On Friday 29th April Ben Porter competed in his first ever International competition for Great Britain.  After being crowned the British Under 14 All-Around champion last month, Ben was selected as a part of the Great Britain team in the prestigious Berlin Cup competition in Germany.

Ben performed brilliantly, especially after uncharacteristically falling on his first apparatus; Pommels.  He dusted himself down and went clean with some amazing gymnastics.  Ben finished 5th All-around scoring 68.50.  He helped the team finish 8th with his mature performances and qualified for 5 apparatus finals the next day.

In the Apparatus Finals on Sunday Ben was given the chance to make up for the Pommel mistake by being placed in the final after a withdrawal.  That meant that Ben now had another six apparatus to compete on again.  Ben was the star of the team in the finals performing like a season professional.  Ben came 2nd on Floor; 1st on Pommels; 2nd on Rings; 1st on Vault; 5th on Parallel Bars; and 3rd on High Bar.

It was an amazing experience and to come away with so many medals is something Ben will never forget!
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Congratulations to Ben, the Great Britain Team and all the coaches.

Sunday the 1st May was a busy day for the gymnasts and coaches in our Men’s Artistic squad at the Regional Championships at Pegasus Gymnastics Club. Our boys had an excellent competition and brought home a total of 40 medals! 8 Bronze, 20 Silver and 12 Gold – 2 of which were all round Champions. All of the gymnasts showed excellent progress since their last competition whether that was Piper’s Vale or the British Championships back in March.

The morning round saw the younger, regional level boys compete in the U9, U10 and U12 categories. Competitive debutant William Middleton did not let any nerves show as he finished 2nd overall in the U9 category with a score of 66.40. He also picked up second place on all apparatus except high bar, where he finished third. In the U10’s, Declan Freeman finished 7th with a score of 65.85, correcting his mistakes on Pommel from the Piper’s Vale competition the weekend before. Whilst he still struggled with his nerves on P-Bars he executed a powerful Vault that lost only 0.45 marks and earned him a silver medal. Fionn Kelly finished above him in 6th place with a score of 66.60 and a solid all round performance. Xavier Barua-Wilding placed 5th with 67.85 and earned himself a bronze on Floor with a clean and stylish routine. Mac Griffiths looked as though he had a real point to prove with some very tidy routines. The best of which was a 12.50 on high bar, the piece he had fallen on the week before, which earned him a gold medal on this apparatus. Mac’s 69.55 overall score saw him finish on the podium in 3rd. In the U12’s Caden O’Shea showed some bravery, adding two new skills in to his routines from the week before. Whilst his Magyar on Pommels didn’t quite go to plan his new tumble on floor helped him to win a silver. He also picked up a silver on high bar, finishing 4th overall with a score of 66.55.

In the afternoon round it was the turn of the older, national level boys who competed in the U12, U14, U16 and U18 categories. U12 gymnast Oscar Mitchell struggled with making the step up to full Pommel, P-Bar and High Bar routines but maintained his composure to finish 2nd on both Floor and Vault and win Gold on the Rings. His overall score of 58.45 saw him finish 4th. In the U14 category Jay Coote managed to pick up a bronze medal on high bar and finished 6th overall on 62.75. Max Veo-Creek had a good competition and showed real courage competing his double back on rings, a skill which he fell badly on at his last competition and meant he had to withdraw from said event. His determination paid off with a 4th place finish and a score of 64.45, picking up a silver on P-Bars on the way. Our only competitor in the U16 category, Oliver Porter, performed extremely well and picked up 6 Apparatus medals – 3 gold, 3 silver – and was the overall champion with a score of 71.00. Oliver’s older brother, Joshua, had just as much success in the U18 category picking up 5 apparatus medals – 2 gold, 3 silver – and he too was crowned as regional champion with a 72.75 overall score. Joel Ireland had a good competition, finishing 3rd overall with 69.60 and picking up gold medals on rings and vault, as well as a silver on floor. Rudi Moriano only competed on 4 pieces, due to an ongoing ankle injury, scoring 46.00 and picking up bronze medals on Pommels, P-Bars and High Bar. A real moment of personal joy was felt by Charlie Rose as he finally nailed his flaired Magyar, Sivado combination on pommels and earned himself the gold medal on this apparatus. An honorary mention also to our gymnast Sarp Orbay who, instead of competing, tried his hand at a spot of judging and did an excellent job alongside some very highly qualified judges on High Bar and Pommels.

Well done again to all of our boys and we look forward to a busy summer of skill development before the next batch of competitions.

Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th April was an important weekend for the U10 & U12 boys in our Men’s Artistic Squad. It marked the first competition of the year for this younger generation of gymnasts and provided an excellent opportunity for them to build upon their maiden year in competition last year. 7 boys made their way to Ipswich for the annual Piper’s Vale Challenge.
 
