Gym Extension 2008/2009

We took over the lease of the new gym on 1st February 2009. The extension gives us another 4000 sq ft, making us one of the largest facilities in the country.

Although there is still much to be done, the majority of the equipment is now in place. This includes a full floor area, a fast track and vault run into resi-pit, ring frame, high bar, asymmetric bars, pommels and parallel bars. New racking for the pre-school equipment is now in place. All the remaining floor area is yet to be matted.

We would like to thank all the parents and coaches who have given up their time painting or moving equipment. The total cost of decorating and equipping the new extension is in excess of £80 000. Without your help it would have been a lot more. Thanks.

Another big thank-you should go to members of HBOS staff for giving up their time to help paint the gym. They even supplied their own paint and brushes!

Foundation Squads

The Foundation Squads are the ideal starting point for many of our gymnasts and are available to children who are currently in full time education (pre-school classes are available for younger children).

Classes run on a Saturday morning at St. Joseph’s School, Brighouse, Carr Green School, Rastrick, Elland Church School, Elland and at the main gym Ladyship 1 at 9.00 am and Ladyship 2 at 9.30 am. Classes also run on a Thursday evening at the main gym from 4.30 pm and on a Friday from 5.00 pm.

The groups will resume their 10 week block of classes after the Easter holidays on the following dates:

Thursday Friday Saturday
April 23rd April 24th April 25th

Subscriptions for the term are £36. Membership to the Diamonds club is £20 per year, which includes membership to British Gymnastics, who provide insurance for all non-competitive gymnasts. Subscriptions are made on the first session of the term.

Foundation Squads Gym Festival

To celebrate the hard work and success of all foundation squads we are holding our very first Foundation Festival in which all foundation groups are invited to take part. Two 1 ½ hour shows are planned for 3pm and 5.30pm on 7th June. We are looking forward to seeing a mixture of large and small group displays and maybe even some individual performances. We’re hoping for a large audience to perform to so make sure you tell all of your friends about it and bring all the family.
The Festival is to be organised by Carol Rayner, Rose Allinson, Andrew Gilmour, Sue Scholefield and Rachel Allinson.

Coaches will have more detailed information in due course.

Squads at the Main Gym

Parents are reminded that gymnasts who attend classes at the main gym and make a monthly subscription need to ensure that this is made at the first session of each month.

Subscriptions can be made in cash or cheques. Parents who wish to set up a standing order at their bank can collect details at the gym.

Membership of the Diamonds club is £20 per year, which includes membership to British Gymnastics, who provide insurance for all non-competitive gymnasts. Subscriptions are made on the first session of the term.

Competitive gymnasts’ membership is £30 per year, which includes British Gymnastics membership and annual insurance.

Summer Holiday Training at Diamonds

Following on from the success of last year’s Summer Training Camp, Diamonds plans to hold a similar scheme in summer 2009. Although details are still to be finalised, it is anticipated that classes will follow a similar format to 2008, with opportunities for both foundation level and competitive gymnasts.

The recreational classes will be available to gymnasts who participate in any of the Diamonds foundation classes and will take place during the first and second weeks of August. Further information will be available from coaches within the next few weeks.

Acrobatic Gymnastics

The Leeds Gymnastics Festival

Members of the Acro Squad were very pleased to accept an invitation to perform at this year’s Leeds Gymnastics Festival. This event has grown over recent years and it took place this year at the Dewsbury Sports Centre in January.

All performances were judged on the day so although the event was enjoyable, there was a competitive edge to the proceedings. A number of the Diamonds Team were members of the Acro Development Squad and this gave them a chance to perform in front of a large audience for the first time.

Our team put together a group item which demonstrated a range of pairs and trio balances, tumbling skills and some wonderful linking moves. The squad caught the judges’ eyes both with their excellent routine and their new leotards! As a result they were rightly rewarded with the shield for the ‘large group’ category and all gymnasts received gold medals.

The Acro coaches would like to thank all the gymnasts and supporters who attended this event.

Yorkshire NDP Championships

Diamonds was well represented at the Yorkshire NDP Competition held recently at the Metrodome in Barnsley. For a number of gymnasts this was their first competition and has given them an insight into what is required at this level. Annabel Stott (aged 7) and her partner Kennedy Wall (11) were the youngest pair in the competition and did well to finish 8th out of 20 at Prep A level. They enjoyed their first competition so much that as soon as they finished their routine they wanted to know “What’s next?”!

In National 1 women’s groups, Emma Warden, Kate Pickles and Alicia Haycock won bronze medals for a brilliant routine and at National 2 women’s pairs Emma Wilde and Victoria Pearson won silver medals. These gymnasts were rewarded for their fine performances with a place in the Yorkshire team to compete in Scotland in April.
Other medal winners were:
National 3 women’s pairs - Nicola May & Adele Standring (silver)
National 3 women’s groups - Sophie Crawford, Francesca Bland & Katie Harper (bronze)

The Acro gymnasts brought home seventeen medals from the NDP Regional and National Tumbling Competition, also at the Metrodome. Highlights came from Emma Wilde and Sophie Crawford who won the National 3 and 2 sections respectively and who will now represent the club and the region at the National Finals at Fenton Manor, Stoke-on-Trent in May. The other medallists at various levels and age-groups were:

Gold – Hollie Broadbent, Emma-Leigh Peel, Jack Skinner, Xenia Potter, Jenna Leigh Wilson, Harry Alderton
Silver – Annabel Stott, Hope Silver, Emily Paul, Kennedy Wall, Jessica Leggett, Francesca Bland
Bronze – Kate Smith, Ryan Lawton, Lois Jordan

TeamGym

Northern Qualifiers
Meadowbank Sports Centre, Edinburgh. 7th March.

