The 2018 East Hampshire Sports Awards was held last Thursday at our members Pete Walley and Elena were both shortlisted for awards.

Recognising the sporting efforts and accomplishments of sports people throughout East Hampshire, this year saw Olympic legend Roger Black MBE presenting the awards and speaking with all of the nominees.

Both Pete and Elena were awarded Runners-up in their respective categories. Pete had been shortlisted in the ‘Senior Volunteer of the Year‘ category, while Elena was shortlisted as ‘Junior Disability Sportsperson‘. Roger Black spoke highly of them both, and Pete spoke well when interviewed in front of the audience consisting of sporting talent from throughout the region.

It was a fantastic evening for Pete, Elena, and their families, and we are delighted that they were recognised for what they have done. They have both been terrific ambassadors for the club and should be proud of what they have been achieving and hope that they continue. Well done to all those shortlisted at the awards.

An excited Zaki secured 1st place in the first Trampoline Regional competition of the year! This capped a successful day for ATC members as all four competitors achieved the qualifying score for the Regional Team Qualifiers in March.

Zaki, Hattie, Scarlett and Jasmine all headed North up to Milton Keynes in a bid for a successful start to their trampoline season and attempt to reach the qualifying score of 46.0 for their routines.

Zaki was competing in the boys NDP1 11-12 years group and started brilliantly, with a perfect 10 for HD (Horizontal Displacement) in his first routine. He then showed great confidence in his second routine which, when all of his scores were added together, saw him romp home to first place with an overall score of 49.1!

While performing different routines, Scarlett and Hattie scored virtually identical scores to each other in their respective groups. Scarlett scored 49.05 in the NDP3 group to come 7th, whereas Hattie totaled 49.00 in the NDP5 category to reach 6th place.

Jasmine Sibley was back at a regional competition for the first time in years, following her return to the club as a Coach. Despite a slight wobble in her second routine she managed to get it back under control and it proved to be a successful comeback for Jasmine as she came 26th and, more importantly, she qualified with a score of 46.8!

Congratulations to all of our members for their fantastic performances!

The next competition takes place on February 25th in Eastleigh, where both Trampoline and DMT will be taking place, and is the second opportunity for gymnasts to qualify for the competition in March.

Alton members were recognised at the Alton & District Sports Council Awards last week for their accomplishments throughout 2017.

Four members from our club were shortlisted for awards: Scott for Junior Sportsman, Pete Walley for Male Coach, Elena for Junior Disability Sportswoman, and Mike Wakely for Male Volunteer.

It proved to be a successful evening as Scott, Pete and Elena all won their awards, with Mike coming runner-up in his category.

Scott was recognised, among other accolades, for his success at the DMT National Finals last year, with his fantastic podium place in the NDP3 group.

Elena’s magnificent performance to come 4th at the National Schools Finals in her first national competition was explained to the audience, as were some of her other accomplishments, including learning new skills outside of her comfort zone and her Synchronised Trampolining routine she performed alongside her sister, Federica.

Pete has improved considerably as a coach over the past year, working towards his Level 2 qualification, and Head Coach Mike recounted a story about how Pete’s relationship with his group had grown so that recently one of his group, rather than celebrating her own success, had exclaimed how proud Pete would be of her when she learned a difficult new skill she had worked with him.

Mike had been secretly nominated by the club and showed surprise when his name was read out in the Male Volunteer category, for his efforts as Head Coach for us in a coaching, mentoring, judging and supporting role. He came runner-up on the night and said “We are so proud of our club and what our members do and achieve. There’s a fantastic atmosphere here and I’m so pleased for our younger members that have been recognised for their achievements. They fully deserve it!”

Well done to everyone nominated and it was again great to see and hear about the sporting efforts and achievement of people in the local area, and thank you to Brian Scowcroft, Joe Walters, and the rest of the Alton & District Sports Council.

Alex remarkably lost a tooth midway through his first DMT competition! Yet he still continued and finished on the podium, as Alton members had a successful start to the 2018 competition season.

The day was all about Double Mini-Trampoline as Alex, competing in the NDP 1 category, successfully completed his first two passes. “He just casually walked up to me and handed me his tooth to look after!” said Judy, who was Competition Marshall. The enameled object was not a result of the activity, so Alex continued on and finished in 2nd place, claiming his first ever trophy for competing in DMT! While he didn’t reach the qualifying score on this occasion due to a failed full twist, he came away with a lot of experience and enthusiasm for doing the next competition in February.

