A Spennymoor gymnastics club were rewarded for their hard work when they provided two members of the Great Britain squad which won an international competition in Holland.

Thirteen-year-olds Amy Fossheim and Leonni Jennison of South Durham Gym Club were chosen to represent their country and their inclusion in the team squad has brought a great deal of pride to the club who train at Spennymoor Leisure Centre.

Head coaches Nicola Preston and Rachel Wright have been in charge of the club for 12 years and this was the first time the have seen two of their gymnasts called-up for international duty.

Although this was not the first time they have had students selected for international competition - Rachel Collinson who is currently out with a long-term injury was chosen for Great Britain last year - this is the first occasion on which two have been selected at the same time.

Amy, who attends Hurworth Comprehensive, made her international debut at the end of in March and Leonni joined her on the international scene as part of the Great Britain side which took on Italy in Birmingham May.

For Leonni, a pupil at St Johns Comprehensive in Bishop Auckland, it was a dream entrance to the Great Britain scene as she spent an hour signing autographs for the sell-out 800-strong crowd following the event.

Since then both girls represented Great Britain in Holland where Amy, competing as one of the youngest competitors in the event, finished fifth overall and Leonni was 14th as they help steer Great Britain to winning the tournament ahead of the Netherlands in second and Germany third.

Leonni is currently in trials for the European Youth Olympics and with three gymnasts to be selected she is currently lying third in the pecking order with one more trial to go.

Nicola admits to being tremendously proud of the youngsters' achievements in achieving Great Britain recognition and says their performance on the international stage

"People tend to only see the end result, at the competitions. But they spend a really long time preparing and training.

"They train six days a week and when they get their GB tracksuit it makes everything, all the hard work, worthwhile.

"No question about it, they represent their country is very satisfying for everybody involving, it makes you proud. Standing for the National anthem is a proud moment for everybody.

"At the competition their performances pale in comparison because them simply being their is enough."

The club's eight-year-old members took part in their first competition at the a competition held at the City of Newcastle club. The following are all eight and under team champions: 1st Zaylee Currie, 2nd Lauren Anderson, 3rd Stephanie Lowes, 4th Beth Humphrey, 6th Alissa Storer.

*l If you are interested in joining the club, call Nicola or Rachel on (01388) 811877.