Esprit news

London 2012 Gymnastics test event hailed a success

2012-01-31T03:27:00.000-08:00

The event offered tens of thousands of spectators the chance to see some of the world’s top athletes competing at the North Greenwich Arena.

Over 50,000 tickets were sold for the competition, with crowds enjoying group and individual Artistic, Trampoline and Rhythmic Gymnastics.

In the Artistic Gymnastics team qualification event, the Great Britain men’s team took the gold medal ahead of France and Spain and confirmed their place at the Games.

Great Britain gymnast Daniel Keatings (pictured) said: ‘It was amazing, especially the support from the home crowd. We had to pull together as a team after Tokyo (World Championships), but the crowd really lifted us.’

'Spectacular venue'

Debbie Jevans, Director of Sport at LOCOG said: ‘The Visa International Gymnastics was the largest test event that we have run to date. As an Olympic qualifying event we had to ensure everything was delivered to the highest standard and the team performed really well.

As far as Esprit was concerned, we were represented by our head of Rhythmic coaching, Deb Hows who was one of the officials making sure the event ran smoothly.

Our gymnast, Jade Faulkner, was part of the Rhythmic Group who fell agonisingly short of the qualification mark on day two of the competition and easily surpassed it in the finals on day three.

Even more reason to come to Esprit!

2012-01-30T05:29:00.001-08:00

A new poll from Play England has found that just one in five children regularly play outside. The study also found that one in three has never climbed a tree, one in ten has never ridden a bike.

Scary statistics for those of us old enough to know what it was like to spend our days playing outside. But at least Esprit gives them the chance to develop some of the skills we all learnt outside, but in a safe, effective, child friendly environment.

Half Term Gym Camp

2012-01-25T09:22:00.001-08:00

Don't forget Thursday 16 February, its our fab half-term gymnastics camp. We'll be doing all the stuff you love, including gym, trampoline and dance and it'll give the grown ups chance to have a break for a few hours.

It's also open to non-members so why not talk a friend into coming along and giving it a go?

Cost is only £10 per person, for 3 hours of FUN!

See you there!

Are we wasting our opportunities?

2012-01-25T02:18:00.000-08:00

An interesting article about the Olympics, which uses the BG Rhythmic Group as an example

London 2012 Olympics: Team GB's home advantage is at risk of being frittered away through bureaucracy

Olympic dream petition underway

2012-01-25T02:03:00.000-08:00

Fans of Rhythmic Gymnastics across the country have launched a petition to try and force a rethink over the decision to exclude the Rhythmic Group from the Olympics. If you would like to show your support, you can do so by following the link and signing the on-line petition...

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/get-gb-rhythmic-group-to-london-2012-olympics.html

BBC report on Rhythmic disappointment

2012-01-25T01:52:00.000-08:00

Below is a link to the BBC Sport news pages on the disappointing news about the British Rhythmic Group, which includes Esprit Gymnast, Jade Faulkner...

London 2012: British rhythmic gymnasts launch Olympic exclusion appeal

You can keep up to date with whats happening by following the girls on their Facebook page at

Great Britain Rhythmic Senior Group

Rhythmic disappointment

2012-01-25T01:46:00.000-08:00

Esprit gymnast Jade Faulkner was part of the self funded British Group attempting to qualify for this years London Olympics. Unfortunately in qualification, Jade and her team mates fell agonisingly short of the mark required, just 0.273 of a mark.

However in the finals at the same event they smashed the qualifying mark with a brilliant 47.200, two whole marks above the requirement.

Here's their brilliant Ball routine from day one...

Welsh Group Invitational

2012-01-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

Esprit gymnasts make it a fine end to a great year.

As the year draws to a close,Swindon club, Esprit Gymnastics are still bringing title after title back tothe town with impressive displays from its elite squad of young athletes.

The final Group competition of theyear before the National Group finals in December, saw young girls from theclub travel to Cardiff for the Welsh Group Invitational event.

This high profile competition seesthe girls compete in group routines, rather than the more usual individual orduets they are used to.

This means they have toconcentrate as much on what the others in the group are doing, as themselves,and execute their timing perfectly.

This didn’t phase the highlyexperienced young girls from Esprit, all performing at an exceptionally highlevel, against some of the best clubs in the country.

As has been the case on otheroccasions this year it was the clubs Junior’s that led the way with animpressive array of skill that saw them secure victory and the Gold medal, 3marks ahead of Welsh club Llanelli.

However they weren’t the onlyEsprit gymnasts to make their mark, with the youngest Espoirs securing awell-deserved 4^th place behind exceptional teams from Bath andLlanelli.

This was followed by the clubsSeniors who pipped Llanelli, to the Silver medal position behind the City ofBath squad who took Gold.

Esprit coach, Deb Hows said, “ithas been an exceptional year for the club, with many high profile wins for thegirls at national and International level and to finish the team events of theyear so strongly shows how well prepared they are. To stay so focussed after along hard year is testament to all the gymnasts as well as the exceptionalcoaching team at Esprit”.

She concluded, “we just have a fewmore competitions before Christmas, in Scotland, Slovenia and the NationalGreat Britain testing event, before the annual club Christmas Display at ourhome in Headlands Grove.

We can then look forward to awell-earned rest before the competition season begining in earnest, in January,with the National Grades, before a possible trip the America”. Then of coursethe year builds towards the London Olympics, which the whole club is veryexcited about.

British Team Championships 2011

2012-01-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

More British Champions for Esprit.

Esprit went to the British Team Championships in Walsallrecently.

As usual the girls didn’tdisappoint, adding yet more impressive British titles to their growingcollection.

Competing against the very bestteams from across the UK these elite Swindon athletes worked as a team inindividual, Duet, Trio and Group routines, with the scores being combined toascertain the overall British Team Champions.

Esprit’s youngest gymnasts startedproceedings with a wonderful third place for their Group routine and impressiveindividual third for Katy Coleman. These combined with two other very impressiveperformances in Duet and Trio ensured a well-deserved 4^th overallfor team Esprit.

Next up were the clubs successfulJuniors, who were led by Esprit’s very own British Champion, Laura Halford.Laura led the impressive charge and her first place in the individual sectionalong with two brilliant firsts for her team in Trio and Group, ensured theoverall Team Gold and title of British Junior Team Champions.

In the Seniors, scores wereexceptionally tight between the top 3 teams, Birmingham, Esprit and Bath.Esprit’s Gemma Rand won very well deserved second place for her individualroutine and these along with second in Duet, second in Trio and first in Groupsaw a two-way tie between City of Birmingham and Esprit. A countback wasrequired, which saw City of Birmingham’s execution score on the top threeresults marginally ahead of Esprit’s and they secured the Senior title by thevery narrowest of margins.

Esprit coach Deb Hows said, “thiswas a fantastic competition which showed the girls the value of teamwork andproved what can be achieved when you all work together for the good of theteam.

To have the British, English andWelsh National Champion at the club and now the British Junior Team Championsis brilliant, I am very proud of them all, as well as the exceptional coachingteam that make results like this possible”.

Top of the North!

2012-01-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

Esprit in fantastic '67' medal hall

We really must get a bigger trophy cabinet

This event saw our girls surpasseven their own high standards at the North West Open Team Championships inMancester.

The three teams comprising of 21Esprit gymnasts, ranging from 8-years (Espoir) to 21 (Senior) quite literallyran away with spoils and an unassailable sixty-seven medals and five teamtrophies, on an incredible day of success for the Swindon girls.
Highlights of the day included:
Espoirs, Katy Coleman, JessSteele, Alyssa Weymouth, Erin Robinson, Stephanie Vitalie-Richardson, NeveProwting, Emily Cole, Martha Strange, Madison Kennely and Jolie Ryan-Dawes,started off proceedings by winning Gold in the overall team event and Gold inthe Ball Group final.
Katy Coleman won Silver with herhoop, Katy, Steph and Erin Gold in the Free Trio and Alyssa & Jess Gold inthe Rope Duet.
Juniors, comprising of BritishChampion Laura Halford, along with Ellie Morse, Gabriela Caruso, Hannah Curtis,Maya Lucas, Ashleigh West and Lauren Hoard, matched the youngsters performancesand claimed the second overall team Gold of the day.
Laura won Gold with her Ribbon,Ashleigh, Charlotte and Ellie, Silver with their Hoop Trio, then Hannah andMaya Gold with their Clubs Duet, before the team also claimed yet another Goldwith their Rope Group.
The clubs Senior’s comprising of21 year-old veteran competitor, Elise Gilbert, along with Clarice Saloyadoff,April Coombs and Gemma Rand, did a great job and didn’t let the Espoirs andJuniors down.
They produced some outstandingperformances to win the the clubs third overall team Championship Gold medal ofthe day,
They then went on to produce threefurther Gold medal winning performances, with Gemma winning Gold in Clubs,Clarice and Elise Gold in their Duet and Elise, April and Gemma Gold for theirRibbon Trio.
Club coach Cherie Skeats wasbouyant after the event saying she was amazed by the success, but notsurprised. “57 Gold medals, 4 Silvers, 4 Bronze and 5 team trophies is anincredible achievement, by anyones standards, but they all work so incrediblyhard, this is just reward for their efforts”.
“The Esprit girls performedmagnificently and should be very proud of themselves. But congratulationsshould not just go our girls. Everyone at the Stockport Club here in Manchesterput on a fantastic competiton, featuring some of the best gymnasts in thecountry, they must be congratulated on their efforts”.
“As for Esprit, well it looks asif we’ll have to buy a bigger trophy cabinet”.

