© Ricardo Bufolin

MAIA, Portugal, May 12, 2022 – Twenty-seven U.S. acrobats, including four World medalists, are on the ground in Maia, Portugal where they will take on gymnasts from 17 countries over the next four days in their first international outing since the 2022 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships and World Age Group competitions wrapped in March. In all, four senior and seven junior pairs and groups are set to compete across the International Gymnastics Federation’s Maia Acro World Cup and the accompanying Maia International Acro Cup.

Access start lists and follow along with live scores on the event’s official website.

Maia Acro World Cup

Senior National Team members will compete in the men’s group, women’s group, men’s pair and women’s pair divisions May 13-15 at the Maia Municipal Gymnastics Complex. Qualifications spanning the balance and dynamic exercises will take place Friday and Saturday with combined exercise finals following Sunday. The top-eight women’s groups will advance. The top-six pairs or groups in all other divisions will earn finals berths. Finals are limited to two entries per country.

The reigning World champions in the men’s pair combined and dynamic exercises, Angel Felix (Moreno Valley, Calif.) and Braiden McDougall (Riverside, Calif.) of Realis Gymnastics Academy, headline the U.S. contingent. Fellow Realis gymnasts Katie Borcherding (Pacific, Mo.) and Cierra McKown (Riverside, Calif.), who claimed the World silver medal in the women’s pair balance exercise earlier this year, will also be in action.

The competition schedule is summarized below in eastern time.

  • Friday, May 13: men’s and women’s pair balance exercise from 2:15-3:20 p.m.; men’s and women’s group dynamic exercise from 3:30-4:35 p.m.
  • Saturday, May 14: men’s and women’s pair dynamic exercise from 2:15-3:10 p.m.; men’s and women’s group balance exercise from 3:20-4:35 p.m.
  • Sunday, May 15: women’s pair final at 1 p.m.; men’s pair final at 1:40 p.m.; women’s group final at 2:05 p.m.; men’s group final at 2:35 p.m.

Participating U.S. Senior National Team members are listed here.

Men’s Pair

  • Angel Felix, Moreno Valley, Calif., and Braiden McDougall, Riverside, Calif., both from Realis Gymnastics Academy

Women’s Pair

  • Katie Borcherding of Pacific, Mo., and Cierra McKown of Riverside, Calif., both from Realis Gymnastics Academy

Men’s Group

  • Ethan Chang, Sam Lacy and Cade Shields of Columbia, Md., and Dorian White of Castro Valley, Calif., all from Emilia’s Acro Gymnastics and Cheer

Women’s Group

  • Isabel Chang of Columbia, Md., Sydney Martin of Glenwood, Md., and Maria Wooden of Derwood, Md., all from Emilia’s Acro Gymnastics and Cheer

Maia International Acro Cup

Qualifications in the 13-19 age group kick off today at 1:15 p.m. ET at the Maia Municipal Gymnastics Complex. The 2021 World Age Group silver medalists in mixed pair in the 12-19 division, Jaylen Ivey (San Jose, Calif.) and Amaya Rogers (Campbell, Calif.) of WestCoast Training Center, will take the floor with this group, which will include one U.S. women’s group and one women’s pair. Qualifications will conclude Friday beginning at 9:40 a.m. ET.

The U.S. will also field a women’s group, a mixed pair and two women’s pairs in the 12-18 age group. As with their older counterparts, qualifications in the 12-18 division will take place across two days. The first session will get underway Friday at 3:40 a.m. ET, and the second will follow Saturday at 3:40 a.m. ET.

Due to the number of competitors, the 13-19 women’s group and 12-18 women’s group and women’s pair competitions will feature a semifinal round. Following the initial balance and dynamic qualification rounds, the top half of the field will advance to the semifinals, where they will show combined. The eight-highest-scoring groups and pairs will earn spots in the division final, while the next six groups and pairs in the standings will advance to a Final B session. The 13-19 mixed pair and women’s pair and 12-18 mixed pair competitions will assume a more traditional structure with the top-six or eight pairs, depending on the size of the field, advancing from qualifications directly to the division finals. All semifinal rounds will take place Saturday, while division champions across the board will be crowned Sunday.

Competing U.S. athletes are listed below by age group.

13-19 Age Group

    Mixed Pair

    • Jaylen Ivey of San Jose, Calif., and Amaya Rogers of Campbell, Calif., both from WestCoast Training Center

    Women’s Pair

    • Willow Rose Noble and Sydney Padios both of Moreno Valley, Calif./Realis Gymnastics Academy

    Women’s Group

    • Gia Calo and Sarah Wilson of Annapolis, Md., and Grace Wright of Harwood, Md., all from International Elite

12-18 Age Group

    Mixed Pair

    • Andrew Castro of Riverside, Calif., and Savannah Stagno of Yucaipa, Calif., both from Realis Gymnastics Academy

    Women’s Pair

    • Mia Alvarez of Riverside, Calif., and Ava Cabana of Grand Terrace, Calif., both from Realis Gymnastics Academy
    • Sydney Dorais and Molly Fox, both of San Diego, Calif./SoCal TTC

    Women’s Group

    • Catherine Lacy of Columbia, Md., Abigail Novoseletskiy of Baltimore, Md., and Cecelia Shadrick of Ellicott City, Md., all from Emilia’s Acro Gymnastics and Cheer

Pairs and groups are interspersed throughout each qualification session of the Maia International Acro Cup. Approximate start times for U.S. pairs and groups for the balance and dynamic exercises are listed below in eastern time.

Thursday, May 12:

  • 1:48 p.m. – Noble and Padios (13-19 WP balance)
  • 2:13 p.m. – Calo, Wilson and Wright (13-19 WG dynamic)
  • 2:21 p.m. – Ivey and Rogers (13-19 MXP balance)

Friday, May 13:

  • 4:15 a.m. – Dorais and Fox (12-18 WP balance)
  • 6:20 a.m. – Alvarez and Cabana (12-18 WP balance)
  • 7:16 a.m. – Lacy, Novoseletskiy and Shadrick (12-18 WG dynamic)
  • 7:56 a.m. – Castro and Stagno (12-18 MXP balance)
  • 9:51 a.m. – Ivey and Rogers (13-19 MXP dynamic)
  • 10:26 a.m. – Calo, Wilson and Wright (13-19 WG balance)
  • 11:19 a.m. – Noble and Padios (13-19 WP dynamic)

Saturday, May 14:

  • 4:49 a.m. – Castro and Stagno (12-18 MXP dynamic)
  • 6:09 a.m. – Lacy, Novoseletskiy and Shadrick (12-18 WG balance)
  • 7:05 a.m. – Dorais and Fox (12-18 WP dynamic)
  • 8:28 a.m. – Alvarez and Cabana (12-18 WP dynamic)