Memoirs of a gymnast.....The trio and our first competition...Chapter 3. | jenni855's Blog

At this point, I had only competed in two competitions and they were for artistic gymnastics. This competition with the trio was the real thing and I really hoped that we would do well. Our routine was set to Spanish music. It was Jo's old routine that she had with her partner so she was able to teach us it. I loved it, the dance, the music, our skills, everything. Weirdly enough, I can still remember that routine almost foot perfect. Shows how much I must have practiced it, it is literally ingrained in my brain. 
Before the competition, I remember Jo sitting me down and reminding me of any improvements that I needed to make before the competition. At 9 years old, I weighed about 24 KG. I remember Jo saying to me that it would be good if I could get down to 23 KG. 
The competition day loomed and I remember being picked up by Jo's father and her family. I remember them asking if I was excited. 
When we got to the venue, it was hair and make-up time. I remember that awful gel we had to use in our hair, it as horrible. 
We had to wait a while for our turn and I remember Jo being quite protective and huggy with me. Perhaps she knew I was feeling nervous. She kept sitting me on her lap and was being really kind. There is a picture of us like that and she looks like my big sister, it is quite uncanny.
I remember being mortified when my father walked in with a huge bag of sweets, chocolate and crisps for me. I knew they were forbidden and my face just dropped. 
"Don't let Alison see them." Jo warned. As if I was going to do anything as stupid as that!
It was soon our turn and we all walked up in our blue and yellow leotards. They sound vile now but at the time, I think we all thought we looked amazing.
I don't remember feeling that nervous. I enjoyed it and we performed everything well. The only move that didn't go so great was the last one. It was the one where Jo and Alex would stand opposite each other and form a kind of cradle net with their arms. I would then run up, jump into the cradle and then have to spin and turn back to the front. My legs weren't straight on that move which is where points must have been taken off. When we finished, I was so relieved I cried. Our score came up and Jo was happy with it. We ended up coming second that day and received a silver medal. It felt good to have some reward for the work that we were putting in. 
After that competition however, we didn't stay together as a trio that much longer. Alison was always changing the pairings around, almost to an excessive level. The last memory I have together of us as a group was at the club Christmas gym display. It was Christmas Eve and I was very excited and couldn't stop smiling. As part of the display, other sports acrobats were brought over from other clubs. I remember in one group display, Alison got my trio and another one to perform the same synchronized move. It was basically a platform to start so Alex would stand at rhe bottom, Jo would stand on her thighs and then I would climb up onto Jo's shoulders and perform a balance up on her hands. The other trio did the same and it must have looked impressive. I felt great that day and I do remember it as one of the happier days, if not the happiest day in my gymnastics career. I remember Alex and Jo bought me Christmas presents and I received a cuddly monkey and banana shower gel attached to it which I thought was the coolest thing ever. Sadly, after that we no longer worked together as a trio again and it was all time for change.