For the other seven Alton members taking part, there was less drama but just as much success. In the NDP2 group, Lorna, Scarlett and Ezri were all successful in achieving the qualifying score for the Regional Team Qualifier in March. On this occasion they finished 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively.

Frankie did well and got to stand atop the podium in her first Regional DMT competition. Unfortunately she landed on the pad during her final pass, meaning she didn’t reach the qualifying score on this occasion, although she was determined to come back and try again at the second event in February.

Returning from their successes last year, Scott, Hattie and Katherine all showed great confidence as they finished all of their passes, qualifying for the Regional Qualifier in March, and all of them came away 1st in their groups, capping off a successful day for Alton.

Well done to all of our members, and thank you to Judy, Vicky and Sylvia, who all gave their time to marshall, record and coach, and here’s hoping this is just the start of things to come for the 2018 season!

Four of our members took part in the Southern Regional round of the 2017-18 BSGA Schools competition this past weekend over on the Isle of Wight.

Elliot, Jasmine, Scarlett and Eloise were all taking part in the Intermediate level, and all did a great job of representing both the club and their respective schools, supported by our coaches Sylvia and Lee.

In the Boys Under 11 group, Elliot (Medstead Primary School) completed a good Set routine. Unfortunately after forgetting a skill in his Voluntary routine he finished just outside of the qualifying places in 4th place. It was his first time competing the harder routine and the judges allowed him an opportunity to try it again and, while it wasn’t scored, he completed it with aplomb and showed what he is capable of.

Jasmine (Ditcham Park) and Scarlett (Perins) both competed in the Under 14s, which proved to be the largest group of the competition! Both competed voluntary routines as practice for the upcoming Regional competition season, and the two girls finished in very respectable places – 20th and 22nd respectively.

The highest scoring Alton member of the day was Eloise (Ditcham Park), competing in the Under 19s. Scoring in the 8s for her Set routine, Eloise performed two good routines and finished in 7th place overall.

Well done to all four of our members, and good luck to all of the gymnasts who qualified through to the Zonal round in January. Thanks also to Janet Payne for her work in organising and co-ordinating the event.

The full set of results for the event can be downloaded below:

Congratulations our members Pete and James for their performances at the 2017 National Trampoline League Finals.

Held for the second time at the Lee Valley VeloPark, both lads competed routines having earned their place at the Finals with their results over the course of the year.

For James, this is his first season taking part in National competitions, and he produced his best routine of the season to score over 80 in the League 3 15-16 Boys group. It was a high scoring group, and James can come away incredibly pleased with his 13th place. ATC Coach James Acott, described his performance as “fantastic”!

Pete Walley was competing in the Finals for the second consecutive year in the League 3 Over 19s, and he held his nerve to complete a more difficult routine than before, qualifying for Sunday’s final round in 7th place. With the scores reset and one routine to determine the top 8 places, Pete started well but unfortunately his routine was cut short after hitting the side pad midway through, meaning he finished in 8th. This is still a terrific achievement and it was great to see him competing his double-somersaults after the work he has put into learning them.

Thank you to coaches James, Lee, and Sylvia for travelling up to coach on the floor and support the team, and to Alec for Judging all day on the Saturday after coming so close to qualifying himself. For a small club run by volunteers, we are so proud of our members and to see them performing at an Olympic venue is a real highlight and an idea of what they can achieve.

Thanks to everyone involved in the Trampoline League, and the full results from the Finals can be found here.

We were delighted to unveil our brand new ‘Eurotramp Ultimate 6×6’ Double Mini-Trampoline to our club members last Thursday. This is the high-end innovative model and the one currently used in National and International competitions.

Following our success in DMT this year, the new equipment will give all of our members a fantastic opportunity to train on the best equipment. We want our members to be the best that they can be, and we look forward to seeing them use this to go from strength to strength in their training.

Thank you to the fabulous team at Sport & Leisure Services Ltd for their assistance with the purchase.

