King Eddies Quartet Clinch GB Euro Place   

UPDATED: August 18, 2011

By Simon Parkinson

KING Edmund Gym Club is basking in the afterglow of another highly successful period on the acrogymnastics front!

Four of our top performers have been selected to represent Great Britain in this year’s European Championships, which are being held in Varna, Bulgaria in October.

Women’s pair Shanie-Redd Thorne, 15, and Danielle Jones, 12, have won their first GB call-up as a young but highly-promising junior duo, while 13-year-old Jake Underdown teams up again with his trusted partner Christopher Child, 16.

The magnificent men’s pairing of Jake and Chris took the sport by storm in 2010 when they became world champions in the 11-16 age bracket, a feat that enables them to head for the Euros now as fully-fledged juniors.

In order to be selected for the European Championships, King Edmund’s four competitors were asked to hit the heights in a series of three testing trial events. To cap it all off, our experienced head coach, Nikki Thorne, has been called up as travelling Great Britain coach to prepare the juniors for the rigours of Bulgarian competition.

Nikki said: “It goes without saying we’re all tremendously proud of what has been achieved. We at King Edmund GC have had three consecutive world championship gold-medal successes, Jake and Chris being the latest, and it wasn’t so long ago that Maiken (Thorne) and Mollie (Grehan) won bronze medals in the World Games in Taiwan.”

King Eddies have been savouring more achievements of late, not least in the British Schools Championships at Stoke-on-Trent.

Danielle Jones, Josh Smith (U13s mixed pair); Jake Underdown, Josh Smith (U13 men’s pair); Beth Nolder, Danielle Jones (U13 women’s pair) and Ryan Bennett, Josh Smith, Jake Underdown, Beth Nolder, Danielle Jones and Georgia Loxham-Flynn (U13 mixed six) all triumphed at the championships with gold medal-winning performances.

There were more successes too thanks to the exploits of Shanie-Redd Thorne and Alex Millichamp (Over 13 mixed pair), who came third, and gold medallists Millie Theobald, Morgan Caldecoat, Chelsea Bennett, Tasha Lawrence, Jessica Howard and Shanie-Redd, who finished tops in the over 13 ‘six’ section.

Jubilant Gemma Makes A Medal-Winning Leap  

WHEN our courageous gymnast Gemma Ponting was called upon to make the biggest leap of her young career, she rose spectacularly to the challenge!

A foot injury sustained by the unfortunate Shannon McClurg ten days before the South West Championships at Taunton meant King Eddie coaches were faced with an ultimatum – to withdraw Shannon’s team-mates Millie Theobald and Tianna McClurg from competing in the Grade 4 Women’s Group class, or find a willing partner for them at the eleventh hour to ensure their show could go on!

Step forward ten-year-old Gemma, who had been more accustomed to Prep B Women’s Pairs encounters in tandem with Fiona Cornick.

However, the giant step up in class did not faze Gemma one jot. Helped by the hands of her experienced comrades, Millie and Tianna, she played a full part in getting the trio to gold medal success.

Head coach Nikki Thorne explained: “It was an amazing feat because Gemma had to learn two new routines in ten days after Shannon was forced to pull out. To perform so well as to actually help her team win their section was real credit to her and the others, against clubs which train together three or four times a week.

“For Gemma it was a huge leap from Prep B to Grade 4, which is effectively an international-class level.”

Only a week beforehand Gemma and Fiona had clinched first place in the SW Novice Championships at Sherborne, setting the former in good heart for that illustrious appearance in Taunton the following weekend.

During the same Novice event Mark Hansell and Alex Reeves, among a string of King Edmund gymnasts making their bow in a competitive environment, provided a competition highlight by performing a Hawaii Five-O routine, to the enormous enjoyment of judges and crowd.

Below are our results from both the South West Championships and SW Novice events:

SW Championships, Taunton; Grade 1 Women’s Groups: Leanne Challis, Hannah Pallot, Suzie Holt, 2^nd
Grade 1 Women’s Groups (out of age): Lily Griffiths, Ellie Sheppard, Megan James, 1^st; Courtney Reeves, Maia Poole, Libby Smith, 3^rd; Sarah Friis, Holly Stone, Bethany Lawler, 8th

Grade 2 Men’s Pairs (out of age):  Josh Smith, Harry Hole, 1^st

Grade 2 Women’s Groups: Maisie Dando, Jade Gibbs, Rhian Streeter, 1^st; Nadia Cocking, Emma Cornick, Molly Britton, 3^rd

