Why I just can't quit!

In November 2011, Esprit coach Hannah Wickens became British Veterans Tumbling Champion and Trampoline Silver medalist. Here is an interview with Hannah, conducted earlier in 2011 after she had just qualified for the National finals...

Hannah with her Gold and Silver medals

How addictive can a sport be? When you’ve been at the top, competed at the very highest level, been a champion and then fallen out of love with your sport, what is it that keeps you coming back?

We ask Ex Great Britain team member and British Vault Champion, Hannah Wickens (21), why she has come out of retirement and qualified, at the very first attempt, for this year’s National Finals in Double Mini Tramp (DMT).

Q: So Hannah, the first question has to be WHY the come back?

A: I honestly don’t know, it certainly wasn’t planned, I just sort of fell into it really. I started by playing on the trampoline and my clubs coach told me I should give DMT a go. The rest just sort of happened.

Q: So tell us about your early years, where did you start gymnastics?

A: I started at 5 in the Lime Kilns Leisure Centre’s after school club and then moved to Greendown where I met my then coach Katy Smith. She’s now my boss at Esprit Gymnastics, at the old Headlands School site, where I work as a gymnastics coach.

Q: And when did you get spotted as being a talented gymnast and who spotted you?

A: It was Katy really, she took me through my early years until she recommended I move to a proper training facility, as there was no facilities in Swindon at the time and that meant nowhere could support the level of training I needed.

Q: Why did you move to Melksham?

A: Katy recommended them and they were the best and closest club really. It also meant my mum could take me there every day. Luckily, at the time, they also had one of the best coaches in the Country, Tracey Skirton as their head coach and she took me on, with my best friend and team-mate, Jessica Coombes. Together we travelled to Melksham every day and in 2001 aged 11, I was asked to join the Great Britain squad. In 2002 I came second in the Vault finals at the British Championships and I went on to become a full time member of the Great Britain squad until I retired in 2005 at the age of 15.

Q: What did making the Great Britain team mean to you?

A: For any gymnast it has to be the best feeling ever. It’s what every young gymnast dreams of, but the reality is very few ever make it into a GB squad, the sport is just so hard to excel at. I realise that even more now I’m a coach myself and see how hard all the young girls and boys work.

Q: And what was your proudest moment?

A: After my first year at the British Championships, where I won Silver, I returned in 2003 to win the title outright and become British Vault Champion. Apart from my team medals, that was probably my proudest moment and is something that will stay with me forever. I’m still very proud of what I achieved in gymnastics, even though I cut my own career short.

Q: Did you get to compete abroad? Where?

A: I did but nothing like they do today, the sport in this country has moved on a great deal and gets a lot more funding than in my day. I visited training camps in Romania and should have gone to Russia, but the trip was canceled at the last minute because of some terrorist bombings in the country.

Q: So at 14 you were riding high, one of the best in the Country, why quit so suddenly?

A: To be honest I just stopped enjoying it when my coach got a new job as the head of the Welsh National Team and left me, which is hard for a young girl to take. But it also coincided with me reaching 15, so I suppose hormons may have played their part. But at the end of the day it just wasn’t fun any more, I wanted a bit of normailty in my life, which I had never had before, I was tired of being away from home and working hard, 7 days a week, with no guarantees of a place in a World or Olympic team and just thought, is it worth it?

Q: What drew you back to the sport?

FUN, I love my job, the people I work with and just enjoy working with all the young gymnasts, most of whom have no idea I was a Great Britain team member and British Champion. They just think I’m Hannah the coach. There is also some real talent in Swindon, that is only just starting to come out, since Esprit opened and the enthusiasm of the youngsters is infectious, they are a joy to teach.

Q: So getting job at Esprit Gymnastics at Headlands changed your mind?

I’ve not changed my mind about giving up, I still think it was right for me at the time. But when I got a job at Esprit Gymnastics I did fall back in love with the sport, it’s been such a big part of my life I don’t think I’ll ever be able to walk away completely. Even if I were to someday leave my job, I’d still want to be involved at some level. I also think I’d like to perform in Cirque Du Soleil one day, but we’ll see how it goes, one step at a time.

Q: What’s so great about Esprit?

The people, I’ve made some great friends and everyone here loves gymnastics. Helping children learn new skills is very rewarding and we’ve got some real talent at the club. We also don’t just do Artistic gymnastics, which is what you see most of on TV. We do Team and Display gymnastics, which is great for older teenage gymnasts and we have some of the very best Rhythmic Gymnasts in the country. Several Esprit girls have won British and International medals, a few are in the Welsh, Scottish and GB squads and I’m sure you’ll be hearing lot about one or two of them in the future.

Q: And what’s DMT?

Double mini tramp (DMT) is like a long thin trampoline, which you run up to, similar to vaulting, you then jump on do a series of twist’s and turns, like tumbling, before dismounting with as difficult a move as possible. It’s spectacular to watch and the closest thing to flying without an airplane.

Q: How did you get involved in it?

I just started playing on the trampoline at Esprit and found I actually enjoyed it, so I started training, just to enjoy myself and keep fit. Then the clubs coach suggested I give DMT a go as it would suit my talents for tumbling and vault and I loved it. I also realised very quickly, I can’t do things, ’just for fun’, I’m far too competitive for that. I just had to see if I was any good, so I entered a few competitions medalled a few times and have now qualified for the National finals.

Q: And you’ve qualified for the National finals, how does that feel?

A: I’m amazed actually, it feels really good and something I didn’t ever think I’d ever experience again. Gymnastics really is addictive and you get such a buzz when a routine goes well, I love it.

Q: And what are your prospects, do you think you’ll do well?

A: To be honest it doesn’t really matter how well I do, I know I’ll be nervous, mainly because I hate embarrassing myself and I really am competitive, but winning isn’t ever something I expect, I never have.

Gymnastics is such a complex sport one tiny mistake can send you from Gold medal position to well down the field. I always think your biggest rival is yourself, so my philosophy has always been, do gymnastics just to have fun and improve yourself, then whatever the outcome, you’re a winner!

And that’s what I do now, I have fun and enjoy my gymnastics.

Q: What about the future, are you back to stay, what does the future hold for a Gymnastics Champion from Swindon?

A: As long I still enjoy it and the body holds out, I’ll be involved in gymnastics, but who knows what the future holds. I love my job at Esprit and I’d love to coach one of my own young gymnasts to a British title, but then again there’s always Cirque Du Soleil?