I have been in contact with 2 confirmed primaries, they are both gymnasts at an elite level.
July 2012: I went to visit a local gym in my area to see how the training was. It gave me a good insight into how young the girls are when they first being training and how many years it takes to compete at a national level.
September 2012: I went to visit Horsham Gymnastics club and The Dynamo school of Gymnastics. These were both beneficial as I was able to see for myself how hard these girls train and talk to them and their coaches in person about the film.
Please find below a copy of the e-mail conversation between me and coach Keith Richardson of Dynamo School of Gymnastics:
Dear Alyssa,
My apologies for being so illusive but as you have been aware life has been a little hectic. We would love to help you with your project.
I am in the gym Mondays - Fridays from 1-30 through to the evening with my gymnasts. Wednesdays are my day off. Have a think and get back to me with a time that we
could get together to discuss your project. It sounds good.Laura has not given up and has decided to try for Rio.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Kind Regards
Keith richardson
Dynamo School of Gymnastics
Hello Keith,I completely understand that you have been busy; not a worry at all. I do apologise for being quite persistent. If Laura is interested I'd love to have her as the main feature, maybe we could arrange a meet up on one of the days she trains, than I could talk to her about it as well? This week I'm quite free. Does Thursday the 20th sound okay for you, if that is one of the days Laura trains? If you could let me know her weekly training schedules and times than we could arrange the most convenient time to all meet up so I could inform you and Laura more about the project if it is something she would be interesting in as well.Kindest Regards,Alyssa Patel
Confirmed Primaries:
 | Laura Edwards 18 year old international level gymnast. Laura is a member of the Great Britain team and trains at the Dynamo School of Gymnastics. She has competed in the 2012 Commonwealth games earning a silver medal in the team event and has also placed 4th on beam. Laura also was a team member for the 2011 world championships in Tokyo. Unfortunately, she was not selected for London 2012 but her next goal is Rio 2016. |
 | Kelly Simm 17 year old international level gymnast. Kelly has recently been selected as a member of the Great Britain team. She also trains at the Dynamo school of Gymnastics. Kelly has competed in the 2011 English championships coming in 5th all around. She also competed in the 2011 British championships coming in 8th all around. Kelly has also had experience with international competitions, she has so far competed in South Africa, Australia, and Germany. |
Other Possible Primires:
I am also currently in the process of getting in contact with Olympic gymnasts Rebecca Tunney, Hannah Whelan, and Beth Tweddle. All three of these girls competed at London 2012 and currently train at the City of Liverpool gymnastics clubs. I hope to feature these 3 girls in my documentary.
Hannah Whelan interview:
I have made attempts at contacting Hannah Whelan, a Great British team member who is the 2010 and 2011 senior gymnastics British champion.She has competed in both 2008 Olympics in Beijing and in London 2012. To have a better insight into what it takes to be at that level in this sport I sent her agent a few interview questions to get passed on to her in. Please find the full interview below:
Q1: At what age did you first begin gymnastics?
I started gymnastics when I was about 6 I think. I had wanted to try it for a while and finally persuaded my mum to take me to a class
Q2: When did you know that you wanted to take the sport seriously and train at an elite level?
I just loved gymnastics and wanted to keep practicing and training even from an early age. When I was 11/12 I made some real progress and got picked for the British squad
Q3: The first Olympics you competed in was Beijing 2008 and second was London 2012. Was your dream to make it to the Olympics?
It was definitely a big goal to make it to an Olympic Games, with gymnastics the Olympics is the pinnacle of the sport so that’s the level want to compete at.
Q4: Could you tell me a bit about your training regime and the lifestyle involved at training at such a high level?
I train 6 days a week and always have one complete day off to give me a rest and allow me to recover. I train on all the apparatus, being an all-around gymnast I can’t neglect anything.
Q5: Best and worst parts about being an elite in gymnastics?
Best – doing what you love on a daily basis and travelling to a lot of cool places.
Worst – Even when you don’t feel like it you still have to train and put yourself through some hard sessions.
Q6: Now that you have competed in 2 Olympics what is next for you?
Keep training and keep improving
