On to Nationals!
After months of high intensity training, with practice competitions to help prepare, last weekend the East Region held the National Grade qualifiers. The top 5 gymnasts in each grade will qualify through to represent the East Region at the nation wide finals, a lot was at stake for the gymnasts and their coaches.
37 gymnasts from all around the region competed in the National Grade 4, 5 of whom train at Sapphire School of Gymnastics. Following on from her success at the Quatro event at the beginning of March, Phoebe Peacock took the all around gold medal with an incredible score of 65.100 out of 70! This means Phoebe will be representing the East Region at the finals next month. With impressive scores of 63.500 and 63.150, Zara Simpson and Gracie Rae-Kilby only just missed out on a team place, but walked away very proud of their performances. Phoebe Fletcher and Simone Stoyanov also put it superb effort, and with some mistakes to be learnt from will now look to upgrade their routines for the summer.
Moving on to National Grade 3, 4 gymnasts in their blue leotards were out to represent Sapphire. With clinical routines, Lilianne Jervis-Allen made the 5th place and is on the team for the finals. Just behind in 6th place was Amy Price, who put out a great level of work. With a fall keeping her out the top spots, Leah Kennedy showed great determination to still make the top 10. Lucie Polivka-Manning showed elegant floor artistry and put out some dynamic routines too.
Finally in National Grade 2, Sasha Cherry and Phoebe Boyton looked to push for the finals. With a high level of competition from the girls, Sasha managed to take the 4th place and Phoebe just behind in 5th. This means both girls will be going to the finals in may!
