January Newsletter, 2012

WELCOME!
We would like to extend an especially warm welcome to all of our new Members who are starting this Term, plus we hope that our existing members had a relaxing and enjoyable Christmas holiday and that you are all looking forward to learning new and exciting skills in the Spring Term to come.

SEVERE WEATHER POLICY
We have been very fortunate so far this winter with the weather. However should we get blizzards we would like to draw your attention to our severe weather policy which is on the notice board in bright orange. Should we have to close due to bad weather, do please check our website on www.rushgym.co.uk for an up to date status report. If our staff can get in we will be open!

THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
This is one of the most important dates in the RGA calendar, where you (represented by your parents) get to find out just where your money goes, and what the hopes and aspirations are for the club in the future. Did you know that the R.G.A. is both a Registered Charity and also a Company Limited by Guarantee. Due to this status we received £60,000 in Grants in 2010 towards a new floor area and our brand new seating units! If you have a child in one of our competition squads, this is important for you. However ALL parents are most welcome. The A.G.M. normally takes around 40 – 60 minutes and is followed by a free Cheese and Wine reception, where you get the opportunity to talk to our coaches and Executive Committee members in an informal setting. This years AGM will take place on Tuesday the 28th February at 8.15 p.m. Don’t miss it!

EASTER CAMP
The dates for Summer and Easter Camps are published one year in advance and they really are a MUST for any serious competitive gymnast. Camp is suitable for all Squad Gymnasts who are training for more than 4 hours per week and is a fun and rewarding experience where the gymnasts get the opportunity to make accelerated progress in a competitive and fun environment. Camps always finish with our famous ‘Everybody’s Birthday Party and Skits Night’. Places for Easter Camp are already selling well with many regulars from around the world already booked in. RGA gymnasts are non-resident and get camp at half-price. Brochures are available from reception. Book your child’s place today to avoid disappointment!

DATES FOR EASTER & SUMMER CAMPS 2012
1st - 6TH APRIL
12TH-17TH AUGUST 19TH -24TH AUGUST

COMPETITION REPORTS SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER 2011

Bucks County In Out of Age Groups Championship

The season started with the Bucks County In Out of Age Groups Championship in Milton Keynes on 11th September. The competition was used by the Rushmoor girls as a qualification for the Regional finals later on that month, it also gave an opportunity to upgrade some of their routines. All of the girls did very well and twelve out of thirteen gymnasts qualified for the Regional Finals in their respective grades. Fenton Manor Sports complex in Stoke-On-Trent was the place to be on the weekend of 17/18th Sept for the British Men’s Championships, in Boys, Youth, Junior and Senior age groups. Competing among the best in Britain Rushmoor boys had two entries in the junior category. Matthew Wickham and Ben Andrews. While Ben unfortunately had to withdraw due to an injury after Rings, Matthew Wickham finished in a very creditable 11th place Over All, just missing the Bronze on P. Bars finishing in 4th place. The Southern Region Age Groups Championship for girls, was held at The Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth on 24/25th September. As the main qualifier for National Championship the turnout was huge, with a total of over 200 gymnasts contesting the Regional titles for their age groups with the Rushmoor Team chasing nearly every title in what proved to be some very tough competition. In Level 5 on the Saturday for gymnasts 9/10 years, Iyesha Gayle, Catrin Williams and Grace Newman performed well to finish 7th, 14th and 29th in their first major Regional event. In Level 4, Rushmoor had two girls in the field of thirty, with Chantelle Beckett in 5th place, and Hermione Gray in 8th. On the Sunday, the RGA girls had a field day. Starting with Natalia Webster in Level 4 who picked up a well-deserved Bronze medal. Holly Tyson gained a clear 2.3 points victory in Level 3 and thus qualifying for the National Age Groups Final as well as winning Vault, Bars and Floor. In Level 3 Rosheen Hinze took the gold with a 2.0 lead and her teammate Florence Aylward in 6th place winning the Silver on Vault and Floor. Competing in Level 2 Rebecca Parramore won the silver. To wrap the day up nicely in the Senior 15 + competition RGA’s Isobel Hawkins lifted the gold medal with over 2.0 marks to spare, winning 1st place on three of the four apparatus along the way. A great weekend for team RGA!

