There were 16 very excited gymnasts at Gatwick Airport early on the morning of Wednesday 13th March, ready to fly to Portugal to compete in the Maia International Acro Cup.
The first two days of the competition on Friday and Saturday were the qualifying rounds. Each pair or trio had to reach the top 12 to be able to compete in the Finals on Sunday.
In the Women’s Pairs (Youth Category), Niamh and Sophie performed two beautiful routines and qualified in second place. The other women’s pairs performed solidly with Sasha and Beth qualifying in 3rd place, and Hayley and Elise in 4th place.
In the Men’s Pairs (Youth Category), Frazer and Finlay also performed well and qualified for the finals in 1st place.
In the Beginners Category we had two women’s trios and a mixed pair performing. In the women’s trios, Savhanna, Megan and Sophie qualified in 5th place, but Saskia, Jodie and Alyssa managed to pip them to 4th place (even though they had the same score, the younger girls technical score was higher).
In the Mixed Pairs, Rhys and Mollie performed a stunning routine and qualified in 1st place.
On Sunday, it was the Finals, and Spelthorne had managed to qualify in every category they had entered, so we were looking forward to an exciting day.
The women’s pairs were up first. Hayley and Elise’s dynamic routine was performed perfectly and they managed to end up with a 2nd place and Silver medal. The good performances continued with Beth and Sasha finishing 3rd and a Bronze Medal. Sophie and Niamh slipped to 5th place after a slight wobble, but it was a fantastic result for all the women’s pairs.
Frazer and Finlay performed a great routine again, and finished in 1st place with a Gold Medal.
A Team Medal was also awarded in each category. This was calculated by taking the clubs top 3 scores and adding them together for a team total. As we had performed so well in the Youth Category, Spelthorne achieved a 2nd place and silver medal in the Team awards.
Next was the Beginners Category and the women’s trios were first. Savhanna, Megan and Sophie performance was much improved in the finals, and jumped up to 3rd place and a Bronze Medal. Even though Saskia, Jodie and Alyssa performed beautifully, unfortunately they slipped to 6th place.
In the mixed pairs, Mollie and Rhys’ routine was beautifully executed again, and deservedly came 1st and a gold medal.
In the Beginners category, as our trios and mixed pairs had performed so well, Spelthorne walked off with 1st place and a gold medal for the Team awards.
Altogether it was a very successful competition for Spelthorne, with all gymnasts qualifying for the finals, many medals for the trios and pairs, and a team gold and silver for Spelthorne. Well done to all the gymnasts.
Thank you to Heather Hobbs for supplying this report.
View some fantastic photographs in the GALLERY.
]]>
Playtime will not be running during the May half term holiday.
The cost will be £18 per day or £45 for all three days (9.30am to 2.30pm) and places must be booked and paid for in advance.
