Goole gymnasts penalised for wrong length leggings
EUROPEAN dress code led to a defeat in the Marin Alpin Cup for Goole Gymnastics Club junior mixed team who travelled to Stavern near Oslo in Norway to compete against the best Scandanavian clubs.
After competing last year and coming fourth out of four the squad were determined to do better but after judges marked them down for different legging lengths they again only managed fourth.
Head coach Peter Brooke said many months of effort had gone into the preparations for the competition and the first element of the event was their strongest, the trampette.
He said: "Scores for previous teams had not been fantastically high despite the quality of the work shown, so a really high score was not expected. When the scoreboard showed 5.6 the team were devastated. They had never scored less than six."
A demoralised Goole team moved to the floor, which has proved difficult for them in the past with complicated choreography, partner balances and sequenced moves.
"Leaving the audience and other competitors cheering when the boys showed how flexible they were and the girls showed the high degree of control in their partner balances. The Scandanavians appreciate quality work but when a score of only 6.1 flagged up, all were astounded," said Peter.
"The choreography was a different style to that found in Norway with the emphasis on different things but the score was well below what had been expected."
The Goole gymnasts moved to tumble where they had improved tremendously since last year and were determined to hold on to their third place (needing at least 6.5) or even move up to second.
Combinations of twisting somersaults both forwards and backwards left them feeling that they had probably done enough.
Their hopes were dashed when a score of only 6.1 appeared. The total of 17.8 was the lowest score they had ever achieved by almost 1.5 although against very good opposition in a generally low scoring competition.
With the competition over the head judge explained to the Goole coach where they had gone wrong.
Peter said: "There had been a head judge deduction on each piece of half a mark (0.5), not for the gymnastics but because the boys trousers had full length legs but the girls only wore three quarter length leggings.
"The interpretation of the 'similar dress' rule is different in Norway to England but no-one told the Goole team."
The boys in the team made a silent protest by marching on at the presentations with their trouser legs rolled up to their knees.Peter added: "The welcome extended to the Goole gymnasts cannot be overstated and overall the experience was worth all the months of preparation and effort."
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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