More National Champions!

2012-01-19T08:47:00.000-08:00

Esprit continues to rack up thetitles with yet more British Champions.

Following on from recent successesincluding the English, Welsh and British Champion, Swindon’s premier gymnasticsclub could be forgiven for taking things easy recently.

But that’s not how it works at anElite club like Esprit and success at one competition is simply astepping-stone to the next high-level encounter.

This was the case recently whenthe clubs elite rhythmic gymnasts made the trip to Bradford for the 2011 OpenIndividual Apparaus Finals.

Katy Coleman was first up in theEspoirs section and kicked off with a top 10 finish in all her apparatus. Shewas followed by Esprit’s very impressive Juniors, most of whom again finishedin the top 10 of a very strong field.

Leading the way, as was the caseat the recent British Championships, were the Country’s number 1 & 2 LauraHalford & Stephanie Sherlock.

Laura impressed yet again, withthree fabulous Gold medal winning performances and one Silver, whilst Stephaniepipped Laura for Gold in the Ribbon final but was behind her in two otherevents, claiming Silver medals.

Esprit’s other girls made it amemorable weekend for the Juniors with Gabriela Caruso, Hannah Curtis, MayaLucas and Ellie Morse all finishing in the top 10 with most of their apparatusand Maya claiming a great 5^th place in Hoop.

But it still wasn’t over andEsprit’s Senior gymnast Gemma Rand was outstanding with two Bronze medals and awell deserved Silver for her Hoop routine.

Coach, Deb Hows commented, “ourgirls really are true professionals, this is an extremely busy time of year andto keep putting in the consistent performances they are is testament to theirhard work and dedication, especially when you consider most are also workingtowards school exams as well”.

The clubs excellent results, alsoprove’s just why Deb Hows has recently won Performance Coach of the Year at theSwindon & Wiltshire Sports Awards, for the second year running.

She has also been made a Gamesmaker at the London 2012 Olympics, nominated as a torch-bearer and alreadyappointed as English Coach for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Sports People of the Year

2012-01-18T09:45:00.000-08:00

Our coaches and gymnasts were recognised fortheir outstanding contribution to Gymnastics, picking up some veryimpressive awards in 2011.

The clubshead coach, Deb Hows, was awarded ‘High Performance Coach of the Year 2011’,for the second year running. Whilst Junior British Champion, Laura Halford(15), picked up ‘Junior Sports person of the Year’, for her exceptionalachievements.

Athletes,sports clubs, volunteers and coaches across Wiltshire and Swindon wererecognised at the Wiltshire and Swindon Sports Awards on September 22, and thesport of rhythmic gymnastics came out on top on the night with another RhythmicGymnast, Bath’s Frankie Fox being awarded Senior Sports Person of the Year.

The 2011Wiltshire and Swindon Sports Awards was jointly hosted by Wiltshire Council,Wiltshire Health Improvement Partnership, NHS Wiltshire, Wiltshire and SwindonActivity and Sports Partnership, Swindon Borough Council and Liquid MediaGroup.

Theprestigious event, hosted by former England rugby captain Phil de Glanville,saw performances from rhythmic gymnast Francesca Fox and Judo Champion and lastyear’s Young Sports Personality of the Year Jemima Duxberry, before the winnerswere announced.

Held atthe City Hall in Salisbury, the event was also attended by 2004 Paralympicsgold medallist in the 800 metres Danny Crates who presented the awards andsaid, “Being an athlete takes somuch commitment and hard work but you also need a strong network of coaches andclubs to help you reach your goals. This evening was a great way to recognisethe hard work of so many people involved in sport in Wiltshire.”

Deb said of the achievements, “Of course I’m delighted and surprised tohave won, especially as I won last year as well, I never imagined it couldhappen two years running.

However I’m even more pleased for Laura who fully deserves her award,for the hard and work and dedication she brings to the sport of Rhythmic Gymnastics.

The icing on the cake is for the sport though, with me winning coach ofthe year, Laura Young Sports Person and Frankie winning the senior award,rhythmic gymnastics picked up three of the top awards on the night, so that’sthe real winner.

By winning awards like this it helps raise the profile of the rhythmicdiscipline and in Swindon and Wiltshire the sport is now at an all time high,with more and more people beginning to realise what a beautiful and excitingsport it is.

I’m very proud to be part of a club like Esprit, which has a greatcoaching team and really does help young people achieve their full potential.None more so than Laura, who is an exceptional athlete and wonderful roll modelfor aspiring young gymnasts”.

Esprit Gymnastics – Welsh, English, British Champions!

2012-01-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

Even considering the high standards setby Esprit, July was an exceptional month for the club.

First, Stephanie Sherlock claimed the English Nationaltitle, before Esprit’s, Welsh Squad Gymnast, Laura Halford returned from injuryto claim the overall Welsh National Championship and all 4 apparatus Golds.

But it still wasn’t over for the talented duo andexpectations were high as they went head to head in the British Championshipsat Fenton Manor, Stoke on Trent.

Competing in the exceptionally strong Junior section the toptwo, who are already ranked number 1 & 2 in the UK produced some trulyoutstanding gymnastics throughout the 3 day event.

On day one it was the first two apparatus in the all aroundtitle race and Laura eged into a slight lead over Stephanie by scoring 41.2 toStephanies 40.475.

Day two saw an incredible finish as the two continued theirduel to the end with Stephanie scoring a brilliant 37.925 for her final twoapparatus.

It was however Laura who came out on top with a magnificant38.8 to give her a total score of 80 to Stephanies 78.4, making her BritishJunior Champion, with Stephanie second and overall Silver medalist.

The final day then saw the girls fight it out for theindividual apparatus finals and again it was Laura who took the majority of thespoils winning three Golds and one Silver to Stephanies one Gold and threeSilvers.

Cricklade schoolgirl Laura has now won the British title atevery age group and looks forward to moving up to senior level next year,before beginning her preparations towards selection for a 2014 debut at theCommonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Deb Hows, head of coaching at Esprit said, “I am delightedfor Laura, she was so disappointed to miss last years British through injury,to make such an impressive comeback is outstanding.

Having Steph perform so strongly as well is amazing, but wereally musn’t overlook our other competitors; we actually had six in the Juniorsection, all of them in the top 15.

Maya Lucas was 9^th overall and made a greatweekend really special with a well-deserved Bronze, behind Laura and Steph inthe Hoop final, as well as also qualifying for the ball finals. To see a one,two, three all from Esprit, on the podium together, was a very proud moment forme as their coach”.

Maya was followed up by Hannah Curtis in 11^th,Ellie Morse in 12^th and Gabriela Caruso in 13^th, to provejust what strength in depth Esprit has at the club, with 6 of the top 15Juniors in the UK.

However, the juniors weren’t alone and youngster KatyColeman was a very creditable 8^th in the under 11 overallchampionship and finished off a great weekend for Esprit, by also qualifyingfor the ball final.

Deb Hows concluded, “Esprit has a really strong base andlots of gymnastic potential, the entire rhythmic coaching team has worked veryhard preparing the girls for this years championship. I am delighted for them,as well as the gymnasts, as these successes have been a real team effort”.

Esprit’s Welsh Wizards are Magic!

2012-01-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

After the English Championships our girls made the trip to Wales for the Welsh National Champs, with some memorable results.


Katy, Maya, Gemma, Hannah, Gabriela and Laura

FollowingSwindon based gymnastic clubs triumph at the English Championships, where theclubs medal haul included newly crowned English Junior Champion, StephanieSherlock.
The clubs other outstanding Junior, Laura Halford showed her ownimpressive credentials by becoming Welsh National Champion.

Laura justback to competition form in 2011 is now ranked as one of Great Britain’s topJunior gymnasts, after missing the 2010 British Championships through injury.

But thatsetback didn’t stop the Cricklade youngster from working hard whilst she wasout of action, on her body conditioning and fitness, or being determined to getback to full fitness, ready for this year’s British Championships.

As soon asshe was able to return to full training she proved exactly why she is along-standing member of the Welsh and Great Britain teams and vowed to get backto the very top of British gymnastics.

This shedid with an emphatic victory over her rivals at the Welsh Institute of Sport inCardiff, claiming Gold in all 4 of her apparatus finals, Hoop, Ball, Clubs& Ribbon, as well as being crowned Welsh National Champion for animpressive Fifth time.

Laurahowever, didn’t have everything her own way, with the clubs other bright youngstars, Maya Lucas, Gemma Rand, Katy Coleman, Hannah Curtis and Gabriela Carusoall competing in the open section, for non Welsh born gymnasts.

All wereusing the Welsh Championships as preparation for the upcoming British Championshipsand all competed very solid and impressive routines.

Maya andGemma put down some very solid performances, both taking a Bronze medal apiece,Maya with her Hoop and Gemma the Ball.

Esprit’sHead Coach Deb Hows said, “these results are excellent preparation for theBritish and all the girls showed very encouraging performances. As long as theyall continue to work hard I expect them to do very well at the BritishChampionships in a few weeks time”.

“It istestament to the excellent rhythmic coaching team at Esprit, who have allworked very hard to produce these fantastic results”.

Esprit nowhas several top gymnasts, improving all the time, as well as StephanieSherlock, English National Champion and Laura Halford, Welsh National Champion.With 10 of the clubs gymnasts qualified for the British Championships and thecountry’s top two Junior gymnasts going head to head, things are looking reallyexciting in the build up to the premier event of the year.

Esprit brings English glory to Swindon

2012-01-18T09:13:00.000-08:00

The next story from 2011 was about our girls at the English Championships!

