Trophy time for South Devon gymnasts

By ghines

A NINE-STRONG squad from the South Devon School of Gymnastics emerged with flying colours after competing in the Devon Open and Devon Intermediate Championships in Plymouth.

The joint event was for top level gymnasts in the county, with the Open doubling as a qualifier for next month's Devon Apparatus Finals.

South Devon's trio of Imogen and Charlie Plumridge and Amy Philbin did especially well, all finishing in the top four after Imogen came second, Charlie third and Amy fourth.

SDSG also had a fantastic day in the Intermediate Championships with Emily Philbin (champion) and Olivia Dean filling the top two places in the under-9s.

Jessica Sanders-Wyatt won the under-11s, in which Tiera Ellis finished a creditable eighth with hand injuries.

Amy Washbrook lifted the under-13 title and Maddy Ayres was awarded the silver medal in the under-15s.

The previous weekend saw Charlie Plumridge in Birmingham to both represent the club and be part of the South West team in the Compulsory 4 Elite Grade for under-9s.

Competing against 63 of the best eight and nine year olds in the county, she finished 28th in the individual event and shared sixth place with the team, both notable achievements in Charlie's first national final.

The South Devon School also had members in Birmingham representing the club as part of the South West team at the Grade 8 National Finals.

Both Amy Washbrook and Jessica Sanders-Wyatt competed with style and confidence, Amy taking 20th place and Jess 35th in the individual class and the South West finishing eighth for team honours.