Flames Gymnastics Club

Congratulations Grace, Izzy and Ida, who all competed in the West Midlands Regional Grades (Performance Grade 3) in Cannock on Sunday 13th April 2025.  Going round the event with training buddies from Birmingham Gymnastics Academy competing in a different group but within watching and cheering distance, meant they gave and received lots of support and encouragement and had a fun competition, with so many smiles.  The skills required for the grade had been a stretch to achieve, especially for Ida who had injured her wrist which took her out of training for a few weeks and off bars for even longer, but we are so very proud of all they achieved, with beautifully performed floor routines, clean beam routines and strong and confident range and conditioning routines for all 3, with strong and dynamic vaults.  Bars gave Grace the chance to show off her stylish and strong lines, and for Izzy and Ida to perform giants on the A bars for the first time.  Congratulations Grace, Izzy and Ida for another great competition and especially to Grace who was 7th overall and 2nd on bars, Izzy 8th on vault and Ida 2nd on beam.  

Thank you Stephen for helping with the competition set up on Friday night and Air and Liz for helping to pack away at the end of the competition on Sunday. Finally, thank you to Liz and Lisa for being our nominated judges for the event. Scores are published on the results page, and photos on the pics page.

Onward and upward to the West Midlands Novice Competition in May and the English Gymnastics Association Jim Moss Competition in June!

Happy Mothering Sunday to all our amazing gym mums, and the very best wishes to everyone celebrating the end of Ramadan later today, Eid Mubarak.  This is a real family day for everyone who can.  Have a fabulous sunny Sunday, whatever you are doing! 

Congratulations Kitty, who competed at the English Championships in Telford this weekend.  The senior championships took place over 3 rounds on Saturday 1st March.  Going round the event in a group with friends from Uttoxeter, meant Kitty had lots of support and encouragement and enjoyed a (relatively) relaxed competition, with lots of smiles.  Kitty showed off her skills and style on every piece, and did herself proud, and we too are very proud of her achievements. There is so much work done to qualify to compete these prestigious championships, and its so lovely to see the hard work pay off with successful big skills being performed well.  We look forward to more of the same in the future.  

Exciting news of donation from the former Wolverhampton Gymnastics Club. I am thrilled to announce that we have been lucky enough to receive a large donation from Wolverhampton Gymnastics Club.  The club has recently closed, and a new club established as part of the Nile Wilson group.  Nile Wilson Gymnastics Wolverhampton still offers gymnastics to people of Wolverhampton and beyond, and many of the gymnasts and coaches have transferred across to NWG Wolverhampton. We say an enormous thank you to the management team for remembering Flames when dispersing their funds as the club closed, and in particular we send a debt of gratitude to Dave, Pete, Gemma and Mel and promise that the money will be used for the gymnasts and coaches, and it will undoubtedly make a huge difference in helping us meet the demands of the increased running costs of the club.  Thank you Wolverhampton, from all Flames gymnasts, their families and coaches xx

Congratulations to our gymnasts who competed in the West Midlands Preparation and Development Grades 2025 in Cannock this weekend (15 & 16 February 2025). Our gymnasts performed with style, power and grace and all achieved either a 'working at' or 'working above' score.  This is great news having had only a few weeks since Christmas to prepare for this competition.  It was the first competition ever for Harper and Ella, who both showed how good their future might well be in gymnastics! Of special note for their results we have Charlotte who achieved 8th on beam in D1; Eliza who was 12th on bars also in D1; Yumi who achieved 8th place on bars, 11th on beam, 5th on range&conditioning and 13th place overall in D3, Celia who came 9th on beam, 11th on floor, 11th on range&conditioning and 12th overall in D4; and Jessica 9th on floor also in D4.  

Our Flames team was made up of:

Preparation 1: Harper and Ella

Preparation 2: Sophie and Mia

Preparation 3: Kaelynn

Development 1: Eliza and Charlotte

Development 3: Yumi

Development 4: Jessica, Saffy and Celia

Now these gymnasts get to focus on new skills and upgrades to old skills and the remainder of the squad work towards the Englishi Championships (Kitty) and the Performance Grades (Grace, Izzy and Ida) in the next few weeks.

Great job everyone, lets keep up all this fantastic gymnastics. 

Comp results in the scores page and pics in the photo page!