Swindon’sCommonwealth and World training venue, Esprit Gymnastics, has further boostedthe town’s reputation as a centre of excellence for gymnastics, withoutstanding results at this years English Rhythmic Gymnastic Championships heldat the impressive GMAC Centre in Birmingham.

TheStratton based club had eight gymnasts qualify for the event and returned witha hat full of medals as well as the overall English Junior Champion, in StephanieSherlock.

The EnglishChampionships is only open to British Championship qualifiers and Esprit’sseven qualifiers were – Maya Lucas, Gemma Rand, Katy Coleman, Ellie Morse,Tayshan Dowe, Gabriela Caruso and Stephanie Sherlock.

They werejoined by team-mate Fleur Randall who made qualification via the Nationalgrades finals, where she won Gold with her Hoop routine and was third overall.

Just toqualify for the English Championships, puts a gymnast at the very top of thesport in the UK and the Esprit girls showed their true spirit, determinationand attention to detail, by turning in some memorable performances.

All girlsperformed spectacularly well, with Maya earning 4^th place overall inthe Junior section. She was then followed up by Gemma Rand who herself won veryimpressive Bronze medals with her Hoop and Clubs in the Senior section.

It was thenleft to Stephanie to show why she is ranked as one of the top junior gymnastsin Great Britain, with 4 Gold medals in all her apparatus, Hoop, Clubs, Ball& Ribbon, as well as the overall title of English Junior Champion.

It is alsotestament to her character that Stephanie, who lives in Moscow, only flew intoEngland 2 days before the competition and then had to return immediately after.

Stephanie,who’s father is English, splits her time between Moscow and Swindon andEsprit’s head coach, Deb Hows, regularly makes the trip to help with hertraining when she is in Russia.

Deb said,“having Stephanie as a part of Esprit is a joy, she is an exceptional youngathlete. We have formed very close links with her club in Russia and between ushope to see her achieve great things. The link between our clubs can only helpto improve gymnastics in the UK and we regularly take our own gymnasts toRussia to see how our training compares to that in Stephanies Russian club”.

“It’s agreat way of getting our gymnasts to appreciate how other cultures live andtrain, we have all learnt a great deal from one another.”

Esprit hasalready produced some of GB’s leading gymnasts. With the clubs senior gymnast,Jade Faulkner now training at Bath University with one of the Rhythmic Groups,vying for a spot in the 2012 London Olympics. And Laura Halford, who will becompeting in the Welsh National Championships as she is not eligible for theEnglish, because she competes Internationally as a Welsh born gymnast.

Why I just can't quit!

2012-01-18T03:01:00.000-08:00

In November 2011, Esprit coach Hannah Wickens became British Veterans Tumbling Champion and Trampoline Silver medalist. Here is an interview with Hannah, conducted earlier in 2011 after she had just qualified for the National finals...

Hannah with her Gold and Silver medals

How addictive can a sport be? Whenyou’ve been at the top, competed at the very highest level, been a champion andthen fallen out of love with your sport, what is it that keeps you coming back?

We ask ExGreat Britain team member and British Vault Champion, Hannah Wickens (21), whyshe has come out of retirement and qualified, at the very first attempt, forthis year’s National Finals in Double Mini Tramp (DMT).

Q: So Hannah, the first question hasto be WHY the come back?

A: Ihonestly don’t know, it certainly wasn’t planned, I just sort of fell into itreally. I started by playing on the trampoline and my clubs coach told me Ishould give DMT a go. The rest just sort of happened.

Q: So tell us about your earlyyears, where did you start gymnastics?

A: Istarted at 5 in the Lime Kilns Leisure Centre’s after school club and thenmoved to Greendown where I met my then coach Katy Smith. She’s now my boss atEsprit Gymnastics, at the old Headlands School site, where I work as agymnastics coach.

Q: And when did you get spotted asbeing a talented gymnast and who spotted you?

A: It wasKaty really, she took me through my early years until she recommended I move toa proper training facility, as there was no facilities in Swindon at the timeand that meant nowhere could support the level of training I needed.

Q: Why did you move to Melksham?

A: Katyrecommended them and they were the best and closest club really. It also meantmy mum could take me there every day. Luckily, at the time, they also had oneof the best coaches in the Country, Tracey Skirton as their head coach and shetook me on, with my best friend and team-mate, Jessica Coombes. Together wetravelled to Melksham every day and in 2001 aged 11, I was asked to join theGreat Britain squad. In 2002 I came second in the Vault finals at the BritishChampionships and I went on to become a full time member of the Great Britainsquad until I retired in 2005 at the age of 15.

Q: What did making the Great Britainteam mean to you?

A: For anygymnast it has to be the best feeling ever. It’s what every young gymnastdreams of, but the reality is very few ever make it into a GB squad, the sportis just so hard to excel at. I realise that even more now I’m a coach myselfand see how hard all the young girls and boys work.

Q: And what was your proudest moment?

A: After myfirst year at the British Championships, where I won Silver, I returned in 2003to win the title outright and become British Vault Champion. Apart from my teammedals, that was probably my proudest moment and is something that will staywith me forever. I’m still very proud of what I achieved in gymnastics, eventhough I cut my own career short.

Q: Did you get to compete abroad?Where?

A: I didbut nothing like they do today, the sport in this country has moved on a greatdeal and gets a lot more funding than in my day. I visited training camps inRomania and should have gone to Russia, but the trip was canceled at the lastminute because of some terrorist bombings in the country.

Q: So at 14 you were riding high,one of the best in the Country, why quit so suddenly?

A: To behonest I just stopped enjoying it when my coach got a new job as the head ofthe Welsh National Team and left me, which is hard for a young girl to take.But it also coincided with me reaching 15, so I suppose hormons may have playedtheir part. But at the end of the day it just wasn’t fun any more, I wanted abit of normailty in my life, which I had never had before, I was tired of beingaway from home and working hard, 7 days a week, with no guarantees of a placein a World or Olympic team and just thought, is it worth it?

Q: What drew you back to the sport?

FUN, I lovemy job, the people I work with and just enjoy working with all the younggymnasts, most of whom have no idea I was a Great Britain team member andBritish Champion. They just think I’m Hannah the coach. There is also some realtalent in Swindon, that is only just starting to come out, since Esprit openedand the enthusiasm of the youngsters is infectious, they are a joy to teach.

Q: So getting job at EspritGymnastics at Headlands changed your mind?

I’ve notchanged my mind about giving up, I still think it was right for me at the time.But when I got a job at Esprit Gymnastics I did fall back in love with thesport, it’s been such a big part of my life I don’t think I’ll ever be able towalk away completely. Even if I were to someday leave my job, I’d still want tobe involved at some level. I also think I’d like to perform in Cirque Du Soleilone day, but we’ll see how it goes, one step at a time.

Q: What’s so great about Esprit?

The people,I’ve made some great friends and everyone here loves gymnastics. Helpingchildren learn new skills is very rewarding and we’ve got some real talent atthe club. We also don’t just do Artistic gymnastics, which is what you see mostof on TV. We do Team and Display gymnastics, which is great for older teenagegymnasts and we have some of the very best Rhythmic Gymnasts in the country.Several Esprit girls have won British and International medals, a few are inthe Welsh, Scottish and GB squads and I’m sure you’ll be hearing lot about oneor two of them in the future.

Q: And what’s DMT?

Double minitramp (DMT) is like a long thin trampoline, which you run up to, similar tovaulting, you then jump on do a series of twist’s and turns, like tumbling,before dismounting with as difficult a move as possible. It’s spectacular towatch and the closest thing to flying without an airplane.

Q: How did you get involved in it?

I juststarted playing on the trampoline at Esprit and found I actually enjoyed it, soI started training, just to enjoy myself and keep fit. Then the clubs coachsuggested I give DMT a go as it would suit my talents for tumbling and vaultand I loved it. I also realised very quickly, I can’t do things, ’just forfun’, I’m far too competitive for that. I just had to see if I was any good, soI entered a few competitions medalled a few times and have now qualified forthe National finals.

Q: And you’ve qualified for theNational finals, how does that feel?

A: I’mamazed actually, it feels really good and something I didn’t ever think I’dever experience again. Gymnastics really is addictive and you get such a buzzwhen a routine goes well, I love it.

Q: And what are your prospects, doyou think you’ll do well?

A: To behonest it doesn’t really matter how well I do, I know I’ll be nervous, mainlybecause I hate embarrassing myself and I really am competitive, but winningisn’t ever something I expect, I never have.

Gymnasticsis such a complex sport one tiny mistake can send you from Gold medal positionto well down the field. I always think your biggest rival is yourself, so myphilosophy has always been, do gymnastics just to have fun and improveyourself, then whatever the outcome, you’re a winner!

And that’swhat I do now, I have fun and enjoy my gymnastics.

Q: What about the future, are youback to stay, what does the future hold for a Gymnastics Champion from Swindon?

A: As longI still enjoy it and the body holds out, I’ll be involved in gymnastics, butwho knows what the future holds. I love my job at Esprit and I’d love to coachone of my own young gymnasts to a British title, but then again there’s alwaysCirque Du Soleil?

New year, old news!

2012-01-18T02:46:00.000-08:00

To start off our new blog we'll begin by re-running a few stories that made the press during 2011, we'll then start with all the new stuff.

Hope you enjoy the read...

2012-01-17T11:08:00.000-08:00

WE'RE BACK!!!!

Sorry for the break in transmission everyone, we've been having a new website built and that's taken all our time.

