routine with no falls, however, similar to our WG's, failed to display much in the way of artistry, although they are still learning and are extremely determined boys. They finished last in their category. Our MxP were up next, and continued their hard work of late, to claim the SILVER MEDAL!! They were beaten to the top spot by only 0.05... which is miniscule.

Our Elite 11-16 WG's and G4 WP all travelled up that morning, to join us in the afternoon, ready to compete their first routine of the weekend - their dynamic. Both groups performed great routines, in what could be argued as the toughest elite category of the competition. Our ACO trio finished in 10th after some dodgy tumbles, despite having some outstanding acrobatic moves. Our SSH trio finished in a very respectable 6th.

It was all going well...

After having been well rested after their routines, we decided to utilise the space in the warm up area to practice for their balance routines to be performed on Sunday. After around 15mins of promising practice, the SSH trio had a fall, with their top Hannah Tang unfortunately injuring herself in the process. Once in hospital, they revealed she had dislocated her left elbow and fractured her arm. She barely cried a tear in the process (unless she was being moved - and even then it was momentary). She was absolutely outstanding through it all. For this reason, she has now coined a new nick-name: "SUPER-BRAVE" or "super" for short. After speaking to her wonderful parents Bo & Wah this evening, I hear she is doing well with a plaster cast allowing the arm to fully heal. Her bases Sophie and Sadie were very supportive through the evening, but hat's off to Gordana (Tara's mum) for all the support she also provided to us. Hannah will be taking time off gym (and Cello), to heal, but no doubt she will be rearing to go once fully healed.. Super, we can't wait to have you back!

After this, we still had 2 (not 3) routines still to play out on Sunday. Our G4 WP were first, and honestly, personally, we thought they could medal. And it was to be, if they didn't have a very uncharacteristic fall on one of their moves! Having calculated their score if they hadn't fallen, we are certain they could have walked away with a Silver or Bronze medal. They walked away with a score of 24.72, which, with a fall is tremendous, considering we experienced 25-mark scores without falls! So, ironically... well done them! Our ACO 11-16 trio balance was our last routine of the weekend. They once again performed a clean routine, even though they doubt themselves! Their Balance was 6th overall, so they should be very proud!

What. A. Weekend.

SWIFTS Acro Comp, October 2014

GOLD, SILVER, BRONZE medals!!

So… *click, click, slap, hit, knock, knock, clap*… HOW MANY ELEPHANTS?

That is a joke lost on many of you, apart from those that were on the return journey of the competition, making it possibly THE BEST COACH RIDE EVER!!!

What a great competition. We were back in the south east – this time at SWIFTS Gymnastics Club, for their annual Acrobatics competition. This competition is always mixed, in terms of ability, with most categories having a handful of skilled partnerships whom would shine at any competition.

The morning kicked off with our first ever elite acrobatics routine – our “11-16” women’s groups balance routine.  Although the routines had promising artistry, the execution was slightly disappointing, with some major errors which were heavily penalized by judges. They knew they would have to do better in their second routines of the day.

This was followed by our Grade 3’s – MxP, MP  and  Grade 4 WP.  Our MP and WP had their first competition together, and they did themselves proud, especially our pair of Layla & Tara, whom received the 2^nd highest artistry score and third highest technical score of their category… which would have given them the bronze medals… if it hadn’t been for silly rulings on lengths of attire!  Our MxP surpassed their competition once again to be crowned with a second GOLD medal!!! Great job!!

Just before the afternoon break, the 11-16 trios finished with their dynamic routines. They really stepped up their performance compared to their first routine and came away with artistry scores within the top 3 of the whole competition – out of 143 partnerships!!! Sadie, Sophie and Hannah did well to take the BRONZE medal, but Alix, Cassy and Olivia just tipped the scales to take the SILVER medal… well done girls!!!

