A team of boys from Belgium have spent the week training at Notts, along with French gymnast Youna Dufournet who trained with the Notts' senior elite girls.
With the Downie sisters – Becky and Ellie – flying the flag, athletes are prepared to come from far and wide to see what is on offer for themselves.
In fact, it became something of an international training camp in West Bridgford.
Belgium Boys
A squad of boys from Belgium joined the Notts boys squad this week for a few days of training. The Belgian boys also enjoyed a great laser shooting-evening together with the Notts boys - many thanks for the presents!
Pavel Todorov, head of the men's artistic, was delighted with how the week turned out, welcoming their guests into the gym and entertaining them in the evenings.
Pavel thanked the parents, coaching team and Notts Board of Directors,
'Please, accept our heartfelt thanks for your allegiance and devotion! Without you the success of this event will not be possible! Thank you!'
Last week the NGA MAG Elite and Belgium National Junior Artistic squads attended a training camp in our gym in Nottingham. The camp included five days of intense training, a day off for a Laser quest, Alton Towers, ace braking and socializing with our guests in a nice atmosphere during dinner with parents, gymnasts and coaches.
All of our gymnasts had set goals for the camp and beyond, keeping track of their daily progress. They learned team work by participating in team activities and kept track of their progress during the camp. Goal setting was not limited to gymnastics skill only, but also to other contributing factors to success, like attitude, positive self-talk, and focus.
Training alongside with a foreign National Team, with a gymnast who won a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games in China last year, placed our gymnasts in a situation they normally wouldn’t encounter. It gave them a possibility to learn something new, pick up new skills and techniques from others, thus helped them to become better and perfect their skills.
The camp provided an atmosphere of inspired learning, combined with a lot of fun. Basic gymnastic skills were reinforced while new skills and skill progressions were pursued too.
Among the gymnasts trained were Tyla-Jae Curtis, Matt Boardman, Sam Plant, Conor McGrath – Ireland National gymnast, Tom Morley, Alex Cash, Harry Clarke, Finley Risby, Colbi Curtis, Kaydon Kennedy, Issak Byfield – from Notts, Jonas Delvael, Thiemen Valcke, Aaron Blomme, Iliaz Pyncket, Noah Kuavita, Wouter De Langhe, Luka van den Keybus – silver medallist from the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing 2014, Emiel Tiebout, Liam de Smet and Ward Claeys – from Belgium Junior National squad.
In conclusion, the camp was a great experience for our boys to get intense training in their preparation for the upcoming competitions during the year.
Pavel Todorov
Jonas Delvael, Thiemen Valcke, Aaron Blomme, Iliaz Pyncket, Noah Kuavita, Wouter De Langhe, Luka van den Keybus, Emiel Tiebout, Liam de Smet and Ward Claeys.
Also training during the same week, in the women's half of the gym, the elite squad was joined by French gymnast Youna Dufournet.
It comes only a few months after Canadian Ellie Black made the trip across the Atlantic to work alongside Becky Downie.
“It just really shows how very respected the club is,” said coach Claire Starkey.
From left: Jess Coombs, Ellie Downie,Youna Dufournet with Becky and Ellie Downie, Katie Bramley at Notts Gymnastics Academy.
Read more: Nottingham Post news story