Grade 2 Women’s Groups (out of age): Georgia Loxham-Flynn, Abigail Hipkiss, Isobel Davey, 1^st

Grade 3 Women’s Groups: Elisha Muscat, Olivia Britton, Anais Walker, 1^st

Grade 4 Women’s Pairs: Mollie Grehan, Courtney Hodge, 1^st

Grade 4 Women’s Groups: Millie Theobald, Gemma Ponting, Tianna McClurg, 1^st

11-16 Women’s Pairs: Rosie Hatherell, Jessica Howard, 1^st; Katie Alner, Maisey Hanham, 2^nd

11-16 Men’s Pairs: Tyler Kelly, Simon Allison, 2^nd

11-16 Women’s Groups: Carmen Benham, Bethany Foster, Courtney Hodge, 1^st; Morgan Caldecoat, Chelsea Bennett, Lily Foster, 2^nd; Gina Tozer, Bethany Nolder, Emily Brown, 6^th

11-16 Men’s Group: Ryan Bennett, Marcus Flint, Josh Smith, Robert Bates, 2^nd

Junior Women’s Pairs: Shanie-Redd Thorne, Danielle Jones, 1^st

Junior Men’s Pairs: Christopher Child, Jake Underdown, 1^st

Junior Women’s Groups: Mollie Grehan, Lauren Gardiner, Brieanne Foster, 3^rd

SW Novice Championships, Sherborne; Prep A Women’s Pairs: Poppy Smith, Katie Sillick, 1^st; Katie Newman, Megan Streeter, 2^nd; Courtney Reeves, Lucy Foster, 4^th; Emily Powner, Poppy Murphy, 6^th

Prep A Mixed Pairs: James Offer, Kristen Owen, 1^st

Prep A Men’s Pairs: Mark Hansell, Alex Reeves, 1^st

Grade 1 Men’s Pairs (out of age): Ryan Hansell, Louis Pember, 1st

Prep B Women’s Pairs: Gemma Ponting, Fiona Cornick, 1^st; Scarlett Strachen-Wills, Amber Thrush, 2^nd; Hollie Burrows, Paige Weeks, 6^th; Rachel Holehouse, Ellise King, 11^th; Rowan Atfield, Ellie Maggs, 21st

Prep B Mixed Pairs: Daniel Liddiatt, Sophie Noble, 4^th

Prep B Men’s Pairs: Finley Austen, Joel Compton, 3^rd; Reuben Forrester, Joe Kennedy, 4^th

Novice Trios: Scarlett Strachen-Wills, Rebecca Adams, Ellie Maggs, 1^st; Zoe Norcombe, Katie Newman, Sophie Noble, 4^th; Millie Cox, Carolyn Phillips, Millie Punton, 8^th

Congrats To Coach (And Proud Mum!) Kellie . . . 

EVERYONE at the club would like to extend their best wishes and congratulations to Kellie and her partner Warby on the arrival of baby River.

Will the bouncing boy be a bouncing future world champion with King Eddies? With coach Kellie to hand 24/7, anything is possible!

No Rain In Spain For King Eddies' Super Seven

A SELECT band of King Eddies gymnasts excelled at a highly successful and enjoyable Spanish international championships.

Shanie-Redd Thorne and Danielle Jones, and our world champions Jake Underdown and Chris Child, triumphed in the junior women’s and men’s pairings respectively, while nine-year-old Tianna McClurg teamed up with Shannon McClurg and Millie Theobald to claim gold in the 11-16 trio category.

The event took place in Pontevedra, bordering Portugal, and head coach Nikki Thorne said: “It was a fantastic few days. Our gymnasts competed really well and were made to feel extremely welcome by the locals.

“Tianna is only just nine but she was up at 6’o’clock in the morning to prepare herself and had to wait until much later in the day to compete. But she and the others conducted themselves really well in immense heat and the club can be proud of them all.”

Nikki smiled: “I think our kids felt like stars because they had these big crowds wanting autographs and photos of them and the atmosphere in the arena was amazing, with drums and bands booming between the performances.

“We met some local gymnast in a park on the Saturday and chatted to the parents while they played in water fountains. It was a very memorable experience.”

Dignitaries Take Delight at Our Gym Display

A LARGE contingent of our performers of all ages turned out in force to show off their skills at the first such gym display King Eddies has staged at Yate Leisure Centre in two years.