Why not visit the new site and let us have your comments/feedback and we will take any that improve it on board and try to make sure we give you the best, up to date information at all times.

www.esprit-gymnastics.co.uk

As for what we've been up to, keep coming back and all the results, news etc will be appearing regularly, starting with a review of the last year, that will be posted soon.

Thanks for your patience - The Esprit news team.

Plymouth girls make the grade

2010-12-06T10:06:00.000-08:00

Congratulations go to Alice Baker, Lucy Hudson, Chloe Willis and Corey Ford. Esprit’s artistic gymnasts, who attended Regional Grading in Plymouth on 5 December.

All four gymnasts had exceptional passes, with both Alice and Lucy gaining Distinctions at Grade 13, whilst Chloe gained Highly Commended and Corey a fabulous Distinction, at Grade 10.

Well done goes to all four gymnasts and a very big thanks to must go their coaches Kirsty and Hannah, who made the trip to Plymouth with the girls.

Welsh Wonders!!!!

2010-11-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

Ashleigh West, Alyssa Weymouth, Fleur Randall, Elizabeth Walecki & Lauren Hoard all travelled to the Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff on Sunday 7 November.

The Esprit girls were invited to participate in the Welsh Group Invitational event, against other clubs from Wales and England, in the Under 13 hoop group and after performing an exceptional routine were delighted to discover they had won.

Their performance scored a very impressive 30.34 for the Gold medal position, with the Silver medal position 4.22 marks behind on 26.12.

Coach Cherie Skeats (pictured with the girls) was delighted with their performance and the professional way they went about their performance.

Well done all of you, the club is extremely proud and you and Cherie.

County Floor & Vault results

2010-10-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

10/10 (the 10th day of the 10th month) was significant for Esprit gymnasts this weekend, as it was the County Floor & Vault competition in Melksham.

13 gymnasts made the trip from Esprit and 10 returned with top 4 placings in their age groups.

A fantastic effort from all involved - well done girls, a fantastic result.

8/9 years Group 'A' - Carlissa Daniels won Gold, with Kira Mertha close behind in Silver, whilst Emily Broadfield posted a respectable 13th overall.

8/9 years Group 'B' - Esprit posted a fanastic Top Four placings, with Alice Baker in Gold position, Lillie Postlewhite in Silver and Lucy Hudson in Bronze. These three were followed up by Jessica McCabe in 4th and Hannah Woodward a close distance behind in 6th.

10/11 years Group 'A' - Saw an impressive Gold medal winning performance from Esprit's only competitor, Rebecca Colwell. Whilst in Group B Eden Nicol won a great Bronze.

12/13 years Group 'C' - Saw Lilly Weaver post a 4th placing with Abbie Miles a creditable 7th.

14 years+ - Was another great end to proceedings with top coach and fab gymnast, Aimee Stokes winning Esprit's final medal of the day, with a well deserved Bronze.

A brilliant day of competition for Esprit's girls, loads of outstanding performances and congratulations to all the coaches involved in training the girls to such a well conditioned, prepared and disciplined standard.

Well done all of you!!!!

Work Starts!!!!

2010-10-04T03:04:00.000-07:00

At last we can start work on two new fab gyms for our gymnasts!

over the next 3-4 weeks there will be lots of activity at Esprit as the builders, painters, decorators and gymnastic suppliers transform the gyms with some great new equipment, including two new foam landing pits, under the bars and at the end of the beams and tumble track.

Following a tender, Gymnova won the job to fit out the new gyms and now both will be fully colour coordinated with the Artistic floor we bought from the O2 following the World Championships this year.

They will be starting work as soon as the builders finish and we will then move on to fitting out the staff room for our hard working coaches and finishing the parents room so the picture on the TV is clearer and its a bit more comfortable.

We will be installing some sensory awareness equipment into the room adjacent to the apparatus gym so those with learning difficulties and severe handicaps can enjoy the gym and then finally fit a new floor in the round ballet room.

Once all this is done and 'if we have any money left' from the grant received from British Gymnastics (thanks to them), we'll be buying some portable stadium seating so we can have up to 150 people at a time watching our competitions and displays.

Watch this space people I'll post pictures of the work as it progresses.

Esprit becomes ‘world’ training centre

2010-09-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

Picture: Great Britain and England team members

Left to Right – Francesca Fox, Rachel Ennis, Lynne Hutchinson, Francesca Jones, Keziah Gore.

Swindon gymnastics club Esprit is set to become a training camp for the Great Britain and English Gymnastics Teams, to prepare them for the upcoming World Championships in Moscow and Commonwealth Games in India.

The local club who recently took over the sports centre at the old Headlands Grove School site are developing it into an International standard gymnastics facility for Swindon.

It heard the news this week that it had been selected, out of all the clubs in the country, to host Britain’s best gymnasts, who are currently preparing for the World Championships in Moscow later this month and XIX Commonwealth games in Delhi, India in October.

A quote from British Gymnastics said, “The Esprit Academy has been awarded the pre-event training camp ahead of the 30th World Championships in Moscow, and the XIX Commonwealth Games in Delhi. The camp will be a combined preparatory session for the British Team and English Commonwealth Team and led by coaches appointed as team officials for the two events

The camp will also incorporate the English Championships in September at GMAC, Birmingham, as part of the Championship preparation.

In addition to this great news, Esprit’s Deb Hows has been awarded the post of head coach to lead the Great Britain team in their trip to Moscow for the World Championships, whilst Bath’s Sarah Binding will head up the English/Welsh team to India for the Commonwealth Games. Both coaches are working together at the training camp.

Club Chairman, Mark Hows said, “we are thrilled to have been chosen to host the English and Great Britain team here at Esprit and extremely proud that Esprit’s head coach, Deb Hows has been appointed as Great Britain coach for the trip to Moscow.

We still have a way to go before our new home is completely finished, but being chosen to host the Great Britain and English teams, preparing for two massive competitions, shows we’re already achieving the world class standards we set ourselves”.

Esprit has only been in its new home at Headlands since January and to have been selected for such a high profile role, proves the club is already one of the very best in the country.

It is a club that caters for all levels and ages, pre-school to senior elite athletes, and with a growing membership of more than 600, looks set to continue producing some of the country’s finest gymnasts, in one of the best equipped gymnastic facilities around.

Hows concluded, “Esprit is great club with a fantastic team of coaches, most of whom have been taught through the clubs own, in-house, training scheme.

We are extremelly proud of what we have achieved so far, but this is just the beginning, as we want to put Swindon firmly on the Gymnastics map and have the rest of the town be as proud of the club as we are”.

News just released by British Gymnastics - woohoo!

2010-09-11T03:01:00.000-07:00

British Gymnastics release funds for key facilities

British Gymnastics have announced they are contributing £800,000 into facilities this year through the ‘Whole Sport Funding Plan’ from Sport England.

Esprit Gymnastics Club are the first facility to benefit from the fund, and will receive £100,000 to transform an old school sports centre into a multi-discipline gymnastics centre, which looks set to transform the provision of gymnastics throughout the Swindon area.

Jane Allen, British Gymnastics Chief Executive Officer said: "British Gymnastics is delighted to be able to support our clubs through the BG Facility Fund. All projects receiving funding will make a significant impact in the sport at a local, regional and national level.

There is high demand at this current time for funds to develop club facilities and BG is pleased that we have been able to contribute some funding towards these worthwhile projects.

There were many applications to consider, with the successful clubs being the ones whose projects we felt best met the criteria set, offered value for money and would help promote the sport of gymnastics and support British Gymnastics to achieve their long term objectives."

Esprit's funding is to support the development of their new facility that they have recently moved into at Headlines Grove, Swindon and which has also received support from Swindon Borough Council.

Club Director Mark Hows explains how the funded facility improvements will reap many benefits:

“The funding from British Gymnastics, ensures the club is taken seriously as one that not only has had a proven and demonstrative effect on the local community, but on the sport of gymnastics as well.

Within the community Esprit will now be able to grow its membership, encourage participation within minority groups and demonstrate the levels of attainment available.

As a club it will now be in a position to host events from schools competitions, to high-level training camps, competitions and displays, which will raise the profile of the club and help show Swindon as a town that encourages participation in sport at all levels.

Having developed a multi-disciplined club where we cater for all levels in pre-school, artistic, rhythmic, trampoline, display and acrobatic gymnastics, as well as disabled, special needs and schools.

The club is now in a position to make gymnastics an important part of the development of every child in the town and that is what we will be working towards achieving.”

flying carpet comes to Esprit!!!!

2010-08-19T07:40:00.000-07:00

To aid the Olympic preparation of Britain's gymnasts preparing for 2012, it has been decided by British Gymnastics, that the Rhythmic carpet currently in place at the National Training Centre in Lilleshall will be moved to Esprit.

Esprit will take possession of the floor until after the 2012 games in London, to allow another artistic floor to be installed at Lilleshall, which will maximise floor space for the men's and women's artistic training camps.

This will ensure the Rhythmic programme can continue to develop through a club based approach and the floor at Esprit will help the whole sport work towards rhythmic representation at the London Olympic games.

Esprit is lending its own carpet and floor to another club to further expand the opportunities for rhythmic in the country.

Happy days!

Ellie & Lola make the Grade in Bristol!

2010-07-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Esprit gymnasts Lola & Ellie who passed their regional Grade 14 on 11 July at the City of Bristol Gymnastics Club.

The day was made even more special by both girls finishing well up in a strong field of 28 gymnasts, Lola passing in a brilliant 6th place 'with distinction' and Ellie only just missing out.

Brilliant performances, well done girls!

