Gunnedah Gymnastics Centre wins big at 2024 Country Capital Cup

Gunnedah gymnasts have received high praise after a big medal haul from the Country Capital Cup in Tamworth.

Nineteen gymnasts from the Gunnedah Gymnastics Centre competed at the long weekend event which involved more than 1000 gymnasts from throughout NSW.

Spanning three full days of competition, the local gymnasts put in an amazing effort to bring home a total of five individual all round championships, five silver medal all-around placings and two all-around bronze medal placings, along with a large haul of bronze, silver and gold medals for individual apparatus placings, and two gold, one silver and a fourth place in the team events.

The group included nine rookie Level 3 gymnasts, competing in their first official competition. These gymnasts were broken into two teams, which yielded two first placings in the team events. Coaches were impressed with their concentration and general demeanour as well as the technical precision of their routines.

The ‘Navy’ team saw Lily Griffith claim the overall gold medal, with Savannah Campbell bringing home the silver. In the ‘White’ team, newcomer Lexie Martin was the gold medallist overall, with Eloise Launders and Elsie Sanderson claiming silver and Mimi Sheridan taking the Bronze.

The small Level 4 team with only three gymnasts fought hard to bring home fourth place in the teams event, a huge effort against larger clubs with six gymnasts.

Some solid performances saw Mia Griffith take the silver medal in the All-Around, with Ruby Shields and Amelia Anscombe ranking 9th and 10th respectively.

In Level 5, Ruby Cygan claimed line honours to bring home the gold in the overall competition. Lilah Edmunds claimed Silver, Bianca Bayliss took 3rd place, Mia Geddes 5th and Kate Randall 8th place overall. Collectively these girls claimed the Silver place in the Teams competition.

Competing in National Level 6, Kelly Briggs placed 1st overall, with gold medals also on Vault, Bars and Floor.

Team mate, Mikayla Ferguson, put together a set of well-presented routines to claim the overall gold medal in Level 7, with two silver and a bronze on individual apparatus. This is Mikayla’s first year performing optional routines, which allows gymnasts more freedom to select the skills and combinations of their choice.

Following this event, Kelly Briggs travelled to Sydney to contest the NSW CSSA Gymnastics Competition at Rooty Hill, representing Carinya Christian School in Gunnedah. Again competing in Level 6, Kelly produced a consistent round of performances to take gold in the All-Around. She also won gold on Vault with a massive 9.90 points out of a possible 10.0, silver on Bars, 4th on Beam and gold on Floor.

This Saturday, Gunnedah Gymnastics Centre plays host to another competition, with 80 gymnasts from throughout the region. This will be the gymnasts’ final rehearsal ahead of Country Championships in Armidale during the first week of the upcoming school holidays. Gymnasts in Levels 5, 6 and 7 aim to qualify to contest the NSW State Championships from this event.