Local MP Steve Webb was there to watch with his family while representatives from the Ridings Federation, and Mayor of Yate Cllr Martin Monk, were also in attendance.

More than 600 spectators at each of two shows performed by our gymnasts witnessed the spectacles, which included displays by the exciting Yate Parkour team.

Nikki said: “It was a great opportunity for parents and mentors to see how far their children have progressed, and how the step-by-step policies we deploy in their development work in practice.

“Many of us went to the White Lion across the road afterwards for a disco and it was nice of them to allow us a room at the back free of charge. It was a pleasant end to a great day.”

Watch Out! Devon cream to meet cream of Yate . . .

WATCH out Crealy Adventure Park in Devon – we’re coming to you en masse! King Eddies are organising a fun day out for gymnast of all ages and their friends and families on Tuesday, July 26.

Cost for the trip is £25 per person which includes coach and entrance fee. We will be departing the Sports Shed at around 8am and should be back by about 7pm.

Bookings are being taken on a first-come, first-served basis so get yourselves down to the Shed to claim your seat/seats, or give us a tinkle on the usual number, 01454 320662.

MAY 2011 - LATE 2010

Gym Display Lights Up Grey Day At Shireway  

By Simon Parkinson

THE skies may have been grey but they were ablaze with colour the moment our gymnasts took to the ‘stage’ at Shireway Community Centre for the latest fun day!

The event has been an annual one for many years now but in more recent times it has grown to become one of King Eddy’s biggest and best fund-raisers, as the showpiece displays have been flanked by stalls and sideshows thanks to the efforts of ever-supportive parents and staff.

For a while it looked as though the rain would force everybody indoors but mercifully it relented enough to enable an array of our competition squad members to demonstrate their considerable talents on the mats outside, flanked by a large and appreciative audience enjoying a beer or two to help stem the effects of the spring chill!

There was an extra obstacle for our gymnasts to overcome too  – a strong and persistent breeze testing strength, balance and co-ordination levels to the max.

Club helper and coach Kirsty Underdown said: “Once the rain cleared up we managed to get the mats out in the garden and it was nice to see new parents mingling with those who had been with the club a while.”
 

Youngsters Set For Leisure Centre Spectacular

KING Edmund’s fledgling gymnasts are to perform two shows at Yate Leisure Centre on Saturday, June 18.

The displays, which take place at 2.15pm and (repeated) at 4.30pm that day, will be given by members of our gym fun and recreational classes, as well as our competition performers.

Tickets, only available from the Sports Shed (01454 320662) are priced at £5 for adults and £2.50 for children for what should prove spectacular event.

The 2010 Yate’s Got Talent winners The Sports Shed Stars and the amazing Yate Parkour will also be performing.

Coach Kirsty Underdown said: “My own son Jake started out in the gym fun class for reception and infant school-aged children and went on to become a world champion.

“It’s a chance for people to see the next generation of gymnasts coming through and showing what they are capable of achieving over the next few years of their development with us.” 

Six-Year-Old Poppy Performs First-Time Wonders  

YOUNG Poppy Murphy summed up beautifully what it means to be a King Edmund starlet enjoying a first taste of competitive action!

Our exuberant six-year-old fledgling was one of the youngest performers to take part in the South West Novice competition at Sherborne in Dorset.

There were, quite understandably, a few butterflies abounding among the Murphy family, not least Poppy herself, as she prepared to boldly step out with her partner Gemma Ponting for Prep A women’s pairs competition.

But she overcame her nerves brilliantly to help the duo to a creditable eighth overall in the class.

There was joy too for Scarlet Strachen-Wills and Amber Thrush as they finished first in the Prep B section with a total of 26.05 to post the highest score of the entire event.

Head coach Nikki Thorne said of another successful outing for the club: “Our coaches were buzzing with what was achieved because most of our competitors were aged only six and seven. For many this was their first experience of proper competition.

“The King Edmund coaches who were with them can also be proud of their efforts and it shows the future of the club is in safe hands.

“And the parents did everything asked of them which helped ensure all our gymnasts looked polished and professional.”

Of Poppy, Nikki said: “She was extremely nervous, bless her, but she still went out and performed with a big smile on her face for the whole routine and she looked stunning.

“Her mum Sam was quite overcome with it all and extremely proud, which is what it’s all about.”

