On Saturday 31st January, eight St. Edmund’s gymnasts travelled to Fenton Manor Sports Complex to compete in the ‘West Midlands Floor & Vault Competition’. It is only the second occasion that St. Edmund’s have entered this competition and we managed to match our previous year’s performance!

Amelie Harris was St. Edmund’s first performer of the day on vault, and although it was her first real competition she performed exceptionally well, scoring 14.6 out of 16.00.  She was not fazed at all by the bigger competition, and went on to perform her floor beautifully.

This year, we also entered the Milano Competition where three gymnasts were required to perform a ‘trio sports acrobatics’ routine as well as their floor and vault. Christina Clifton, Zuzanna Laskowski and Rebecca Butler performed the best we have ever seen them, with great balance, flair and synchronisation.

Our U19 team then competed on floor and did so with style, precision and lots of extension.  Danielle Lim scored the highest on floor with 13.65 out of 16.0; very impressive as it was her first ever gymnastics competition!  All other floor routines were exceptional and the competition and level of performance was very high. Amber-Leigh Nicholls had a great competition as an individual too, and although she was injured she did not let it affect her determination to succeed. Well done!

In the vault section, all St. Edmund’s gymnasts executed their landings with precision, and again we scored well. There was some exceptional talent in the competition so we did not expect to win medals. However, the girls worked really hard and as a team and we managed to gain 2nd place, silver medal for the team performance.  Team members were Rebecca Butler, Christina Clifton, Zuzanna Laskowski, Julia deBechi, Danielle Lim and Lisa Spratt.

Mrs Cartlidge would like to thank all the gymnasts for their hard work, both during the competition and for their many late night training sessions. All has paid off, and we wish them luck in the upcoming ‘City Gymnastics Competition’ in six weeks.

“All this would also not be possible without the outstanding coaching Mrs Swindells offers to our pupils, both on a Monday and Friday night. We are very lucky to have her expertise and she is a delight to work with.  The impact she has on our pupils is immense; thank you.”