FOUR gymnasts from Chippenham Moonraker Gymnastics took part in their first English Championships at the New College in Leicester - the first time the club has been represented in a full women’s artistic event at a national level.

In the Silver Senior event, Maisie Russell and Katie Strange placed 22nd and 27th out of 40 gymnasts from across England.

Russell just missed out on a medal on the floor exercise by three-tenths of a point – the equivalent of a single step on a landing.

Strange’s high point also occurred on the floor exercise, where she placed 13th.

In the Silver Intermediate event, Mia Wright and Kelsey Stokes placed 22nd and 28th out of 50, with Wright placing fifth on the floor exercise, just a tenth away from the bronze medal.

Stokes performed exceptionally well on the beam where she finished in 12th position.

Moonraker head coach Steven West said: “We are all very proud of how well the girls performed. It was a very long day with a very high standard of competition and we received lots of compliments from other clubs who could not believe we do not have a full-time facility in which to train.’’ Moonraker gymnasts also participated in the Wiltshire Grades competition in Trowbridge.

Competitors are assessed against set criteria on all four pieces of apparatus – vault, bars beam and floor exercise - at ascending difficulty levels aiming for a target score to pass their grade.

At women’s Artistic Grade 4, the simplest level for the girls, seven-year-olds Amber Nixon, Hollie Jones, Alisa Burton, Eve Holden, Charlotte Taverner, Evie-Mae Last, Lauren Turfrey, Lucy Barnard and six-year-old Abigail Tobin all passed the grade.

Turfrey was the highest overall performer, finishing in eighth position overall.

At Grade Three, Niamh Doherty was joined by newcomer Charlotte Foley to perform four solid exercises, both achieving the required standard to grade.

In the Disabilities category at Grade Three, Francesca Dipisa was also successful in achieving the grade.