North Devon’s Adam Tobin has qualified to represent Great Britain at the European Championships in Glasgow next month.
The event is an exciting new multi-sport competition bringing together some of Europe’s leading athletes in gymnastics, rowing, triathlon, golf, cycling, aquatics and athletics. Adam is the only gymnast from the South West in the junior team of five.
Seventeen-year-old Adam is also waiting to hear if he has been selected to represent Great Britain at the Youth Olympic Games at Buenos Aires this autumn. If successful, he will be the only male gymnast to represent Great Britain at the event, which will be a massive springboard for his gymnastics career.
Falcons Gymnastics Academy was founded in 2004 and has firmly established itself as the leading gymnastics facility in the South West, with members travelling from as far away as Bristol to take advantage of the world-class coaching and equipment on offer.
In 2012, North Devon Council made land available next to the Tarka Tennis Centre in Barnstaple and agreed a low-interest loan of £200,000 to enable Falcons to build a brand new state-of-the-art facility. The club was also lucky enough to receive the gymnastic equipment used at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Falcons now has 26 coaches teaching 1,000 children each week, which is the largest number of participating members of any sports club in North Devon.
Executive Member for Parks, Leisure and Culture, Councillor Dick Jones, says: “Adam can be rightly proud of this achievement and I’m looking forward to hearing if he has been selected for the Junior Olympics. Falcons has gone from strength to strength, which is credit to the commitment and vision of the coaching team and the hard work and determination of the club’s members. This puts North Devon firmly on the sporting map!”
Mike Beagley, Head Coach at Falcons, says: “We’re all so proud of Adam, he’s worked very hard to get to the European Championships and everyone at the club is really excited for him. Adam is one of the sport’s rising stars and the Europeans will be a great experience for him. He would never have got this far without this facility on his doorstep, so I’d like to thank the council for believing in our vision and supporting the development of gymnastics in North Devon.”
Having completed his studies at PETROC, gymnastics is now Adam’s full-time career, with funding from British Gymnastics allowing him to travel all around the world to compete. This year he’s already visited Texas, Germany, Portugal and Azerbaijan. If he makes it to the Youth Olympics he will be jetting off to Argentina in October.
Adam Tobin says: “I’m really proud to be part of the British Gymnastics team. I have to work hard, training 29 hours a week at Falcons and once a month I travel up to the National sports centre in Lilleshall with Mike. It’s really inspiring to train alongside Olympic athletes. Now I’ve finished studying, life is a bit easier as I can now dedicate all my time to training and nutrition. I’ve had an awesome start to 2018 and I hope to do myself, Falcons and Great Britain proud at the Europeans next month.”
Adam isn’t the only Falcons gymnast to make it to National Squad. Nineteen-year-old Joe Cemlyn-Jones is part of the GB senior squad, training and competing alongside double Olympic champion Max Whitlock MBE.
You can follow Adam’s progress at the European Championships at www.glasgow2018.com, tickets are available online and the event will be televised. Also, regular updates will be posted on the Falcons Gymnastics Academy Instagram page.
Falcons Gymnastics Academy offers a range of classes suitable for all ages and abilities. For more information follow Falcons on Facebook, Instagram or go to www.falconsgymnastics.co.uk.
PHOTO: Coach Mike Beagley with Adam Tobin at Falcons Gymnastics Academy, Barnstaple.