School team bounces to regional title

TRAMPOLINING A TALENTED team of trampolinists are the best in the North West and just one bounce away from winning a place in a national final for a second year.

The team of 12-yearold Year 8s from Haslingden High School each completed two routines of varying difficulty at the North West Schools’ Trampoline Championships in Wigan.

The top three scores for each competitor counted as the team score, which landed the students in first place, one better than when they competed as intermediates last year.

Max Constant was first with Jack Waters second, Ben Wilson fifth and James Peacock was eighth after he had a very difficult first routine.

Max’s highest score in the competition was 8.8 out of 10 and next year, along with Jack, he will be competing at elite level, with more complicated routines to perform.

Max said: “I was pretty confident that I had done okay, especially when I saw the score sheet. My first routine was the best as I got all 8s, I have previously had a 9.7.”

Max has been trampolining since he was three; at four he could do a back somersault and at six a double.

James said: “Because of all the competitions we have attended we are no longer scared when we are taking part.”

Jack said the hardest part of his routine was a pike barani – a front flip with a half twist, but said he managed it all right.

He said: “A lot of the teams we were up against were the same people from the previous year, but they had stayed the same whereas we had improved.”

Jack only took up trampolining two years ago while Ben has been attending sessions at Haslingden High School since he was in Year 3 at Broadway Primary School.

His mum Erika is a PE teacher at Haslingden and runs the club.

Ben said: “We were quite confident because we had only just competed at the Bolton tariff and we won that competition too.”

Last year the team were second in the North West, second in Northern competition and second in the national final, this year they are hoping to go one better at the Northern final in February.

Max and Jack were also invited to attend an intensive coaching session in Liverpool.