NOVEMBER 7 ROGC GYMNASTS SELECTED FOR THE NEWLY FORMED GREATER MANCHESTER COUNTY SQUAD... AN HONOUR FOR THE GYMNASTS AND THE CLUB Following on from the recent North West Gymnastics Association 4 piece Individual Apparatus Championships, 2009, held in Warrington, 7 members of Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Club received notification that they had been selected as members of the newly formed Greater Manchester County Squad for 2009-2010. Deserved reward came for Daisy Navesey, Kirsty Armitage, Mercedes Miladinovic, Eleanor Briggs, Fiona Payton, Molly Simpson and Elyse Murray for their consistent results in competition over the last 12-18 months. The girls will now train together on selected dates with the rest of the squad and will be chosen to compete against other Counties from around Great Britain over the next 12 months.

	NOVEMBER   THE NORTH WEST GYMNASTICS ASSOCIATION 4 PIECE INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS... A FANTASTIC RESULT FOR ROCHDALE OGC 39 MEDALS FROM JUST 16 GYMNASTS AND ROGC NOW BOASTS 5 NORTH WEST REGIONAL OVERALL INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS....... Just 16 gymnasts from Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Club contested the annual North West Championships, and they came home with an unbelievable medal haul and overall individual victory in 5 sections of the competition. Kirsty Armitage got proceedings off to a great start as she swept the board with 5 gold medals in the Novice Under 9 section for an almost faultless performance finishing in 1st place on Vault (12.233), 1st on Bars (13.966), 1st on Beam (13.666), and 1st on Floor (14.20), which inevitably gave her the overall individual title being crowned the NWGA Novice Under 9 Champion for 2009 with a total score of 54.065 almost 3 ½ marks ahead of her nearest rival. Daisy Navesey competed for ROGC for the 1st time in the same age group and had an excellent all round event to take 2nd place on Vault (11.666), 2nd place on Bars (13.50), and 2nd place on Floor (13.333), which eventually gave her 3rd place on the podium in the overall standings with a total score of 49.565 marks. Mercedes Miladinovic was crowned the NWGA Novice Under 10 Champion as she stormed to victory with a total score of 52.516 for top spot on the podium.  A consistent performance across all 4 pieces of apparatus earned her 2nd on Vault (12.10), 1st on Bars (13.20), 1st on Beam (13.466), and 2nd on Floor (13.75).  Grace Pauline contested the Pre-Novice Under 10 event and was crowned the Vault champion in 1st place (11.60), and also collected 2nd place on Floor (12.966), to finish in 6th place overall (47.566).  Philee Ang-Chen was rewarded with the Pre-Novice Under 12 Overall Individual Title with a 50.232 total overall score.  This impressive score was aided by performances which presented her with 3rd place on Vault (11.40), 1st on Bars (13.533), 2nd on Beam (12.366), and 1st on Floor (13.333). Fiona Payton produced yet another great performance to secure the Novice Under 12 Overall Individual Title as she took 1st place (53.933, closely followed by Molly Simpson in 3rd place (52.099), Bethany Hartley 6th (50.716), and Ruby Hume 7th (50.466).  Fiona’s overall title was assured with 1st place on Vault (12.45), 2nd on Bars (13.433), 1st on Beam (14.200), and 3rd place on Floor (13.85).  Molly captured the bars title in 1st place (13.566), and also 2nd place on Vault (12.25).  Ruby made it a clean sweep of the vault medals in 3rd place (12.15), and also took a well deserved 2nd place on Beam (13.80). Elyse Murray 9th (43.05), and Mary Elcock 17th (38.80), competed in a tough Level 4 Senior Event with Mary taking a 4th place on Vault (12.25), and Elyse a 4th place on Beam (10.95). Emma Hayden 4th Overall (45.70), Megan O’Shea 5th (45.00), and Eleysha Jackson 7th (42.55) competed well in the Pre-Novice Under 14 section of the event.  Emma took the Bars title in 1st place (11.55), and a 3rd place on Vault (11.40).  Megan took 2nd place on Bars (11.20). Another successful event for ROGC was rounded off with Sophie Lomax being crowned the Novice Under 14 Overall Individual Champion finishing in a fantastic 1st place with 51.15 marks.  After a 3rd place on Beam (12.60), and a clean sweep of the gold medals for 1st on Vault (12.20), 1st on Bars (12.85), and 1st on Floor (13.50), she was rewarded with top spot on the medal rostrum for her efforts.  Zoe Blackstone finished in 8th place overall (47.30), earning a 4th placing on Bars (11.45). ROGC’s final competition of the year will be in the Isle of Man in 3 weeks time where Kirsty, Mercedes, Fiona, Molly and Sophie will tackle the Regional Level 4 Team Invitational Competition.

	OCTOBER   THE ROCHDALE OGC INVITATIONAL FLOOR & VAULT CHAMPIONSHIPS... A GREAT WEEKEND WRAPPED UP WITH 46 MEDALS, 7 AWARDS, 7 OVERALL INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS AND THE TEAM TROPHY RETURNS TO SPRINGFIELD PARK FOR THE 6TH TIME IN 7 YEARS....... Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Club held their Invitational Floor and Vault Championships for 2009 at Matthew Moss High School where the club once again reigned supreme taking back to the Springfield Park base 46 medals, 7 Awards, 7 Overall Individual Champions and the Team Trophy for the 6th time in 7 years. The youngest competitors of the weekend off to a great start when Sadie Murray took home the Overall Star Award for the Pre-Novice Under 6 event as she claimed top spot with a score of 24.00 marks.  She also took 1st place on Floor (12.85), and 2nd place on Vault (11.15), and added two more awards to her collection as she was credited with the Least Deductions on Floor and the Most Dynamic Vault Awards. Poppy Smyth followed in Sadie’s footsteps in the Pre-Novice Under 7 event where she took top spots across the board finishing 1st on Floor (13.10), 1st on Vault (11.20), and 1st Overall (24.30), to take the Overall Star Award, and awards for the Most Artistic Floor Routine and the Least Deductions on Vault.  Lucy Byrne was awarded with the award for the Least Deductions on Floor which gave her a share of the top spot with Poppy with a score of 13.10.  Alexandra Metcalfe earned 3rd place on Vault (11.10). The Novice Under 8 section saw Charlotte Loftus finish in 2nd place overall (24.85), and Courtney Smith 4th (24.00).  Charlotte triumphed on the Floor with a score of 13.80 for 1st place, and Courtney took 2nd place on Vault (11.25). Kerris Scrivner had a fantastic competition in the Novice Under 9 section where she took the overall title with a combined score of 25.05 for 1st place.  This was aided by a 1st place on Floor (14.00), and 2nd place on Vault (11.05). The Novice Under 10 section of the weekend saw Charlotte Lomax crowned the Overall Individual Champion with a 1st place score of 25.35, aided by 2nd place on Floor (13.80), and 1st place on Vault (11.55).  Emily Carter finished close behind in 2nd place overall (24.95), earning top spot for a superb floor routine (13.90), and 3rd place on Vault (11.05). Isabella Middleton contested the Pre-Novice Under 9 competition and earned 3rd place on Vault (11.20), and 3rd place Overall (24.10). Sarah Buckley eventually finished in 3rd place overall in the Novice Over 10 event (25.05), with Sophie Wells in 2nd place (24.80).  Sarah and Sophie earned the top 2 spots on Floor with scores of 13.95 and 13.55 respectively. The weekend was rounded off with the ROGC gymnasts winning the remaining 3 events.  Bethany Fisher was crowned the Overall Champion in the Pre-Novice Over 10 event making a clean sweep of all the gold medals on offer with 1st place on Floor (13.15), 1st place on Vault (11.45), and 1st place Overall (24.60). Kirsty Armitage (27.35), won a well fought battle to emerge the winner of the Intermediate Under 11 Event with Mercedes Miladinovic hot on her heels in 2nd place (27.25), and Sian Hall in 3rd place (26.25).  Kirsty and Mercedes could not be separated on Floor as both were awarded 14.75 marks for 1st place, and Sian Hall took the silver medal for 2nd place (14.35).  The girls took a clean sweep of the vault positions on the podium as Kirsty took 1st (12.60), Mercedes 2nd (12.50), and Ruby Hume in 3rd (12.35) Sophie Lomax ended the weekend superbly as she took the Intermediate Over 11 title in 1st place (27.30), followed by Molly Simpson in 2nd (26.85), and Philee Ang-Chen in 3rd (26.75).  Sophie took 1st place on Vault (12.65), and 2nd place on Floor (14.65).  Molly earned 3rd place on Floor (14.50), and 2nd place on Vault (12.35).  Philee triumphed on the Floor where she took the gold medal in 1st place (14.95). The final presentation was for the Team Trophy which was decided by taking the top two gymnasts scores from the Pre-Novice, Novice and Intermediate sections of the competition.  6 of the 7 overall individual winners from ROGC contributed towards this team total with Poppy Smith (24.3), Bethany Fisher (24.6), Charlotte Lomax (25.35), Kerris Scrivner (25.05), Kirsty Armitage (27.30), and Sophie Lomax (27.35) amassing a total team score of 153.95 for Rochdale OGC to take the team title for the 6th time in 7 years. A hugely successful and popular event with clubs and competitors from all over the North West attending where very competitor received certificates, medals, and a small gift. Other ROGC competitors throughout the weekend were Ellie Stokes, Nadia Edwards, Megan Lang, Holly Thomas, Claire Brown, Laura Brown, Abigail Templin, Kaia Yeomans, Lauren Brierley, Elizabeth Somerville, Georgia Chant, Sarah Bolton, Emma Mather, Philippa Lord, Kiera Ashworth, Chloe Meade, Georgia Howarth, Sophie Weight, Ellie Bradley, Rebecca Hilton, Sarah Walmsley, Isobel Tarpey, Caitlan Dolan, Bethany Walmsley, Eleanor Nunns, Rose Connor, Grace Pauline.