The afternoon saw our Grade 3 WG’s and Grade 3 WP competing. The groups had competed for the first time at the weekend, and they showed good routines with some minor errors, easily ironed out in training hopefully! Leah, Ashira, and Chloe managed to receive the second highest artistry score of their category – well done to them! Our G3 WP of Olivia & Eden did extremely well considering they competed 12hours after waking up! They came away with the second highest artistry score of their category, as well as a well improved technical score!

But seriously… that coach journey caused some moments of turmoil in my breathing pattern.  I haven’t laughed like that for ages. Possibly the funniest squad EVER!!

RESULTS HERE

Hollington Acro & Tumble Comp Sept 2014

MxP Mika & Natalie GOLD 

WE. ARE. BACK!!

Its a new season, new competitions, new grades, and new challenges. We kicked off our season with a large invitational at Hollington GC in Hastings, near the cost - where Leora (Ashira's mum) and Karen (Layla's mum), both made full use of!!! After asking their lovely daughters where they were, it became apparent that offspring will quickly rat on their governing bodies... telling me they were at the beach!!!

Moving on from building sand castles... the competition was both Acrobatics & Tumbling. We competed both acro and tumbling in the morning and then mainly tumbling in the afternoon. The morning competition was the highlight of the day. Our WP and our MxP both performed very elegant and soft routines, which had parents and coaches commenting positively on the choreography of the routines. Unfortunately due to mounting technical errors, our WP of Olivia & Eden placed 10th.

However our mixed pair of Mika & Natalie came out on top claiming their first competitive GOLD medal!! They actually came out with an artistry score of 9.45!!!!! In fear of exaggerating, that is a MONSTROUS artistry score for such a level of acrobatics. They should be proud, proud, proud. As are we :)

In tumbling, Alix Stagg came out on top in her Grade 4 tumbles, above her competitor, whereas our other tumblers found it tough to get their mojo back whilst tumbling. Special shout out to our Sophie Boehler who only completed her tumbles the DAY BEFORE the competition... and still placed 4th. You go Soph! :)

RESULTS HERE

Summer Training 2014 Trailer 2

Summer Training 2014 Trailer 1

TJ Tumbling (Boston) July 2014

All Tumblers with Medals! 

TJ Tumbling and Gymnastics Club in Boston (Lincolnshire) regularly hold informal Tumbling competitions a few times each year. Its a great time for us to try out new grades and allow tumblers to compete for the first time.

We had a great competition, with a few surprises along the way. Ashira Sears made a great comeback, after 7months out of gym, to claim a Gold medal in her category as well as the 3rd highest score for her final run, in ALL categories! Well done her!

Alix Stagg had learnt her new grade only 2 weeks before the competition - but our National Finalist wasn't phased - she brought some excellent tumbles to the table. Our newbies including Leah and Tara showed some good first-time tumbling and Georgina really made some serious improvement, taking a Gold medal, even though she only tumbles around 20-30mins a week!!!

Full Summary:

Ashira Sears: Gold & Bronze overall highest score
Tara Marinkovic: Gold
Georgina: Gold
Erin Kovacs: Gold
Alix Stagg: Gold
Leah White: Silver
Layla Sklar: Silver
Jemma Evans: Silver

Well done all!!

Tumbling National Finals, Telford 2014

Hannah - Our National Champion!

I normally write long-winded, well versed stories for this blog site on all the happenings for our squad, in terms of competitions and events. Not this time. Its quite simple.

HANNAH TANG IS A NATIONAL CHAMPION IN TUMBLING!!!!!

Well done to both Hannah and Alix for both making it through to the national finals, which means beating 3 separate competitions in the structure and maintaing a good tumbling ability.

Hannah managed to do this and more. She won the GOLD MEDAL at the national finals, to add to her gold medals at both Semi-Finals. This makes sure that no-one tumbles as well as she does in her age group and category.

Well done to both girls :) "hashtag, proud".

Acro & Shooting Stars June 2014 - Croydon

All the Acro stars gymnasts

A lovely day, a great competition! We travelled down to "Souuuf" London, also known as South London :).. for a competition known as "Acro & Shooting Stars" which is regularly held every few months at different locations in London. The competitions are aimed at gymnasts whom are complete beginners and new to the sport/discipline.

