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