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We are delighted to introduce you to Alfie Collier, who with support from the Postal Family Fund, has been able to smash his gymnastic dreams. We spoke to Alfie’s dad, Marc Collier, about Alfie’s achievements.
Why did you apply for the Rising Stars bursary?
Alfie Collier has been taking part in Gymnastics since the age of 5 years old. He is a member of his local club Newton Abbot Somersaults Gymnastics Club where he trains 12 hours a week over four different days.
At first Alfie took part in the 6 piece gymnastics competitions which comprised of Floor, Vault, High Bar, Parallel Bars, Pommel and Rings. He was very successful at this and qualified to be a member of the South West Team which he represented at the National Age Group Finals held in Birmingham on 6 occasions between 2009 and 2014. During this time he achieved a gold, Silver and Bronze medal and was invited to train with the National Coaches at Lilleshall National Sports centre in Birmingham.
In 2014 Alfie made the decision to start taking part in Tumbling as this was a real passion that he enjoyed as part of gymnastics. He would constantly be watching his childhood hero Kristof Willerton, who was a former World Champion, on Youtube picking up tips on how he could improve his own Tumbling.
In 2015 Alfie was crowned National Champion at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham. He held this crown for the next 5 years as he moved up through the age groups until 2020 when the Coronavirus stopped all competing for the year.
During the COVID-19 pandemic Alfie could not train at his gym so you would find him daily in the front garden training and carrying out his conditioning exercises to keep on top of his fitness.
In 2021, Alfie made it through to the British Championships 17-21 Age group finals at Telford in Birmingham. This would be the biggest stage and competition for him to date. His training though the pandemic certainly paid off as he managed to achieve a Bronze medal finish.
This triggered Alfie being selected for the England squad to represent them at Loule Cup being held in Portugal. His first International competition went very well where he achieved a Team Gold and an individual Silver medal. This hugely surpassed all his expectations.
Alfie was now in a position where his scores for England were high enough for him to qualify for the Senior British Championships where he would compete against his hero Kristof Willerton and also European team winners Ramarni Lavigne, Jaydon Paddock and Lewis Westwood.
Alfie had his best competition to date and finished second to Kristof Willerton, an amazing day which he will never forget and a huge achievement.
After this competition it was announced that Alfie had made the GBR Team and would go on to represent them at the World Age Group finals held in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2022.
Alfie had a fantastic competition and ended 10th in the World out for 46 competitors. He competed against gymnasts from USA, Canada, Azerbaijan, France, Germany and Poland to name a few.
This was a huge step and a month after the competition it was announced that Alfie had now made it in to the Senior GBR squad for the next competition year. His next competition took place in Portugal where he competed in the Scalabis Cup. Again, Alfie managed to medal gaining a Bronze medal which was a fantastic achievement.
The next step for Alfie will be to compete in this years British Championships. If he achieves the scores required, he will then represent the GBR Senior Team at this years World Games which are being held at Arena Birmingham UK.
What impact has the Rising Stars bursary had?
The Rising Stars bursary has been a huge help as Tumbling is a self funded sport. Alfie has been lucky enough to receive the bursary for the last 4 years which has enabled him to attend national training sessions which in turn have helped him reach the levels to compete at world level. In short, without the bursary Alfie would never have achieved his dream of representing Great Britain.
What would you like to say to other postal workers thinking about apply for a bursary?
The Postal Family Fund is an amazing way to help your children achieve their dreams. I highly recommend the fund, the process is easy to follow and communication from the application process is really quick. We can’t thank the Postal Family Fund enough.
