We’ve had, not surprisingly given the love of gym in this house, a bit of a Tweddle worship week this week.
On Wednesday we went down to the O2 to watch the qualifying day of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Fran, Amelie and i loved it and Maddy alternated between reading and watching 😆 We got to watch Rebecca Wing, Marissa King and stayed late into the afternoon to watch Beth Tweddle on floor and bars. She came a dreadful cropper on bars which was terribly sad for her (and really had to have hurt!) but i was incredibly moved by the strength of crowd support for her and the other UK gymnasts. Having grown up alongside a good competing gymnast and watching my children working so hard at it, watching these top class gymnasts really impressed me. They still have their off days and brilliant moments and still fall off and fall over and knowing that and seeing it for themselves fired Amelie and Fran with enthusiasm and new confidence in their own abilities. Neither is ever likely to get to a national level really but knowing what can be achieved and what is realistic, is a big thing and gave them both lots to aim for.
The view from the front of Tier 4 was surprisingly good. In fact, we’d probably go back to the same spot again. For £10 a ticket, it was excellent value.
Also loved the O2 – felt safe and spacious and pleasant and the staff were great. Getting from Greenwich to Kings Cross in rush hour was slightly less enjoyable 🙄
Fran got legless in the foyer…
Thursday was music lesson (more and less successful and pleasant depending on who you were!) and some gentle work/Brownies/gym and then on Friday the girls spent the day devising, typing and rehearsing a play. Was very impressed with it. Watched Fran in her pre exam ballet class and gulped a bit at how big she is now. And very graceful 🙂
Saturday was KYT for all of them and then an afternoon watching the gym. Sunday had 3 dancing exams for Fran and Maddy between them (Maddy v pleased to now have finished dancing!) and then a dash back for her to get to Rugby. Then all home and watched the gym again; for the second time in a week we held on long enough to watch Beth Tweddle do her inch perfect (it seemed!) floor routine before dashing out to watch Skye in her Level 6 gym competition. This is the level that Fran is moving into after half term and she was pleased to see that in all honesty she could have competed at that level this week, if she’d had the opportunity to do so. Not many Huntingdon girls there though, so a little worried they’ve all saved themselves for the comp Fran is doing there next weekend :(Which could give Fran a harder comp, which would be a shame. Was thrilled to see Skye do so well (2 medals) and touched to see how close she and Fran have become already. As Fran said, it is so much easier to make friends when you have shared interests and she has some strong friendships at gym now, which pleases me as she has often been a little lonely in HE land apart from islands of compatibility across the country.
Read on my phone during the competition that Tweddle had won gold and whispered it about. Yay for British Gymnasts!
Great to have gymnastic friends.
I hope Fran is able and wants to compete in Level 6: she and Amelie must have been really inspired! And there is such good stuff!
The ballet may very well be helping the gymnastics, and it’s good to be strong and fit as well as graceful.
Fran is absolutely desperate to compete at a higher level. The one this weekend is County Rec which, if she has a good day at, she could really do well in. If she has a bad day, well, Beth Tweddle will have been a ‘pick it up and carry on’ inspiration 😆
I’ve gone from being an entirely recreational mummy about it, to being really keen for them to do well (if they want to, we don’t push Maddy at all as she seems happy to be tootling along and socialising there while keeping fit!) Fran and Amelie talk about gym constantly and i spend my day tripping over people doing the splits! it has been easy to be infected by their enthusiasm.
I dare say ballet has been good for them both in terms of F catching up and A having a head start. In fact, it does feel (please, please no more broken bones!) to all be coming together nicely for them 🙂
Well, there’s hope for good luck and good management this weekend. Wow: the change in you too.
Looked at Wikipedia to see just how inspiring Tweddle was and is. She has a degree in Sports Science for one, and has won several gold medals in the Uneven Bars. That must be her strength.
Let’s also hope for no more broken bones.
Gym talk can indeed be passionate. Everyone seems to be keen on the numbers and sparkles and exercises. And the coaches get a say as well, especially the volunteers.
Also have been doing some reading about King and Wing (great names, and great that Marissa King is a local – which is to say Cambridgeshire/Huntingdon local). And what has been happening in the championship.
Locally, it has been very exciting with so many big names from Huntingdon.
I’ve spent most of the last week saying “nothing on the score sheets matters as much as how much you enjoy the experience!” As they are all currently sat here tutting at the film “Nadia” (borrowed by them from a friend!) i think my “this is not the be all and end all” stance is bearing fruit.
Fran sat reading the programme at the worlds and went on and on about Beth Tweddle’s academic successes and took on board that she said she found it harder to concentrate the year she only did gym. Luckily, i don’t think we’ve got any worlds v work to worry about (!!!!!) but she does know that going to gym is a privilege and will only carry on if she keeps working hard at all the other stuff in her life too. And that seems to help her take everything else more seriously too.