INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 10, 2015 – The International Gymnastics Federation has conducted the draw for the 2015 World Trampoline and Tumbling Championships, Nov. 26-29, in Odense, Denmark. This year’s World Championships are the first of two opportunities for countries to qualify in trampoline for the 2016 Olympic Games.
The top eight men and top eight women in trampoline at the World Championships will secure a berth for their country, with a maximum of two per country. The top five men and five women at the Olympic Test Event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in April will advance to the Olympics, with any remaining spots (Tripartite/continental/host country representation) allocated after the conclusion of the Test Event. This year’s World Championships is also the qualification event for tumbling, double mini-trampoline and synchronized trampoline for the 2017 World Games in Wroclaw, Poland.
The World Championships competition schedule is:
- Nov. 26 – Opening Ceremony at 9:45 a.m., men’s and women’s qualifications for trampoline at 10 a.m. and tumbling at 2 p.m.;
- Nov. 27 – qualifications for women’s synchronized trampoline and men’s double-mini at 10 a.m. and for men’s synchronized trampoline and women’s double-mini at 2 p.m., with the team finals for women’s tumbling, men’s double-mini, and men’s and women’s trampoline at 6 p.m.;
- Nov. 28 – team finals for women’s double-mini and men’s tumbling at 3 p.m., followed by individual finals for women’s tumbling, men’s double-mini, and men’s and women’s synchronized trampoline; and
- Nov. 29 – men’s and women’s trampoline semifinals at 1:30 p.m., with the individual finals for women’s double-mini, men’s tumbling and men’s and women’s trampoline beginning at 3 p.m.
The USA’s draw is: trampoline – men and women, Group 5; synchronized trampoline – men in Group 2 and women in Groups 1 and 2; tumbling – men in Group 4 and women in Group 3; and double mini-trampoline – men and women, Group 3.
Team USA is led by 2014 World double mini-trampoline champion Erin Jauch of Crystal Lake, Ill./Fox Valley Tumbling and Trampoline, silver-medalist Austin White of Newport Coast, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics, and bronze-medalist Austin Nacey of Braidwood, Ill./TwistStars Tumbling and Trampoline, and 2015 Pan American Games silver-medalist Steven Gluckstein of Atlantic Highlands, N.J./Elite Trampoline Academy. The complete 2015 U.S. World Championships Team is listed below.
Trampoline
- Men
Logan Dooley, Lake Forest, Ill./World Elite Gymnastics
Jeffrey Gluckstein, Atlantic Highlands, N.J./Elite Trampoline Academy
Steven Gluckstein, Atlantic Highlands, N.J./Elite Trampoline Academy
Aliaksei Shostak, Lafayette, La./Trampoline and Tumbling Express
Alternate: Neil Gulati, Dana Point, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics
Women
Nicole Ahsinger, Lafayette, La./Trampoline and Tumbling Express
Charlotte Drury, Laguna Niguel, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics
Shaylee Dunavin, Amarillo, Texas/Trampoline and Tumbling Express
Clare Johnson, Huntsville, Ala./The Matrix Gym, Inc.
Alternate: Dakota Earnest, Tokio, Texas/Trampoline and Tumbling Express
Coaches: Tatiana Kovaleva of Elite Trampoline Academy, head; Tara Guidry of Trampoline and Tumbling Express and Robert Null of World Elite Gymnastics
Tumbling
- Men
Brandon Krzynefski, Centreville, Va./Capital Gymnastics National Training Center
Austin Nacey, Braidwood, Ill./TwistStars Tumbling and Trampoline
Alex Renkert, Indianapolis, Ind./Integrity
Garret Waterstradt, Savoy, Ill./Sun Elite Gymnastics
Alternate: Jackson Tyson, Greensboro, N.C./Flip Force Gymnastics
Women
Yuliya Brown, Idaho Falls, Idaho/Idaho Elite Gymnastics
Breanne Millard, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics
Kaylah Whaley, Knoxville, Tenn./Premier Athletics Knoxville North
Coaches: Sergio Galvez of Capital Gymnastics National Training Center, head; Jared Olsen of Idaho Elite Gymnastics, and Amber Van Natta of Integrity, assistants
Double mini-trampoline
- Men
Austin Nacey, Braidwood, Ill./TwistStars Tumbling and Trampoline
Alex Renkert, Indianapolis, Ind./ Integrity
Garret Waterstradt, Savoy, Ill./Sun Elite Gymnastics
Austin White, Newport Coast, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics
Alternate: Casey Chandler, Reno, Nev./Legacy Trampoline and Tumbling
Women
Paige Howard, Mission Viejo, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics
Erin Jauch, Crystal Lake, Ill./Fox Valley Tumbling and Trampoline
Kristle Lowell, Orland Park, Ill./Wight Tumble Academy
Tristan Van Natta, Pendleton, Ind./Integrity
Alternate: Amanda Spitzer, Vista, Calif./So Cal TTC
Coaches: Shawn Moore of TwistStars Tumbling and Trampoline, head; Stacy Jauch of Fox Valley Tumbling and Trampoline, and Amber Van Natta of Integrity, assistants
The World Trampoline and Tumbling Championships, held annually except in the Olympic year, determine the men’s and women’s World champions in four events: trampoline, synchronized trampoline, tumbling and double mini-trampoline. Held following the World Championships, the World Age Group Competitions showcase the world’s best young men and women in those four events in four age groups: 11-12, 13-14, 15-16 and 17-18 years of age.
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. Synchronized trampoline demands the same athletic skill as individual trampoline, while adding the element of precision timing. Using two trampolines, two athletes perform identical 10-skill routines at the same time. 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.