Well done Kitty and Izabella achieving a place in the West Midlands regional squad.  This means they train with some of the best in the region each month at the prestigious Lilleshall sports centre, home of the British gymnastics squad.  We are so proud of your achievements, and look forward to seeing you progress through the year 🤩

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WE ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS! Please see the information below about when your daughter's gymnastics classes restart:Friday 27 December 5-8pm, competition squad onlySaturday 28 December 10-1, competition squad onlyFriday 3 January 6-9pm, competition squad onlySaturday 4 January, 10-11am class as normal, 11-3 competition squad onlyTuesday 7 January, all classes return to normal schedules.We wish everyone a happy festive time and an even happier new year xxThe results of our Christmas competition can be found on our results page and photos on the pics page Bye for Now Ricky! Saturday 21st December was not only our last training day before Christmas but also Coach Ricky Hunt's last day with the club.  This is truly the end of an era, with Ricky having been a mainstay of the club coaching team for over 25 years. We wish Ricky health and happiness in his retirement, and hope that your move to Wales, when it happens, goes smoothly and free of any stress!  Thank you Ricky for the last 25 years, its been fantastic to have had your experience and expertise guiding gymnasts to achieve the best they can in the sport.  Please keep in touch, we will miss you xxTwo Flames competition squad gymnasts also hung up their handguards on the 21st December. Both girls had been with Flames all of their gymnastics life, and we wish Merryn and Makayla the very best for the future and good luck with whatever you choose to do next (including good luck with prep for school exams).  Your leadership will be missed, and we hope you enjoyed your last session at Flames alongside your fellow former gymnasts Emily, Holly and Anya xx  West Midlands Team Championships 2024 - 30 November and 1st December 2024, Cannock - Congratulations to our amazing Flames gymnasts who showed their grit and determination in the recent Team Championships.  Our Bronze team (Ida, Celia, Kimii-Li, Grace and Izzy) came 6th overall, with Grace placing 4th and Ida 6th on vault, Izzy 10th on bars, and Ida 8th and Grace 9th on beam.  In the copper team, we had 2 of our regular copper gymnasts (Saffy and Jess) joined by 3 gymnasts (Eliza, Charlotte and Kaelynn) who only recently competed in the Zinc regional competition and added in all their upgraded skills to help bring the copper team into 4th place overall.  We were sorry that Yumi was not able to compete having become unwell a couple of days before the competition. In the copper competition, Jess came 2nd overall on vault, and Kaelynn and Saffy were joint 8th, on bars Jess was in 6th place and Eliza 9th, and on floor, Jess achieved 2nd place.  A great job girls, and thank you to our coaches / helpers Ricky, Makayla and Stephen and judges Liz, Joanne and Rhoda. Pics as always on the photo page and scores on the scores page.Classic Challenge Gold, Silver, Bronze, National Finals 2024 - 22-24 November 2024, Surrey Sports Centre, Guildford - We are so very proud of Flames Gymnasts Kitty and Makayla who both represented the West Midlands in last weekend's national finals for the Classic Challenge.  The competitions had real highs and not-so-highs but as with all competitions, you never quite know what to expect.  Kitty had an amazing competition in the Gold level, putting aside some demons and injuries that were hanging around since a nasty fall in her last competition and competed her full routines on beam and floor, and competed her vault as planned; with just bars still to work on ahead of the English Championships in 2025.  For Makayla (and Coach Ricky) it was her final Final before hanging up her handguards in December to focus on school work and exams, but what a way to finish the year and her competition career, with a team Bronze medal and improvements in performance and scores on both vault and bars.  The same is true for Ricky who is stepping down from coaching after 25 years with Flames.  We will miss Ricky for everything he has done for the Club and for the commitment he has made to the club. Thank you! (More if this in December when both Ricky and Mak finish completely). Well done to both our gymnasts, you are amazing, and a true role model for our younger gymnasts.  Pics from the comps can be found on the photo page, and scores (only gold available at the moment) on the scores page.Finally, parents are reminded, fees are due next week, so please look out for your reminder SMS or whatsapp message or email with all details.West Midlands Regional Classic Challenge Copper, Zinc & Tin Championships 2024 - 26th and 27th October 2024, Chase Leisure Centre, Cannock - We have had a fabulous weekend in Cannock with gymnasts competing in the TZC Classic Challenge for 2024.  On Saturday, Sophie and Mia had a great day performing their routines with style and pizzazz in the Tin 8-9 years competition, and Kaelynn performed beautiful routines in the Zinc 8-9 years competition. On Sunday, Eliza had a fantastic day in the Zinc 10-11 years competition, achieving 12th place on beam. Also on Sunday, Saffy and Yumi competed in the Copper 11-12 years, and both had a brilliant day having clean routines on every piece! Saffy achieved 6th on vault, 2nd on bars, and 9th overall, a massive achievement having lost several weeks training before the summer after an injury. Yumi came home 13th overall, definitely her best competition ever!! Also on Sunday, Jessica competed in the Copper 13-14 years, and came 4th on floor having worked so hard to ensure she had her best performances.  We are proud of the achievements of all of our gymnasts, who continue to push forward learning new skills and growing in confidence in the gym.We also thank our judges for the weekend, Rhoda, Joanne, and Liz, and coach Ricky assisted so well by Makayla, who keeps the girsl calm and focussed in the excitement of the event.Finally, I send an enormous thank you to the amazing Flames parents and families who helped Flames to co-host the Sunday competition with our friends from Bham Gymnastics Academy.  Thank you Shazia, Richard, Laura, Laiza, Rhoda, Tim, Stephen, your parent-power really did make a massive difference and raised over £200 to be split between the two clubs.  Thank you too, to the gymnasts Sophie, Charlotte, Yumi, Ida, Eliza, Jessica, Makayla, Emelia and Saffy, who collected score slips so that they could all be entered into the competition overall scores, carried bags and water bottles, fetched and carried with a smile, and in some cases made endless teas and coffees for the judges, officials and the audience.  You represented the club brilliantly.  Thank you!!!Scores from the weekend are on the results page and the pics on the pics page - enjoy.West Midlands Regional Classic Challenge Gold, Silver, Bronze Championships 2024 - 6th October 2024, Chase Leisure Centre, Cannock - Congratulations to the amazing Flames gymnasts who competed yesterday in the West Midlands Championships. Our gymnasts really smashed it this time round and we are of course so very proud of all of our gymnasts, and following this weekend we celebrate:Classic Challenge Gold - Kitty, 1st place overall 🏆 (and 1st place on beam and floor and 2nd place on vault and bars) - and a place to represent the West Midlands at National Finals
Classic Challenge Silver - Makayla, 3rd place overall - and a place to represent the West Midlands at National Finals

