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Regional

Lessons Learnt At Finals

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I suppose it’s easier to write about Sunday by starting with the week after…. The sessions following a major competition are normally easier and often just fun sessions to allow the gymnasts some downtime however this week there seemed to be a definitive air of determination following the weekend.

One of the quotes from our website states “I really think a champion is defined not by their wins, but how they recover when they fall”.

For many gymnasts this takes time to understand and can be a huge challenge both mentally and physically to deal with any form of disappointment. This includes the internal competition Twizzlers runs all the way through to National Level Finals which are by far the biggest stage most have competed at. However, what did shine through was those that were impacted by the weekend were back training putting in the same amount of effort if not more to correct the little things and with that mindset they all join the many squad members who have gained valuable experience now with how to deal with this on a personal level. This is what makes them all champions

We also cant forget what it took to get there in the first place..  As a parent from another club was heard to have said to a disappointed gymnast at the weekend.. “it doesn’t matter, firstly you got here by qualifying to give you a chance to be in the top 26 across all the regions which included Scotland as a country and Northern Ireland. You finished both your routines and its your first time competing at this level”

As with all the London gymnasts whether it be for Trampoline or DMT they are all deserved finalists

I suppose Sunday started like Saturday… An early start for our coaches who were with Team London..  A line up of Alex, Aaliyah, Charlotte, Sofia & Tom were the team Twizzlers representatives for London.

Charlotte was first up for Twizzlers in Flight 2 competing in the DMT Level 2 13+ Category which had a full pool of 26 competitors. This in itself creates an extremely tough group with Charlotte eventually finishing in 16th place but where the smallest things matter the 7 places above had just 0.5 between them. For such a competitive group the result was still a fantastic result especially as qualifying for DMT representing London for the second year in a row.

The most challenging piece to writing this report comes in Flight 3 which saw both Tom competing in the Trampoline Level 3 15+ alongside Sophia in the Level 3 15+. Both experienced at this competition both having very mixed results. Sophia competing a new routine for the first time even after hours of practice unfortunately fell early into her set routine… This often has a number of immediate effects on a gymnast both physically and mentally, but Sophia encouraged by her team mates & coaches on the floor composed herself for her voluntary routine. With what looked like a positive composure and determination she started her voluntary routine with some good height but yet again only a few moves in Sofia competition was over. It’s a strange feeling both watching her teammates and parents not knowing what to say to someone in that situation. What was noted that even though extremely disappointed the support especially from all the supporters at Twizzlers was there.

2 Panels down was Tom also going through his 2 routines… Getting through his “Set” however some uncharacteristic mistakes saw him finish 12th after the first round. Tom knew that he needed a solid performance in his “Vol” routine and hope that his difficulty helped him up the table however again Tom making a few errors and struggling with Execution got the 6th highest second round score but would see him finishing in 10th place. Hugely disappointing finish to the weekend for Tom however im sure that he will come back stronger.

This left just Aaliyah and Alex left to compete… Like the current standing joke Alex was of course in the final flight of the day so we move on to Aaliyah competing on the DMT Level 1 9-12. Qualifying for the first time and the second event of the weekend following the trampoline on Saturday… One of 3 dual qualifiers alongside Alex & Tom competing in both DMT & Trampoline for London.

Aaliyah made her first pass however was down in 12th overall after that but by only 0.7… Her second and by far her strongest pass was the top ranking pass putting down a strong marker for the rest of the competitors, 3rd pass was 5th overall but again only by 0.4.

Going into her 4th and final pass Aaliyah was in a very strong position but as she made wasn’t as executed as well as she would have probably wanted and that pass was 11th overall however margins are everything finishing 5th overall and the smallest of margins between herself and a medal but on the flip side a huge achievement especially as the club are still relatively new to DMT and especially to come 5th out of 22

Last Twizzlers member representing London (and a standing joke now at most competitions) in the last flight was Alex… Competing in the Trampoline Level 4 13-14yrs. Like most of the Twizzlers jumping at a higher level than last year but for him the highest level for the Inter-Regional.

Although still one of the youngest he is also one of the most experienced when it comes round to large competitions and disappointment. Representing Twizzlers for London for the 3rd consecutive year and the 2nd in both Trampoline & DMT and with a field of only 13 in his group the competition was still as tough as a group of 26.

His set routine saw him comfortably in 2nd place by a margin of 0.8 from 1st. Not sure even the coaches saw that one coming as this is normally his weaker of the 2 but put him in a very good place to compete for a medal for consecutive years, however after a strong start to his “Vol” routine he made an error that almost made him touch the end decks… he managed to recover but that impacted the rest of his routine on both execution and time of flight ending.

