The east regional boys' team will be well represented by Pipers Vale gymnasts at the National Grade Finals next month after the club secured a host of medals at the Regional Grade Qualifiers.

The east regional boys' team will be well represented by Pipers Vale gymnasts at the National Grade Finals next month after the club secured a host of medals at the Regional Grade Qualifiers.

Ten boys from the Ipswich-based club competed in the regional set work qualifiers at their home club, gaining an impressive haul of seven medals between them.

Charlie Seller, Tommy Nicolaou and Will Oxbrow all competed in the Under-10 elite grade group.

All competed brilliantly, with Nicolaou only beaten into second place by the current national champion. His silver medal score of 62.4 was helped largely by an unbeaten floor routine.

Seller took the bronze medal with a score of 61.9, achieving the top score on pommels in the process, while Oxbrow finished fourth with a score of 60.05, achieving the top score on p-bars.

George Chanarin took the gold medal in the U14 NDP grade competition, his total score of 61.5 over three marks clear of the nearest rival thanks to top scores on floor, pommels, vault, p-bars and PPP.

Jordan Lawrence also took the gold medal in the U12 NDP grade competition with a score of 65.15, with Winstanley (62.15) taking the silver and Bethell (61.7) close behind to take the bronze.

Lawrence achieved top scores on six out of seven apparatus, with Winstanley achieving the joint top score on high bar. Poole finished in a creditable eighth position out of 12, scoring 56.5.

In the U11 NDP grade competition, Steele took the bronze medal with a score of 61.85 and achieved the top score on vault. Calcluth finished in a respectable ninth place out of 21 in the U9 category, scoring 57.8.

As a result, Seller, Nicolaou, Oxbrow, Steele, Winstanley, Bethell, Lawrence and Chanarin have all qualified as part of the regional team to compete at the National Final which is to be held in Newcastle over the May bank holiday weekend.

Calcluth and Poole will go on to compete at the National Set Work Championships later in the year.

Coach Will Banthorpe, who jointly coaches the boys alongside Andrew Crawford and Taurean Hambling, said: “The boys all did brilliantly. Hopefully they can go on to win some medals nationally as well now.”