Home Nations Come Together for New International Competition
Scottish Gymnastics is delighted to host the inaugural Home Nations Tournament at Bell’s Sports Centre, Perth on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 April.
The event, will see Scottish acrobatic and artistic gymnasts take on teams from Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Isle of Man. It is the first time that these three disciplines will compete together in the same arena with the event having a focus on performance development.
The event has seen significant support from Home Nations and has been identified as a key competition for gymnasts developing on the performance pathway, evolving from opportunities like the UK School Games and Celtic Cup. The nations involved all agreed that we needed a new and refreshed event which would achieve the following:
support the development of gymnasts and coaches on their journey along the performance pathway
appropriately challenge gymnasts and coaches and allows key behaviours to be developed on the competition floor
best prepares gymnasts and coaches for future competition at British and International events with the format of the competition
support gymnasts and coaches in being able to consistently deliver performances at important events
Head of Performance, Samantha Hendrikson, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with performance and technical staff across other home nations and Gymnastics Ireland to further support the longer-term performance development of gymnasts in our sport through a new and refreshed representative competition opportunity.
“ It’s great that the participating nations all have the same ambitions for the competition, ultimately providing a competition platform for gymnasts developing on the performance pathway. With the event on home soil on the first occasion makes it even more exciting for gymnasts across our Acro, WAG / MAG programmes, we look forward to being part of the events continued evolvement in years to come.”
The opportunity will allow gymnasts to experience and prepare for a two-day event with qualification and finals programmed into the event as part of a gymnast’s long-term development and preparation for major events.
For many home gymnasts it will be their first chance to represent Scotland at an international event having progressed from Regional Team Finals (ACRO/WAG) or British Grades Finals (MAG).
The selection policies for gymnasts and coaches looking to be selected and represent Scotland can be found on our website alongside the selection policies for each discipline.
For Men’s and Women’s Artistic, the Scottish National Artistic Gymnastics Championships in February represent the main selection event. Acro gymnasts will have the opportunity to impress selectors this weekend at the Acro Invitational in Perth along with a selection event on Sunday 10 February at Avondale.
The Home Nations will also be the first opportunity for gymnasts and coaches to wear new representative kit from our partners Kukri and Quatro.
Further information for spectators will be available soon.