Four members from Alton represented the Southern region last weekend at the Trampoline and Tumbling Regional Team Finals. Following success in the qualifiers earlier in the year, Katherine, Scott, Jonty and Scarlett were among the gymnasts selected to represent the South, as gymnasts from around the UK converged on the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham vying for medals and a place in the National Finals in July.

All of our members were taking in the exciting Double Mini-Trampoline competition. Katherine opened the proceedings on Saturday to great success in the NDP5 category, where every skill was a somersault. She continues to improve and produced four excellent passes to earn 3rd place and a deserved place on the podium!

In the Mens 13+ NDP3 category, it was Scott’s second time at the Regional Finals, having representing the South in Trampolining in 2015. He used his experience and produced four solid passes to consolidate 5th place, earning himself a place at the National Finals.

Jonty picked the ideal time to achieve a personal best of 114.2, greatly surpassing his previous highest! His successful passes and improvement earned him 6th place and qualification to his first ever National Finals!

Scarlett was competing in one of the largest groups of the day, the Womens 11-12 NDP2 category. It proved to be an incredibly tight competition, where every mark counted. Scarlett produced three excellent passes, although did have a wobble in her 2nd pass. This made the difference in such a close group though, as she ended up a respectable 13th place. Such was how evenly matched the whole group was, Scarlett was less than 2 marks off 4th!

Well done to all of the Southern competitors, and thank you to the Coaching team who looked after the gymnasts on the day. All of the ATC gymnasts have a lot of positives to take away and well done to their coach Sylvia, who proclaimed that her heart was in her mouth throughout the competition. The whole club is proud of what our members achieved! Good luck to Katherine, Scott & Jonty at the NDP Finals in July!

For a full set of results, see the BG website.

URGENT! Here is the link to a survey on what users want and think of the proposed plan for the new Alton Sports Centre:

www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/altonsportscentre

Alton Town Council have produced a 2-minute survey to gauge the opinion of the public in relation to the proposed design of the new Sports Centre in Alton, to be built by East Hampshire District Council in a joint venture with new partner ‘Everyone Active’.

The final date for the survey is June 23rd, and it is important for as many people as possible to complete it. It can be completed by all ages, from children to adults, and each family member is allowed to complete it separately.

This is important, so please let’s get as many surveys completed as possible. Our ability to expand and develop will depend on the design and opportunities we get in the Sports Centre, and the same can be said for other sports in the area.

Thank you for your assistance!

Chloe Ellis and Pete Walley both successfully picked up points at the first 2017 Trampoline League competition of the season.

Held at the National Indoor Athletics Centre in Cardiff, both members were competing new voluntary routines, with Chloe competing a 9-somersault routine for the first time, and Pete including a double-somersault in competition for the first time.

The 19+ Ladies League 3 group was large, consisting of over 30 gymnasts. Chloe produced two good routines, which included a 9.7 for Horizontal Displacement in her first routine! She eventually came 19th, deservedly earning her first League points of the season. Her group was particularly tight, with only 3 marks separating 6th from 19th!

Pete was back again in the 19+ Mens League 3 category following his success last year at getting through to the League Finals. The hard work he’d put in since then showed, as he landed his half-out (double front somersault with a half-twist), earning a place in the final, where he again successfully completed his routine to achieve 5th place.

For both Chloe and Pete this was a great start to the season, with points securely stored. It was great to see them both building on their experience from last year and adding extra elements into their routines. It certainly made the trip over the Severn Bridge worth it for their families watching on!

Full results from the event can be found on The Trampoline League website.

It was time for the second and final Spring Series event for 2017. Unfortunately for Stuart, glancing the mat in his Compulsory routine prevented him from qualifying for, and attempting to win, the British Championships for the 3rd successive year.

We’re all still incredibly proud of his achievements. He’ll dust himself off and will no doubt become stronger and more determined from the experience.

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

Congratulations to James Acott, who successfully gained his Level 2 Coaching qualification! The assessment involved two theory exams, completion of a logbook, plus a practical assessment. We are delighted that James passed them all.

Well done James – fully deserved!

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.