Although this was our first time entering this competition, both our Development Squad and our NDP Squad didn't disappoint! We had some clean Acro Stars routines from our development gymnasts who were competing for the first time. Due to an unforeseen absence, Mika Balabey was drafted in to compete at this level despite only learning the routine the day before, and still managed to come home with the SILVER medal with his new temporary partner Gabriel De Silva, well done boys!!

Our NDP gymnasts also did well, with some great Acro Stars performances. Special mention to the WP of Leah White and Chloe Santandrea, who came away with a GOLD medal place in their category, followed by our WP of  Ella Hyman and Masha Vasilyeva whom brandished a lovely BRONZE medal in the same category!

Later on in the morning, we had the "Shooting Stars" competition which was National Grade acro routines. Again, our two pairs competing had never competed before. We witnessed two very calm and composed routines from our WP of Olivia Peerless and Eden Noik and our MxP Mika Balabey and Natalie White. Our WP just missed out on the bronze medal by 0.1!!!! Whilst our MxP took GOLD with a massive score of 26.9!!!

Well done to all :)

Overall we mustered up the following medals:

Mika & Natalie GOLD
Leah & Chloe GOLD
Sam & Ivan GOLD
Mika & Gabriel SILVER
Ella & Masha BRONZE

National Tumbling Semi Finals 2, Coventry 2014

Alix outside the Tumbling Arena

More travelling, more jumping, bouncing and flipping!!

This was the second and last instalment of National Tumbling Semi-Finals for those who had qualified from Regional Championships, and the last chance for all 4 of our tumblers to achieve a high enough score to finish in the top 8 over both semi-final events. 

The morning saw Hannah Tang, Olivia Foley and Erin Kovacs all compete around 9am, and as they were all in the first round of their categories, they were left only knowing half of their groups scores, and so we were all frantically checking the wizardry of the BG app (download it if you haven't got it yet!) to see their final places in their categories. By midday we had the full results to show Erin in 9th position, Olivia in 13th, but once AGAIN, Hannah beat all her competitors finishing in the GOLD medal position!! Well done her!!

In the afternoon (after their maniac coach decided to travel to and from Coventry twice in the same day), Alix Stagg was competing at 6pm. In this instance, Alix had an uphill struggle, but was certainly capable of overcoming what was before her, as she had finished 8th in the last event. This time however, she finished 6th overall, and as she had a higher score after performing much cleaner tumbles this time round, we now know she has qualified for the National Finals with Hannah! Well done!

Massive well done to all tumblers involved! What a great day!!!

National Inter Regional Championships 2014

Sadie, Sophie & Hannah - Silver Medals

The Inter-Regional Acrobatic Championships in Southampton is a National competition for the partnerships throughout the UK whom gained silver and bronze medals at their local Regional Acro Championships. Thus, just like the national finals, the best in the country are competing together.

Our trio of Sadie, Sophie and Hannah were our only partnership to reach this stage. Now considering the trio are currently not at full fitness, they did themselves proud. Also despite our first ever 0.3 deduction for height measurements between partners, the trio performed a great and clean routine, the last in their category, and won the SILVER medal! Hence, this year they are crowned amongst the best national grades trios in the whole country!!!

Well done to the girls! Great result!

FULL RESULTS HERE

Acrobatic Regionals 2014, Europa Kent

Sadie, Sophie & Hannah - Bronze Medals

So it was another long weekend, and we had been looking forward to this competition for a while. The Acro Regionals in London are amongst the toughest gymnastics competitions in the UK, namely because MOST of the winners of London Regionals go on to win at the National Finals - meaning, when you compete in London, you're competing against the BEST in the UK. Fact.

The girls didn't disappoint. The morning kicked off with a special performance from Maisy & Masha - a very newly formed Grade 3 WP. They showed a clean routine achieving a mark of 26.36, which for a first time, is a treasure, especially as they beat partnerships from highly esteemed Acrobatic clubs.

