From 29th July - 3rd August, 5 girl's and 5 boy's from Croydon School of Gymnastics travelled to Portsmouth for 5 day's intensive training in one of Hampshire County Council's purpose built centres of excellence for gymnastics.
Approximately 80 gymnasts from all over the UK & Jersey arrived at the Pitt Street Gymnastics Centre for their Summer Camp on Sunday evening. Everyone was to arrive by 5.00pm, so as to get settled and to familiarise themselves with the surrounding which was going to be home and training for the next 5 days. This was where everyone was going to eat, sleep and train in the two fully equipped gymnasiums in this splendid Centre.
The gruelling schedule started a 7.00am on Monday morning when Mini Bus loads where shipped down to the beach for an early morning run and a circuit in the park till 8.00am. Then it was back into the Centre for a shower, change and breakfast ready to start apparatus training at 9.00am. There was a break for lunch and training finished around 4.30pm each day.
Dr. Zaglada one of Russia's Top Coaches and the former coach to the Great Britain's World Performance National Squad Gymnasts was in attendance along with a staff of 3 senior men's coaches including myself and 8 women's coaches including our club coach Katherine Harrison.
Gymnasts were split into groups, which were small and according to ability. Gymnast's strengths were identified and weaknesses worked on, so everyone's individual needs were catered for.
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, was brought in daily by a small catering company who was second to none. The food was brilliant, and the kids never went hungry at all, in fact there was always milk, squash and fruit left out at all times.
After gym evening activities were laid on too - Monday they went swimming at a local Swimming Pool, Tuesday the gymnasts went to Portsmouth Fair. Wednesday was half-day training and the afternoon was spent in the Pyramids Leisure Pools. On Thursday they had a barbecue back at the Centre's social area, with a talent show afterwards to entertain all the coaches and Centre staff, and to round off the night they had a Disco with foam bubbles.
New friendships were made and old ones renewed by those who attended last year. Gymnasts went home totally exhausted, with sore hands from working so hard on bars but beaming with satisfaction that they had consolidated some skills, learnt many. They all gained greater stamina, strength and flexibility in a superb facility, that offered deep pits filled with foam blocks and apparatus erected over them to enhance this high level of training. If only Croydon could have such a Centre!
General Information