ACROBAY Gymnastics Club enjoyed a golden double as two of their partnerships excelled at a major British competition.

Rebecca Stewart, Ellie Horstmann and Scarlett Haldane, and Erin Henderson, Sacha Muir and Chloe Rowlands, rose to the top of the podium at the Pat Wade Classic.

Four partnerships from the Rosyth club formed part of the Scotland squad competing at the event in Stoke.

Acrobay’s Catriona Mitchell and Ailidh Forbes (age 11-16 women’s pairs), Deanna Canny-Armitt, Mica Fraser and Melissa Dewar (age 11-16 women’s groups), Stewart, Horstmann and Haldane (age 12-18 women’s groups) and Henderson, Muir and Rowlands (age 13-19 women’s groups) joined more than 230 competitors taking part from 30 clubs from the 10 English regions as well as Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

In addition to the battle for medals and rankings, many of those competing hoped to be spotted by the British national coach and invited to trial for the World Championships in Belgium next April.

For the Scottish contingent, the event was a recommended competition for gymnasts and coaches who are currently on, or are aiming to gain selection for, Scotland’s Elite Acrobatic Performance Programme.

It was a weekend of highs and lows for Acrobay who, after a promising first routine, saw the 11-16 trio of Deanna, Mica and Melissa forced to withdraw due to illness. The other partnerships rallied, producing two impressive performances each that earned all three well-deserved places in the finals.

The highlight belonged to the 12-18 and 13-19 trios of Rebecca, Ellie and Scarlett and Erin, Sacha and Chloe, who each performed beautifully executed balance and dynamic routines that saw them comfortably into the finals. They both then pulled out all the stops with their final combined routines, impressing the judges and delighting the audience on their way to the gold medals.

Acrobay’s head coach, Suzanne Fraser, said: “The girls have worked extremely hard for this. It was a very tough competition, but they held their nerve and gave it everything; it’s brilliant to see hard work and commitment paying off.

“It’s a huge achievement for any gymnast to make the finals in a competition of this calibre, so for two of our partnerships to take gold is absolutely massive – and this is only the beginning of the competition year.”

“These partnerships have an exciting year ahead of them.”