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Aisling Proves She's Back!
December 5, 2005
Aisling Williams showed that she is back to top form and ready for her senior debut in 2006 after winning the Cumbernauld Goodwill Classique this past weekend. Scoring 34.15, Aisling lead over Hungarian Laura Gombos and team mate Carol Galashan. Liverpool were once again the top scoring club, with teams for Hungary, Mosnoco and Belgium competing. Aisling also won gold on her strongest apparatus, bars.

Teams: Clubs		Teams: Regional		All Around
1 Liverpool 98.725		1 Hungary 94.525		1 Aisling Williams LIVERPOOL 34.15
2 Park Wrekin 92.00		2 Scotland 86.05		2 Laura Gombas HUN 32.10
3 Hillingdon 88.85		3 Monaco 78.975		3 Carol Galashan Liverpool 32.10

vault		BARS
1 Laura Gombas, HUN, 8.762		1 Aisling Williams, LPOOL, 9.00
2 Jennifer Hannah, WREKIN, 8.675		2 Carol Galashan, LPOOL, 8.4
3 Lauren Beck Cumbernauld 8.50		3 Orsolya Nagy 8.025

BEAM		FLOOR
1 Helen Galashan, LPOOL, 8.25		1 Laura Gombas, HUN, 8.762
2 Alex Perry, Wrekin, 7.488		2 Jennifer Hannah, WREKIN, 8.425
3 Bethany Mumms, Wrekin, 7.475		3 Joanna Pledger, Newcastle, 8.287

ACTION CONCLUDES DOWN-UNDER
November 27, 2005
The action came to a close in Melbourne today after an amazing competition for the British team. Beth Tweddle secured yet another place in sporting history by placing 4th all-around, smashing GB's previous record of 14th! Shavahn Church placed 20th in her first international competition, and first all-around competition in over a year! Imogen placed 8th in vault finals after a hop to the side on her Yurchenko 1.5. In bars final Beth repeated her 3rd place finish from 2003 behind Liukin and Memmel of the USA. Sadly, a fall in training and a cut knee forced Beth to pull out of floor finals, where a medal was a very realisitic possibility. TBGN wants to congratulate everyone involved with such a fantastic set of results!

TEAM GB'S BEST EVER RESULTS!
November 23, 2005
Congratulations to Beth, Imogen and Shavahn for producing GB's best ever results at a World Championships during the preliminary rounds. Imogen has qualified to vault finals. Shavahn's combined score placed her 24th to secure a spot in AA Finals. Beth is in the AA, bars and FX finals. AA is to be held on Friday, and vault and bars finals on Saturday. CONGRATULATIONS LADIES AND GOOD LUCK FOR THE FINALS!

PRELIMS NEWS & RESULTS
November 11, 2005
BETH PRELIMS: 9.425 FX, 9.175 VT,9.537 AB, 8.8 BB, 36.937 AA!
Sessions 1-3 are now complete and Shavahn Church lies in 15th place over-all, with one subdivision left to compete. Beth is due to start competing in about an hours time. Shavahn's scores were: VT 9.125 AB 9.225 BB 7.225 FX 8.562 so is looking good for the AA finals. Congratulations to Shavahn for an excellent first competition in 18 months! Imogen scored 9.187 on vault and 8.962 for floor. Nastia Liukin (USA - 37.424), Chellsie Memmel (USA - 37.412) and Isabelle Severino (FRA - 36.861) top the AA table at this stage.

Rhian out after bars fall
November 20, 2005
Sadly, British gymnast Rhian Pugh (Bristol Hawks) has had to withdraw from the 2005 World Championships after banging her head after falling from bars. Rhian is fine but will need some rest. Please sign her guestbook wishing her a speedy recovery. Get well soon Rhian!

Training for the three remaining gymnasts is said to be going excellently. The gymnasts were filmed by the Blue Peter crew and we will let you know when it will be aired. Beth is said to be looking very strong on her specialty event bars, but also looks to be a contender in the AA too.

