The highly successful South Durham Gymnastics Club held their club championships at Spennymoor Leisure Centre on Sunday.

The day rounded off another good year for the club that has grown and grown over the last decade.

This year Hayley Robson has followed clubmates, and established internationals, Amy Fossheim and Leonni Jennison into the British Junior National squad and club members have won numerous national titles while they've also received recognition at annual The Northern Echo Local Heroes Awards.

Coaches Rachel Wright and Nicola Preston are the driving force behind the club's success having built the club over the last ten years.

Head coach Wright remembers vividly how it all started.

She said: "Myself and Nicola Preston were members of the King James gymnastics clubs at Bishop Auckland when we were at school. The club was run by Marian Gates and Margaret Redfearn who help us now.

"When we finished competing we both started coaching and moved our premises from King James to a gymnastics club at the Gaiety Theatre in Ferryhill, where we amalgamated and changed our name to South Durham Gymnastics Club.

"However, that building became dilapidated so Phil Bull, the director of leisure services at Sedgefield Borough Council, suggested we move to Spennymoor Leisure Centre and we have been here eight years.

"At the time of the move both Nicola and myself were working full time at County Hall, but in order to dedicate ourselves to the gymnastics club we both decided to job share.

"As the club developed more people came to watch and took an interest so more girls joined and we have gone from strength-to-strength."

The club has another 11 coaches which includes club coach Cathy Osborne, who gained a BSC honours degree in sports coaching and development at Abertay Dundee University. She moved from Scotland in September and now lives in West Auckland.

She said: "I love it here and I'll be here for a long time, I hope."

There is also a large team of parents and volunteers who raise funds for the club.

The South Durham Gymnastics girls were impeccably turned out for the championships with and the disciplined way they conducted themselves was testimony to the work Rachel, Nicola and their team of volunteers have put in. A feature was the way all the gymnasts supported each other even though they were in competition.

As one parent said: "The discipline and focus the girls have learned through practising gymnastics has a knock on effect in other areas of their lives. They tend to work better and achieve more at school while the travelling and the various competitions up and down the country also broaden their outlook and enhance their social skills."

The coaching at the club is of such a standard that the five-year-olds are proficient in such skills as back walkovers on the beams while the triple twists and other moves the older girls performed on the floor really take the breath away. Perhaps the most nervous competitor in the competition was ten-year-old Alissia Kusz who was in her first competition.

Coach Nicola Preston added: "In conjunction with Sedgefield Borough Council the club is also currently working towards a lottery bid of £1.6m for a new gymnastics centre which will be built adjacent to Asda. The club has recently been sponsored by Core People and Sportsmatch, the money going towards funding and extra full time coach in the gym. This will prove invaluable to the quality of the coaching."

Club championship results

Seven and under: 1 Stacey Thompson, 2 Laura Smart, 3 Sophie Willis.

Nine and under: 1 Kate Dixon, 2 Rebecca Conlon, 3 Laura Walker.

11 and under: 1 Jazmine Spiers, 2 Katie Usher, 3 Rebecca Irvine.

12 and over: 1 Leonni Jennison, 2 Hayley Robson, 3 Roxanne Jennison.

Most improved gymnast: Hayley Robson

Gymnast of the year: Melissa Carr

Achievement of the year: Amy Fossheim

Floor of the day: Hayley Robson

Gymnast of the month: Laura Walker

Gordon McDonald, the chair of the North of England Women's Gymnastic Technical Committee. assisted with the judging and the prize giving.