	OCTOBER   THE GREATER MANCHESTER 4 PIECE APPARATUS CHAMPIONSHIPS... 40 MEDALS, 14 APPARATUS TITLES, AND 2 OVERALL INDIVIDUAL TITLES FROM JUST 13 GYMNASTS.....   THE GREATER MANCHESTER FLOOR & VAULT CHAMPIONSHIPS... 31 MEDALS, 7 APPARATUS TITLES, 5 AWARDS AND 3 OVERALL INDIVIDUAL TITLES.......   Just 13 girls from Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Club travelled to Stalybridge to contest the Greater Manchester 4 Piece Championships which was once again held at the Copley Recreation Centre.  And the 13 gymnasts returned home with an array of titles and some unexpected well deserved results following some tremendous performances where, between them, they amassed 40 medals, 14 apparatus titles, 2 overall individual titles, and none of them finished outside the top 6 in their respective levels of competition. Grace Pauline competed her 1st 4 piece County competition, in the Pre-Novice Under 10 event, where she had a steady clean competition to finish a very creditable 6th place overall (49.20). Leah Regan 2nd (49.98), and Philee Ang-Chen 4th (49.68), tackled the Pre-Novice Under 12 event where both girls performed some excellent routines to pick up podium positions.  Leah took the Bars title finishing in 1st place (12.45), along with a 3rd place on Beam (13.30).  Philee excelled on Beam (14.00), and Floor (13.43) where she took both titles and the gold medal for 1st place on both pieces of apparatus. The  Novice Under 9 event saw Kirsty Armitage take 2nd place overall (52.90).  Kirsty collected a medal on each piece of apparatus as she finished 3rd on Vault (11.40), 3rd Bars (12.75), 2nd Beam (14.35), and on Floor she went one better and took the top spot on the medal rostrum for 1st place (14.40). Mercedes Miladinovic was crowned the Greater Manchester Novice Under 10 Champion as she stormed to victory sweeping aside the opposition as she took home with her 5 gold medals for an almost faultless performance!  With 1st place on Vault (12.60), 1st on Bars (13.75), 1st On Beam (14.50), and 1st on Floor (14.45), the overall title was inevitable and she was awarded 1st place overall with a huge 55.30 total score. The Pre-Novice Over 12 event saw Emma Hayden finish in 2nd place overall (48.00), closely followed by Megan O’Shea in 3rd place (47.85).  Emma’s 2nd place was aided by bronze medal winning performances on Vault (11.35), Beam (12.30), and Floor (13.10).  Megan’s 3rd place was given a boost by taking home the bars title where she finished in 1st place (12.35), and narrowly missed out on medals on Beam and Floor. 2nd and 3rd places overall were also taken in the Novice Over 12 section of the weekends events where Gabrielle Southern took 2nd place (52.75), and Sophie Lomax took 3rd (52.60).  Zoe Blackstone returned to competition for the 1st time in over 12 months and took 5th place overall with a combined apparatus score of 50.05 marks.  Sophie had 2 amazing performances on Vault (12.55) and Floor (14.40) where she took the gold medal on both events finishing in a well earned 1st place. Gabrielle was awarded with 2nd place on Beam (14.25), and 3rd place on Floor (13.95). Elyse Murray was entered into the Level 4 Senior event where, following her recent result from the Alpha Factor, she once again had a clean competition and earned 2nd place on Beam (12.20), 2nd place on Floor (12.25), which warranted her 2nd place overall (47.65). The weekend was rounded off in fine style as Fiona Payton and Eleanor Briggs took charge of the Novice Under 11 Events.  Fiona was crowned the Greater Manchester Novice Under 11 Champion with the highest overall score of the whole weekends competition following a supreme show as she finished in 1st place (55.55).  Eleanor performed brilliantly to take 2nd place overall with a final total score of 52.60 marks.  Fiona took all but 1 of the gold medals on offer as she finished 2nd Vault (12.20), 1st Bars (14.00), 1st Beam (14.75), and 1st Floor (14.60) which without doubt gave her the overall title.  Eleanor also gathered a full set of medals from all apparatus as she secured 3rd place on Vault (11.95), 2nd on Bars (13.25), 3rd on Beam (12.50), and 2nd on Floor (14.40). The Greater Manchester Floor and Vault Championships were once again held at the Copley Recreation Centre, Stalybridge, and 36 gymnasts from Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics club did not disappoint as they contested many levels of competition over the days events. Niamh Gillan got the event off to a cracking start when she was crowned the Greater Manchester Intermediate Under 12 Champion taking the competition by storm as she finished 1st on Floor (13.80), 1st on Vault (11.70), which undoubtedly gave her the overall title with a combined score of 25.50.  Hot on her heels was Sian Hall who finished in 2nd place Overall with a total score of 25.35 marks, benefited by 3rd place on Floor (13.70), and 2nd place on Vault (11.65). Sophie Fenton had her best competition to date in the Novice Over 12 event, where she produced performances to earn her 2 medals with 2nd place on Floor (13.25), and 3rd place Overall (24.25). Although too young to be awarded medals Pre-Novice Under 6 gymnasts earned would be podium positions as Hollie Griffin gained 2nd place on Floor (12.95), 2nd on Vault (10.70), and 2nd Overall (23.65), and Sadie Murray gained 3rd on Floor (12.90), 2nd on Vault (10.70), and 3rd place Overall (23.60).  For their performances the girls took home some awards where Sadie was merited with the Most Artistic Floor Routine, and Hollie took home awards for Best Dance Elements on Floor and The Most Dynamic Vault. Aimee Hussey triumphed in the Novice Under 12 event with a total score of 24.80 to be crowned the Greater Manchester Novice Under 12 Champion.  A 3rd place on Floor (13.40), and 1st place on Vault (11.40) facilitated this victory.  Sarah Buckley earned 2nd place Overall (24.75), also receiving 2nd place on Floor (13.60), and 3rd place on Vault (11.15).  Jessica Hogan took the floor title in 1st place (13.65). The NovIce Under 10 section of the day saw Charlotte Lomax take 3rd place Overall (24.65), benefited by taking the floor title in 1st place with a 13.75 score.  Kerris Scrivner was awarded with 2nd place on Vault (11.35). Charlotte Loftus won the Vault title in 1st place (11.35) in the Novice Under 9 section, eventually finishing 4th Overall (24.10), as did Isabelle Middleton in the Pre-Novice Under 9 section with a score of 24.10 marks. Again too young to be awarded medals the Pre-Novice Under 7 gymnasts had a great competition.  Lucy Byrne gained 2nd place on Vault (11.10), and Poppy Smyth earned 2nd place on Floor (13.50), and Overall (24.40).  Poppy returned home with 2 of the awards on offer in her possession as she was presented with honours for Best Dance Elements on Floor and The Most  Dynamic Vault. Bethany Fisher rounded off another great day for ROGC as she was crowned the Greater Manchester Pre-Novice Over 12 Champion finishing in 1st place (24.25).  A fabulous floor routine earned the gold medal with a score of 13.10, and Bethany also earned 2nd place on Vault (11.15). Other Rochdale OGC competitors were Sarah Bolton, Lily Bolton-Riley, Khloe Richardson, Katy Sanderton, Robin Casey, Rebecca Hilton, Natalia Mills, Sarah Walmsley, Sian Ashworth, Lauren Brierley, Emily Carter, Georgia Howarth, Danielle Southern, Chloe Thompson, Sophie Weight, Nadia Edwards, Megan Lang, Holly Thomas, Caitlan Dolan, Georgina Gough, Sophie Hall.