At that point he was in 3rd place and with a number of people still to jump was still finding himself in 3rd.. Had his recovery been enough and as the last competitor had finished the answer was in..  not quite and from the reaction of that person I don’t think they could also believe they had just pipped Alex into 4th place.

A disappointing end to the weekend for him and adding to the previous of the day however as was proven in the gym this week they will come back stronger later this year and gain even more valuable experience from the moment. After a few consolidations and team photos that was it for the regional year and onto preparation for the League and for Alex & Tom English finals.

Saturday In Birmingham!

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Competition day probably varies from person to person… Some of the gymnasts are competing for the 3rd year with others for the first or second time… Each has their own way of focussing for the day ahead. Start times are also much earlier than the Regional qualifying events with timings a lot stricter. It’s even harder when you are dealt either first or last flight of the day which unfortunately in this instance saw Aaliyah jumping in the Level 2 11-12 with a reporting time of 0750! With a field of 26 over 3 flights Aaliyah faced yet again a very tough group but with a great training week to the run up was able to get through 2 routines cleanly.

As is the sport the difference between where Aaliyah finished overall 9th and top 5 was the smallest of margins but given that to say that you competed at this level and came in the top 10 in such a competitive field is a massive achievement.

Flight 3 of the day saw “The Boys” jumping… Alex, Jared & Tom on the DMT. Alex & Jared competing against each other in the Men’s DMT Level 2 13+ and Tom competing in Men’s DMT Level 3 17+.

Alex & Jared’s group was split into 2 separate flights with the first half competing in Flight 2. Following the first pass Jared saw himself take the top spot with Alex down taking 4th place. Second pass saw Jared stay at the top with Alex dropping down taking 8th place. The 3rd pass saw Jared make a small error on landing which cost valuable points Alex had picked himself up from his first 2 and turned it around to finish 1st for the 3rd pass. For the 4th and final pass there was a lot of screens refreshing from coaches and parents in the stands as the rest of the flight continuing with their last passes with the boys jumping in the middle of the group.

First up from the pair was Jared making his final pass, a clean one and enough to keep him top of the board. It’s hard to comment on what goes on around the competition floor and the information the boys have access too or if that would put any potential pressure on them working out where they are or what they needed.

Although the scoring system is most of the time “good”, there are times for spectators “sometimes” isn’t as fast as we like… however Alex with still 3 people to go after him whom all of which could still push both boys down made his last pass cleanly but a slight wobble on landing and a move on the foot could have been critical. After yet again frantic refreshing the scores were in and by a margin of only 0.1 Alex had pipped Jared to 1st Place and as the last gymnast had made the final pass it was confirmed a 1st/2nd for not only Team London but Twizzlers as well.

Meanwhile Tom was on the adjacent panel and was making his 4 passes on the DMT trying to replicate his success from the English Champs qualifier earlier in the year. I would also say that he was probably in the hardest group to compete in… Only 4 competitors. A strong first pass placed Tom in 2nd Place and onto his second pass. An error on landing with such a close field saw that pass be in 4th. Recomposing for his 3rd Tom was unfortunate to just move his foot on landing after showing determination to try and hold what would appear to be key deduction.

Trampoline & DMT requires a lot of strength and coordination as well as many other core elements but after now being at 6 National Finals you must be just as mentally prepared on how you deal with any setbacks, and as I have witnessed on many occasions at finals with other members of Twizzlers, it’s not about how many times you fall, it’s how many times you get back up.

Tom’s determination saw him go into his 4th pass and give his all… The highest difficulty of all the other competitors with good execution saw the pass narrowly missing out on 2nd place however overall, it left him just outside the medals in 4th place. Disappointing for Tom on this occasion however I’m sure that he will come back stronger taking away valuable experience and lessons from the weekend.

The last of the Twizzlers members competing today as well as the first time in a final was Gaby in the Women’s Trampoline Level 2 15+. Like Aaliyah earlier in the day Gaby faced the max number of competitors in her group with 26 overall again over 3 flights.

Gaby was also in her first year of competition which made this another great achievement qualifying. Like that has been said before margins in this sport are tiny and after her “Set” routine found herself in 13th place however was less than a point outside of top 5 which was a strong first routine with excellent execution score giving her a huge amount of confidence for the second jump. Gaby’s “Vol” had a couple of wobbles, but she made it through all 10 moves to finish. Again, like everyone else this weekend the only thing that mattered. With such a strong field Gaby found herself finishing down in 15th place but once again only by the smallest of margins

With Saturday completed it was on to orientation for those competing on the Sunday which in this case was Aaliyah, Alex, Charlotte, Sophia & Tom… All going through their routines and even though most had been there all day it was good to get used to the equipment they were using. 

