Eastbourne youngsters tumble towards success on national stage

Earlier this year, four club-level tumblers from Be…Gymnastics in Eastbourne qualified from the South East region (Sussex, Surrey and Kent) to head for the English Silver Tumbling Championships finals.

The region’s top two competitors in each category qualified to the finals – held at the prestigious Telford International Centre.

For three of these tumblers, this was their first national event - and they were celebrating a fantastic finish against some dauntingly tough competition.

In the male category, Eastbourne-based Connor Wilkes finished a creditable 11th in all England in the Men’s 9-10 years “Club 5” category, while his teammate Kaiden Walder – who had only just turned 9 years old in time to qualify - claimed an impressive sixth place in the same category.

Teammate Jake Braden claimed fourth place in England in the “Club 6” category for competitors of 11-12 years.

Local youngster Grace Boyle, 11, also produced a peak performance in the Club 6 Female category to claim fourth place in all England – missing out on the bronze medal by just 0.1 of a point !

A modest – but seriously excited - Grace reflected back on the adventure. “I’m really proud of my achievement. The standard was really high, so it was a tiny bit scary – but you also get really motivated to do your best. I think we all did brilliantly and had a really great time”.

Where next for Grace? “I’m looking forward to more competitions, and learning new tumbles for our next challenge, which is the regional level Tumbling Pathway!”.

Be…Gymnastics is a charity and community lead club within Eastbourne, with floor-based gymnastics and tumbling classes for all ages from toddlers, through to school-aged children and adults.

“It’s never too early, and never too late, to start tumbling,” says Head Gymnastics Coach Beth Winter. “We can also adapt our learning environment for anyone with additional or individual needs so anyone can experience gymnastics in a safe space.”

Beth feels really passionately about the club ‘being somewhere to learn new skills, have fun, socialise, learn life skills and also compete’.