The second Gymstars Gymnastics Club international competition was held recently at their headquarters in Tarxien. Despite the presence of five overseas clubs, from England and Cyprus, the Maltese achieved creditable results in front of an appreciative crowd present.
The team from Colchester finished the competition with the best tally of medals.
There were also some surprising performances from Cypriots Olympia Club. Among the local clubs, Gymstars won no fewer than 50 medals overall, 10 of them gold. In general, the performance level of the competition was high.
Olympia achieved the best results in events for girls. They showed total concentration and won 53 medals, 22 of them gold.
Colchester had Jay Becky Smith at her best. She won five golds and team-mate Louise Pennell three.
Francesca Borg was in fine form for Gymstars in B15 Over. She won two first places, overall and uneven bars.
In the same category, Gymstars had Audrey Schembri finishing second overall and first on the beam.
Also making the podium was Christina Borg, of ISC. Her best result was a gold medal on vault.
Another gold for Gymstars was won by Roxanne Bonnici in the B15 Under. She was first on beam. Nicolette Schembri and Debbie Schembri were medal winners in this category as well.
In D11 Under the ones to excel were Kirsty Caruana, Martina Galea, Amy Pace, Mariah Saliba, Martha Camilleri, Rebekah Calleja and Thays Buhagiar.
Eva Kohout was among the medal winners in C15 Under along with Therese Cassar and Nicole Schembri.
For Acrobatic Jumpers, the most successful performer was Sonia Schembri in B12 Under, winning gold on floor. Christie Debono, Rachel Gatt and Nadia Debono produced fine performances in this class.
ISC's most prominent gymnast was Sue Hampton in the C15 Over. She was second overall and won gold on uneven bars.
In the boys' competition, the Tolworth club had some excellent athletes in their line-up, not least Minesh Desai.
He distinguished himself on all equipment, but showed his best on rings. In all, Tolworth won 15 gold, 10 silver and six bronze medals.
Again Gymstars were the best from the local clubs, winning four golds in the B15 Under. Joe Muscat topped the charts on high bars, floor and vault. He was second overall.
Jeremy Saywell secured gold on parallel bars and silver medals on rings and horse. Isaac Camilleri and Terence Gatt won podium positions in different events for Acro Jumpers.
The latter had their best moments in the B15 Over with Darren Debattista leading the charge. Robert Zammit and Andrea Buhagiar added more honours to the club.
In B12 Under, Acro Jumpers had young Kersten Brown showing promising talent.
The main sponsors of the Gymstars international competition were Freedor Ltd, of Paola.