Durham delight
COMPETING against a very large amount of much bigger clubs from around Great Britain and the Isle of Man, Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Club travelled to South Durham Gymnastics Club with just 18 gymnasts to contest the annual 2017 Pink Ladies Invitational Championships.
With more than 500 gymnasts competing over the three-day event the girls from Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Club returned home with some outstanding results.
The weekend got off to a great start with Tilly Dooner, Martel Emberga, Kyrah Patterson, Kaitlyn Campbell and Wendy Sarco combining as a team in the Level 5 11 & Under event. The girls pulled together around the 4 pieces of apparatus and eventually earned second place on the podium as silver team medallists. Individually Wendy took third place Overall, with Kyrah in 6th place. Wendy was also credited with second on Beam and first on Bars. Kaitlyn took third on Beam.
One of the youngest competitors in a massive Level 4 12 & Over category, Ellan Lang took a fantastic fifth place Overall following a clean competition with no major errors.
Sally Hassett, Hannah Pratt, Millie Nuttall, Zeynep Ikikardesler and Cordy Welch merged as a team in the Level 6 11 & Under group, and finished the day as Team Champions taking the gold medals, and top spot on the podium. Individually Zeynep took third place Overall, with Cordy fifth and Sally 6th. Hannah received second on Vault, with Cordy first on Bars and Sally third.
Savannah Lawless and Grace Burgess contested a tough Level 3 12 & Over event, with Savannah finishing with an unfortunate injury. Grace contested 3 pieces of apparatus only, and with a fantastic beam routine took the Beam title with the gold medal in first place.
The weekend was rounded off with the Level 5 12 & Over Team taking top spot on the podium as Team Champions.
Following a shaky start the team pulled together well rewarding Martha Smith, Imogen Hurst, Eleanor Pratt, Elysia Sullivan and Emily Chant the gold team medals. Individually Imogen took third place Overall, Eleanor fourth, and Emily fifth.
The girls took a brilliant clean sweep of the beam medals with Imogen first, Emily second, and Eleanor third. Imogen also earned third on Bars. An incredible set of results and some immense experience gained for the girls in the biggest competition most of them have ever contested.