Classic Challenge Bronze (14+) - Merryn 5th place on beam and 12th overall, Ida 21st overall and Kimii-Li 23rd overall
Classic Challenge Bronze (12-13) - Grace 6th on bars and 8th on vault, and 16th overall, Celia 25th overall
Classic Challenge Bronze (11-12) - Izzy, 4th place overall (and 1st on beam)So for Kitty and Mak its back into the gym to prepare for national finals, while the other half of our squad continue their preparation for the Copper, Zinc and Tin competition in 4 weeks time. After a period of recovery, our girls will be working towards other competitions in the Autumn as well as work for their NDP grades in Spring 2025.Training Fees - please remember our fees have increased from 1 October to meet the increased cost of venue hire.  We apologise for needing to do this, and hope you will still consider our fees represent good value for money!Metropolitan County Championships 2024 - 22nd September 2024, Lilleshall National Sports Centre - Congratulations to the amazing Flames gymnasts who competed this weekend in the Metro Championships. 78 gymnasts were entered into this event and every one of our gymnasts came away with an award.  We are so proud of all of our gymnasts, and following this weekend we celebrate:Classic Challenge Gold - Kitty Day, 1st place overall 🏆 (and 1st on all pieces) 
Classic Challenge Silver - Makayla Radbourne, 1st place 🏆 (and 1st place on beam)
Classic Challenge Bronze (14+) - Ida Kosol, 2nd place overall🥈(and 2nd on all pieces) 
Classic Challenge Bronze (12-13) - Celia Ghazzawi, 2nd overall🥈(3rd on vault, beam and floor and 4th on bars) 
Classic Challenge Bronze (11-12) - Izzy White, 2nd overall🥈(1st on vault, beam and floor and 3rd on bars) 
Classic Challenge Zinc (8-9) - Kaelynn Dove, 6th overall ⭐️ (4th on beam and 6th on floor) 
Classic Challenge Zinc (10-11) - Eliza Evans, 1st overall 🏆(and 1st on all pieces) 
Classic Challenge Zinc (12+) - Charlotte Jones, 1st overall 🏆(and 1st on all pieces) 
Classic Challenge Tin (8-9) - Mia Orgill, 2nd overall 🥈 (1st on floor, 2nd on vault and bars, and 4th on beam)

Classic Challenge Tin (8-9) - Sophie Jones, 4th overall(3rd on bars and beam, 4th on floor and 5th on vault) Congratulations to every gymnast who competed and thank you to all coaches and judges who made the day a positive experience for everyone. Scores can be found on the comp results page and pics on the photos page.🤗 Thank you to Ricky and Al, our Flames coaches, for your endless support and guidance and to our judges Liz, Lisa, Joanne and Al for your 7 hours of judging with nothing but water and biscuits / chocolate to keep you going! Thank you to all the parents who helped in running the competition - the parents on the door and the parents on the microphone/music and inputting scores; you are fantastic, thank you.👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽Now our gymnasts prepare for their Regional Championships in October.  Keep up all that hard work in the lead up to the competition, and enjoy your gymnastics, whatever the sport gives back to you.

