History of acrobatic gymnastics
posted on 04/26/2007
The roots of acrobatic gymnastics can be traced back to ancient Greece. Modern-day acrobatic gymnastics began in the Soviet Union in the 1930s and emerged in the United States in the 1970s with the acrobats on Muscle Beach, Calif. The first national organization, United States Sports Acrobatics Federation (USSAF), was founded in 1975 and changed to the United States Sports Acrobatics (USSA) in the 1990s. USSA merged with USA Gymnastics in 2002, making it the fifth discipline, and the connection between acrobatic gymnastics and gymnastics continues to grow today. The United States was first represented in Moscow in 1974 by tumblers only. Representation at World Championships has been on the rise ever since. The United States won its first gold medal at a World Championships in Riesa, Germany, in 2002.