A high turnout of spectators gathered at Ellan Vannin Gymnastics Club for the Isle of Man Championships recently.
The sport continues to see an increase in skills and talent among the girls and this year’s champs was set to be an exciting event as the gymnasts closely challenged each other for the island championship titles.
The novice competition was split into pre-novice, junior and senior categories and final positions were close as the girls performed their elements with real focus. The pre-novice section saw Keely Shimmin step up to the podium to take the overall bronze medal, Millie Rose Hebden took the silver with the championship title going to Maya Kewley after her consistent and steady performance throughout.
The junior novice championship title went to Rachel Palmer, with Jasmine Hamer marginally behind her on points taking overall silver and Rhonda Whittaker finishing with bronze.
A notably difficult bar routine was delivered well by Natasha Bibby in the senior novice category and, with a steady performance on the remaining pieces, she was able to secure the island championship title. Darcie Maddrell was also seen to deliver quality routines and finished in the overall silver medal position, closely followed by Lucy Callow taking the all round bronze.
The intermediate category showed a step up in difficulty. Alexandra Burns performed well on all pieces and went on to take the overall bronze, followed by Imogen Wild with silver. The championship title in the end went to Lauren Kerruish having delivered all four routines to a high standard.
The complexity of moves increased in the second rotation of the day as the performance and elite gymnasts competed for the ‘in age’ championship titles. The nine and under category was dominated by Madison Nichol, who swept the board on gold medals for all four apparatus to take the overall title.
Emma Sutton took the overall silver medal for this category, with the bronze medal going to Lucy Worthington.
Chloe Donnelly dominated the 11-and-under age group category, securing individual gold on bars, beam and floor to take the overall championship title. Eve Wiltcher showed a strong performance on vault to take gold on this piece, finishing in silver overall. Kelsie Gibbs achieved a high score on beam, which was enough to award her the overall bronze medal.
The 13-and-under category saw Radha Patel and Tara Ferguson battle it out for the title, with Radha taking the top spot on three pieces and Tara just behind on points. However, the latter’s well executed beam performance resulted in an overall higher score giving Tara the title, with Radha second.
Sinead Hands finished in bronze having delivered steady routines throughout the competition.
The 15-and-under category was set to be an interesting competition with a number of strong competitors set on achieving the overall title. The individual medals on each piece went to a number of different gymnasts, leaving it difficult to know who would finish in the top spot. With close scores among the girls, it was Tara Donnelly who gained the highest score overall and took the title, with Kaitlin Kneen and Nicole Burns close behind taking the silver and bronze medals respectively.
The final competition of the girls event was the over-15 category which saw Grace Harrison and Rebecca Johnson go head to head for the title. Rebecca delivered a strong vault to take gold on this piece. Grace went on to land some difficult elements in her routines which was enough to give her the top score overall and the title.
The individual apparatus championship titles which covered the gymnasts in age groups 13 and above went to Rebecca Johnston for vault, Grace Harrison for bars and floor and Tara Donnelly for beam, having all achieved the highest scores on these pieces in the competition. Having achieved the highest score on the day, Grace was crowned the women’s champion for 2012. She was also delighted to have achieved a consideration score for team selection for the Commonwealth Games 2014.