	SEPTEMBER THE NORTH WEST TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS... A HUGELY SUCCESSFUL WEEKEND FOR ROGC !! WE WENT, WE CHALLENGED AND WE CONQUERED. JUST 2 TEAMS ENTERED 1 IN THE PRE-NOVICE, AND 1 IN THE NOVICE AND BOTH TEAMS WON !! Birchwood Leisure Complex was once again the setting for the North West Team Championships.  Rochdale OGC’s Pre-Novice Team of Grace Pauline, Sian Hall, Philee Ang-Chen, Leah Regan, Sarah Buckley, Emma Hayden and Sophie Wells got the weekend off to a cracking start and at the end of their competition were crowned the North West Gymnastics Association Pre-Novice Team Champions being credited with a total team score of 150.046 marks (2.8 marks ahead of their nearest rivals. The team amassed apparatus scores of 33,732 for Vault (2nd), 38.559 for Bars (1st), 37.965 for Beam (3rd), and 39.75 for Floor (1st) which led them all the way to their championship title in fine style. From all the gymnasts in the event that competed all four pieces of apparatus Philee Ang-Chen was the top scorer with 51.549 marks, the only gymnast over 50 marks in the event. Philee was also 1st on Bars (13.033), closely followed by Leah Regan in 2nd (12.933).  Philee also took top spot on Beam (13.866) for a superb clean performance to get the team back on track before they moved to floor where Philee again took 1st position (13.35). with Sarah Buckley just behind in 2nd (13.30). And not to be outdone the following day was just as much a huge success as Kirsty Armitage, Mercedes Miladinovic, Fiona Payton, Molly Simpson,Sophie Lomax and Ruby Hume battled their way through their routines, and were well rewarded for their team effort as they were crowned the North West Gymnastics Association Novice Team Champions with a final team score of 160.191 marks, a massive 3.5 marks ahead of the 2nd placed team. The team amassed apparatus scores of 36.766 for Vault (1st), 39.799 for Bars (1st), 40.660 for Beam (2nd), and 42.966 for Floor (1st) which assured them of the title at the end of a well fought competition. Fiona Payton was the top scorer individually with a massive 54.265 marks for an excellent all round competition. Sophie Lomax took top spot on Vault with 12.433, followed by Molly Simpson in 2nd (12.30).  On Bars Molly took 1st place (13.533), with Fiona in 2nd place (13.366).  Similar to Philee, Fiona Payton took top spot on beam with 14.60 marks for a super routine to get the team back on track just before they performed some outstanding floor routines, where the girls took the top 3 positions with Mercedes 1st (14.40), Kirsty 2nd (14.30), and Fiona 3rd (14.266). All the girls trained extremely well for this event and were deserved winners of their titles with some outstanding team and individual performances.

	SEPTEMBER THE ALPHA FACTOR UK INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS... A FANTASTIC 5TH PLACE FOR ELYSE.. Just 3 gymnasts from Rochdale OGC travelled to Melksham, Wiltshire to compete in the prestigious annual Alpha Factor UK Invitational Competition, 2009. Elyse Murray, Mary Elcock and Hannah Casey all contested the Level 4 Over 12 section of the event with some unexpected pleasing results from Elyse and Mary. With clubs from the top to the bottom of the country competing Elyse had a clean competition to finish a very creditable 5th place overall with a total score of 44.65 marks.  Mary also had a clean competition across all four pieces of apparatus and was also awarded with a top 10 position as she eventually earned 10th place individually with a combined apparatus score of 43.75.  Hannah finished in 20th position with 40.05 marks. Elyse’s 5th place overall was aided by 5th spot on Vault (11.55), 4th on Beam (11.05), and 4th place on floor (11.80).  Similarly Mary’s 10th place was rewarded well as she earned 3rd place on Vault (11.85), and 5th place on floor (11.70).

	SEPTEMBER LYNN QUALIFIES AS A WOMEN'S ARTISTIC LEVEL 2 COACH AS SHE SAILS THROUGH HER EXAM.... After a long wait Lynn Hume travelled to Robyn Park, the home of Wigan Gymnastics Club, on Sunday 6th September, to finally embark on her Women's Artistic Level 2 Coaching Examination. Gymnasts Fiona Payton, Mercedes Miladinovic and Philee Ang-Chen accompanied Lynn to her examination to help with the practical side of the examination. At the end of a long day, and following both practical and theory tests, Lynn did us proud and passed with flying colours!  And the girls were brilliant - thank you to you all. WELL DONE LYNN - Level 3 next he he !!!!!!

	SEPTEMBER WOMEN'S ARTISTIC JUDGING EXAMINATION 3 MORE PASSES AT REGIONAL LEVEL AND 2 MORE PASSES AT CLUB LEVEL Sunday 13th September was D Day for our remaining judges, following the Women's Artistic Judging Course. Rochdale OGC now boasts another 3 newly qualified Regional Judges with Caroline Casey, David Elcock and Shelley Birchenough all successfully tackling the exam.  Well done to all. Alongside the Regional candidates 2 further candidates passed as Club Judges with Graham Latimer and Sabrina Birchenough..  Well done to you both. Rochdale OGC must have the most qualified judges on the new cycle than any other club in the country !!!  We now boast 1 National Judge, 7 Regional Judges and 9 Club Judges.  That's some going for a club as small as ours !!!  Well done to everybody.

	JULY WOMEN'S ARTISTIC JUDGING EXAMINATION 4 PASSES AT REGIONAL LEVEL 7 PASSES (3 WITH DISTINCTION) AT CLUB LEVEL Saturday 28th July was D Day following the Women's Artistic Judging Course and a 100% pass rate was the result at the end of the day. Rochdale OGC now boasts 4 newly qualified Regional Judges with Cheryl Gharbi, Rachel Hall, Lynn Hume and Brenda Hilton all successfully tackling the exam.  Well done to all. Alongside the Regional candidates 7 candidates took the Club Judging Examination and every single one of them passed with flying colours, 3 of them with Distinction.  Robyn Hume, Jemma Hayes, Victoria Abbott, and Stewart Smith all gained very creditable pass marks, whilst Nicola Bridge, Robyn Carter and Jade Scrivner all earned themselves Distinctions.  Well done to all. And now to get out there and put what we know into practice....... We have 4 more Regionals and 1 more Club judge to take their examinations in September due to holidays and we wish them all the best of luck.

