Hello again. This is my last blog for this year. I can’t believe how quickly 2021 has gone! The last three months have been good, but also sad and difficult at times, but I still love my gymnastics and I’m feeling positive about 2022 and I’m focused on the English and British Champs in March, so not long! Thank you for reading my blog. Here are my last three months, as a bit of a diary…

October 2021

A memory popped up from five years ago today! It’s me in my GB kit. 😍 I look so young! haha.

9-16 October 2021

Sunday. This week I did my bars routine from A to B! That’s exciting. It’s really coming now. I didn’t end it right, but I’m working on that!

Thurs. At home after gym I accidentally stubbed and bent my big toe back and cut it. Ouch. I now have a very swollen toe and it’s hard to move it, and the joint. I iced it and put arnica on it.

I couldn’t walk the next day. I really hope it’s better in a couple of days.

Sunday. Training today was hard and frustrating with my injured toe.

Monday 18 Oct. My toe seemed to be a bit better so I could do some more things. I did vault. I caught three Jaegers on bars again. I tried to be positive.

It was the World Gymnastics qualifications in Japan. Georgia Mae Fenton, Becky Downie and Ruby Stacey (my sixteen year old friend from Devon!) did brilliantly.

Tues 19 October – Ruby and Georgia have qualified for the all around finals!

Weds off

Thurs. World’s all around women’s final – Ruby and Georgia. They were amazing! Wow. 15^th and 17^th in the World Champs. I can’t wait to go and watch it live next year in Liverpool.

4-8pm A good session. ☺

Fri 2-8pm

Saturday, day off. I watched the World Gymnastics apparatus finals live from Japan. I love Angelina Melnikova from Russia but I also love Rebecca Andrade from Brazil. Her vaulting is incredible! Rebecca won the gold medal on vault so is now the Olympic and World Champion on vault. When I watch one of her vaults it’s like she stops/pauses in midair. Wow. Oh my days. She is incredible and I envy her. She is so inspiring to me.

I filmed it, but this is the better film of her vaults on YouTube! Wow.

Sunday. I had a really bad headache all day and felt sick so could not train today.

Half term yay!

Mon 4-8pm.

Tues 10-4pm

Weds off

Thurs 2-8pm

Fri 10-4 I did a control comp in the gym. I did my bars routine in the warm up  ☺ but just not when I had to show it unfortunately. Never mind. One day I will.

This week Mon 1 Nov – Sun 7 November

Back to school! On Tuesday and Wednesday the top of my leg started to hurt. I think I’ve got a groin or hip flexor strain. I have been icing it and putting heat on it and taking painkillers. I have to keep doing this. I needed to rest it and not do leaps and running. I had to take it easy and do less on it this week. I am not sure what’s going to happen about my comp next weekend. I might only be able to do bars and no other pieces. I want it to be better for the British at end of Nov.

Saturday. I was going to go to Exeter with my friends today but I decided that I needed to really rest my leg and that it wouldn’t be the best idea to walk a lot. So I didn’t go.

Sun I did a little bit more in the gym today and managed some tumbles.

Here’s my song of the moment! Coldheart by Elton John and Dua Liepa. Also Easy on Me by Adele. I listen to both of these to relax me at night and to go to sleep.

Monday 8 Nov 4-8.30pm

Tuss 4-8pm

Weds off

Thursday 11 Nov I had my Covid vaccination at school. I did not feel well afterwards, and nearly fainted. I was in first aid and needed to go home. I could not train tonight 😔I had a headache and felt sick and I felt poorly all night.

Fri I woke up feeling better! After school I trained 2pm – 8pm in the gym as normal. I managed to do all my routines! I haven’t been able to do this for over a week due to my sore leg and my covid jab. I did lots tonight, and I was happy. It was a totally different day! Yes.

Saturday. Day off to do homework, roll out, stretch my muscles and see my family. ♥ I have a competition tomorrow, Devon Levels at Paignton. I’m planning to compete all four pieces. I have several new skills to compete.

