Open Championships Photos

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., June 3, 2011 – The first champions from the field of more than 770 young women from 34 states have been crowned at the 2011 USA Gymnastics Open Championships, which run through June 5, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.

The four-day event is a nationwide invitational for women’s gymnastics Levels 4-8 and rhythmic gymnastics Levels 4-6, where both individual and club team champions will be named along with an overall 2011 Club Team Champion for both women and rhythmic. A women’s gymnastics National Elite Qualifier will also be conducted in conjunction with this event. The USA Gymnastics Open Championships is part of the inaugural ESPN RISE Girls Showcase.

The competition schedule for the USA Gymnastics Open Championships at the Jostens Center is:

  • Saturday, June 4:
    Women’s gymnastics: Level 5 – 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m.; Level 7 – 3:15 p.m.; Elite compulsory (traditional format) – 6:45 p.m.
    Rhythmic gymnastics: Level 5 – 8:30 a.m., 10:05 a.m., 11:40 a.m., 1:45 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.
  • Sunday, June 5:
    Women’s gymnastics: Levels 6 and 8, 8:30 a.m.; Elite Qualifier (traditional format), 1:55 p.m. (Hopes), 3:45 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.
    Rhythmic gymnastics: Beginner Groups – 8:30 a.m.; Level 6 –9:30 a.m., 12 p.m., 2:50 p.m., 4:10 p.m., 6 p.m., 7:45 p.m.

Individual awards are being given for each age group in each session. Age groups were established by dividing the athletes in each session into groups as determined by actual birth dates.

Club teams are comprised of a minimum of three gymnasts per club. The top three club team champions are awarded in each session. Team scores are determined by adding the top three scores in each event. The top three overall club team champions will be named at the conclusion of the event.

Immediately following the Open Championships, the U.S. Rhythmic Classic, an international rhythmic gymnastics competition, and the Junior Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics Optional Championships and Invitational for Levels 7-10 will be held at the HP Field House at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, June 8-12. All of the gymnastics events held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex are part of the ESPN Rise Girls Showcase, the three-week sports festival celebrating female sports that will involve nearly 15,000 elite and recreational female athletes competing in basketball, gymnastics, softball, taekwondo and volleyball June 2-22.

About ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which hosts more than 300 events a year, is the leading multi-sport venue for amateur and professional sports in the United States, accommodating 70 different sports and athletes from more than 70 countries. Designed to take youth sports to the next level, the 230-acre facility features the ESPN Innovation Lab, a real-world testing ground for the ESPN Emerging Technology Group to develop ground-breaking on-air products like Ball Track and ESPN Snap Zoom, as well as development of its new 3-D television channel. In addition, the complex features 56 high-definition cameras (42 robotic, 10 hand-held and four studio) and 40 high-definition video screens, including three jumbo screens, that can capture and display footage from any event taking place at the complex. The camera and video screens, as well as a 20-zone audio system, are controlled through the state-of-the-art HD and 3-D Broadcast Center that features eight edit bays and links to ESPN facilities in Bristol, Conn., New York and Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.wdwnews.com for press releases, photos and videos. Follow us on Twitter at @DisneySports.