	JULY THE UNIVERSAL INVITATIONAL FLOOR & VAULT CHAMPIONSHIPS 48 MEDALS 4 OVERALL INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS AND MANY MORE AWARDS 66 gymnasts from Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Club were invited to compete in the first ever Universal Gymnastics Club Invitational Floor and Vault Championships held at Siddal Moor Sports College in Heywood.  The girls had trained hard for this competition for weeks with the hope of winning some medals on the day and they weren’t to be disappointed. With just over 300 competitors over a 2 day event with participants from all over the North West the Rochdale OGC gymnasts had yet another successful outing returning back to base with 48 medals, 4 Overall Individual Champions and numerous other awards to boost the tally. The Level 3 gymnasts got the weekend off to a cracking start when Bethany Fisher was crowned the overall individual champion in the 11 & Over age group.  Bethany finished 1st overall with a combined score of 24.15 marks, followed by Harley Brierley 4th (23.50), Georgina Gough 6th (23.00), Danielle Dignan 8th (22.65), Sophie Hall 10th (22.40), Rose Connor 11th (22.35), Claire Dignan 12th (22.25), Charlotte Ferguson 15th (21.80), Zairah Buksh 16th (20.45), and Lauren Bull 17th (19.80).  Bethany collected another gold medal for per performance on the floor finishing in 1st (12.85), and Harley was awarded with 3rd place on Vault (11.40). Although the Level 3 Under 6 gymnasts were not eligible to take away medals from the event due to their age they took all the positions on offer.  The overall standings were Grace Elcock 1st (23.55), Hollie Griffin 2nd (23.35), Sadie Murray 2nd (23.35), Lucy Byrne 2nd (23.35), Poppy Smyth 3rd (23.15), Holly Thomas 4th (23.00), Megan Lang 5th (22.45), Robyn Casey 6th (12.15), Ellie Stokes 8th (21.45), and Nadia Edwards 11th (21.30).  On Floor Grace and Robyn both shared top spot in 1st (12.15), Lucy and Poppy sharing 2nd (11.85), and Sadie 3rd (11.75).  Hollie took top spot on Vault in 1st (11.70), Sadie and Megan shared 2nd (11.60), and Lucy in 3rd (11.50).  Numerous awards were given to the girls instead of medals and Hollie Griffin took two awards for Best Straddle Over Vault and Most Artistic Floor Routine, Grace Elcock took the Best Handspring Award and Lucy Byrne took the Overall Star Award. The Level 3 girls aged 7 and 8 had a tough section to compete in and Isabella Middleton just missed out on an overall medal position finishing in 4th (23.25), followed by Sarah Bolton and Katy Sanderson 12th (22.15), Bethany Edmindson 13th (22.05), Khloe Richardson 15th (21.15), Kiera Ashworth 16th (21.00), and Lily Bolton-Riley 17th (20.65).  Isabella took a medal on Floor where she finished in 2nd place (12.40). Caitlan Dolan 8th (21.70), and Bethany Walmsley 9th (21.60) contested the Level 3 age 9 and 10 event and both competed well. The 9 & Under Level 4 girls earned numerous podium positions In a hard-fought competition where Charlotte Lomax finished 2nd Overall (25.15), followed by Charlotte Loftus 3rd (24.95), Emily Carter 4th (24.80), Chloe Meade 5th (23.95), Kaia Yeomans 6th (23.90), Claire Brown 7th (23.85), Laura Brown 8th (23.45), Lauren Brierley 9th (23.25), Abigail Templin 10th (23.15), Sophie Weight 11th (23.05), Ellie Bradley 11th (23.05), Georgia Howarth 12th (22.25).   Both Charlotte’s shared 2nd place on Floor (13.35), with Emily in 3rd (13.30).  Charlotte Lomax won the vault contest finishing in 1st (11.80), Charlotte Loftus 2nd (11.60), and Emily Carter 3rd (11.50). The Level 4 age 10 & 11 contest saw Natalia Mills finish in 4th place overall (23.65), followed by Jessica Hogan 7th (23.00), Sarah Walmsley 10th (22.25), and Chloe Fleming 11th (20.90).  Jessica performed a new floor routine and earned 3rd place (12.40), and Natalia vaulted her way to the silver medal in 2nd place (11.45).  Sophie Fenton finished 7th overall in the 12 & Over Level 4 Event. The girls competing in the Level 5 contest had an incredible day out and came out the victors in both age groups.  The 10 & Under girls took a clean sweep of all the medals with Kirsty Armitage eventually being crowned the victor finishing in 1st place overall with a score of 26.40, closely followed by Mercedes Miladinovic and Eleanor Briggs =2nd (26.10), Sian Hall 3rd (25.55), Fiona Payton 4th (25.50), Ruby Hume 5th (24.85), Grace Pauline 6th (24.70), Kerris Scrivner 7th (22.90). On floor Kirsty again stormed to 1st place (14.80), the judges could not separate Mercedes and Eleanor who both collected silver medals in 2nd place (14.50), with Sian Hall in 3rd for the bronze medal position (14.10).  The girls had a battle royale on the vault in an attempt to get those top positions and 3 of them shared the gold medal position with Kirsty Armitage, Mercedes Miladinovic and Eleanor Briggs all scoring 11.60 for 1st place.  Fiona Payton was close behind in 2nd place (11.50), and Sian took another bronze medal for 3rd place (11.45).  Kirsty was also presented with an award for the Most Artistic Floor Routine. The Level 5 11 & Over girls also had a fantastic outing where, after some great routines, Molly Simpson held the trophy aloft as she took the overall individual title finishing in 1st place (26.25), followed by Sophie Lomax in 3rd (25.80), Niamh Gillan 6th (24.90), Sarah Buckley 7th (24.75), Philee Ang-Chen 8th (24.60), Emily Slide and Sophie Wells 10th (24.25), and Emma Hayden 12th (23.80).  Molly’s top spot overall was aided by top spot on both pieces of apparatus where she finished in 1st place on floor for a tremendous routine (14.60), and 1st place on Vault (11.65).  Sophie earned 3rd place on Floor (14.40), and 2nd place on Vault (11.40) and was presented with the award for the Most Artistic Floor Routine.  Emma earned 3rd place on Vault (11.30).

	JUNE BRITISH GYMNASTICS SAFEGUARDING & PROTECTING CHILDREN AWARENESS COURSE On Wednesday 24th June, 2009 squad training was cancelled and Mike Lockett attended at Rochdale OGC to put forward the British Gymnastics Safeguarding and Protecting Children Awareness Course to another 20 members of the club's team. The course was very informative and put across well and all the participatnts found if very worthwhile and took part in many discussions throughout the evening. Amongst the participants were coaches, judges, and committee member both from the General Committee and Springboard.  Attendees were Tina Miladinovic, Ashleigh Farrell, Jade Scrivner, Michelle Lang, Hayley Newman, Zoe Carter, Julie Carter, Caroline Casey, Hannah Casey, Kath Hayden, Victoria Abbott, Elyse Murray, Robyn Hume, Lynn Hume, Brendon Murray, Philomena Ang-Chen, Nicola Bridge, Julia Block, David Elcock, and Jemma Hayes. Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics club now has every coach and judge trained up in this essential area as well as a great number of the Committee Members, particularly the members of Springboard who deal with all the children at the many social events that are organised within the club. Thanks for everyone for attending, and thank you to Mike Lockett yet again for putting on a great course.

