INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The country’s rhythmic gymnasts have two opportunities to qualify for the 2006 Visa Championships, Aug. 16-19, in St. Paul, Minn., where the U.S. champions will be crowned. The two qualifying events are the Western Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, July 8-9, in Deerfield, Ill., and the Eastern Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, July 22-23, in College Park, Md. The results from the two events are combined and the top 20 junior and 20 senior gymnasts advance to the Visa Championships, which will be held at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium.

The Western Championships will be held at the Meyer Sports Complex at Trinity International University in Deerfield. The competition schedule is: Saturday, July 8 – 10 a.m., junior competition, and 3 p.m., senior competition; and Sunday, July 9 – 9:30 a.m., junior competition, and 2:30 p.m., senior competition. Each competition session features two individual event competitions.
On July 22-23, Ritchie Coliseum at the University of Maryland is the site for the Eastern Championships. The competition schedule is: Saturday, July 22 – 10 a.m., junior competition, and 3 p.m., senior competition; and Sunday, July 23 – 9 a.m., junior competition, and 2:30 p.m., senior competition. Each competition session features two individual event competitions.
 
In addition to the regional competition, the Western Championships is also the testing site for rhythmic gymnastics’ Future Stars, the discipline’s age-group, developmental program. Eligible athletes go through testing on Friday, July 7, with the top ranked athletes qualifying for the 2006 Future Stars National Team. The members of the Future Stars National Team will be named on Sunday, following the regional competition. Future Stars is the discipline’s pipeline for developing tomorrow’s stars and is targeted for girls ages 7-12.
Tickets are available at the door at both locations.
The Visa Championships feature the United States’ best gymnasts vying for national titles in rhythmic gymnastics and men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, as well as qualifying for the respective U.S. national teams. Acrobatic gymnastics is holding its national team trials. Competition is held on both the junior and senior levels. The Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul is playing host to the 2006 Visa Championships, Aug. 16-19. For more information, log on to usa-gymnastics.org.