Local gymnasts off to European Championships

Vada Finniear and Kenedi Cross of Harriers Acrobatic Gymnastics Club.

Harriers Acrobatic Gymnastics Club, based at Patchway Sports Centre, is celebrating the selection of two of its gymnasts to represent Great Britain at the European Championships in Riesa, Germany later this month.

Vada Finniear, 18, from Pucklechurch, and Kenedi Cross, 14, from Patchway, have worked together as a partnership for the past two years. They have already achieved huge success including the Pat Wade Tournament in November 2014, after which they stepped up their training in an effort to be selected to trial for Great Britain.

Following the GB trials, Sarah Bateman, Harrier’s head coach, was congratulated on the success of Vada and Kenedi by the GB national coach, who stated that the pair had been the most improved gymnasts in the six months of the GB selection process. Harriers’ Kansas Bateman, also received excellent feedback from the GB coach for her choreography of Vada and Kenedi’s routines.

Harriers is an extremely successful gymnastics club within the South West region and has been able to hold its own against clubs which have better facilities and the opportunity to train for longer hours.

Established at Little Stoke Primary School in 1984, the club is proud of the fact that many members who started off as gymnasts have stayed and progressed into coaching, which is testament to the friendly and inclusive nature of the club.

The club has approximately 200 members, with ages ranging from 4 to 23. Gymnasts can start at age 4 in the recreational group, where they train for an hour a week, and can progress through to the competitive squads who train for up to 11 hours a week.

Harriers’ long term goal is to one day obtain its own premises with great facilities, which will enable it to continue to develop.

Photo: Vada Finniear and Kenedi Cross (click to enlarge).

This article originally appeared in the September 2015 edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine, delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.

Share this page:

One comment

Comments are closed.