The Island welcomed some of the best gymnasts from across the UK to the first Manx Junior International Competition last Saturday (7th May) . Teams from England, Scotland and Malta joined the Island’s top female gymnasts in a friendly event, packed with quality moves and execution. The Island fielded two teams, which totalled 7 of our best female gymnasts.
Shannon Archer delivered a stunning floor routine to the music of Swan Lake, landing a double back, 2 ½ and double twists to perfection. Her excellent leap series showed true elegance and artistry, awarding her the top position on Floor.
The standard of the teams from England and Scotland was thrilling for all and proved to be too high for our local teams, as they went on to take the team Gold and Silver Team awards respectively.
These national teams did however, provide an excellent opportunity for our very own IOM gymnasts to compete against, as they allowed our girls to benchmark their skills against some of the best in Britain and Malta. The Island entered two teams, Team Red and Team Black.
The Red team consisted of Rebecca Johnson, Kaitlin Kneen , Nicole Burns and Grace Harrison, who all delivered steady performances Tara Donnelly was an original member of this team, however, was unable to compete on the day following an injury sustained earlier in the week. Kaitlin was consistent on all four apparatus, providing her with a consideration score to add to her portfolio for selection for the CYG team in September this year. Rebecca delivered two strong vaults on the day placing her 3rd on this apparatus and awarding her the individual Bronze medal. The overall scores of this team successfully placed them in third position as they took to the podium to take the Bronze Team medal.
The Black Team from the IOM consisted of Emily Dale-Beeton, Ciara Goddard and Aoife Donnelly. They too delivered good performances on all four pieces, and only finished 2 points behind their team mates on the Red Team.
