KING EDMUND GYM CLUB
LATEST NEWS
By Simon Parkinson
KING Edmund Gym Club have struck gold again – for the third successive time in the World Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships.
Men’s pair Jake Underdown and Chris Child, competing in the 11-16 age category, comprehensively saw off the considerable threat posed by Belarus and Russia, and a string of other top nations, to clinch first spot for Great Britain in the Wroclaw showdown in Poland.
Jake, 12, from Yate, and 15-year-old Chris, from Thornbury, had performed for Britain in last October’s European Championships in Portugal, each finishing up in respectable fourth-placed positions with their respective partners of the time.
That experience stood them in good stead for a crack at last week’s showpiece event, where they emerged on top of the world.
Coach Nikki Thorne beamed: “We had our fingers crossed that they’d do well because they had trained hard and gone to Poland in confident mood. But to win gold was something special.
“We knew Belarus and Russia would provide stiff competition but we’d beaten the Netherlands, Portugal and Germany in competitions last year so we knew we had a chance of at least being on the rostrum.”
It is the third time on the spin that Britain, represented by an all-King Edmund contingent, have claimed gold at the World Championships, which are held every two years. Douglas Fordyce, famous for playing a starring part for acro-gym troupe Spelbound in their recent Britain’s Got Talent success, and his then-partner Shelley Evans, returned clutching the top prize in 2006, while Shanie-Redd Thorne and Kaman Mitchell did likewise in the mixed pairs section in 2008.
Nikki stressed: “We are the only club in Great Britain to have won the ‘Worlds’ three times in a row. It certainly piles the pressure on us gearing up for the next one in two years time!”
In the meantime the King Edmund club, which boasts a glittering medal haul from their achievements on the world and domestic fronts over more than two decades, are staging a busy summer of activities for children at their Sports Shed HQ at Armstrong Way in Yate.
Anyone looking for information about that, or any other aspect of the club, can contact them on 01454 320662.
ABOUT US
KING Edmund Gym Club of Yate have enjoyed outstanding
success in the field of sports acrobatics for many,
many years and show no sign of let-up.
They are renowned not only for training up youngsters of all ages who simply enjoy basic gymnastics and ‘sports acro’ as a recreational exercise, but dozens more who have gone on to become world and domestic champions.
Top coach Nikki Thorne explained: “We cater for all types; children who just want to come for the fun of it; those who like to compete at a reasonable standard and others who want to go as far as they can in the sport.
“We continue to have people who represent Great Britain and win world championships. But there are members too who don’t have the physique or attributes to reach such heights but want to do the best they can by way of good competition.”
King Edmund GC have some 600 members and hold sessions at Castle School, Thornbury and Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre, not to mention their ‘homes’ at King Edmund School in Yate and the town’s neighbouring leisure centre.
contact
Who
to contact: Nikki Thorne (coach) 01454 882276,
07930 325025
Where to go: King Edmund Secondary School, Yate; Castle School,
Thornbury; Yate Leisure Centre, Bradley Stoke Leisure
Centre
Club
website: www.acro-gymnastics.co.uk
Email: mark@acro-gymnastics.co.uk
Main sponsors: Yate Town Council
