Weston erobic Gymnastics Club finished off a busy summer by taking 41 gymnasts to compete at the Heathrow International Championships.

WESTON Aerobic Gymnastics Club finished off a busy summer by taking 41 gymnasts to compete at the Heathrow International Championships held over three days in Bracknell.

The gymnasts ranged from seven years old up to 18-years-old and they all produced superb routines bringing home over 40 gold medals and showing great potential for the British Championships in October

In the international section of the event, gymnasts from the club competed against clubs from Germany, Estonia and Sweden, as well as other top British clubs. The coaches were delighted when the international squad showed their talent by medalling in every category entered.

Age 12-14 male individual and British squad member Rhys Williams got a personal best with a superb routine full of difficulty to get the gold medal, and Keira Landen got herself on the podium for the first time in 12-14 female individuals with a silver medal. They then teamed up to compete their world class pair’s routine for another gold medal.

The 15-17 world class pair Matt Saunders and Abi Butterfield competed for the first time since Matt’s injury at the world championships in June, and bought the house down with a dynamic and crowd pleasing routine. It was a well-deserved gold medal, the club’s top score and second highest score of the whole event.

In the national level event, the club swept the board, winning all but one category entered in great style.

The 15 to 17-year-old gymnasts all produced some excellent routines and can be justifiably proud of their results. The six team of Cara Short, Dani Lintern, Kat Forster, Jade Hunt, Courtney Hewwett and Olivia Barratt competed a dynamic routine to get gold, with Kat, Jade and Olivia also producing a tight and clean routine to win the trios.

The power house that is Cara Short led in the female individuals from the beginning, being the first gymnast on the floor. However, no other gymnast was able to match her score and she stayed in pole position to win the gold.

The younger age group 12-14 also won all categories entered, in one case taking gold and silver. Cally Bullock, Lucy Clarke and Issy Worral won gold and Katy Day, Katy Tossel and Lara Hunt took the silver. Both trios produced tight polished routines.

The pair’s event was won by Lucy Williams and Grace Maggs with a strong and determined performance. They teamed up with Cally, Izzy, Lucy Clarke and Katy Tossel to produce their cleanest routine yet for a gold medal in the six team event.

Age 10-11 pairs was entered by Taylor Drewer and Victoria Kemmish, and although a few hiccups took place during the warm-up, the pair completed a delightful routine to get the club another gold medal.

RAC is the level that most gymnasts start competing in, and again the club showed its true ability across all levels.

First on the floor was Gemma Handley, who was against a huge field of good gymnasts in the age eight section, so was delighted to win the silver medal.

In the age 10-11, Rachel Anderson won the silver with Ellie Hayes winning the bronze. Both gymnasts have stayed consistent all year.

Rachel joined Ella Hutchinson to win the pairs event as the pair have only trained together for two weeks, this was an extra special gold. Ellie Hayes joined Millie Meese and Lauren Tossel to win the trio, again with a much improved routine from last time out.

In the 12-14 event, Weston again won every event. Ffion Dando won the female individuals with Emma Heeney in silver, although both girls had the same score, the split was made on execution. Ben Payne won the male individuals with a charismatic and entertaining routine.

The pair’s event was won by Ben and partner Charlotte, with Amy Bond and Jenny Cao winning the silver medal. The pairs have competed against each other all year, and each time both have been on the podium.

Amy, Jenny and Ffion joined Bayleigh Whitehead, Lauryn Grainger and Harmony Potter to win the gold medal in the six team section.

The youngest gymnasts from the club competed for the first time. Emily Williams and Lewis Harvey bought the cute factor to the event with a delightful mixed pair’s routine to get the silver medal in the age eight-year-old section

The RAC gymnasts will now turn their attention to producing display routines for the club’s gala in October, while the NAC and FIG gymnasts will stay in training and work to fine tune the routines for the British Championships.

The club is now waiting to see if it has secured a large grant from British Gymnastics to enable it to expand further and bring aerobic gymnastics to more children.

If you would like your child to take part in this exciting sport, please contact Debbie Saunders on 07779 802110.