	JUNE THE GREATER MANCHESTER OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS  2 OVERALL INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS FROM JUST 12 ENTRANTS, AND ONE 2ND AND TWO 3RD PLACINGS...... Just 12 gymnasts from Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Club contested the Greater Manchester Open Championships held at Birchwood Leisure Complex Warrington, and from the 12 gymnasts entered the club now boasts 2 Greater Manchester Open Champions in Mercedes Miladinovic and Fiona Payton.  The girls performed beyond the clubs expectations and top 3 placings were also earned by Georgia Hall, Kirsty Armitage, and Gabrielle Southern.   The Level 3 &  4 Senior gymnasts started the competition in fine style where Georgia Hall and Sabrina Birchenough contested the Level 3 Senior section for the first time.  Georgia was credited with a well deserved 3rd place overall (47.316), followed by Sabrina in 5th (44.983).  Georgia's 3rd placing overall was aided by 2nd place on Bars (12.066), and a fantastic 2nd placing on floor (12.35).  Sabrina finished just behind Georgia on Bars for 3rd place (11.533). Against some stiff opposition Elyse Murray earned a very creditable 6th position overall (46.60), in the Level 4 Senior Event, followed by Mary Elcock in 14th (44.90), and Hannah Casey 20th (43.00).  Mary earned a great score of 12.30 on floor which gave her 2nd placing and the silver medal. Both Kirsty Armitage and Mercedes Miladinovic contested at Novice Level for the first time and each had a cracking competition. Kirsty was entered into the Under 9 Novice section of the competition and following a very confident performance earned a brilliant 3rd place overall (53.033).  This overall score was aided by 3rd place on Bars (13.533), and a secure 1st place on floor (14.35) for an outstanding performance. Mercedes contested the Under 10 Novice Event and stormed to victory as she was crowned the Greater Manchester Open Champion with a total combined score of 54.00 marks.  In her 1st event at this level Mercedes had a clean competition across all 4 pieces of apparatus to earn 1st place on Vault (12.15). 2nd place on Bars (13.40), 1st place on Beam (14.75), and 2nd place on Floor (13.70).  The first day of competition was rounded off when Fiona Payton walked away the clear winner of the Novice Under 11 category as she beat all her rivals by over a mark, earning the highest combined score of the whole days event, to be crowned the Greater Manchester Open Champion with a superb total tally of 55.10 marks. A faultless performance gave Fiona 3 more gold medals along the way as she finished 1st on Vault (12.00), 1st on Beam (14.75), and 1st on Floor (14.45).  She also earned 2nd place for her performance on the Bars (13.90). The second days proceedings commenced with Gabrielle Southern earning a well deserved 2nd placing overall in the Novice Over 12 event (50.35), followed by Danielle Parkinson 5th (48.916), and  Sophie Lomax making her debut at Novice level in 6th (48.80).  All three girls earned medals on the apparatus.  Gabrielle was awarded with 3rd on Vault (11.10), 2nd on Floor (13.55), and was crowned by Bars Champion in 1st place (13.70).  Danielle finished 2nd on Vault (11.15), 2nd on Bars (13.50), and 3rd on Beam (12.366).  Sophie was crowned the Floor champion finishing in 1st for top spot on the podium (13.95). Molly Simpson made her debut performance at Novice Level as she tackled the Under 12 section of the competition.  Earning the highest mark of the whole round on Floor Molly was crowned the Floor Champion in 1st place with an incredible 14.1 score which aided her to 4th place overall with a combined score of 51.45 marks.

	MAY THE NORTH WEST GYMNASTICS ASSOCIATION FLOOR & VAULT CHAMPIONSHIPS SOME 1ST TIME COMPETITORS, SOME 1ST TIME MEDALLISTS 45 MEDALS & 5 NORTH WEST INDIVIDUAL OVERALL CHAMPIONS 51 gymnasts from Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Club travelled to Birchwood Leisure Complex Warrington to contest the annual North West Gymnastics Association Floor and Vault Championships.   At the end of the 2 day event Rochdale OGC now boast 5 North West Floor & Vault Individual Overall Champions with Bethan Brady, Harley Brierley, Melissa Collins, Niamh Gillan and Philee Ang-Chen all winning their respective levels of competition. Day 1 saw Sarah Walmsley 5th (23.50), Natalia Mills 6th (23.40), and Chloe Fleming 7th (22.75) contest the Novice Aged 10 event.  Sarah collected the bronze medal for a 3rd placing on Vault (11.20). In the Novice Aged 9 Event Emily Carter won her first ever competition medal when she triumphed on the floor winning the gold medal for 1st place (13.50). Charlotte Lomax took 1st place on the Vault (11.55).  Individually in this event Charlotte Lomax finished 5th (24.15), Emily Carter 6th (24.05), Chloe Thompson 8th (23.40), Ellie Bradley 9th (23.30), and Sophie Weight 11th (22.65). Bethan Brady triumphed in the Novice Over 12 event finishing in 1st place overall with a combined score over the 2 pieces of apparatus of 24.90 marks.  This victory was aided by 3rd place on Floor (13.30), and 2nd place on Vault (11.60). Four first time competitors competed in the Pre-Novice Over 12 event which resulted in Harley Brierley being crowned the overall individual champion finishing in 1st place overall (24.45), followed by Sophie Hall in 6th (23.80), Zairah Buksh 8th (23.00), Charlotte Ferguson 9th (22.00).  On the Vault Harley took 2nd place (11.60), closely followed by Sophie in 3rd (11.50). The start of Day 2 saw the youngest competitors in action with all gymnasts in the Under 8 Novice and Pre-Novice.  Although not eligible for medals in this regional event because of their age the girls earned some fantastic placings, and picked up quite a number of awards that were on offer. Charlotte Loftus competed in the Novice Aged 7 section and earned 2nd on Floor (13.45), 2nd on Vault (11.40), and 2nd Overall (24.85), and picked up 2 awards for Most Artistic Floor Routine and Best Straddle Over Vault. Sadie Murray 2nd (23.50), Hollie Griffin 3rd (22.80), Robin Casey 4th (22.05), and Ellie Stokes 5th (21.45), had a great competition in the Pre-Novice Age 5 event.  Sadie earned 1st place on Vault (11.30), and 2nd place on Floor (12.20), whilst Hollie earned 2nd place on Vault (11.00), and 3rd place on Floor (11.80).  The girls were amongst the awards on both pieces of apparatus where Sadie took the Most Artistic Floor Routine and the Least Deductions on Vault, Hollie took Best Dance Elements on Floor and Best Straddle Over on Vault and Robin Casey took the Best Squat on Vault award. Sarah Bolton had a great event in the Pre-Novice Age 7 section where she earned 2nd place (23.30) followed by Khloe Richardson 4th (22.85), Elizabeth Somerville 5th (21.75), Katy Sanderson 6th (21.50), Kiera Ashworth 6th (21.50), and Lily Bolton-Riley 7th (19.30).  Sarah earned 3rd place on Floor (12.20), and 2nd place on Vault (11.10).  Khloe captured 3rd place on Vault (11.05).  Sarah picked up 3 of the awards on offer taking the Most Artistic Floor Routine, the Least Deductions on Floor and the Best Straddle Over Vault.  Katy took the Best Dance Elements on Floor, Kiera earned Best Straddle on Vault, and Khloe was awarded the Most Dynamic Vault. In the Pre-Novice Age 6 age group Grace Elcock earned 2nd place (24.05), Lucy Byrne 6th (23.25), Poppy Smyth 7th (23.20), Megan Lang 9th (21.50), Holly Thomas 10th (21.35), and Nadia Edwards 11th (19.45).  Grace took 2nd place on Vault (11.30), and was presented with the award for the best Straddle Over Vault. The Novice Aged 8 event saw Laura Brown finish in 3rd place overall (24.55), followed by Claire Brown 7th (23.95), Kerris Scrivner 8th (23.75), Sian Ashworth 11th (23.10), Danielle Southern 13th (22.75), and Abigail Templin 15th (22.45).  Isabella Middleton 11th (23.05), and Bethany Edmundson 15th (22.05), competed well in the Pre-Novice Aged 8 event. The Intermediate Girls had a cracking weekend.  Emma Hayden competed in a very tough Over 12 section where she took 3rd place on Floor (13.65), 2nd place on Vault (11.45), earning her 2nd place overall (25.10). Niamh Gillan was deservedly crowned the overall champion in the Aged 11 event where she took the individual overall title in 1st place with a score of 25.10, also taking 1st place on Vault (11.60), and 2nd place on Floor (13.50).  Melissa Collins took the overall individual title in the  Under 11 section with a score of 26.15, with Sian Hall in well earned 2nd place (25.80), and Grace Pauline 6th (24.80).  Melissa also took the title on both pieces of apparatus finishing 1st on Floor (14.40), and 1st on Vault (11.75).  Sian deservedly took 2nd place on Floor (14.25), and 3rd place on Vault (11.55). Bethany Walmsley 15th (22.55), and Caitlan Dolan 16th (22.00) contest the Pre-Novice Age 9 event and both competed well, as did Lauren Bull who finished 9th (20.30) in the Pre Novice Aged 11 contest. A fantastic weekend was rounded with Philee Ang-Chen back on form taking the Novice Aged 11 event and winning the individual overall title in 1st place (25.95), closely followed by team mates Leah Regan in 2nd (25.70), Sarah Buckley 4th (25.15), and Sophie Wells 5th (24.75).  These girls made a clean sweep of the floor medals for some outstanding performances where Philee took the gold medal in 1st (14.10), Sarah the silver in 2nd (14.05), and Leah and Sophie shared the bronze in 3rd (13.90).  On Vault Philee took 2nd place (11.85), and Leah 3rd (11.80). Rochdale OGC emerged the most successful club at the event and the girls will now be hard at work for their next event in July where they will be competing at Univeral Gymnastics Club at Siddal Moor High School, Heywood where we wish them all the best of luck.