6 September 2024  - A quick reminder that our fees are due to increase in October in order to keep being able to match the University's increased hire charges.  We are sorry to have to increase our fees, and will only ever increase them sufficiently to meet the demands on our expenses.  Our fees from October will be:

- Saturday kids gym ('baby gym'): £6 for the hour (a return to our previous fee level)- 1.5 hrs per week, 8 week term: £76.40 (increased by 56p per week)- 7+ hrs per week, 8 week term: £127.50 (increased by 94p per week)- competition squad, 8 week term: £174 (increased by (£1.25 per week)If you have any questions or concerns about training fees (or anything else gymnastics related), please do not hesitate to contact the Club.11 August 2024 - This week we are thinking about the terrible widespread disorder and violent hate happening across the country. The racism and discrimination underpinning this and in comments around it in the news and on social media is something we know has affected many of us, our families and friends, and has made the past week very difficult, unsettling and deeply upsetting. We join British Gymnastics in stating that we will not tolerate racism or islamophobia, calling it out when it happens and playing our part in the battle against it; this week and every week.  British Gymnastics has also helpfully shared some practical things we can do and resources to support us all during the unrest.  Above all, it is important for us to prioritise the physical safety and wellbeing of all members. This is especially so for those who are being actively targeted by this threat: people who identify as immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, or as people of colour, and people of all faiths. We hope everyone at Flames and their families are okay and if we can do anything to support you at this time, please do let us know.  BG have provided a  list of support resources that are available that may be of help to Flames members: 

• Aviva: As a benefit of British Gymnastics membership, coaches have access to a free and confidential telephone counselling support line, provided by Care First, through our insurance partners Aviva. You can access this service by calling 0117 934 0105 and quoting policy number 100786234GPA. Please note this support service is only available to members aged over 18 (or 16/17-year-olds in full time employment).
• Anna Freud: mental health and wellbeing resources to help children and young people cope during this difficult time (https://orlo.uk/UazNk), tips to help young children think and talk about race and racism (https://orlo.uk/GE5Hm), and support on helping children and young people who have experienced trauma (https://orlo.uk/obvCq). 
• Black Minds Matter UK: free, one to one, culturally appropriate talking therapy for Black people in the UK - visit www.blackmindsmatteruk.com.
• Tell MAMA: supporting victims of anti-Muslim hate - visit https://tellmamauk.org.
• Save the Children: Talking to your children about racism - click here  
• The Mix: Essential support for under 25s – the UK’s leading support service for young people and are there to help you take on any challenge you’re facing - from mental health to money, from homelessness to finding a job, from break-ups to drugs. You can get in touch via their online community, on social, through their free, confidential helpline or their counselling service. 0808 808 4994 or visit www.themix.org.uk.
• YoungMinds: the UK's leading mental health charity for young people. Providing support for young people, parents and those who work with young people - visit www.youngminds.org.uk. 
• Samaritans: whatever you're going through, a Samaritan will face it with you. Call 116 123 for free or visit www.samaritans.org. 
• Mind: Whether you’re stressed, depressed or in crisis. We’ll listen, give you support and advice, and fight your corner. We’re on your doorstep, on the end of a phone or online. Call 0300 102 1234 or visit www.mind.org.uk. 
• Anxiety UK: National charity helping people with Anxiety – offering an extensive range of support services designed to help control anxiety rather than letting it control you. Visit www.anxietyuk.org.uk.
• Shout UK: a free, confidential and 24/7 text support service, powered by charity Mental Health Innovations. Text ‘shout’ to 85258. For more info visit https://giveusashout.org.
• UK Youth: collated sector resources for addressing unrest, disinformation and violence are available here.

August 2024 - We hope you are enjoying the amazing gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and particularly supporting Joe Fraser and Alice Kinsella who are both from Birmingham.  The GB teams have done so well again this year, and we now look forward to the last few days of gymnastics with the Apparatus Finals over Saturday, Sunday and Monday, before moving on to rhythmic and trampoline gymnastics :)  

 note we are open as usual during the whole school holidays.  Please do let us know if your child is going to miss any sessions, so we can ensure we have the right number of coaches for each session. Thank you!

