Honiton boys take silver medals at national finals

Honiton Gymnastics Club men’s pair Jamie Jeffery (16) and Matthew Beviss (10) have returned from the Acrobatic Gymnastics National Development Plan finals in Stoke on Trent with silver medals.

The pair were narrowly pipped to the gold medal position by a partnership from Bromley Valley in Kent. Matthew and Jamie’s silver medal follows their gold medal performance at the regional preliminary competition in Taunton earlier this year.

“We are extremely proud of Matthew and Jamie,” said Helen Reddy, high performance coach at Honiton Gymnastics Club, “and they’re certainly continuing the tradition of successful men’s pairs from Honiton Gymnastics Club.

“This is their first national level competition as a partnership, but nevertheless they performed their routines with exceptional style and passion. Their scores for artistic performance were almost a full mark higher than those of their competitors, so with some more hard work we expect the boys to increase their difficulty and achieve even higher scores in the future.”

Matthew, a pupil at Honiton Primary School, and Jamie, a student at The Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis, scored 50.70 out of a possible 60 marks, which left them just 0.69 behind first place.

“We’ve seen a huge improvement in the lads in the past few months,” added Helen. “Matthew’s somersaulting ability has improved considerably and Jamie is getting stronger by the week, which means he’s throwing Matthew higher and higher.”

Matthew and Jamie train together for 13 hours per week in the Squad Acro 1 Group at Honiton Gym Club. Matthew started off in the club’s recreational Gym-Crazy Kids group when he was six years old, and – after coaches spotted his natural potential – he has gradually worked his way up through the ranks. Jamie, on the other hand, attended fun sessions in Lyme for until he was 15, before joining Honiton Gymnastics Club just nine months ago and beginning a more structured training regime.

“It’s very rare to take on a new gymnast at age 15, but we so were surprised at Jamie’s level of natural ability when he walked through the door that we immediately started him on a training programme in our squad group. It’s been hard work for him, but his focus and determination have been commendable.”

Honiton Gymnastics Club is always on the lookout for the next gymnasts who are looking to follow in the footsteps of Matthew and Jamie, and it welcomes boys and girls of all ages to come along and try out acrobatic gymnastics for fun. Those that show more potential can be quickly moved through to the club’s competitive groups, while others can progress through the club’s structure developing excellent motor skills, learning gymnastic elements, and having fun with new friends.

To view Jamie and Matt’s balance and dynamic performances click on the attached YouTube clips or visit http://goo.gl/DEDYD / http://goo.gl/021Vb

For more information on gymnastics classes for children (and adults), visit www.honitongymclub.org, or contact Helen Reddy on 07825 181693.