Gymnasts on Ireland duty

TWO TALENTED members of the Barntown-based Gymstars gymnastics club have been selected to represent Ireland in the acrobatic gymnastics world age group championships to be held in Belgium from April 4 to 10.

Mair Williams and Abby Mulligan will be representing their country in the 11 to 16 women’s acrobatic pair, and it’s the highest level they can compete at in their age group.

Mair attends Gaelscoil Inis Córthaidh while Abby is a student at the Loreto in Wexford, and they have been put through their paces at the club premises in Knockeen, Barntown, by elite group coach Aoife Harnett.

Antwerp is the venue for the big event, and it will be a source of some considerable pride too for Gymstars club owner Joanne Mahoney who has also played a big role in the development of this capable pair.

Mair and Abby are currently ranked number one in Ireland at 11 to 16 level, on the basis of the results of the acrobatic team trophy last December plus a recent world age group selection trial.

They have consistently ranked within the top three pairs in the country over the preceding two years.

They were first in N.D.P. grade five as a women’s pair at the A.T.T. national finals in December, 2016, while the following May they ranked third at the national finals in the F.I.G. 11 to 16 category.

The national super series last June saw them ranked second in the dynamic routine and third in balance.

And the progress continued at the A.T.T. national finals for 2017 before Christmas when they were ranked first and captured both the technical and artistic trophies.

Mair and Abby competed at the Scottish invitational international in January and finished fifth in the F.I.G. 11 to 16 category.

They train four times per week under the supervision of coach Aoife Harnett as part of the Gymstars elite squad, with an additional training commitment prior to major competitions.

As members of the national acrobatic squad, they also train at the National Gymnastics Training Centre (N.G.T.C.) in Dublin under the supervision of the Ireland coaching team.

The pair were also selected to represent Ireland at the U.E.G. international training camp in Bulgaria last August.

They were delighted to be awarded a grant for high performance athletes from Wexford County Council recently, and they wish to thank everyone who has supported them on their gofundme page:

https://www.gofundme.com/ mairandabbyworldacro

It’s not too late for anyone still wishing to make a donation to assist with their considerable costs.

To date, Mair and Abby have made a huge commitment to the sport, and have participated in national and international competitions at an exceedingly high level.

Gymstars Gymnastics Club are also raising funds to allow them to participate in the upcoming competition.

Mair and Abby are already looking towards training for the European age group competition in Israel in 2019.

In a welcome development, acrobatic gymnastics is being included in the Youth Olympics this year for the first time, and if the age criteria allow, they will be looking to trial for the Irish squad in 2022.

Abby and Mair are putting club and county on the map, and we wish them well in Antwerp.