We held our Intra-Club Championships recently, which saw plenty of routines and a chance to recognise achievements with our annual awards.

The event was open to all club members, and saw everything from our beginner bouncers to GB squad member, with gymnasts showing their skills in DMT, individual trampolining and synchronised trampolining.

It was a wonderful afternoon and gave our parents a chance to see how well our members are improving. A huge thank you to all of the volunteers who helped out on the day, from setting up to coaching and judging, and running the raffle, which raised over £130 of useful funds for the club.

In addition to the competition medals, we presented our annual awards as follows:

• Most Improved Recreational Member: Sam McClean
• Most Improved Competitive Member: Alex Othen
• Most Improved DMT: Lorna Plumridge
• Highest Trampoline Form Score of the Year: Scarlett Othen
• Highest DMT Form Score of the Year: Lorna Plumridge
• Highest Form Score of the Day: Hattie Mitchell

We would like to send out a huge THANK YOU to Waitrose and to everyone who supported us when we were chosen to be part of December’s Community Matters initiative at the Alton store.

As part of the scheme we have been awarded £240 by Waitrose, which will have a big impact on us, and go towards the purchase of new kit for the club, and help further develop our DMT competitors following the regional success we saw last year.

Once again, thanks to Waitrose for selecting us. For further details on the scheme then please visit the Waitrose website.

Federica celebrated over her birthday weekend as she qualified for the National Schools Finals by winning the Southern Zonal competition!

Federica, representing Alton College, was competing alongside her sister, Elena, who herself was representing Stepping Stones School. Both had previously qualified and were in the same Category 1 Girls Novice Years 7-14 group.

Both girls did an excellent job in completing all of their routines, both scoring well and improving on their performances in the previous round, scoring a total of over 50 each. The whole group was incredibly close, with less than 2 marks between everyone.

It proved to be Federica’s day as she finished in 1st, while Elena can be proud of her 4th place finish. It means that Federica has earned herself a place at the National Schools Finals in March which is a wonderful accomplishment and a terrific birthday gift!

Thanks to our coach James. P for attending the event and supporting the girls.

We are DELIGHTED to have been chosen by Waitrose in Alton as one of their good causes this month, as part of their Community Matters initiative.

If you are shopping in the Alton store, then please support us by dropping your tokens into our box in the store. This is a great opportunity to earn some funds for the club, which really will go a long way!

A huge thank you to Waitrose for choosing us. If you’d like to find out further details on the scheme then please visit the Waitrose website at this link.

A fantastic end to 2018 as sisters Federica and Elena both came away as winners at the Regional round of the 2018-19 BSGA Schools Competition!

Despite competing on the same day, both sisters attend schools in different regions, so while Federica was competing in the South-East round in Oxford, Elena was 120 miles away competing in the Southern round in Kent!

Federica was representing Alton College as she won the Category 1 Girls Novice Years 7-14 competition. She made some extra bounces in her voluntary routine, although with scores in the 7s across the board in her compulsory routine she can rightfully be pleased.

Elena was competing in the same group, but representing Stepping Stones in the South. Following her success at the recent friendly competition, she again completed her harder voluntary routine and like her sister she successfully finished in 1st place!

The results mean that both girls qualified for the Zonal round, due to take place in Eastleigh on Saturday January 19th, where both girls will be competing in the same group.

Well done to them both! This really was an excellent achievement, for them, their schools, and for the club. A huge thank you too, to Sylvia and to Lisa Lewis for supporting the girls at the competitions. A wonderful end to the year, and best of luck to them both in January!

Our members had a great time at a recent local friendly competition, hosted by Swallows Trampoline Club. With the individual categories aimed primarily at the more novice competitors, our members attended alongside our friends at other local clubs: Alpha, Portsmouth, P.S.Trampoline & Gymnastics, and Phoenix Trampoline Club.

5 of our members were competing in their first external Trampoline competition and they all did incredibly well. Following a stumble in her first routine, Erin came back brilliantly to complete her second routine to finish 6th in the Intermediate A Under 11s. The Intermediate B group was close, with just 1.35 between 1st and 8th! Imogen came 8th and Chloe 5th. Yasmine, who has completed in a couple of competitions in the past, produced two excellent routines and earned herself a place on the podium, finishing in 2nd place.

Elena was attempting her Disability NDP 1 routine for the first time in a competition, in preparation for both Schools competitions and Regional events in the upcoming months. She made a great start with it, as she finished both routines and claimed FIRST PLACE!

Despite a great season in Double Mini-Trampoline, this was Alex’s first external Trampoline competition. He did well in the mixed Advanced A Under 11 group and finished in 15th. In a highly competitive Over 13s group, Reuben scored the highest individual score of the day by an ATC member to finish in 5th place.

The event finished with the enjoyable Synchro competition, where there was success for our two pairs. Imogen and Jess, who have both only recently learned to somersault, completed their somersaults together and won the FIRST PLACE medals! In the older group, our more experienced duo of Lorna and Scarlett did very well to remain in time while performing a more difficult routine to achieve 2nd place and some well-deserved medals.

