Alisa and Celina Fitzpatrick in action in Portumna.

Artistic Cycling – training in Portumna

The Town Hall, in the scenic town of Portumna Co. Galway, became the training venue for Alisa and Celina Fitzpatrick during their short summer break here this August. The daily two hours training was visited by both locals and visitors to the town where the girls were able to demonstrate the basic learning skills in artistic cycling leading up to their current competitive programmes.

Photos of the training sessions in Portumna can be seen on http://gallery.me.com/jfhynes#100681&bgcolor=black&view=grid and http://gallery.me.com/jfhynes#100691&bgcolor=black&view=grid 

Many thanks to the Town Hall committee and especially to Jim Hynes for the photos and for making this happen. It is hoped that the same can be done again next August where a special session will be set aside for public viewing. Upon their return to Germany the girls were off to a two day intensive training course in Munich which has been used to help in preparing them for the upcoming competitions which will take place in Germany and France over the next few months. 

Update on the impressive artistic cycling progress of Alisha and Celina Fitzpatrick, thanks to Danny Fitzpatrick.

Alisa and Celina Fitzpatrick have again been active throughout the first half of 2010 with Alisa competing at junior level and Celina in the under 15′s.

Following an injury ridden but successful year in 2009 with the add-on of a planned knee surgery before last Christmas, Alisa wasted no time in getting back on her bike and into competition mode in February this year. Starting her competitive build up for the European Championships she came 3rd. in the Oberbayern (Upper-Bavaria) Championships with a solid 77.77 point performance. This was followed up with 10th. place in the “Sonnenstuhl” Cup and in March she came 12th. in the International Spring Cup in Switzerland. On May 15th. Alsa put in a tremenduous performance in the European Championships in Ludwigslust, Germany. She finished in her targeted 11th. place less than 3 points away from 10th. place. To wrap up the first 6 months, Alisa competed in the Bavarian Cup series held in Munich on June 19th. There she set a new personal best of 89.39 points taking the bronze medal in the process.   

Celina, in the meantime, commenced with her 2010 campaign at the “Sonnenstuhl” Cup on February 20th. There she came in 8th. place with 58.89 points. On to the Oberbayern Championships, Celina set a new personal best of 63.75 points and picked up the silver medal in the process. On May 8th. she competed in the Bavarian Championships in Sulzbach (near Frankfurt) and did very well to come in 9th. place. Like Alisa, Celina competed in the Bavarian Cup series in Munich and although she came slightly below her personal best she was able to secure the silver medal. To wrap up the season before the holiday period, Celina competed in the Untermain Cup in Elsenfeld, Germany on July 17th and finished in 8th position.

Congratulations are in store for both as their performances for the first half of this year have placed them in the top 8th in Bavaria in their respective groups and, as a result, both have qualified for the Bavarian Cup final which will be held in Munich on October 17th. 2010. Alisa, though, is considering to opt out so that she can represent Ireland again in the International Youth Competition which will be held in Worms also on October 17th. and where she came 4th. last year.

A well deserved summer break is planned for them both in Portumna, Co. Galway during the month of August.

Indoor cycling is an artistic form of cycling, similar to gymnastics, where the athlete performs a routine and the performance is judged. The sport is especially popular in Germany – where Ireland’s Alisa Fitzpatrick is a top performer. Read on for a report on her latest events.

On Saturday, both Alisa and Celina together with one other member from our club performed in the Wormser Kunstradsport Cup (European Team Cup). Out of the 56 teams competing they finished in 24th place some 13 places higher than expected. Celina performed almost 100% of her target and set a new personal best of 55.20 points.

On Sunday, Celina competed in the 2009 Bayern Cup final in Roth (Nuernberg) and finished in a well earned 7th place, one place higher than expected.

On the same day Alisa remained in Worms to compete in her Irish colours in the 2009 Youth International event. The competition was strong as she was competing against some countries who were in the recent European Championships. We were hoping for a 7th. place finishing. Alisa put in a tremendous performance to finish in 4th place, just missing out on the bronze. What a great result especially on her 16th. birthday.

Here is a photo from the event. There will be more on turnfestbilder.com in the next days.

Best wishes to all from a very happy team,
 
Danny (proud father)