USA Gymnastics Championships

USA Gymnastics has awarded Louisville, Ky., the USA Gymnastics Championships, a new event that showcases the national championships for acrobatic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline/tumbling.  Scheduled for July 15-19, the five-day event will feature competition on the Junior Olympic and junior and senior elite levels for each discipline.  The competition will be held at both the Kentucky International Convention Center and the KFC Yum! Center. 

For the junior and senior elite levels for each discipline, the athletes will be vying for national titles. Performances will determine berths on the junior and senior U.S. National Teams for rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline and tumbling.  The Junior Olympic division has several different levels, and national titles will be awarded for each level and age group for each discipline. 

The expected competition schedule for the five days is as follows:

July 15-16
9 a.m.-9 p.m. Junior Olympic competition for acrobatic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline/tumbling, Kentucky International Convention Center

July 17
9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Junior Olympic competition for trampoline/tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics, Kentucky International Convention Center
9 a.m.-12 p.m. Rhythmic gymnastics, junior and senior elite, KFC Yum! Center
1:30-4:30 p.m. Trampoline and tumbling, junior prelims, KFC Yum! Center
6-9:30 p.m. Acrobatic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and synchronized trampoline, senior, KFC Yum! Center

July 18
9 a.m.-12 p.m. Rhythmic gymnastics, junior and senior prelims, KFC Yum! Center
9 a.m.-12 p.m. Trampoline and tumbling (junior/senior) and acrobatic gymnastics (Junior Olympic), Kentucky International Convention Center
1:30-4:30 p.m. Junior Olympic rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline and tumbling, Kentucky International Convention Center
1:30-4:30 p.m. Acrobatic gymnastics, junior, KFC Yum! Center
6-9:30 p.m. Acrobatic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline, senior, KFC Yum! Center

July 19
9 a.m.-12 p.m. Rhythmic gymnastics, junior and senior finals, KFC Yum! Center
9 a.m.-12 p.m. Junior Olympic acrobatic gymnastics and trampoline and tumbling, Kentucky International Convention Center
1:30-4:30 p.m. Rhythmic gymnastics (Junior Olympic) and trampoline and tumbling (junior/senior finals), Kentucky International Convention Center
1:30-4:30 p.m. Acrobatic gymnastics and trampoline, junior finals, KFC Yum! Center
6-9:30 p.m. Acrobatic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline, senior finals, KFC Yum! Center

Acrobatic gymnastics combines the beauty of dance with the strength and agility of acrobatics. Routines are choreographed to music and consist of dance, tumbling, and partner skills. At the elite level, each pair or group performs a balance, dynamic and combined routine. Pyramids and partner holds characterize the balance routine, while synchronized tumbling and intricate flight elements define the dynamic exercise. An acrobatic gymnastics pair consists of a base and a top. A women's group is comprised of three athletes - a base, middle and top partner – while a men's group has four athletes, a base, two middle partners and one top partner.

Rhythmic gymnastics is characterized by grace, beauty and elegance combined with dance and acrobatic elements, while working with ribbons, balls, hoops, ropes and clubs in a choreographed routine to music. The choreography must cover the entire floor and contain a balance of jumps, leaps, pivots, balances and flexibility movements.  Only four of the apparatus are competed each quad, and the four for 2016 are hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon.  Each movement involves a high degree of athletic skill.  Physical abilities needed by a rhythmic gymnast include strength, power, flexibility, agility, dexterity, endurance and hand-eye coordination. 

Trampoline events involve athletes using trampolines that can propel them up to 30 feet in the air, during which they can perform double and triple twisting somersaults. Tumbling utilizes elevated rod-floor runways that enable athletes to jump at heights more than 10 feet and execute a variety of acrobatic maneuvers. For the double-mini competition, the athlete makes a short run, leaps onto a small two-level trampoline, performs an aerial maneuver and dismounts onto a landing mat.  Trampoline was added to the Olympic Games in 2000, and at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the USA had its first athlete in history advance to the finals.