Gymnasts from Waterford’s Kilbarry Academy won two gold and a silver medal at the Women’s Artistic All-Around Championships and Level Competitions at the Sport Ireland National Indoor Arena in Dublin.
Over 1200 gymnasts from every corner of Ireland competed at the first National Series event of 2022. The National Series encompasses all national level competitive gymnastic events and the Women’s Artistic All-Around Championships and Levels Competitions is also the qualification route to the National Series Competitive Apparatus and Teams Championships.
Aishling McKenna (silver L2 under 10) and Evelyn De Paor (level 3 under 10)
Anna Pierce took gold, winning the Level 1 (under 11) competition with Lily Doheny making it double gold, winning the Level 4 (under 14) competition. Aishling McKenna won silver at what was her first ever competition at level 2 (under 10).
At Level 5 (over 14) Sophie Dunne finished an excellent fifth, Level 2 (over 11) gymnast Freya Healy finished in eighth place while Evelyn De Paor finished in ninth place in the Level 3 (under 10) competition. Charley Caulfield and Sinead Keane both put in strong performances to finish in the top 18.
Club director and head coach Maddie Croke was delighted with the results; “KGA has had a strong presence in Waterford since 1984. When I took over the club in 2020 I wanted to expand our programme, by offering more recreational classes with a well planned, exciting and detailed curriculum for girls and boys. Alongside this I wanted to develop a strong performance pathway for gymnasts to be able to progress towards and thrive in competitive gymnastics. I am delighted that we are starting to see these areas coming together and it is very rewarding to see all our gymnasts work hard and realise their full potential. Our squad gymnasts train very hard and it great to see them compete on the national stage with clubs from all over Ireland.”
Lily Doheny, L4 under 14 gold.
Anna Pierce, L1 under 11 gold
This May KGA will be entering the Gymnastics Plus Levels for the first time, these are part of the elite Gymnastics Ireland pathway in Ireland. It is very exciting for the club and gymnasts involved to be working towards this high level.
KGA is always interested in welcoming gymnastics at all levels and those who are interested in competing. If you have some coached experience you can get in touch to arrange a trial. KGA is also running an Easter Camp for members and non-members which is a great way to try the sport in a fun environment. You can find out more at Kilbarry Gymnastic Academy’s facebook and Instagram pages and at https://kilbarryg.wixsite.com/mysite.
KGA runs classes for all levels of gymnasts from pre-schoolers to adults, with popular recreational classes for girls and boys as well as a development squad and a high-level competitive Women’s Artistic Gymnastics squad.
