On Saturday Antonia Bates, a 14-year-old Elite Artistic Gymnast from Rode near Frome, competed in her first international competition as a member of the England Gymnastic Team.

Antonia who has been a member of the England Junior (under 16) Squad for over a year was called up this month and given a place in the 3 girl team that defeated the Belgium national team in a bi-lateral international held in Ypres. She trains at the Wiltshire School of Gymnastics in Bowerhill Melksham.

18 months ago Antonia was selected to be a member of the 12 strong England Gymnastics squad (comprising of 6 x Seniors – over 16 yrs, plus 6 x Juniors -under 16 yrs).

At a recent England Training Camp Antonia must have caught the England Selectors eye as she heard this month that she had been selected as a member of the 3 girl team of Juniors that were to compete against Belgium in a bi-lateral international.

Not only was this a great honour but even more of an achievement as Antonia had been plighted by a string of devastating lower limb injuries that had kept her from achieving her full potential.

The team consisted of Amy Middleton (of Horsham Sussex), Danielle Wickham (of Gillingham, Dorset) and Antonia, Bates. They were accompanied by the Team Coach Coral King (Port Regis School, Near Shaftesbury).

They all performed some outstanding routines (on all 4 pieces: Floor, Asymmetric Bars, Vault and Beam) to defeat the Belgium team. l

Athough the trophy will be deposited in the silver cabinet at Lillershall, Antonia came away with a medal as the England Trio secured the top 3 individual places! (Antonia was 3rd overall).

Antonia was also awarded her England Colours by The Chairman of English Gymnastics Association – Mr Jim Moss.

The competition was held in the Flanders town of Ypres (Leper). On the same day there were club teams competing that had come from Belgium, France and England.

The England Team Delegation - lead by Jim Moss (The Chairman of the English Gymnastics Association) spent 3 days in Ypres (preparing, competing and chilling!) during which time they were able to do some sight seeing and attended the “Last Post ceremony” at the Menin Gate.

Antonia’s proud father (Peter) and elder sister (Stephanie) drove out to Ypres to be there on the day. Leaving poor old mother, Merete, to look after the brothers at home in Rode.

When asked about the event, Peter Bates (an Army Lieutenant Colonel currently working in Larkhill) said: “I would not have missed this for anything. It was such an amazing achievement. It has been a real emotional rollercoaster – hearing of the selection, seeing Antonia at the competition and then finally watching her standing on the podium with the National Anthem being played. Antonia has made all of us feel unbelievably proud!”

Antonia attends St Augustine’s Roman Catholic College in Trowbridge , which as, a sports college is of course tremendously supportive of all her activities. She trains for over 20 hours a week at the renowned Wiltshire School of Gymnastics in Melksham and is a regular member of the Wiltshire and South West teams. In the autumn this year there are internationals being held in Germany and Russia and Antonia who loved the whole experience in Belgium, is keen to keep her place in the team. As well as hoping for a second England call up Antonia is focussing on preparing herself for the English Championships (held in Leicester in September) and the British Championships (held in Guildford in July). Rachel Levick of Bath, a High Performance Gymnastics Coach and head coach at Wiltshire School of Gymnastics, was delighted at what Antonia had achieved. (Of course credit must be given to the Coach for getting Antonia there).

Wiltshire School of Gymnastics (www.wiltsgym.co.uk) has a great reputation and is included in the 2012 Olympic Games Brochure as a potential venue for International teams to conduct their Pre Games Training Camps.