Notts continue success in Europe
November 14, 2005
Following on from their success at the Combs de la Ville tournament in France at the end of last month, Notts Gymnastics club dominated the Coup de l'Avenir in Malmedy in Belgium. Niamh Rippan placed 2nd in the 94-96 category, with Lara West in 3rd, Hannah Talbot in 14th, Emma Williams of Pegasus in 18th, Ella Dermott in 21st and Sapphire's Niamh Ryan in 22. Jordan Lipton comfortably won the 92-93 age group, with Sapphire's Hannah Freeman in 3rd, Amy Nathan in 18th and Rachel Phillips in 23rd. Louise Mercer and Chelsie Orme finished 2nd and 8th in the 90-91 age group. Notts also won the team competition, managing 7th place with their B team! Congratulations Notts.

2005 World Championships!
November 13, 2005
Good luck to the British gymnasts who travel to Melbourne today! The women's competition starts in 10 days time, Wednesday 23/11 with the preliminary rounds. As far as we know, Beth and Shavahn will be competing on all 4 pieces, Imogen on vault and floor and Rhian on bars. BBC and Eurosport are showing most of the action starting Friday 24/11 with the men's AA competition. TBGN wants to wish all the gymnasts and coaches all the very best.

GREAT BRITIAN win SIX MEDALS!
October 26, 2005
Today, four British gymnasts competed at Glasgow Grand Prix finals, with record-breaking success. Imogen Cairns won two bronze medals on vault (8.943) and floor (9.175), to add to her one bronze at the weekend. Beth Tweddle won two gold medals on bars (9.687) and floor (9.475) and a bronze on beam (9.012), making the podium on every event she entered. Rhian Pugh improved her score in the finals from 9.1 to 9.2 and placed 5th! Louis Smith placed 3rd on pommel horse with the huge score of 9.612, making him the first British man to win a medal on the Grand Prix circuit in some time. Congratulations to the whole team for an outstanding effort! Don't forget to watch the action on BBC2 on Sunday at 1.45pm - 3.45pm. BETH, RHIAN, & IM QUALIFIED IN GLASGOW!

Glasgow Grand Prix
October 25, 2005
Imogen Cairns qualified to vault (8.6, 7th) and floor exercise (9.050, 4th) finals as well as Beth Tweddle qualified to three events, bars (9.650, 2nd), beam (8.825, 4th), and floor (9.450, 1st). Rhian Pugh qualified on her best event, bars (9.100, 7th). Good luck Im, Beth, and Rhian in Finals!

LIVERPOOL WIN ROSEBOWL - AISLING RETURNS!
October 23, 2005
Liverpool retained their title as over-all winners of the Rushmoor Rosebowl this weekend. Competing for the first time this year after a knee injury, Aisling Williams helped the team on bars and beam, qualifying to today's finals in first on both pieces. Team mate Jodie Standish won the all-around, whilst Hannah Clowes placed second, continuing her impressive streak of results recently.

Team results		AA results
1. City of Liverpool 2. Heathrow 3. South Africa		1. Jodie Standish, Liverpool(34.325) 2. Hannah Clowes, Liverpool (34.275) 3. Amy Nunes, Heathrow (34.2)

Vault		Bars
1. Francki Van Rooyen, South AFrica 8.8 2. Amy Nunes, 8.725 3. Leigh Rogers Heathrow, 8.587		1. Aisling Williams 8.9 2. Abi Kirby 8.55 3. Franki Van Rooyen 8.275

Beam		Floor
1. Laura Jones 8.325 2 Leigh Rogers 8.15 3 Maria Pisichali, Bulgaria, 8.05		1. Jennifer hannah, Park Wrekin, 8.875 2. Amy Nunes 8.65 3. Rinette Whelpton (SA)8.525

BRONZE FOR IMOGEN IN GERMANY
October 23, 2005
Congratulations to Imogen Cairns who represented Great Britain in her first World Cup competition at the DTB Cup in Germany. Having qualified for 2 finals, Imogen improved on her placing and score in both finals. On floor she upped her game Scoring 9.062. Imogen placed third behind 2003 world champ Daiane Dos Santos and Kathleen Lindor. Imogen also came 4th on vault, narrowly missing out on another medal. Well done Im!