********************************We are sorry to announce a need to increase our training fees with effect from October when the forthcoming 8 week term finishes. The increase is due to the Uni applying its annual uplift to our hire fees.  We have tried to keep our increase to an absolute minimum to reduce the impact on families.  From October the training fees will be:

- Saturday kids gym ('baby gym'): £6 for the hour (a return to our previous fee level)

- 1.5 hrs per week, 8 week term: £76.40 (increased by 56p per week)

- 7+ hrs per week, 8 week term: £127.50 (increased by 94p per week)

- competition squad, 8 week term: £174 (increased by (£1.25 per week)

If you have any questions or concerns about training fees (or anything else gymnastics related), please do not hesitate to contact the Club.*******************************

29th & 30th June 2024 - Medals galore at the English Gymnastics Jim Moss Championships 2024.  Congratulations to our amazing gymnasts who competed in this weekend's English Gymnastics Ruby Intermediate and Ruby Senior Championships.  On Saturday the Intermediate competition saw the following results:Grace - overall 2nd place with 2nd place on vault, 3rd on bars, and 3rd on beam .... a brilliant day for Grace, well done!!! We are super proud of your performances at this competition.
Izzy - overall 14th place with 10th place on vault, 11th on beam and 10th on floor .... a beautiful floor routine, fantastic performance!
Saffy - overall 17th place with 15th place on vault, 11th on bars, and 14th on floor ..... those hours of hard work in the gym are really paying off now!
Yumi - overall 27th place with 16th place on beam .... so proud of your achievements here after working so hard in the gym!On Sunday, the Senior competition gave the following results:Merryn - 12th overall with 10th place on vault, 13th place on bars, and 2nd place on floor .... your best floor routine performance in competition with just one error so small the judges didn't spot it!!Thank you to the judges Liz and Lisa for your hours of judging this weekend, and to coach Ricky for being there for the girls, keeping a cool, calm approach to help them achieve their best during the competitions. Thank you to the parents who made the weekend so positive for everyone, and to Mak, our wonderful chief supporter and big sister to all the girls!Pics can be found on the photo page and scores on the results page.

13th May 2024 - Gold medal for the West Mids team at the NDP grades National Finals - congratulations to Mak who competed as part of the gold medal winning Performance 4 Grade team yesterday at Fenton Manor.  The team had a brilliant day, and we are so proud of the part Mak played in the team.  Izzy competed on Saturday as part of the West Midlands Performance 1 team, and showed some of her very best gymnastics. There is so much more to come for Izzy 😁 now she has had a taste for nationals! Photos from the weekend are on the pics page.

6th May 2024 - Competition success for Flames Gymnasts at the West Midlands Regional Preparation and Development Grades and the Silver Challenge Competition. Congratulations to these gymnasts who all achieved scores showing they were 'working at' (50+), 'working above' (55+) and even 'working beyond' (60+) in their grades this weekend:Sophie (Preparation Grade 1)
Eliza, Charlotte, Mia and Kaelynn (Preparation Grade 2)
Yumi (Development Grade 2)
Celia, Jessica and Saffy (Development Grade 3)We were thrilled to see Kaelynn take the overall silver medal for her excellent routines in the Prep 2 competition, her first competition in Womens Artistic. Also taking home a medal was Yumi who achieved the highest beam score and took her place at the presentations in 4th place overall. Eliza also achieved 2nd place on bars 👏Also competing was Mak who took the gold medal and trophy in the Silver Challenge competition and also won the medal for the highest score on bars.  This was such a fabulous opportunity to shine and at the same time prepare for her national finals for Performance Grade 4 at Fenton Manor next weekend.  Mak will be joined by Izzy, who is also representing the West Midlands at the national finals for the Performance 1 Grade :)This was another brilliant weekend for all our gymnasts who produced great routines with very few errors. We are so very proud of all of you.  Thank you to Liz who judged for the two very long days of competition, to all the coaches who helped the gymnasts prepare so thoroughly for the competition, to Ricky for being at the venue on Friday and Sunday evenings to help set up and take down all the kit, and to parents for your support - we couldn't do it without you all. We send get well wishes to Etta who was unable to compete on Saturday and to Rhoda who wasn't able to judge on Sunday.Scoresheet is available on our results page.  Photos are posted on our pics page.

21 April 2024 - Thank you to Shazia Ifraz, who has completed her Welfare Officer training and is now available, in addition to our existing welfare officers (Ruth and Alison), as a first point of contact for gymnasts, parents, and coaches who have any concerns about the welfare of any individual.  Club welfare officers are in place to help us ensure that gymnasts feel safe, have fun whilst doing gymnastics, and help us to protect gymnasts and keep our sport safe. Thank you for your support Shazia.  If anyone else is interested in becoming a welfare officer, or volunteering in any other way in the Club, please speak to one of the coaches.  Thank you.

