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.

There was great success for sisters Federica and Elena who have both qualified for the National Finals of the 2017 Schools Trampoline Championships!

The sisters, both members of ATC, were representing Stepping Stones School in the Zonal round, having previously qualified through from the Regional round back in December 2016. An early start saw them and their family travel down to Taunton so that they could each compete in the Disability Novice category.

It was a slightly wobbly start for Federica in the Under 19s, but she held it together and finished her routine with a flourish and came away with the 1st place trophy!

Elena competed in the Under 14s group and completed a solid set routine, achieving 3rd place overall and securing herself a trophy and an invitation to join her sister in the National Finals!

Coach Lee, who made the trip alongside them, exclaimed that “both girls did well – one very proud coach!”

Congratulations to both Federica and Elena on their achievement and we wish them both the best for the Finals in Gateshead on Saturday 18th March!

The first Trampoline competition of the 2017 season took place at Milton Keynes at the weekend as Alton members made the near-200 mile journey with the goal of qualifying for the Regional Team Qualifier in March.

Alton members turned up, sporting the new club leotard and kit, and did themselves proud with a multitude of strong performances throughout the day.

11 members took part, and Alton came away with 10 who successfully achieved the required qualification score.

Our members were supported by coaches Sylvia, Lee, Stuart and Mike throughout the day. Following their qualification in DMT a couple of weeks earlier, Hattie and Katherine aimed to make it a double on the Trampoline. Both qualified through in the NDP5 category, with Hattie coming 5th in the 13-14 Girls group, and Katherine winning a trophy with an excellent 3rd place in a competitive 15+ age group.

In the NDP1 groups, Rosina showed her joy at landing her somersaults to come 11th, while Freya produced a strong first routine before unfortunately getting a zero score in her second to miss out on qualifying on this occasion.

Jonty was successful, with his two routines securing him 2nd place and a trophy in his NDP2 group. In the girls’ 13+ group, Becca and Jess were stepping up a grade from last year. Becca was determined to make up for not qualifying last year, and showed enough pizzazz to qualify and come 16th, with Jess achieving a top 10 finish coming 10th. They are joined by Ezri, Scarlett, and Izzy (in her 1st Regional Trampoline competition) who came 11th, 8th, and 6th respectively in the 11-12 years group.

Finally, Lilia, who has recently moved to the region, was taking part at NDP3 for the first time and she was also successful in qualifying, as she came 8th in the 11-12 years group.

A good start to the season and great to see the number of qualifiers for March in double-figures already. A big thank you to Orbit for hosting the event, and to everyone who traveled up to support our members on the day. The full results can be found below:

We are currently collecting the Sainsburys ‘Active Kids’ vouchers. This has been a great scheme for us in recent years as we have managed to purchase some useful matting and kit thanks to the generosity of those who have donated their vouchers to us.

The 2017 scheme runs until May 2nd. We have a box available during every training session and a huge thank you to everyone that helps and supports us by donating their vouchers.

The annual Alton & District Sports Council Achievement Awards event was held on Wednesday 25th January, and we are delighted that our members came away with four awards from the event!

Federica, Stuart, and Seren had all been shortlisted, following their achievements and hard work during the past 12 months. The evening saw over 50 athletes, coaches, and friends gather to recognise the valuable contribution being made to the Alton community across a variety of different sports and activities, including Trampolining, Hockey, Slalom Skiing and Rambling, to name a few.

Stuart was shortlisted for two awards: the Male Coach of the Year and Disability Sportsman. Following his exceptional year of competition, defending his title as British Champion, and serving as a role model within the club, Stuart’s parents were able to proudly watch as he stepped up and collect both trophies.

Federica was nominated in the Junior Disability Sportswoman category, for both her successes as a performer in Regional events and qualifying to the National Schools Finals, plus the additional volunteering she does, including working with her Mum as Joint Competition Secretary for the club.

Seren was shortlisted for Junior Volunteer of the Year. After qualifying as a Level 1 Coach while studying for her GCSEs, she has subsequently taken responsibility for her own group showing fantastic enthusiasm, commitment and ability, and the gymnasts under her guidance have shown great improvement.

All three members were chosen as winners in their categories, with the added bonus that they were presented with their awards by our very own Sylvia, herself a previous winner.

It was great to see and hear about the wealth of sport within Alton during the evening, and well done to everyone who was nominated for an award. We are delighted for Federica, Stu, and Seren – and that their efforts and accomplishments have been recognised. Huge congratulations to each of them!

2017 may have only just begun, but the season got into full swing at the weekend at Alton members did well in the first Double Mini-Trampoline Regional event of the season.

9 members took part, the majority taking part for the first time at DMT, and all aiming to achieve qualification for the Regional NDP Final in March. Following a successful day Alton came away with 7 qualifiers!

In the NDP2 category, despite being new to the sport, Scarlett and Izzy showed great confidence and were neck-and-neck throughout, finishing in 2nd and 3rd with just 0.7 separating them after their four passes. Lorna also successfully qualified through in the 13+ group. Eloise and Jonty both produced three good passes, but unfortunately had one zero pass each. Both have a great opportunity though at the second Regional event next month.

Competing after his sister successfully qualified, Scott’s four strong passes meant that there were no sibling fall-outs as he also hit the qualifying score in NDP3 and came 2nd.

Finally, it was over to the exciting passes of our three experienced DMT competitors and former National Finalists. Hattie, Katherine and Stuart were all competing in different categories and their experiences counted for each of them, as they all stuck each of their four passes, achieving both the qualification score and also first place in their respective groups!

An excellent start to the season and congratulations to coach Sylvia and to all of the Regional Finalists!

Full results for the event can be downloaded below:

Congratulations to Chloe Foster, who is our latest member to gain their Level 1 Coaching Award! Chloe has grown up with the club, and successfully completed both her logbook and practical assessment to become a qualified coach.

Well done Chloe!

It was a great day for sisters Federica and Elena as they both came away with First Place trophies at the South-East Regional round of the National Schools Championships!

While they are members of ATC, both girls were competing for Stepping Stones School in Surrey, and the school can be especially proud of how well they represented them. Federica was following up on her fantastic performance in last years’ Championships where she qualified through to the Finals, while for Elena this was her first time in the Schools’ event. Competing in the Under 19s and Under 14s Novice Disability categories, both Federica and Elena supported one another and each finished both of their routines with scores in the 7s from the judges. ATC Coach Lee Parrott, who made the 150-mile round trip with them, was delighted with their performance and the “very good routines from them both”.

So it’s on to the Zonal round for the girls, which sees them travelling to Taunton on Sunday February 5th to compete for a place in the National Finals. Congratulations to them both on the achievement!

Full results from the event are available to be downloaded below: