THE YEAR 2004 has turned out to be another fantastic one for the gymnasts from The Ridge Junior School in Yate.

Gymnasts from the school qualified for the British Schools Sports Acrobatics Finals following the South West Championships, which were held last February.

This year's national final took place on Sunday, May 9, and was held in Stoke-on Trent.

The gymnasts represented the South West region, as well as their school, in three categories: Shelley Evans (ten) and Hannah Palmer (nine) - Under 11 Girls Pair; Sam Hunt (ten) and Shanie-Redd Thorne (seven) - Under 11 Mixed Pair; Shelley, Hannah, Shanie-Redd, Sam, Natalie Baxter (ten) and Ellie Fineman (nine) - Under 11 Group.

Preparations for these national championships went very well throughout the year and the team used lunch times to practice routines.

But with just two weeks to go before the event Tayler Porter, a member of the group, broke her arm falling from the swing in her garden.

After the initial shock, panic and disappointment, the gymnasts quickly got into action to make changes to the routine to include Sam Hunt, who took Tayler's place in the team.

The competition day came around all too soon but the team were in high spirits and were confident in each other. Shelley, as team captain, did her best to keep her young team-mates calm.

Shelley and Hannah were first to compete for the school and they performed a beautiful routine, and after all the competitors in that category had competed it was announced that they were the 2004 Under 11 girls pair champions.

Everyone was very excited and hopes were raised for the forthcoming events.

Sam and Shanie-Redd were next to compete in the Mixed Pair category. There were some very good competitors in this section but Sam and Shanie's immaculately performed routine earned them the highest score and the gold medals too.

The final category of the championships was the group section and Sam, Shanie, Hannah and Shelley were joined by Natalie Baxter and Ellie Fineman. This is the section that The Ridge School team have won for six successive years, and this year's very young team were determined to make it seven.

Coach Jane Mewse said: "I was very nervous for this group because of all the last minute changes, and they had trained so hard.

"They really deserved to do well, and do well they certainly did! They really sparkled and after the performance I don't think anyone doubted who was going to be the 2004 British Schools champions."

Other competitors from the area who also competed at the championships included Jacob and Danny Bates from The Meadows School, who won gold medals for their performance in the Under 11 boys pairs.

Eight-year-old tumbler Robbie Belcher, from Raysfield School, impressively completed three precise tumble runs to earn himself a gold medal in the Under 11 boys tumbling.

This was a very fine performance by this young gymnast, who trains at The King Edmund Gym in Yate, Bristol.