IMOGEN AND HANNAH CLAIM ENGLISH TITLES
October 16, 2005
Imogen Cairns from The Academy and Liverpool's Hannah Clowes both moved one step closer to the 2006 Commonwealth Team by taking the senior and junior titles at the English Championships in Wiltshire today. National Champ Beth Tweddle put in a appearance on bars but wasn't quite back to her competitive form for a 9.150.

Senior Results		Junior Results
1. Imogen Cairns, The Academy 2. Leigh Rogers, Heathrow 3. Nina Deerman, Vernon Park		1. Hannah Clowes, Liverpool 2. Jodie Standish, Liverpool 3. Hannah Freeman, Sapphire

Lynette leads the way for wales
October 3, 2005
Cardiff Central gymnast Lynette Lisle proved that her injury troubles of last year are well behind her by helping the Welsh team to 1st place at the European Championships and claiming the all around title. Second was her team mate Rhian Pugh, ahead of N.Ireland's Katie Slader.

Team Results		Individual Results
1. Wales	102.65	1. Lynette Lisle, Wales	34.40
2. N.Ireland	97.60	2. Rhian Pugh, Wales	34.15
2. Scotland	97.10	2. Katie Slader, N.Ireland	33.45

EVENT FINALS

Vault: 1. Jessica Gazzi, WAL, 8.625 2. Lauren Beck, SCO, 8.525 3. Fanni Helminen, FIN, 8.3875	Bars: 1. Rhian Pugh, WAL, 8.875 2. Lynette Lisle, SCO, 8.85 3. Sif Palsdottir, ISL, 8.375
Beam: 1. Melanie Roberts, WAL, 8.575 2. Katie Slader, NIR, 8.15 3. Rhian Pugh, WAL, 7.900	Floor: 1. Lynette Lisle, WAL, 8.550 2. Kristjana Saeunn, ISL, 8.5 3. Rachel Wood, SCO, 8.450

Fife victorious at Scottish Open Championships
September 25, 2005
The team from Fife won what is essentially the team championships of Scottland. Scoring 87.855 Fife placed first ahead of Cumbernauld (84.563 ) and Fife's B team won the bronze (79.225). In the individual standings Lauren Beck of Cumbernauld came out tops with 31.083 infront of Brogan Archibald from Perth (31.062) and Hannah Leigh from Fife (30.684).

Team Results		Individual Results
1. Fife	87.855	1. Lauren Beck, Cumbernauld	31.083
2. Cumbernauld	84.563	2. Brogan Archibald, Perth	31.062
3. Fife B	79.225	3. Hannah Leigh, Fife A	30.684
4. Dundee 2K	79.077	4. Fiona Coyle, Fife	28.683
5. West Lothian	78.916	5. Charlotte Griffin, Fife	28.008
6. Lasswade	74.065	6. Danielle Jenkins, Fife	27.955
7. Largs	73.282	7. Kiera McGivern, Falkirk	27.791
8. Falkirk	72.928	8. Kirsty Campbell, Dundee	27.366
9. Bon Accord	70.630	9. Kendal Smith, Lasswade	27.334

Alpha Factor Cup
September 25, 2005
The first step toward selecting the English Commonwealth Team was taken today at the AlphaFactor Cup held at Wiltshire School of Gymnastics. Gymnasts aged 14 and above next year are eligible to trial, so the results of the trials span 3 current age groups; espoir, junior and senior. The second trial will be the English Championships in October. For gymnasts who don't compete (major names include Beth Tweddle, Becky Downie, Hayley Robson Aisling Williams and Shavahn Church) there are 2 "wildcard" spots available. The results are as follows (legend: SNR JNR ESP):

1. Imogen Cairns (The Academy) 34.075
2. Hannah Clowes (City of Liverpool) 34.000
3. Zoe Allen (Wigan) 33.400
4. Abi-Louise Kirby (City of Liverpool) 33.250
5. Laura Jones (Notts) 32.925
6. Amy Fossheim (South Durham) 32.750
7. Hannah Freeman (Sapphire) 32.400
=8. Leigh Rogers (Heathrow) 32.350
=8. Amy Nunes (Heathrow) 32.350
10. Jodie Standish (City of Liverpool) 32.350
Lynette Lisle (Cardiff Central) took the silver in the senior category behind Imogen (32.750), but is trialling for Wales.

world University Games
August 13, 2005
Congratulations to Beth who finished in 3rd place in the AA final at the University Games. Gold and silver were taken by China's Fan Ye and Susanne Harmes of the Netherlands. Carolyn Fyfe improved her placing from prelims and placed 21st.

