THE smallest stars with Acrobay Gymnastics Club shone brightly as they produced sparkling, medal-winning performances at a recent national competition.

A total of 19 gymnasts, known at the Rosyth club as the 'Minis', aged between five and seven, joined more than 200 competitors at the Acrobatic NDP Tournament and Beginners Competition at the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility on September 16.

Hosted by Scottish Gymnastics, the event featured more than 60 NDP partnerships competing for medals and, in a new venture, this year's competition also included a beginners' event for some of the country's youngest acrobatic gymnasts.

The gymnasts representing Acrobay – Taryn Anderson, Maisie McNicoll, Zofia Kossak, Sophia Hanlin, Lucy Muir, Grace Cunningham, Poppy Campbell, Ruby McInnes, Milly Marshall, Megan Wall, Aimee Osborne, Ava Curtis, Madison Cowcher, Fallon Farrell, Tayla Pettiglio, Rebecca Wilson, Charlotte Ballantyne, Eleanor Breach and Ellie Murray – competed in two sections.

The first of those saw them required to present six individual moves, while the second part comprised a series of partnership balance moves.

In the individual moves section, there was a gold medal for Charlotte Ballantyne, silver medals for Milly Marshall and Tayla Pettiiglio, and bronze gongs for Zofia Koassak and Rebecca Wilson.

Acrobay then completed a clean sweep in the 5-8 years beginners' pairs section, with gold, silver and bronze awarded to Ava Curtis and Fallon Farrell, Eleanor Breach and Madison Crowcher, and Tayla Pettiglio and Charlotte Ballantyne respectively.

The youngsters' coaches, Stacey Porterfield and Maria Roche, enthused: "We're so proud of our wee ones; they really are our stars of the future.

"The beginners' competition was a new experience for all of us and our gymnasts did so well. This was the first national competition they've competed in; in fact, for most of them, it was their first-ever competition.

"They loved performing in front of the crowd at a big competition, and they got so much out of it.

"And, looking at the smiles on the faces, all the coaches and judges seem to have had a great time too!"