Our results at the SW Novice were:

Prep A Women’s Pairs: Rebecca Adams, Ellie Maggs 1^st; Katie Newman, Sarah Friis 2^nd; Courtney Reeves, Katie Sillick 4^th; Gemma Ponting, Poppy Murphy 8^th
Prep A Mixed Pairs: James Offer, Kirsten Owen 2^nd
Prep A Men’s Pairs: Joe Kennedy, Reuben Forrester 1^st; Finley Austin, Joel Compton 2^nd

Prep B Men’s Pairs: Thomas Warburton, Louis Pember 2^nd

Novice Trio: Courtney Reeves, Gemma Ponting, Fiona Cornick 1^st; Rebecca Adams, Scarlet-Strachen-Wills, Ellie Maggs 2^nd; Leigh-Ann Challis, Hannah Pallot, Holly Stone 4^th; Georgia Hennessy, Millie Cox, Millie Punton 12^th

Prep B Women’s Pairs: Scarlet Strachen-Wills, Amber Thrush 1^st; Rachel Child, Anna Campbell 2^nd; Poppy Smith, Georgia Hutchinson 3^rd; Amy Price, Paige Weeks 9^th; Rachel Holehouse, Ellise King 17^th

Meanwhile, our delighted coach Buff had every reason to be chuffed with the performances of her fast-emerging gymnasts at the Regional Sports Acro finals in Southampton.

Leigh-Ann Challis and Hannah Pallot came third as a novice trio while Rachel Child and Anna Campbell finished up an admirable fourth in the Prep B women’s pairs, despite having the third highest score.

Buff chirped: “It was a fantastic achievement and one made all the more special as it was our gymnasts’ last competition in their respective partnerships. It was a nice way to finish.

“They have progressed to the next stage up while I am looking forward to working with the next generation of gymnasts in my group.”
 

Keri And John Boost KE Coaching Ranks  

KING Edmund Gym Club welcomes two new coaches to the club with a high level of success and experience behind them!

Keri Llewellyn has just joined us, having previously served with Harefield Gymnastics Academy in London before switching to coach with the Southampton club. His gymnasts, Millie Spalding and Connor Bartlett, won the 11-16 mixed pairs world championships last year.

Also hopping aboard the good ship Sports Shed is Irish national coach John O’Mahony, who comes to us in September. His gymnasts were third in the European Championships last year.

The duo’s arrival means King Edmund GC boasts a top team of five coaches, including our own existing Nikki Thorne, Kellie Chapman and Tony Wills, who have all trained up gymnasts to world and European medal distinction.

Seniors Shine At South-West Schools Event 

A SELECT band of our more senior stars returned from the South West Schools Acrogymnastics Championships at Sherborne recently with heads held high again.

Given that it was a schools competition rather than a club event, our gymnasts were representing the Ridings Federation and they certainly didn’t let us down.

Head coach Nikki Thorne said: “They all did us proud and it was nice to be able to pin the new Ridings Federation name firmly on the acrogymnastics map.

“It’s put us all in good heart for the national finals at Stoke in May when hopefully we’ll have some more medals to take back home with us.”

TOP KING EDMUND RESULTS

U13 Mixed Pairs: 1^st Danielle Jones, Josh Smith
U13 Men’s Pairs: 1^st Jake Underdown, Josh Smith
U13 Women’s Pairs: 1^st Beth Nolder, Danielle Jones
U13 Six: 1^st Ryan Bennett, Josh Smith, Jake Underdown, Beth Nolder, Danielle Jones, Georgia Loxham-Flynn
Over-13 Women’s Pairs: 1^st Shanie-Redd Thorne, Jessica Howard
Over-13 Mixed Pairs: 3^rd Shanie-Redd Thorne, Alex Millichamp
Over-13 Six: 1^st Shanie-Redd Thorne, Jessica Howard, Tasha Lawrence, Chelsea Bennett, Morgan Caldecoat, Millie Theobald

Fab Four Lead The Way At Fenton

FOUR of our top gymnasts returned from a gruelling training camp in Belarus (see Features) – and duly excelled at the British Acro Championships at Stoke-on-Trent.

Chris Child and Jake Underdown clinched silver medal in the men’s pairs category while Danielle Jones and Shanie-Redd Thorne teamed up to do likewise in the women’s section, having finished first together in the trials.

They weren’t by any means the only members of the 16-strong King Edmund contingent to return from Fenton Manor bursting with pride.

Ellie Fineman, Danni Wide and Jessica Howard shone as a junior trio while Jess Randal, Katie Alner and Maisy Hanham performed capably as an 11-16 threesome, together with Meg Stevens, Carmen Benham and Libby Britton.

