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!!!

Our members Elliot and Alex can be extremely proud of themselves after competing at the 2018 National Finals in Nottingham.

Both boys were competing in their first season in DMT, and had earned their place in the finals having qualified through three sets of qualifying competitions since January, with only the top 8 in the UK in each group reaching this stage.

Neither gymnast displayed any signs of nerves as they marched out onto the competition floor of the Motorpoint Arena, with Alex finishing 7th in the 9-10 years NDP 1 category and Elliot achieving 6th position in the 11-12 years group. Both landed their first three passes, while Alex’s final pass concluded with his Front Somersault unfortunately receiving an extra deduction for putting his hands down, while Elliot’s spotter skill travelled a little too far meaning he wasn’t able to somersault off. This only cost them a place or two however, and each of them can hold their heads high with their excellent performances.

When asked, both of them came away having enjoyed the whole experience, and motivated to continue DMT and improve their skills.

We are incredibly pleased and proud of what each of them achieved this season – congratulations to both Alex and Elliot!

Visit the British Gymnastics website for the full set of results.

There was success for ATC members at the 2018 Regional Team Finals as both Alex and Elliot qualified for the NDP Finals!

It was an exciting weekend of Trampolining, DMT and Tumbling, as gymnasts from the whole of the UK travelled to the impressive Arena in Birmingham representing their respective regions.

Five members from Alton had qualified to be part of the Southern Team. Zaki was the lone gymnast on the Trampoline, while Alex, Elliot, Lorna and Katherine had all earned their place on the team through DMT.

Zaki and Katherine competed on the Saturday. Zaki, in his first national event, showed no signs of nerves to complete two solid routines in a very close NDP1 11-12 group, with less than 5 marks between the top 16 gymnasts. Zaki finished in a very respectable 15th place, and can take away a lot from his performance.

Katherine, in the DMT NDP5 15+ group, was competing in her 5th consecutive Regional Finals. Unfortunately she failed to land on her feet in her first pass, denying her the opportunity to compete for the medals this time around. She showed great attitude and competitive spirit though by subsequently producing three excellent passes, ultimately finishing in 13th.

On the Sunday, Lorna took the floor in the NDP2 13+ category. She hit every one of her passes, never landing in any of the penalty areas, and achieved her season’s best score while finishing in 20th place. It was a group of high quality, with every competitor completing their passes, and out of nearly 100 passes, only 3 saw any of the judges scoring less than a 9.

For Elliot and Alex, this was their first season competing in Double Mini-Trampoline, with both boys competing in the NDP1 group. Neither of them was phased by the scale of the competition and they each successfully completed all of their passes. Elliot finished in 6th place in the 11-12 group, while Alex came 8th in the 9-10 group, meaning that both of them have now qualified for the NDP Finals in July! For both of them it is an incredible achievement and will be an amazing experience.

Congratulations to all of our gymnasts and to the whole of the Southern Region, which finished 7th in both Trampoline and DMT. There was a fantastic team attitude shown throughout the whole weekend, with gymnasts and coaches all working together and supporting each other, and all were excellent representatives for the region.

Good luck to Alex and Elliot on the weekend of the 7th and 8th of July, as they now move on to the NDP Finals in Nottingham!

Full results and videos are available at https://www.british-gymnastics.org/event/8899/trampoline-and-tumbling-regional-team-final-and-ndp-qualification-2018.

Five intrepid Alton members made the trip over to the Isle of Wight to take part in the annual Novice and Synchronised Trampoline competition.

All of our members were taking part in the individual categories, which had been designed primarily for those gymnasts that had not had an opportunity to compete at the regional events this year, and offered the lower level routines.

Medals were awarded to competitors throughout the day based on their scores as opposed to placing. Achieving the first target score earned a bronze medal, with a higher target score earning silver, and the top scores earning a gold medal.

Sisters Elena and Federica both competed new routines in the Disability CDP4 category. Both did so well, and with Federica taking additional bounces it finished with Elena in first place and Federica coming second.

It had been almost a year since Reuben last competed, although he used his experience to pull off two solid routines. He finished 7th in the group, but scored high enough to earn himself a much-deserved bronze medal.

