Before the USGF existed, Hal was a four-time National (AAU) tumbling champion (1959-1962).
Harold Holmes, Jr. trained and competed from the fall of 1951 to the summer of 1963 under coach and fellow Hall of Fame member Charlie Pond. In 1959 Hal competed in the Pan American Games, winning 1st in Tumbling, 2nd in Trampoline, and 4th in Indian Clubs. Hal won the NCAA National title in Tumbling in 1963, the USGF National Championship, as well as three Big Ten Conference titles in, 61,62, and 1963. Hal was the Athlete of the Year at the University of Illinois in 1963 and is in the Urbana High Schools Athletics Hall of Fame.
Hal was the first to use a back full twist, flip flop, double back combination. Hal’s tumbling was high and powerful yet appeared light as a feather. He received a National Level Certification for judging men’s and boys’ gymnastics from 1974 to 1986.
Today Hal resides in Richmond, Kentucky, with his wife Kathy.