It was a great day, and we’d like to thank Swallows for hosting, along with our coaches who supported our members throughout the day, and our new judges Vicky and Judy, who did a fantastic job in their first competition!

Three Alton Trampoline Club members competed at the 2018 Trampoline & DMT League Finals this past weekend in Sheffield. Jonty, James and Pete completed all of their routines and finished in very respectable positions.

Having been set up in 2014, the Trampoline League provided a real spectacle as gymnasts in Trampoline and DMT from around the UK converged upon the English Institute of Sport. For ourselves, Jonty began the day in the League 3 11-12 years group, having qualified for the Finals in 24th position. He performed two good routines, achieving a personal best score of 73.78 in the process to finish in 17th.

Pete and James were both finalists last year. This time around, with the top 8 gymnasts in each group going through to the final, Pete narrowly missed out in the League 3 19+ category, finishing in 9th and just 0.1 behind 8th.

James was in 5th place after his initial two routines in the League 3 17-18 years category. With all the scores zeroed for the final, it meant the results came down to the scores of one last routine from each gymnasts. James improved upon his previous scores and it was a nervous wait as the remaining competitors all completed their routines, with very little difference between the scores across the majority of finalists. As the scores were confirmed, James finished in 4th place.

We’re proud of all of our competitors, who can all be pleased to come away with a 100% completion record at the competition. There was a great team spirit in action, as all of the members supported each other. Despite not competing until the afternoon, James and Pete both arrived at the start of the day to support Jonty, while Jonty stayed to support them. A huge thank you to coach Lee for her support over the whole event, to Mike for judging, and to Glenda and John for their support!

Stuart Sharpe capped off a remarkable 2018 season as he won GOLD at the Trampoline & DMT English Championships!

Following his success at the British Championships last month, Stuart traveled up to compete in Sheffield in the Mens Disability Category 1 Gold group, having qualified alongside his fellow GB Squad members. There was great support shown throughout by all of the members, and after all of the gymnasts had successfully completed their initial two routines, there was less than 2 marks separating the whole group, with Stuart entering the final in 2nd place. With the scores zeroed for everyone, it all came down to one routine to determine the placings and medals.

Stuart saved his best until last, with his final routine a significant improvement over his previous attempt, scoring 32.8 to achieve his highest score of the day and secure 1st place.

Commenting afterwards about his accomplishment, Stuart said “Shout outs to anyone who had a hand in coaching me as well as everyone at the competitions that helps make them so enjoyable and not as nerve racking as they could be.”

We are incredibly proud of Stuart and his work ethic and achievements this year. His enthusiasm is infectious and hopefully it will inspire others within the club. Thanks as well to Dawn Lawson and the other coaches and gymnasts in the Disability Category, who all help each other out and support one another. The standard continues to improve, and there is a great sense of friendship, as well as competition, that comes from being around all those associated with it.

Congratulations once again to Stuart, and Alton can celebrate having an English and a British Trampoline Champion!

Alton’s own Stuart Sharpe reclaimed his crown this past weekend as he once again became a BRITISH CHAMPION!

Stuart was competing in the British Championships in the Trampoline Disability Category 1 Mens group, following his excellent performances earlier in the year. Inside a packed Arena in Birmingham, and with BBC TV cameras surrounding the competition floor, Stuart and the top gymnasts in the country competed for the title across a full action-packed weekend.

Despite some heart-stopping moments, Stuart held his nerve to complete both routines on day one, qualifying into Sunday in first place. Stuart was pushing himself with his Voluntary routine being his hardest routine to date, beginning with three double somersaults. On the Sunday Stuart then showed great composure, improving on his previous display and receiving the highest individual score of the weekend in his group to claim the gold medal!

For Stuart this was an testament to the work he has put in since failing to qualify last year. He did incredibly well performing alongside a group of gymnasts in the Disability category who are all quickly improving and pushing one another.

We are incredible proud of Stuart and everything he has achieved. Well done to him, and to his family and coach Sylvia, who provided wonderful support to him and everyone in the group over the whole weekend. There’s no rest though, as he now prepares for the English Championships next month. One thing is certain though, he can now call himself a 2018 British Champion!

All of the results can be found on the British Gymnastics website.

THANK YOU to our amazing coaches Clare Wakely & Seren Irwin, who are now stopping their regular coaching sessions with us.

Seren, who began as a toddler, has grown up to be a great gymnast, coach & friend to everyone, and she is preparing for University in October.

Clare has been with the club since it first began and herself was a todder. She competed & represented us nationally, as well as becoming a fantastic coach. She has also given countless hours to support the club in so many other roles, earning regional awards recognising her work & commitment.

You’ll still see them both around occasionally, but we’d like to extend our sincere gratitude & appreciation for everything they have done for us and our members. Both have been absolutely fantastic – THANK YOU!!!