Women’s Artistic | Classic Challenge & FIG Open
The first women’s artistic event since the pandemic took place at Bell’s Sports Centre, Perth on Sunday 26 October.
The Classic Challenge and FIG open competition was hotly anticipated after there were no events over the last 18 months and 99 gymnasts from across the country grasped the opportunity. There were great performances across the age groups at the event, something highlighted by the judging panels at the event despite the challenges to training over the last year.
The Classic Challenge was also a qualification event for the regional finals being held on 5 November in Surrey with the top six gymnasts at bronze and silver level selected for the regional team.
Parents and gymnasts shared their excitement to be back at competition events, and our technical committee echoed some of the positive feedback the team received at the event.
Ruth Gibson, chair of the Scottish women’s artistic technical committee said: “It was fantastic to get WAG competitions back underway in Scotland and the Classic Challenge was a new chapter for all of us.
“The gymnasts were all delighted to return to Perth for an eventful day and we all witnessed some wonderful gymnastics too. A huge thanks to all the judges and support staff for doing such a great job with the new rules and even finishing ahead of schedule.”
In the morning session, under 14 bronze level gymnasts competed for medals. In the 10-11 age group, Sophie Campbell from City of Aberdeen won gold, with Kira Sharp from East Kilbride taking silver and Lilla Krueger from City of Edinburgh bronze. For the 12-13 age group, results were close with Megan Coyle from City of Edinburgh winning the gold medal and Garioch gymnasts Leah Douglas and Casey Reid with silver and bronze respectively.
The afternoon’s 14+ bronze competition was a close battle with 31 gymnasts competing for a medal. Olivia Fielding from East Kilbride was this age group’s gold medallist, with Victoria May Melville from City of Aberdeen and Beth Fallow from Hamilton securing silver and bronze medals.
The final session of the day saw silver, gold and FIG level gymnast showcasing their skills. Scores were high across the silver level gymnasts, with Islay Grant from Garioch taking the top place. Taylor Duncan from Balwearie secured the silver, and Niamh Stupart from City of Edinburgh won bronze.
At gold and FIG Espoir levels, there were great performances from Brooke Evans from Dynamic, and Abbie Nicholl and Katie Coull from Hamilton.
During the final round of the competition, FIG senior gymnasts vied for the titles. Commonwealth gymnast Shannon Archer returned after a change in training gym in the last year, and solid performances, including her best-ever vault result, secured her place at the top of the podium. Ellie Patrick from Dynamic took the all-around silver, and Emily Bremner from Dundee 2K claimed bronze (all pictured, above).
A huge thank you to the gymnasts, coaches and judges from competing clubs for taking part and congratulations to the medal winners and regional final qualifiers.