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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bournemouth Gala Weekend - 1st-2nd March 2008
Having had mixed results in Eastleigh just a few weeks earlier, seven of Brentwood Trampoline Club's grade 2 and 1 competitors travelled to Bournemouth last weekend expecting more. They were not disappointed with all seven meeting their personal objectives, some exceeding them and four collecting trophies on the way as well.
Grade 2 Medallists & Qualifiers
Competing on the Saturday Anthony Williams was first on hoping to qualify to, National C, the equivalent level of competition in the new structure next year, and surpassed himself. With 3 new personal best scores he was joint first in the Grade 2 Over 19 group after the set and fell back to second place by only a small margin after the voluntary nearly pulling back to level in the final but ending in 2nd place; more importantly he qualified to Grade 2 National Finals and National C competition for next year. A little later Hannah McCann was competing in the Grade 2 Under 13 Validation competition hoping just to achieve qualification to Grade 1. With a more difficult set routine Hannah did not expect to improve on her Eastleigh scores but she established a clear lead in the set round, extending it in the voluntary and not only won but beat the qualifying score by 1.4 points and was the only performer in the group to qualify!
Grade 1 Winners
Sunday saw the Grade 1 and European Trial competitions. Stephen Page competing in the Under 17 Grade 1 had been on fire in training and needed to show the same determination in Bournemouth. This he did, once again beating his previous personal best scores he stormed to a winning place holding it from set to final. Scott Gregory, meanwhile, competing in the European Trial took the longer route to a win. Having recently mastered a piked triple somersault with twist (pike triff) he too was burning with ambition but in 8th place after the set he made it hard work. Jumping up to 3rd after the voluntary he then applied the coup de grace in the final by competing his 'pike triff' and snatching 1st place by a good margin. Although a win, the trial takes place over two competitions and so the big job, qualifying to represent GB at the European Championships, is still work in progress.
Significant Improvement
Next to compete were Gemma Phillips and Natasha Holme, also in Under 17 Grade 1. Having competed poorly in Eastleigh they had worked hard in the intervening weeks and needed to see a clear way to (i) qualifying to the equivalent FIG B competition for next year and (ii) qualifying to national finals. Although finishing disappointingly low in the field both achieved their objectives with a marked improvement over their Eastleigh scores and qualification to compete at FIG B level next year - both only narrowly missed qualifying for National Finals.
The last competitor of the day was Matt Wright in the Grade 1 Men's competition. Although not fully fit after his return to training following problems with his knee (he only recently discovered he had a fracture) he put in a good effort staking claim to 3rd place in the set and voluntary rounds and a qualification to Men's National Finals (top 40%) and FIG A competition (top 50%) next year. With the 'zero final' however he added a little difficulty but then paid for that with reduced form and ended in 5th place (although with 4th highest aggregate score). Hopefully once fully fit he will be hitting the medals in future outings!
Speaking afterwards Brentwood Trampoline Club's Head Coach Paul Kitchen said "It was a fantastic weekend and results for the performers to be proud of. 'Tash & Gemma still have work to do and they know that, but at least they are on the right track now. The boys have set a great example with their work ethic and that has paid dividends, Hannah is following in that mould and is proving an excellent competitor."
Try it for yourself
Brentwood Trampoline Club trains at Brentwood School Sports Centre four nights a week as well as many weekend (£5 pay and bounce) sessions. For anybody wishing to find out more about the club, or trampolining in general, you are invited to visit the club's website at www.brentwoodtc.org or call 01277 220722 - there are also often spaces available for those of all ages and abilities.