Huge congratulations to our members Alex and Robert who this past weekend have become NATIONAL SCHOOLS CHAMPIONS!

Alex, from Sun Hill Junior School, was competing in the Under 14 Disability Category 1 group. His older brother Robert, from Perins school, competed in the Under 19 Disability Category 1 group. Both of the brothers, from Alresford, showed great composure and confidence to show off their routines and their great scores meant that they both finished first in their respective groups.

After two qualifying rounds back in December and January, this was a just reward for the two of them who, following their successful performances last year, were determined that they had to compete somersaults in their routines the next time they took part in a competition. Over this time they have shown a terrific attitude and have worked hard along with their coaches Andy, Lee and Sylvia. For their families especially, to see both of them standing proud with the winners trophies was a wonderful sight to see!

Thank you to their families and to Andy as well, for making the near-450 mile round trip to Wigan so that they could take part!

Congratulations once again to our two National Schools Champions!

Congratulations to Federica, who won 3rd place at the 2016 East Hampshire Sports Awards in the Junior Disability Sportsperson category. She was nominated by her school following a successful year of competing in Regional competitions, learning new skills, and for qualifying through for the Finals of the National Schools Championships.

Well done to Federica!

Alton played host to the Southern region as clubs from across the area visited us to take part in the Regional Team Qualifier.

We had 14 gymnasts who had all qualified to reach this event, and it was a busy day with over 200 gymnasts in total competing in order to represent the Southern region in May.

In the NDP 1 group, Rosina, Jasmine, and Jonty all unfortunately scored zero in their first routines. However, they each showed tremendous attitude by dusting themselves off and returning to compete strong second routines. Elizabeth and Jess both completed their routines well and showed the improvement they’re making by obtaining their highest scores of the season! Courtney also came away with a strong showing, coming 8th but still hitting the qualification score of 45.0, showing the high level of competition in her group.

Competing in their first seasons at NDP 2 and 3, Scarlett, Tilly and Eloise all produced solid routines, with Tilly and Eloise both performing their second routines which scored their highest total to date!

In NDP 4 the boys Scott and James both improved on their scores at the previous event. Hattie smashed her total from earlier in the season and achieved the qualifying score, coming 6th in her group.

Finally, in the competitive NDP 5 event, Katherine easily surpassed her previous best and the qualifying score, just missing out on a trophy by coming 4th.

Following on from their success at the DMT competitions last month, both Katherine and Hattie had to pass the Range & Conditioning test. Both of the girls achieved the pass mark and we are delighted that they have qualified to represent the Southern Region in DMT!

Overall a busy day, but the event ran smoothly. Well done to all of the gymnasts who qualified to reach this event, an achievement in itself. Thank you to all of the volunteers who came along on the day to help make the event run as smoothly as it did, and also came in the night before to set everything up ready! Plus a thank you to Janet Payne for her work in administering the event.

Good luck to everyone who qualified to represent the Southern Region when you go to Birmingham for the Team Finals in May!

Congratulations to Maddison Woods, who has recently passed her Level 2 coaching course.

Maddi has been helping the club since Autumn last year, and has worked hard to build up her knowledge and experience so that she could demonstrate her competence in teaching the required skills.

Thank you as well to coaches Nicky and Abby for the help they gave to Maddi throughout.

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 kit thanks to the generosity of those who have dropped vouchers into the box during our training sessions.

The 2016 scheme runs until May 3rd. 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 Double-Mini Trampoline Regional Team Qualifier (RTQ) for the Southern Region was held this past weekend and gymnasts from Alton continued the success from the previous competitions with some excellent performances!

Both Hattie and Katherine performed four strong passes and both achieved first place, along with the qualification score required in order to represent the Southern region at the Regional Team Finals later in the year. This is a fantastic achievement for them, and to coach Sylvia as well!

The event was open to any gymnast who had achieved the required score at either of the previous two events. At this RTQ the qualification score had been raised and in order to represent the Southern region, the gymnasts were also required to come in the top two places in their group. Qualification is not yet assured as these gymnasts are also required to pass the Range & Conditioning routine at the Alton competition in March.

The competition saw some excellent passes by gymnasts from Alton, Xcel and Alpha, and looks as though the South are going to have a strong team going into the Regional Team Finals in May.

Congratulations once again to Hattie and Katherine for their excellent accomplishment!

The second Regional Test Event took place in Milton Keynes and we saw 11 of our members successfully come away with a qualifying score and be invited to the Southern Regional Team Qualifier.

In the NDP1 category, both Courtney and Zaki came away with trophies. Zaki, who had fallen ill during the week, pulled through to complete his routines and secure the 2nd place trophy, despite just missing out on qualification. Courtney followed up her 3rd place in the Isle of Wight by producing two more excellent routines and winning the 3rd place trophy in the largest group of the day! Federica, having only returned from holiday the night before, came 1st in the Girls Disability Category 1 group!

In addition to this, in the NDP1 category we also saw Jess achieve the score again, while Elizabeth and Rosina were both successful in their first ever Regional qualifying event. In NDP2, Claire, Tilly and Scarlett, all competing at this level for the first time, successfully achieved the score. We also had a group of boys competing together in NDP4 for the first time, and while Harry narrowly missed out, both Scott and James came through and are now able to compete in the next round. Finally, in NDP5 both Katherine and Hattie were thrilled to finish their routines with qualifying scores!

It was a strong outing from ATC, and it was great to see so much support from members, coaches and parents alike!

Thanks to the team at Orbit for hosting and well done to everyone who competed! The full results for the event can be found below.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the Regional Team Qualifier in Alton on March 13th!

As our members know, there will be a new ‘Range & Conditioning’ testing section at the Southern Regional Team Qualifier event in March. In order for gymnasts to be selected to represent the Southern region at the Regional Team Finals later in the year, they have to achieve the qualifying score in their Trampoline / DMT routines and finish in the top 2 in their group. In addition to this they have to pass a ‘Range and Conditioning’ test (70% pass mark). The full details, including an example routine, can be found on the British Gymnastics website.

In order to help our members, please see the video below of one of our members doing the routine, along with the scoresheet and additional information about how the routine will be marked. Please note that the routine may not be perfect, but it is an impressive routine and gives our members a reminder of the order of skills.

If you have any questions please feel free to speak to our coaches at the end of the training sessions.