The Work Plan for the British Championships was emailed through today from Mike. It’s in two weeks time at Guildford.  🤞 I’m first year Junior, which is going to be on the Sunday . We can now book spectator tickets online.

‘The BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP showcases talents of the most exceptional Women’s Artistic gymnasts in the country, showing off their superhuman power and flexibility, breath-taking control, poise and creative flair. The gymnasts will battle for All-Around British Champion and Apparatus medals on all 4 pieces. This is being held on 27th & 28th November at Guildford Spectrum. This is one competition not to miss.’

Sunday 14 November 2021

Mum and I drove to Paignton to South Devon Gymnastics. Due to restrictions only 1 spectator was allowed.

For the first time this year I had all my routines ready to compete. Yay!!! I felt proud to have got this far and to get all my routines ready. It’s been a long process and journey. I was scared but I knew I could do it as I had done them many times in the gym and Fridays training was very good. I really hoped I could go clean. I competed in Devon Levels FIG class.

Vault – I didn’t feel comfortable with the vault run to do my yerchenko straight so ended up doing yerchenko tuck instead.

Here’s my warm up vault.

Bars

I competed my Jaeger for the first time (release and catch) and caught it fine. ☺ I heard some cheering from my friends! It was a big moment for me. My routine starts at 1min 18s.

Beam

My beam was a bit wobbly (I can make that better!) but I went clean, which was my aim!

Floor

I did my upgraded punch straight front instead of punch tuck today. Yay! I enjoyed my floor. I couldn’t believe that my chest was up in my double tuck. I was like ‘yes, what?! That feels good!’ My routine went really well and I had a huge smile.

I had a clean comp! I competed all my pieces. I am really proud of myself. Second AA and First on floor. Now I need to think about the BRITISH in two weeks time and go for it.

On the way home in the car I did this Tik Tok 😂 🔥 ☺ I’m a FIREBALL! (Mum loves it! haha)

Mon My hip was really sore. I had tears and I was feeling really tired and emotional. Mum picked me up early from training. I did the usual things of ice, heat, stretching, pain relief tablets.

Tues 16 Nov. Grampy:s 80^th birthday. Gym 4-6.40pm I just did basics and conditioning. My hip/leg felt a bit better.

Weds day off

Thurs I am seeing Megan our physio today – fingers crossed. She said that I haven’t torn anything, so that’s really good news. My hip flexor is just very very tight and my muscles in my back and leg are tight. I need to roller out and do exercises, but my power is there so I can go back and train in the gym. I just need to minimise repetitions and leaps. I think my body and maybe my mind too are tired – I have been using my body a lot.

I have a really sore throat today 😔

Fri Arghh I woke up with a cold 😔 I do not feel very well. I can’t train my normal 6hrs today. I only trained 4-7.40 but I still managed to do all my program. Mike and I had a chat about the British.

Saturday. I helped on the Falcons fundraising stall 10-11am at the Christmas ice rink and Market near gym.

Training 12-6pm. I managed it. I don’t know how I did. Arghh I feel rubbish now.

It’s the British next Sunday.

Sunday. I still do not feel very well. I went in to gym to practice the Christmas dance with Gemma’s group.

Monday I went to school but I felt terrible. My cold/virus is really bad and I have an awful headache, bad nose and do not feel good at all. Today I needed to show my routines to Mike, as if I would be showing them at the British. I just couldn’t do them properly. I got so upset. I’m not well 😔 We had to make a decision together with Mike and Kelly. I’m not going to be able to go. 😔 It’s sad and disappointing, as I know I have all four of my routines now to compete. I want to be there but I am just not well enough to train this week. I have put in so much hard work but it is just not going to happen for me this time. I have to aim for the English and  British in March now, but that isn’t very long away. I need to get myself feeling better, and it’s important that I get myself well again, and have a rest and not feel completely exhausted. I haven’t felt this unwell in a long time. I just can’t perform or execute my skills when I am like this. It’s also dangerous to try. I need to have a strong mind and body, and both of these things are not there at the moment.