7 April 2024 - Congratulations to fabulous five Makayla, Merryn, Kimii-Li, Ida and Izzy who all took part in the West Midlands Performance Grades yesterday in Cannock.  Ida achieved a 'working at' score, and Mak, Merryn, Kimii and Izzy all achieved 'working above' scores meaning they are progressing to the next level at next year's grades! We send huge congrats to Merryn who achieved the highest vault score in Performance 2, and to Izzy and Makayla who both achieved a place in the West Mids team for National Finals next month (Izzy in Performance 1 and Mak in Performance 4).  You are all brilliant!! We send get well soon wishes to Grace who wasnt able to compete because she was unwell.  We missed you Grace and hope you are back on form very soon.  Scores from the competition can be found via the Comp scores page and photos on the pics page.26 March 2024 - IMPORTANT NOTICE RE CAR PARK CHARGING - please note that from 4 April 2024, the university is charging for car parking including weekends.  Car park charges apply from 8am until 6pm every day (£2.50). Parents are advised to drop off gymnasts whenever possible, and to arrive as near to 6pm as possible for each weekday session to avoid charges. At weekends, parents will need to pay for parking or (as is usually the case, for the 11:00 class..) please drop off and pick up your daughter as near to start and finish times as possible, to again avoid the need to pay for parking.  Parents of the 10am class, we do not have a simple solution as you will want to remain on site during the session and therefore will need to pay for parking.  To help you to manage the extra cost created by the University we will reduce the cost of the 10am session by £1 (to £5 per session) for the immediate future (from Saturday 6th April). I do hope this helps and  you are able to continue to bring your child to Flames.Any questions, please do get in touch in the usual way.

13 March 2024 - Ramadan fasting arrangements; During the holy month of Ramadan, Flames gymnasts who are fasting will be supported to adapt their training to be lighter and less intense and have ample opportunity to break their fast and pray at the required time. Please talk to any of the coaches to ensure we are aware your child is fasting.

 Holiday training times - Please note the following times for training sessions during the Easter holiday due to University change in opening hours:- Friday 29th March; 5-6.30pm recreational groups and 5-8pm for competition squad gymnasts
- Saturday 30th; March all normal classes and training times
- Tuesday 2nd April; 5-6.30pm recreational groups and 5-8pm for competition squad gymnasts
- Wednesday 3rd April; 5-6.30pm recreational groups and 5-8pm for competition squad gymnasts

Congratulations - to Makayla who competed in her first English Junior Championships in Telford on Sunday 3rd March.  This competition was against the top junior FIG gymnasts in England, and Mak had a great day.  There were a couple of falls which cost dearly, but the competition gave lots of opportunities to learn, grow and improve before her West Midlands FIG competition in May.

20 December 2023 - our last recreational classes of 2023 tonight! Happy Christmas everyone

This evening sees us run our last recreational classes for 2023, and we look forward to welcoming all of our gymnasts back to classes from Friday 5th January.  Competition squad training will continue and information has been shared on the Comp Squad WhatsApp group.  If you are not sure about any of the arrangements, please do get in touch by WhatsApp, email or text and we will be back in touch as quickly as possible (usually same day).

We have celebrated the end of 2023 with some competitions, firstly Holly completed for the West Midlands in her 'Gold' Classic Challenge national finals at Guildford.  Despite having missed quite a bit of training for exams, other sporting national finals and then being unwell, Holly had an amazing day and thoroughly enjoyed her last major event before taking time off to focus on her GCSE's in 2024. We also had our Club Championships on Saturday 16th December, and the results are posted on the results page and there are some pics on the photo page too.  Well done to all of our amazing gymnasts who have made such brilliant progress and achievements in 2023 and showed these off during their routines. 

We are looking forward to a fantastic 2024, and we wish everyone a wonderful festive period, especially Jay and Arti who are hanging up their handguards for a while to do other things.  We hope to see you again soon xx  

20 November 2023 - another Competiton weekend at the West Midlands Apparatus Team Championships

Well done to all of our amazing gymnasts who competed in the regional apparatus team champs in Cannock this weekend. With a few last minute changes and the bronze team stepping down when they did not have the required numbers, it was left to our two copper teams to fly the Flames flag!  
Extra mention for the following performances:

Saffy 2nd bars
Kimii-Li 5th bars

This weekend we also saw Makayla compete in the regional FIG qualifier, smashing her way through the qualifying score required to compete in the English Championships in 2024 and achieving 1st place on vault, 3rd on floor and 4th overall. Brilliant work yet again Mak. What a star!

12 November 2023 - Congratulations to Beam Queen Mak, who won gold on beam in the English Jim Moss Classic  Challenge yesterday 

We are so proud of Mak who competed in the English Silver Intermediate Level of the Classic Challenge yesterday. Bars, floor and vault did not go as well as hoped but beam was spectacular and Mak romped home with the gold medal for that piece. Well done Mak!  Thank you to coach Ricky and judge Lisa and we now look forward to the regional Apparatus Teams Competiton next weekend at Cannock.

31st October 2023 - It was a busy start to half term for our gymnasts, coaches and judges! 

