WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., July 18, 2019 – Approximately 740 trampoline and tumbling gymnasts will compete in the 2019 Stars & Stripes Championships at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., July 20-21. The annual event is the national championships for Junior Olympic Levels 5-7 in trampoline, double mini-trampoline and tumbling. For the first time, the two-day championships includes competition in all of the HUGS levels, which features special needs gymnasts.
Each level has age groups, and championships are determined for all levels. Saturday, July 20, has two sessions, 8 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-5 p.m., with the awards sessions after the conclusion of each session. Sunday has one session, from 8 a.m.-1 p.m., followed by awards. A more detailed schedule is available online.
More information about the event is available online, as well as online ticket sales.
The HUGS Trampoline and Tumbling program allows an option for athletes with special needs the opportunity to compete in an official USA Gymnastics setting. HUGS athletes have the option for participating alongside other gymnasts. The Junior Olympics is the age-group, developmental program that has Levels 1-10, with 10 just below the elite level.
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.
Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. The organization is committed to creating a culture that encourages and supports its athletes and focuses on its highest priority, the safety and well-being of the athletes. USA Gymnastics has taken specific, concrete steps to strengthen its safe sport policies and procedures. Former gymnast and business executive Li Li Leung is the new president and chief executive officer of USA Gymnastics. The organization’s disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics and gymnastics for all (formerly known as group gymnastics). For more complete information, visit usagym.org.