Brothers Calvin and Archer had never part ins regional event before. They both showed great composure and can take away a lot from their experience. Archer unfortunately was only scored out of 2 in his routines, but Calvin successfully completed his, securing third place in his group.

All of the gymnasts received fantastic support from their families, along with our coaches Stuart and Sylvia. Parent Melanie Lust commented “We had a lovely day, and big thanks to Stuart for coaching Reuben, and Sylvia for her support too. Super proud of Reuben getting a bronze medal today.” Cassandra Bos also praised the coaching team: “What a fun day! Thanks Stu and Sylvi for your fabulous support for the boys’ first competition”.

Well done to all of our members and hopefully they will all use the experience to continue to improve and enter more events in the future.

Stuart Sharpe confirmed his place in the British Championships with his fourth victory of the year at the second Spring Series event of the year in Sheffield!

Stuart produced two excellent routines to win the Disabilities Performance Category 1 Men group to earn his gold medal, to go alongside the others earned this year in the first Spring Series event and the two English Championship Qualifiers.

The competition is getting tighter, and Stuart admitted it wasn’t “such a considerable margin”, with some good routines from his fellow GB Squad members, including William Morton-Hall and Christopher Bermingham, who were ahead after the compulsory routines. It’s great to see the improvement of the group as a whole as the season continues, and the support everyone shows each other is sporting and genuine.

For Stuart, he has a few months to prepare for both the English Championships and the British Championships, and we hope he continues performing at the level he is now. Four wins is a fantastic achievement – congratulations!

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

Congratulations to James, who won his first ever League medal after coming 3rd in the Trampoline League last weekend in Cardiff.

It was the second Trampoline League event of the season, and James followed up on a confident display in the first event to reach his highest placing, securing his first podium placing, his first medal at a League event, and enough points to guarantee him a place in the League Finals at the end of the year!

Pete Walley is also going to join James in the League Finals as he secured 5th place and enough points to guarantee a top 12 finish regardless of what happens at the next two competitions. Pete played it safe and completed two easier ‘Set’ routines, working on improving his form, and it proved the right thing to do and was shown in the improved Execution Scores he received. This will make it three year’s running that Pete has reached the Finals weekend – an excellent achievement!

Despite just missing out on League points by coming 26th, Chloe Ellis completed her hardest routine yet, with a 10-somersault voluntary routine this was the first time that Chloe had attempted this in a competition, so still plenty to take away. It was only Chloe’s lower HD scores which was the main difference between her and the other gymnasts around her.

Overall it was another good outing for ATC, and we’d like to thank everyone who gave time over the Bank Holiday weekend so that our members could take part.

If you are interested in the full results, they can be found on the Trampoline League website.

THREE WINS OUT OF THREE as Stuart’s fantastic season continued at the English Championships Qualifying event this past weekend.

Following his wins at the first Qualifying event and then the Spring Series a few weeks ago, Stuart Sharpe showed great confidence in all of his routines, consistently being awarded Execution scores in the 8s and improving on previous scores for both his voluntary and final routines. The results also confirmed his qualification into the English Championships in October!

Looking at the increased number of competitors in the group, and the continually improving scores it is clear that the quality displayed by all of the gymnasts in the category are increasing, which is great to see.

For Stuart and his coaches there are three weeks to prepare for the next Spring Series event. In the meantime, congratulations once again to Stu for this recent fantastic performance!

To view all of the results, visit the British Gymnastics website.

Stuart Sharpe continued his winning start to 2018 with first place at the Spring Series event in Telford.

Building on his performance at the English Qualifier a few weeks’ earlier, Stu showed a renewed sense of confidence as he included an additional somersault to compete a harder voluntary routine at this event. It proved to be a good decision as he was awarded the gold medal and got to stand on the podium alongside his fellow National teammates.

Stuart now stands in prime position for qualifying to the British Championships, taking place towards the end of the year.

Well done Stu!

Full results are available at https://www.british-gymnastics.org/event/8926/trampoline-and-tumbling-spring-event-series-1-2018.