Our members enjoyed a fun and successful day down the road at Haslemere at a Friendly competition. The event was organised by our friends at Swallows TC and saw ourselves, Swallows, Alpha, Starlight, Phoenix, and P.S. Trampoline & Gymnastics all taking part.

Open to all ages and abilities, we had members taking part all the way from Novice and Disabilities through to the Elite categories, who were practicing their routines ahead of upcoming competitions.

Isla, fresh from taking part in her first ever event at our recent club Championships, did a brilliant job in her first ever larger competition, as she came 6th in the Novice Under 8s.

Reuben, Anna and Isaac all successfully completed the somersaults in their routines, as they came 7th, 8th and 9th in the Advanced A Under 13s group.

In the Disability category, Federica excelled, producing a confident routine, and she was thrilled to come away in FIRST PLACE and take the winner’s trophy! Her sister Elena did incredibly well to come away with the runner’s up trophy! For her, it wasn’t just the accomplishment of coming 2nd, but it was the very first time she was attempting to overcome her nerves and land a front landing in a competition, which she successfully managed in both routines, so a huge well done to her and her coach, Seren.

In the Elite A group, Scarlett and Frankie were attempting their new routines, while Ezri was pushing ahead with her new routine for the 2018 competition season. Despite a couple of wobbles, all three girls came through and completed their harder routines, with Frankie coming 4th, Ezri 3rd and Scarlett finishing in 2nd place.

Last, but no means least, Stuart produced a high quality routine which, even with a lower difficulty than other Elite competitors, saw him score the second highest score of the day, and he came away with a trophy and certificate for 1st place.

Well done to all our members and to the support from their coaches and parents. Special mention to Lisa, Stuart and Vicky, who all coached and officiated throughout the day. Thank you to Swallows for hosting and we look forward to next year when the local clubs can come together again for another exciting Friendly competition!

Our very own Sylvia Comber was recognised at the 2017 National British Gymnastics Awards evening as she came Runner-Up in the Volunteer of the Year category. It was an incredible evening which saw some of the most inspirational people in the gymnastics community celebrated.

Sylvia attended the event with our Chairperson, Vicky Othen, and got to rub shoulders with World Champions and Olympic medalists, such as Bryony Page and Claudia Fragapane. Sylvia herself was recognised for her invaluable contribution to both club and region, with her efforts spanning well over two decades. Her category was won by Susan Robertson, with Sylvia and Su Killeen as runners-up. To be shortlisted from the millions of people involved in the sport around the country is an absolutely fabulous achievement and fully deserved in our eyes.

Sylvia received a lot of support upon hearing about her achievement. Former ATC coach Dawn Batchelor described her as being “a star to the hundreds of people coached over the years and to all the coaches and judges you have supported”, while Vicky Othen praised her, saying that getting “down to the last three is an incredible achievement and very well deserved… [Despite not winning] she is still a superstar in all of our eyes.”

Well done Sylvia!

To read more about the fantastic evening, visit the British Gymnastics website.

A fantastic morning of routines and awards as we held our Club Championships on Sunday October 15th. The event began with DMT and ended with an exciting and thoroughly entertaining Synchro competition. We invited every single member of the club to take part, whether they were a competitor or recreational bouncer, and the turnout was great with two-thirds of our club members taking part.

It was a wonderful example of the talent at the club and a chance for the younger members to see what they can aspire to, as they took part alongside our experienced competitors.

There were plenty of personal successes throughout the morning, from those first-timers all successfully completing their routines, to those who had worked hard to compete a harder routine performing brilliantly to complete them. There was a huge amount for parents, coaches and gymnasts to be proud of!

Our annual awards were also given out during the presentations, with some worthy winners. One of the highlights was one of our newest competitors, Kerryn, winning the award for Highest Form Score of the Day after a dazzling performance!

• Most Improved Recreational member: Ella
• Most Improved Competitive member: Scarlett
• Most Improved DMT member: Scott
• Highest Trampoline Form Score of the Day: Kerryn
• Highest DMT Form Score of the Year: Scarlett
• Highest Trampoline Form Score of the Year: Katherine

Thank you to everyone who helped to make the morning a success, from setting up/taking down the equipment, judging, marshalling, coaching, to making some delicious cakes to help raise money for the club. Let’s hope we can build on the successes and the potential shown here into 2018!