Fyrish Gymnastics Club are celebrating an unprecedented double gold medal haul from the Scottish TeamGym Championships at Ravenscraig.
In the event, which took place on June 24, the club’s youth level 3 team got the day off to a perfect start by being crowned Scottish champions with a score of 33.9.
That was followed up by the club’s junior level 2 team posting the same score later in the day, which forced a tiebreak with Forth Valley. Having scored more on two of the three apparatus, Fyrish were subsequently declared champions.
The club is based in Alness but take on gymnasts from an area stretching between Muir of Ord and Golspie, between toddler level up to the age of 17.
Lead coach Faith Macleod, who runs TeamGym at Fyrish along with founder Heidi Bavnhoej, insists it was a proud moment for the club.
Macleod said: “It’s one of those things where the more you put into it, the more you get back.
“We have been really lucky in this competition and others, in the sense we have had really nice compliments about the bond our kids have.
“The older girls and the younger girls are so close. We have always been really lucky and always had nice comments.
“Heidi and I are best friends, too, we live together and are super close.
“Having an achievement like that meant a lot to us. We weren’t really sure how it was going to go. It was just pure shock, but when I look back I think it’s better when it’s like that.
“They worked so hard for it, and it was such a rewarding moment for them.”
Macleod on move to Denmark
The medal success allows Macleod to sign off on a high, as she prepares to move to Denmark next month.
Macleod will spend the forthcoming year at Ollerup School, where she will continue to progress her gymnastics career.
The 21-year-old is looking forward to her new challenge.
She added: “It brought out a lot of emotion on the day, because there was that realisation that Heidi and I are not going to do this together now.
“We took the kids to Denmark to train last year. Heidi managed to sort out a trip for us, so they have been themselves.
“That was actually where I went to visit the place where I’m going to work and train.
“We have had brilliant experiences together and it has been such a highlight.
“It’s just such a high to finish on.
“It’s going to be 10 months, so Heidi will be doing it all herself for that time period.
“I don’t know how you would word it over here, because they have schools like that all over Denmark.
“I suppose you would call it a sort of college, but it’s not like the type of education colleges we have here. I will be a gymnast and I will be coaching, so it’s hard to translate over here. It will be a mix of both.”
