by Steve King

The weekend of the 24-25th March saw the finals of the British Universities and Colleges (BUCS) Trampolining competition held at Bristol UWE.

Durham University Gymnastics and Trampoline Club’s (DUGTC) squad this year was drastically reduced due to injury and subsequent lack of training, but the two performers they did send excelled.

Emily Green was looking to improve upon her 4th place from last year and competed a strong set in her BUCS 4 category before making last minute, high pressure adjustments to her voluntary routine.

Green wisely opted for a simpler routine allowing her to obtain the highest form marks and secure 2nd place.

Later in the day in the BUCS 2 Men’s group Douglas Simon led from the outset as two precise routines in the qualifying rounds put him in gold medal position going into the finals.

Managing to control his nerves he again performed a precise and difficult routine to finish 1st overall and a whole point clear of his nearest rival.

He was particularly proud of his performance having had relatively few training sessions due to his final-year degree commitments.

The overall competition was won by Bryony Page of Sheffield and Nick Davies of UWE, both GB athletes.

Earlier on in the term it was the gymnasts’ turn to impress, when they sent a large squad to the championships in Surrey.

While no one managed a podium finish in what was a highly contested event, highlights included Oliver Salt finishing in 10th place and Sarah Mack in 11th in the all-round competition.

With over 100 competitors in each category both gymnasts did extremely well to finish so high.

The men’s and women’s teams came in credible 6th and 5th places respectively thanks to numerous top-ten finishes in individual apparatus events.

Greg Chambers, the club president, congratulated the hard work of all of those who took part and was particularly pleased with the good spirit of the competition.

For more information on how to join DUGTC – which accepts everyone from beginners to national competitors – email club president Greg Chambers at greg.chambers@durham.ac.uk or log on to their website: http://www.dur.ac.uk/gym.trampoline