Double Downies Experience Day at LWGC

On Sunday 16th June 2019 Leamington & Warwick Gymnastics Club welcomed world class gymnasts Becky and Ellie Downie to our gym for an exclusive event.

50 gymnasts attended the morning and there was much excitement on the build up to the day with gymnasts practising their skills and preparing questions for the duo.

When Becky and Ellie arrived they displayed all their medals and also brought with them some gorgeous leotards designed by themselves!

The morning started with a dance style warm up, choreographed by Becky & Ellie themselves. Gymnasts practised and learned the moves to '7 rings' by Ariana Grande.

Once warmed up the gymnasts split into four groups and worked their way around four pieces of apparatus spending around 15 minutes on each. Every single child was given tips and advice during the session by both Becky and Ellie and it was the most incredible sight to see their faces light up when they received advice and praise from the two. Even some of our experienced coaches commented that they felt inspired and had taken some new ideas away from the training session to bring to future classes here at LWGC.

After a busy morning the gymnasts and their parents and carers were given the opportunity to sit with Becky and Ellie and put their questions to them. We also had some questions from other gymnasts at the club which we asked on their behalf. There were some wonderful questions and it was amazing to hear some of the stories from the olympics and the experiences Becky & Ellie have had along the way.

Here's just a small selection of some of the questions and answers that were put to the duo:

How do you keep positive?

Becky - "There’s never been a point where I’ve wanted to quit, but I always look for the positives in each situation. If I’ve been injured I’ve just always focussed on moving forward."

What’s the scariest thing about gymnastics?

Becky - "Team competitions! If you fall off, you let the team down, that’s the most pressure."

Do you have any regrets on becoming a gymnast?

Ellie - "You do miss out on some things like parties and family holidays, sometimes you just have to put training first."

Becky and Ellie told our gymnasts that they train for 6 or 7 hours most days. They also told us that they have so many leotards between them that they're all in suitcases around their home! Becky said that she won her first British title at just 12 years old and that she hated bars at first but now is her best piece of apparatus!

We asked Becky and Ellie what advice could they give our gymnasts for the future & here's what they said:

"NEVER GIVE UP.. gymnastics is one of the hardest sports and nothing is easy in this sport but if you keep trying you can get there."

"MAKE SURE YOU ENJOY IT ... there's no point if you're not happy, you've got to be happy in what you do, especially if you want to do it every day."

At the end of the session all the gymnasts had the opportunity to meet Becky and Ellie, have their photos taken and items signed. We're sure it was the perfect end to a lovely morning!

LWGC would like to thank Becky & Ellie for choosing our club to host their DoubleDownies experience day, we hope all our gymnasts will take away the advice and tips they gave them and we hope they'll come and see us again soon!

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