My Experience @ London Cup 2013 : London Sport Academy - London

Hello Everyone, 

Sharing with you my experience at London Cup held on 23rd and 24th of November 2013 conducted by London Sport Academy at Sarah Bonnell School Sports Hall, Stratford, London. There were competitors from Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Portugal, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Italy. We practiced hard for this competition and we also had a small internal competition week before to help us overcome our nervousness.

Meghana Gundlapally & Anna Bessanova
London 2013

22nd November 2013 : 

LSA Team at London Cup 2013 with
Anna Bessanova

For the past week we had been preparing ourselves for the competition. Kristina was getting the mats vacuumed and the new mats came in as well. On 22nd we had practice till 9 Pm that is half an hour more than the usual time. All of us were very delighted as tomorrow was our big day at London Cup 2013. 

At around 8 pm the competitors from the other countries started coming in to practice on the mats. Kristina also hired decorators for the event. 

Just before we left the famous gymnast Anna Bessonova (two times Silver medalist at Olympics) came along with her club to see the venue. All of us at practice got really excited to see her since she was the favorite gymnast for most of us. 

23rd November 2013 :

The Team

I woke-up at around at 9 am and left to the competition to encourage my friends since my competition was on 24th November. I reached  around 10:30 am by which time the competition had already started.  I went and sat with other friends from LSA and cheered for the team. At around Lunch Break with two of my friends , went over to McDonalds and had lunch. We also brought back some for Anastasia & Sasha... Me and my friends saw Anna Bessonova standing at the judges panel and went to her to ask for her autograph. It was an amazing experience of meeting and getting her autograph.  

I was at the venue till around 4 pm and returned home with my dad early so that I could prepare for my competition the next day. That night before sleeping I packed my bag and checked for all the things I needed and went to bed early. 

24th November 2013 (My Competition Day):

Today was the big day, as its my competition. I was really nervous when I woke up,  but forgot all about it and started getting ready for my competition. I was on,  to perform at 2 pm therefore, I left home at 10 am. I took the National Rail towards Startford and got off at MaryLand Station. 

By the time I reached the venue, the competition had started for a different category. Since I had lot of time left to perform, I was helping my friends who's competition was going on at that time. Later at around 12 o clock me and my friend went to Morrison Store to grab a light snack as we were not supposed to eat heavy lunch. After we came back we warmed-up a little bit and put on our leotards. 

Performing on Hoop

Finally the time had come for my first performance with Hoop. At first I was really jittery but after going onto the floor I forgot about everything else only concentrated on performing well. When I finished my routine I was really happy with the way I performed. In the last catch instead of doing three turns, I did only two turns and a roll even-though I never practiced it I still got the catch. I was really happy with my performance. 

Performing with Ribbon

My next performance was Ribbon after an hour. Within that Hour I set my hair and makeup and practiced my routine really well. This time when I was doing my routine, Kristina was there with me before I stepped on to the arena. When the music started I was kind of confused they played my old music but I did not stop and continued with same music. Even in ribbon I did not miss any catches and everything went nicely as planned. 

After I came out of arena Kristina commented "Maladiats" means "Very Good" in Russian language. I was really relieved after I finished my performance since I could go and get myself something to eat. After having my food went and sat near the judges panel to collect the forms for totaling the scores. This was the first time I ever did it and it was a good experience. 

Meghana with Bronze
at London Cup 2013

After all the competitive performances were over we had a small performance from Russian Club. After which the presentation ceremony started. I was really happy when they called my name for 3rd position(Bronze) in Hoop. And one's who did not get any medal  were given small prizes . After the presentation ceremony was over, the LSA team got a photograph with Anna Bessanoma. After which I got a picture of Anna and myself along with my medal. 

Once Everything was over, we started to roll the mats and cleared away all the mess. Then we left for Mcdonals for Dinner. But going half way I realized to get my leotards from the venue. I ran back to get them. After reaching the school, I forgot my ribbon stick as well. I got both of my stuff and was coming out someone told me that Anastasia lost her wallet, but it turns out, that it was kristina who found and kept in safe hands. We went over for dinner and started homeward. After reaching stratford they said , theire is a delay for the train to come.  By the time we reached home it was 11:45 pm so therefore just washed my face and undid my hair and went to bed. 

This was one of my best experiences in competition since I got to meet my favorite gymnast and also won a medal after competing with  other countries in an international competition. 

What Learnt this time: 

- Before leaving the venue make sure you have all your stuff 

Thank you for reading and see you after my next competition......