We are pleased to announce that as part of our continued commitment to providing a safe, rewarding and fulfilling place for children and adults, we have received confirmation that we have again retained our GymMark accreditation.

The GymMark / ClubMark accreditation is widely accepted as evidence that a club provides effective and efficient practices. We are proud of the work that we put in, the opportunities that we offer, and that we are able to display this status.

We welcomed ITV Meridian’s own Andrew Pate, as he paid a visit to the club to speak with Stuart Sharpe about his recent success and selection for the GB Disability Squad.

Andrew showed what a great sport he was, as he got involved for some bouncing himself – suit and all!

There was some great coverage for the club, and the full report was shown on ITV Meridian last week. A link to the 3-minute video can be found here:

http://www.itv.com/news/meridian/update/2017-05-05/sportsman-reaching-new-heights/

A huge thank you to Andrew and the ITV team.

In a week of great media coverage, we also featured in the Alton Herald as they also covered Stuart’s fantastic news! The article is also on their website and can be found on this link. It’s well worth a read!

The first National Spring Series event took place over the Bank Holiday weekend, which saw our own Stuart Sharpe competing for the 1st time since his victory at the 2016 British Championships.

Unfortunately it didn’t quite work out for Stu as, despite doing all of his skills, he clipped the end mat during both of his routines, immediately resulting in a zero score. They were two new routines for Stu, who has been working on a new voluntary routine which he tried for the first time and, had he completed it, would have been his higher difficulty to date.

There is still much to play for though, as Stu can try again at the 2nd Spring Series event in June.

Full results from the competition can be found at this link to the BG website.

We are absolutely thrilled that Stuart Sharpe has been selected for the GREAT BRITAIN TRAMPOLINE DISABILITY SQUAD!

It’s a huge accolade and reward for his efforts and success over the years, including becoming a two-time British Champion last year.

The focus of the squad will be preparation for selection for international competitions, which are due to arranged in 2018. Dawn Lawson, National Coach for Disability Trampolining, said that Stuart’s inclusion was part of her “mission to have the best team in the world” although warned him that the hard work doesn’t stop yet.

A delighted Stuart himself also wanted to say “HUGE thanks to Alton Trampoline Club and everyone else who has made this possible”.

The full squad list is as follows:

Congratulations to Stuart and to all of the gymnasts who made the squad – a wonderful accomplishment!

This Easter sees one of our coaches, Mark ‘Mc’ McDowall, stop his regular Sunday coaching session with us. Mc has been part of the club for many years, taking on a coaching role following his daughter’s enjoyment of the sport. Mc is now stopping in order to spend more time with his family (and no doubt going with them to watch more X-Factor Live!). We wish him all the best and thank him for his efforts over the years.

Alton again played host, as nearly 500 routines were completed by trampolinists from across the Southern Region in an attempt to qualify to represent the South at the Regional Team Finals in June.

It was a busy and exciting day with much to complement the excitement of the trampolining itself, including a raffle and tombola, A-Star leotards, DE Photos, plus Rachel Mealyer offering physiotherapy.

We ourselves had 16 competitors who took part on the day, which saw a mixture of results over the course of the day.

In the NDP 1 category it was 9th place for Molly in the 9-10 years group, while Rosina scored her best score of the season to come 11th in the 11-12 years.

NDP 2 saw the largest number of ATC competitors: In the 11-12 years Boys, Jonty was unfortunately unable to add to DMT qualification, performing the wrong shape in his final skill. Zaki meanwhile came 4th in the same group, just 0.7 off of the podium.

In the 11-12 year-old Girls group, solid routines from Izzy and Scarlett saw both girls finish in the top half, coming 6th and 8th respectively. The 13+ Girls was one of the largest groups of the day and this saw Becca finish 21st, Jessica finish 17th, and Lorna finished 12th after comfortably besting her score from the previous competition.

In NDP 3, both Lilia and Jasmine achieved their highest scores of the season as they each came 9th in their age groups. These were highly competitive groups with virtually every gymnast reaching the qualifying score.

There was success for us at NDP 4 as Scott came away with a trophy after two successful routines saw him accomplish 3rd place in the 13+ Boys! On this occasion he came ahead of James as unfortunately an incorrect skill saw him finish 8th.

The Girls 13+ group was the largest and arguably the most competitive of the day, with 32 gymnasts competing and the top 25 all achieved the minimum score required to have an opportunity of representing the region. Eloise was another Alton gymnast who achieved a personal best score at the event, as she finished in 21st place.

Our final two competitors took part at NDP 5. Katherine scored highly in the 15+ group with the majority of her scores at 8 and above to come a very respectable 4th and becoming a reserve for the Southern Squad, while Hattie scored well in her 1st routine to come 6th in the 13-14 years group.

A huge thank you goes out to everybody who was involved in any part of the competition. So many people gave up their time to volunteer on the day and the evening before, and all played their part on what turned out to be a successful and popular event.

