The M&S Bank Arena hosted the annual Artistic Gymnastic British Championships this year, running from Thursday to Sunday.
Thousands of fans gathered on the first day to watch the junior gymnasts compete across several apparatus in a busy schedule.
This year, the championships introduced its first ever ParaGymnastics trial event.
The First ParaGymnastics Trial:
Thirteen junior athletes from seven different clubs performed routines in the ParaGymnastics trial, in a rotation set-up.
The ultimate ambition is to establish ParaGymnastics on the global stage and push for Paralympics inclusion for 2032 and beyond.
Sarah Powell, British Gymnastics Chief Executive Officer, said: “The Para-Gymnastics Trial event is a significant step in our ambition to see disability gymnastics become a Paralympic sport.”
“We are committed to being relentless in the pursuit of inclusion and accessibility in Gymnastics.
“This trial is a huge milestone on this journey.”
Day One:
Lily Heather-Maskill stole the show on the first day, winning four gold medals in the Disability Masters section.
Lily comes from The Wire Gymnastics Club, based in Warrington, and came first in the Vault, Bars, Beam, and Floor.
She won the competition with a score of 12.200, ahead of fellow medallists, Rosalie Williams and Anya Drinkwater.
Holly Doherty, one of the coaches at the Wire, said: “I’m really proud of all the gymnasts; it’s a big arena and so it can be so intimidating so they did really well to hold their nerves under such a big environment.”
“I’m really impressed with Lily (Heather-Maskill), she’s doing so well with handling all the nerves and showing everyone amazing routines.”
“I was so proud of all the ParaGymnasts, it’s so inspiring to watch all of them out there performing. It’s really, really inspiring.”
The Goal for ParaGymnastics:
These championships showcased the fantastic talent from the ParaGymnasts, as several organisations push for Paralympics inclusion for future events.
Dom Elsom, the Event Director at British Gymnastics said: “This is just one aspect of our work around disability gymnastics, but we are proud to have been at the forefront of driving an international movement.”
“Now, the ambition is for ParaGymnastics to become a Paralympic sport, reflecting all three of our shared values for gymnastics in Britain: Inclusion, support, and aspiration.”
All details of the event are on the British Gymnastics Championship Website.
(Featured image by Ed Cartmell)
