Sunday 18th March: WGC’s girls squad was out in force at the Chichester Invitational 4 Piece Competition which saw them bring home an outstanding 37 medals across all apparatus.
In round one we saw our first gold medal secured by the appropriately named Lucy Gould who topped her group after securing three silvers on floor, vault and beam accompanied by a bronze on the bars. She was swiftly followed by Sophie Brown in second who earn’t a silver overall after winning gold on beam and silver on the vault.
Next up in round one there was no larking about as Charlotte Larkham earnt a well-deserved silver in her group after bagging 3 silvers on vault, beam and bars and Ellie Hayward put in a stellar performance just coming short of the medals with a 5thplace rosette.
Still in round one but just missing out on the top three spots Katie Allen got gold on floor and silver on beam, Molly Brailsford secured silver on the vault and on the same piece Mimi Marshall bagged bronze. Amelia Ralfe and Freya Tobin were unlucky not to be amongst the medals but they’ve taken away some excellent experience and can hold their heads high performing awesomely on the day.
Forward rolling to round two where Cerys Wallek and Ruby Miles found themselves in a mega group of 20 gymnasts and finished the competition in 6thand 7thwith Cerys winning silver on bars and on the same piece Ruby achieved bronze as well as a splendid silver on floor.
The same round but in a different group we had four gymnasts competing and securely stapling herself in the top three was Jasmine Staple who took home a well deserved bronze medal overall after a successful silver on floor and a bronze on beam. Lucy Smith, Caitlin Whittington and Jessie Titmarsh all did WGC proud with superb work in a tough group – well done girls.
On to round 3 and if you thought 20 was a large group to be competing in, try 30. It wouldn’t have mattered how many gymnasts were competing as it wouldn’t have stopped Isabelle Rodgers from having a triumphant day earning a 4thplace rosette after winning gold on floor and silver on vault. Fellow team members Milly Grim and Maddie Keenan battled well for mid placed finishes and showcased some exquisite skills.
Round three also saw eight more medals and from just two gymnasts! Zita Ridgett stormed her group coming out on top with gold and medals in across all apparatus with a gold on beam, silver on vault and two bronzes on floor and bars. In the same group Merle Sykes just missed out on an overall medal but showed true class earning silvers on vault and bars and a bronze on floor.
Now, if you thought 30 gymnasts in one group was crazy, wait until we tell you how many were in one of the groups of round 4… 32 to be precise! After 4 gruelling rotations against a what would seem army of gymnasts, Aysha Hardy came in at 6thand earnt a brilliant bronze on the vault. In the same group and putting in a swell performance Esme Burholt secured silver on vault and achieved a mid-table finish accompanied by Lily Taylor and Aeryn Robertson. For such a large group it was also a very close group, the odd point here and there could have changed the standings completely so the girls have done themselves and our community immensely proud.
And last but by no means least, Amelia Grossmith-Long took home not one, not two but three medals with glorious gold on floor and two bronzes on vault and bars JUST missing out on an overall medal in her group.
What a magnificent medal haul that was – our girls have truly put Worthing on the map and have done us all proud! There’s been so much hard work leading up to this competition from all of our coaches but an especially big thank you to coach Jacque and our leadership academy girls Leilani and Megan who have been working closely with the girl’s squad and for attending on the day to make sure they were well prepared and ready to take on the rest of Sussex. Another thank you to the gymnast’s family and friends who were also in attendance and cheering them on – we couldn’t do it without your support both when it comes to training and competing.
A final thankyou to our ever-present admin staff who work around the clock to ensure everything is in place so we can attend these awesome events and to Chichester Gymnastics club for putting on a fantastic competition and hosting us – we’ll see you again next year!
23 girls from our local community competed in Chichester which is our largest showing of female gymnasts at a competition. This is an excellent achievement as in the past we have been known for predominantly producing boys. Our club is truly for everyone and is growing at an incredible rate, from our first steps classes to our adult’s classes its humbling to see the array of members from our community all coming together. We look forward to continuing this and welcoming more members for years to come.
As mentioned there has been another competition recently which we will update you on soon!