	APRIL THE PHIL TIGHE FLOOR & VAULT CHAMPIONSHIPS SOME 1ST TIME COMPETITORS AND 2 OVERALL INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS In a competition that attracted almost 500 competitors, 43 of the young gymnasts from Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Club travelled to Copley Recreation Centre in Stalybridge to compete in the annual Phil Tighe Floor and Vault Championships. Sadie Murray, Holly Thomas, Elizabeth Somerville, Poppy Smyth, Isabella Middleton, Kiera Ashworth, Bethany Walmsley, Bethany Edmundson, Georgia Kinder, Claire Dignan, Danielle Dignan were among many first time competitors who gained some extremely valuable experience for future events. In the Competition 2 Level Grace Elcock earned a fantastic silver medal on Floor in the Under 7  Section with a score of 12.45 which aided her to 5th place overall (23.35), closely followed by Sarah Bolton in 6th (23.20), and Lucy Byrne in 10th (22.90).  In the Under 9 Section first timer Isabella Middleton was the top scorer eventually finishing in 12th position overall (22.75).  Twins Claire and Danielle Dignan took the Under 12 section by storm. Danielle was crowned the overall champion winning in fine style with a score of 23.80 for the gold medal closely followed by Claire in 2nd place (23.10).  Danielle also earned 1st position for a super vault (11.30), and the judges couldn’t separate them on floor as both girls finished joint 1st (12.50). In the Over 13 section Rose Connor had a great event taking the silver medal on vault for 2nd position (11.00), and 3rd place overall (23.25). Competition 1 saw the more experienced girls in action and they did not disappoint. Charlotte Loftus finished in 5th place overall in the Under 7 event with a score of 23.70.  In the Under 9 section Mercedes Miladinovic earned 3rd place overall (24.50), followed by Charlotte Lomax 6th (24.30), and Kirsty Armitage 9th (24.15).  Mercedes was also awarded with 2nd place on Vault (11.80), and Kirsty 2nd place on Floor (13.00). The ROGC competitors in the Under 11 event almost swept the board of all the medals as every gymnast performed superbly.  Melissa Collins was crowned the overall individual champion with a combined score of (24.90), followed by Leah Regan 3rd (24.60), Grace Pauline and Niamh Gillan 4th (24.40), Philee Ang-Chen 5th (24.25), and Sian Hall 8th (23.95). Mellisa’s 1st place overall was helped by 1st place on Vault (11.85), and 2nd place on Floor (13.05).  Grace and Philee shared the bronze medal position on Floor both earning scores of 12.95, Leah Regan took 2nd place on Vault (11.75), with Niamh in 3rd place (11.65).  The Under 12 competition saw Megan O’Shea narrowly miss out on an overall position finishing in 4th place overall (24.60), with Eleysha Jackson in 5th (24.45).  Megan earned a bronze medal for per performance on the floor (12.70). A tough filed in the Over 13 event saw the ROGC girls have to work hard for their achievements, resulting in Emma Hayden finishing in 3rd place overall (24.45), Sophie Fenton 6th (23.75), and Bethan Brady 8th (23.50).  Emma was credited with another 3rd place medal for her vault (11.60). Other Competitors were:- Ellie Stokes, Lily Bolton-Riley, Katy Sanderson,  Caitlan Dolan, Kerris Scrivner, Claire Brown, Laura Brown, Kiai Yeomans, Sian Ashworth,  Hannah Riley, Aimee Hussey, Sarah Buckley, Lucy Vernon

	APRIL THE BRITISH NATIONAL CLUB GRADES FINALS A FIRST APPEARANCE IN A NATIONAL FINAL   Last month Fiona Payton qualified for her first ever National Final by triumphing in the North West National Club Grades finals.  She finished 1st there and became the North West Champion for National Grade 8 and went on to represent the North West Region in the British National Club Grades Finals this month which took place at the Cocks Moors Woods Leisure Centre in Birmingham   This can be a daunting experience for anyone to handle but Fiona did extremely well up against some of the toughest competition she has yet seen.   A great start on floor saw Fiona earn a score of 11.70, followed by a great vault score of 11.95, a bars score of 11.80 and a score of 11 dead for a bit of a shaky beam routine.  However, Fiona went round the competition and had a clean performance and eventually, with a combined score of 46.45, finished in 25th place overall, and helped the North West Team to 7th place with all four of her scores counting towards the team total.   WELL DONE FIONA.

