The sport of gymnastics generated headlines during the past week. Some prominent breaking stories during the past week involved scheduled athletic events, gymnastic facilities news and ongoing recruiting efforts by college gymnastic programs in the United States.
- Milwaukee to Host 2017 USA Gymnastics Championships
USA Gymnastics and VISIT Milwaukee announced news on November 15, 2016 certain to please gymnastic fans in Wisconsin. Milwaukee won its bid to host the 2017 USA Gymnastics Championships. Sponsors scheduled the Junior Olympics to take place at the Wisconsin Center between June 27 and July 2nd. An elite competition involving junior and senior gymnasts will occur at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee concurrently, between June 29th and July 1st. These events brings an estimated $5.4 million revenue boost to the local economy. The competition will highlight performances by trampoline, tumbling, and rhythmic gymnasts, as well as acrobatic gymnastics. Participants will vie for spots on the junior and senior U.S. National Teams. For all participants except acrobatic gymnasts, the event will also select participants for the 2017 World Championships.
Yesterday, news reports surfaced indicating a significant increase in the cost of building the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic gymnastic arena. The temporary facility will serve as an exhibition hall for a decade following the international sports event. Originally expected to cost slightly less than $82 million and designed to accommodate 12,000 spectators, the structure will require at least $190 million to complete. Shimizu Corporation won the bid to construct the new facility in Tokyo. Reportedly, representatives from the city government plan to meet soon with representatives of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic committees responsible for organizing the games. They plan to discuss allocating the cost overruns. Tokyo should be cautious, as they don’t want to be added to the list of cities that are scattered with abandoned Olympics venues.
Many athletic departments at universities in the United States revealed successful gymnastic team recruiting efforts this week. In Baton Rouge, coaches announced Louisiana State University will work with two talented gymnasts entering in 2017: Gracen Standley and Reagan Campbell. On Thursday, reports surfaced that several entering students had signed letter of intent to participate in gymnastic events next year at Brigham Young University in Utah, including Aspen Welch, who trained for the past six years at Champion Gymnastics. The University of Illinois has received letters of intent from three gymnasts: Kylie Noonan, Grace Gough and Nicole Biondi. San Jose State University in California recently announced it received letters of intent from two gymnasts, Madelyn Probst and Nicole Duggan. On Thursday, Oregon State University announced Kaitlyn Yanish, Alexis Gonzales and Savanna Force will join its gymnastics team next year. Other schools also reported successful recruiting efforts.
Reagan Campbell – vault, 2013 P& G Championships
Gracen Standley – floor – 2016 Nastia Cup:
Kylie Noonan – Balance Beam – 2016 Women’s Junior Olympic Championships
Grace Gough, JPAC | L10 Floor 2016 R5Championships
Nicole Biondi – Uneven Bars – 2016 Women’s Junior Olympic Championships
Nicole Duggan – 2015 Arizona Sunrays
Kaitlyn Yanish
Alexis Gonzales Class of 2017 – Bars – Cancun Classic
Savanna Force- Level 10 Deltchev Invitational
Article: Ryan Benjamin
(Photo cover Reagan Campbell)
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