On Saturday 29th March eight RGC gymnasts traveled up to Belfast excited to participate in the first Plus Levels National All Around Finals. This event introduced a progressive new competition route for gymnasts working towards Elite levels in the future and certainly was a refreshing change of format to watch and participate within.
It was great to see such healthy numbers nationally participating it shows the future of gymnastics in Ireland is progressing well and we have much to look forward to and much hard work to do!!! (Full results included below.)
Level 6+ Under 11 Results:
Starting at 6+ our under 11 years group comprising of Emma Slevin, Kate Molloy, Jane Heffernan and Daniela Goluba had a large pool of 12 gymnasts and a very exciting competition on their hands right from the start! This was one of the closest competitions I have ever seen in Irish Gymnastics with less only 1.4 separating first place (55.80) and 7th place (54.20)!!! Renmore’s Kate Molloy started out very strong indeed with the highest beam score of the group (11.70), moving to vault and maintaining a great line in her vault to see her ranked 5th in the vault scores (12.15) after which she made her way confidently to bars and swung her way to hitting full bonuses and the second highest bar score of the group behind Trojan’s Laura Cronin. Kate looked both relaxed and focused and very sure of the task in hand achieved a greta bar score (11.9). A good steady floor and a nice score of 10.75 put Kate as a real contender and a force to be reckoned with right up until the final rotation. However her final piece of the day Range and Conditioning which despite showing good progress was rushed a little during the second half of the routine resulting in a lower score (9.05) and leaving Kate in 4th place and just off the podium by 0.15 scoring 55.55 overall! Great competition Kate keep up the hard work! She’s a great competitor to watch and that was a tough outcome as she was placed 2nd going into the final rotation! Only .55 behind her in the final rankings was Renmore’s Jane Heffernan who also showed great determination throughout the day. Despite a recent elbow injury Jane marched out to compete with some simplified routines and a great attitude to give it her all. A shaky start on beam and 2 unexpected falls could have been a point to let frustration get the better of her but she keep the head up and the focus sharp and moved onto Vault where she placed 7th overall (11.85) with a nice straight front and already looking onwards to bars where the elbow was clearly on her mind. After some nerves during the warm up Jane competed a very strong bar routine and still ranked 5th (11.35) also achieving full bonuses and carrying an unexpected fall on the high bar. Happy to have delivered a good performance and with high spirits she danced her way to a great floor performance (11.2) and the highest range and conditioning score of the entire day across all ages (11.4). In 5th place scoring 55.00 with 3 falls really does show great potential for this young gymnast and also demonstrated great competition spirit. Not far from her heels was Emma Slevin who finished on this occasion in 7th place with 54.80 and also carrying an unexpected fall on Beam right at the start of the day. Despite this she was in 6th place moving onwards to Vault performing a beautiful Straight front ranking her in 2nd place (12.35) and moving back in the right direction. Excited and focuses she moved onto Bars hitting a lovely bar routine and swinging some nice lines in a routine containing like her teammates upgrade bonuses, with a great score of 11.4 we moved onto Floor where Emma leapt, danced and performed upgraded tumbles and a great routine scoring 11.1 and leaving her motivated for the final battle of the range and conditioning routine. On this occasion nerves where visible as she took one or two large wobbles at the start of the routine and then rushed through the second half resulting in a lower score and leaving her in 7th position. Some beautiful work though Emma so don’t be too disappointed, and good luck next week as she moves up to 7+ with her older teammates Aisling and Alex! On this occasion it was Daniela’s day. She took the top spot and won the Gold medal overall with good solid clean performances after a slightly slow start on beam (9.7). Carrying a fall from her first piece Daniela whom loves to compete smiled and enjoyed every rotation and gave 110% on all pieces. Vault and bars are two pieces she has been working very hard to improve and it was great to see her consistently hit routines through determination and persistence. Vault Score (12.1) ranked her 5th on that apparatus , and Bars (11.85) showed she too can swing very well indeed as she begun moving up the overall ranking. Onto floor scoring the 3rd highest floor score (11.4) she went all out with her performance aiming to stay as clean as possible which she did with great style. She marched onwards for the final piece and topped the day with a beautiful range routine achieving the second highest range score of the day just behind Renmore’s Jane Hefferenan and placing her in the top spot with an overall score of 55.80. Wow close comp girls, great spirit, energy and style we are very proud of you all!
