Acrobatic & Rhythmic | 2023 British Championships Success for Scots Gymnasts
Scottish Gymnasts celebrated success at the 2023 British Acrobatic and Rhythmic Championships in Telford, returning from the competition held between 8 and 9 July with a total of 14 medals.
With three national events being held in the same venue over the weekend, the competition was a fantastic opportunity to see some of Britain’s best gymnastics talent competing for the chance at being named national champion across acrobatic, aerobic and rhythmic gymnastics.
In the rhythmic competition, groups were first in action over the two days of competition, with junior groups from Pentland and Beacon returning home as British medallists. Pentland’s Vaila Bruce, Orla Gibb, Katie Kemp, Callie Maciver and Demi-Jo McWilliam won all-around bronze, and Beacon Rubies Orla Arnott, Polina Cooper, Hania Czebreszuk, Emilie Findlay, Eva Florentsdottir and Clara Paris won a duo of apparatus medals on day two with bronze for their ropes routine, and silver for their ball routine.
In the senior group competition, there was a smaller field of competing clubs, where Beacon’s Butterflies, Jasmin Brody, Giles Gaby, Lucy Abbie Nicol, Cara Patterson, Abbi Reid and Suzanne Whittle came home with a trio of medals including bronze for all-around and hoop and silver for their ribbon and ball routine.
Scottish acrobatic partnerships shone at the event, starting with medals being decided in the 11-16 women’s group competition, where Acrobay’s Rosa Morrison, Poppy Pain and Belle Temple won bronze thanks to a score of 26.550. Their clubmates Ella Gracie, Scarlett Haldane and Emma Nelson held a strong second place in the 12-18 women’s group category thanks to their balance and dynamic routines, and finished the competition with a bronze medal where the top three partnerships were all within 0.450 for their combined routines.
The 13-19 age group saw Scotland’s best results with Emma Logan and Gemma Russell (Dynamic) becoming the new British champions in the women’s pair competition. Having finished in second place for balance and dynamic, it was a tie in the combined routines, sharing the score of 27.190 with King Edmund Acrobatic Gymnastics pair Natalia Gilbert and Esme Mathias but beating them to the gold thanks to a 0.100 difference in execution score.
Acrobay’s Daisy Campbell, Nephele Idehen and Molly McHale held the highest score for any Scottish partnerships competing at the championships, thanks to their 28.600 in both balance and combined routines. They went on to win silver in their category, just 0.400 behind the overall champions from Spelthorne Gymnastics Club.
Moving back to the rhythmic floor, it was a thrilling competition which featured commonwealth stars and recently crowned Scottish champions. Beacon’s Louise Christie had a strong competition, finishing in second place in the all-around with a score of 108.750 and taking the highest score for her ribbon routine in the first round. On day two, there was a further trio of apparatus medals with Louise claiming bronze in hoop and ribbon and wowing the crowds with her ball routine where she scored 29.150 to become the new national champion. There was also a solid performance from Esprit’s Cara Mackay who qualified for two out of four apparatus finals.
Congratulations to everyone who competed at the championships. You can access all results from across the competition on the British Gymnastics website, as well as competition videos and more on the dedicated event page.
> View Acrobatic Results
> View Rhythmic Results
> Access Competition Videos