Tayshan wins Bronze at the British

2010-07-16T06:35:00.000-07:00

There were some notable performances at this years British Championships from the 11 Esprit girls who made it through qualification and all performed very well indeed.

Just qualifying for a British is an incredible achievement, but most also finished inside the top 10 in their respective age groups and qualified for the apparatus finals on the Sunday .

Unfortunately Esprit's former British Champion, Laura Halford had to pull out through injury and was obviously disappointed, but the other 10 all made it through unscathed and young Tayshan Dowe stepped up to make the most of her trip, by winning a fantastic Bronze medal for her performance on the Sunday.

It was a well deserved medal and great achievement for this up and coming young Esprit star - well done Tayshan!

Scottish Gymfest

2010-07-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

At last, it's been a while coming, but we finally have a video of the Esprit Display Team at the 2010 Scottish Gymfest - enjoy!!!!

Sophia welcomes Esprit

2010-07-05T03:56:00.000-07:00

The beautiful Bulgarian city of Sophia, was the most recent venue for the Gymnasts from top Swindon club Esprit recently.

10 of them made the trip to the Bulgarian capital Sophia, with the clubs head coach Deb Hows, to compete against more than 130 of the worlds top gymnasts from Czech, Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, Brazil, Serbia, Russia and Belgium.

For some of the clubs up and coming young stars, it was their first ever International competition and this bought with it the inevitable nerves and excitement of seeing a new country for the first time.

But for others such as Laura Halford and Jade Faulkner it was a case of meeting up with old friends from previous International campaigns and renewing their friendly rivalry.

Those competing abroad for the first time included youngsters Cassy Harding, Katy Coleman, Gabriela Caruso, Tayshan Dowe, Fleur Randall and Maya Lucas and considering the lack of International experience they performed exceptionally throughout the 4-day trip.

All the girls were placed within the top 13 in their age groups with Cassy, Katy, and Gabriela all in the top 10. However Cassy turned in a truly outstanding performance winning the Bronze medal for her impressive Ball routine and a well deserved 6^th place overall.

Hannah Curtis, who made her début for Great Britain in 2009 was back at her first International this year and showed how hard work and determination can achieve great things.

Senior gymnast Gemma Rand was competing at her 3^rd International of 2010, following on from being part of the Great Britain Group that competed in Portimao, Spain and the European Championships in Germany, Gemma secured a very impressive overall 6^th place and brilliant Bronze medal for her Hoop.

Esprit’s top Junior was the dependable Laura Halford, who had already competed in Calais and the European Championships in Bremen for Great Britain in 2010 and for Esprit in Portugal, where she made three overall finals and won a spectacular bronze medal with her clubs.

Laura didn’t disappoint with an impressive 6^th place overall in her age group.

Finally Esprit’s newly crowned ‘Master Gymnast’ Jade Faulkner who had already competed for Great Britain in Corbiel France this year, won a 7^th place overall finish and a fabulous Silver medal for her Ribbon routine.

Head coach Deb Hows said, “this has been a wonderful competition and the gymnasts were joy to bring away, extremely well behaved and a credit to Swindon and Esprit.

The trip was designed as preparation for the upcoming British Championships in July, but the girls performed exceptionally and the medals won by Cassy, Gemma and Jade really were an unexpected delight, we’ll certainly be back to visit this beautiful, friendly country again”.

Jade's a MASTER GYMNAST!

2010-06-24T04:29:00.000-07:00

Jade Faulkner, Great Britain team member, British Championship medal winner, European and World Championship competitor and an Esprit gymnast from the very beginning, has been awarded the very highest accolade given to any gymnast, the coveted status of Master Gymnast.

Jade received her award from Alan Sommerville OBE, the executive Chairman of British Gymnastics.

At a prestigious awards luncheon held at the Heritage Motor Centre in Warwickshire, Jade was joined by other greats from the sport, including Beth Tweddle MBE who received a special mention in recognition of being made an MBE in the new years honours.

Jade now joins the sports elite alongside Britain's Got Talent winner, Alex Uttley (the little one with the 6 pack) from acrobatic group Spellbound and is one of only 16 rhythmic gymnasts in the UK ever to receive this honour.

The award is for ‘distinguished service to British Gymnastics and is reserved to only those people who have represented their country and by example or deed been an inspiration to aspiring gymnasts and excellent ambassadors for the United Kingdom and British Gymnastics’.

For Jade the event was a well deserved break and a chance to change out of the normal tracksuit or leotard, attend the superb luncheon and mix with the UK's elite sports stars, but Jade was soon back in training and preparing for the British Championships, which are being held on 9-11 July at Fenton Manor, Stoke on Trent.

Jade will be competing in her second British Championships as a senior and she will be joined by no less than TEN of her club mates competing at various age groups!!!!

So why not pick up a leaflet from the club and go along to Stoke-on-Trent to watch Jade and Esprit's other top gymnasts, it really will be a fantastic spectacle of the country's best gymnasts from the tiny 8 and 9 year old's, right through to the Jade in the seniors.

Do you remember when...?

2010-05-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

This is a video all gymnasts should watch, found on you tube it quite simply sums up the sport! If your a gymnast and it doesn't bring a lump to your throat, you really are a hard cookie!

Jade's 'French' Connection!!!

2010-05-06T06:23:00.000-07:00

Esprit's Jade Faulkner is off to Corbeil in France from 5-9 May to compete in the city's Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup event.

It's great opportunity for GB team member Jade, who has traveled with Esprit's head coach Deb Hows and fellow GB team member Frankie Jones.

Both of them will be competing against the worlds best rhythmic gymnasts, working extremely hard, gaining valuable experience for the future and hopefully having a great time.

Everyone at Esprit wishes them all the best for the competition, Go Jade!

Scottish triumph for Display Team!

2010-05-06T06:01:00.000-07:00

It was off to Glasgow over the Bank Holiday weekend for Esprit's impressive Display Team. Starting on Friday with a ten hour coach journey, the girls made the long trip to perform in the Scottish GymFest.

Held at the Magnum Centre Irvine it is the current home to Gymfest and each year approximately 1500 gymnasts, 200 coaches, 50 volunteers and 4000 spectators literally invade the Magnum Centre over the first bank holiday in May, to take part in what has become the UK’s premier gymnastics display festival. The festival is getting bigger and better each year and Esprit always receive a warm welcome from the appreciative crowd.

This year however, coach Cherie said it was the best ever and the gymnasts performance heralded a standing ovation from the vast crowd of spectators.

The movie hasn't been loaded yet, so here's a taste of what the girls had to offer at the recent Liverpool Ministrada. The Scottish video will be loaded here as soon as it's ready.

Laura selected for Junior Europeans!

2010-04-17T03:22:00.000-07:00

Good luck to Laura Halford! Esprit rhythmic gymnast Laura is off to Bremen in Germany this weekend as part of the GB team at the European Championships.

Whilst already being an experienced and successful International competitor at a very young age, this will be Laura's first Junior European Championships and everyone at Esprit wishes her all the best.

Good luck Laura, we know you'll do great!

Celtic Cup Winners

2010-03-08T04:29:00.000-08:00

The Celtic Cup and Home Nations Competition at the Welsh Institute of Sport were a fabulous success for Esprit.

With gymnasts competing for both Wales and England, we were always in with a good chance of some success, but a Gold in the team competition, Gold in the Seniors and Gold in the Junior sections, were quite exceptional.

Esprit's delegation consisted of:

Esprit Rhythmic coach Rachel Haines and head coach Deb Hows, who attended as Judge and Head of delegation for England.

Esprit's competitors included:

Jade Faulkner - Senior Gymnast representing England

Laura Halford - Junior gymnast representing Wales

Ellie Morse - Espoir gymnast and England debutant

Results:

Ellie Morse's selection to the England team was proven by an impressive 6th place debut in the Espoir section.

Jade Faulkner then won bronze in the team event and Esprit's first Gold medal, as top individual in the Senior event.

Jade was followed by Laura Halford, who went on to win Esprit's other two Gold medals, with Gold in the Junior section and Gold for Wales in the team event.

Off to the Celtic Cup!

2010-02-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

It's a case of two of Esprit's English Roses up against our own little Welsh Dragon this weekend!

Three of Esprit's Rhythmic Gymnasts - 3x British Champion Laura Halford has been selected to represent Wales and she is up against World Championship competitor Jade Faulkner and debutee young Ellie Morse, who have both been selected for England in this four nations clash at the Welsh Institute of Sport on Sunday 21 Feb.

Well done girls, we're sure you'll all do your countries and your club proud!

In the news again

2010-02-05T04:16:00.000-08:00

The Swindon Adver has spotted we're up to something here at Headlands and published a story about our new home. See it here...

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/4889217.__2m_gym_centre_at_old_Headlands_sports_hall/

Nice story and great way of announcing our arrival at Headlands. As soon as the building work is finished we'll have an 'official' opening and invite them along to see how brilliant our new home really is.

Moving pics 2

2010-02-02T03:57:00.001-08:00

Here's the second installment of moving pics, this time showing just a small amount of the work moving in to Headlands. Once again, thanks to Hannah & Kirsty for use of their extensive range of Facebook pictures!

Moving pics

2010-02-02T03:36:00.000-08:00

To give everyone some idea of what we have achieved so far, here are a few pics of the work done moving out of the io Centre. Most of the pics are of Hannah & Kirsty, but hey, they did spend their entire Christmas helping and it was their camera!!!

The big move

2010-02-02T03:17:00.000-08:00

Well we're in and the gym's are working great. The gymnasts are having a great time and showing massive improvements already.

