Thornton Gym Club

Our 2007 Club Championships took place on Sunday 2nd December at Thornton Recreation Centre.

Results will appear here shortly.

At previous Club Championships we have awarded the Gymnast of the Year, Improver Award and Endeavour Award. However, this year we presented these at our presentation evening, which was held in July at Headley Golf Club.

The winners were as follows:

Gymnast of the Year - Katie Ormerod

Improver of the Year - Rachel Lumb

Endeavour Award - Emily Midgley

We also presented a Merit Award to the gymnast in each group who the coaches feel has tried the hardest and made the most improvement. These were awarded to Rhianne Stewart, Victoria Clay, Georgia Hartley, Amber Stott, Max Isherwood, Chloe Ing and Jessica Rayner.

Our 2006 Club Championships took place on Sunday 3rd December 2006 at Thornton Recreation Centre.

The Seniors' Club Champion was Katie Ormerod, who was third in 2005. Jenny Knowles was second and Jennifer O'Hara third.

Katie was the Floor and Beam Winner, Jennifer was the Vault Winner and Martha Sangster, the 2005 Club Champion, was the Bars Winner.

Placings in each group were:

8/9 Years

1st - Katie Ormerod, 2nd - Erin Sorton, 3rd - Paige Douglas

10-12 Years

1st - Natalie Taylor, 2nd - Amy Dawson, 3rd - Georgia Hartley

13+ Years

1st - Jenny Knowles, 2nd - Jennifer O'Hara, 3rd - Rebecca Smith

Juniors - 6-8 Years

1st - Rachel Lumb, 2nd - Ebony Maliki, 3rd - Hannah Metcalfe

Rachel was the Floor and Vault Winner, Hannah was the Bars Winner and Tia Clifford was the Beam Winner.

Our 2005 Club Championships took place in December 2005 at Richard Dunn Sports Centre. It was again a huge success with girls and boys from all our squads competing for the Club Champion title.

The Club Champion was Martha Sangster (centre), with Rebecca Smith (left) and Katie Ormerod (right) finishing second and third respectively.

Some general views of our 2005 Championships:

The first Club Championships were held in the early 1980's and have taken place every year since then.

In the 4 piece competition the girls compete on all 4 apparatus and the gymnast with the highest overall score becomes Club Champion.

There is also a 2 piece competition - consisting only of floor and vault. It is hoped that the gymnasts taking part in this competition will one day compete in the 4 piece competition.

In the last 5 years the competition has been extended and we now hold a boys floor and vault competition for all the boys in our classes.

Last year was the second time that gymnasts from other sports centres and schools also took part in the 2 piece competition, competing for the Inter Team Challenge Shield. The winners last year were Bingley Grammar School Sports Centre Team B with Bingley Grammar School Sports Centre Team A in 2nd and South Bradford OOSH Boys Team in 3rd place.

The judging for the 2006 Club Championships will be based on the new FIG Code of Points - the new rules which now apply for all international competitions - and which will be used at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Whereas under the old points system a gymnast could only achieve a maximum score of 10 on any piece, the new rules allow for scores greater than 10 - depending on the difficulty of the gymnasts' routine. A link to the FIG website can be found on the "links" page.

1. Return the entry form promptly - the sooner we receive the form, the sooner we can plan properly for the competition. And the sooner you will know what times your child will be competing. If you have not yet received the form, please contact one of the coaches or send us an e-mail at thorntongymclub@hotmail.com

2. Attend our Club Championships organisation meetings - see the latest news page for date and time. We will be having a meeting in order to organise the competition and ensure that it runs smoothly. There are many jobs which need doing before, during and after the competition and the more people that volunteer the better. If you cannot attend the meeting, but would like to help, please let one of the coaches know.

3. Help us to raise money - the continued success of the Club is dependant on being able to have available the correct equipment for the gymnasts to use. As you would expect, there is a continued need to replace worn out equipment and purchase new types of equipment that can help get the best out of our gymnasts. Please help in our fundraising efforts.