Village Matters

Spelthorne Gymnastics

We have some more news about gymnasts from Spelthorne Gymnastics at the World Acrobatic Championships in Antwerp, Belgium in April. Last month, we reported on the 12-18 years, 13-19 years and senior age groups where 10 gymnasts won medals across 4 categories. Well, the final 11-16 age group category produced even more excellent results for Team GB and our local club.

Sasha Carpenter and Poppy Yates won gold medals in the Women’s Pair category and became World Champions! Sasha lives in Shepperton and attends Thamesmead School; Poppy lives in Ashford and attends Bishop Wand School. The girls have now added the World Championship to the European Championship they won in Poland last year.

More success followed in the Men’s Four category of this age group when Bradley Gold, Jack Clegg, Jake Turner and Harry Watson won bronze medals; and in the Men’s Pair, Andrew Morris-Hunt and Archie Collier also secured bronze medals.

So, in the four age groups at this World Championship, 18 gymnasts from the Spelthorne Gymnastics club, representing Team GB, achieved medals in 7 different categories, a fantastic set of results from one club.

Acrobatic gymnastics is a discipline where partnerships of gymnasts work together and perform acrobatic moves, dance and tumbling, set to music. The gymnasts perform in pairs (women’s, men’s or mixed) or groups (women’s trios or men’s fours) and are judged on artistry, difficulty of skill and the execution of skills. It is a very exhilarating sport both to watch and compete in. If you are interested in becoming involved in acrobatic gymnastics, classes at Spelthorne Gymnastics start at 1.5 years for parent and toddlers and go right through the age groups to the elite gymnasts who have been winning medals at the recent World Championships. Telephone 01932 781338 or email info@spelthornegymnastics.com to find out more.

Gymnasts from the club will be performing in the main arena at Shepperton Fair on Saturday 9th June, at Monksbridge during the Sunbury Open Gardens and later in the summer on Saturday 8th September at the Elmsleigh Centre in Staines.