Tuesday
16th Jan 2007.
Hows
that! Esprit girls start in style
THE Esprit Academy has leapt into 2007 in fine style with
two of its young gymnasts achieving national and regional
success.
Twelve-year-old
Courtney Hows paved the way for another successful 12
months for the Stratton-based club by winning a coveted
place in the British Women's Artistic Gymnastic Championships
later this year.And the Wroughton schoolgirl made it a
double celebration by landing a place in this year's South
West squad.
She
will be joined by nine-year-old clubmate Abbie MacKenzie.
Esprit
- who finished joint third in the Swindon Advertiser's
Team of the Year poll - completed a memorable 2006 by
seeing rhythmic gymnast Laura Halford land the British
under 10 title.
And chairman Mark Hows said: "The new year looks
like continuing where the club left off last year.
"The
highlight of 2006 was Laura Halford bringing the under
10 British title home and it looks like Courtney and Abbie,
as well as several other Esprit gymnasts, will be making
their mark on the national stage throughout 2007.''
Hows
made the trip to Aldershot for the Challenge Cup, a competition
designed to identify artistic gymnasts with the ability
to participate in the 2007 British Championships, in November.
With
her coaches Katy Smith and Gemma Blewden, she was pitted
against 50 other gymnasts in her age group, all performing
complex routines on bars, beam, vault and floor with the
top overall scores counting towards qualification.
With
the required pass mark generally high and many of the
gymnasts' having higher levels of difficulty in their
routines, Hows had to perform clean, error-free routines
to make an impact.
"As
usual, Courtney never showed her obvious nerves and was
placed fifth overall with a score of 45 points, only 1.6
behind first place,'' said head coach Smith.
"But
she had an anxious wait over Christmas and the New Year
for the news that she had surpassed the required pass
mark to secure one of the eight coveted places available.''
Hows
will now hone her skills in training for the competition
on June 9-10, while her South West pick means she is eligible
to compete for the regions this year.
Mackenzie's
selection for that squad was confirmed after impressive
results throughout 2006 with her and Hows asked to join
without the normal trial required.