Having so many in one place like many of our competitions there is always an effort to meet up and have dinner as a group for both gymnasts and families. It also allows everyone time to let their hair down and relax whilst others would sit there and play with dinosaurs to keep themselves amused. Once dinner had been completed everyone said their goodbyes and returned to their respective accommodation to start the preparation for Sunday

Regional Orientation

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As competitions get bigger so do the days and the lead up to the event itself. With the Olympics impacting this year’s schedule the event was being held only 9 months since the last Inter-Regional and a wide range of logistical venue challenges over the last few weeks, Twizzlers had done the very best to ensure those competing this weekend had access to as many sessions to give them the best opportunity to do well for not only Team London but for Twizzlers.

This year’s final was yet again being held at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham with an orientation session available on the evening before, which allows all competitors to go through the routine of what will happen on the day from the warmup through to the competition floor also allowing for gymnasts to get a feel for the equipment.

With London having an early afternoon session this also means that most must take time off school to travel from the south to the Midlands… Several lessons learned from previous years is to travel up earlier in the day…. relax for a couple of hours before the formal build up to the weekend.

The Twizzlers co-ort all travelled up before lunch time meeting up at Sixes to have a game of cricket. Even the draw of a large “retail” shop couldn’t draw away some of the keener shoppers and with everyone taking part the evidence of the family environment that Twizzlers squad members show and along with the travelling parents was a great start to the day.

With the games finished and some possible “cheating” the results appeared to warrant another visit under some more guidance of those in a responsible position… On saying that the name of the game was to have some fun and that was certainly had by all. Once that was all finished it was time for those with hotels to check in… cars moved, and gymnasts making the short walk along the canal to the arena.

Twizzlers are lucky to have so many of the squad with experience and with only one new face to the Finals Stage the squad ensured that everyone was looked after and supported. Split into 3 separate sessions it was good to see everyone staying and supporting even though it was just a warmup.

Even for the more experienced these sessions are also great to go through the process of arriving, changing, floor warm up, warm up and competition floor identifying any changes from the last year.  Some take it seriously others use it to brush off any cobwebs and some use as valuable experience to get used to the stage they face the following day.

As the group finished for the evening it was time for food and retiring back to accommodation ready for what would be 2 very long days and what all of Twizzlers have been working towards all year………

London Training Day

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Following on from another successful Inter-Regional qualifiers that took place in November 23 and February 2024. Twizzlers had 13 individual members over 19 events competing for a top 2 spot for the chance to represent London at this year’s Inter-Regional Finals.

6 members of the Twizzlers Trampoline & Double Mini-Trampoline squad qualified and subsequently invited to the regional team training session that took place on Sunday 26th May at Jumpers Rebound Centre in Gillingham

Representing Twizzlers for the London Regional team we are once again proud to have the following taking part with 3 of our members qualifying in both Trampoline & DMT*

Trampoline Level 2 11-12          Aaliyah*

Trampoline Level 2 15+             Gaby

Trampoline Level 3 15+             Sophia

Trampoline Level 3 15+              Tom*

Trampoline Level 4 13-14          Alex*

DMT Level 1 9-12                      Aaliyah*

DMT Level 2 13+                       Charlotte

DMT Level 2 13+                       Alex*

DMT Level 2 13+                       Jared

DMT Level 3 17+                       Tom*

The regional training day is an annual training session for all those who achieved the score and placement onto the London regional team. The London team will be competing against 11 other regions across the UK including Scotland & Ireland being held this year in July at The Utilita Arena, Birmingham as part of the Inter Regional Challenge Cup Final.

The day is used as a great way for team members getting to know not only their new teammates but create new friendships. Even though they will be competing against each other it helps gymnasts to embrace being part of a bigger team outside of their own clubs.

Even more importantly the day is used for the gymnasts to get used to the coaches. As it’s a regional team often gymnasts will not jump with their own coach with the day being used to make introductions so that coaches can see how the gymnasts can be supported to ensure they get the best out of them. Where possible the coaches are rotated around to ensure that, especially newer gymnasts meet as many of the coaches as possible.

Coaches also use the day to talk to individual club coaches to ensure that they know as much about the gymnasts as possible.. What to look for, any quirks they may have and build up an understanding of how they will compete on the day and make them as prepared as possible so they can be the best they can be on the day.

We are yet again lucky enough to have 2 Twizzlers coaches representing the London Coaching Team.. Helen for DMT who also led the DMT session at the training day and Joe for Trampoline so Twizzlers will have 2 faces they all recognise over the weekend.