2005 UNIVERSITY GAMES FINALS
3RD BETH TWEDDLE 35.624
VT 9.075 AB 9.387 BB 8.100 FX 9.062

21ST CAROLYN FYFE 32.048
VT 8.612 AB 7.787 BB 7.612 FX 8.037

world University Games
August 12, 2005
British gymnasts Beth Tweddle and Carolyne Fyfe who both qualified for the All-Around final at the University Games in Izmir today. Competing in the preliminary rounds, Beth finished in 2nd place scoring 36.550 and Carolyn finished 29th with a score of 31.611. Beth qualified for three event finals: bars (9.5 =1), beam (8.975 6th) and floor (8.95 7th).

2005 UNIVERSITY GAMES PRELIMS
2ND BETH TWEDDLE 36.550
VT 9.125 AB 9.550 BB 8.975 FX 8.95

29TH CAROLYN FYFE 31.611
VT 8.487 AB 7.862 BB 7.275 FX 7.987

Shavahn Church to Compete for GB!
August 1, 2005
TBGN is excited to announce that American-born gymnast Shavahn Church has decided to leave US gymnastics and compete for Great Britain! Shavahn holds duel British and American citizenship as both her parents are British and moved to the USA in 1985 before Shavahn was born. Shavahn will still spend most of her training time in California at S.C.A.T.S Huntingdon Beach, but will train at Heathrow when she is this side of the pond, and will fly over regularly for squads and trials. Shavahn is an incredibly talented gymnast who is famous for her amazing bar work as well as breathtaking floor choreography, and is hoping to represent GB for the first time at the World Championships in Melbourne. TBGN is happy to welcome Shavahn to British gym and we are excited to see the results GB can achieve with our current stars combined with Shavahn! For more information about Shavahn, please visit her official website.

FIVE STAR BETH STEALS SHOW IN FINALS
July 11, 2005
Beth Tweddle completed a clean sweep of gold medals at the 2005 British Championships by adding all four apparatus titles to the all-around crown she claimed on Saturday. The Liverpool star ended the event in style by displaying yet more new tumbling (2 1/2 twist to punch straight front full) in the last routine of the competition, earning a 9.525 to go with her 9.675 on bars, 9.05 on beam and 9.137 vault average. Imogen Cairns pushed Beth on vault and floor while Rhian Pugh was runner-up on bars after making a small error on her Ricna. Alice Green took silver on her best event, beam. At junior level, Heathrow's Amy Nunes claimed the titles on beam and vault with Amy Fossheim once again winning the floor gold and teammate Hayley Robson taking bars. Liverpool's espoir star Abi Kirby managed to medal on every piece in the youngest age category, with the highlight of her day being a bars gold. Becky Downie was a clear winner on vault while Laura Jones starred on beam and floor.

FIFTH TITLE FOR BETH
July 9, 2005
As predicted, Liverpool's star Beth Tweddle claimed her 5th AA title tonight in Guildford. Beth was 1st ahead of Sam Bayley, and Imogen Cairns of the Academy was third. In 4th place was Beth's Liverpool team mate Melanie Roberts, ahead of Hawk's Rhian Pugh and Piper's Vale gymnast Rosalie Hutton in 6th.

HAYLEY ROBSON (S.DURHAM): JUNIOR NATIONAL CHAMPION
July 9, 2005
South Durham gymnast Hayley Robson has captured gold at the 2005 Junior National Championships, showcasing a dazzling new floor routine! Behind her in 2nd placed was Gabrielle Santus from the Academy with Amy Nunes of Heathrow claiming bronze. Hayley's team mate Amy Fossheim placed 4th. Scores and detailed results coming very soon! Zoe Turner of Wigan had to withdraw after a suspected dislocated elbow on floor which was a sad end to a promising competition for her. Hayley Robson and Amy have both made all 4 event finals, which will take place tomorrow.