There have been a few moans from a couple of parents, because they can't get a coffee!!!! Honestly guys, think about what has been achieved here, with just a few coaches and a couple of fantastic parents, who worked tirelessly all over Christmas to make sure your children had two fantastic gym's to work in. The new place is fantastic and set to get even better as the ongoing building work is completed.

Just look at the place!

D Day approaches

2010-01-06T02:29:00.000-08:00

It's good to be back, hope everyone had a great Christmas and is looking forward to to Happy New Year!

We managed a couple of day's off over the festive season, but most of the last month has been spent moving out of the io centre, turning it back to a warehouse, then moving all the equipment into our new home at Headlands.

Classes are due to start on Monday 11 January and as long as the council live up to their promises and make sure the 'toilets have water', we'll be on time and raring to go.

I must admit even though there is still a lot to do and lots more equipment to buy, it does look fantastic, with loads more room, a massive car park and generally better training environment. we're sure everyone will love it and hope you will all help us make Esprit the best Gymnastics club in the country.

We have some great pictures of the move, which will be posted here as soon as Kirsty and Hannah let me have them! I also want to say a great big thank you for everyone who helped with the move. There are too many to mention individually, but Phil Coleman, Dave Read and Andrew Veveris deserve a special mention, as the move would never have happened without them.

Coach Kirsty has been an absolute star, coming in every day to help, even though she could have been enjoying a well deserved break, as was Hannah who was with her much of the time. Over the last week both have managed to put more paint on themselves than the walls, but they do seem to have enjoyed themselves, getting messy, and are looking forward to seeing everyone again from 11 Jan.

See you all soon!

The moves nearly here!!!!

2009-12-10T09:13:00.000-08:00

Following the display on Sunday 14 Dec, we will start the massive task of clearing out of lovely warehouse here at the io centre and then trying to make it look like we were never there!

First up we have to break down all the equipment, which we will do Monday 14 Dec. starting at about 8:30am. Then from Tuesday until the weekend we will be creating a mess, smashing down walls, taking the pit apart etc etc. So if anyone can spend a few hours over the next 2 weeks, helping with the demolition work, please feel free to come along, we will be in attendance all day (and evening) every day.

I'll be posting updates on here most days, letting you know what's going on and what we need to do next, so please stay tuned.

We get access to our new home on the 19th, so we will start moving equipment then, anyone who has a lorry or van is welcome to attend and help move the stuff.

Display Weekend nearly here!

2009-12-07T02:57:00.000-08:00

Esprit's ever popular Christmas Display is nearly here - DON"T FORGET YOUR TICKETS!

Starting at 6:30pm on Saturday the 12th and Sunday 13th December, most of the clubs squad gymnasts will be performing selected routines that show just why the club is so successful.

It promises to be a great 2 days of gymnastics and trampoline and tickets are limited to the first 500 people, so don't delay, buy them today!!!!

Laura at the world School Games

2009-12-07T02:45:00.000-08:00

Esprit's Laura Halford has been selected to represent Wales at the World School Games.

Laura a 3 times British Champion at various age groups, has recently moved up to Junior level and is a British and Welsh squad member.

On Saturday 5th December Laura, along with Esprit coach Deb Hows and a delegation from both Wales and England flew to Doha in the Arab state of Qatar for the week long competition.

It's a fantastic opportunity for Laura to show the world her amazing talent and we all wish her the very best of luck - go Laura!

Jade goes to the Ball!

2009-11-23T06:19:00.000-08:00

Esprit's rhythmic gymnast, Jade Faulkner, was invited recently, as part of the British Gymnastics team, to perform at the British Olympic Association's - Gold Ball, staged within the beautiful surroundings of the Natural History Museum, London.

Celebrating 1000 days to London 2012 - Money raised enables the British Olympic Association to help prepare Team GB for future success at the Olympic Games.

The star studded sporting event saw Royalty, Olympian's (past and present), and many dignitaries watching the fantastic display.

Performing in the 'Earth' section of the exhibition hall, the girls showed a specially choreographed routine, designed originally for them when they performed at the Breast Cancer UK catwalk fashion display held on the 7th October.

Jade Faulkner (Esprit), along with team mates Francesca Jones (Nene Valley) and Francesca Fox (City of Bath) gave seven stunning performances in the 'Earth' section of the museum performing directly under a five metre diameter suspended globe!

The finale of the Gold Ball also saw the girls performing after the auction, to an audience of 500 guests. Their display, this time at the foot of the main staircase beneath Charles Darwin's statue, received rapturous applause from the many guests, including Olympians Chris Hoy, James Degale, Christine Ohuruogu and Dame Kelly Holmes.

Well done Jade, it must have been great to watch, its shame we couldn't all come and see it!

Pics from the World's

2009-10-27T06:07:00.000-07:00

As promised here are a few pics from the World Championships at the O2 arena

It doesn't look that big from the outside, does it?

Hope more people than this are going to be inside?

What a venue and what a great view we had next to the press box.

Can you believe it, Esprit 'jammy' coach Hannah Wickens got her picture taken with Olympic Champion Nastia Liukin!

That's just some of us, when we weren't cheering and waving the flags, everyone deserves a rest sometime and we were louder than the other 13,000 people put together, I've only just got my hearing back!

Will you get out of the way, i can't see!!!

We're in the money!

2009-10-23T07:54:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the hard working members of Esprit's fund raising committee, Friends of Esprit. They have, only this week, been awarded £5,000 from The Community Foundation for Wiltshire & Swindon, to go towards coaching exams and help with some of the cost of getting groups of our gymnasts to events at home and abroad.

These volunteers work tirelessly towards helping Esprit remain at the top, by raising funds and helping organise and run some of the clubs events.

In this country, the cost of running sport for the benefit of all our children, is very expensive and without the help and support of Friends of Esprit, it is unlikely a club like ours would be able to flourish as it has.

Everyone involved should be congratulated for all their effort and hard work, the £5,000 they have raised will be put to good use improving the abilities of our coaches and ensuring many of our gymnasts get the opportunity to travel to events and displays.

Esprit celebrates ‘Champion’ Weekend!

2009-10-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

Esprit has really proved its credentials over the last year, with gymnasts representing club and country in major competitions at home and abroad.

The secret of the clubs success is the opportunities provided to the clubs gymnasts and that is really what makes the club unique.

Esprit also ensures the young gymnasts are directed to the specific gymnastic discipline that best suits them as an individual, be it Artistic, Rhythmic or Trampoline.

This approach to the sport has yet again proven to be the secret of the clubs success, with a weekend of fabulous results for 46 of the the clubs members, from across the gymnastic disciplines.

Artistic
First up were the Artistic gymnasts, at the Wiltshire Floor & Vault competition. 17 gymnasts between 8 and 13 took part in the event in Melksham and all proved their potential in this dynamic sport.

There were many notable performances from the clubs gymnasts and several medal winning performances from Lucy Hudson - Bronze; Georgia Bailey - Bronze; Lily Weaver - Silver and Krystal Styles - Silver.

The full list of Esprit Gymnasts who all excelled in their respective age groups were:
Category A 7 and 8 years 3rd Lucy Hudson, 6th Lillie Postlewhite. Plus Megan Attwood, Lara Hill, Millie Flint, Jessica McCabe, Hannah Woodward, Erin Robinson, Mair Thomas.

Category A 9 and 10 years. Category B 7 to 10 years 3rd Georgia Bailey, 4th Alice Baker. Plus Eden Nicol.

Category C 11-13 years 2nd Lily Weaver. Plus Rhiann Lacey.

Category D 11-13 years 2nd Krystal Styles, 5th Corey Ford. Plus Chloe Willis.

Trampoline
Next up were the Esprit Trampoline gymnasts, competing for partner club Evolution in a National grading competition, Kristen Hawkins, Alanna Buck, Anna Bradshaw and Courtney Hows all passed their respective grades with Alanna Buck taking a very impressive Gold in the over 17 grade G section and Forest Fry a brilliant Bronze in under 15 G section.

There were also exceptional performances from Erin Milroy, Hannah Wickens, Victoria Milroy, Rhianna Bryon, Leah Hoard, Abbie Hawkins and Taylor Lynch.

Rhythmic
Finally the clubs Rhythmic girls made the trip to Bath for the annual Bath Open and once again delivered the goods with some outstanding performances.

In the under 10 rope group - Cassy Harding, Jessica Steele, Katy Coleman & Katie Matfin started off with a magnificent Gold, they were followed by the under 12 hoop trio of Alicia Veveris, Elizabeth Walecki & Lauren Hoard, who came away with a great bronze.

In the under 12 hoop group - Tayshan Dowe, Alyssa Weymouth, Fleur Rodway & Ellie Morse won their own Bronze with the under 12 hoop group - Kathryn Baker, Rebecca Green, Ashleigh West & Charlotte Leighfield 4th.

The girls then finished off an exceptional weekend for the club with a magnificent Gold from Laura Halford & Hannah Curtis in the junior ball duet.

Esprit go to the Worlds!

2009-10-19T05:54:00.000-07:00

We were there, were you?

A coachload of Esprit coaches, gymnasts and parents travelled to London on Friday 16 October for the Women's Artistic all-around finals. And what a day, despite the 4 hour coach trip to get to the O2 Dome (take my advice if you go there for the Olympics, take the train), the day was incredible.

The organisation at the O2 was brilliant and the food hideously expensive. But despite everything we had brilliant seats right near the front, Jon Hewlett provide everything Union Jack, flags, hats, banners etc. and as a result we were easily the loudest and best turned out group there, with everyone getting into the spirit of the event.