Saturday saw the U10’s in action in their first ever voluntary competition with 4 boys taking to the arena in the afternoon. Xavier Barua-Wilding was the highest scorer of the four, finishing 18th with an overall score of 67.60. Xavier made amends for his unfortunate performance at last year’s grades finals on Vault, where he scored a zero after a bad fall, this time executing a clean Handspring. This highlights the hard work he has put in in the training gym and his focus on improving areas of weakness. Not far behind him was Fionn Kelly who finished 20th with a score of 67.30. Fionn also showed how much he has progressed from last year by nailing his P-Bar routine, a piece which cost him a top 10 position at the grades finals. Much like Xavier, Fionn’s hard work and focus has been highlighted by his performance at the competition. Our 3rd gymnast, Mac Griffiths struggled a little with the pressure of adding some new skills and made a few minor errors, scoring a 66.60 and finishing in 23rd overall. What was most commendable though was how he dealt with the disappointment of those errors so well and showed an excellent routine on the subsequent apparatus. Finally for the U10’s we have Dec, who, despite having a difficult time in his Pommels and P-Bars routines, showed excellent composure and, much like Mac, responded well after each mistake. His determination and the high expectations he puts on himself are something to be very proud of. Dec finished 32nd overall scoring 62.90.

Sunday’s competition saw the U12’s in action with Eden Marlow, Caden O’Shea and Oscar Mitchell representing the club. Eden had a comfortable competition scoring 65.55 overall and finishing 24th. Much like some of the younger boys, Eden showed excellent resilience after falling on High Bar and really showed a strong character with a determined performance on floor immediately after. Caden had a clean competition and finished 14th with a comfortable 67.30. With consistent and clean routines he is looking forward to adding some difficulty to boost his start values. The standout performer of the weekend was Oscar who scored 69.10 and finished in 8th. Oscar had a beautiful routines on multiple apparatus but the pick of the bunch was his Rings where he scored 11.35 and earned himself a spot on the podium with a bronze medal!
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Congratulations to all of the boys who competed. Hopefully they can learn from the mistakes and build upon the positives and feel confident heading in to the upcoming Regional Championships and London Open.

On Sunday April 10th Fraser competed in the last Commonwealth Games, team Scotland trial at the National Sports Centre; Lilleshall.

Fraser competed on Pommels first and got off to a nervous start scoring 10.40.  He improved greatly on his next apparatus, performing two very nice Vaults scoring 13.65 and 13.05 respectively.  Fraser went clean on Parallel Bars scoring 12.85 and on his last apparatus; Floor, scored 12.50 with some nice tumbles being performed.

It was a great experience for Fraser and we wait to hear on the team selection in the future.
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Congratulations to Fraser and all the coaches.

It’s been nearly three years since Liverpool’s M&S Arena hosted the most important domestic competition of the year- The British Championship – and the anticipation and expectation were sky high. Unlike any other competition, to take part at the British Championship you must qualify either via passing a grade if you are female gymnast or scoring high enough at the home nations championships if you are a male gymnast. On top of that this championship was serving as a trial for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games so the standard of the competition was unquestionably met and surpassed all the expectations.
 
Woking Gymnastics had ten gymnasts, two girls and eight boys – a real testament for the standards of the club – split in different age groups. First up in Round 1 on Thursday were Annabella Higgins and Isabelle Millen. Solid start on Vault, where Annabella posted one of the highest execution scores. Bars to follow, where unfortunately the nerves got the better out of the girls and the scores didn’t reflect their quality. However, girls picked themselves up and delivered good routines on Beam, where Annabella get complimented for her style and beautiful lines. It was the Floor though, where Izzie delivered a superb routine mixing difficulties and artistry to finish inside top 15 on this apparatus in very strong line up. In the All Around competition Izzie ended up in top 30 with a total of 41.450 points and Annabella coming after an injury placed 38th with a total of 36.500 points.

Between Thursday the 24th and Sunday 27th March the 2022 British Championships took place in the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.  Woking Gymnastics Club had 8 boys competing over 4 different age groups. Unfortunately Jamie Lewis was still unable to compete due to injury.

The Under 16 age category got the proceedings underway, with Oliver Porter competing for Woking.  Oliver had a consistently good competition, performing some lovely routines finishing 15th scoring 68.632.

The Under 14 age category were the next to compete on Friday, Woking had Ben Porter, Jay Coote, and Max Veo-Creek competing in the first sub-division.  Ben performed amazingly well, with a level of routine performance of the highest quality.  His performance was enough to hold off all the other competitors and finish a remarkable 1st place, scoring 74.165 and being crowned the Under 14 British Champion!  Ben also collected the British Pommel Under 14 Champion title and a silver medal on Rings.  Jay performed well finishing 48th scoring 60.931.  Max recovered from his accident at the English Championships to perform admirably finishing 56th scoring 59.764.