The afternoon was full of drama! Our women's pairs did well, performing clean routines - special mention to Esme & Jasmine gaining a mark of 26.27, landing them in 4th - less than 0.2 behind bronze position. It was nice to see Esme's natural spark on the competition floor, as sad to say, this was her last gymnastics competition. We shall all miss you Esme :)

Our women's groups were all competing in the same grade, hoping for some silverware. Daisy, Layla and Erin performed well on the floor with some slips, nevertheless performed some clean skills. Unfortunately for Alix, Cassy and Olivia had an uncharacteristic fall during one of their skills, which saw their normally highly marked routine suffer greatly. They still performed well despite this.

It was the trio of Sadie, Sophie and Hannah whom found their competition composure and brought home 3 bronze medals thus qualifying for the National Inter Region Championships later in May. Sadie has done particularly well as this would have been the 2nd time she has qualified for this competition!!

Well done to all!

RESULTS HERE

National Tumbling Semi Finals March 2014, Sheffield

Hannah's BG Gold Medal

In a bid to streamline the Tumbling structure in Britain, BG had introduced a new Regionals -> National Semi-Finals x 2 -> National Finals. As 4 of our gymnasts had qualified for the Semi's, they have 2 opportunities to try to reach Finals. On Saturday, they took to Sheffield England Institute of Sport for the first round. Needless to say, GB have a strong tumbling contingent. At the end of a long day, we finished with some respectable positions, but Hannah Tang stole the show with an amazing GOLD medal winning set of tumbles (which weren't even her best bestest!).

WELL DONE HANNAH!

Summary:
Hannah Tang - Gold
Alix Stagg - 8th
Erin Kovacs - 9th
Olivia Foley -13th

Onto round 2 in May - Coventry!!

King Edmund Acrobatics Competition Feb 2014 (Bristol)

WG's Gold and Bronze Medals

And so, after a successful tumbling competition, we jumped straight on a minibus from the competition, to drive down to the South West region to prepare for the Yate International Acro Competition, hosted by one of the best clubs in the country - King Edmund.

It seemed this would be a weekend for Hendon, as we had a complete set of clean routines from every single partnership, and some high technical and artistry scores.

We eventually came away stealing the show with our Grade 4 WG's... taking the Gold and the Bronze medals with Sadie, Sophie & Hannah and Alix, Cassy & Olivia (whom had one of the top 5 artistry scores in the entire competition) respectively.

They were only 0.3 between them (due to technicalities only!!)

Well done to all :)

RESULTS HERE

Tumbling Regional Championships 2014

Tumbling Medalists

We kick started a very busy weekend with our most important tumbling competition of the year - The Regionals! And kick start, we did... Showing an array of quick and powerful tumbles, we came out the other side looking like strong contingent.

The result was a total of 5 medals out of only 9 competing, and more importantly having 4 gymnasts qualify through to the Tumbling Semi-Finals to be held in Sheffield and Coventry later in the year. Well done to all!!

Summary:

Hannah Tang - Gold (Q)
Olivia Foley - Silver (Q)
Erin Kovacs - Silver (Q)
Alix Stagg - Silver (Q)
Sadie Levi - Bronze

Full results to come soon!

Heathrow Acro Invitational Feb 2014

ACO Trio in their new leo's

We ventured to Heathrow for the 2nd year running for their invitational Acrobatics competition. We knew it would be a tough cookie! A few nerves were on show as unfortunately two of our five partnerships dropped moves. However, on the upside, our women's pair of Esme and Jasmine completed their routine with neat artistry. Not only that, but our women's groups finished 5th and 7th out of a massive group of 23 partnerships in their category.

Special congrats to Alix, Cassy and Olivia whom gained our highest artistry score of the competition, with 8.63, only 0.27 behind first place, and a measly 0.05 behind second place! See below for full results

RESULTS HERE