Dad, Mike and Kelly had a good chat on Tuesday night.

This week I was really poorly and was off school and gym all week. It wasn’t Covid, just a really bad cold that completely took over me and made me so ill and very run down.

Sunday 28 November I would have been competing at the Junior British Championships in Guildford today. It is a shame that I am not there.

But I feel better today, enough to go into Falcons to train again after 6 days of being off ill. I am excited to be back in the gym. 👍 I don’t feel completely better but I am much more ME now! I have to be positive.

I survived 11-5! I fell on beam and I’ve got a graze and bruise on my thigh now though.

Mon Back to school. Gym 4-8.30pm.

Tues 30 Nov 4-8pm. I did one and half on my bars flyaway dismount. I finished my stamp sheet of 50 and claimed my prize – a snowman bath bomb ☺

It’s been training as normal this week. My cough has been really bad though. I’ve been lateral flow testing every day and it’s all negative. Covid cases are really high in our area now though 😔

On Sunday, 5^th December, I was supposed to go to South West training at Wiltshire. I had to take a PCR test on Saturday due to being a close contact of positive cases but in the morning at 6.30am the result still hadn’t come through. Mum and I drove to Tiverton to meet my friend who was going to take me, but the result still hadn’t come through so we had to go home instead.

I got a cheeky McDonalds breakfast though 😋 that’s what a gymnast needs! 😂 (I had to dress up Christmassy for South West Squad so I am Mrs Christmas in this picture!)

My PCR test result was sent on email at 5pm, and was negative. ☺

We still have to keep doing our daily LFTs before gym.

Monday 6 Dec. 4-8.30pm. Things just were not going right for me in the gym. 😢 I hurt my foot and my alignment was wrong on my beam dismount. I got upset and frustrated and scared.

Tues 7 Dec 4-8pm. It was a much better day at gym today. ☺ Conditioning, beam – I did my dismount with a mat, leaps and spin, my tumbles on track, on bars I did my one and half twist dismount to hard. ☺

Thurs 4-8pm

Fri 2-8pm

Sun 11-5pm I was a bit tired and achy. Our Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave an announcement today about the Covid Omicron variant emergency.

Mon 13 Dec – It was an alright session, and I was pleased to do my double pike over hard on track. ☺ 🎉

Tues and Weds was our dance show at school. It had to be filmed instead of having live audiences due to Covid, which was a shame but it was still fun though. ☺

Mum and I met up online with a Sports Psychologist today. He’s really nice. I’m going to talk to him about my gymnastics and I think he is going to be great and help me overcome some scared times that I have and make me more confident. 🙂

Thursday. In gym tonight one of my eyes started to go really blurry and I started to get a headache. The bright lights were terrible. I had to go home early and take some tablets and go to bed. I’ve not had a migraine before.

Fri I felt a bit better after my long sleep and I went to school for the last morning before Christmas! My head was still not right and when I put my head down I felt all weird. I couldn’t train at gym today.

Saturday A fun ice skating afternoon with my gym friends. Yay! I felt well enough to do this.

Sunday 19^th December – Our last training day in the gym before Christmas! 11-5pm. We all gave our Secret Santa gifts.  Now it’s just my home program for a few days, time with friends and Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we went to watch my sister in the professional pantomime Cinderella at the Queen’s Theatre. It was fantastic! I love Christmas with all my family, grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins.

28/29/30 December. Back in the gym for a few days! I was excited to get back and I wore my new leotard on the first day back. 😍 It’s so smart! These last few days have been hard sessions and we have targets but it’s been good to be back. We also had our fundraising Movie night in the gym for our America 2023 trip.

Several of my national gym friends have announced that they have stopped/retired this year. It feels strange thinking that I won’t see then at national squads and national competitions but I understand why they have stopped. We are all fourteen years old now! I wish them all well for their futures.

Now it’s time for Christmas number two with the other side of our family over New Year. 😍

I am now looking forward to next year, new skills and competitions. Bring on 2022!

Thank you for reading this and supporting me.

Fliss x