The 2018 USA Gymnastics Championships, which features more than 1,800 of the nation’s best gymnasts in acrobatic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline and tumbling, returns to Greensboro, N.C., which played host to the event in 2015. Scheduled for July 3-8, the competition, which includes both Junior Olympic and elite levels, will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.
“We are excited to bring the USA Gymnastics Championship back to Greensboro and showcase the nation’s best athletes in these three disciplines,” said Ron Galimore, chief operating officer for USA Gymnastics. “Greensboro provides the perfect setting for this premiere event where fans can watch both elite and rising young talent."
For the junior and senior elite levels for each discipline, the athletes will vie for national titles. Performances in Greensboro also will determine berths on the junior and senior U.S. National Teams for acrobatic gymnastics, 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 Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Tournament Hosts of Greensboro, Greensboro Sports Commission and Sports & Properties Inc. are the local hosts for the event. This will be the third time gymnastics events have come to Greensboro, following the 2015 USA Gymnastics Championships and the 2014 American Cup and Nastia Liukin Cup.
“We look forward to building on the success we had hosting this event in 2015, as well as attracting record crowds in 2014 for the AT&T American Cup and Nastia Liukin Cup,” said Matt Brown, Greensboro Coliseum Complex managing director.
“Greensboro was a very good fit for the USA Gymnastics Championships in 2015 and we’re very pleased to welcome this event back to Tournament Town,” said Kim Strable, president of the Greensboro Sports Commission.
The competition schedule will be available in the near future and tickets will go on sale in 2018.
The USA Gymnastics Championships was first held in 2014 at the KFC Yum! Center and the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky. In addition to Greensboro, past sites are Rhode Island Convention Center and Dunkin’ Donuts Center (2016), and Milwaukee’s BMO Harris Bradley Center and Wisconsin Center (2017). For more information on the USA Gymnastics Championships, please go to usagymchamps.com.
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 the apparatus in a choreographed routine to music. The five apparatus used in rhythmic gymnastics are rope, hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon. Rhythmic gymnasts may compete individually or as a group. The choreography must cover the entire floor with intricate apparatus handling, dance combinations, jumps, leaps, rotations, and balance difficulties. 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.
Background information
Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. The Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is an independent, non-profit governmental authority whose mission is to aggressively market Greensboro's assets, maximizing economic impact while providing excellent visitor service. Guilford County ranks third in the state in travel and tourism expenditures, with over $1.2 billion generated in 2015 and more than 13,000 people employed in travel-related jobs. For more information: www.visitgreensboronc.com.
Greensboro Sports Commission. The mission of the Greensboro Sports Commission is to foster economic development through coordinating and developing Greensboro's role as a leading site for sports events involving youth, collegiate, amateur and professional organizations. The Greensboro Sports Commission acts as a clearing house for sporting activities in the Greensboro area while assisting organizations and promoters who choose ‘Tournament Town’ as their host city for sporting events. For more information: www.greensborosports.org.
Greensboro Coliseum Complex. The Greensboro Coliseum Complex is a multi-building facility designed to serve the citizens of Greensboro and the surrounding area through a broad range of activities, including athletic events, cultural arts, concerts, theater, educational activities, fairs, exhibits, and public and private events of all kinds including conventions, convocations and trade and consumer shows. The Greensboro Coliseum Complex is one of the most actively booked facilities in the country hosting more than 1,100 events on an annual basis. With its incredible versatility, the Complex has gained worldwide acclaim from promoters, producers, event planners and patrons. For more information; www.greensborocoliseum.com.
Sports & Properties, Inc. SPI is a sports marketing and sports development firm concentrating in three primary areas of business: major sponsorships, including naming rights; sports tourism; and major events. SPI recent projects include the Raleigh-Durham market's Major League Soccer Application, the USA Masters Games, greater Asheville sports tourism, and the Seminole County Sports Complex. Event projects include the Africa Youth Games, US Figure Skating Championships, and the American Cup Gymnastics. SPI clients include Capitol Broadcasting Company, the Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission, the North Carolina Football Club, and the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, among others. For more information on SPI, visit sportsproperties.com.
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