Swansea Christmas Parade
This past sunday night the Swansea Crew were invited to take part in the annual christmas parade which marks the switching on of the christmas lights in swansea and the official opening of the Winterland ice skating rink and entertainment area.
The guys dressed up with a festive theme and entertained the crowds at Kingsway before joining the parade and heading down to the waterfront.
Summer Newsletter
The latest edition of our newsletter is available now and inside you can get the latest news on what we've all been up to over the summer period including the Dragon Show, NASS Sports Festival, MASS Parade, the Swansea bockers and a whole lot more... You can download your own copy here (pdf format)
It's life, Gym.
Wow what an action packed weekend! What started as a nice quiet weekend visit for our 2 friends Sprog and Athoul from Dorset turned into a full on bockfest.
Joining the usual cardiff crew were 8 bockers from the swansea branch, 3 from Bridgend and with our latest members Liam and Abbie we had our busiest ever gym session. Never to be shy, the guys and girls didnt sit still for long and really started to push themselves.
Joe from Swansea did his first ever backflip to front flip. Lewis landed his first backflips and from the Cardiff crew JakeT worked on his back to backs along with JakeC. It was a weekend not to be missed and we look forward to bringing the different branches of the club together again soon!
Welshbockers Open Day
This Thursday we'll be having our very first open day where members of the public can come and experience the world of jumping stilts for themselves FOR FREE!
The event kicks off at 1pm on Whitchurch Common and we're looking to end things about 5 or 6pm.
This is open to anyone over the age of 3 and we'll have helmets and safety pads on hand plus everyone gets their own personal instructor!
Although we can work with almost any footwear and clothing, we do recommend long trousers and trainers should be worn as these are more comfortable.
For more information call Matt on 07731 80 60 40 or just come along on the day!
"No Messin" Event
This Friday the Welsh Bockers will be doing running a workshop in the Oval Basin at Cardiff Bay as part of the No Messin event. Click here for more information.
Also this weekend we'll be at Barry Island on the beach front with some demonstrations and workshops on Saturday afternoon. Come along and try bocking for free!
Cardiff MAS Parade
This coming Saturday is the annual Cardiff MAS street parade and carnival and this year not only are the bockers leading the parade but we're all stopping in St Mary Street for Wales' first ever street jam!
The event is organised by South Wales Intercultural Arts and we are all celebrating this 20th anniversary of the MAS carnival. Come and witness over 1000 costumed dancers and performers!
Nass Fest!
An action packed weekend is guaranteed as the Welsh Bockers head off to Bath in a few weeks to attend the Relentless Nass Action Sports Festival. This is one of the largest sports festivals in the UK and we are totally thrilled to be taking part. 16 of us will be appearing at the Bath Showgrounds in the South West of England on Friday July 10th, Saturday July 11th and Sunday July 12th.
For full details visit www.relentlessnass.com
Spring Newsletter
The second edition of our newsletter is available now and inside you can get the latest news on what we've all been up to for the last 3 months, including snow bocking, St Davids Day Parade, the Lincoln Gymfest, the new Swansea bockers and a whole lot more... You can download your own copy here (pdf format).
Bocker of the Year!
Recently on the Forums it was announced that the Bocker of the Year award for 2008 goes to Jono.
This is the first time we have had a Bocker of the Year but with the club growing as quickly as it is we all thought it was time to honour those who really shine above the rest and Jono certainly does shine above the rest - usually about 6 foot above the rest!
Jono helped start the Welshbockers in October 2006 back when bocking was so new that is was very hard to find other bockers and the idea of doing a front flip seemed impossible. Not for our Jono. After suffering a broken collar bone in his early days, he didn't let it put him down and was soon leaping ahead of most other bockers in the country.
These days Jono can be seen performing multiple backflips in the sunshine of cardiff bay, completely oblivious that everyone in the vacinity is watching in awe.
Flippin Heck!
When you are learning to bock, something that comes as a surprise to some people is that you do not jump. You bounce. The perfect technique is to keep your legs almost straight and keep them in that position the whole time. For most people, bending the legs is natural and so it takes time to develop the technique.
Not for 12 year old Jake Tucker, who along with his 9 year old brother Nathan are our latest bockers to join the welshbockers. Jake was a total natural. On his first day with us at Cardiff bay he was tackling challenges that usually take people months to master. We couldn't wait to get him in the gym.
On his first week at the gym Jake was trying for a front flip. About half way through the session Jake had landed it and our eyes were popping out of their sockets.
The next week at the gym, everything was focused on Jake's backflip. We knew of nobody younger in the world that could do this on jumping stilts. The pressure was on. After a few attempts at just jumping backwards onto the crashmat and landing on his back, you could see the determination in Jake's eyes. Before you knew it, he'd done it and was then well on his way. He must have done about 10 of them that day.
Jakes rapid improvement made the decision of Februarys "Bocker of the month" an easy one, and very well deserved.
Hopefully Jake being so new and so young will help push the rest of us and he will certainly be someone to watch as his bocking career develops....and his brother is following right behind him too.
