ACROBAY gymnasts held their own against world's best as they flew the flag for Scotland in Portugal.

Sixteen members of the Rosyth club competed at this year's Maia International Acro Cup and World Cup last week.

The club sent their elite FIG (international) team to Maia to participate in the event, which attracted more than 1,000 top acrobatic gymnasts from around the world.

Acrobay’s senior women’s group of Erin Henderson, Sacha Muir and Chloe Rowlands represented Great Britain at the 2019 World Cup.

The trio competed last year as part of Team GB at the Acrobatic World Championships, where they finished in an outstanding fourth place, and they continued their amazing journey this year by representing GB in their first World Cup as a senior three-piece.

The trio, who were named Scottish Gymnastics’ Junior Gymnasts of the Year, qualified for the finals with two clean performances in both their balance and dynamic routines and, after a third stunning and high-scoring combined routine, they earned a highly-respectable sixth place in the final rankings.

Running alongside the World Cup event was the Maia International Acro Cup, where their FIG team-mates had their chance to shine.

Eve Gillies and Sophie Humphries (Age 11-16 women’s pairs), Erin Bailey, Olivia Keir & Kayla Ballantine (Age 11-16 women’s groups), Mica Fraser & Melissa Dewar (Age 12-18 women’s pairs), Rebecca Stewart, Ellie Horstmann & Scarlett Haldane (Age 12-18 women’s groups) and Rosie Jasper, Abby Martindale & Gracie Crawford (Age 13-19 women’s groups) competed against more than 840 elite gymnasts from more than 20 countries worldwide.

All of the Acrobay partnerships proved their worth against tough opposition, with two partnerships – 11-16 trio Erin Bailey, Olivia Keir & Kayla Ballantine and 12-18 trio Rebecca Stewart, Ellie Horstmann & Scarlett Haldane – reaching the finals where they finished in eighth and seventh place respectively.

Acrobay’s head coach Suzanne Fraser said: “The girls were confident and held their own in a very competitive category against some of the world’s best acrobatic gymnasts.

"We really enjoyed our first experience of competing in a World Cup and the team continue to go from strength to strength at MIAC. We gained invaluable experience to work on for future competitions. It’s onwards and upwards for these gymnasts and I can’t wait to see what they will achieve over the coming months.”