31st October 2023 - It was a busy start to half term for our gymnasts, coaches and judges! 

On Monday 30th October, our Flames competition gymnasts travelled to Lilleshall National Sports Centre, the home of British Gymnastics, to compete in the 2023 Metropolitan County Championships.  We are very proud of our wonderful gymnasts, who hold their own in a very competitive field of talented gymnasts.  We especially congratulate:

Makayla (silver) who took top spot on vault and beam, and 2nd place overall
Merryn (bronze) 6th overall and 3rd on beam
Izabella (Bronze) 5th on vault, 6th on beam
Jayrian (Bronze) 4th on beam and 5th on floor
Grace (Bronze) 6th on bars
Etta (Tin 8-9) 4th on vault, 5th on bars, 3rd on beam and 4th floor, 5th overall
Charlotte (Tin 10-11) 1st place overall and on all pieces
Yumi (Copper 9-10) 5th vault, 3rd bars, 3rd beam, 5th floor and 4th overall
Saffy (Copper 11-12) 3rd on vault, *1st* on bars, 4th on beam and 6th on floor, 3rd place overall
Celia (copper 11-12) 2nd on vault, 5th on beam, 4th on floor, and 4th overall
Mya (Copper 11-12) 5th on vault, 4th on bars, 6th on beam, and 6th overall
Willow, 6th on vault, 6th on bars
Ida (Copper 13-14) 2nd on vault, 3rd on bars, 2nd on beam, 3rd on floor, 2nd place overall
Jessica (Copper 13-14) 3rd vault, 6th bars, 3rd beam, 5th floor, 4th overall
Kimii-Li (Copper 13-14) 3rd vault, 3rd bars, 4th beam, 6th floor, 5th overall
Arti (Copper 13-14) 5th vault, 5th bars, 6th beam, 3rd floor, 6th overall
Eliza (Zinc 10-11) 5th vault, 4th bars, 4th beam, 5th floor and 5th overall

Thank you to our judges Liz, Joanne, Chandra, Rhoda and Al, and thank you to all the brilliant parents involved in setting up and running the competition ... too many to mention, you know who you are, and I am so grateful to you all.

17 October 2023 - West Midlands regional Tin, Zinc and Copper competition - the first ever Womens Artistic 4-piece competition for many!

Congratulations to our amazing gymnasts Charlotte, Etta (both in the Tin competition), Eliza (Zinc competition), Arti, Kimii-Li, Saffy, Celia, Willow, Mya, Yumi (all in the Copper competition),  who all competed in the West Midlands Classic Challenge Tin, Zinc, Copper competitions last weekend. For many of these girls, it was their first ever Womens Artistic 4-piece competition and after only a few weeks or months of squad training and preparation.  Lots of competing of new skills and routines, and many opportunities to learn and improve going forward.  We are so very proud of everything you have achieved.  

Our next competition is the Metropolitan County Championships on Monday 30th October at Lilleshall, and for now it's time to get back in the gym to get ready for what lies ahead.  Good luck girls!!

3 October 2023 - First West Midlands regional competition of the season

Congratulations to our amazing gymnasts Merryn, Izzy, Grace, Makayla and Holly who all competed in the West Midlands Classic Challenge this weekend. 

In the Gold level, Holly achieved a fantastic 3rd place overall (after having a difficult time on beam!) and 1st on vault, 2nd on bars, 5th on beam and 4th on floor.  This result gave Holly a well-deserved place in the regional team at National Finals in November.

In Silver level, Makayla bagged a stunning 5th place on bars and 6th place on beam with an overall 11th place.  

Competing in Bronze were Merryn, Izzy and Grace who were up against a large field.  There are no individual places to report for these gymnasts, but we are immensely proud of their performances, with lots of new skills being competed, and the start of bigger and better things ahead.

Our next competition is the West Midlands regional Tin, Zinc, and Copper competition in 2 weeks time before our county championships on the 30th October, so we are back in the gym training hard for these next competitions.  Good luck girls!!

21 September 2023 - Please note that Flames training fees and British Gymnastics membership is now due.

Flames training fees are now:

Recreational classes (1.5 hrs per week, 8 weeks term) £72
Enhanced attendance recreational classes (more than 1.5 hrs and less than 7 hours per week, 8 week term) £120
Competition squad £164 (8 week term) 

Please remember that British Gymnastics membership must be renewed/in place by 1st October 2023.  This is a requirement for all members of Flames Gymnastics Club.  Parents / gymnasts and officials must register themselves via the British Gymnastics website (there is a membership button on the 'landing page'). 

