Hope Acro Gymnasts compete in National Finals

The four trios who were crowned North West Champions in March took their place as representatives of the North West against the champions from British Gymnastics' 12 UK regions.

The weekend started with a bang for Hope on Saturday as last year's IDP1 silver medallists stepped up to the IDP2 category.

A spectacular Dynamic routine saw Charlotte Kerboas, Hannah Guerin and Emma Green hold the lead after the first round, narrowly ahead of the trio from Deerness Gymnastics in Durham. It was a renewal of a rivalry which saw the Deerness trio pip the Hope partnership to gold at the 2021 British Finals.

After a tense second round of Balance routines, Kerboas, Guerin and Green were once again edged out by the North East trio but were delighted to claim a second consecutive national silver medal.

It was a competitive swansong for this trio as Kerboas heads off to University in September. They can look back with immense pride on a glorious two years in which they became double North West Champions and double British silver medallists.

Cassidy, Williams and Kay all set for their first National Final as a trio.

Sunday began with Holly Williams, Darcey Cassidy and Rosie Kay competing in the Grade 4 Women's competition.

In their first experience as a trio at national championship level, they produced an outstanding display which was enough to see them take fourth place, missing out on a medal by the slightest of margins.

More medals followed in the Sunday afternoon session. Isobel Stirrup, Ellie Fenney and Lola Sitko stunned the packed arena with a bewitching routine of grace and poise.

It seemed to be a title winning performance from the reigning British champions and there was incredulity amongst the huge crowd as the judges scores saw them placed third.

The disappointment was short lived as the trio celebrated a bronze and successive national medals.

The final category of the weekend was the Grade 2 Women.

The ultra-consistent Eva Barton, Eva Booth and Daisy Kay again thrilled the crowds with a high-energy display.

After being awarded a superb score of 26.800, they seemed certain to take home a medal to add to last year's gold.

A phenomenal standard throughout the rest of the competition, however, saw them ultimately denied a medal, finishing in 4th place overall.

There was further success at the end of the day as it was announced that the North West had won the overall team competition, helped in no small part by the fantastic contribution from Hope's gymnasts.

Pics: Sean Kilmurray