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EILIS
Role: Club Owner & Designated PersonWho is your favourite gymnast ever? Catalina Ponor What’s your favourite skill? “Ok I have to do one per piece…. Floor = double straight, Beam = A proper split leap, Bars = The Tweddle (the first time I saw it I was like “eh what just happened?”), Vault = plain and simple (well simple-ish!) = a straight Yurochenko Most memorable moment? “A little boy told me that that ‘out of all the coaches you look most like a cat!’” A little about me & gymnastics: “I’ve been flipping around a gym in some form for about 25 years now …… my career as a gymnast started like most in a recreational class and from there I moved onto competitive gymnastics and then display gymnastics. After graduating from Trinity with a degree in business & economics in 2005, I decided to turn my passion into my job and joined forces with my best old gym buddy Aoife to open Arabian ... and to say I’ve never looked back is an understatement. I LOVE gymnastics and love sharing this wonderful sport with every child who comes through our doors”.
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AOIFE
Role: Club Owner and Childrens OfficerWho is your favourite gymnast ever? “There’s too many…… old school I’d have to say Dominique Moicianu, nowadays I love Simone Biles.” What’s your favourite skill? “An arabian of course!” Most memorable moment? “Finishing the renovations on the gym and seeing customers’ faces as they walked in the door.” A little about me & gymnastics: “I started gymnastics when I was seven and from that moment on I practised morning noon & night. I travelled the world as part of a display team - my teammates becoming my lifelong friends. In 2005 I opened Arabian with one of those friends (Eilis). The discipline and dedication I learned throughout my career as a gymnast has helped me throughout the trials and tribulations of running my own business. Gymnastics has helped me in every aspect of my life and it gives me such a kick to think that through running the gym I get to pass on these benefits to hundreds of children.”
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SHEENAGH
Role: Operations manager
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NICOLA
Role: Gym managerWho is your favourite gymnast ever? Shawn Johnson What’s your favourite skill? “Giants on bars” Most memorable moment? “Our first trip to Leeds was amazing! I’ve actually never laughed as much in my life!” A little about me & gymnastics: “Gymnastics is in my blood – my dad was a gymnast and a coach. My dad didn’t want to push me into “his sport” so he just put me into a recreational class but as soon as I started I couldn’t get enough. I joined the squad and competed at loads of regionals and nationals. But for me the most enjoyable part of the sport is display gymnastics – I love the teamwork aspect of it! When I’m coaching I try to create that atmosphere for the gymnasts!
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SINEAD
Who is your favourite gymnast ever? “The Queen: Svetlana Khorkina” What’s your favourite skill? “Free Walkover” Most memorable moment? “Well there’s been loads of memorable ones at competitions and displays over the years but I’ll never forget bringing my son Olly aged two to his first Gymtots class… …he LOVES gymnastics too especially practising ‘stands’ aka handstands. My younger daughter Sienna will be at Gymtots as soon as she can walk!” A little about me & gymnastics: “I’ve been a gymnast since age seven and can genuinely say that the friends I’ve met through the sport are my ‘mates for life’. After finishing school I knew I wanted to further my education in sport and studied PE at Chester University. I graduated in 2005 and jumped at the chance to work full-time in the newly opened Arabian. At the time there were no other full-time gyms in Ireland so it was a bit of a risk to forgo my career as a PE teacher……. But I knew I loved this sport more than any other sport in the world and nine years on I am so glad I made that choice.
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ELLEN
Who is your favourite gymnast ever? Victoria Komova What’s your favourite skill? Any version of a split leap that shows a 180’ split is always very beautiful Most memorable moment? “Winning a medal at the Open Baltic Competition in Lituania!” A little about me & gymnastics: “I started gymnastics almost 10 years ago and it is a huge part of my life….. whenever I’m preparing for school exams, gymnastics is the only time I can really switch off. I think having a sport you can just throw yourself into when you need it is essential and I’m so glad I discovered gymnastics”.
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ALEX
Who is your favourite gymnast ever? “Alicia Sacramone” What’s your favourite skill? “A perfectly executed switch leap” Most memorable moment? “Can I do one as a gymnast and one as a coach?? As a gymnast travelling to Lithuania in 2008 to take part in the Open Baltic Competition and coming third…. I’ll honestly never forget standing on that podium next to the Russian and Lithuanian team with the Irish flag raised behind us. And as a coach I will never forget travelling to the world renowned Huntingdon gymnastics club to take part in the elite training camp. We met Lewis Smith and picked up coaching tips from his coach Paul Hall. All the coaches and the elite gymnasts we brought had a ball!” A little about me & gymnastics: “I started in Arabian when I was 9. I loved the classes so much and was soon selected to join the acrobatics squad. I loved training at this high level – the rewards of constantly getting new skills were well worth the hard work and dedication (and even giving up my weekends). After retiring from competition I joined the Display Team and love the travelling abroad to participate in festivals. I started coaching in 2012 and judging in 2013. I think having been a gymnast helps me hugely with coaching as I’m able to put myself in the child’s position and I really enjoy passing on the ‘tricks of the trade’ to the next generation.”