Fellow 11-16 starlets Keeley Roberts, Morgan Caldecoat and Katrina Stewart also enjoyed a successful venture, although for them it proved something of a bitter-sweet experience.

Katrina is moving to America with her family, which means that particular trio is nursing the heartache of a break-up, at least for now.

Head coach Nikki Thorne acknowledged: “The girls have done extremely well over the past year and we wish Katrina well and welcome her back anytime. We’re very sorry to see her go.”

King Edmund results at British Championships, Stoke 2011:

Junior Women's Groups: Ellie Fineman, Danni Wide, Jessica Howard 2nd; Emily Hodder, Kayleigh Pascal, Georgia Loxham-Flynn, 3rd

Women's Groups (11-16): Megan Steven, Carmen Benham, Libby Britton 5th; Morgan Caldecoat, Keeley Roberts, Trina Stewart 6th; Jessica Randall, Katie Alner, Maisy Hanham 9th

Meanwhile King Edmund posted a big representation to Taunton for the South West Championships at Wellsprings Leisure Centre.

Among those making it through to the British finals in May were grade 4 trio Millie Theobald, Shannon McClurg and Tianna McClurg, and grade 3 girls Elisha Muscat, Lauren Gardiner and Courtney Hodge.

The grade 2 men’s pairing of Marcus Flint and Simon Alliston, and the grade 1 duo of Ryan Hansell and Harry Hole, also finished in first position in their class.

King Edmund results at the South West Prelims 2011:

Grade 1 Mixed Pairs: Ryan Hansell, Izzy Davey 4th
Grade 1 Men's Pairs: Ryan Hansell, Harry Hole 1st

Grade 1 Women's Groups: Maisy Dando, Ellie Sheppard, Rhian Streeter 4th; Bethany Lawler, Hollie Burrows, Libby Smith-Robinson 15th
Grade 2 Women's Groups: Emma Cornick, Lily Griffiths, Mollie Britton 6th; Belle Peters, Chelsea Bennett, Zoe Norcombe 7th

Grade 2 Women's Pairs: Nadia Cocking, Emily Brown 2nd; Chelsea Bennett, Mya Faria 5th; Rhia Clarke, Talia La-Garde 10th
Grade 2 Men's Pairs: Marcus Flint, Simon Alliston 1st; Ryan Bennett, Robert Bates 5th

Grade 3 Women's Pairs: Mollie Grehan, Courtney Hodge 6th
Grade 3 Women's Groups: Lauren Gardiner, Elisha Muscat, Courtney Hodge 1st
 

Medals galore at Thornbury International

THORNBURY Leisure Centre was packed to the rafters for King Edmund Gym Club’s latest international spectacle – and as usual the hosts bagged a sackful of medals!

A glittering array of clubs from as far afield as Russia, Switzerland, Holland, Ireland and, of course, Great Britain, served up an acrogymnastics feast over a tension-filled two-day tournament.

The intrigue was heightened by the participation of stars from the Heathrow club, several of whom are still coming to terms with their new-found celebrity status following their success with the sparkling Spelbound troupe during ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent last year.

Watching keenly from the sidelines at Thornbury was former King Edmund GC favourite Douglas Fordyce, now retired from serious competition but still very much involved with Spelbound as their outstanding acrobats continue to entertain amazed onlookers at events across the land.

Among the competitors were King Edmund’s own top-level gymnasts Chris Child and Jake Underdown, who are current world 11-16 men’s pair champions. They continued their meteoric rise by taking gold at Thornbury, while there was joy too for fledgling performers Kirsten Owen and James Offer, who took first position in the Prep A mixed pairs class.

Coach Kellie Chapman enthused: “The whole event was a very successful one and extremely well supported.

“We released some of our younger ones into the limelight, to give them a taste of what it’s all about, and Kirsten did so well in her first competition alongside James. Their performance even brought a tear to the judges’ eyes!”

Mollie Grehan, who recently converted from a ‘top’ to a ‘base’, won the women’s grade 4 section in tandem with Courtney Hodge, while Shanie-Redd Thorne and Danielle Jones finished first in both the balance and tempo routines performing in the junior women’s pairs category, helping them to a silver medal overall.

