Katie (right) with teammate Rebecca Wing and coach Natalie Ryan at the 2004 British Championships.

July 9, 2004 was a big day in my gymnastics career as it was the first time I ever competed at the Women's British Championships in Guildford. This is the most important and prestigious national competition in women's gymnastics, and only the best gymnasts in the country get to take part. I qualified for the British by passing my 'elite grade' (Compulsory Level 2) in Liverpool back in March 2003. To do this I had to get an overall score of 40+ points in 5 compulsory routines - vault, bars, beam, floor and range & conditioning, which is a special strength and flexibility exercise we do in Britain as part of our grades. I also had to get at least an 8 on this piece. It was a long wait between qualifying for the women's British and finally competing there, but you have to be at least 12 or turning 12 before you can take part in the Espoir competition, which is the youngest age category in these Championships.

I started looking forward to the comp a long time before it happened. I was nervous about it, but excited at the same time as it was my first really big competition, and there would be all the big stars competing there as well. Leading up to the British we had a different training schedule from usual so that we could have the best preparation. I missed several afternoons of school to go into my gym (Pinewood) to have extra training with my coach, Natalie Ryan.

My training up to the British generally went very well. My heels were a little bit sore but I could still work through them. I was pretty confident about all my moves, although I was a little worried about my vault (piked yurchenko) because I knew the Guildford landing was very hard and my vaults weren't going brilliantly. However all the other pieces were fine.

My main warm-up competition was the Southern Regional Championships that were held at Lynx gym in Aylesbury at the end of June. Unfortunately my friend and training partner Becky Wing - the reigning British champion in my age group - could not take part because of a knee injury, but I did, and I ended up coming first overall which meant I was the regional Espoir champion! Winning that comp gave me a lot more confidence and I generally felt better about the British after that.

On the Monday before the British I went up to Lilleshall (the national centre) with Becky and my coach to have a training session there, just to get used to working on different equipment from Pinewood's. That week I only had one full day at school, however the teachers and all my school friends were extremely supportive and very interested in it all. Podium training was on Thursday - the day before the big event! It went really well. I did all my routines fine, and this made me feel much happier about the comp, now I knew what all the equipment was like. I was in the first group and didn't stay on to watch the other groups in podium training, but in my group I thought Hannah Freeman from Sapphire looked quite good. The person I expected to win the competition, though, was Becky Downie from Notts.

Unlike some other gymnasts, I already knew the Guildford Spectrum arena quite well, as I had competed there several times before at events such as the British Age Group Championships and British Teams Championships. I really like competing there because it's nice kit and there's a good atmosphere. The only complaint I have is that the landings are too hard! Most gymnasts from other clubs stay in hotels when they come to Guildford for the British, but I stayed at home because my house isn't too far away.

When I got back from podium training I just sat at home really and relaxed. I watched telly and packed my bag for the next day. I had a special, new leotard from Alpha Factor for the British that I was allowed to keep for free. It was pink and black and sparkly. I chose it because I thought it looked striking and it was the sort of colours that would suit me. I went to bed at about quarter to nine. Before I went to sleep I went through all my routines in my head. I slept quite well despite being quite nervous.

On the morning of the comp I was quite nervous but at the same time looking forward to it. I was most looking forward to competing with all those big stars, but I was most nervous about my vault. I had a piece of toast for my breakfast. We left home at about 10 and got there at about quarter to 11. There were around fifty 11 to 13-year-old gymnasts taking part in the Espoir event, so there were 2 rounds of competition. I was in the second round, while Becky was in the first. I watched a bit of the first session but most of the time I was having my hair done outside!

I didn't really have any expectations for the competition. I just wanted to have a clean comp and do my best. That was my goal. I hoped to come in the top 20, but I didn't really mind where I came as long as I did my best. I thought my most successful piece would be floor because I have some quite hard work like 2½ twist and difficult leaps and jumps - popa into tuck jump double, cat leap double to scissor kick and triple spin as well. My dream was to make the floor final but I was certain I would never do it because the standard is so high now in the espoirs with lots of girls who can double pike and triple twist and even full-in back-out.

Often the crowd for the Espoir competition at the British is not quite as big, because it is a Friday, but this year the Spectrum was almost full, and the arena can hold well over 1000 people! Only my mum could come and watch me in the all-around competition though. I have a lucky teddy bear that she held for me in the audience. Warm-up went okay. I was quite nervous but my coach seemed pleased with the way it went. As I marched out to be presented to the crowd I felt proud that I was out there competing at the British, but also nervous that all those people were there looking at me.