1ST: Hayley Robson 33.925
2ND: Gabrielle Santus 33.675
3RD: Amy Nunes 33.450
4TH: Amy Fossheim 33.275
5TH: Emma White 33.25
6TH: Jessica Gazi 32.475
7TH: Marissa King 32.175
8TH: RACHEL W0OD 32.00

LONDON 2012: WE'VE DONE IT!!
July 5, 2005
Just minutes ago it was announced that London will be the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games!! This is brilliant news for British sport and for the up-coming gymnasts in Great Britain. Congratulations London!

10th for Brits at EYOF
July 5, 2005
The trio of Hannah Clowes, Zoe Allen and Jodie Standish placed 10th, despite suffering a setback when Jodie injured her ankle during training. However, she was still able to compete on beam and bars. Zoe and Hannah have qualified to the AA final. Full results can be found on the competition's official website.

British Championships Preview!
July 1, 2005
It's just a week until the biggest event of the year for British gymnasts! In the senior and espoir age groups, the champions from 2004 are the firm favourites to repeat, Becky Downie from Notts, and Beth Tweddle. Downie's team mates Laura Jones and Jordan Lipton will be hot on her heels, as well as Abi Kirby (Liverpool) Becky Wing (Heathrow) and Lilly Black (Pipers Vales)

Beth is on track to scoop her 5th consecutive National title, and looks unstoppable. Hot on her heals will be Imogen Cairns (the 2003 & 2004 Junior champ) from The Academy, Sam Bayley, Rosalie Hutton and the Galashan twins.

Due to the injury of Aisling Williams (knee) and a trio of Zoe Allen, Hannah Clowes and Jodie Standish attending the European Youth Olympic Festival that weekend, the junior competition will be wide open. Hayley Robson and Amy Fossheim from South Durham will go for it, as will Amy Nunes of Heathrow. TBGN will be there all three days to bring you news, results, photos and goss!

BREAKING NEWS: Beth wins Vault and Bars & Floor!
June 26, 2005
Beth added three golds to the two she won yesterday, winning vault and bars outright and taking a share of the title with China's Fan Ye on floor! China swept the beam medals. Full results and placings to come!

GB Topple China
June 25, 2005
Congratulations to Team GB who toppled China for the gold in Liverpool earlier today. Britain's star Beth Tweddle was the top scoring gymnast, notching up 37.100 infront of 2nd placed Fan Ye. Britain's Imogen Cairns took 3rd. Tomorrow the teams will return to Park Road to contest the event titles!

GBR vs China
June 21, 2005
GBR v. China will be held this weekend (June 25-26) in Liverpool. The Great Britian team is Beth Tweddle, Sam Bayley, Imogen Cairns, Rosalie Hutton, Rhian Pugh, Melanie Roberts, and Helen Galashan (Reserve). The China team is Li Ya, Fan Ye, Guo Li, Zhou Zhuoru, Yang Yahong, and Ziao Sha. Good luck to everyone this weekend!

Welsh Championships
June 19, 2005
The Welsh Championships were held in Cardiff this weekend. Wiltshire gymnast Olivia Grout won the espoir title. The junior title was taken by Jessica Gazzi and Sam Bayley grabbed the senior crown ahead of Rhian Pugh of Bristol Hawks. Sam Bayley won vault, beam, and floor. Linette Lisle won bars. Ashleigh Ivey McFarlane and a team from the Academy competed as guests. Full results coming soon.

Bill Slater Championships
June 19, 2005
Wiltshire have made an impressive return to the top by winning the 2005 Bill Slater Championships in Newcastle. Liverpool came 2nd and Huntingdon placed 3rd, full scores coming soon.

