Terrific Trampolining

On Sunday 30^th November, four of our amazing students; Esme, Lily, Lucy and Stephen, represented Balshaw’s in The North West Regional Trampolining competition, that took place at Robin Park in Wigan.

All the students had an amazing day and were placed as follows:

• Esme - 3^rd place
• Lily - 5^th place
• Lucy - 7th place
• Stephen - 1^st place

We are very proud of their wonderful achievements, and you can read more from all the students about their trampolining journey and the competition.

Esme – Year 9

I am proud of how it went, and the effort put in by both girls. In our individual placings, Lily came fifth, Lucy came seventh, and I came third. In our team placing we came second in our category all though there were only two teams. I'm still happy about this and I know that both Lily and Lucy are too. We have all been preparing for this competition for a while and all the hard work definitely paid off. I also know that no matter what our scores or placings were, we are proud of each other as well as ourselves.

Lily – Year 8

I took part in North West Regional Schools trampolining competition in Wigan (Robin Park). I competed at the xxx level and we achieved second place as a team.

We did two routines (set and vault) and my second one had up to seven somersaults. I placed fifth in the individual, which ensured I made it through to the semi-finals for individual, and we all placed second as the Balshaw’s High School team, so we all got through.

I really enjoyed the competition as you get to experience what it's like to compete for a school, which was a different experience from a sport and very different from the standard sports. I have been doing trampolining for a while now, so I know what to expect and I’m incredibly proud of my Balshaws team. I look forward to the next round in South Shields.

Lucy – Year 8

I have recently taken part in the North West regional schools trampolining competition which took place at Robin Park in Wigan. I competed in the advanced category, and we achieved 2^nd place as a team. I had 2 routines (a set and a vault). I came last individually as i fell, but i still went through with the team. I really enjoyed doing the competition as it was different to the regular competitions because everyone was higher levels than what we normally do. I am very proud of how the whole Balshaws team did.

Stephen – Year 7

Hello, I am Stephen and let me tell you about my trampolining.

Many people will not think trampolining is not a big sport. Well, it is and it is represented in the Olympics and many other big European games.

I have been trampolining for about 7 years with my friend, who first introduced me to the sport. When I first touched the trampoline my body and feet fell in love with the sport. After time, when I was not making progress, my friend was, and he was doing well and got moved up. I was sad but I knew he was too good for my level. When he left the group, I didn’t behave well because my friend wasn’t there. I apologised and worked hard. I took part in a competition and was nervous and forgot my routine but my coach said that it happened to her and made me feel better and I bounced back.

After that competition, I worked hard learning new moves and to my surprise my coach said I was ready to move up. I was happy that hard work paid off. I took part in another National League competition and achieved two first places. I went to another National competition against teams from all around the UK, did my routine again and was placed second. I got a silver medal and was happy. Further competitions in Cardiff, Durham and South Shields were ahead of me. I qualified for the final in London, that took place in the velodrome, where the biking events were in the 2012 Olympics. As I arrived the atmosphere was electric and lively. After jumping twice and coming second there was another final, I jumped but went forward and fell, all that hard work for nothing.

After bouncing back by being relentless I thought that 2024 would be my year. After winning my first competition, I found out that I had ADHD. After I was diagnosed and started to be open about it, some people were unkind. My behaviour wasn’t good and my coach said I had to leave. Then school ask me to take part in a competition for them. I said yes and chatted to my coach to ask if I could take part, she said yes but my behaviour needed to change. I did just that and I got to represent the school at Robin Park. I finished my two routines and got gold. I was delighted to win for the school and show everyone what I was about.

Here are some photographs from the day

Well done everyone! Thank you for taking the time to write about your trampolining and the competition. Thank you also to you and your families for sharing the photographs.