Fraser Griffiths competed next in the Senior age group.  Fraser didn’t have his best start, but performed two very good vaults and a clean Parallel Bar routine.  Fraser has one more trial for the Commonwealth Games Scotland team in a few weeks at the National Centre.  We all wish him the best of luck.

The final age category was the Under 18 age group.  Woking had Joshua Porter, Sarp Orbay, and Rudi Moriano competing.  Joshua performed some beautiful routines finishing 15th and scoring 68.75.  Josh also qualified for the Parallel Bar Finals on Sunday finishing 7th.  Sarp had a good competition with only a few wobbles, finishing 17th scoring 67.85.  Rudi had another assured performance finishing 21st scoring 66.633. On Sunday Josh was Woking’s only apparatus finalist.  He performed a clean lovely Parallel Bar routine to finish an impressive 6th.
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Congratulations to all gymnasts and coaches.  It is an amazing achievement for Woking Gymnastics Club to have another British All-Around Champion!!

Between Friday the 11th and Sunday 13th March the 2022 English Championships took place in the Redbridge Centre in Ilford.  Woking Gymnastics Club had 10 boys competing over 4 different age groups.

Unfortunately, Jamie Lewis and Fraser Griffiths had to withdraw due to injury and sickness.
On Friday’s competition the Under 16 age group competed.  Woking’s sole competitor was Oliver Porter.  Oliver had a good competition considering he has overcome a number of injuries recently, he finished 21st with a score of 65.30.

Saturday’s competition saw the Under 18 age category compete.  Woking had Joshua Porter, Rudi Moriano, Sarp Orbay, Joel Ireland and Christian Fuoco competing.  Joshua had a good consistent competition finishing 13th scoring 69.70 and finishing 6th on Pommels.  Rudi performed some mature routines finishing 21st with a score of 65.25.  Sarp had a mixed competition with three good routines, finishing 22nd scoring 64.70.  Joel also struggled with a few apparatus finishing 29th scoring 57.15.  After a real struggle on his first apparatus Christian manged to perform a few clean routines finishing 30th scoring 52.35.

Timothy McCarthy was Woking’s only Senior gymnast.  He performed on four apparatus finishing the competition with two very good vaults and a lovely clean Parallel Bar routine scoring 13.00.
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Sunday was the last day of competition and the Under 14 age category took centre stage.  Woking had three competitors: Ben Porter, Jay Coote, and Max Veo-Creek.  Ben performed brilliantly with some outstanding routines finishing 7th scoring 69.80.  Jay showed some progress with some new skills being performed, but a few costly errors saw him finish 39th scoring 61.40.  Max unfortunately slipped of the Rings performing his dismount, resulting in him having to withdraw from the competition at his first apparatus.  Max is fortunately fine and will be looking forward to his next competition in a few weeks.
Congratulations to all gymnasts and coaches.

Fraser was the sole Woking representative in this, the first competition of the year. He began his qualifying competition on Floor, despite falling on his opening tumble he recomposed himself to finish well and score 11.10, enough for the 8th place spot. Next came Pommels and as others fell around him Fraser delivered a clean routine and qualified for the final in first place with 12.95. Onto Vault where he was competing his new vault for the first time, he landed both this and his second vault safely and progressed to the final. Fraser’s qualifying campaign concluded on P-Bars; his routine was not without problems but his score of 12.05 gained him qualification to the final. All in all, it was a successful day as Fraser qualified for all four finals in which he was eligible.

With Sunday morning came the apparatus finals. Fraser had woken up with a sore lower leg and so opted not to take part in the floor final. After a long wait he performed his pommel routine, starting well he unfortunately fell twice on his penultimate skill finishing with a score of 10.40 (7th). The afternoon session began with the vault final. Fraser again landed both vaults with just a small step and was rewarded with an average score of 13.575 and a silver medal. His final routine came on the P-Bars, he performed a good routine, improving on his qualification score and taking the sixth place spot (12.80).
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Overall it was a good weekend for Fraser and he will have undoubtedly gained valuable experience ahead of the upcoming competition season. 

With many of our men’s artistic squad putting so much time and energy in to preparing for the national grades finals a few weeks ago, only five of our gymnasts attended this year’s Pipers Vale competition.

This event was condensed from its usual weekend running order in to one day of intense competition. The second round saw under 10’s Caden O’Shea and Eden Marlow compete in their first ever competition, having missed out on the grades finals by finishing outside the top 6 at qualifiers. A strong start on the horizontal bar for the boys was followed by some good, clean routines on subsequent pieces. Rings proved to be a stumbling block for the pair with a few costly mistakes but they recovered well and showed great determination, putting in a comfortable performance on the vault. Overall Eden scored 56.15 (16th) and Caden finished on 63.70 (13th). This was a valuable experience for the pair, learning about the pressures of a competition environment and how to bounce back after a mistake.

