Pre-schoolers make a clean sweep at gymnastics meet

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THE pre-schoolers from SJK (C) Sentul made it a clean sweep for the top three positions in the boys’ competition at the inaugural Young Gymnasts Championships at the HGH Convention Centre in Sentul recently.

Tan Teck Soon, 6, led the charge, accumulating 16.30 points in the competition decided over the combined scores in the floor exercise and vault to emerge as champion.

En route to complete a perfect finish for the side, it was a close tussle between team mates Tan Peck Leong and Muhammad Danial Hakim for the second spot.

In the end, Tan edged his challenger with a score of 15.90 while Danial came in third with a 15.80 effort.

Shape up: The group from SJK (C) Sentul thrilling the spectators with their moves at the half-day meet.

However, organising chairman Judy Leng Pei Fong from QQ Gymnastics said the girls showed better flexibility in their performances.

“The boys and girls were required to perform simple routines for the floor exercise and vault. But, the majority of the boys found it difficult to cope with the first element in the floor exercise.

“They could not get back on their feet after executing the rocking chair to follow through with a forward roll seated L-shape position before completing the exercise with the bridge.

“Although the boys are showing keen interest in picking up the skills, they need to work on their technique. The vault was much easier as it was a straightforward task to clear the hurdle,” she said.

The recent half-day meet drew 26 participants in the boys’ section while a bigger turnout with a field of 42 competitors featured in the girls’ category.

Top performer: Boys’ champion Tan Teck Soon (centre) receiving his prizes from SJK (C) Sentul headmaster Low Choong Sing (left) while Leng looks on.

Currently, Leng runs the newly set up gymnasium with about 30 pre-school and primary school trainees based at Bandar Sri Permaisuri in Cheras.

“We are also coaching at seven other locations in the Klang Valley including teaching children with special needs. Our aim was to create a competition for the children aged between four and six years to gauge their progress and interact with their peers.

“Besides our trainees, participants from four other training centres — Sri KL, Total Gymnastiques, Gym Fun and Star Jump — also took part,” said Leng, who has been coaching artistic gymnastics for the past 10 years.

Besides the competition, the group from SJK (C) Sentul also thrilled the spectators with their group performances.

In addition, the Star Jump cheering leading and jump gymnastics teams comprising secondary school students also showed their flair to inspire the pre-school competitors from various kindergartens.

Following a respectable response, the organisers are expecting to attract about 200 participants for next season’s meet.

“After seeing others in action, the younger pre-schoolers have indicated that they want to take part. We want to continue to host the event as an annual affair,” Leng said.