A trio of acrobatic gymnasts from Deerness Gymnastics Academy will head to the British Championships this weekend aiming to become British Champions in Acrobatic Gymnastics.
One of the most jaw-dropping disciplines in gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics heads to Fenton Manor, Stoke-on-Trent, on the 17 & 18 February and will also act as British Gymnastics trials for the forthcoming World Championships.
Caitlin Owston, 19, from Belmont, Amelia Pamler, 18, from Great Lumley & Bethany MacDougall, 14, from Newton Aycliffe will compete for the first time as senior competitors in the Women’s Group category. The trio won Gold last year as age-group competitors, followed by a bronze medal at the European Championships and have now made the step up to senior competition.
Practiced by both men and women, acrobatic gymnastics is amongst the oldest known sports practised by the ancient Egyptians. The name comes from the Greek word ‘acrobateo’, meaning to rise or go forth. Gymnasts perform expertly choreographed routines with intricate balances, exciting multiple somersaults and partners being dramatically thrown and caught
Acrobatic gymnastics is a modern and artistic discipline, which requires an extraordinary amount of courage and trust amongst gymnasts. Routines are choreographed to music and presented on a 12 x 12 metre sprung floor surface.
The routines presented in competitions are up to 2 minutes and 30 seconds in length and must include a number of people performing three different types of routine: balance, dynamic, and combined.
Great Britain is one of the most respected nations in the world in acrobatic gymnastics and has achieved success at World and European level with medals in all categories. Many of whom have come from Deerness Gymnastics Academy.
“Making the step up from junior to senior level is never easy but this trio has worked exceptionally hard to achieve it and the whole club will be supporting in them their first major competition as senior competitors,” said Stuart Thompson, head of acrobatics, Deerness Gymnastics Academy and the trio’s coach. “We are all hoping they can build on their success as juniors and continue to inspire many more young gymnasts at the club.”
Deerness Gymnastics Academy in Ushaw Moor is a high-performance centre for British Gymnastics. The club which also has its former gymnast Matt Baker as its patron and has become one of Britain’s top gymnastics clubs over the past twenty-five years, with over 100 international gymnasts with more than eighty World and European medallists, including fifteen World and European Champions in its roll of honour. It is not only one of the most successful clubs in Great Britain but it is also recognised on the International scene as one of the top clubs in the world.