This weekend is gonna be a BIG one - it’s the British Championships!!! If you can be there, you should be there. National titles will be crowned, new skills will be debuted and hearts will be inspired. Not only that but this competition is also an official Olympic trial. In other words, it’s one of the biggest competitions in the selection process for choosing which British Senior gymnasts will represent Great Britain at the highly anticipated Olympic Games this summer.
This important and glamorous event spans three days (April 8-10) at Liverpool’s Echo Arena, and will showcase some of the most talented men’s and women’s gymnasts Britain have ever had.
Schedule
The basic plan of action is:Friday: The JUNIORS take the spotlight
The Women’s Junior All Around Competition will be held from 12:30 to 15:30. The fight for the Men’s Junior All Around title will follow shortly afterwards from 17:30 to 22:00.Saturday: The SENIORS take the stage
The senior men and women will compete at the same time, across 3 subdivisions today. Many of Britain’s national team members and well-loved stars will be spotted in Subdivision 3.
11:00 - 13:00 SUBDIVISION 1 14:30 - 16:30 SUBDIVISION 2 18:00 - 20:00 SUBDIVISION 3
At the end of these three rounds the Men’s and Women’s Senior All Around British Champions will be crowned. For the men the Top 3 scorers on each event will also be awarded medals as apparatus winners. This is because the senior men do not have separate event finals on Sunday, instead they have the Masters Finals where we will see the Top 8 men’s gymnasts on every event- whether they are a senior or not- compete against each other.
Sunday: APPARATUS FINALS
10:30-13:30: In the “morning session” we will see our Junior Women and our Women’s Disability gymnasts compete to be event champions, on all 4 pieces. On the men’s side we’ll see our Men’s Disability gymnasts competing on Floor, Pommel Horse, Rings and Vault as well as the Men’s Masters finalists compete on Rings, Parallel Bars and High Bar.
13:30-17:15: Immediately afterwards, in the “afternoon session” we will see the Senior Women compete in their finals on every event. The Men’s Disability gymnasts will also finish their competition with the Parallel Bars and High Bar, and the Men’s Master gymnasts will end with Floor, Pommel Horse and Vault.
Natasha Coates: 14-time Women’s Disability Gymnastics ChampionOnes to watch
Personally I love watching each and every gymnast perform at the British Championships; there is just so much talent, diversity and beauty to be seen! But here’s an pro tip if you’re interested in which Senior Men’s and Women’s gymnasts you might be watching at the Rio Olympics - these links may give you a hint about who to look out for…
Nominated High Performance Programme members (Great Britain’s current National Squad gymnasts) Jan-May 2016, from the British Gymnastics website: Women: https://www.british-gymnastics.org/technical-information/selection/womens-artistic/7525-national-squad-nominations-jan-may-2016/file Men: https://www.british-gymnastics.org/technical-information/selection/mens-artistic/7289-mag-top-squad-selection-2016/file
Catherine Lyons: Last year’s Junior British Champion will be in the Senior competition this year“What if I can’t make it?”
Don’t worry! If you can’t get tickets, disaster strikes on your way there, or like me you’re just in another country at the moment, we still have lots of lovely online resources. TWITTER: Follow @britgymnastics for live updates YOUTUBE: Videos will be uploaded to the BGTV channel FACEBOOK: Make sure you like and follow British Gymnastics on Facebook! PROGRAMME: Download the official event programme for free here. SUMMARY WEBSITE: All the latest news and highlights will be summarised in this dedicated event page too! Now you’re in the know all that’s left to do is count down the days! Until next time, all the best-