You can see our group if you look carefully when the girls are on beam, look for the Union Jacks!

It's a shame our GB girls couldn't quite make the grade this time around in the overall championship, but great credit must go to Danielle Keating Silver in the mens all-around and of course Superstar Beth Tweddle with yet another World Championship gold medal, this time on floor. Incredible performances from two great gymnasts.

Lots more pictures will be posted shortly, including one from jammy coach Hannah Wickens who managed to get her picture taken with Olympic Champion Nastia Liukin.

If you missed all the action from the O2 you can see all the highlights on 'You Tube' or for the next week on the BBCi Player.

Ellie wins at the Grades

2009-10-12T05:59:00.000-07:00

Esprit has a knack of spotting youngsters with the ability to make the grade and it looks like Deb’s done it again, in the shape of Ellie Morse.

Ellie (10, nearly 11, happy bday Ellie) qualified recently for the National Grades finals held at the University of Bath and competed in the Grade 6 category for her age group.

An accomplished performance in all her apparatus ensured she won the overall Gold medal with a fabulous score of 30.741, ensuring she was also one of only a very small handful of gymnasts to average over 15 on each piece of apparatus.

As a result of her consistency Ellie’s trip to the podium to collect her Championship winning medal, wasn’t her only one, she was called up twice more, to the delight of her enthusiastic supporters, to receive both Apparatus Gold’s, one for Rope 15.233, the other for Ball 15.508.

Well done Ellie – National Grades Champion!!!!!!

Jade set to wow London Fashion show!

2009-10-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Fresh off the plane from the World Championships in Japan and a trip to Wales for the Welsh National Championships, our own Jade Faulkner is set to wow the fashion world, all in the name of charity.

Jade and her Great Britain team mates are off to the BREAST CANCER CARE - FASHION SHOW 2009 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Wednesday. The girls have been asked to open this prestigious and worthwhile event by showing off their Rhythmic Gymnastic skills to the guests.

It's an great honour for the gymnasts, recognises their contribution to the sport of Rhythmic Gymnastics, helps raise awareness of this important charity, gives the guests an insight to this amazing sport and Jade and her team mates a well deserved day in London at a high profile fashion extravaganza - a girls dream day out!

Have great day Jade, you deserve it!

Esprit's Welsh Wonders

2009-10-05T07:18:00.000-07:00

It was yet another successful weekend for Esprit's Rhythmic girls recently, at the Welsh Championships and Open competition. The Welsh Championship is for Welsh only gymnasts whilst the Open is for all-comers and with the standard improving every year the competition gets harder. Therefore Esprit's gymnasts are always working hard to improve and stay at the top of this incredible sport.

In the Welsh Championships, Laura Halford moved up to the incredibly competitive Junior section for the first time and whilst she narrowly missed out on her 4th overall championship title in a row, she did win Gold in Rope & Ball and Silver in Hoop & Clubs, a very impressive result.

Hannah Curtis in the Open Junior section produced very creditable results with 8th overall in Rope & Hoop, 5th with her clubs and just out of the medals with a brilliant 4th in Ball.

Gemma Rand, showed wonderful consistency with 4th place, just outside the medals, in Rope, Hoop & Clubs and 5th in ball.

In the younger age groups, Cassy Harding was - 1st free & 4th hoop, with Katy Coleman - 3rd in free and 6th with her hoop.

Jess Steele was 5th in both free and hoop, whilst Gabriela Caruso performed well with a 1st in ball and 2nd in rope. Ellie Morse narrowly missed out on a medal, but again proved her consistency, with a 4th in both rope and ball.

Jade Faulkner celebrated her return from the World Championships with a Gold in rope and three Silvers in ball, hoop and ribbon.

In the team competition Laura, Gabriela and Cassy won an impressive Silver in their age group, whilst Jade, Ellie and Katy won Bronze in theirs.

Another great weekend at a well organised championship, well done girls, you were yet again a credit to your club.

Jade helps Britain to impressive World Champs result

2009-10-05T07:10:00.000-07:00

Well done to Jade in Japan, she helped team GB to a very impressive 23rd in the World Championships! Jades highlight apart from the brilliant experience - SHE LOVES THE SUSHI!!!

World Championships 2009

2009-09-07T07:41:00.000-07:00

Esprit's Jade Faulkner is currently in Japan competing for Great Britain in the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships.

Good Luck Jade from everyone at Esprit, we know you'll do great. You've worked hard and deserve your selection to the Great Britain team, enjoy yourself in Japan!

Open Evening at Headlands!

2009-09-04T07:32:00.000-07:00

As we are getting ever closer to our move into Headlands, we have arranged two evenings where clubs and organisations looking for space to hire, can come along and see the rooms we have available.

We already have several dance, martial art, pilates and adult fitness schools interested in using the great space available at Esprit, but if you know of anyone who may be interested, please let them know about these opportunities.

Don't forget the dates:
THURSDAY 10 AND TUESDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 2009 - 4:30 TO 7:30pm

2009-08-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

TV stars

2009-08-03T08:57:00.001-07:00

Below is a short documentary about Esprit and the secrets of its success, hope you enjoy!

Jade's on top of the World!

2009-07-31T09:21:00.000-07:00

Esprit's British team member Jade Faulkner has this week heard the fabulous news she has been selected as part of the Great Britain team for the World Championships, to be held in Mie Japan on 7 September.

British Gymnastics today released this statement:

With 40 days until the 29th World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Mie (JPN) and team GBR having completed their final control ahead of the FIG nominative date, 9th August, we are delighted to confirm the selection of the following gymnasts and officials. Team GBR: Jade Faulkner – Esprit coached by Deb Hows Francesca Fox – City of Bath coached by Sarah Binding Francesca Jones – Nene Valley coached by Vicki Hawkins Nadya Aleksandrova – Coach / Head of Delegation Vicki Hawkins – Brevet Judge Louise Curley – Physio This will be Francesca Jones second World Championships, the first in Patras, (GRE) 2007, and for the rest of the delegation, their first World Championships. The team will depart 2nd September for Japan competing 7th September and depart from Japan 12th September. British Gymnastics wish the delegation a very successful Championships.

It is a brilliant achievement for Jade who has already competed many times for GB as a Junior and won team Bronze at this years Australian Youth Olympic games. This, her first major International as a Senior gymnast, is well deserved and proof of her hard work and dedication to the sport of Rhythmic Gymnastics. Well done Jade from all your friends at Esprit.

More Champions for Esprit!

2009-07-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the coaches and Esprit gymnasts who competed at the British Trampoline Championships last weekend.

The Esprit girls, competing under the Evolution banner, for squad coach Sarah Hunt, performed exceptionally well and special congratulations must go her and Georgia Clements who is now National C Under 15 Champion on Double Mini Tramp, well done Georgia, everyone knew you had the potential to excel at trampoline.

Erin Milroy was a brilliant 8th overall in the under 15 category and very special mentions must go to Nikki Allen, Sarah's mum, who coached Evolutions Katie Tamin to a fabulous Gold medal and the title of British GMPD champion! Well done both of you.

British Championships results

2009-07-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

It was another fantastic weekend for Esprit's elite rhythmic gymnasts who were at Fenton Manor, Stoke on Trent, for the British Championships.

Bought forward to the last weekend in June, from the normal November, there was added pressure on all the gymnasts this year, as they had 6 months less preparation and to make things even harder, several of Esprit's gymnasts were moving up in age.

This didn't stop the girls turning in some exceptional performances along with some unexpected results.

Under 11's saw young Gabriela Caruso confirm herself as a bright prospect with a third consecutive year in the medals. Bronze in the all-around competition, followed up by two incredible Silvers (rope & ball) on day two, the apparatus championships.

At under 12, Maya Lucas was a creditable 5th, which helped her qualify for day two and her own fantastic bronze in the ball competition.

The Junior section saw one of the largest ever entry lists, with 25 of the country's top gymnasts competing for honours. Esprit's Gemma Rand and Hannah Curtis equipped themselves extremely well, in a strong field, with 16th & 13th respectively.

It was then the turn of 3 times British Champion Laura Halford who returned some unexpected and astonishing results. Moving up from the under 12 section, straight into her first ever Junior Championships and competing against some older and exceptional young gymnasts, Laura exceed all expectations by securing a hat full of medals to add to her growing collection.

Competing against the large field of experienced Junior's, Laura confirmed her position as one of the country's most exciting prospects by claiming Bronze in the overall competition. She then went in to day two and won another three Bronze's (rope, clubs & ball) and a 4th (hoop) to cap an exceptional weekend.

It was then the turn of the Senior's and Jade Faulkner, competing at the highest level for the first time. Her International experience showed, with four solid routines that ensured she claimed her first Senior overall Bronze medal.

Day two again proved why she has recently been a regular in the British team, as she went on to claim two more Bronze medals (rope & hoop) and impressive 4th placings in Ribbon and Ball.

A great weekend, impressive organisation, excellent comparing by Jon Hewlett (parent of Esprit Gymnasts) and most of all exceptional performances by every single Esprit gymnast. Brilliant girls, you are a credit to yourselves and your club, we are all extremely proud of you all.

At LAST Rachels done it!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-06-30T05:04:00.000-07:00

Breaking news, coach Rachel has finally 'popped'!

Last night at 9pm she gave birth to daughter 'AMELIE MEGAN HAYNES'. Both mum and 8lb 11oz Amelie are doing well. We're sure she will be bring her in to visit us all soon!

