Thirty-six gymnasts from GR8 Gymnastics, based at Culcheth High School, headed to Disneyland Paris earlier this month for the Gymnastique Magique competition and came home with a rather impressive haul of first and second-place awards.
The team, aged eight to 17, performed solo routines, duets and full-group pieces at the Disney-backed event. That is serious graft, not simply a few cartwheels between queueing for a princess photo. Anyone who has watched young gymnasts train will know the polished smiles are built on hours of repetition, determination and probably more hair grips than the whole of Warrington owns.
A parent described the schedule as intense but worthwhile, and that sounds about right. Paris is demanding enough when you are trying to locate the Metro, never mind when you are competing at a high level while representing Culcheth.
The following day, the whole GR8 Gymnastics squad joined other competitors for a pre-parade performance inside Disneyland Paris. Disney helped teach the routine before the character parade, which is the sort of opportunity that sounds wonderfully surreal: one minute you are nailing choreography, the next you are performing in front of crowds before Mickey Mouse takes over the street.
It was clearly a huge success for the club, and deservedly so. GR8 Gymnastics runs weekly classes at both Culcheth High School and Lowton High School, proving once again that plenty of talent is quietly being developed locally, even if it occasionally has to travel to Paris to get the spotlight it merits.