Novice competition October 16th 2011

Our final internal Club Championship for this year took place on 16th October, with a large entry of both boys and girls. In the girls Novice section the champions were Freya Kelly Under 6, Lila Quelcutti Under 8 , Niamh Lavous Under 10 and the Over 10 title went to Olivia Norris. In level 4 over 10 years Chantelle Beckett took the Over All gold home, followed by Mia Augustus just 0.1 points behind. In Level 4 under 10 Grace Newman took the gold in front of Iyesha Gayle. In the FIG section in a very strong battle, Rosheen Hinze took first place followed by Florence Aylward and Holly Tyson. In the junior boys competition William May won overall, while Kieran Burr won the senior boys competition.

The Rushmoor Rose Bowl

Often described as ’One of the best invitational in the world’ The “Rose Bowl” took place on the weekend of 22/23rd October, hosting teams from all over the world. Rushmoor Gymnastics Academy was represented by Isobel Hawkins, Rebecca Parramore, Rosheen Hinze, Florence Aylward and Holly Tyson. The Team finished in 12th place with Rosheen Hinze winning the “Jim White” trophy for the highest scoring Rushmoor gymnast.

The Boys Regional Championships

At the end of October, our boys competed at their Regional Championships, held at the Dynamo School of Gymnastics. In the Under 16 FIG category Alex Huppert came 3rd Over All, winning Floor and Vault titles along the way. In the Under 18 FIG section Matthew Wickham came 2nd Over All wining another six silver medals to add to his ever increasing collection. It was a good return for Tom Barnes who has been recovering from wrist surgery. Despite this limitation Tom won gold on Vault and Silver on Floor.

The National Age Groups Finals in Guildford

On the 5/6th November Rushmoor Gymnastics Academy was represented in this National Final by Holly Tyson who competed for South Region in Level 3 and in very strong line-up she ended up in a very creditable 27th place.

Boys Southern Region Voluntary Championships 30th October 2011

The youngest age group of the day (2003/2004 age category) had 13 gymnasts across the region fighting for medals and our two rising youngsters William May and Thomas Amero proved they were up there with the best. William May continued to show his confidence in competition, and came away with 5 medals, gold on vault and high bar, silver on pommel, topped off with a bronze on floor and 3rd place overall. Thomas Amero who has made unbelievable progress over the last few months also took home a bronze medal on the pommel and finished 8th overall. The 2001/2002 age group had 21 competitors, with Sebastian Herbert and Harvey Williams representing the RGA. Sebastian showed off his style and elegance to finish a brilliant 7th overall and managed to grab a bronze medal on the parallel bars and a top 5 finish on vault and high bar Harvey Williams having been in the sport for just 1 year, finished in 9th position overall . His hard work is really paying off. The 1999/2000 age group had 15 gymnasts competing and again this being both of the boys first year of competition, although it looked like they had been competing for years, such was their level of performance. Daniel Kelsey who had a string of bad luck in the finished in 12th position with just a couple of errors, but nailed his floor tumbles and enjoyed the return to competition which made it all worthwhile! Kieran Burr showed his fighting spirit and was out to prove there is no stopping him, producing some really difficult work. He finished with a silver on floor and bronze on vault, finishing 8th overall. He was delighted and he proved to the region he is improving with every competition and one to watch out for. To quote their coach Tom Barnes “To top it off it was probably the happiest moment of my life seeing them up on the medal podium and individually all of them had something to prove and they did just that! My main goal for the boys this year was to go out, enjoy the competition and start thinking in terms of contention for next year. I wanted them to see what they were up against and what they have to be doing. Very proud and excited of the boys progress and they made their parents proud too it’s brilliant to witness!