• 2023/24 membership is due by the 1st October 2023. BG membership fees have also increased this year (sorry)
• Recreational gymnast: £22
• Pre-school gymnast: £15
• Competition gymnast: £60
• Club officer, welfare officer, club administrator: £22
• Coach: £95
• Assistant coach: £60
  Judge: £22

Good luck to our competition squad gymnasts who are currently making their final preparations for the West Midlands Regional Challenge competition.  The last few weeks are always brings out the best in our gymnasts, and they really focus on achieving those last few things for the competition.

14 August 2023 - Fees increase starting from week beginning 28 August.  As announced in our last message, due to planned hire fee increases by the University of Birmingham, we will be increasing our membership / training fees from 28 August.  

• Saturday Kids Gym (baby gym) 10-11am £6 per session (previously £5)
• Recreational classes (1.5 hrs per week, 8 weeks term) £72 (previously £66)
• Enhanced attendance recreational classes (more than 1.5 hrs and less than 7 hours per week, 8 week term) £120 (previously £115)
• Competition squad £164 (8 week term) (previously £155)

Also please remember that British Gymnastics membership must be renewed/in place by 1st October 2023.  This is a requirement for all members of Flames Gymnastics Club.  Parents / gymnasts and officials must register themselves via the British Gymnastics website (there is a membership button on the 'landing page'). 

• 2023/24 membership is due by the 1st October 2023. BG membership fees have also increased this year (sorry)
• Recreational gymnast: £22
• Pre-school gymnast: £15
• Competition gymnast: £60
• Club officer, welfare officer, club administrator: £22
• Coach: £95
• Assistant coach: £60
  Judge: £22

20 July 2023 - Fees increase starting from week beginning 28 August.  Due to planned hire fee increases by the University of Birmingham, we will be increasing our membership / training fees from 28 August.  

Saturday Kids Gym (baby gym) 10-11am £6 per session (previously £5)
Recreational classes (1.5 hrs per week, 8 weeks term) £72 (previously £66)
Enhanced attendance recreational classes (more than 1.5 hrs and less than 7 hours per week, 8 week term) £120 (previously £115)
Competition squad £164 (8 week term) (previously £155)

British Gymnastics membership - this is a requirement for all members of Flames Gymnastics Club.  Gymnasts and officials register themselves via the British Gymnastics website (there is a membership button on the 'landing page').  2023/24 membership is due by the 1st October 2023.  BG membership fees are also increased this year (sorry):

Recreational gymnast: £22
Pre-school gymnast: £15
Competition gymnast: £60
Club officer, welfare officer, club administrator: £22
Coach: £95
Assistant coach: £60
Judge: £22

Please remember we are open all through the summer holidays with our normal training times. Please do let us know if your child is unable to attend due to holidays (or any other reason) so that their place is held and not released to a child waiting to join.  Thank you!

21st May 2023 - National Finals (National Grade 1), Fenton Manor 20th May 2023.  Congratulations to the fabulous Holly who competed as part of the West Midlands team yesterday in the National Finals for Grade 1.  The team came in an amazing 3rd place and Holly achieved a 15th place overall with top 20 places on 2 of her 4 pieces.  We are super proud of Holly's achievements, and look forward to the rest of the year to see what else lies ahead!! Pics will be on the photos page shortly!

Metropolitan County Squad - We also say an enormous well done to 9 of our Flames competition squad who have been offered a place in the Metropolitan County Squad after a trial held last weekend.  In alphabetical order, we say 'great job girls' to our superstars Grace, Ida, Izzy, Jay, Kimii-Li, Merryn, Saffy, Willow and Yumi.  

4th May 2023 - Competition success!

Congratulations to our Club and Regional Grades gymnasts who competed in the West Midlands competition last weekend.  We are delighted to announce that not only did all of our gymnasts pass their grades, but most achieved either 'commended' or 'distinction' level passes.  Special mentions go to the following top 10 placings..... 

* Jay, who in Regional Grade 1 achieved 5th place overall with 2nd place on vault, 9th on bars, 3rd on beam, 5th on floor and 6th on range and conditioning.  

* Merryn, who in Regional Grade 3 achieved 9th place overall with 6th on vault, 7th on bars and 2nd on beam

*Saffy*, who in Regional Grade 3 achieved 2nd place on beam

* Ida, who in Regional Grade 3 achieved 9th place on beam  

* Kimii, who in Regional Grade 3 achieved 4th place on bars

* Willow, who in Club Grade 5 achieved 5th place overall with 1st place on range and conditioning, 2nd on vault, 3rd on bars, and 5th on floor.

* Yumi, who in Club Grade 5 achieved 9th place overall with 4th on bars and 4th on floor

* Etta, who in Club Grade 6 achieved 10th place on vault.

* Phoenix, who in Club Grade 6 achieved 10th place on range and conditioning.