INDIANAPOLIS – Feb. 3, 2016 – The NCAA and USA Gymnastics have joined forces to showcase some of the nation’s top gymnastics talent in mid-April. The NCAA hosts its 35th National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championship, April 15-16, at the Fort Worth Convention Center while USA Gymnastics holds its Region 3, Level 8 Championships at nearby Texas Christian University, April 14-16. The NCAA’s 73rd National Collegiate Men’s Gymnastics Championship is slated for April 15-16, in Columbus, Ohio at St. John Arena, at the same time as USA Gymnastics Region 5 Men’s Junior Olympic Championship at The Ohio State University.
“What an exciting opportunity to partner with USA Gymnastics in the promotion of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Gymnastics Championships as we collectively strive to grow the exposure of the sport while engaging youth within NCAA Championships,” NCAA Director, Championships and Alliances Jeff Jarnecke said. “Our combined efforts will result in an unforgettable experience for both the youth regional participants and gymnastics fans.”
“We welcome the opportunity to partner with the NCAA to promote the men’s and women’s national championships because these events are important to our gymnastics family and sport,” Steve Penny, president and CEO of USA Gymnastics, said. “It’s great to combine these prestigious events with USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic events. This allows the participants to watch the top college gymnasts compete at the national championships, which is a dream for many of our members. We hope this year’s Men’s and Women’s National Collegiate Championships will be a huge success.”
While the top 12 teams in collegiate women’s gymnastics take the floor in downtown Fort Worth, amateur gymnasts from Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming descend upon TCU to vie for regional titles. Approximately 450 gymnasts from the seven-state region advance to the regional championships, and USA Gymnastics plans to purchase a ticket for every competitor to attend a session at the Women’s National Collegiate Gymnastics Championship.
Adding to the excitement at the NCAA women’s championship, 2004 Olympic all-around gold-medalist Carly Patterson and 2008 Olympic team silver-medalist and 2015 NCAA all-around co-champion Samantha Peszek are scheduled to attend and sign autographs at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Peszek is scheduled to sign on Friday with Patterson signing on Saturday.
On the men’s side, the Region 5 Men’s Junior Olympic Championships holds its competition at French Field House on Ohio State’s campus. The event involves approximately 800 boys Levels 5-10 from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Illinois. Each gymnast in the competition will receive a ticket to attend the men’s NCAA team finals on Saturday evening.
Paul Hamm, 2004 Olympic all-around champion, Brandon Wynn, 2013 world still rings bronze-medalist and Blaine Wilson, 2004 Olympic team silver-medalist are all scheduled to attend the 2016 Men’s National Collegiate Gymnastics Championships to sign autographs. Wynn is scheduled to sign autographs on Friday while Wilson and Hamm are set to sign on Saturday.
Tickets for both the 2016 National Collegiate Women’s and Men’s Gymnastics Championships can be purchased at NCAA.com/Tickets.