“Tom Wilson” Invitational Sunday 4th December

Milton Keynes Gymnastics Club once again hosted this event With many different the Rushmoor boys were indeed challenging almost every single title. In Level 3 Kieran Burr ended up 2nd Over All, less than a half mark from the Over All title winning gold on Rings and another 4 Silver medals on Floor, Pommel, P.Bars and a High Bar. In Level 3 Out of Age his team mate Daniel Kelsey came 4th Over All winning the Vault title and coming 3rd on P. Bars and High Bar. The best was yet to come with Alex Huppert winning the Over All title with a clear 5 points victory in Under 16 FIG section and netting five medals- gold on P.Bars, three silver medals on Floor, Vault and High Bar and bronze on rings. After the great success of his boys in Round 1 it was a time for Tom Barnes to show off what he is capable of. Despite the fact he was the only competitor in the Senior FIG category he indeed went for it. Solid Floor and Vault performance followed by steady P. Bars routine and …three gold medals. In the youngest age category there were 19 gymnasts competing with William May continuing his winning streak taking the gold medal overall, rings, vault and high bar. He also picked up a bronze on parallel bars. Tom Amero took gold on pommel horse, silver on vault, bronze on floor and 5th place overall. In Level 2 Sebastian Herbert hit his pommel routine superbly. He collected silver medals overall, as well as for floor and rings, with bronze medals on pommel, vault, parallel bars and high bar. Harvey Williams medalled in his first national competition collecting a silver on floor and vault, bronze on vault and joint 4th place overall. A great competition for them both . In Level 3, Kieran Burr stole the show on the rings with a gold medal routine. He also collected silver on floor, pommel, parallel bars, high bar, with a bronze on vault and 3rd place overall. Kieran has improved his overall score by over 10 marks since the last NDP level 3 earlier on in the year! RGA successes continued in Level 3 out of age, with Daniel Kelsey picked up gold on vault with a massive handspring, bronze on parallel bars even with a fall and another bronze on high bar. The boys have worked really hard this year and it is paying off in competitions with 28 medals, 7 of them gold! Quite a result! Tom Barnes

The Christmas Cup Luxembourg - Report by Vicki Kerr

On the 16th December we travelled out to Luxembourg for the Christmas Cup. Janet, Tom & I accompanied the men’s & women’s team. Rebecca Parramore was first up on Saturday morning and performed very well placing 13th out of 23 with her best result coming on the bars in 8th place. Next up were the junior girls. There were 39 competitors in this group and here we had some great individual performances with all the girls competing with new skills in their routines. Rosheen Hinze placed 1st overall & 1st on vault, beam & floor. Florence Aylward also placed very well, coming 8th overall, 2nd on the vault. Also competing in the team was Chantelle Beckett (31st) Mia Augustus (32nd) & Hermione Gray (34th). It was a great team effort and we placed 7th. On the Sunday it was time for the boys/men’s competition where they were all competing at the same time in four different groups. As you can imagine this was interesting to try to be in four places at once! I would like to thank Rebecca & Rosheen who kindly helped with the boys. In the Senior event there were 14 competitors, several of which were national team members so the men had tough opposition here. Our best result came from Tom Barnes who placed 4th overall & 2nd place on vault & floor. Also competing in this group was Matthew Wickham who managed 8th place. In our junior team Daniel Kelsey placed 6th in the juniors, then we had Kieran Burr (5th place) & Harvey Williams (7th place) in the 2000/2001 age group. They both competed with long swings on the high bar, which is a creditable achievement for them. Finally in the 2002/2003 age group William May placed 1st overall & 1st on 5 out of the six apparatus. With all their scores added together they placed 3rd as a team, an amazing result for our up and coming juniors. On the Monday we had some spare time to take in some sites around the city, and we picked up some nice ‘bits and pieces’ from the Christmas market. It was the perfect finish to a very successful trip & a great end to the competitive year.