	APRIL STOCKPORT EASTER 4 PIECE APPARATUS CHAMPIONSHIPS 75 MEDALS, 38 GOLD, 21 SILVER, 16 BRONZE 7 INDIVIDUAL OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES AND THE TEAM TROPHY FOR THE 8TH YEAR RUNNING 27 gymnasts from Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Club were entered into the annual Invitational Stockport Easter Championships.  A tremendous days competition was had by the girls who returned home with a whopping 75 medals, 38 gold, 21 silver, 16 bronze, 7 individual overall championship titles and the team trophy for the 8th year running. The club had gymnasts in 8 different events throughout the day and emerged winners in 7 of them with Sophie Lomax, Elyse Murray, Sabrina Birchenough, Eleanor Briggs, Danielle Parkinson, Molly Simpson and Mercedes Miladinovic all returning home with trophies to add to their collections, as they triumphed as overall champions in their respective levels of competition. The day got off to a great start in Round 1 when Sophie Lomax became the Pre-Novice Over 12 Champion with a score of 49.65 for 1st place overall, closely followed by Eleysha Jackson 3rd (47.75), Emma Hayden 4th (47.40), Megan O’Shea 5th (46.90), and Bethan Brady 7th (46.20).  Sophie’s 1st placing overall was aided by individual performances  of 1st on Bars (13.45), 1st Beam (13.20), and 3rd on Floor (12.75).  Megan and Eleysha shared the gold medal on floor both with scores of 12.90.  Eleysha earned 2 bronze medals for her performances on Vault (10.85), and Bars (13.05).  Emma earned 2nd place on Beam (11.55). The Level 4 contest saw Elyse Murray emerge as the champion with a total score of 49.50 aided by 3 more 1st placings on Vault (11.95), Beam (13.00), and Floor (12.05).  Hannah Casey finished close behind Elyse in 2nd place overall with a total score of 48.40, earning 1st place on Bars (14.40), and 2nd on Beam (11.30).  Emma Holmes was credited with 2nd place on Vault (11.65), which helped her to an overall position of 7th (42.55). Melissa Collins had a marvellous competition in the Pre-Novice Under 11 event where she finished 3rd overall with a score of 48.55, aided by 1st on Vault (11.25), 1st on Bars (13.50), and 3rd on Floor (12.80).  Sian Hall finished 3rd on Vault (11.15) and finished a well merited 5th place overall (48.00).   Round 2 saw 2 more individual champions, the first being Sabrina Birchenough who emerged the victor in the Level 3 contest.  With a combined apparatus score of 47.45 Sabrina took the title ahead of Georgia Hall in 2nd place with 46.60 marks.  Both girls earned placings on all apparatus with Georgia 1st on Vault (12.00), 1st on Bars (13.05), 1st on Beam (12.20), and 3rd on Floor (9.35), and Sabrina attaining 3rd on Vault (11.35), 1st on Bars (13.05), 2nd on Beam (11.65), and 1st on Floor (11.40). The Novice Under 11 brought a magnificant victory for Eleanor Briggs as she stormed to 1st place overall (54.15) alongside Fiona Payton who finished in 2nd place (52.45).  Eleanor finished the competition with a fantastic beam routine for 1st place (14.40), and also earned 1st on Floor (14.50), 3rd on Vault (11.60), and 2nd on Bars (13.65).  Fiona was credited with 1st on Vault (12.00), 1st on Bars (13.75), 3rd on Beam (12.25), and 2nd on Floor (14.45). The final Round of the day saw 3 events taking place with ROGC gymnasts taking the titles in all 3.  Danielle Parkinson rose to the challenge in the Novice Over 12 event where she took 1st place (53.25), followed by Gabrielle Southern in 2nd (52.00), Rheann Newsham 3rd (49.55), and Emily Slide in 7th (48.65).  Danielle collected another 3 gold medals as she finished in 1st place on Bars (14.25), Beam (13.40), and Floor (14.25), where she shared the 1st place with Rheann who finished on the same score.  Rheann also earned 2nd on Vault (11.75).  Garielle finished 2nd on Bars (13.65), 2nd on Beam (13.10) and 2nd on Floor (14.00), whilst Emily finished 3rd on Bars (12.95). Ever improving Molly Simpson walked away with the Pre-Novice Under 12 title in 1st place (51.30), with Philee Ang-Chen in 2nd (51.10), Leah Regan in 3rd (49.75), Niamh Gillan 4th (49.15), and Sophie Wells 7th (45.60).  Molly had a clean competition across all 4 pieces of apparatus to finish 1st on Vault (11.55), 2nd Beam (13.10), 1st Floor (13.50), as did Philee who earned 1st on Bars (13.55), 1st on Beam (13.20), and 3rd on Floor (13.30).  Niamh earned 2nd placings on Vault (11.25), and Bars (13.40), and Leah picked up 3rd on Bars (13.25). Mercedes Miladinovic won the Pre-Novice Under 10 event in 1st place (49.95), very closely followed by 1st time four piece apparatus competitor Kerris Scrivner in 2nd place (49.80), Kirsty Armitage in 4th place (49.50), and Grace Pauline in 10th (46.35).  Kerris had an impressive competition to finish 3rd on Bars (12.75), 1st on Beam (13.55), and 2nd on Floor (13.20).  Mercedes took 1st place on Vault (11.35), and Kirsty earned 2nd on Vault (11.25), 1st on Bars (13.20), and 1st on Floor (13.70).   The eventual winners of the team trophy were selected from the highest 6 scorers of 6 of the different events from the days competition.  Eleanor Briggs (54.15), Danielle Parkinson (53.25), Molly Simpson (51.30), Mercedes Miladinovic (49.95), Sophie Lomax (49.65), and Elyse Murray (49.50) amassed a huge score of 307.80 marks and Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Club took home the team trophy for the 8th year running, over 10 marks ahead of their nearest rival.   WELL DONE TO YOU ALL - YOU WERE BRILLIANT !!

	MARCH NORTH WEST GYMNASTICS ASSOCIATION  REGIONAL CLUB GRADES 14-9 & NATIONAL CLUB GRADE 8-5 FINALS 2 NORTH WEST REGIONAL GRADES CHAMPIONS 9 ROGC GYMNASTS HELP GREATER MANCHESTER TO THE COUNTY TITLE ONCE AGAIN   13 of Rochdale Olympic Gymnastics Clubs gymnasts attended Birchwood Leisure Centre, Warrington last weekend, 2 to compete in the National Club Grades Finals, and 11 competing in the Regional Club Grades Finals.  The club now boasts 2 Regional Grades Individual Overall Champions as Fiona Payton and Leah Regan both won their respective grades. The weekend got off to a fantastic start when Fiona Payton and Eleanor Briggs tackled the National Club Grade 8 championships.  Fiona was crowned the overall individual champion finishing in 1st place overall with a combined score of  49.451 marks across 4 pieces of apparatus, and earning a final distinction mark of 60.051 marks.  Eleanor competed admirably alongside Fiona and eventually finished with a well earned pass mark of 53.251 in 18th place overall.  Fiona’s 1st placing overall was aided by solid performances where she earned 2nd place on Vault (12.567), 1st on Bars (12.734), 2nd on Beam (12.25), and 2nd place on Floor (11.90).  She will now represent the North West Region as part of the team for the forthcoming National Finals to be held in Birmingham in April. Day 2 of competition saw the Regional Club Grades finalists in action. A week before the event Claire Brown got a last minute call up to compete as an individual for Rochdale OGC in Club Grade 14 Out of Age.  With a week to prepare Claire went round the competition and eventually finished in 22nd place with a total score of 45.667 marks.  Kirsty Armitage competed for Greater Manchester County as a member of the Grade 13 in Age Team and had a superb individual performance to finish 2nd overall individually with 50.40 marks.  Her scores of 12.80 on Vault (3rd), 12.50 on Bars (3rd), 12.85 on Beam (1st), and 12.25 on Floor (3rd), aided the Greater Manchester Team to 1st place and the Regional Championships.  The team had a total score of 200 marks to take the title. Leah Regan, Philee Ang-Chen and Mercedes Miladinovic made up half of the Greater Manchester County Team in the Grade 13 Out of Age section of the event.  Leah had a fantastic event to take the North West Individual Title finishing in 1st place overall with a total score of 48.352 marks.  Philee followed closely behind finishing in 2nd place overall with 47.834 marks.  Mercedes eventually finished with 47.367 marks for 5th place individually.  On apparatus scores Leah earned 1st on Vault (13.00), 1st on Bars (11.45), and 2nd on Beam (11.80).  Philee was awarded with 2nd on Vault (12.90), 3rd on Beam (11.75), and 1st on Floor (12.734), and Mercedes finished 2nd on Bars (11.25).  These three girls scores helped the Greater Manchester Team to the Regional Championship title as the team finished in 1st place with a total score of 192.652 marks.  In Grade 11 Sophie Lomax earned the right to compete as an individual competitor for Rochdale OGC and had a clean competition across all apparatus to earn 10th spot overall individually with a score of 47.10 marks.  Meanwhile Molly Simpson competed as a member of the Greater Manchester Team that took 1st place overall and the Regional Team title with a total team score of 194.434 marks.  Molly performed a superb bar routine for 3rd place (12.45) which helped her to 12th place overall individually with a total tally of 46.80 marks. In Grade 10 Hannah Casey had a great competition competing as an individual qualifier for the club where she finished a very credible 5th place overall for her performance which earned her a total score of 47.55 marks.  This 5th place was aided by 3rd on Bars (12.90), and a well deserved 1st placing on Beam (12.25).  Emma Holmes competed as a member of the Greater Manchester Team and eventually earned a 15th placing overall with a score of 45.80 marks. The team finished in 2nd place with 191.90 marks.  The Grade 9 girls rounded off the weekends events with Elyse Murray 10th (46.084), Mary Elcock 12th (45.20), and Georgia Hall 18th (44.234).  The girls made up half of the Greater Manchester Team which finished in 2nd place with a total team score of 187.985 marks.  Elyse was deservedly awarded 1st placings on Vault (12.90), and Floor (11.834), and Georgia earned 2nd place on Bars (12.40). The final title of the event to be awarded was the overall winning County Title.  Team scores from all the Grades 14-9 were all added together to determine the winning County, and Greater Manchester, headed by Cheryl Gharbi, Rochdale OGC’s Head Coach, were crowned the winners with a total county score of 1160.762 marks.  Kirsty Armitage, Leah Regan, Philee Ang-Chen, Mercedes Miladinovic, Molly Simpson, Emma Holmes, Georgia Hall, Elyse Murray and Mary Elcock all helped towards winning this title which the County has won for the 6th time in 7 years, an incredible achievement.

