Very recently Gymstars Gymnastics Club of Tarxien played host to athletes from England, Germany, Slovenia, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden. Twelve different clubs, with Gymstars representing Malta, took part in the event.
The competition for Girls’ Artistic Gymnastics reached a certain standard and offered a high level of competition. The winners hailed from different countries,but Malta proudly made the podium again.
The championships were approved by the Malta Gymnastics Federation.
The foreigners were of different level, very strong and dominated in a good number of categories. The competition was amazing.
Gymstars as usual, rose to the challenge and managed to produce some very credible results by their young athletes who continue to show progress. These youngsters, considered as the future representatives for Malta made the podium in various apparatus.
Only five managed to win medals, but others came very close with a 4th and 5th place. The remarkable progress made by these athletes is a huge credit to the determination of the athletes themselves, the dedication of the coaches and the hard work put in by the management.
Athletes from Sapphire, England, who had the biggest contingent, scooped a bagful of medals, being on the podium in almost all categories with Jessica Sullivan, Olivia Reeve, Teal Grindle, Emily Plunkett, Julia Stichbury and Jessica Shae being the most impressive.
Sapphire dominated the medals table with a total of 32.Gymstars, with only ten athletes, managed a credible third with a total of 12. Other foreigners who showed great skills were Ina Oblak of Slovenia, Phaedra Joris from Stuttgart and Hannah Magnusson of Sweden.
In the categories for the young, Mia Vickery of Gymstars was very impressive, gaining a gold medal in vault finishing first in category C (7-9). She also finished second on the uneven bars and also fourth on the beam.
Other Gymstars who made it to the podium were Tara Dalli who finished second on floor in category D (7-9), and also gaining a bronze on the uneven bars and vault, while Shannon Parker managed a third on the uneven bars. Other athletes from Gymstars who did well, although not winning any medals, were Jessica Bugeja, Rebekah Calleja and Corienne Gatt.
The second day of competition was for the finals on each apparatus, having the first six that finished on the first day, competing for the title. Here the winners came from various countries, with Lieke Ros, Chantal Jorna of the Netherlands, Ida Rothe of Sweden, Jessica Barfoot, Hannah Freeman, Niamh Ryan of Sapphire, Sarina Maier, Nadine Schubert of Germany and Rebeka Sarec of Slovenia being the most prominent.
But here again Gymstars managed to make the grade in Category C (10-13). Here Gymstars had Kirsty Caruana finishing in a tie position with Jessica Barfoot of Sapphire for first place on the beam, with Martina Galea in third place. Kirsty Caruana finished also with a bronze medal on floor with Martina gaining another bronze medal on the uneven bars.
These were the medal winners for Gymstars in the finals, but there were others who just missed the podium with a fraction of the points, like Adreana Zammit and Nicole Pace.