Dutch Open
June 19, 2005
Liverpool sent two representetives to Nijmegen, Netherland this weekend to compete at the Dutch Open. In the Junior competition Hannah Clownes placed 13th scoring 33.775 and in the Seniors, Mel Roberts' combined score of 8th placed her 33.075. Today in event finals, Hannah Clowes took 3rd on vault with 8.762.

INJURY FOR BETH FORCES HER OUT OF AA
June 3, 2005
Beth was carried out of the arena on a stretcher after falling to her back during bars warm ups. Reports state that she has been assesed by the arena medics and she does not appear to have any spinal injuries and can move her limbs. However, reports suggest concussion as she does not seem to remember what happened. TBGN has started up a collection to send her a bouquet of flowers so we can tell her how proud we are of her qualifications scores and placings. If you would like to donate a couple of pounds, please PayPal the money to sezi_k@yahoo.com and we hope to send the flowers Monday or Tuesday!

2nd in Prelims, 1st AB/FX for Beth!
June 2, 2005
GB's star Beth Tweddle racked up four great performances in Debrecen today to finish in 2nd position AA. She now goes into Saturday's AA final as a firm favourite for a medal. She is in first place on bars and floor after qualifiers and 6th on beam. Well done Beth, we are SO proud of you! Sam Bayley scored 9.106 to qualify to vault finals in 5th place! Rhian narrowly missed out on bars finals with a score of 8.912.

European Championships Start Tomorrow!
June 1, 2005
Good luck to Sam Bayley, Rhian Pugh and Beth Tweddle who compete tomorrow during the preliminary rounds of the 2005 European Championships. Beth is competing on all 4 events and is one of the favourites to make the top 5. Sam is competing on vault and floor and Rhian is competing on her speciality event, bars. The AA final is held on Saturday June 4th and the event finals are on Sunday. British Eurosport plan to broadcast highlights on Wednesday June 7th so make sure you tune in!!
GOOD LUCK, GREAT BRITAIN!

GBR - ITA - SUI
May 19, 2005
This past weekend, Great Britian flew to Switzerland to compete in a friendly competition against Italy and Switzerland. The Great Britian team was Imogen Cairns, Melanie Roberts, Becky Downie, Sam Bayley, Rhian Pugh, and Rosalie Hutton. They placed 2nd as team behind Italy, with Imogen our top AAer winning the bronze. You can view the results here.

Cherrelle Calls It A Day
May 10, 2005
2004 Olympic team member Cherrelle Fennell of Wigan has decided to retire from gymnastics. Cherrelle was a key member of the 2003 World Championships squad who qualified a full team to Athens, and contributed valuable scores to GBs team total in the preliminary rounds of the Olympics. TBGN wishes Cherrelle all the very best of luck in the future. Look out for a Cherrelle Retirement Special on TBGN very soon!

Danusia Francis Diary
May 7, 2005
Danusia has taken time out from her busy training schedule to write us a diary all about her first time competing at the British Team Championships. Check it out to find out how she felt competing with her heros and winning a medal!
Danusia's Diary

National Compulsory Champions Crowned
May 2, 2005
The national finals for compulsory levels 3 and 4 took place in Birmingham at the weekend, with Niamh Ryan of Sapphire (East Region) topping the 1996-born girls to take the level 4 crown, and Nicole Watson of Sandbach (North West) claiming victory in the level 3 event for gymnasts born in 1995. Both girls led their respective regions to the team titles in their age group.

2005 British Team Championships Photo Gallery
April 17, 2005
TBGN's photo gallery from last weekend's Team Championships is now online! Photos are available to order in a number of different size options, including custom designed mini-posters! Check out all the photos here! If you would like to purchase prints, please e-mail at sezi_k@yahoo.com.

4th Title for Liverpool
April 12, 2005
Liverpool claimed their 4th consecutive Team Championships this past weekend in Guildford. Led by the mighty Beth Tweddle they totalled 139.600, a whopping 8.875 above 2nd placed Notts. Despite missing junior star Aisling Williams (slight knee injury) and suffering the loss of Jodie Standish in warm-ups (landed bars dismount on a straight leg), the team remained unstoppable. Beth also placed highest in the AA standings, followed by teammate Mel Roberts. The young girls from Notts performed impressively for 2nd, displaying style, maturity and difficulty beyond their years, while the Heathrow A team started superbly on beam but lost their senior member Leigh Rogers on floor and were happy to settle for bronze with another very young group of gymnasts. Rhian Pugh of Hawks posted a 9.5 on bars and shared the Ursel Free trophy with Beth, who matched her 9.5 on floor.