Other King Edmund medallists were:

 Junior women’s trio: Ellie Fineman, Danni Wide, Jessica Howard, 2nd; Emily Hodder, Kayleigh Pascal, Georgia Loxham-Flynn, 3rd

Junior women’s pairs: Shanie-Redd Thorne, Danielle Jones, 2^nd

Grade 1 men’s pairs: Ryan Hansell, Harry Hole, 2nd

Grade 2 men’s pairs: Marcus Flint, Simon Alliston, 2^nd

Grade 2 women’s pair: Abi Hipkiss, Tianna McClurg, 2^nd

Grade 3 women’s trio: Courtney Hodge, Elisha Muscat, Lauren Gardiner, 1^st

Grade 4 women’s pairs: Mollie Grehan, Courtney Hodge, 1^st

Novice women: Holly Bowyer, Lanuma Jabego, Lara Dalton, 1^st; Leigh-Anna Challis, Hannah Pallot, Holly Stone, 2^nd; Georgia Hennessey, Millie Cox, Millie Punton, 3^rd

Prep A mixed pairs: James Offer, Kirsten Owen, 1^st; Mark Hansell, Kirsten Owen, 2^nd

Men’s pairs: Finley Austin, Joel Compton, 1^st; Joe Kennedy, Reuben Forrester 2nd

Women’s pairs: Rachael Child, Sarah Friis 1st

Prep B women: Rachel Holehouse, Paige Weeks, 2^nd; Poppy Smith, Georgia Hutchingson, 3^rd

Mixed pairs: Taylor Stock, Charlotte Bowyer 1^st

Men’s pair: Thomas Warburton, Louis Pember 1^st 

 South Glos Awards

THREE members of the highly-successful King Edmund Gym Club have been acclaimed for their achievements on the local and international sporting stages.

The club’s Great Britain coach Nikki Thorne was named Sports Coach of the Year, while her 15-year-old protégé Chris Child won the Young Sportsman of the Year category, at the Active South Gloucestershire Sports Awards ceremony.

The annual prize-giving occasion, at the BAWA Club, Filton, acknowledges success, dedication and contribution to sport by participants in the county, and Nikki was quick to credit staff and gymnasts at the Yate-based club for helping her and Chris to their respective awards.

She smiled: “We feel really honoured to have been given these awards and it’s wonderful that King Edmund Gym Club is so highly thought of.

“It makes you feel proud that we are recognised in such a way and that all the hard work and dedication that goes into making the club the success it is has once again paid off.”

Appropriately, on the same night, another King Edmund GC star was honoured for his achievements over the past year, which culminated in him clinching the World Championships men’s pair crown in tandem with Chris Child at the Poland games back in the summer.

Jake Underdown, 12, was awarded with the Ridings’ Federation of Academies’ Community Shield at a special presentation gathering at the University of Bristol.

“Jake has achieved so much in such a short space of time and he thoroughly deserves this recognition,” Nikki maintained.

British Open Tournament

A YOUNG gymnastics trio have had praise heaped on them after scooping a bronze medal in the British Acrobatic Open Tournament.

King Edmund Gym Club teenagers Ellie Fineman, Danni Wide and Jessica Howard overcame stiff competition to clinch third spot competing in the junior women’s category at the prestigious event in Stoke-on-Trent, to the delight of the coaching team who believe their success can act as a springboard to bigger and better things.

Head coach Nikki Thorne said: “It was an absolutely fantastic result because this was a truly tough section for them; it’s an achievement that should give them a real spur going forward.

“They’re a trio who have yet to be recognised internationally but they’ve done themselves a power of good on that front and put themselves firmly in the shop window when it comes to potential Great Britain selection. Certainly they’ll be watched closely now after beating some experienced gymnasts who have taken part in World and European Championships.”

Nikki insisted: “The trio have always been strong competitors on the national stage and sometimes been a bit unlucky when it’s come to getting the results they’ve deserved.”

Not content with that, the King Edmund club returned to South Gloucestershire with two more medals thanks to the exploits of Joshua Smith-Robinson and Tyler Kelly, who took third position in the 11-16 men’s pairs, and world (11-16) champions Jake Underdown and Chris Child, who secured a silver success, despite making the step up to the junior men’s pairs’ category.

Nikki explained: “Chris and Jake are both eligible to compete in the younger age bracket but we wanted to give them a new challenge and they didn’t let us down.

“They were up against a men’s pairing (Jack Atherton and Justin Beardsmore from Wakefield) who came second in the junior section of the European Championships, so to push them so hard and come back with a silver medal was some effort.

“Josh and Tyler did exceptionally well against strong competition to get their bronze and if they continue to put the hard work in, they’ll have every chance of following in the footsteps of Chris and Jake in future times.”