In Memory Of Gymnast Icon Geoff

Gymnasts from across the north west congregated at Copley Leisure Centre, Stalybridge, to compete in the Geoff Machan Cup.

Nearly 300 competitors from 12 clubs, which included Tameside School of Gymnastics and Glossop Gymnastics Club, demonstrated their skills and had a flippin' good time in the process.

In the first of its kind, the competition was held to honour the memory of Geoff, a much-loved figure at Tameside School of Gymnastics, who sadly died in 2019 after devoting 30 years of his life as a volunteer.

Geoff played a pivotal role in the club’s success and created numerous opportunities for gymnasts to prosper.

It was therefore fitting that the competition was regarded as a huge success and saw Tameside, under the guidance of head coach Cerys Allen, come away with over 80 medals.

Meanwhile, Glossop Gymnastics Club, owned by experienced coach Ann Tracey, took 47 gymnasts to the competition and returned to their training facility, based on Surrey Street, with 45 medals in all age groups.

There were some fine performances across the weekend, most notably from Charlotte Reeder, Neve Smith, Lucy Rae-Edwards, and Emma Whittaker, who took first overall in their respective age groups.

Across the weekend Glossop gymnasts also achieved 10 gold, 11 silver and 11 bronze medals.

Ann, who previously competed at national and international level, has been head coach at Glossop for nearly 30 years.

The club has grown from strength-to-strength during her tenure and caters for all ages and abilities, with parent and toddler sessions, pre-school sessions, adult classes and everything in-between.

Despite the ongoing success at various age levels, it hasn’t been a smooth ride for Ann, with the Covid-19 pandemic putting a halt to training sessions and competitions for two years.

Less than three months after moving into the Surrey Street venue, the doors were bolted shut due to the subsequent lockdown across the country. Glossop's gymnasts were left without a place to train and no certainty, given the unprecedented nature of events at the time, about a return to the facility.

However, despite a challenging period for everyone concerned, the club survived the pandemic and has come back stronger than ever before, with classy performances at competitions in April, May and June this year.

Glossop will also be holding its Annual Club Competition in July, which has become a key date on the calendar and includes a family barbecue and fun afternoon.

Ann, a former member of Tameside Gymnastics Club, who were British Team Champions for five consecutive years, is proud of her athletes’ achievements and believes a bright future lies ahead. Speaking to Reporter Sport, she said: “It was our third competition since lockdown restrictions eased; we competed at one in Macclesfield, another in Milton Keynes, and the most recent being the Geoff Machan Cup in Stalybridge earlier this month.

“It’s been really nice to get back to action and achieve success, especially after the past two years which were a real challenge.

“I’d only had the current facility 11 weeks before the first lockdown was implemented, so it messed up the training sessions and we lost some gymnasts, but then we subsequently gained some as well. 

“The girls did really well to get back in, recover, and pick up where they left off.

“I’ve been involved with the sport since I was 10, so it’s a rewarding feeling to give my knowledge to my gymnasts and see them perform well whilst enjoying the sport.”

In a bid to strengthen the club's appeal and provide the sport to as many people as possible, Ann has developed strong links with Padfield Community Primary School, who take part in a proper gymnastics session every week.

And while the the club is predominantly made up of girls, there is a full boys class every Saturday which attracts 18 gymnasts through the doors.

Following the competition earlier this month, the following post was uploaded to Tameside School of Gymnastics’ Facebook page: “First ever Geoff Machan Cup and team TSOG smashed it! I am so proud to head up such an amazing team. 

“I would like to say a big thanks to the fundraising committee, our fantastic coaches and all of the parent and gymnast volunteers who helped make it a huge success. 

“Also thanks to the clubs who entered, all of the judges who gave up their weekend to support the event and to the former TSOG members who came out of retirement to volunteer, it was lovely to see you and your help was greatly appreciated. 

“We hope all of the gymnasts enjoyed their competition which was a first for many, you were all brilliant! 

“We received so much positive feedback and are looking forward to next year already. 

“Final thanks to DE photo & Milano Pro Sport for coming to our event this weekend and to Little Stars Leotards, A Star leotards, Milano and The Zone for donating our raffle prizes.

“Pretty sure Mr Tameside Gymnastics would have loved the whole weekend!”.

Julie Machan, Geoff’s widow, who presented trophies at the even, said: “Geoff would have been so happy to see this annual competition renamed after him and continuing  to thrive under the leadership of head coach Cerys Allen. 

“A big thank you to Cerys, the club coaches and the fundraising team for organising the event and to the team of volunteers who gave up their free time to make the event such a success”.