South
West Superstars!
Published
22 August 2006
JUST three years old, Esprit Gymnastics has already produced
some of the South West's finest young athletes, winning
many medals at regional, national and international competition.
It
already has three gymnasts in national squads including
the Wales and Great Britain, and these results show the
depth of gymnastic talent there is in Swindon.
The
three are: Harriet Evans (10) Travels
to Swindon from her home in Tetbury five days per week
to train at Esprit Gymnastics. Harriett recently trialled
for the Welsh National preparation' squad which is used
as a testing ground to see if a gymnast has what it takes
to eventually become a full part of the Welsh team. Harriet
surpassed all expectations by being asked to bypass the
preparation and even the development' squad to become
a member of the full Welsh national team. This now means
that as soon as Harriet is old enough and if selected,
she will be in a position to compete for Wales in full
international competition.
Laura
Halford (10) Laura is no stranger to the pages
of the Swindon Advertiser, voted into second place in
last year's Sports Personality'.
She has been at the top of her sport since she was picked
out by Esprit coaches at only eight years old.
Laura
has already been successful at major national and international
championships, including being the Welsh National Champion,
in her age, for the last two years.
As a member of both the Welsh national and Great Britain
teams, Laura is looking towards competing at the highest
level, with the 2012 Olympics, the first she will be old
enough to compete at, a realistic goal.
Jade
Faulkner (12) Warneford schoolgirl Jade's success
in gymnastics started the day she made the change to the
rhythmic discipline from artistic gymnastics and she hasn't
looked back since. Selected in 2005 as part of the Great
Britain team Jade is also a part of the World Class' programme
which was established to identify those of her age and
above, with the ability to compete at the very highest
level.
Currently
in Bulgaria at a World Class training camp with her Great
Britain team mates Jade, along with Laura and Harriett,
is one of Esprit's brightest stars.