Level 7+ Under 13 Results:
This was a smaller group with just 3 competitors on this occasion but the competition spirit demonstrated no less determination. Renmore gymnasts Aisling Fuller and Alex-Marie McDonagh battled against Sugarloaf’s Niamh Hutchinson whom is a year their senior and has already represented Ireland during last years Celtic Cup so they knew they had a tough competition on their hands! All three girls competed very well, all carried some small mistakes and it was not obvious at any point what way it would go. The girls started on Vault and Alex-Marie was up first performing her Yurchenko Prep Vault (12.1), she achieved top score here ahead of Aisling Fuller who performed her Tsuk prep scoring 11.9. Both girls moved on very business like onto bars where Aisling was up first and performed a nice clean routine, once again she was placed in 2nd place scoring 11.20 just behind Niamh by .15. Alex-Marie on this occasion took a fall on the high bar but despite this still scored well (10.55) and knew with 6 pieces involved it could still be anybodies game if she can maintain focus and composure which she did very well! Onto beam and a moment of concentration lapse cost Aisling a fall here but with an otherwise very clean performance she was still tied for 2nd (10.35). Alex’s turn to go clean and apply the pressure with a lovely clean performance and achieving full bonuses for front acro and connections she came out with a top score of 11.35 and once again the competition is exciting! Onto loop bar a new and very progressive addition to our competition structure, both girls hit their routines showing they can both swing well and demonstrate nice lines and a also with their own style of preferred close bar element. Once again Alex takes the top spot with a good fight for her clear hip that comes out in her favour and the top loop bar score (11.4) . Teammate Aisling is hot on her heels with and close behing after performing the routine well with the toe onto handstand and scoring 11.1 and once again placing her in 2nd place. Onto Floor and the girls for the first time are being challenged with much increased content and it’s good to see them working hard and making great progress on the routines. It puts them in a better position in the future to start increasing content and difficulty. Routines were clean and steady Aisling scoring 10.0 and Alex just ahead on 10.55. The level 7+ also requires gymnasts to perform the range and conditioning routine and this is a challenge of demonstrating great strength and flexibility within a short floor exercise. Great addition and also interesting to see how this piece can affect the overall rankings completely!! It requires gymnasts to be disciplines to know that Physical preparation is paramount and this can only be a good thing. The range scores across the group were very close and all 3 girls were within .2 of each other leaving us unsure of the overall ranking which ultimately saw Aisling consistently in 2nd place and on this occasion Alex taking the title and the gold medal. Great job girls and great fun competition! Keep up the hard work!
Level 7 Over 13 Results:
Within this category Renmores’ Emer Shimizu and Amy O’Neill had a good fun competition on their hands with no less excitement in their group by any means!!! The girls like their younger team mates have been busy preparing for the new plus levels event and the ongoing trial process for Celtic Cup so it’s been a busy few weeks for the girls! However they were in great form and good spirit as they battled out also across 6 apparatus to both also finish side by side on the podium and top off a great day for Renmore gymnastics. Starting on bars both girls cleanly performed their routines with Emer demonstrating her new routine once again and both appearing relaxed, composed and ready for this event. They finished bars both ranking tied for 2nd place with a score of 11.35. Moving onto Vault and both performing the tsuk prep very well Emer achieving the highest vault score with 12.35 with Amy ranked just behind her with 12.1 and both girls again looking confident and enjoying themselves. Range and Conditioning was next on the agenda and this was always set to be the biggest challenge for the girls. Despite this they both got through their routines carrying some small mistakes and in general some work to do on execution. Unfortunately Amy took an unexpected fall here which took a hit on her ranking on this apparatus. With an impressive demonstration of competition spirit Emer ranked 2nd on range with a score of 8.45. Moving onto floor and once again faced with the same challenges of Aisling and Alex the girls have far increased content and it’s certainly a test on fitness and stamina. Both performed good steady floors Emer ranking first on this piece (10.35) and Amy unfortunately not achieving her handstand 1/1 pirouette cost her dearly here and having to carry a low score (7.5) onwards for the final two rotations. Showing some momentary nerves as we proceeded to beam Amy overcome any concerns to finish her competition strong and with great competition spirit. She went clean on beam (10.7) and with great composure and determination she also hit her Loop bar routine (11.2) to finish overall in 3rd position on the podium. Emer also went clean on her beam achieving connection bonuses and showing good consistency across the day and once again taking the top score here (11.25). Onto the final piece Emer performed her loop bar routine with a fight at the end of the routine to hit her clear hip and this was reflected in a slightly lower score (10.15) despite this, overall Emer placed just ahead of her team mate on the podium in second place behind Excel’s India Quinn and IDS teammate. Great competition girls…. great to see you both rewarded for your hard work!
Good luck to all the Renmore Gymnasts competing next weekend in Limerick at the apparatus Final let’s make it a fun end to the competition season! And good luck to all the girls in their final trial for Celtic Cup 2014!