Two Diamonds teams made the trek north of the border to compete in the Northern National Qualifiers.

After an early start, the National 3 team (Primary) was the first team to perform. They started off on floor with a routine that had previously been used at the Goole Open Competition in November. A smooth performance ended up with the third highest score of 7.40.
Their second piece was tumble. After what could be described as an ‘interesting’ run-up to the competition on this apparatus, the team scored a fairly low 5.45.
Finally they moved onto the last piece of apparatus (trampette) where they made amends and achieved the highest score of the day with 6.90, which was an excellent score for them.

These scores earned them 3rd place overall and qualification into the national finals; due to be held in Gloucester on May 2nd. From this competition the gymnasts can see the areas that need to be worked on if they are to compete for the medals nationally.
Overall a very good achievement for the group.

Next up were the National 2 team (Junior). During the competition preparation the team members had not been very confident in their own abilities. As a result of this the difficulty of their runs was slightly downgraded but the key was to ensure that all moves were landed and the lines were good.

They started off on trampette. A solid performance with very few errors made sure that they got off to a good start with a score of 6.95.
The next piece was floor. This had been a little troublesome in training for many reasons and had only been performed by the whole group three sessions before the competition. However on the day (despite the routine being ‘rough and not polished’) they were awarded the highest score of the day, 7.35. An excellent score!
Tumble was the final piece. A clean performance on all runs ensured that a good score would be achieved, and 6.85 was the second highest tumble score of the day.
This final score also put the National 2 team into 3rd place and they too have qualified for the national finals in May.

Both teams performed very well and were a credit to the club. All the gymnasts have been buoyed by the result and have re-entered the gym under no illusions about how much hard work is needed to perform well in the finals.

All we can say is “Watch this space!”

[The medal-winning National 2 & National 3 Teamgym Squads]

Men’s Artistic Gymnastics

Seven gymnasts from the Men’s Artistic section competed in the Yorkshire Club Competition in Huddersfield on 28th February. The boys all performed extremely well across seven disciplines.
Results were as follows:

Primary 5: Joe Stott 3rd
Club 1: Eddie Uttley 3rd
Club 2: Henry Beaumont 8th
Club 3: Joe Lewis 3rd
Aston Queeley 6th
Club 4: Alex Hanson 3rd
Luke Dyson 5th

Well done to all these boys for their excellent results!

Women’s Artistic

Yorkshire Grades Competition

Fourteen gymnasts from Diamonds took part in the recent Yorkshire Grades Competition. This event served as a qualification competition for the British Grades Championships in Birmingham.

Congratulations go to Danielle O’Sullivan and Chloe Davey who won National Grades 7 and 8 respectively. These girls will now travel to the national finals in April. They will be joined in Birmingham by Laura Walker and bronze medallist Victoria Harris in National Grade 6.

Natasha Plumpton gained a pass at National Grade 7, Mackenzie Brook and Rio Alexis both achieved a pass at National Grade 8 and Eleanor Holmes placed 5th overall at National Grade 7.

At Compulsory 3 level, Jemma North was selected as reserve for the Yorkshire team.

Tumbling Gymnastics

Gymnasts from the Tumbling section have been working very hard for the last few months in preparation for the year’s competitions. The group’s training has been greatly enhanced by the addition of the fast track in the new extension; a tool which enables them to learn new skills and perform more repetitions of their tumbling passes.

The aim for some of the gymnasts this year is to progress to a higher level of competition and with several new members beginning to work at a competitive level the group looks set to go from strength to strength over the coming year.

The new NDP Elite Tumbling Grades are to be held in Stoke-on Trent in May, alongside the National Acro/Tumbling levels and will give some of the gymnasts their first opportunity to compete at national level.

Results to follow...

Cheer

Members of the Cheer Squad are currently perfecting a number of group and individual routines as they prepare for their upcoming competitions and performances.

The new Cheer Foundation Squad is now taking place on Sunday mornings between 11.00am and 1.00pm. This group aims to introduce the basic elements of cheerleading to young gymnasts of all ages. Gymnasts are permitted to participate in more than one of the club’s foundation squads.

Contact the club for information on how to get involved in Diamonds’ newest discipline.

Fundraising

We are currently collecting Tesco vouchers which can be used to purchase new equipment for the club. If you or your family and friends are able to donate any of your vouchers to Diamonds we would be most grateful.

A collecting box is available at the shop in the main gym or alternatively your child’s coach will be able to pass on any donated vouchers to the club.
Thank you for your donations!

Contact Us

Here at Diamonds we always welcome feedback from our members so if you have any comments or questions about the club, please contact us.

Diamonds Gymnastics Club
The Keith Whitaker Centre
Mill Lane
Boothtown
Halifax
HX3 6TN

Tel: 01422 349559
Email: info@diamondsgym.org.uk
Website: www.diamondsgymclub.org.uk