Olympic dreams for young North East trampolinist

Amelia O'Connor took up trampolining aged five, and her family found it not only brought her great benefits, she also had a promising talent in the sport.

The Rickleton Primary School pupil, was diagnosed with Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder and PICA aged three, and dyslexia aged eight.

Her family say she is a lovable, chatty and energetic girl, though her conditions mean she finds school life very challenging, especially reading, writing and social awareness.

But when she began attending trampolining sessions at Apollo Trampolining Club at Washington Leisure Centre, she found the sensation of bouncing helped her to regulate herself.

It became a regular part of her life, alongside her two older sisters, Ruby and Annabel, who also trampoline at the club, and she has gone on to make some excellent sporting achievements, with the support of her family, friends and sponsor Mobility Care Solutions, which are based in the Southwick Industrial Estate in Sunderland.

In 2023, Amelia was selected to go into the mini elite squad for intensive training, and competed in the English Qualifier 2 securing fifth place.

This qualified her for the English Championships, where she won third place. She also came first in both the Northern Championships and regional competitions.

In the National schools competition, she competed two rounds to progress to the final in Telford, where she achieved third place.

Then in the National League competitions, Amelia saw her way to the final at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, coming third.

She was awarded the ‘most improved gymnast award’ by her club and also won the highly commended award for physical activity (Sponsored by Connor Brown Trust) at the Sunderland Young Achievers Awards in 2024.

January 2024, and Amelia started to train on the DMT(Double Mini Trampoline) at Apollo Trampolining Club. She entered the regional competition in Billingham for experience and achieved a qualifying score for the final, where she went on to finish in 1st place and has now been selected to represent the North of England in the Inter Regional Challenge cup in July 2024.

Amelia competes in the disability Cat 1 section in the 9-14 years age group, often meaning that she is competing against older and bigger children. 

Amelia’s mother thanked Mobility Care Solutions for their support. Anyone else wishing to help Amelia on her journey can email her mother at: [email protected]