The final round of the day saw Oscar Mitchell, Jay Coote and Max Veo-Creek all competing in the under 12’s category. Max had a good competition despite recording a fall attempting a new vault and finished 7th with a score of 69.40. He recovered well from his frustrations and put in a strong score on parallel bars, finishing just 0.05 marks off the bronze medal. Oscar proved his excellent vault at the Club Grades was no fluke, losing just 0.10 in deductions to score 11.50, which rewarded him with the bronze medal. With a clean competition he scored 69.25 overall, finishing 9th. The top performer of the day was Jay Coote who also had a clean competition. His standout performance on rings (11.90 scored) won him the gold medal on that apparatus and his 12.10 on horizontal bar earned him the bronze. Overall he scored 70.15, finishing 5th.
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Pipers Vale is always a great competition to go out and try some new skills and gain experience and this year was no different. Plenty of lessons learnt for our newer competitors and some confidence building performances for all. With this being the last competition in the 2021 calendar we are thoroughly looking forward to a productive winter period of learning and refining skills ready for next year’s competitions.

Guildford Spectrum hosted the highly anticipated British Championships on the weekend of 27/28th November. With having a gap year in 2020 the expectations were high, and more than 150 girls spread across three levels – Espoir, Junior and Senior – were eager to show off what they had been working on over the last year.

 It had been a long while since Woking Gymnastics Club last fielded any female gymnasts at this prestigious event and all eyes were on our very own Annabella Higgins and Isabelle Millen competing in the Espoir section.
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 A steady start on Bars set the tone for the day, with a clean routine for Izzie and a minor mistake from Annabella. Next up was beam: a piece which tends to either make or break the competition. Unfortunately, Beam did not turn out the way Annabella was hoping for, but she showed her classy work and posted one of the highest start scores across the whole competition. Izzie managed to show her upgraded routine with poise and style, only a minor mistake on her acrobatic series prevented her from being up near the top of rankings. Both girls re-grouped on Floor, where Izzie displayed a great mixture of power and elegance to wow the judges, where she earned the 6th highest execution score on Floor. Solid Vaults from both Izzie and Annabella, saw them finishing with a total of 41.900 point for Izzie and 38.400 for Annabella.
 
 A great display from the girls after a very challenging year!
 
 Well done Team Woking and massive thank you to all the gymnasts and parents who came to support us!

Eight of our men’s artistic squad gymnasts were selected to represent the South East region at The National Finals in Telford.

The event began on Friday with Oscar Mitchell, Fionn Kelly and Declan Freeman competing in their first ever external competition. Oscar enjoyed a clean competition in the Club Level 3 category concluding with a particularly impressive 9.900 score on the vault. He scored 60.200 overall - enough for 27th place.

In the Club Level 1 competition, Fionn Kelly performed a beautiful PPP routine scoring 9.700: the third highest score of the competition. His all-around total of 62.850 put him in thirteenth place. Woking’s top performer for the day was Declan. He produced seven clean routines and his total of 63.700 earnt him the seventh place spot. As a result, Declan - along with his coach Steve - have been invited to attend the National Club Reward Camp at Lilleshall National Sports Centre. Here, they will get to use the same facilities as our Olympic team and train with the GB coaches - a fantastic reward for all their hard work.

Saturday morning began with the Club Level 4 competition. After a two year break from competition, Jay Coote made a shaky start on his least favored piece of apparatus – the PPP. With each apparatus he grew in confidence and finished his competition with a brilliant 9.700 score on the H-Bar. His total of 56.600 (28th) helped the South East Team to a Bronze medal.

Ben Porter was competing in the Elite Level 4 competition. Despite early errors on the P-Bars, Ben produced excellent routines. He was judged best in four out of the seven apparatus, including a perfect 10.000 on the vault! He finished the competition in second place (63.000), just 0.04 behind the national champion.

Oliver Porter was one of only five gymnasts able to compete in the Elite Level 6 competition. The routines at this level are tough and this was reflected in the performance of the gymnasts. That said, Oli can be pleased that he landed his vault for the first time ever and scored a great 9.750 on PPP. He took home the bronze medal in the all-around competition. Both Oli and Ben have been invited to the National Squad testing day to try and retain their spots in GB squad.

The competition concluded on Sunday with the Elite Level 1 category. Mac Griffiths and Xavier Barau-Wilding were understandably nervous about competing in their first competition. They were part of the South East Team that finished just outside the medals in fourth place. Individually, they finished 28th and 32nd respectively.

It was great to be back in competition after such a long break. Well done to all the gymnasts and coaches for all your efforts.  
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Full results can be found on the BG website.