PROVIDENCE, R.I., June 8, 2016 – Logan Dooley of Lake Forest, Calif/World Elite Gymnastics, and Steven Gluckstein of Atlantic Highlands/Elite Trampoline Academy, and Shaylee Dunavin and Dakota Earnest, both of Lafayette, La./Trampoline and Tumbling Express, won the senior men’s and women’s synchronized trampoline titles, respectively, on the first day of the 2016 USA Gymnastics Championships at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, R.I. Competition continues tomorrow with Junior Olympic competition at the convention center, and junior and senior elite competition resumes on Friday, June 10, at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively. The 2016 USA Gymnastics Championships is the Olympic selection event for rhythmic gymnastics and men’s and women’s trampoline for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
For the men, Dooley and Steven Gluckstein won their sixth synchro title with a 138.100 total. Colin Duda of Atlantic Highlands, N.J./Elite Trampoline Academy, and Cody Gesuelli of Middletown, N.J./Elite Trampoline Academy, took second at 129.700, followed by Jeffrey Gluckstein of Atlantic Highlands, N.J./Elite Trampoline Academy, and Aliaksei Shostak of Lafayette, La./Trampoline and Tumbling Express, in third (74.200)
Dunavin and Earnest won their second straight women’s synchro crown by posting a 128.400. Nicole Ahsinger of Lafayette, La./Trampoline and Tumbling Express, and Clare Johnson of Huntsville, Ala./The Matrix Gym, Inc., finished in the runner-up spot with a 120.300. Rounding out the medals podium were Delilah Glidden of Laurel, Md./Fairland Gymnastics, and Courtney Walsh of Red Bank, N.J./Elite Trampoline Academy, at 117.000.
USA Gymnastics Championships information
Scheduled for June 8-13, the six-day championships includes both Junior Olympic and elite levels and is one of the national championships held annually by USA Gymnastics. In addition to the junior and senior elite competition June 10-12 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Junior Olympic sessions run all six days at the Rhode Island Convention Center. At the conclusion of the senior competition on June 12, USA Gymnastics will name the U.S. rhythmic group and the first three individual members of gymnastics’ 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, pending approval by the United States Olympic Committee: one for individual rhythmic gymnastics and two for trampoline (one male and one female). The U.S. group, which qualified to the Games outright, will identify its five-person roster.
On Friday at 4 p.m., the USA Gymnastics Championships Kick-off Celebration presented by iHeart Media is a fun gathering for athletes and fans alike leading into the first night of the senior elite competition. Held outside on the street between the Hilton Providence and the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, the Kick-off Celebration is free to the public. Activities include DJs, an inflatable obstacle course, temporary face tattoos, local mascots, carnival games and the University Orthopedic Art in Motion booth, to name a few. As part of the celebration, Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza and USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny will be on hand to rename the street, “Rhode to Gold.”
For the junior and senior elite levels for each discipline, the athletes are vying for national titles. Performances will determine berths on the junior and senior U.S. National Teams for 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 Junior Olympic levels for each of the disciplines are: acrobatic gymnastics – Levels 6-10; rhythmic gymnastics – Levels 7-8; and trampoline and tumbling – Levels 8-10.
The Dunkin’ Donuts Center competition schedule, which is outlined below and subject to change, has the junior and senior elites competing June 10-12. For a complete schedule, please visit USAGymChamps.com/schedule.
Friday, June 10
- 1:30 p.m. – Rhythmic gymnastics, junior event/all-around finals and senior elite preliminaries/event finals
- 6 p.m. – Acrobatic gymnastics, junior and senior elite preliminaries; Rhythmic gymnastics, senior elite all-around preliminaries and event finals; Tumbling and double mini-trampoline, senior elite preliminaries
Saturday, June 11
- 1:30 p.m. – Rhythmic gymnastics, junior event/all-around finals and senior elite preliminaries/event finals
- 6 p.m. – Acrobatic gymnastics, junior and senior elite preliminaries; Rhythmic gymnastics, senior elite all-around preliminaries/event finals; Trampoline, senior elite preliminaries
Sunday, June 12
- 1:30 p.m. – Rhythmic gymnastics, senior elite all-around finals (two events)
- 6 p.m. – Acrobatic gymnastics, junior and senior elite finals; Rhythmic gymnastics, senior elite all-around finals; Trampoline, tumbling and double mini-trampoline, senior elite finals
On sale now, evening session tickets at 6 p.m. at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center are: $25, June 10-11; and $30, June 12. The all-session pass, which grants access to all sessions at both venues, is $80. Tickets may be purchased at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center Box Office, ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, or by phone at 1-800-745-3000. For the events at the Rhode Island Convention Center, a $30, single-day pass will be available onsite on competition days, and on June 10-12, the all-day pass also includes access to the junior elite sessions at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. For special pricing for gymnastics clubs, contact Aimee Sickmeier with USA Gymnastics at [email protected].
USA Gymnastics will provide live webcast coverage of the three evening sessions with expert analysis from acrobatic gymnastics World gold medalist Arthur Davis, six-time U.S. rhythmic gymnastics all-around champion Rebecca Sereda, and former trampoline and tumbling U.S. National Team member Peter Dodd. The webcasts of the senior elite competition will be available on the USA Gymnastics YouTube channel or USAGymChamps.com/live Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 6-9 p.m. ET. Former NCAA and Big Ten gymnastics champion Evan Heiter will join Davis, Sereda and Dodd as the host. The webcasts will be available worldwide free of charge on USAGymChamps.com/live.
The local partners for the event are the Rhode Island Sports Commission and the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority.
About the disciplines
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 ribbons, balls, hoops, ropes and clubs in a choreographed routine to music. The choreography must cover the entire floor and contain a balance of jumps, leaps, pivots, balances and flexibility movements. Only four of the apparatus are competed each quad, and the four for 2016 are hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon for seniors and hoop, ball, clubs and rope for juniors. 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
-
Rhode Island Sports Commission. The Rhode Island Sports Commission is a division of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau whose mission is to enrich the Rhode Island economy and community through the attraction, promotion and development of sporting events and associated meetings. For more information, visit GoSportsRI.com.
-
Rhode Island Convention Center Authority. Located in the heart of downtown Providence, the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority operates the Rhode Island Convention & Entertainment Complex, which includes the Rhode Island Convention Center (RICC), two parking garages, Dunkin’ Donuts Center (DDC), and Veterans Memorial Auditorium (The Vets). The Authority, governed by an eleven-member board of commissioners, works with several marketing partners to book its facilities, including SMG, which manages the DDC and RICC, Professional Facilities Management (PFM), which manages The Vets, and the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau (PWCVB).