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JESSA
Who is your favourite gymnast ever? Nastia Liukin What’s your favourite skill? “An Onodi” Most memorable moment? “ My first competition as a coach….. after being Sheenagh’s assistant coach for 3 months, we brought our junior squad group to level 1 Regionals. I’ll never forget seeing them high five each other after their routines, it was so cute and brought me back to my first competitions. I hope their teammates grow to be their best friends the way mine have!” A little about me & gymnastics: “I guess I was a late starter in gymnastics terms as I only started at age 10. I was quickly chosen for a squad and competed at regionals and nationals in both acrobatics and artistic gymnastics. I still train competitively and am also on a display team that travels to many festivals throughout the UK and Ireland. I have just started coaching the Junior Display Team and love working with young talented gymnasts……… I’m hoping to eventually coach junior squad and pre-elite gymnasts.”
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SIMONA
Who is your favourite gymnast ever? I grew up watching Romanian gymnasts. My coach used to record all the European and World championships and then gave us a VHS to watch them. I really enjoyed Lavinia Milosovici, Gina Gogean and Simona Amanar whom I ended up seeing competing live in Euros 1998. Shannon Miller was huge back then too and I cannot forget Nadia Comaneci and Czechoslovakian Vera Caslavska. What’s your favourite skill? I have never had a favourite skill but all the skills giving you the feeling of flying were my favourite. It would be Jaeger on the bars and just a simple warm up layout on the floor where you punch so hard that you fly high and enjoy every moment of being upside down until the moment you land. I also enjoyed Onodi on beam and watching big girls on TV doing double layout on floor. Most memorable moment I think it would the time when gymnastics was just fun and our coach let us jump into the foam pit everyday after the practise. We sometimes had a free run of the gym to practise whatever we wanted. That was really enjoyable. Also I am very proud of the moment when I perfectly executed my beam routine in front of my parents and ended up with really high score. Another memorable gymnastics moment would be attending opening ceremonies of EYOF 1997 and World Youth Games 1998. It was spectacular and no one told me that we would be carrying our flag and being part of such a big multi sport event. A little about me & gymnastics: I started when I was 3 years old. It was all fun, we had a good team. My primary school was just next door to the gym (as was my home) so our coach arranged with a school for us to skip PE, Art and Musical classes and instead we did some conditioning in the gym. When I was around 11 I went to a Sport Secondary school which allowed me to train in the morning and in the afternoon and progress with my gymnastics career. I was part of the Slovak National team and attended loads of international competitions including Euros. . Gymnastics is really hard sport not only physically but also mentally. I am super excited to come back to gymnastics after so many years of just watching it on tv!
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IZZY S
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HANNAH
Who's your favourite gymnast ever? Simone Biles What's your favourite skill? Back handspring on beam Most memorable moment? I would have to say my first ever Christmas show as a gymnast. I was terrified but I enjoyed myself so much and now Christmas routines and shows are my favourite part of the curriculum to coach!! A little about me & gymnastics: I started at Arabian when I was 7 and still haven’t left! I was part of the squad programme while training and loved to perform. I continued training until I was 17 and then got into coaching. You could say I was born to do it as my dad was involved in gymnastics from a young age. It really is one big family here in Arabian, partly because I have coached alongside my dad and currently coach with my sister but also because I grew up here in this gym.
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JENNY
Who's your favourite gymnast ever? Shawn Johnson What's your favourite skill? An Onodi on beam Most memorable moment? My favourite memory would have to be our trip to Disneyland Paris with the Senior display team to perform in the park. It really is an experience I'll never forget. A little about me & gymnastics: I was a gymnast in Arabian from the age of 7 onwards. From the minute I started, there was no stopping me, over the years I was increasing my hours until the gym pretty much became my second home! In terms of coaching, I started through my TY work experience. It was a different side to gymnastics I hadn't experienced before and I thoroughly enjoyed it and well I've been here ever since.
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AVA
Who's your favorite gymnast ever? Gabby Douglas. What's your favourite skill? Free Walkover, I think it look so beautiful. Most memorable moment? My most memorable moment was would have to be when I won gymnast of the month as a kid. That sticks in my head because it was when I really realised how much I loved the sport. A little about me & gymnastics: I started off in Arabian when I was about 6 and loved it. I continued training over the years and only stopped when I started coaching!
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JESSICA
Who's your favourite gymnast ever? Shawn Johnson or Kyla Ross What’s your favourite skill? Free walkovers Most memorable moment? My first class as a coach. I got to put my two passions, gymnastics and teaching, together and I knew then and there that this was something I was always going to love doing. A little about me & gymnastics: I remember watching gymnastics for the first time in the 2008 Olympics and I knew that was what I wanted to do. A month or so later, after lots of annoying my parents, I did my first gymnastics class and I’ve never stopped since. I got to be part of Arabian’s acrobatic and artistic squads and go to Leeds with the display team. Gymnastics has brought so much to my life. I’m very grateful I was able to learn so much and now get to share that with all of our gymnasts.”