	JANUARY NWGA WTC GREATER MANCHESTER REGIONAL GRADES 14-9 FINALS 40 GYMNASTS ENTERED A 100% PASS RATE – 6 WITH DISTINCTION 1 GREATER MANCHESTER OVERALL INDIVIDUAL CHAMPION 11 GYMNASTS QUALIFIED FOR THE NORTH WEST FINALS 9 TO REPRESENT GREATER MANCHESTER AND 2 TO REPRESENT THE CLUB THE SUCCESSFUL ROGC GRADES ENTRANTS Well I went away for the weekend and left Brenda and Abigail in charge of the competition. I was determined not to know any of the results until I returned home but 3 million text messages later and I knew the lot…………and what results they were, and I had a drink on every one of them – and a few more!  The first competition that most of the gymnasts have competed without me being there and they did me proud – must go away more often. My thanks must go to Abi and Brenda who took on a sterling job and all the responsibility of being in charge for the weekend particularly Brenda whom I believe did a fantastic job throughout the whole event.  Also to the gymnasts, all the other coaches that turned up to help out and to our judges Graham Latimer, Rachel Hall, David Elcock, Caroline Casey and Fiona Wright, and I believe a guest appearance from Richard Wright !!  Thanks and well done to you all……………Cheryl x Well here’s how everyone did………… GRADE 14 IN AGE 2 gymnasts in this category and both passed their grade, 1 with distinction.  Courtney Smith earned a distinction mark of 60.401 for 11th place overall and Charlotte Loftus earned a pass mark of 58.118.  Charlotte earned a well deserved 5th place on Bars (12.434), and Courtney finished in a similar position for a well credited score of 11.80 on Beam. GRADE 14 OUT OF AGE 15 gymnasts entered here and all of them passed their grades.  Claire Brown was top scorer finishing in 9th place overall with a distinction mark of 60.818 marks.  The other 14 passed with flying colours earning marks well in excess of the target 50 pass mark.  Laura Brown (56.967), Sian Ashworth (57.967), Kaia Yeomans (59.55), Danielle Southern (58.468), Ellie Bradley (57.918), Chloe Fleming (55.218), Jessica Hogan (58.684), Natalia Mills (57.068), Abigail Templin (58.135), Georgia Howarth (57.419), Lauren Brierley (53.385), Rebecca Hilton (55.618), Sophie Weight (57.868), Sarah Walmsley (56.869).  Claire Brown earned 2nd place on floor (12.15). GRADE 13 IN AGE 2 gymnasts both passed 1 with distinction, and 1 who couldn’t have got closer to the distinction mark if she tried.  Kirsty Armitage was the star of the weekend taking the Greater Manchester Championship finishing in 1st place overall with a distinction mark of 63.30 and will now go on to represent the County in the Regional finals as the County Champion.  This brilliant score was aided by 3rd place on Vault (12.63), 1st on Bars (12.5), 1st on Beam (12.70), and 1st on Floor (12.57).  Kerris Scrivner competed for Rochdale OGC for the 1st time alongside Kirsty and came away with a very creditable 11th place overall with a total score of 59.99 marks just 0.01 of a mark away from a distinction. GRADE 13 OUT OF AGE 7 gymnasts all passed with 3 of them through to represent Greater Manchester in the North West Finals.  An awesome competition saw Leah Regan take 2nd place overall with a distinction mark of 62.70.  Distinction marks were also earned by Mercedes Miladinovic 3rd (62.52) and Philee Ang-Chen 6th (60.55).  These three make up half of the Greater Manchester Team for the finals in a months time.  Respectable pass marks were earned by Charlotte Lomax (55.37), Sarah Buckley (56.73), Sophie Wells (55.72), and Aimee Hussey (57.63).  Individually Mercedes took 1st places on Bars (12.45) and Floor (12.47).  Leah finished 2nd Vault (12.80), 2nd Bars (12.40), 3rd Floor (12.30), 2nd on Range and Conditioning (13.00), and Philee took 3rd Vault (12.77), 3rd Bars (12.15), 2nd Beam (12.50), GRADE 12 6 gymnasts and another 6 passes.  Highest scorer Niamh Gillan earned a great 9th position overall with a pass mark of 47.50.  Pass marks were also earned by Hannah Riley (44.80), Eleysha Jackson (44.75), Grace Pauline (45.10), Sian Hall (44.30), and Melissa Collins (46.80) GRADE 11 3 gymnasts and more success.  Molly Simpson made the Greater Manchester Team for the finals finishing in 5th place overall with a pass mark of 47.65.  Sophie Lomax earned a pass mark of 47.35 to finish in 7th place overall and qualified as an individual to represent the club at the finals.  Gabrielle Southern earned a pass mark of 45.25.  Molly’s place on the Greater Manchester Team was aided by 3rd places on Bars (12.90), and Floor (11.90) GRADE 10 2 gymnasts entered with 1 now to represent Greater Manchester in the finals and 1 qualifying as an individual to represent Rochdale OGC in the finals.  Both earning pass marks Emma Holmes finished in 6th position (46.9) and will go on to represent the county and Hannah Casey in 8th (46.10) will represent Rochdale OGC in the regional finals.  Emma took a superb 2nd place on beam with a fantastic score of 11.80 marks. GRADE 9 3 gymnasts entered and all 3 finished in the top 6 and will represent Greater Manchester in the North West Finals. All earning pass marks, Georgia Hall finished 2nd (47.317), Elyse Murray 5th (46.217) and Mary Elcock 6th (44.75) and now these three will make up half of the Greater Manchester team for the regional finals.  Individually Georgia took 2nd place on Vault (12.35), 1st on Bars (12.767), and 3rd on Beam (10.85), whilst Elyse performed her way to top spot on floor to finish in 1st (12.10). Cheryl Gharbi will once again head the county team into the North West Finals as Grades Squad Manager to the Greater Manchester Teams WELL DONE TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. AND FOR THOSE 11 WHO QUALIFIED FOR THE FINALS   YOU’VE GOT GRADES TO DO FOR ANOTHER MONTH……..HE HE……