GYMNAST Ted Havers helped his North-West team to sixth place in a national competition in Telford.
Ted from Edenfield, has been in the North West team for the last three years and his favourite apparatus is parallel bars for which he scored 8.8.
At the competition, the Year 7 student at Haslingden High School, also competed on vault, high bar, floor, rings and pommel and physical preparation programme, a series of moves to demonstrate strength and flexibility.
He said: “There were around 2,000 to 3,000 people there so it was very busy, but I am used to this, to me it is just normal and that doesn’t faze me.
“There were five gymnasts representing the North West and we know a lot of the other gymnasts well and we all support each other.
“For me, it is really fun and when you have been in a competition, the next training sessions are more fun on the trampoline and doing different games, before it then gets back to the serious side of preparing for the next competition.
“Then you find yourself going through the same routine over and over again so you can get it perfect.”
In his latest competition, Ted scored 9.7/10 for vault and 9.65/10 for pommel.
Overall, the North West team came third for pommel and sixth for vault.
Ted said: “I would have scored higher marks on the high bar, but I didn’t manage to get to a handstand – if I had done that, I would have been 10th.
“I am hoping to get up to Grade 6 level without having any serious injuries.”
The next competition for the North West team will be in April and as the competitors will be able to do their own routines, Ted is looking forward to it.
He trains with Bury Gymnastics Club five times a week, and six when there is a competition coming up.