TWENTY-NINE gymnasts from Fromeside Gymnastics club competed in their first ever West Country league match recently, with great results. Fromeside had five teams,with three heading for Swansea and the other two teams going to the Forest of Dean. The top four scores per apparatus from each team of five or six gymnasts counted towards the teams’ all round final score. Many of the gymnasts were competing new skills for this competition.

In the Premier division, the B league team walked away with a bronze medal from their performances. Team members Laoishe Maccana, 13, Georgina Bisp, 11, Lydia Hayden, 12, Antonia Joy, 11, and Amy Palmer, 11, produced good solid routines and narrowly missed the silver by one mark. Hayden finished third on vault, sixth on beam and third overall individually, Maccana was second on bars, fifth on beam and seventh overall and Bisp was fifth on vault, sixth on bars and ninth overall.

In Division One, the B team of gymnasts Jaime Wall, 9, Sophie Bryant, 9, Saoirse Maccana, 10, Oriel Powell, 8, Aimee Melville, 13, and Lauren Elliott, 13, won team bronze, with outstanding performances on floor.

Wall finished second on floor, fourth on bars and eighth overall, Elliott was ninth overall and youngest team member Powell was sixth on floor and tenth overall. The A league team of Laura Westcott, 9, Alisha Walters, 8, Brogan Sheppard, 7, Amber Thompson, 7, Ella Stowell, 7, and Sophie Bushnell, 7, finished in fifth position. These very young gymnasts tried really hard but made a few mistakes due to inexperience in a competition situation. Westcott performed good solid routines to finish fifth overall and sixth on bars.

In Division Two, the B team had a prosperous day with a bronze medal for their performances. The team of Jessica Summerell, 13, Holly Curthoys, 11, Sarah Godden, 11, Darcey Reynolds, 9, and Chloe Brown, 16, performed excellent floor and beams routines. Summerell finished third on beam, fourth on floor and third overall, Brown was fourth on beam, fourth on floor and eighth overall and Curthoys was fifth on bars and third on floor. The A team of Ashonte Bird, 8, Ruby Curthoys, 6, Isobel Davies, 7, Naomi Priddle, 8, Ailie Gamlin, 10, and Katie Robbins, 10, finished seventh. This young team had an unfortunate day with several costly mistakes.