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AIOFE
Who is your favourite gymnast ever? Aly Raisman What’s your favourite skill? It would have to be an Aerial Most memorable moment? My most memorable moment in Arabian was performing at Gymfest in Scotland with Senior Display Team. The trip as a whole was so much fun but getting to perform with the team just topped it off. A little about me & gymnastics: I moved to Arabian in 2016 and joined the Sapphire Squad and Senior Display Team. I competed until 2019. I loved the sport so much and wanted to stay involved so I became a coach and have been coaching ever since!
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ELLA Mc
Who's your favourite gymnast ever? I love Aly Raisman! I think she is so inspiring and of course Simone Biles. What's your favourite skill? My favourite skill is a forwards walkover, I think it’s such a beautiful skill Most memorable moment? My most memorable moment in Arabian was traveling to Leeds in 2018 to perform at the Leeds gym festival with Teen Team! It was so much fun and an amazing experience. A little about me & gymnastics: I always had an interest in gymnastics as a child and I started in Arabian when I was ten years old. I loved gymnastics so so much. I started doing more classes and then joined the Teen team display team when I was about 14. I really enjoyed being on a display team, I loved performing. I then started coaching at Arabian when I was 17.
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KATIE
Who's your favourite gymnast ever? Shawn Johnson, Aly Raisman, Simone Biles What's your favourite skill? To watch: Maloney and double straight To perform : Yurchenko and double back Most memorable moment? There's way too many!! But one of my favourites was my sixteenth birthday when Sheenagh threw me a little party and we went to the beach and did some conditioning on the beach and we had such a fun day. A little about me & gymnastics: I started in Arabian when I was about 7 and I loved it straight away! I was invited onto the squad when I was about 9/10 and when I was around 13 Arabian started our elite programme and I started training 6 days a week and made the Irish team and was able to compete internationally for Ireland at the Northern Europeans. Because of some health issues and just bad luck, I had to stop training, but I started coaching and now I'm one of the squad coaches which I am absolutely loving. Arabian has been my second home ever since I started there and I've made a lot of lifelong friends. Sheenagh was such a huge part of my love of gymnastics and my success, she is an amazing coach. Gymnastics has taught me so much and I'm always so grateful for all the lessons I've learned and especially all the friends I've made along the way.
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SOPHIE
Who's your favourite gymnast ever? Nadia Comaneci What's your favourite skill? Back handspring Most memorable moment? The excitement when we came first place after performing with the Senior Display team at a display in Disneyland Paris! A little about me & gymnastics: When I was 4 I did a summer camp where I met Éilis and Aoife who were in the process of starting a gymnastics club at the time, so I’ve really been here at Arabian since the start! I remember trying out for the squads with Dara and then years later winning our first all Ireland medal. I’ve enjoyed all the trips with the senior display team and going on to work with the girls I’ve grown up with!
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DARA
Who's your favourite gymnast ever? There's so many amazing gymnasts at the moment but my favourite would have to be Laurie Hernandez her gymnastics is so fun to watch not only the skill level but also the dance elements aswell. What's your favourite skill? My favourite skill would have to be an aerial Most memorable moment? My most memorable moment from the gym would have to be when we went to Disneyland with the display team, it was such an amazing trip with all the girls and we won the completion which made the trip 10x better! A little about me & gymnastics: I was thrown into so many camps and sports when I was younger but gymnastics was the one that stuck with me. When I was younger I was obsessed with the sport, doing cartwheels around the house and rewatching stick it over and over. I made such great friends in the gym that I now work with. I love coaching children gymnastics and seeing them as happy as I was when I was younger!
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MILLY
Who's your favourite gymnast ever? Simone Biles for sure! What's your favourite skill? Onodi Most memorable moment? Definitely our trip to Disneyland Paris with the Senior Display team! That's an experience I'll never forget. A little about me & gymnastics: I started gymnastics when I was around 8 years old and I loved it so much. My favourite pieces were always bars and floor but I've done a little bit of everything over the years. I was part of the acro squad for a while and then moved to the artistic squad and also joined the Senior Display team. Throughout the years I've met so many people who I'm still friends with today! I was training in a squad group up until a few years ago and have great memories growing up in the gym. I started coaching as I finished up training and have so much fun every day I'm at work!
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ALI
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KELLIE N
Who's your favourite gymnast ever? Shawn Johnson What's your favourite skill? I'd have to say an aerial Most memorable moment? My most memorable moment would have to be when I was invited onto the Squad, it was so exciting!! A little about me & gymnastics: I started gymnastics in Arabain when I was around 4/5. I progressed my way through the competitive levels competing at national competitions for the 10 years following that. After I had finished competing I couldn't just walk away from the sport so I got into coaching and I love it! I'm currently involved in squad coaching and I really enjoy the challenge.
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KELLIE T
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SARAH W
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EMMA
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NICOLE
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CHRISTINA
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SARAH T
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MIA
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IZZY L
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PEARL
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AMELIE
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MOLLY
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ELLIE
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ERINN
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RÓISÍN
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VICKY
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SAOIRSE