Finally, congratulations to all of the gymnasts, both from Alton and other clubs from across the region, and the very best of luck to all those who will now be representing the South in a couple of months!

Full results from the day can be found below:

It was a performance to be proud of as Elena achieved 4th place at the 2017 National Schools Trampoline Finals representing Stepping Stones School.

Competing in the Novice Disability Category 1 Under 14 group, Elena had previously qualified through both the Regional and Zonal rounds to reach the finals. The 300-mile journey North to Gateshead proved worthwhile as she coped with the pressure of competing in the Finals to produce two excellent routines, much to the delight of her family watching on from the stands.

Head Coach Mike said “Elena can come away proud of what she’s achieved and in how much she’s improved. She and her coaches have worked really hard, and she was also a terrific representative for Stepping Stones School”.

Stepping Stones School congratulated Elena and called it a “great result!”

Full results can be downloaded from the North of England Trampoline Committee website.

We are thrilled that six members from Alton have qualified to represent the Southern Region at the Regional Team Finals! The 2017 Regional Team Qualifier for Double Mini-Trampoline (DMT) was held recently and it was through their excellent performances that the ATC members achieved their place.

In order to qualify, gymnasts had to come in the top 2 positions in their group as well as achieving a minimum overall score for their passes.

The following Alton gymnasts all received their invitation to be part of the regional team:

• NDP2 – Scarlett (2nd place) and Jonty (1st)
• NDP3 – Scott (1st)
• NDP4 – Hattie (1st)
• NDP5 – Katherine (1st) and Stuart (1st)

Ezri and Eloise were both unfortunate to score zero in one of their passes, while Lorna came 3rd in her group to come away with a trophy and become a reserve for the regional squad.

Huge congratulations to all of our members. This is the highest number of members Alton have had in the DMT section of the Regional team before, and is a great testament to the work put in by them and coach Sylvia. Best of luck to all of the Regional Team when they head off to Birmingham in June!

Full results and a list of qualifiers can be found below:

CONGRATULATIONS TO STUART AND FEDERICA, who are each celebrating after winning trophies at the 2017 East Hampshire Sports Awards for their achievements!

Athletes, coaches, families and friends attended the East Hampshire Sports Awards to celebrate and recognise the achievements of sports people from across the area in a broad spectrum of activities.

Following their success last month at the Alton & District Sports Awards, Stuart, Federica and Seren had all been shortlisted for the East Hampshire Awards.

It was a terrific evening featuring a special guest who knows a thing or two about success in sport: Alex Danson from GBs Olympic Hockey gold medal-winning team!

Stuart won the award for ‘Senior Disability Sportsman’. It was a fantastic reward for his achievements over the past 12 months, including the retention of his title at the 2016 British Championships and being a role model and inspiration for other club members. Following his award, Stuart graciously said “Thank you to everyone who has helped me at any point in my sporting career. [It] wouldn’t be possible without you”.

Federica was the winner of the ‘Junior Disability Sportswoman’, following her achievements both at Regional competitions and for qualifying for the National Schools Finals. She has also been a great supporter for the team, keen to get involved in the organisation of activities including taking on the role as joint Competition Secretary alongside her Mum.

Seren was a runner-up for ‘Junior Volunteer of the Year’, following the completion of her Level 1 Coaching qualification in among studying for her GCSEs plus her continued commitment to coaching at the club while still studying, where her positive attitude and personality shine through.

A special mention and congratulations too for one of our junior members, Scarlett, who was part of the winning ‘School Team of the Year’ with Four Marks Primary School and especially their Cricketing success!

Well done to everyone who was shortlisted. It was a terrific evening and a great advert for all of the sporting ability that is there across the area, and the time and effort that people put in to enable others to take part and enjoy sport.

The 2nd Double Mini-Trampoline Regional Test Event took place at the weekend and there was more success for Alton members, with 5 more trophies and some high scores meant that there are a total of 10 ATC gymnasts who have achieved the qualifying score for the Regional in March.

For Jonty and Eloise it was second time lucky. Both missed out at the 1st event in January, both came back determined and their efforts paid off as both won trophies, with Jonty winning his category and Eloise coming 3rd, and both securing their place for the March event.

Ezri was competing in her first ever DMT competition, and she shrugged off any nerves to produce a good performance and win herself the 3rd place trophy. Placed narrowly on either side of her were Izzy (4th) and Scarlett (2nd), both of whom were gaining additional practice after they qualified at the previous event.

Alton’s other competitors had already qualified at the last event: Lorna came 4th in the NDP2 13+yrs group. Hattie in the NDP4 category also managed 4th place. Scott, in NDP3, went one better than last time, coming away on top of the pile with a 1st place trophy!

It was another strong showing from our members, with 10 of them now having qualified for the competition in March, where the top 2 in each group have a chance of moving forwards to represent the Region at the Regional Team Finals later in the year!

Well done to all of the competitors, and to coach Sylvia for her efforts and support.

Full results will be uploaded soon.