Overenthusiastic boys are known to take a tumble every now and again, but one 11-year-old’s “natural” ability to twist and flip has secured him a place in a national gymnastics final.
Jenson Ball, from Caerphilly, has made the British Tumbling Championships after less than two years in the sport.
Tumbling is a discipline which combines artistic gymnastics with trampolining, and involves a sequence of twists and somersaults across a 25-metre track.
After a whirlwind 18-months of learning new skills, training and competing, Jeson will line up against some of the UK’s best tumblers in Liverpool on September 23 and 24.
He decided to join Bedwas Gymnastics Club in January 2016, aged ten, and developed a natural ability for tumbling. There, the club noticed the ease with which Jenson took to the discipline, and he was put forward for the Welsh Novice Agility competition, in which he competed at Level 4.
Watching Jenson compete was Pencoed Tumbling Club head coach, Jamie Evans, who asked the 11-year-old to join so he could receive coaching.
So impressive was his development, Jeson was encouraged to skip the National Development Programme Championships – where Pencoed returned with the most medals of any club – and head for the British Tumbling Championships at elite level.
At the competition, which was held in Sheffield in June, Jenson finished fifth overall, qualifying for the Championship final in Liverpool.
Maria Gaynor, Welsh Gymnastics’ Development Officer, said: “Although he has only been training since last January, Jenson has shown a very strong natural talent for gymnastics and is working incredibly hard with his coach Jamie Evans to get ready for the finals this September.
“His only experience of gymnastics growing up was using a trampoline in the back garden to teach himself the basics, and yet his quick development in recent months has led many people to ask whether he has been practising for years.
“He has loved training with the Welsh Gymnastic teams at Bedwas and Pencoed, and we can’t wait to see what he achieves in September.”