USA vs Great Britain Friendly
April 2, 2005
The current World Champions, the USA took the team title as expected at Lilleshall today, scoring 152.70 over GB's 144.48. The British team consisted of Beth Tweddle, Cherrelle Fennell, Sam Bayley, Rhian Pugh, Imogen Cairns and Melanie Roberts. In the all-around placings, US star Nastia Liukin took top honours after notching up an impressive 38.55 including 9.8 on bars and beam, with Beth a brilliant 2nd, scoring 37.55. Sam Bayley was 2nd highest scorer for the Brits, acheiving a great 36.15, including a 9.35 for a brilliant floor routine. This coupled with last weekends performances clearly show that Sam, who struggled with injuries over the last few years, is back and better than ever! TBGN hopes the American deligation enjoyed their stay in Great Britain, and hope they have a pleasant trip over to Switzerland on Monday!

Sam Shines at Commonwealth Invite
March 27, 2005
Welsh star Sam Bayley dominated this weekends Commonwealth Invite held in conjuction with the 2005 Celtic Cup. Winning the senior AA title, Sam went on to win two more golds on vault and beam, as well as bronze on bars! In the Celtic Cup Notts gymnast Jordan Lipton, competing for her native Scottland, was in class of her own and won the junior devision by over 2 points! Behind her were Olivia Grout and Theresa Ashley. Kathryn Ward took the senior crown infront of Emma White and Jessica Gazzi. Wales won all 4 team titles (WAG & MAG junior & senior).

Becky Downie and Jennifer Pinches tops at British Schools
March 20, 2005
13-year-old Becky Downie made a serene transition to the senior ranks at the BSGA championships in Newcastle on Sunday. Representing the East Midlands, last year's junior champion scored 34.9 to achieve a comfortable victory over Amy Fossheim (2nd) and Emma Jagger (3rd). 10-year-old Jennifer Pinches of the South West topped Jordan Lipton and Danusia Francis to take the junior crown, while the South West juniors and East seniors claimed the team titles.

Nicole Hibbert wins Comp 2 In-age; Beth triumphs at BUSA
March 13, 2005
Heathrow's Nicole Hibbert was crowned in-age British champion at Compulsory Level 2 in Liverpool on Saturday, topping silver medallist Niamh Rippin of Notts and Heathrow's Danusia Francis who claimed bronze, with Jennifer Pinches (the reigning national champion in this age group) suffering falls during her range and conditioning exercise which left her down the field. 11-year-old Leah Herbert of Notts emerged victorious in Sunday's out-of-age event. Congratulations to all who passed their 'elite grade' over the course of the weekend. Meanwhile Beth Tweddle scooped the British Universities all-around title, representing Liverpool John Moores University. She unveiled new tumbling on floor - including a truly impressive 1 1/2 twist walk-out to double Arabian - on her way to beating silver medallist Carolyn Fyfe from Gloucestershire (and Bristol Hawks).

Medal for Tweddle in NYC
February 27, 2005
After an uncharacteristic step on landing after her bars dismount and a 4th place finished, Beth redeemed herself on floor exercise, nailing all her tumbles and dance combos for the bronze medal. Scoring 9.412 Beth shared the podium with Olympic bronze medallist Patricia Moreno of Spain and American Alicia Sacramone. Rhian Pugh competed in the bars and beam preliminary rounds and placed a respectable 10th on both. Debuting a new release and catch move - a Ricna - Rhian clipped her foot on the skill, resulting in a lowered start value. A slight error on her dismount almost meant a deduction, and her final score was 8.05 out of a 9.3 start value, a respectable score and placing for her first senior international competition. On beam she landed her innovative gainer aerial cartwheel, performed sideways on the beam, which was credited as an 'E' move.