Arun gymnasts jump for joy at Sussex championships haul

Elite artistic gymnasts were competing in age group competitions as well as gymnasts in floor and vault at the event in Burgess Hill.

Arun also entered a squad into the Team Gym competition and were to taste success at their very first attempt.

The squad of Zoe Solle, Heather Wallace, Sian Dale, Chantal Mawbey, Anna Richardson, Katie Twine, Katie Fenneymore, Lily Smyth and Amy Brown put in a lot of hard work to get to this point.

The girls competed on the first morning at regional level two (13-17 age group) and put in excellent routines that saw them placed third on the floor and first on both their tumbling and trampet runs. These fabulous results meant in the overall competition they were placed first and became Sussex champions. It is a fantastic start for the girls and a very fitting tribute to the club.

Day two was time for the women’s artistic elite gymnasts and competing for Arun were Hannah Broad, Ellie Pacey and Lucy Stephenson-Gill. The morning session saw 12-year-old Hannah compete in the girls’ age 12-14 bronze floor and vault competition, where she put in a strong fifth-place vault. A faultless floor routine put her into a respectable sixth place overall.

She has been back training at this level for a very short time, and coaches are now working towards higher-level competitions for her next year.

Ellie was competing in the four-piece level five out-of-age competition and had a superb competition which saw her put in strong performances on all equipment.

She was first on vault, second on beam and third on floor and bars. With medals in this competition only awarded for overall position she scored an impressive 49.150, good enough to win bronze, having been pipped to silver by the smallest of margins.

The last of the Arun gymnasts to compete was Lucy Stephenson-Gill, in the girls’ aged ten-11 silver floor and vault competition.

She started with an excellent two vaults that saw her put into first place and followed with an exquisite floor routine that saw her drop only seven tenths of a mark. That kept her in pole position and saw her pick up gold and become overall Sussex champion.

She was later pleasantly surprised to find out her fantastic floor routine was given the highest mark throughout the whole floor and vault competition, earning her a further trophy for the highest novice floor score – a wonderful end to the championships for Arun Gymnastics and Trampoline Club.

The gymnasts are now working towards their annual Christmas display on December 19 at Arun Leisure Centre.