Competition entry fees are £20.00 per child with £4.00 per spectator. Children under 12 years old and children who are competing may spectate for free. We are limited to 5 spectators per competing gymnast.

Upon arrival to the venue, parking is available on the leisure centre car park. Parking can be limited so we ask all parents/carers to car share where possible. Once parked, head through the main entrance, and to the right enter the main hall. This is where your child will be competing.

Once inside, please go to the back of the hall behind the green curtain on the right hand side. Register your child with the coach on the desk and head through against the right hand wall. We have several rounds in the competition and ask for parents/carers to bring their child for their warm up start time, and no more than 5 minutes before. There may be a group of children still competing and spectators sat down watching, so we ask that your party respects these gymnasts by keeping noise to a minimum.

Once the competing group before your gymnast has finished, your child will be called onto the floor to warm up. Here they will work with another coach to warm up with a pulseraiser and stretch. Later on, gymnasts will be divided into two groups to get some practice at working on their floor routines and vault skill.

Next it will be time for the competition. Gymnasts will sit on the side of the floor and will come up to the competition floor one at a time to perform their vault for which they will have two attempts, with their best vault being taken as their score. After vault, we’ll move straight onto floor with gymnasts performing their routine one at a time. Gymnasts are judged by high-level coaches at the club. Most floor routines and vault skills are scored out of 10.0 points unless stated otherwise on the routine sheet.

Finally, scores are totalled, gymnasts have some time with their family to talk about how it went, and medals are awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd for their work on vault, and on floor. An overall competition winner is awarded with trophy for the highest combined score on floor and vault.

Although its lots of fun, it can also be nerve-racking for some gymnasts, and we take the following precautions to ensure gymnasts can be as relaxed and happy about the day as possible:

• Applause and praise - We insist that all parents/carers follow the guidelines of the club when it comes to supporting your child in our competitions. We understand adults will want their child to perform to the best of their ability, but will not tolerate unnecessary pressure being put on gymnasts when competing. Gymnasts will be applauded on their entry to compete in their event and after competing their routine or skill unless its requested otherwise by their parent/carer.

• Coach support - Dotted around the competition floor are our familiar coaching team. Armed with the floor routines your child is demonstrating, our coaches will occasionally whisper a skill to a child who is stuck in the middle of the floor. This means children feel far less embarrassment if they forget a skill.

• Awards - All children receive a certificate for their efforts in the competition regardless of where they place. Its extremely important to our club that children are praised for trying their best and being brave.

• Final decision - The decision to compete is our gymnasts, and we will not force anyone to compete who changes their mind. We may try to encourage them to give it a go but in the end will respect the decision of the child and their parent/carer.