Elite gymnast wins inaugural Young Person's Award for Sporting Excellence in Arundel

Sponsored jointly by Arundel Town Council and Arundel Post Office, the new award attracted excellent nominations in ten different sports and the judges said they were impressed by the level of sporting achievement in the town.

Arundel gymnast Jemima Guiel, 14, was presented with the £500 prize at a celebration evening in Arundel Town Hall and certificates were presented to the other entrants.

Jemima said: "I am training in women's artistic gymnastics for southern region grades in April and am hoping to qualify for national finals in June in Stoke on Trent. I am also hoping to qualify for the English championships 2024 competition but I need to master some really scary skills on bars and on vault, so I'm working really hard.

"I am delighted to have been awarded this grant, which will help me to access the specialist coaching sessions I need and hopefully reach my goal of qualifying for the British championships in 2026."

Jemima started gymnastics while at Arundel CE Primary School and now trains at the elite Portsmouth Gymnastics Club, where she was recently selected as club captain for 2023. She is a British Gymnastics member and competes at county and national level, with her most recent success being the silver medal for bars at the Healthy Living Invitational in September 2022.

The new Young Person's Award for Sporting Excellence was presented by Arundel mayor Tony Hunt, who said the judges recognised it took a huge effort to become excellent at any sport. "Training, travelling, competing and trying to fit this in with schoolwork takes real dedication," he added. "But all the judges know from their own experience that enjoying sport can really make a positive difference to your life. So their message is 'keep up the good work".

The judges were surprised and impressed by how much voluntary work to entrants managed, including coaching younger children and supporting their clubs. Mr Hunt also paid tribute to parents, saying they were the unsung heroes for their commitment to enabling the young people to practice their sports.

He was joined on the judging panel by Arundel postmaster Paul Money, Arundel Lido manager Nikki Richardson, Arundel Castle Cricket Club chief executive James Rufey, Arundel councillor Robin Lovell and the town clerk, Carolyn Baynes.

Mr Money said: "I believe that any Post Office should be at the heart of its community and I really appreciate having been able to jointly sponsor this award for young sportspeople with Arundel Town Council. I share the hope expressed by the mayor that this will become an annual event on an even larger scale."