Wiltshire Grades & Levels report

2009-06-29T03:52:00.000-07:00

Esprit's young artistic gymnasts had a brilliant weekend at the Wiltshire Grades and Levels competition. Gymnasts and coaches were a real credit to the club putting together routines that bought out fantastic performances from everyone.

From youngest 6 year old in their first ever 4-piece competition to the more experienced 12 year olds, everyone played their part and thoroughly enjoyed themselves, despite competing in extremely hot, humid conditions. All the Esprit gymnasts were a credit to themselves, their supportive parents and the club, well done all of you.

Wiltshire Grade 4 for 6 years saw Zoe Hewlett take an impressive Bronze medal.

In the 7 year age group Ellie Amor took a brilliant Silver medal home and was followed by team mates Lauren Twine with Bronze; Grace Johnson in 4th; Chloe Bell 5th & Kira Mertha 6th

This was followed in the 8 year category by Megan Attwood who impressed the judges and was justly rewarded by first place and the Gold medal for her efforts. With Jessica Hembrough in 7th, Carlissa Daniels 10th and Lara Hill 11th.

In the Levels category, Esprit gymnasts were equally impressive...

At Level 5 for 11 year old's, Krystal Styles produced a stunning performance on all pieces to not only take Gold she became overall Level 5 Champion, covering all age groups from 10 years to those 14 and over. Team-mate Rhianna Bryon was herself a well deserved Silver medal winner behind Krystal.

To make a special day even better Kaya Gould then took the Gold medal in the Level 4 out of age competition and matched Krystal's impressive achievement by becoming Level 4 overall champion.

Brilliant, day, brilliant gymnasts - well done to you all!

Rhythmic review

2009-06-24T01:34:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy year for the Rhythmic girls, so busy in fact there has been little time to let everyone know what's been going on. That's why we thought we would review the the first half of the year, for the competition squads.

January - was trials for the Great Britain Squad and yet again Esprit featured high in the selections. Gabriela Caruso was selected for the World Class Start squad, Gemma Rand made the Junior squad, with Laura Halford retaining her place and moving up to Junior along side her. Jade Faulkner moved up from Junior to take her place as a senior.

Laura then went on to retain her place in the Welsh National squad as well as the British.

Straight after selection Jade heard the news she had been selected to represent Great Britain at the Australian Youth Olympics. Jade qualified for the all round finals on day 2, achieved a team Bronze for GB and 10th in the individuals. A brilliant performance, well done Jade.

Next up was Head coach Deb Hows, who qualified as an International Judge and is now what they call a 'Brevet', meaning she can judge at International competitions like the Olympics!

In March, Laura Halford flew to New York to compete for Wales and again turned in some stunning results. 4th in Rope, 2nd in Hoop & Ball, 3rd in Clubs and a very impressive 3rd overall.

April saw Jade off on her travels again, this time she was selected as part of the GB team competing at the Portamao World Cup in Portugal. She was joined by Gemma Rand and Hannah Curtis, who were selected to compete as part of the Junior Ribbon Group.

In May, Jade was selected to represent GB at the World Cup (Category 'A') in Corbiel France and she followed this up with selection to Great Britain's senior team and flew to Baku in Azerbaijan for the Senior European Championships.

Back home Laura Halford, Hannah Curtis, Gabriela Caruso and Maya Lucas, all qualified for the British Championships, along with Jade and Gemma, who had already qualified.

Tayshan Dowe, April Coombs & Ellie Morse all qualified for the Grades Finals.

June was the Welsh Novice competition and Esprit had lots of entries and many successes.

Under 10 Hoop saw Cassy Harding come out on top in first place with Jess Steele 2nd and Katy Coleman 4th. Cassy Harding won Silver in Under 10 Free and Elizabeth Walecki Gold in the under 12 section. Lauren Hoard was 4th in Under 12 Ball.

Clarice Saloyedoff and Ellouise Read led the Juniors with Clarice 4th in Hoop and Ellouise 2nd in Clubs.

Seniors Ellise Gilbert and Rowan Gregg finished the impressive results with Ellise gaining 2 Golds to Rowans 2 Silvers in Rope & Ribbon.

In the Welsh Intermediate section Ellie Morse returned home with yet more medals, a Silver for her Rope and Bronze for Ball. A great competition and impressive displays from all those who took part.

June saw Laura Halford and Gemma Rand representing Esprit at an International in Poland. The girls performed exceptionally, in a very high level field, with Laura's 4th and Gemma's 17th showing their potential.

Well that's it, so far, the British Championships are this weekend 27 & 28 June, so good luck to the girls taking part, you are sure to give a great account of yourselves, everyone is very proud of you.

Were live on BG TV!

2009-06-22T03:29:00.000-07:00

A short documentary about Esprit has been released by British Gymnastics TV station BGTV.

The 8 minute expose about what makes the club so successful, is live directly through British Gymnastics website, or you can go straight to it by clicking here.

Please let us and British Gymnastics know what you think.

Followers

2009-06-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

We need more followers!

So we can let everyone in the club know about news and events at Esprit, we need to get more people following this blog.

You can get to it through the clubs website, so please let everyone know this Blog is up and running, then everyone will know what's happening as soon as it happens!

All they have to do is go to the website and click on the 'Esprit News' button.

ESPRIT CLUB COMPETITION 2009

2009-06-16T06:25:00.000-07:00

Don't forget the 5 July, it's the annual club competition.

Esprit's Club Competition is open to every child currently attending gymnastics lessons and is a fantastic opportunity for the children to demonstrate all that they have learnt to family and friends.

In order for us to be able to produce a programme for the day, please could you complete the slip every gymnast has been given and return it with the entry fee of £5.00 to the office by Sunday 21 June. Please note that entries made after this date can't be accepted.

There will be a barbecue serving breakfast roles from 8:30am and barbecue food from 12:00, as well as the usual refreshments on sale.

Entry to family and friends is free of charge, but make sure to register your camera/mobile phone on the door!

It's sure to be a great day, see you there.

Good Luck!

2009-06-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

It's competition time this weekend with the Esprit jet set!

Good luck to our Artistic gymnasts:
Lily, Georgia, Krystal, Rhianna, Chloe, Kaya, Erin, Courtney and Kirsty
in the West Country League in Plymouth on Sunday and to coach Katy and judges Hannah and Scarlett.

And to Rhythmic gymnasts Gemma and Laura who are off to Poland today, along with coaches Deb and Cherie!

Esprit on TV!

2009-06-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

Esprit has been selected by British Gymnastics to appear on the sports governing body's own web based TV channel, BG-TV .

Friday 29 May saw the film crew arrive and spend the day filming lessons, talking to coaches and gymnasts about the club and what makes it such a success.

A fun day was had by all and the result can soon be seen by clicking on the BG-TV link on the British Gymnastics website.

A release date hasn't been announced yet, but watch this space, we will be sure to announce it as soon as we go live and are seen by people all over the WORLD!

Esprit girls distinction gives them a first!

2009-06-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday 7th June saw some of Esprit's young Artistic gymnasts excel at the Wiltshire Grades competition, held at Melksham's Wiltshire School.

Congratulations must go to young Alice Baker competing in Grade 3 for 8 year old's who achieved a brilliant 1st place with a distinction.

In the grade 3 for 9 year old's, Emily Cooper repeated Alice's achievement with her own fantastic 1st place, again receiving a distinction at this grade.

Brilliant performances which justified the distinctions they received, well done girls!

Esprit gets a new home!

2009-06-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Esprit has done a deal with Swindon Borough Council to turn Headlands School into an international standard gymnastics training academy to rival the best in the country.

The new gym, to be based at Headlands School, which is relocating to the new Academy later this year, will be a dedicated gymnastics centre and venue for other local clubs to hire. Under a separate agreement, we will manage the existing sports fields which will continue being used for junior football.

These are exciting times for the sport of gymnastics and Swindon, since we started Esprit, only a few years ago we have been impressed by the ability of the youngsters that come to lessons. It is right and proper that they have a dedicated training centre to improve their skills.

When we move in December later this year, we would like to see the whole site used by the community at large and whilst the clubs focus will be gymnastics, there will be many opportunities for other community groups, clubs and organisations to access the rooms available. It is also likely the centre will remain important for local junior football teams.

As for the future we have already agreed provisional plans to extend the main sports hall, to create more training space and spectator gallery, as well as a junior football pitch on the site of the old school buildings.

This new super centre will focus on all the major gymnastic disciplines including Artistic, Rhythmic, Trampoline, DMT, Sports Acro and Display and will host visiting gymnasts from across the world. There is also a good chance the centre, one of only a handful across the UK, will be used as a pre Olympic training camp for 2012.

Most importantly however it will enable Swindon’s children to fulfill their potential as athletes and do so in the appropriate environment.

Esprit News goes live!!!

2009-06-05T07:03:00.000-07:00

Hi,

There's been a lot going on at Esprit lately, what with trying to secure a permanent home for Esprit, (more news to come soon). By starting this Blog we are able to ensure we can give you up to the minute news on the club and its gymnasts, it has also meant we can keep our website as an information site, for people who want to learn more about the club.

This Blog will be updated regularly and contain competition news, events, fund raising info, pictures, movies and anything of interest that happens to or at Esprit. So click the 'follow us' button and get regular updates on Swindon's top gym club.

If you have news that you think we would be interested in, pictures or movies from Esprit events, Gymnaestradas etc. Let us know and we'll make sure they are added.

Most important, tell everyone you know to follow the Esprit Blog, its where you'll find all the up to the minute news on our move to our new home!

We'll start adding news from Monday 8 June 2009.

Mark
Chairman