The annual Bristol Invitational took place last weekend in Yate and Spelthorne chose to send their up and coming junior elites to this year's event. This excellent competition, which gets better each year, was a good opportunity for many of our gymnasts to compete against gymnasts from different clubs and regions for the first time. There were also some international gymnasts competing so a real step up from the usual regional events.

However, many of our groups rose to the occasion to maintain the Spelthorne reputation of winning medals and all who competed hopefully enjoyed the event and will have gained very valuable experience to help them develop this year.

Well done to all the gymnasts, coaches and parents who travelled down the M4 to support the team.

Hollie Jackson & Lauren Hill
Grade 2 women's pair – 9th

Hollie and Lauren put on an enthusiastic and graceful performance. Unfortunately they were up against 15 other women's pairs so had stiff competition. Despite putting everything into their performance, they were unable to hold off the competition and finished in 9th place.

Rhys Cowler & Christian Wood
Grade 1 men's pair – 1st

Rhys and Christian performed a cheeky and well received routine. The crowd certainly enjoyed it, and so did the boys, especially when they were called to the podium to receive their well-earned Gold medal! Well-done boys!

Hannah Bourghn & Oliver Coombs
Grade 1 mixed pair - 2^nd

^{Conor Sawenko & Adam Upcott
Grade 2 men's pair – 1st}

Conor and Adam performed a good clean routine. Up against 3 other pairs, they held their own and produced a fantastic performance to earn them another well-deserved Gold medal. Congratulations to them both!

Charlie Tate & Filicia Malins
Grade 2 mixed pair – 5th

Charlie and Filicia had to wait until 4.30 pm to get on the floor. They performed a lively entertaining routine but were up against 6 other mixed pairs who really knew their stuff! Sure enough, with a joint first and silver awarded to other clubs, they were left in 5th place, just missing out on the bronze. Better luck next time guys!

Hayley Cowler, Bethany Baston & Georgia Demmon
Grade 2 women's group – 1st

The girls were also up against stiff competition with 6 in their category. A lively, enjoyable performance gave them hope they would get on the podium. They were well rewarded for their fantastic effort and were delighted to receive a gold medal. A good win girls!

Zoe Tate, Chelsea Mather & Charlotte Hattersley-Hoskinson
Grade 3 women's group – 1st

The girls were first on the floor on Sunday for Spelthorne. They performed their balance routine with poise and confidence. Their two competitors made several errors, so the gold was in sight. Their tempo routine was lively and polished leaving nothing to chance and winning them gold. Congratulations girls!

Lewis Watts & Luke Sewell
11-16 Men's pairs – 4th

The boys were up against 16 other 11-16 pairs so knew the competition was tough. Their two routines impressed the judges and crowds and the boys put on a good performance. Unfortunately the other pairs also came out fighting, and the boys just missed out on a medal with 4th place. Well-done boys!

Daniel Tognelli, Nick Cowler, Harry Sewell & George Wood
11-16 Men's group - 1st

The men's four were also up against 8 other groups and knew they had to work hard for a medal. They gave two fantastic performances, which got the crowd clapping. After their first routine they lay in second place, but their second routine pushed them into first position, rewarding them with a well-earned gold medal. 

Julie Chu, Emma Leighton & Savanna Barrett
Grade 1 women's groups - 12th 

Eleanor Coombs, Gabriella Alongi & Megan Donalan
Grade 1 women's groups - 5th 

Thank you to Suzanne Tate for supplying this report. Pictures of the event will be posted in the Gallery when received this week.