GIRLS from the Forest of Dean Gymnastics Club, competing on floor, vault and beam, picked up an impressive 13 medals at the Fromeside Invitational competition in Bristol.

Six clubs entered from as far afield as Cornwall, Wiltshire, the Cotswolds and Bristol.

Eight-year-old Eden Addis started the day off well by winning silver for her expressive floor routine and went on to win bronze overall.

Her nine-year-old teammate Florence Eaton picked up two gold medals in the U11 Level C group – achieving the highest floor score of the day and the overall gold.

In the U9 level B group Molly Hughes also won the overall gold medal after winning gold on beam and bronze on floor.

Daisy Middleton beamed with delight as she took to the podium for the first of her three medals, a silver for her cheeky Charleston-type floor routine, a bronze for beam and then

silver overall.

The medal tally was boosted by joint bronze medals on vault for Mya Woodward and Ella Robinson, demonstrating the all round depth of talent from the Forest of Dean Club.

Lily Bridges, competing in her first away competition, was delighted to win bronze on beam while Sophie Saunders, also competing in her first away competition, came fourth on floor in the U12 Level C group.

Hannah Roberts, Felicity Allen and Lola Newman completed the team in the U11s, all performing well.

Meanwhile, club gymnasts competing in the South West NDP Grades in Bristol had a 100 per cent pass rate success, with six awarded ‘Highly Commended’ with several high placings on apparatus.

Gymnasts competed on four apparatus, plus a range and conditioning set routine in Levels 5, 4 and 2.

Most of the Level 5 girls were competing in their first regional competition and grading, with 35 competitors in the group.

At Level 5, Eden Addis finished third on conditioning and scored 58.10 overall and was awarded a ‘Commended’.

Molly Hughes also gained ‘Commended’ with good scores on vault, beam and conditioning, while Mya Woodward and Ella Robinson excelled on vault and Daisy Middleton came fourth on conditioning.

In the grade 4 competition with 28 competitors, Anastasia Hughes, Florence Eaton and Ella Newland were delighted to all gain ‘Commended’.

Anastasia came fourth on vault and seventh on conditioning, Ella came sixth on vault, eighth on bars and ninth on conditioning with clean routines all round.

Florence placed 10th on vault equally with Eloise Smith and also scored highest on floor out of the Forest girls, while Hannah Roberts’ best apparatus was vault and conditioning.

Club seniors Charlotte Cotterell and Violet Williams competed at Level 2, Charlotte gaining ‘Commended’. A fall on her vault cost her marks, but otherwise all routines went well. Both girls tied for sixth place on vault while Charlotte achieved fourth on both beam and floor.

The girls have benefitted from the top class new Gymnova floor area which was installed in the Five Acres Gymnastics Centre just after Easter.

Meanwhile Kestrel Gymnastics Squad in Bulwark had a great turnout at their awards night, which honoured everything from passing their British Gymnastics Awards, to gaining a place in the Welsh Squad. 

The ‘Star’ gymnasts’ awards went to eight-year-olds Eva Lawn and Henry French. 

The presentation was made by Maria Gaynor from Welsh Gymnastics, followed by a buffet and disco.