October 2009 news part 1

Sorry for not adding any updates to the news section of the site for a while.  We have all been so busy over the last couple of months, with competitions, camps and courses.

Back in June the Elite girls went off to Manchester to take part in the Manchester Open, what a fantastic competition, some great gymnasts and great staff at the venue. We were made to feel very welcome and will certainly do this competition next year. The squad chosen to attend were all excited, not sure if they were as excited about the competition as they were about the stop over in a hotel. The hotel was interesting to say the least, but we all survived. They just weren’t prepared for the amount of children taking part in the event. Some great results, Shannon picking up a beam medal, Macy a vault medal, Hannah all around third and Lauren 2nd on vault.  We had a great competition and the girls truly enjoyed the experience.

Next our were our camps, which were fantastic. This year had seen a change in the format; we had a general squad camp and an elite camp running. We set out the gym to be training only, so no one did routines all did skills; it was exhausting but fantastic, the general squad girls had such fun and the atmosphere in both camps was great, the girls were given gym bags as their gifts this year and they went down well.

South Durham summer camp was one of the highlights of the year for some lucky elite girls. What a week, the girls took part in dance and improved and gained skills all week.  They didn’t seem tired at all; the girls behaved so well all week and I was very proud of them.  The end to the week was a show of the choreography that they had learned with tutus on, head bands, and all smiling they danced to FAME. My goodness it brought tears to my eyes and does every year; how on earth Leonie and Roxanne manage to get 52 children in time, all performing their own sections in just 5 days is testament to how well this camp is run.  No one wanted to go home, including me, it was so nice just to coach for a whole week and not worry about everyone else for once. Thank you to Nic and Rachel at South Durham or inviting us again, can't wait for next year.

The next thing over the Summer was the Alpha Factor invitational, all the way down in Wiltshire, but so worth it. We love this competition as it has such a lovely atmosphere. Busy, oh yes busy, so well run and so fantastic, the girls loved it and we did too.  We had some surprises to come, Jessie picking up a ribbon  on floor under 8 level 4, Dana coming in 2nd place overall with a whole host of ribbonson individual pieces, along with Lauren coming 2nd in level 3 vault,  Kelly-Jo Robson in 4th place also a  huge achievement. Well done girls. The overall team place in the Ariels cup was 5th.

Retirement, ugh! We have had three well known gymnasts retire in the last few months, Caroline Hall, Rebecca Boal and Leanne Smith; all have decided to hang up their leotards.  Doing gym for 8 or more years is a massive achievement; these three girls have been the back bone of the competing squad for so long, making every competition asked of them and  doing very well indeed, all three girls have competed in national competitions, and Rebecca has represented the North of England on many occasions.

The three girls have seen many changes to gymnastics over the years, with different codes and routines changing, they have smiled, cried and been exhausting at times. They have also been fun, annoying and had us in hysterics at times; thanks girls for the years, just don’t know where they went do you?

Caroline we will still see in the gym as she is a qualified coach; we wish Rebecca and Leanne good luck in everything they do, I have been so proud of them over the years, thanks to you all xx

Great news for the Gym. We now have newly qualified women’s judges, at last!! Well done to Caroline Hall, Marie Mcleod, Marsha Hill, Sheerie Dunn, Kelly-Jo Robson, Dawn Flood, Katie Greenwood and Justine Fowler. I couldn’t be prouder of you all; at last Redcar Gym Club has judges as well as coaches!! WELL DONE xx

Pre Elite is coming up on 15th November, come and support the girls, at South Durham Gym Club (see the calendar entry for more details). Come support Lauren Hearfield, Dana Murray, Kelly-Jo Robson and Vicky Fowler.

Also coming up is Denis Hamer our Christmas Club competition, although a week earlier than normal. There are loads of entries and we will have a great competition.

Diane.