Glasgow Goes For Gold
The following article appeared in the Winter 2011 edition of the Scottish Gymnast magazine.
Now in its 26th year, the City ofGlasgow Gymnastics Club has gone from strength to strength with 2011 being its most productive to date. Our gymnasts have surpassed themselves by competing in regional, national and international competitions and bringing home medals as proof of their ability at every level.
At top of the tree is GMPDs Jonathan Mackie who competed for Team GB at the 2011 Special Olympics Summer Games inAthens,Greece. Team GB Gymnastics finished second overall and Jonathan received a silver medal, a fine achievement in itself, but the six individual GOLD medals that he brought back would make even the most experienced of writers run out of superlatives. Head coach Angela Turner and Jonathan’s accomplishment was simply superb!
Again in international competition, four of our gymnasts, Douglas Ross, Liam Davie, Cara Kennedy and Carly Smith, were chosen as part of Youth TeamScotlandto compete at the Commonwealth Youth Games on theIsle of Manin September. The Scottish Team finished fifth overall in the gymnastics and sixth overall in the medal table withDouglastaking gold in the vault competition, one of five won by the Team.
One week later,Douglasadded another gold medal on the vault at the British Championships junior competition held inStoke-on-Trent. Liam Davie also took a gold medal on the high bar at the same event. These medals were the cream of this years crop for the junior men despite success at the other big competitions such as the Scottish Championships and the Pegasus Open where 2010 Commonwealth gymnast Ryan McKee won bronze in the Senior all-around event. In the Under 16 age group Rob Keys has also done very well this year as has Kelvin Cham in the Under 14s.
Our girls are doing just as well. As mentioned earlier, Cara Kennedy and Carly Smith competed for Youth TeamScotland. Orla Gallacher became the Northern Ireland Junior Champion in June and 2010 Commonwealth Games gymnast Amy Regan was crowned the 2011 Scottish Gymnastics all around Champion at the Scottish Gymnastics Championships in Perth. Amy also took gold at the Greater Manchester Open. Cara became the Junior Vault and Floor Champion at the Scottish Championships with Carly winning two bronze and a silver medal.
Head Coach of Acrobatics at City ofGlasgow Gymnastics Club, Dominic Young, leads over 50 Acrobatic gymnasts, who compete from beginner to elite level. Dominic comments “We are have an excellent team of six coaches, ranging from Level 1 though to Level 4, who are well organized, enthusiastic and who all share a passion for Acrobatic Gymnastics. We have implemented a structure which permits talented gymnasts to progress, initially via our Development Squad through to our Junior Squad and lastly our Senior Squad”. CoG Acrobatics currently have a number of Scottish Champions encompassing the disciplines Women’s Pairs, Women’s Trios and Men’s Pair. Furthermore, our Mixed Pair, Craig Gibson and Sophie Terris were recently invited by British Gymnastics to trial for British Squad selection for the European Acrobatic Championships, a tremendous achievement and acknowledgement of the gymnasts hard work and dedication. Later this year we have Craig Downie and Mitchell Smith competing at the British Open Tournament at Fenton Manor,Stoke-on-Trent. All the gymnasts are currently working hard in preparation for a busy competition season which starts in early 2012.
If it wasn’t for the skill and dedication of our coaches then these results would be all the more difficult to achieve. From former Olympic medalist Marius Gherman to former City ofGlasgowgymnasts Shona Regan andCaitlin Ross, all levels are catered for and some of our current top gymnasts, such as Douglas and Amy, are already passing on their skills to the youngest of our club members.
The club is partly funded by Glasgow Life, allowing us to have some of the lowest club fees in theBritain, but like most clubs we do what we can to raise funds through competitions and superstore bag packing for example. Glasgow Life help us with coaching and ensure that our venue at Bellahouston Leisure Centre is kept running smoothly. We are also very fortunate to receive sponsorship from Lambert Contracts who made a substantial contribution toward refilling our pits with new foam blocks and help toward the cost of new equipment whenever possible.
Finally, a big thank you to everyone involved with the club. From parents, committee members, sponsors, volunteers, coaches and gymnasts, you have made the City ofGlasgow Gymnastics Clubwhat it is today and we always look forward to bigger and better things.