Rhythmic Gymnasts' record medal haul
Cheshire Academy home page www.disabilitysport.com

Last updated 1st August 2005
Rhythmic gymnasts (left to right) Kayleigh Phillips, Kirsty Whalley, Felicity Martin, Bethany Collina, Celia Flegg, Annie Everill, Tracy Jones, Victoria Perez (Kirsty Roberts not present)
The 9 strong rhythmic gymnastics team performed extraordinarily well at the National Special Olympic games. Their total of 14 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze was the best they had ever achieved at this level.

Wheelchair Level A: Kayleigh Phillips competed the ribbon routine. Although Kayleigh has restricted movement of her arms she performed a balanced routine which conformed well with the music. She thrives on competition and always has a smile, something which she had when she collected Gold in the under 12 age group.

Victoria Perez competed all 4 disciplines of Hoop, Rope, Ball and Ribbon and performed very clean and technically excellent routines. Vicky collected 5 gold medals including an All Round Gold in the over 21 years age group. This makes Vicky a member of that select band of athletes who has won national champion titles in more than one sport.

Level 1 Routines
Our rhythmic team at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow after the medal presentation

Kirsty Robertson was not daunted by the large audience as she marched on to the 12X12 metre floor area of the Kelvin Hall. Competing as part of a large group she could manage 4X 5th place ribbons and a 6th place. Of all the rhythmic team Kirsty is the one which coaches felt would find the routines most challenging however her performance on the day was wonderful and have convinced all the coaches that she has a long future in her chosen sport.

Kirsty Whalley collected 4X4th place ribbons and a 5th place ribbon. Her bouncy personality certainly came over to the judges and although her scores fell just outside the medal position she performed tremendously well and we are sure that it wont be long before she collects her first national medal if she continues to improve as she has been doing.

Annie Everill collected 2 bronzes for her Hoop and step routines and 2 silvers for her Ribbon and Ball. Her ball routine was especially well performed. Her overall score gave her a bronze medal in the all Round Championship

From Left to Rght : Kirsty Whalley, Tracy Jones, Felicity Martin, Annie Everill, Kirsty Robertson
Tracy Jones won 2 golds for her lovely ball and floor routines, Her Hoop won her a silver medal. An uncharacteristic error in her ribbon routine gave her 4th place however when all the scores were totted up she won silver in the All Round Champion category.

Felicity Martin really pulled out all the stops for this competition. Her two golds in her Hoop and Step routine were well deserved as well as her two bronze medals in the Ribbon and Ball. Her happy smiling face was a pleasure to see especially when she mounted the medal rostrum to collect the gold and title of All Round National Champion in the under 12 age group.

Bethany Collina achieved something few rhythmic gymnasts achieve namely winning 5 gold medals, the maximum possible in her sport. Her infectious smile had everyone in giggles (especially the judges) however it was her technical ability and timeing which gave her such high scores. Bethany collected a gold and title of All Round National Champion in the under 16 age group (click here to find out about Bethanys role at our local torch lighting ceremony

Vicky Perez National Special Olympic Wheelchair Rhythmic All Round Champion
Celia Flegg competed in the over 21 age group, one of the largest and most hotly contested groups in the whole competition. Performing on a spring floor did create a few additional difficulties for Celia due to her balance difficulties however Celia collected ribbons for her Hoop and ribbon routines and silvers for her Step and Ball routines. Her routines were (as always) neat and precise and Celia collected bronze in the All Round Champion category.

Coach Joanna Richards praised the team for their efforts. "The team have been training hard every single Tuesday at the Academy, come hail or high water. Their months of hard work and training has really paid of and I am so proud of what the team has achieved."

To find out more about our rhythmic gymnstics club please click here