Gymnastics: Kendal club leaping into 2012 (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Gymnastics: Kendal club leaping into 2012

8:10am Thursday 22nd December 2011 in Sport By Patrick O'Kane, Senior News/Sport Reporter

NOW is the time for Kendal to build on the success of its gymnasts as they blaze a trail for their club on a national level.

During 2011 a number of firsts were set at Kendal School of Gymnastics, based at the back of Romneys factory on the Mintsfeet industrial estate, and head coach Chris Wrigley believes it can be the start of great things for the club.

The club boasted two individual national champions this year, a county intermediate individual champion and several team golds across an action packed season, while many others showed their potential for the future.

Wrigley said: “We want to build on the last year and see the levels achieved become the norm. We have to consolidate that level and keep the girls working as well as they are. We want everyone to enjoy themselves but to do us proud and act as ambassadors for the town. ”

Senior coach Peter Blake has taken the skill levels forward in huge strides in his 25 years at the club and now some of its members are competing at grade eight for the first time in the club’s history.

Stevie Selby and Alice Bowler have been shining lights through 2011 as they made the step up to grade eight, when previously the club had only catered for grades 14-9 - with grades ranging from 14 at the lowest to 1 at the highest.

Former chairman Julie Bowler said: “Peter [Blake] has at times run the club on his own and it is fair to say we wouldn’t be here without his involvement. Coaching at level 4 of 5 levels he is helping us dedicate the highest levels of coaching we could expect at a community club like ours.”

Ten-year-old Jamie Lea-Trickett showed her talent when becoming the county intermediate individual champion, with Bowler collecting national gold at the Pink Ladies invitational and Selby won the top gong at the national entry Alpha Factor, both competition firsts for the club.

Looking ahead to 2012, Wrigley and Bowler would like to see the new standards maintained with more young gymnasts achieving firsts for the club, but they have indicated new premises would help the club’s cause, despite Romneys renewing a ten-year lease in 2010.

Wrigley added: “We have had plans to move the club to help it expand but usually have been met with a negative response from the council. We need to look at some sort of industrial unit to have a facility big enough to help us teach some of the moves and it would mean we could cater for more gymnasts.”

* Information: Kendal School of Gymnastics, tel, 01539 731273, or visit www.kendalgymnastics.com