TWO Warrington teenagers have been selected to represent Great Britain at the 39th European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships to be held in Baku in Azerbaijan next month.
Thirteen-year-old Year 9 students Lottie Cahill and Alex Marshall, who are in the same form at Great Sankey High School, will be part of the first GB junior group since 2011.
Before that the pair, who train at Finesse Rhythmic Gymnastics Club in Widnes, will pull on the GB colours in their first international event in Portimão, Portugal, next week.
Coached by former Great Sankey High School student Laura Hogg, they both competed individually at the British Championships last year and were then invited to join forces under the banner of the Fylde Coast Junior Group, creating a team of five.
Two members of the Fylde Coast Junior Group, who are the current English junior champions, have become seniors which is where Lottie and Alex now slot in.
It means training six days a week, split between Lytham and Widnes, and as they have all competed individually against each other long-term, having all been training for about 10 years, they have all become close friends.
The only sting in the tale is that rhythmic gymnastics is totally self-funded which means to go to Azerbaijan they need to raise at least £4,000.
“I know times are hard for many of us right now but if you are able to donate anything - big or small - every penny will count and we'd all really appreciate it,” said Lottie’s proud dad, Chris.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for this purpose and it can be visited here: https://gofund.me/d90c94a5
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