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National Success for Esprit
18 May
2007
Following
this year’s qualification event to find the South
West’s representatives for the National Grades and
Compulsory levels finals, Swindon’s elite gymnastics
club Esprit was riding high with 3 of its members being
selected for the various teams.
Daisy Rolt (12) competed in the National Club ‘Grade-1’
competition at the Cocks Moors Woods leisure centre in Birmingham.
And although initially selected as the travelling reserve
for this event Daisy was drafted in as a full member of
the team, following an unfortunate injury to another team
member.
Being
extremely competitive, Daisy continued to train as hard
as she could, just in case, and when she knew she would
have to compete redoubled her efforts to ensure she didn’t
let her team mates down, having only 2 weeks to prepare
herself.
On the
day, Daisy competed exceptionally well on all four pieces
in this artistic gymnastics competition, the very hardest
level for a grades gymnast. She never once looked like a
reserve and more than proved herself by scoring the second
highest score of the South West team, who ultimately finished
an impressive 5th in the overall competition.
Esprit’s
head of artistic coaching, Katy Smith said, “Daisy’s
excellent work and clean routines achieved high scores on
all four pieces of apparatus, she never let her nerves affect
her performance and fully justified her inclusion in the
South West team”.
After the grades came the National Compulsory Level’s
finals and 9-year old Olivia Bloodworth was Esprit’s
representative in an impressive line up. Olivia competed
in the National compulsory grade 4 competition and this
competition is where the top 4, 9-year olds in each region
of the UK compete, as a team and as individuals.
Olivia
was selected to represent the South West in this team of
4 and although rather nervous competed clean routines on
all 5 pieces, including the dreaded ‘range & conditioning’.
This her first National competition saw her achieve a very
high 18th overall, a very satisfactory start to what looks
like becoming a promising future.
To cap
an impressive weekend the South West team finished the event
with an exceptional 3rd place overall and bronze medal,
out of all the teams entered from every area of the UK.
Club
Chairman, Mark Hows finished by saying “both our girls
performed exceptionally well and fully deserved to be part
of the South West teams. The only downside was that we never
got to see our 3rd member take part. Erin Milroy (11) qualified
for the South West teams but unfortunately broke a toe in
the lead up to the competition and had to withdraw, leaving
her bitterly disappointed. She will be back however and
I am sure, even more determined to make the team again next
year”.
A great
big well done should go to all of the gymnasts, they performed
to an incredibly high standard