My first piece, floor, went really, really well, as did vault! I had bars next and my coach Natalie said "just keep tight and try hard and make all the handstands" and that's exactly what I did as I went through my routine with toe-on, toe-off to handstand, mo shoot, upstart to handstand, clear to handstand, giant, giant 1½ twist! I got the highest bars score I have ever got - 7.475 from an 8.3 start value. I then went to my final piece, beam - the nerve wracking piece! Unfortunately I had 2 falls. Although I fell I was still pleased with how the comp went, especially the other pieces. I was annoyed with myself for falling off beam, but I can learn from my mistakes.

In the end I scored 30.325 all-around and finished in 20th place! I worked out later that if I hadn't fallen I would have come about 11th. All the medals went to young gymnasts who were born in 1992, like me. The winner was Becky Downie of Notts who was even better than she looked in training and got a very big score of 34.5! In second place was my best friend Becky Wing from Pinewood! I thought she did really well too. Laura Jones from Notts was 3rd. The biggest thrill for me came when they announced the gymnasts who had qualified for finals. My score of 8.1 on floor put me in the top 8 on that piece, meaning I would be back to compete in the final on Sunday! I was really happy because I wasn't expecting to make any final. This was a big achievement for me.

My coach was really pleased. She said it was a shame about the falls on beam, but she was really pleased with everything else, and of course me making the floor final! My parents were also really proud of me and said that I had done so well to get this far. Afterwards, to celebrate, me, my mum, Becky Wing and her family all went out to a pizza restaurant and had dinner there. That night I felt really happy and was already looking forward to the floor final. I slept very well.

Even though I did not have to compete on the Saturday, I went back to Guildford to watch the junior and senior all-around competitions, and most importantly to support my clubmate Lizzie Line, who was going for a place in the Great Britain Olympic team. I really enjoyed watching the Saturday comp especially as it was the 3rd and final Olympic trial for the seniors. I think the highlight would have been Beth Tweddle's amazing performance. Lizzie recovered from a fall on her Tkatchev to finish 5th.

Sunday was finals day! I was so happy that I had made it and just really wanted to go through clean. I had to leave home quite early, at about half past 8, and got there at just gone 9. I had a quick snack before going to warm up. It felt very special to me to be out there on the floor, warming up with all the big stars, including the GB senior team, and to have hundreds of people staring at me. This time there was my mum, dad and sister there to watch me. Warm-up went okay but it seemed really long as I was only doing one piece, so I had to try and keep warm which was quite tricky.

In the apparatus finals there is usually only one piece being worked at a time. The arena is packed and everyone is watching the same routine. I was up first out of everyone! Unfortunately my floor did not go very well in the final as I fell on my 2 ½ twist and my straight front - punch front. I was a little disappointed with myself, but still so happy that I had even made the final. My coach and parents consoled me. They said: "Don't worry. Maybe you can have another chance next year. At least you made the final. That was a massive achievement in itself."

Becky won a few medals in finals, including gold on beam. At the end of the competition, the 2004 Olympic team was announced. Lizzie made it! I was really happy for her and she definitely deserved it as she worked so hard. It was great to know that a gymnast from my club would be competing in Athens! Overall the weekend was really good. The highlight was making the floor final and coming in the top 20 overall. I met lots of people and became quite good friends with Kirsty Lawrence from Barry Girls as we were both in the floor final together. She ended up taking the gold medal on floor! I really enjoyed the weekend and for some reason, because it was such a big comp, it seemed more special than other comps I have done.

Everyone who makes a final at the British gets a special commemorative medal. Mine is in my bedroom now. I have a shelf and some little hangers on the wall and I hung it up there. To me it is a very special medal as it is my first individual medal from a national championship. When I went back to school after the British all my friends and teachers were asking how I did, and in the last assembly I had to go out in front of all the pupils and teachers and they congratulated me. I think I have learned a lot from the experience of competing in my first Women's British. Next time I will concentrate even harder and hopefully stick my beam! My goal for next year's British is to make the top 15 so that I get a trial for the national squad, and to make a final or two!

By Katie Stevens, Pinewood (as told to Cat)